Ark of the Covenant

Last week, Pastor Mike was talking about a spring breaking open for us. I was looking

at that in the scriptures, and you have references to that in Isaiah 35, 6, and 7 where it says,

So these are words, and one of the ways we deal with the prophetic is to look at it in scripture words spoken last Sunday about springs breaking open for Acts 29.

So when you look at springs breaking open for Acts 29, I just want you to remember these scriptures and go check them out later.

One of them is Isaiah 35, verse 6 and 7. It says there in verse 6,

Isaiah 35:6

And so that's one scripture that I really want you to look at.

As in, what do you mean by looking at it? As in saying, Father, if this is the word that you sent us last Sunday, then I just want to read it and say yes, because it's for the church as a whole, not just for an individual.

So remember that. And then the other scripture is Isaiah 41, 18 to 20, which was on those cards that we had on each table. Isaiah 41, 18 to 20.

And there it says,

The idea of again, springs breaking open and whenever they break open things that are dry suddenly come to life. And then the last one is Isaiah 43, 19.

So these are the three scriptures that you need to go look at.

This is how, I mean, at a time when the prophetic is under scrutiny and stuff like that, one of the ways the church begins to respond to it well is by deciding that, okay, if these are the scriptures that talk about springs being opened, we'll go read them and then we'll agree with God.

That's how we go about it.

Yeah, so these are three scriptures and then even during the worship today, people had images of God as someone who was waiting to break over us.

There was Heidi who had a dream two nights ago where one of the dreams was how the clock had come back to 12 and it was beginning a new phase. And the other one was people at Acts 29 taking their old clothes and throwing them in a pile because new clothes were being given to them.

These were not visions, these were dreams that she had.

And these are things that need to be noted.

This church has come this far just because we've listened to the voice of God, listen to visions, dreams. And even if we don't understand we've stepped out. And because of that we are where we are.

And so that will continue, and it will be measured against the word.

Yeah.

Cool.

Prashanth, you look like you're in Hawaii, man.

Summer.

So on one hand, streams talk about that, but then I just want to bring up another consideration for us, we'll talk about it later. In Genesis 711, Genesis 711.

You find that, no that was not a prophetic word asking you to get a job there. This is Genesis 711.

Just in case.

Genesis 711, and it says there, in the 600th year of Noah's life, on the 17th day of the second month, on that day, all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of heavens were opened, and rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

So here there's a breaking open of springs, but it's kind of different from the springs we were talking about. So it's been 1656 years since Adam, when this happens.

In Genesis 1-6, God divided the waters. He called the waters above the sky, and he called the waters below the sea, because otherwise in Genesis 1-2, we see that the earth was just water, and then he divides the water.

But strangely enough, in Genesis 711, the springs of the deep broke open, and the waters came back, so that at the end of the day, what God was doing there was resetting.

He resets things. And I'm saying to you that given where we are at, and you look at different things that are happening in different parts of the world, I believe that we are, this church is at a time, or this church is poised at a time when God is pressing the reset button all over the place.

And it's a good time. God does this often. You'll find, not just in recent history, but in biblical history too, you'll find that God does this. He causes systems that were set in place that are now decaying, corrupt, to collapse.

And when it collapses, God hits a reset. And when he hits a reset, he finds people that are faithful, like a Noah. You know what the word Noah means, right? Rest. He finds a person called Noah. He finds him and gives him a garden just like he gave Adam.

He gives Noah a vineyard. Genesis 9, verse 20. And then he renews his commitment or covenant with Noah. Same covenant. Genesis 9, 7 or 8 talks about the same covenant. Go forth, multiply, replenish.

Genesis 9:20

And this church is poised at a place where God is hitting the reset in different places in the world. And we are at this place where God is saying, hey, I brought you to this place. Wherever I send you, just go. And go thoughtlessly. Go recklessly.

Go as I show you. Once you get there, I'll tell you what to do. That's the place we are at. Any questions on those comments before I go on?

The beautiful thing is there's reset and then there's Ruach, which is the Holy Spirit. And you find him in Genesis 1, 2 hovering over the waters. And you find him in Genesis 8, 1. It says the wind was beginning to hover over the waters.

In both cases, the Holy Spirit is at work. And then you have the restoration of the covenant. It's almost like a pattern. He did this in Egypt too. Collapsed everything in Egypt. And he often does it with water as a symbol. Collapsed everything in Egypt and restarted again.

Just be aware of it. And what are the covenants that he will have us walk in? Very simple. 2. Isaiah 61, 1 to 5, and Hebrides 2.0. So I just want to go over that promise with you. Don't know if you remember it.

Hey, what's the score? Sorry? 904? Who else? Oh my God. Do you remember the promise from Hebrides 2.0? Can someone start it off?

I'm sending a purifying fire that will burn up all historical and religious junk. And then I will enter as divine warrior. And? Setting young men and women free. Calling them from nations into the kingdom.

Calling them sons and daughters. Calling them into the circle of abundance, dancing and joy. Before the lion and the lamb. And I'll raise for myself a generation that will go forth and will not return empty.

Just try that again. These are important things, guys. This is like your preamble. Isaiah 61 is easy to remember because God said it here. It was put together by people hearing what God had said. So let's try it again.

Let's try it again. I'm sending a purifying fire that will burn up religious and historical junk. And then I will enter as divine warrior. And I will? Setting young men and women free. I'll call them from the nations into the kingdom.

I'll call them sons and daughters. I'll call them into a circle of abundance, dancing and joy. Before the lion and the lamb. And I will raise for myself a generation, a torch bearing generation. Sorry. A torch bearing generation that will go forth and will not come back empty.

Please remember these. These are things he wants to renew with us. It's precious, eh? It's going to happen. Sorry. Jacob had a question. Go ahead, Jacob.

Okay. So in 2023, one of the things that Lot had said was that we will be both announcers and igniters of a revival that will catch the 20s and the 30s.

And so one of the first places we went to, beginning of Jan 2023, was to a place called Stornoway in Wales, where 75 years ago, God turned up in these little villages and they could literally sense the heavy presence of God where people would begin to weep and they wouldn't know why they're weeping.

And we went there and we met one of the guys whose dad was the one who prayed and it started. And one of the things Lot said was that that was Hebrides 1.0. 2.0 is about to start where there will be nations where 20s and 30s will be affected by God.

And therefore, while we were there, we began to write down what God was saying and this is what it sounded like. So I'll recite it one last time for you, Jacob, because you have a great name.

And so I am sending a purifying fire from heaven that will burn up religious and historical junