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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Transformed By His Power
Publishing Date: 2026-08-16T03:04:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/transformed-by-his-power/

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I'm going to read Psalm 139, a very familiar passage. Here's what it says,

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For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

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Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your books were written every one of them. The days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts of God! How vast is the sum of them!

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See, when we read this passage, we are very well aware of how God created us, how He sustains us. But one thing I want us to catch from that passage for today—this is really setting the stage up for what I believe God wants to do—you see the delicacy and the care that God puts into what He creates? Is that clear from that passage?

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He doesn't just create. When He creates, there is such delicacy, such care that He puts into whatever He creates, which is why even now you ask Linnie, she will tell you how she lives every day because she knows there is a baby in the womb. And that has completely changed the way Linnie is.

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The thing about it, whenever God births something, He births it carefully. That's the nature of our God. Many millennia later, we are still figuring out why mothers need to be a certain way. But whenever He creates, whatever He creates, He creates intricately, carefully. That is why the psalmist even says something like, how wonderfully have you created me?

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Wonderful are your thoughts. I can't count them. There are very many. And if that is true, any birth that God births in our lives—by that I mean new starts—is God careful about them? He is. So He isn't just careful about physical births. He is also very careful about any new start He gives us.

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And if I am also as careful about those starts He gives me, now I'm aligned with how God is.

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So whenever God births, physically, in that He uses man to reproduce and reproduce more men and women, He has already established what we read.

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But whenever He reproduces spiritually, there is even more in that He cares how we are aligned with Him.

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And in today's session teaching, whatever you want to call this, the title for today is, Transformed by His Power.

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We look at the word transformed, we look at the word power, we look at how we can latch on to this truth in the scripture. But before that, I want us to almost be like birthing mothers.

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It will be very difficult for you, Zia, but you can try.

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To have—why are you laughing? To have this understanding that God, you want to do something in me that's precious, that is important, that is divine, that is true, that is pivotal for my life.

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And if you want to birth this in me by your spirit, then I'm going to steward this so carefully.

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So then you have now aligned with how He thinks about it, because anything He births, He births this way.

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So Father, we thank you for this afternoon.

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We thank you that your presence is right here. We thank you for your spirit.

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Thank you for establishing life for us here on earth this way.

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We don't even need to invite you because you're already here.

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Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your presence here.

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Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you care about us.

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You steward our lives well.

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Thank you for your power.

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Thank you for your presence.

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And Jesus, this afternoon, we fully believe everything you have said in and through your scripture.

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And we approach your word with honor.

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We want to receive everything that you have for us.

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In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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I want us to read a couple of passages and then we'll get into this.

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The first scripture that I want us to read is from Psalm 84.7.

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You saw that?

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It shows up just like that.

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This is Matt's new creation.

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Psalm 84.7.

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They will continue to grow stronger.

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And each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

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Okay, so underline the word stronger.

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They will continue to grow stronger.

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That's one passage.

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Where you begin to see this idea that God for our lives on this earth has this narrative already planned out.

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That I am to grow from strength to strength.

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That you are to grow from strength to strength.

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Which is why the psalmist says this.

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They will continue to grow stronger.

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So whatever level of strength you have today is in the level of strength you are to die with.

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That even when your physical strength reduces, there is another strength that is expected

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and that I said designed to grow stronger.

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Can you read this other verse?

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Which is from 2 Corinthians.

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2 Corinthians 3.17-18.

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Oh it works.

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For the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

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And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

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So it is the second scripture that again talks about the same idea.

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That when we behold the face of Jesus, we are never expected or designed to remain at the level of glory with which we started.

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That any man, any woman who looks at Jesus, their life has already been planned out by God that they would grow from one degree of glory to another degree of glory to another degree of glory while on earth.

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This is life that God has prescribed for us.

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You know there is a passage in Isaiah where God even says I will not share my glory with another.

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When we come to the New Testament, we realize that this God, the Father of glory, the glorious Son, the glorious Holy Spirit shares his glory with us, his children.

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Because in the book of Ephesians it is so clear in the epistle, it says very clearly this is our inheritance on earth.

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That his glory he shares with his children and this becomes our inheritance.

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These two scriptures that I read out and we went through is pivotal in that we have to now believe whatever level we are at today is one level.

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In our spiritual walk with Christ.

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That inside of you, God has already built a capacity which is designed for more.

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Correct?

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I told you already in that when God created us, he creates us very carefully.

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And not only does he create us carefully, he has all these things that he has set up for us to walk into.

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Which is why in Jeremiah it says I have plans for you.

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Not plan, plans for you.

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God has these things.

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And so then I can wake up on a particular day and say God this is where I am at today.

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I thank you that I can easily access the next you have for me.

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Without labor.

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But in the way you want me to.

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And that's what we will be looking at today.

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You see this all throughout scripture.

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This idea of being transformed is prevalent all throughout scripture.

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You start in the book of Genesis and you see what is happening to Abraham.

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Abraham becomes Abraham.

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You then look at all of these lives that are so and the stories of their lives that are vividly told in the scripture.

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It's very clear God transforms people.

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But sometimes we think that transformation has some sort of ceiling.

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But there is no ceiling to this transformation.

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Then you should think in your life what is the ceiling of your transformation.

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Like how far can you be transformed?

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The answer is simple.

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Bible says we are transformed to the image of Christ.

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So I could be and you could be per God's design, his divine design, transformed to a place that in areas of my life I must be just like Christ.

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And in all areas of our lives we can aspire to be that.

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And that is the glory that he shares with us.

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His children.

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That it does not therefore matter where we come from, who our parents are, which land we come from, where we are born, what happened to us, what is the story of our lives.

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None of those things matter in comparison to the plans God has for us.

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And once we ascribe to this truth then something inside of us begins to change.

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See one thing that triggers transformation is revelation.

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Revelation triggers transformation.

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You ask Paul what happened with his life.

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The guy was going somewhere and all of a sudden he has an encounter with God.

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We don't know exactly what happened but we read in the book of Acts he couldn't see for some time.

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He saw the glory of Christ and something changed.

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He was not at that point, from that point on he was not the same person anymore.

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Something deep shifted on the inside.

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You ask Peter, he will tell you something similar.

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I come from Kerala.

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One of the things that Kerala is known for in Christianity is that this is where Doubting Thomas came.

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It's sad that we still call him Doubting Thomas because if you ask any Keralite they won't call him Doubting Thomas.

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Because he got on a ship, he ended up in Kerala, south of India and he preached the gospel.

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Two thousand years ago we still call him Doubting Thomas.

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He wasn't doubting at all.

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He was then but then he overcame it.

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Why? Transformation.

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You see that?

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That there is one degree of awareness, one degree of glory which then is being transformed.

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From that degree to another degree.

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This is true for our lives, true for anyone who receives Christ.

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But the reality is that while this is true, we can still be stagnant.

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That God has these things, these milestones that are set for me, set up for me.

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And while that is true, I can also be stagnant if I want to.

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Or I can align with him and walk into the fullness of what God has for me.

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So I go back to what I said before.

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Revelation triggers transformation.

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Whenever we understand who God is, it triggers something in our lives about,

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Aha! This is who God is.

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So I can be different.

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And anytime you have a revelation of God, he also reveals to you how he thinks of you.

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So no revelation of God just stops with him revealing who he is.

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Any revelation of God then shows you how he sees you.

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So when you have both, which is on one hand he shows you who he is,

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and on the other hand he shows you who you are to him,

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something changes.

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And that revelation triggers, begins to set you on a journey where nothing can stop you.

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Because now you are on his perfect path for your life.

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Which is why all of these stories we can go through.

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And we know that men and women who started a certain way in the scripture,

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and then you look at, you know, so many fathers in faith, men and women,

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went through life's journeys, they started a certain way, they ended a certain way.

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Why is it one thing and one thing only?

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They were transformed by his power.

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And this therefore is not set apart just for a few, this is for all of us.

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And the level I access and the places I go to in him,

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on one hand, yes, it demands his promise to be fulfilled,

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him to keep his covenant, which he always does,

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it then is really just a matter of how much I walk with him,

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and how much I believe what he says.

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Sometimes it isn't even, do I want to walk with him,

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it is how much do I know about him, and what do I know of him.

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Which is why revelation is significant.

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When May named the church Revelations, that's the current name, right?

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When May named Revelation, Revelation,

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I don't know if this was one of the ideas, but this is important.

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I love that the last book in the Bible is Revelation.

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Because our lives are supposed to be continually this,

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God, who are you?

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I'm not satisfied, I want to see you differently from what I have seen you.

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And as I see you, show me who I am to you.

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That changes everything.

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Once I know how he sees me, then it doesn't matter how anyone sees me,

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because I'm so confident as to how he sees me.

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You see how life begins to change.

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Alright, so yes, when I was growing up, this happened and the other thing happened,

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but the truth is, while that is true, now I have a new identity.

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My identity now is rooted solely in this truth, that Christ loves me deeply.

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And that's just one part of his revelation, his love.

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There is so much more to him.

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Which is why when we hear talk about God being a divine warrior,

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those are in just words.

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That is who he is.

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You ask, like we talked about last time, you ask Jehoshaphat,

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and he'll tell you story after story about how God fights.

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He is a warrior.

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So there is so much to our Father, so much to this Christ we serve,

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so much to the Holy Spirit, that we can be on a path of revelation

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until we die and we still wouldn't have scratched the surface.

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And if that is so, then life becomes so adventurous now.

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Because I can go through life saying,

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Jesus, I know you this much.

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I so want to know you more.

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And then just about when you feel like you got it,

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maybe never get there, just about when we feel like,

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oh I know more, then he proves to you there is so much more.

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And it becomes an adventure you walk with him.

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So that's the transformed part.

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Let's now move on to power.

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The power that is at work within us, according to Ephesians,

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I believe chapter 2 verse 17, Ephesians chapter 2, 17,

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it is the power of God that resurrected Christ from the dead.

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That is the same, is it 2, 17?

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Maybe it's 18.

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Let's go to the scripture.

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Okay, this is 2 Corinthians 3, 17 and 18.

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2 Corinthians, I'll just read it.

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2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 17, 18 and 19.

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Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,

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that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.

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What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints?

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Listen to me now.

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And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us

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who believe according to the working of his great might?

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That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead

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and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.

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So then, that is one of Paul's really long sentences,

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it can be summarized simply like this.

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That the power of God that is at work in me and in you

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is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

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Not only that, it is the same power that then has Christ

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sitting at the right hand of the Father.

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So then, you see, when we think about power,

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we shouldn't think about anything else.

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When we think about authority and power in Christ

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or his power that is at work in us,

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we shouldn't think of this power as a lesser power.

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Do you now recognize why Jesus said it is finished?

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That this is the same power that raised Christ from the dead,

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the same power that seated Jesus

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at the right hand of the Father.

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You may wonder, why is that?

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Why is that significant?

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See, when Jesus rose from the dead,

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every power of darkness on the face of the earth

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and in the heavenlies were working to keep him down.

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Every king, every, and I'm not talking about physical king.

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I'm not talking about a natural king.

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Every small king, every power, every demon,

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principality, authority, worked so hard

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to keep Jesus Christ in the grave.

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And then when Jesus resurrected,

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there is a scripture in Hebrews,

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I don't know the exact reference,

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but it talks about how Jesus went through the first heaven

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and the second heaven,

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through the heavens to the third heaven.

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That there was fight in that place

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that Jesus easily went through,

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that all those powers were already defeated.

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Those powers were already disarmed.

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That power is the power that Christ gave you and me.

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It is important to recognize that,

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because otherwise we think power is just a power.

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The fullness of what Christ did is so amazing

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that this power that raised him from the dead

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and this power that seated him

00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:47.440
at the right hand of the father is the same power

00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:50.280
that he chose to give you and me.

00:20:50.280 --> 00:20:52.240
That is a resurrection power.

00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.880
If that is true, then what is said

00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:02.680
that can stop a Christian from walking his life well?

00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:04.520
It is that power.

00:21:04.520 --> 00:21:07.580
That power has already defeated every power.

00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:13.000
And so I should be so excited

00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.880
that I have Abba, by your power,

00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:19.920
the ability to walk victoriously here on earth.

00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:21.640
That God, I have that power.

00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:22.920
This is revelation.

00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:26.360
This is revelation where the same scripture that you read

00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:28.080
now talks to you differently.

00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:30.120
And when it talks to you differently,

00:21:30.120 --> 00:21:33.000
you now begin to realize not just who he is,

00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:35.240
but also who you are.

00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.320
This is just the nature of our father.

00:21:37.320 --> 00:21:39.480
The nature of our father is he isn't always

00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:41.160
just showing about who he is.

00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:43.000
He then also tells you who you are

00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.400
because he is so interested in how you perceive him

00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:47.840
and how you walk your life

00:21:47.840 --> 00:21:52.360
because his program also somehow includes your life.

00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:58.380
So transformed by his power.

00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:01.680
And think, take some time this week

00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.600
to think about what this really is.

00:22:04.600 --> 00:22:07.200
That if it is the same resurrection power,

00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.800
can you begin to expect things?

00:22:10.800 --> 00:22:13.880
One of the questions that I asked a few people

00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:15.120
last week is this.

00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:20.400
If you believe God is in you and he is,

00:22:21.260 --> 00:22:24.920
then how do you see your life changing?

00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:26.440
Like what are you after?

00:22:27.520 --> 00:22:31.160
At age 20 or 24, for Zia,

00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:36.160
what is he looking for when he gets to 30, 40, 50?

00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.320
Is it important for him to think like that?

00:22:39.320 --> 00:22:41.000
Absolutely.

00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:44.960
It's absolutely important for Zia when he is 24

00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:47.360
now to realize this resurrection power

00:22:47.360 --> 00:22:49.280
that is at work in him.

00:22:49.280 --> 00:22:54.280
This power is also given to us to live a holy life.

00:22:54.300 --> 00:22:57.040
So this power isn't just about doing.

00:22:57.040 --> 00:22:59.740
This power is as much about becoming.

00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.080
In Ephesians chapter one, it says,

00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:06.520
in this, here's what it says in Ephesians chapter one,

00:23:06.520 --> 00:23:11.360
verse two or three, that God our father has blessed us

00:23:11.360 --> 00:23:14.520
in Christ Jesus with every spiritual gift

00:23:14.520 --> 00:23:16.680
in the heavenly places.

00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:17.840
Wow.

00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:22.840
That there is no gift, blessing in the heavenly places

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:28.680
that has not been given to me.

00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:32.280
That Christ has already blessed me with this.

00:23:32.280 --> 00:23:37.160
All, all, all gifts in the heavenly places

00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:40.940
are already available to me today while on earth.

00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:46.500
And so for Zia then, at this age,

00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:49.880
these truths as it comes inside of him,

00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:51.400
what does he begin to think?

00:23:53.520 --> 00:23:54.880
Surely, right?

00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:58.480
As a 25 year old, when he knows that the power of Christ

00:23:59.280 --> 00:24:01.140
is in him and it is limitless for his life.

00:24:02.360 --> 00:24:04.080
23, sorry man.

00:24:04.080 --> 00:24:07.320
Just making sure everyone, 23, not 25.

00:24:07.320 --> 00:24:08.720
He's not offended at all.

00:24:11.860 --> 00:24:16.120
So when he realizes that this is who Christ is in me,

00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:19.500
that there is this power at work in me.

00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:22.680
And I love that first verse, couple of verses in Ephesians,

00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:26.560
because it talks about why these spiritual blessings

00:24:26.560 --> 00:24:28.320
have been given first.

00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:30.820
So that we can walk blamelessly.

00:24:30.820 --> 00:24:32.680
That there is all of these blessings

00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.720
in the spiritual places were given to me and you

00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.120
so that we can walk blamelessly.

00:24:38.120 --> 00:24:39.160
So that's one.

00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:41.800
Now after that, and while we do that,

00:24:41.800 --> 00:24:45.500
we also have things that God gives us to do.

00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:49.300
So therefore, I love going through this pretty slow,

00:24:49.300 --> 00:24:51.400
because otherwise it defeats the purpose.

00:24:52.260 --> 00:24:56.320
If these two things are true for Zia, he should daydream.

00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:02.240
He should begin to daydream with the Holy Spirit,

00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:04.200
the possibilities of the kingdom.

00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:11.000
This is why Joseph, even when he was in Potiphar's house

00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:13.800
or when he was in the prison,

00:25:13.800 --> 00:25:16.660
he was able to see something others couldn't.

00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:20.480
Have you thought of why, when all of these brothers

00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:22.920
show up at the end of that story,

00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.520
and here is this man who has gone through enough trouble

00:25:26.520 --> 00:25:28.180
because of all of them.

00:25:29.020 --> 00:25:30.340
How quickly he's able to do

00:25:30.340 --> 00:25:32.260
what he was always assigned to do.

00:25:32.260 --> 00:25:33.100
Why?

00:25:33.100 --> 00:25:35.540
He had already taken time.

00:25:35.540 --> 00:25:37.500
He knew where this was going.

00:25:39.100 --> 00:25:41.060
That God showed me something.

00:25:41.060 --> 00:25:43.380
He had a holy imagination.

00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:46.060
He had things that he was looking forward to

00:25:46.060 --> 00:25:48.680
because God planted those things in him.

00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:50.420
This is important.

00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:53.020
That if you believe, see a revelation

00:25:53.020 --> 00:25:56.100
that triggers transformation,

00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:59.460
it has to cause us to come into a place

00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:02.580
where we are ready to receive new seed,

00:26:03.560 --> 00:26:05.380
where we are ready to birth.

00:26:05.380 --> 00:26:09.140
And that does not happen while we run around everywhere.

00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:10.520
That happens with him.

00:26:12.300 --> 00:26:15.400
That time with him is so important

00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:17.940
because then he can give you those things

00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:21.820
that are precious, that are pure, that are praiseworthy,

00:26:21.820 --> 00:26:23.640
that you can then steward.

00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:25.480
So thinking about our lives,

00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:28.380
if you're 60 years old, you're 70 years old,

00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:33.380
now saying, God, this truth that you're revealing to me

00:26:33.560 --> 00:26:36.120
about who you are, about who I am,

00:26:36.120 --> 00:26:39.480
now this has to change the next 20 years of my life,

00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:41.320
which is why you see, again, in scripture,

00:26:41.320 --> 00:26:44.280
there is this idea that you can be young or old,

00:26:44.280 --> 00:26:46.520
but with God, it's the same

00:26:46.520 --> 00:26:48.880
because it is not the physical strength

00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.360
that we're talking about.

00:26:50.360 --> 00:26:53.120
There is something greater than that that he gives you,

00:26:53.120 --> 00:26:55.640
which then affects every realm of your life.

00:26:58.320 --> 00:27:02.400
So we must take time to think about the possibilities

00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:07.400
of this resurrection power that is at work in us,

00:27:08.020 --> 00:27:09.440
not a lesser thing.

00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:12.720
I love, therefore, why Jesus says it is finished

00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:16.360
because he wasn't giving us a lesser thing,

00:27:16.360 --> 00:27:19.400
a mini power, a mini thing.

00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:23.680
He gave us his Spirit, all of his Spirit,

00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:26.560
and the same resurrection power, therefore,

00:27:26.560 --> 00:27:30.980
lives in me and you, which makes me so excited.

00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.800
I really am.

00:27:33.800 --> 00:27:34.640
What?

00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:36.840
Jesus gave me his resurrection power?

00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:40.460
Can you imagine?

00:27:41.600 --> 00:27:43.320
I have his resurrection power.

00:27:46.080 --> 00:27:47.880
It excites me.

00:27:48.840 --> 00:27:49.680
I believe it.

00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:52.220
I really do.

00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:53.460
It's not nuts for me.

00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:54.680
I really do.

00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:55.880
I believe it.

00:27:55.880 --> 00:28:00.880
I believe that I have the resurrection power of Christ in me.

00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:03.160
I believe it.

00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:06.800
So it changes, then, the way I think of me.

00:28:06.800 --> 00:28:09.080
It changes, then, the way you think of you.

00:28:09.080 --> 00:28:12.140
It changes how we begin to look at our future.

00:28:12.140 --> 00:28:15.140
So if transformation is something God gives,

00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:19.140
and if the power to be transformed is something God gives

00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:20.900
when we are aligned with him,

00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:23.780
how do we go about it is what I want to touch on

00:28:23.780 --> 00:28:25.780
with how much of our time we have left.

00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:31.020
Okay, number one.

00:28:33.620 --> 00:28:35.220
Believe and expect.

00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:36.060
Number one.

00:28:38.380 --> 00:28:39.960
Believe and expect.

00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:54.540
Believe and expect.

00:28:54.540 --> 00:28:55.980
You know that song, Abide?

00:28:57.340 --> 00:29:00.140
I depend on you.

00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:04.180
I depend on you.

00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:05.860
Sensing's it better.

00:29:05.860 --> 00:29:06.700
But,

00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:09.300
you know,

00:29:13.820 --> 00:29:17.280
to depend on Christ day and night,

00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:21.920
to depend on Christ so much so

00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:24.220
that you've come to this realization

00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:27.420
that life with the best you have is futile.

00:29:28.540 --> 00:29:33.380
That Christ has brought you to a place

00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:37.700
where by his grace he has proven to you

00:29:40.780 --> 00:29:44.780
that the best you can offer doesn't take you anywhere.

00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:49.700
But with him, by being dependent on him,

00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:50.860
everything changes.

00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:53.880
Everything changes.

00:29:55.320 --> 00:30:00.320
And this believing of this God,

00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:03.020
this Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit,

00:30:03.020 --> 00:30:07.780
this believing of him, his nature, who he says he is,

00:30:07.780 --> 00:30:12.780
then has to also bring about an expectation in us,

00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:16.180
which is why for, I can't see Ashish here.

00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:18.340
So in Ashish's story, it's amazing, right?

00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:20.700
Was it beautiful?

00:30:22.300 --> 00:30:24.380
I think we need to honor God for that.

00:30:24.380 --> 00:30:27.460
Thank you, Abba, for doing that in his life.

00:30:27.460 --> 00:30:30.160
These are stories we can't take lightly.

00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:34.960
Stories of God working in someone's life

00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:37.640
in a supernatural way

00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:41.820
that when no man can come through, God comes through.

00:30:41.820 --> 00:30:44.520
And I pray that it changes his life forever.

00:30:44.520 --> 00:30:47.660
I pray that he becomes so foolish for the rest of his life,

00:30:47.660 --> 00:30:49.340
like how God came through,

00:30:49.340 --> 00:30:51.240
that only one thing will happen out of this.

00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:52.660
Not that he got his visa,

00:30:52.660 --> 00:30:54.560
but he for the rest of his life is foolish

00:30:54.560 --> 00:30:56.800
to believe everything God says he is.

00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:02.380
That expectation is so important

00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:04.680
when we begin to see Christ.

00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:07.480
Dependency always, true dependency

00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:10.380
always leads to expectation.

00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:14.120
Expectation that, yeah, for 50 other friends of mine,

00:31:14.120 --> 00:31:15.680
it happened this way.

00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:18.260
But for me, not because of who I am,

00:31:18.260 --> 00:31:19.920
but because of who he is,

00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:22.920
and now because of who I am, something is different.

00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:25.800
Something is different

00:31:25.800 --> 00:31:28.600
because I believe this God can do this for me.

00:31:28.600 --> 00:31:32.120
Guys, every power in the world will try and force

00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:34.440
and distract you not to believe it.

00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:36.360
But if you can now say,

00:31:36.360 --> 00:31:40.180
not only do I believe in my father, I expect from him.

00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:42.840
I expect from him.

00:31:42.840 --> 00:31:43.800
It changes it.

00:31:43.800 --> 00:31:45.960
It's as simple as that.

00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:49.220
But this simplicity, we don't always walk in.

00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:50.720
It is very simple.

00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:52.880
We just need to come to an understanding

00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:55.400
that the best of what we offer for our lives

00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:57.100
is just not good enough.

00:31:57.100 --> 00:31:59.660
Doesn't cut it, doesn't take us anywhere.

00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:03.140
That when we depend, that when we submit,

00:32:03.140 --> 00:32:05.020
that when we begin to expect,

00:32:05.020 --> 00:32:09.060
something changes where his life flows into us

00:32:09.060 --> 00:32:10.180
in a new measure.

00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:12.660
Because here is a son, here is a daughter

00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:14.460
who has come to this realization

00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:16.840
that they just can't do it on their own,

00:32:16.840 --> 00:32:18.420
and they're needy.

00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:21.300
God loves needy.

00:32:21.300 --> 00:32:23.060
He loves needy.

00:32:23.060 --> 00:32:26.140
Which is why Jesus, as he was walking through this crowd,

00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:27.660
there was this one woman

00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:31.340
who was way more needier than everyone else.

00:32:31.340 --> 00:32:33.660
She didn't know she had faith.

00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:35.960
She didn't even know how to say those words.

00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:38.320
But Jesus said she had faith.

00:32:38.320 --> 00:32:40.380
What she also was, was needy.

00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:41.820
Very, very needy.

00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:44.180
If I can approach God,

00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:46.700
and you can approach God with need,

00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:50.060
saying, God, I need you.

00:32:50.060 --> 00:32:54.020
Not just for these things that I surely do need in my life.

00:32:54.020 --> 00:32:55.160
I need to pay my bills.

00:32:55.160 --> 00:32:56.600
I need this, I need that.

00:32:56.600 --> 00:32:58.640
He cares, he so cares.

00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:01.040
But beyond that, this realization,

00:33:01.040 --> 00:33:04.320
God, without you, where will I go?

00:33:04.320 --> 00:33:06.200
Where will I end up without you?

00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:07.560
I need you.

00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:08.840
I need you.

00:33:08.840 --> 00:33:09.960
I need you.

00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.720
And when you are like that, something changes.

00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:14.380
Something changes.

00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:18.600
Where he pours out into you new life

00:33:18.600 --> 00:33:19.740
that sustains you,

00:33:20.840 --> 00:33:23.520
that takes you farther in God.

00:33:26.040 --> 00:33:31.040
I'm not shouting, but I genuinely believe these things.

00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:33.060
I genuinely do.

00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:39.160
And these things can just transform our lives completely.

00:33:40.920 --> 00:33:43.500
See, I put it this way.

00:33:47.040 --> 00:33:52.040
A man or woman of dependence becomes a man or woman

00:33:52.040 --> 00:33:53.120
of expectation.

00:33:54.320 --> 00:33:55.920
And a man or woman,

00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:58.200
now I'm just gonna say man, it's too complicated.

00:33:58.200 --> 00:34:02.320
A man of dependence becomes a man of expectation.

00:34:02.320 --> 00:34:07.320
A man of expectation becomes a son of inheritance.

00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:12.760
And a son of inheritance becomes a son of glory.

00:34:14.160 --> 00:34:15.520
There are four things there.

00:34:15.520 --> 00:34:19.200
One, it starts with the simple,

00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:23.640
it starts with the simple dependence

00:34:23.640 --> 00:34:25.400
that leads to expectation.

00:34:26.640 --> 00:34:29.560
Once you are in that expectation place

00:34:29.560 --> 00:34:31.300
after being dependent,

00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:34.600
you become someone who inherits things from him.

00:34:34.600 --> 00:34:37.900
It is impossible for any son or daughter of his

00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:41.400
not to inherit things when they are needy and lacking.

00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:44.400
It is just the nature of this good, good father.

00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:46.360
And when he gives you an inheritance,

00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:48.720
it always transforms you also

00:34:48.720 --> 00:34:52.900
from one degree of glory, like we read, to another degree.

00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:56.440
This is the reality.

00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:59.600
That I can be needy, I can be believing in him,

00:34:59.600 --> 00:35:02.800
and then it begins to birth something new.

00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:07.800
Second, in this process of being transformed by his power,

00:35:10.120 --> 00:35:12.400
first thing was expect and believe.

00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:17.400
Second, embracing grace, embracing grace.

00:35:18.720 --> 00:35:23.720
Grace is simply God giving himself freely to us.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:36.080
That's grace.

00:35:36.080 --> 00:35:39.280
God is giving himself freely to us.

00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:40.680
That's grace.

00:35:40.680 --> 00:35:42.240
In John chapter one,

00:35:42.240 --> 00:35:46.740
you see John writing about Jesus this way.

00:35:46.740 --> 00:35:48.560
I beheld his glory.

00:35:49.520 --> 00:35:50.880
I've seen him.

00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:52.760
What did you see, John?

00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:54.980
John says, I know this,

00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:57.760
that he is full of truth and grace.

00:35:57.760 --> 00:36:02.760
That Jesus, John says, is full of truth and full of grace.

00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:09.800
I must embrace grace in my life.

00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:13.080
Now, it seems like why would you not embrace grace?

00:36:13.080 --> 00:36:15.520
Because grace is something he gives freely.

00:36:15.520 --> 00:36:16.560
We all want grace.

00:36:16.560 --> 00:36:18.600
Why would we not embrace grace?

00:36:18.600 --> 00:36:20.080
Here's the thing, guys.

00:36:20.080 --> 00:36:23.960
On one hand, Psalm 23 says,

00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:26.080
his goodness and mercy will do what?

00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:28.740
Follow me.

00:36:28.740 --> 00:36:30.800
The other thing that, while that's true,

00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:35.800
we should also do is we should recognize grace

00:36:36.160 --> 00:36:37.840
and latch onto it.

00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:40.120
So this isn't just, oh, I'm running here and there,

00:36:40.120 --> 00:36:41.960
and then your grace somehow catches up.

00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:44.520
It is also grace has been given to me,

00:36:44.520 --> 00:36:47.760
so I latch onto all the grace that God has given me.

00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:49.020
It is important.

00:36:49.020 --> 00:36:51.860
Otherwise, our understanding of grace is limited.

00:36:51.860 --> 00:36:55.020
Grace is something we latch onto when we receive it.

00:36:55.020 --> 00:36:56.080
We are so needy.

00:36:56.080 --> 00:36:59.320
It's like you're deep in water and God sent grace,

00:36:59.320 --> 00:37:03.000
and you don't just say, grace came, grace came, grace came.

00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:05.220
The next thing you do is you latch onto that grace,

00:37:05.220 --> 00:37:06.260
because you're so needy.

00:37:06.260 --> 00:37:09.460
This grace is required for you to move to the next thing.

00:37:09.460 --> 00:37:11.520
You embrace grace.

00:37:11.520 --> 00:37:13.280
You embrace grace.

00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:18.280
That God, you giving yourself freely to me in this area,

00:37:19.040 --> 00:37:23.380
I expect it, and I want the fullness of it.

00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:27.040
That grace makes your life simple.

00:37:27.040 --> 00:37:30.080
Grace makes your life simple.

00:37:30.080 --> 00:37:33.040
The world will try to complicate your life.

00:37:33.040 --> 00:37:37.720
All that grace does is grace does change everything for you

00:37:37.720 --> 00:37:40.480
to a point where he makes your life simple.

00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:42.960
You ask Peter, Peter will tell you this.

00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:44.960
I was working so hard overnight,

00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:46.960
and then Jesus came and Jesus said,

00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:49.660
just on the right side.

00:37:49.660 --> 00:37:51.040
That is not fair.

00:37:51.040 --> 00:37:54.720
I worked so hard yesterday, or early hours, so hard.

00:37:54.720 --> 00:37:56.880
But Jesus' response is, my grace,

00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:58.960
I'll show you how grace works, Peter.

00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:00.040
Here is my grace.

00:38:00.040 --> 00:38:02.440
Here is me giving myself freely to you.

00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:04.440
I just want you to do this.

00:38:04.440 --> 00:38:06.580
Onto the right side, all the fish.

00:38:06.580 --> 00:38:09.720
Grace makes life simple,

00:38:10.040 --> 00:38:14.400
which is also why the psalmist says things like,

00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:18.280
to his beloved, he gives sleep.

00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:23.180
That, you know, it's not that we should just sleep,

00:38:23.180 --> 00:38:25.760
but there is something in the sleep he gives us,

00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:27.200
which is also sustaining.

00:38:28.720 --> 00:38:32.640
I love that verse because sometime when I read this verse,

00:38:32.640 --> 00:38:34.320
10, 15, 20 years ago, maybe,

00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:36.540
maybe even when I was younger than that,

00:38:36.540 --> 00:38:38.860
I realized somewhere in my head

00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:42.860
that him giving me sleep also means

00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:46.700
that in my sleep he gives me things I need for tomorrow.

00:38:46.700 --> 00:38:48.020
And that just changed it.

00:38:48.020 --> 00:38:50.060
So then, as I began to grow up,

00:38:50.060 --> 00:38:51.660
I realized that I can just tell him,

00:38:51.660 --> 00:38:54.340
Abba, tonight I'm gonna sleep.

00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:56.340
Tomorrow morning I need that and that.

00:38:56.340 --> 00:38:57.780
I just don't have it.

00:38:57.780 --> 00:39:01.260
Can you make sure that tonight, in my sleep, I get this?

00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:04.260
Because he's not just in the business of giving you sleep,

00:39:04.260 --> 00:39:06.800
he's in the business of sustaining you for tomorrow

00:39:06.800 --> 00:39:10.080
by giving you what you need in your sleep tonight.

00:39:10.080 --> 00:39:10.920
Yeah?

00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:12.000
So that's what I mean,

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:14.800
because he simplifies things for you.

00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:18.340
The complexities of life he simplifies.

00:39:18.340 --> 00:39:20.280
The systems of the world will say,

00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:24.480
X, Y, Z, 10 steps to do this, 20 steps to become this,

00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:26.760
here is another book and then 15 other books,

00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.600
but then the one verse from the scripture stands out,

00:39:29.600 --> 00:39:31.440
changes the way you function.

00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:33.100
Embrace grace.

00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:35.840
Embrace grace.

00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:39.680
There is no wisdom that any man or any 15, 20,

00:39:39.680 --> 00:39:41.960
100,000 books can give you.

00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:45.200
No wisdom that surpasses the wisdom of God.

00:39:46.120 --> 00:39:48.960
His grace simplifies life.

00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.360
And so we should look out and search out for what it is

00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:54.520
that our life requires and God is waiting

00:39:54.520 --> 00:39:56.520
to shower those things onto our lives

00:39:56.520 --> 00:40:01.520
because he knows when in time of need and plenty,

00:40:02.600 --> 00:40:05.680
question is, can he pursue grace?

00:40:05.680 --> 00:40:08.120
In time of need and in plenty.

00:40:09.680 --> 00:40:11.700
See the plenty part is also important

00:40:11.700 --> 00:40:13.760
because whenever we need something,

00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:16.080
our heart aligns to a place where we're like,

00:40:16.080 --> 00:40:17.260
God, I need it.

00:40:17.260 --> 00:40:19.120
But when we have plenty, when we have enough,

00:40:19.120 --> 00:40:21.400
when in an area there is no need,

00:40:21.400 --> 00:40:23.680
at any point in any of our lives, guys,

00:40:23.680 --> 00:40:26.620
there are areas that are more needy than others.

00:40:27.540 --> 00:40:29.680
Other areas of our life that is.

00:40:29.680 --> 00:40:32.980
That doesn't matter which area of life it is,

00:40:32.980 --> 00:40:35.220
can you be needy for more?

00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:40.520
For all of God's desires over your life to be fulfilled.

00:40:40.520 --> 00:40:44.600
That everything you read that you are not walking in,

00:40:44.600 --> 00:40:46.600
there is a hand that goes up and says,

00:40:46.600 --> 00:40:50.000
Abba, I come, I come, I come.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:51.540
I want to experience this.

00:40:51.540 --> 00:40:53.480
I don't want to live life here on earth

00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:55.780
for going some things because I'm so caught up

00:40:55.780 --> 00:40:57.000
in one thing or the other.

00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:59.720
I don't have enough, I'm needy, I come.

00:40:59.720 --> 00:41:01.420
And then he pours out even more.

00:41:01.420 --> 00:41:02.740
Embrace grace.

00:41:02.740 --> 00:41:03.580
Number three.

00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:08.600
Be a word and spirit man.

00:41:08.600 --> 00:41:11.560
Be a word and spirit man.

00:41:11.560 --> 00:41:13.220
Very simple, we know this.

00:41:13.220 --> 00:41:14.660
But let me just tell you this.

00:41:14.660 --> 00:41:16.340
The word transforms you.

00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:18.640
The word transforms you.

00:41:18.640 --> 00:41:20.700
The spirit empowers you.

00:41:20.700 --> 00:41:22.460
The word transforms you.

00:41:22.460 --> 00:41:24.200
The spirit empowers you.

00:41:35.680 --> 00:41:40.680
See for Elijah, he did the strangest of things

00:41:40.680 --> 00:41:42.280
on Mount Carmel, did he not?

00:41:43.680 --> 00:41:47.680
In the building of the altar, he takes water

00:41:47.680 --> 00:41:51.240
and he pours water over the altar.

00:41:51.240 --> 00:41:54.440
If you want fire, the last thing you should touch is water.

00:41:56.080 --> 00:41:57.440
Because you want fire.

00:41:57.440 --> 00:41:58.280
You want fire.

00:41:58.280 --> 00:41:59.120
You want fire.

00:41:59.120 --> 00:41:59.940
You want fire.

00:41:59.940 --> 00:42:00.780
You want fire.

00:42:00.780 --> 00:42:01.620
You want fire.

00:42:01.620 --> 00:42:02.440
You want fire.

00:42:02.440 --> 00:42:03.280
You want fire.

00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:04.120
You want fire.

00:42:04.120 --> 00:42:04.940
You want fire.

00:42:05.020 --> 00:42:07.780
Fire and water don't go together

00:42:07.780 --> 00:42:09.940
unless it's God's economy.

00:42:09.940 --> 00:42:12.740
In God's economy, water, his word.

00:42:13.900 --> 00:42:17.780
When the word of God in you

00:42:19.880 --> 00:42:23.540
and the spirit of God in you come together,

00:42:23.540 --> 00:42:25.540
it's a completely different ball game.

00:42:27.560 --> 00:42:31.540
That this word that has now become flesh in you.

00:42:31.540 --> 00:42:34.980
When I say the word, being a word man,

00:42:34.980 --> 00:42:38.620
what I mean is it's not reading, just reading the Bible.

00:42:39.960 --> 00:42:41.940
See, this book,

00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:52.420
this book looks like many other books

00:42:52.420 --> 00:42:54.340
you can get in a library.

00:42:54.340 --> 00:42:59.340
But if I begin to approach this book with such honor,

00:43:00.300 --> 00:43:05.060
saying, God, this is what you gave me

00:43:05.060 --> 00:43:10.060
for my life sustenance, for everything I need on earth.

00:43:10.140 --> 00:43:13.940
I approach this word with much honor.

00:43:16.780 --> 00:43:20.300
That this word I believe can transform me.

00:43:20.300 --> 00:43:24.260
Then when I go through the pages of this book otherwise,

00:43:24.260 --> 00:43:28.020
but now the word, see even atheists like this,

00:43:28.060 --> 00:43:29.760
even atheists read the Bible.

00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:32.180
They're just trying to prove that God doesn't exist.

00:43:32.180 --> 00:43:33.580
So they will also read the Bible.

00:43:33.580 --> 00:43:35.540
So reading the Bible is not it.

00:43:35.540 --> 00:43:37.580
It is to read and become.

00:43:37.580 --> 00:43:41.060
That when we read, it's not about how much we read,

00:43:41.060 --> 00:43:42.420
it is how we read.

00:43:43.700 --> 00:43:45.460
How do we read it?

00:43:45.460 --> 00:43:48.600
Do we read it and say, this God, I need it.

00:43:48.600 --> 00:43:50.220
I know I keep telling that today,

00:43:50.220 --> 00:43:53.880
but this is the cry for transformation.

00:43:53.880 --> 00:43:56.580
See, someone who wants transformation

00:43:56.580 --> 00:43:58.740
doesn't say, I want transformation.

00:43:58.740 --> 00:44:03.200
Someone who wants transformation cries for transformation.

00:44:03.200 --> 00:44:06.020
Because you have come to a place where you understand

00:44:06.020 --> 00:44:10.020
the gravity of remaining where you are.

00:44:10.020 --> 00:44:13.140
Where if you continue to be where you're at,

00:44:13.140 --> 00:44:15.620
you know it ain't taking you anywhere.

00:44:15.620 --> 00:44:18.740
So you've come to this realization that I need more

00:44:18.740 --> 00:44:19.900
and I need Christ.

00:44:19.900 --> 00:44:21.980
So then it's not, I need transformation.

00:44:21.980 --> 00:44:23.700
There is a cry in your heart.

00:44:24.580 --> 00:44:27.540
There is a cry, a genuine sincere cry

00:44:27.540 --> 00:44:30.300
to God saying, I need it.

00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:33.660
And so when you read the word like that,

00:44:33.660 --> 00:44:38.300
where you say, Abba, I don't wanna just read the word.

00:44:38.300 --> 00:44:40.140
I wanna live the word.

00:44:40.140 --> 00:44:42.740
So then as you read the word,

00:44:42.740 --> 00:44:46.280
God points out something like this where it says,

00:44:47.860 --> 00:44:51.500
do unto others that which you wanna be done unto you.

00:44:51.500 --> 00:44:54.060
Now, you stop there.

00:44:54.060 --> 00:44:57.900
Let's park there and say, how can I do this?

00:44:57.900 --> 00:45:02.840
How can I do this to the Shalty who I don't like?

00:45:04.080 --> 00:45:07.440
And how can I still do unto him?

00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:09.620
Maybe there's a bigger problem there, I don't like him.

00:45:09.620 --> 00:45:12.420
So I need to fix that before I try to do something to him

00:45:12.420 --> 00:45:13.340
that is good for him.

00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:16.740
You see, we stop and we become.

00:45:16.740 --> 00:45:19.740
Otherwise, we read, we read, we read, we read,

00:45:19.740 --> 00:45:20.940
which is why in the Bible,

00:45:20.940 --> 00:45:23.180
there's this line that we all need to be very,

00:45:24.700 --> 00:45:28.060
it's a warning, which is we can read, read and read

00:45:28.060 --> 00:45:30.940
without coming to an understanding.

00:45:30.940 --> 00:45:32.260
Bible talks about it.

00:45:32.260 --> 00:45:35.660
That when we read, we must have this

00:45:37.860 --> 00:45:41.560
zeal to have this be fleshed out in our lives.

00:45:42.500 --> 00:45:46.300
And it doesn't have to be pretty, we start small.

00:45:46.300 --> 00:45:49.420
So then I'm like, okay, how can I be like,

00:45:50.100 --> 00:45:52.500
whatever I want zeal to be to me,

00:45:52.500 --> 00:45:54.060
how can I be that to him?

00:45:54.060 --> 00:45:56.460
So it may be the awkwardest thing I do,

00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:58.460
but then next time I meet with zeal,

00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:00.700
I'm like, because I have read this verse

00:46:00.700 --> 00:46:03.380
and I'm like, I'm extra nice to zeal.

00:46:03.380 --> 00:46:06.540
Because that's the best of how I understood it.

00:46:06.540 --> 00:46:07.460
God honors it.

00:46:08.460 --> 00:46:09.980
God honors it.

00:46:09.980 --> 00:46:11.740
Because God sees what you're doing,

00:46:11.740 --> 00:46:15.500
that you are taking that word and making it flesh.

00:46:15.500 --> 00:46:17.940
And then when he's in the process of doing that,

00:46:17.940 --> 00:46:20.860
or when I'm in the process of doing that, God adds more.

00:46:20.860 --> 00:46:23.220
Because here is a son, here is a daughter,

00:46:23.220 --> 00:46:28.220
who doesn't just cry, he's walking in what I am giving him.

00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:31.300
And that changes things, absolutely does.

00:46:31.300 --> 00:46:35.060
And as I go through this, by reading, understanding,

00:46:35.060 --> 00:46:38.080
living, reading, understanding, living,

00:46:38.080 --> 00:46:41.500
I grow from glory to glory.

00:46:41.500 --> 00:46:46.020
I move from glory to another version of glory.

00:46:46.020 --> 00:46:49.900
And then what must be expected of all of us is,

00:46:51.220 --> 00:46:52.580
after some time people should ask,

00:46:52.580 --> 00:46:54.980
oh man, you were different then, you're different now.

00:46:54.980 --> 00:46:55.800
Why?

00:46:55.800 --> 00:47:00.400
There is glory that God gives us, that he shares with us.

00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:04.040
The best people who can validate it are our family members.

00:47:04.040 --> 00:47:06.700
If our family members see that, then that is good.

00:47:06.700 --> 00:47:07.900
Then you know it is real.

00:47:08.820 --> 00:47:10.980
Everyone else may say some nice words about you.

00:47:10.980 --> 00:47:12.140
But if your family members say,

00:47:12.140 --> 00:47:13.700
hey, I see something different,

00:47:13.700 --> 00:47:15.940
then you know now this is what's happening.

00:47:16.820 --> 00:47:18.820
And you ain't stopping, you keep going.

00:47:18.820 --> 00:47:23.740
Word and spirit, spirit, submitting to the spirit,

00:47:23.740 --> 00:47:26.900
submitting to the spirit of God's ways.

00:47:26.900 --> 00:47:29.680
But we won't pitch our tent there today.

00:47:29.680 --> 00:47:34.680
Next one, beholding him, beholding him.

00:47:39.200 --> 00:47:40.800
Because we don't have much time.

00:47:42.180 --> 00:47:44.700
Just one thought for you to think about.

00:47:45.940 --> 00:47:48.940
What does beholding him look like?

00:47:49.900 --> 00:47:51.460
Because Bible talks about this,

00:47:51.460 --> 00:47:53.580
as you know, the verse that we read,

00:47:53.580 --> 00:47:56.780
2 Corinthians chapter 3, 17 and 18,

00:47:56.780 --> 00:47:59.580
it talks about when we behold him, when we look at him.

00:48:02.260 --> 00:48:05.820
When we pray, and this is just a thought,

00:48:07.900 --> 00:48:11.460
beholding him, beholding him, beholding him,

00:48:11.460 --> 00:48:14.460
beholding him, beholding him, beholding him,

00:48:14.660 --> 00:48:19.500
this is not the only thing about beholding God's face,

00:48:19.500 --> 00:48:22.860
seeking his face, but just a thought for you to ponder on.

00:48:24.020 --> 00:48:28.260
When we pray, we talk to him, we engage with him.

00:48:28.260 --> 00:48:33.140
It's always good to have some time in your prayer,

00:48:33.140 --> 00:48:36.680
or whenever you are with him, to just stop talking.

00:48:38.640 --> 00:48:41.020
We are really good at talking.

00:48:42.020 --> 00:48:44.660
Just stop talking.

00:48:44.660 --> 00:48:46.920
And it's very scriptural.

00:48:46.920 --> 00:48:50.340
There is a song, I can't recollect which one it is,

00:48:50.340 --> 00:48:52.740
quietness and trust.

00:48:54.420 --> 00:48:56.280
Okay, anyway, so there's a song like that,

00:48:56.280 --> 00:48:59.340
that ends, one of the lines end with in quietness and trust.

00:48:59.340 --> 00:49:01.300
It's actually very scriptural.

00:49:01.300 --> 00:49:04.380
Bible talks about this idea of being quiet,

00:49:04.380 --> 00:49:08.500
and in a place of being quiet with him, hearing him.

00:49:08.500 --> 00:49:13.360
That one of the things for me that I have begun enjoying

00:49:13.360 --> 00:49:17.500
is to look at the cross of Jesus Christ.

00:49:17.500 --> 00:49:19.660
That when I am with him, I say,

00:49:19.660 --> 00:49:22.000
I wanna look at this cross.

00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.340
I wanna see you, your hands nailed,

00:49:26.920 --> 00:49:31.700
your feet nailed, blood coming down.

00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:34.640
And I'll tell you one thing that changed my thinking

00:49:34.640 --> 00:49:36.980
as I did that, which never previously

00:49:37.020 --> 00:49:39.220
I had understood this way.

00:49:39.220 --> 00:49:41.580
One day as I was doing this,

00:49:41.580 --> 00:49:43.840
I'm just talking about beholding his face.

00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:46.420
One day as I was doing this, something happened to me

00:49:46.420 --> 00:49:48.800
where I had this realization that,

00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:52.260
you know, anytime I see blood otherwise,

00:49:52.260 --> 00:49:53.660
I try to stay away.

00:49:54.620 --> 00:49:56.460
Oh, there's blood.

00:49:56.460 --> 00:50:01.180
But with this cross, with this blood,

00:50:01.180 --> 00:50:02.340
I want to approach it.

00:50:03.460 --> 00:50:06.380
I wanna receive it, I want it to fall on my hand.

00:50:06.380 --> 00:50:08.040
I want it to fall on my head.

00:50:08.040 --> 00:50:09.980
I want it to fall on my body,

00:50:09.980 --> 00:50:12.500
because this blood, he shed.

00:50:12.500 --> 00:50:14.060
He shed this blood.

00:50:14.060 --> 00:50:16.640
And somehow when he shed this blood,

00:50:16.640 --> 00:50:19.120
there is a part of him that wants me to be

00:50:19.120 --> 00:50:20.700
marked by this blood.

00:50:20.700 --> 00:50:22.780
You see what beholding him,

00:50:22.780 --> 00:50:26.500
it changes things about how we even understand him.

00:50:26.500 --> 00:50:30.040
All of a sudden, the same cross has a different meaning.

00:50:31.100 --> 00:50:32.620
So when I behold him,

00:50:34.180 --> 00:50:35.700
I don't wanna make it strange and awkward

00:50:35.860 --> 00:50:37.580
and make it anything like, oh, be silent.

00:50:37.580 --> 00:50:38.780
No, that's not what I'm saying.

00:50:38.780 --> 00:50:41.180
But times of beholding him,

00:50:41.180 --> 00:50:44.220
times of beholding the face of Christ,

00:50:44.220 --> 00:50:45.940
the cross of Christ,

00:50:45.940 --> 00:50:48.840
times of beholding the throne room,

00:50:48.840 --> 00:50:53.020
which according to Ephesians is where you are seated as well,

00:50:53.020 --> 00:50:57.580
that he now has you seated with him in the heavenly places.

00:50:57.580 --> 00:50:58.960
So what does that look like?

00:51:00.700 --> 00:51:03.060
Beholding Christ.

00:51:03.060 --> 00:51:04.740
Last two things.

00:51:06.420 --> 00:51:08.660
Discipline and persistence.

00:51:08.660 --> 00:51:10.820
Discipline and persistence.

00:51:11.900 --> 00:51:13.340
You know what discipline is,

00:51:13.340 --> 00:51:16.240
so I won't expand on that.

00:51:16.240 --> 00:51:20.100
But hunger sustains what discipline cannot.

00:51:21.020 --> 00:51:23.900
Hunger sustains what discipline cannot.

00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:28.700
Hunger sustains what discipline cannot.

00:51:30.580 --> 00:51:34.600
That my hunger and thirst for God,

00:51:34.600 --> 00:51:38.280
in this pathway of God,

00:51:38.280 --> 00:51:41.120
I wanna be transformed by your power.

00:51:41.120 --> 00:51:43.780
When I go down this path with him,

00:51:43.780 --> 00:51:48.640
discipline is good because we do certain things,

00:51:48.640 --> 00:51:52.900
saying, Abba, I wanna have this time with you.

00:51:54.120 --> 00:51:55.840
I wanna do it every day.

00:51:55.840 --> 00:51:57.840
I wanna do it as often as I can.

00:51:57.840 --> 00:51:59.740
I wanna be with you.

00:51:59.740 --> 00:52:01.980
But then that's good.

00:52:01.980 --> 00:52:05.860
There is something that sustains what discipline cannot.

00:52:05.860 --> 00:52:07.540
That's hunger.

00:52:07.540 --> 00:52:09.460
If it is genuine hunger,

00:52:09.460 --> 00:52:12.660
then you don't have to worry about discipline.

00:52:12.660 --> 00:52:15.340
Hunger sustains what discipline cannot.

00:52:15.340 --> 00:52:19.980
And persistence is needed in times when it's not easy.

00:52:19.980 --> 00:52:23.180
Have you had times, days, weeks perhaps,

00:52:23.180 --> 00:52:26.340
where you know what you need to do,

00:52:26.340 --> 00:52:29.340
but you just don't want to because it's difficult?

00:52:32.780 --> 00:52:36.860
There are reasons enough.

00:52:36.860 --> 00:52:38.500
I remember one time telling God,

00:52:38.500 --> 00:52:41.560
Abba, I have reasons not to.

00:52:42.660 --> 00:52:44.300
I have reasons not to.

00:52:45.600 --> 00:52:46.860
That's real life.

00:52:47.940 --> 00:52:50.320
In real life, you go through times

00:52:50.320 --> 00:52:55.320
when the best of discipline ain't cutting it.

00:52:55.980 --> 00:52:58.860
You have hunger, but then you also have this thing

00:52:58.860 --> 00:53:00.100
where you're like, God.

00:53:01.020 --> 00:53:03.620
And that's when you say, but I will persist.

00:53:03.620 --> 00:53:06.060
It's a very scriptural thing, persistence.

00:53:07.840 --> 00:53:10.100
That even when it's difficult,

00:53:10.100 --> 00:53:14.160
I will say, God, with the little I have, I come.

00:53:15.180 --> 00:53:17.820
I don't have too much to give you tonight perhaps.

00:53:17.820 --> 00:53:21.380
I don't have too much to offer, but I come.

00:53:21.380 --> 00:53:22.820
And your father loves it.

00:53:24.380 --> 00:53:25.980
Your father loves it.

00:53:25.980 --> 00:53:30.040
Hunger, discipline, persistence.

00:53:30.040 --> 00:53:32.920
Hunger, discipline, persistence.

00:53:32.920 --> 00:53:34.080
Next, humility.

00:53:35.740 --> 00:53:36.580
Humility.

00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:43.880
For today, just two things.

00:53:43.880 --> 00:53:48.720
Say no to self-sufficiency and be open to correction.

00:53:48.720 --> 00:53:53.720
Say no to self-sufficiency and be open to correction.

00:54:00.800 --> 00:54:04.720
Self-sufficiency is thinking you've gotten somewhere.

00:54:04.720 --> 00:54:08.520
Then I understand.

00:54:08.520 --> 00:54:13.000
That is the beginning of how not to be.

00:54:14.200 --> 00:54:17.440
Self-sufficiency, when you find that in your life,

00:54:17.440 --> 00:54:18.440
say no to it.

00:54:20.120 --> 00:54:21.600
And be open to correction.

00:54:22.680 --> 00:54:25.840
That, God, I want you to correct me,

00:54:25.840 --> 00:54:28.040
and God will send someone to correct you.

00:54:29.040 --> 00:54:31.320
Sometimes we want correction,

00:54:31.320 --> 00:54:33.880
but the dispatch center from where the thing came,

00:54:33.880 --> 00:54:34.720
we don't like it.

00:54:36.680 --> 00:54:40.680
We want the letter straight from God directly to us.

00:54:40.680 --> 00:54:43.840
But there is in between a dispatching center,

00:54:43.840 --> 00:54:45.960
and that doesn't look all that good,

00:54:45.960 --> 00:54:47.800
so then we don't want that correction.

00:54:51.760 --> 00:54:54.800
Correction from God just changes things for us.

00:54:54.800 --> 00:54:57.920
Humility to say, Abba, I want correction.

00:54:58.880 --> 00:54:59.960
I want change.

00:55:00.920 --> 00:55:02.720
I want this.

00:55:02.720 --> 00:55:05.640
Think about your life and see when is the last time

00:55:05.640 --> 00:55:08.200
you got correction, true correction,

00:55:08.200 --> 00:55:11.080
because this house has enough people here

00:55:11.080 --> 00:55:12.120
to give correction.

00:55:13.360 --> 00:55:15.640
But when is the last time you got correction?

00:55:15.640 --> 00:55:18.920
Saying, do it differently, change the way you are.

00:55:18.920 --> 00:55:23.920
Do you embrace it, or do you have a different stance to it?

00:55:24.120 --> 00:55:27.320
I remember one time, as an example,

00:55:28.160 --> 00:55:31.400
it was many years ago, probably 10 years ago,

00:55:31.400 --> 00:55:35.720
12 years ago, Jacob asked me after some time

00:55:35.720 --> 00:55:37.200
to teach at Axe.

00:55:37.200 --> 00:55:42.200
So I prepared well, I did a lot,

00:55:43.240 --> 00:55:45.800
and I taught at Axe.

00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:48.000
Wayne and Bernice may remember this,

00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:51.200
because Bernice has told me about this after.

00:55:51.200 --> 00:55:53.560
So I taught at Axe, and then,

00:55:53.720 --> 00:55:57.320
back in the day, we had these CDs at Axe too,

00:55:57.320 --> 00:56:00.000
that we can then listen to.

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:02.880
And so Jacob, I was waiting for Jacob to come back,

00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:04.840
listen and tell me what he thought.

00:56:04.840 --> 00:56:07.800
And I remember Jacob sitting down with me,

00:56:07.800 --> 00:56:10.280
and this was one of many things we talked about,

00:56:10.280 --> 00:56:12.800
but he said, Derek, you missed something there.

00:56:12.800 --> 00:56:17.520
I'm like, can you not tell me something nice,

00:56:17.520 --> 00:56:18.840
something good?

00:56:18.840 --> 00:56:19.680
Well, you missed something.

00:56:19.680 --> 00:56:22.600
And he said, the thing you missed is keys.

00:56:22.600 --> 00:56:24.360
So you talked about discernment,

00:56:24.360 --> 00:56:26.720
you talked about why discernment is great,

00:56:26.720 --> 00:56:30.240
you talked about what happened in discernment.

00:56:30.240 --> 00:56:34.120
All you did not do is how to discern.

00:56:34.120 --> 00:56:36.960
So I thought about it, and I realized that's true.

00:56:36.960 --> 00:56:38.720
I talked about discernment,

00:56:38.720 --> 00:56:41.640
about everything under the sky, perhaps, on discernment,

00:56:41.640 --> 00:56:44.040
but I never taught on how to discern.

00:56:44.040 --> 00:56:45.880
That changed something for me.

00:56:45.880 --> 00:56:47.280
I was open to correction.

00:56:47.280 --> 00:56:49.840
So today, as an example, in this teaching,

00:56:49.840 --> 00:56:51.520
are there many keys?

00:56:51.520 --> 00:56:53.560
Because one day, he told me,

00:56:53.560 --> 00:56:56.000
whenever you teach, give keys.

00:56:56.000 --> 00:56:57.160
If you don't give keys,

00:56:57.160 --> 00:57:00.080
it's useless to anyone who is listening to you.

00:57:00.080 --> 00:57:03.480
But if I was at that time, not open to correction,

00:57:03.480 --> 00:57:06.200
and I had this thing that I prepared, I did it,

00:57:06.200 --> 00:57:08.040
but why do you still correct me?

00:57:08.040 --> 00:57:08.880
Do I improve?

00:57:08.880 --> 00:57:09.720
Do I change?

00:57:09.720 --> 00:57:10.560
No.

00:57:11.480 --> 00:57:16.520
Humility, to say, God, correct me, change me.

00:57:16.520 --> 00:57:20.200
And saying no to self-sufficiency.

00:57:21.080 --> 00:57:22.880
You're never getting to a place,

00:57:22.880 --> 00:57:25.960
and must never get to a place where you feel like,

00:57:25.960 --> 00:57:27.240
I understand.

00:57:27.240 --> 00:57:28.280
No, you don't understand.

00:57:28.280 --> 00:57:29.920
No, I don't understand.

00:57:29.920 --> 00:57:31.320
More, Abba, please.

00:57:31.320 --> 00:57:32.280
Thank you.

00:57:32.280 --> 00:57:33.720
More, please.

00:57:33.720 --> 00:57:34.680
The last thing.

00:57:42.680 --> 00:57:45.440
I had this here about Paul,

00:57:45.440 --> 00:57:48.760
that even after all the revelation that he had,

00:57:48.760 --> 00:57:50.480
he had to go back to Jerusalem.

00:57:52.080 --> 00:57:54.160
He had to go sit down with people,

00:57:54.160 --> 00:57:58.400
and ask and understand what he heard, understood,

00:57:58.400 --> 00:58:00.760
and then check with others.

00:58:00.760 --> 00:58:03.400
If we had gotten the revelation of Paul,

00:58:03.400 --> 00:58:05.960
we would be traveling all the world.

00:58:05.960 --> 00:58:06.840
I have it, I have it.

00:58:06.840 --> 00:58:08.440
God spoke to me directly.

00:58:08.440 --> 00:58:12.280
But you see, in that man, at that time,

00:58:12.280 --> 00:58:16.000
the realization that he must still submit.

00:58:16.840 --> 00:58:20.480
And guys, I don't want us to think of this as very easy.

00:58:20.480 --> 00:58:21.800
It's not easy.

00:58:21.800 --> 00:58:23.280
It's not always easy.

00:58:23.280 --> 00:58:25.360
It's not always easy to submit.

00:58:25.360 --> 00:58:27.960
It is not always easy to be open to correction.

00:58:27.960 --> 00:58:30.960
If you think it is, you haven't been properly corrected.

00:58:31.640 --> 00:58:33.960
That is, I can also give you that.

00:58:33.960 --> 00:58:35.240
If you think, though, why?

00:58:35.240 --> 00:58:36.080
I'm so easy.

00:58:36.080 --> 00:58:39.840
No, I pray that you have someone who will correct you well.

00:58:41.880 --> 00:58:44.840
Correction is not looking down on you.

00:58:45.240 --> 00:58:46.920
It is to always lift you up.

00:58:46.920 --> 00:58:50.040
But you've got to be open to, how can I change?

00:58:50.040 --> 00:58:51.280
How can I be different?

00:58:55.400 --> 00:58:56.240
Last.

00:59:09.920 --> 00:59:13.960
In this process, I hand it written down as overnight.

00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:17.600
I hand it written down as overlooking chatter and perception.

00:59:17.600 --> 00:59:19.120
But really, it's beyond it.

00:59:21.280 --> 00:59:25.200
See, as we begin to go down this path,

00:59:25.200 --> 00:59:27.600
where we say, God, I want your transformative power

00:59:27.600 --> 00:59:28.680
to work in me.

00:59:28.680 --> 00:59:31.800
And let's say you and I begin to just go,

00:59:31.800 --> 00:59:33.800
accelerate in this path.

00:59:33.800 --> 00:59:35.080
Accelerate in this path.

00:59:35.080 --> 00:59:36.960
Not for five months, not for six months,

00:59:36.960 --> 00:59:38.560
forever in our lives,

00:59:38.560 --> 00:59:42.040
to be on this path of understanding glory,

00:59:42.120 --> 00:59:45.040
strength to strength, glory to glory.

00:59:45.040 --> 00:59:46.920
One thing I can guarantee you,

00:59:46.920 --> 00:59:49.160
which will happen to you, is this.

00:59:49.160 --> 00:59:51.960
Sanbilath and Tobiah will show up.

00:59:51.960 --> 00:59:55.920
And they will tell you, oh, look at you.

00:59:55.920 --> 00:59:58.600
You are trying to be transformed by God's power.

00:59:58.600 --> 00:59:59.440
Who are you?

00:59:59.440 --> 01:00:00.800
Where did you come from?

01:00:00.800 --> 01:00:04.840
This is what happened to Nehemiah and his people

01:00:04.840 --> 01:00:07.280
as they started rebuilding the wall.

01:00:08.280 --> 01:00:10.280
God gave them an instruction,

01:00:10.280 --> 01:00:13.160
a vision to rebuild the wall.

01:00:13.160 --> 01:00:16.200
And he had them build a certain way.

01:00:16.200 --> 01:00:19.120
And as they started building, two people came.

01:00:19.120 --> 01:00:21.840
Sanbilath and Tobiah.

01:00:21.840 --> 01:00:23.280
And when these people came,

01:00:23.280 --> 01:00:25.200
they didn't come striking them down.

01:00:25.200 --> 01:00:27.400
They came with chatter.

01:00:27.400 --> 01:00:29.440
They came with mockery.

01:00:29.440 --> 01:00:32.360
To make you feel you're not progressing,

01:00:32.360 --> 01:00:34.920
to make you feel what you're doing is not enough.

01:00:34.920 --> 01:00:38.920
Do you know what is the best litmus test

01:00:38.960 --> 01:00:40.680
to know that you're on the right track?

01:00:40.680 --> 01:00:41.960
It is this.

01:00:41.960 --> 01:00:45.600
These voices that may come to just make you

01:00:45.600 --> 01:00:47.760
and convince you to believe

01:00:47.760 --> 01:00:50.760
that all you're doing is fruitless,

01:00:50.760 --> 01:00:52.880
that there is nothing much to it.

01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:55.400
You don't have anything to even show.

01:00:55.400 --> 01:00:58.680
You say you believe in God's transformative power.

01:00:58.680 --> 01:01:01.000
You say, God is my father.

01:01:01.000 --> 01:01:02.720
You say he loves me.

01:01:02.720 --> 01:01:04.440
You say all of these things.

01:01:04.440 --> 01:01:06.760
And Sanbilath comes, Tobiah comes,

01:01:06.760 --> 01:01:08.760
they stand hand in hand next to you.

01:01:09.600 --> 01:01:10.800
And they begin to whisper,

01:01:10.800 --> 01:01:11.640
and where is it?

01:01:11.640 --> 01:01:13.400
Show me, show me a little bit.

01:01:13.400 --> 01:01:15.400
They told Nehemiah and his people

01:01:15.400 --> 01:01:17.640
that even if a fox were to run through,

01:01:17.640 --> 01:01:18.960
your wall will break down.

01:01:18.960 --> 01:01:20.320
What wall are you building?

01:01:23.160 --> 01:01:28.160
Mockery, chatter, accusation, people's perception.

01:01:33.420 --> 01:01:37.120
But if your eyes are glued to Christ,

01:01:37.120 --> 01:01:38.860
the one who called you,

01:01:38.860 --> 01:01:41.000
the one who is transforming you,

01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:42.920
the one who changes you,

01:01:42.920 --> 01:01:44.840
everything begins to change.

01:01:44.840 --> 01:01:48.360
Then you say to Sanbilath and Tobiah,

01:01:48.360 --> 01:01:50.880
I hear you, but I don't hear you.

01:01:50.880 --> 01:01:53.000
I resist these voices.

01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:55.040
These voices can't pull me down

01:01:55.040 --> 01:01:58.160
because I hear a greater voice.

01:01:58.160 --> 01:02:00.000
I just heard it 10 minutes ago.

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:02.040
So with that confidence, I tell you,

01:02:02.040 --> 01:02:04.360
I don't want to hear you again.

01:02:04.600 --> 01:02:08.280
It is an important aspect of this journey

01:02:09.280 --> 01:02:14.280
that you must recognize the voice of Sanbilath and Tobiah

01:02:14.960 --> 01:02:17.200
because the voice of Sanbilath and Tobiah

01:02:17.200 --> 01:02:20.300
may come in from any different place.

01:02:20.300 --> 01:02:22.680
Maybe people even close to you.

01:02:22.680 --> 01:02:25.160
You're very close friends.

01:02:25.160 --> 01:02:26.360
And without even knowing,

01:02:26.360 --> 01:02:28.160
you now believe what they are saying.

01:02:29.820 --> 01:02:32.840
Or from family, or from people you care about.

01:02:32.840 --> 01:02:34.120
It doesn't matter.

01:02:34.880 --> 01:02:35.720
It doesn't matter where it comes from.

01:02:35.720 --> 01:02:38.200
You recognize it and you say, no.

01:02:40.760 --> 01:02:41.920
No.

01:02:41.920 --> 01:02:43.480
I won't give you foothold.

01:02:43.480 --> 01:02:45.280
I won't hear what you're saying.

01:02:45.280 --> 01:02:47.240
I don't have much to show today,

01:02:47.240 --> 01:02:50.760
but I believe in this God of transformation.

01:02:50.760 --> 01:02:52.680
I have tethered my life to him.

01:02:52.680 --> 01:02:54.720
I've tethered my life to his power.

01:02:54.720 --> 01:02:56.800
I've tethered my life to his promises.

01:02:56.800 --> 01:02:59.040
I've tethered my life to his nature.

01:02:59.040 --> 01:03:00.400
And by account of him,

01:03:00.400 --> 01:03:02.860
even though I may not have anything to show,

01:03:02.860 --> 01:03:04.860
I show him to you.

01:03:04.860 --> 01:03:07.540
And by account of that, I push forward.

01:03:07.540 --> 01:03:09.500
And some days it may be difficult,

01:03:09.500 --> 01:03:11.060
but you still push forward.

01:03:12.480 --> 01:03:16.040
And in this process, this never ends in life.

01:03:16.040 --> 01:03:19.020
Doesn't matter if you're 85 years old.

01:03:19.020 --> 01:03:21.180
Doesn't matter if you're 20 or 15.

01:03:21.180 --> 01:03:25.420
This is a journey until the last day we have on earth.

01:03:29.020 --> 01:03:30.900
So I go back to where we started.

01:03:31.900 --> 01:03:35.900
That it says in Psalm 84, verse seven,

01:03:38.740 --> 01:03:41.420
they will continue to grow stronger.

01:03:43.900 --> 01:03:46.020
They will continue to grow stronger.

01:03:51.020 --> 01:03:52.460
That you may be a new Christian,

01:03:52.460 --> 01:03:54.660
you may have been a Christian for long,

01:03:54.660 --> 01:03:57.860
that you will continue to be stronger in Christ.

01:03:58.860 --> 01:04:03.860
Then that passage from 2 Corinthians 3, 17 or 18,

01:04:04.020 --> 01:04:07.900
where it talks about how you are being conformed

01:04:07.900 --> 01:04:10.940
from one level, one degree of glory

01:04:10.940 --> 01:04:13.040
to another degree of glory.

01:04:14.300 --> 01:04:17.860
One degree of glory to another degree of glory.

01:04:20.200 --> 01:04:22.860
The transformative power of Christ,

01:04:22.860 --> 01:04:24.860
this resurrection power,

01:04:24.900 --> 01:04:28.220
the same power that resurrected Christ Jesus from the dead

01:04:28.220 --> 01:04:31.580
and also seated Jesus at the right hand of the Father.

01:04:31.580 --> 01:04:35.740
It is the same power that is in you and in me.

01:04:35.740 --> 01:04:37.060
Not a lesser power.

01:04:38.460 --> 01:04:42.220
So this power can absolutely transform you.

01:04:42.220 --> 01:04:43.240
Absolutely.

01:04:43.240 --> 01:04:46.700
It does not matter what IRCC says therefore.

01:04:46.700 --> 01:04:50.060
It does not matter what your bank account says therefore.

01:04:50.060 --> 01:04:53.260
It does not matter what statistics say therefore.

01:04:53.260 --> 01:04:56.820
It does not matter what happened in your family say therefore.

01:04:56.820 --> 01:05:00.700
It does not matter because there is a greater purpose.

01:05:00.700 --> 01:05:05.100
There is a greater truth that you and I must tether to.

01:05:09.780 --> 01:05:12.220
And the last thing I'll leave you with is this,

01:05:12.220 --> 01:05:15.220
the same question that I asked Zee.

01:05:15.220 --> 01:05:16.740
If this is all true,

01:05:16.740 --> 01:05:21.740
should we not start thinking with God

01:05:24.780 --> 01:05:27.380
about what tomorrow should be,

01:05:27.380 --> 01:05:29.540
about what next month should be like?

01:05:30.940 --> 01:05:32.460
We should.

01:05:32.460 --> 01:05:34.940
That when we are with him,

01:05:34.940 --> 01:05:37.180
we should allow the Holy Spirit

01:05:37.180 --> 01:05:40.340
to paint a picture about tomorrow.

01:05:41.700 --> 01:05:44.460
Paint a picture about next year.

01:05:45.060 --> 01:05:47.420
You should have something in your mind.

01:05:47.420 --> 01:05:49.180
Joseph had this.

01:05:49.180 --> 01:05:52.340
That yes, there is gonna come a time

01:05:52.340 --> 01:05:55.580
when somehow even though I was rejected,

01:05:55.580 --> 01:05:58.300
rejected, thrown in the pit,

01:05:58.300 --> 01:05:59.980
and even though I am here today,

01:05:59.980 --> 01:06:04.420
there is something here whereby God has a plan for me

01:06:04.420 --> 01:06:07.740
to help my brothers and they will huddle around me.

01:06:07.740 --> 01:06:09.260
He had that understanding.

01:06:10.340 --> 01:06:12.260
And so for you, what is it?

01:06:13.180 --> 01:06:16.420
What is it that you look forward to and say?

01:06:16.420 --> 01:06:17.860
That is where it is.

01:06:17.860 --> 01:06:20.180
You see with Paul, and I'm closing,

01:06:20.180 --> 01:06:23.020
with Paul, there was a time in his life

01:06:23.020 --> 01:06:27.500
when Spirit-filled Christians asked him not to go to Rome.

01:06:30.460 --> 01:06:33.980
Somewhere in the 20s, Acts chapter 20s, somewhere,

01:06:33.980 --> 01:06:35.460
they said, hey, if you go there,

01:06:35.460 --> 01:06:37.140
there's gonna be problems.

01:06:37.140 --> 01:06:40.260
And then they're trying to stop Paul.

01:06:40.300 --> 01:06:43.140
And then two guys come and they prophesy over Paul.

01:06:43.140 --> 01:06:45.700
And they prophesy over Paul and they tell Paul,

01:06:45.700 --> 01:06:48.980
Paul, like if you go, bad things are gonna happen.

01:06:48.980 --> 01:06:50.420
You should not go.

01:06:50.420 --> 01:06:52.620
They tried to convince him.

01:06:52.620 --> 01:06:56.820
But then again, with Paul, he had seen something.

01:06:56.820 --> 01:06:57.860
What did he see?

01:06:57.860 --> 01:07:00.740
He saw way before that there is something

01:07:00.740 --> 01:07:02.700
to be done in Rome.

01:07:02.700 --> 01:07:04.860
So even though all of these things are happening

01:07:04.860 --> 01:07:07.740
and it is true, he has seen something.

01:07:07.740 --> 01:07:10.420
It is important guys, and this is huge.

01:07:10.420 --> 01:07:13.180
This is huge because we can hear and understand

01:07:13.180 --> 01:07:16.540
and believe this, but we must begin to see.

01:07:16.540 --> 01:07:18.380
We must begin to see.

01:07:18.380 --> 01:07:21.900
We must begin to see with the Holy Spirit

01:07:21.900 --> 01:07:24.460
where it is that he is taking us.

01:07:26.940 --> 01:07:30.180
So Father, as we close right now, we thank you.

01:07:30.180 --> 01:07:32.060
We thank you for your word.

01:07:32.060 --> 01:07:34.700
We thank you for your direction.

01:07:34.700 --> 01:07:36.740
We thank you for your counsel.

01:07:36.740 --> 01:07:38.580
We thank you for your spirit.

01:07:38.580 --> 01:07:41.260
We thank you for the transformative power

01:07:41.260 --> 01:07:43.780
that is at work in us.

01:07:43.780 --> 01:07:46.740
We thank you that you don't leave any of us out.

01:07:46.740 --> 01:07:49.060
We take, you take all of us.

01:07:49.060 --> 01:07:52.420
And I thank you for your plans over our lives.

01:07:52.420 --> 01:07:56.100
So we say no to every voice of Sanbala and Tobiah,

01:07:56.100 --> 01:07:58.220
every voice that screams out loud,

01:07:58.220 --> 01:08:02.300
any plan that is in opposition to what you have.

01:08:02.300 --> 01:08:05.020
And we tether our lives to who you are,

01:08:05.020 --> 01:08:07.180
your promises and your power.

01:08:07.180 --> 01:08:08.100
We need you.

01:08:08.100 --> 01:08:11.700
We wanna be desperate needy people all our days.

01:08:11.700 --> 01:08:14.100
Help us never to be self-sufficient,

01:08:14.100 --> 01:08:15.180
to walk in your ways.

01:08:15.180 --> 01:08:17.420
In Jesus' name, I pray this, amen.

01:08:17.420 --> 01:08:18.260
Amen.

01:08:18.260 --> 01:08:19.100
Amen.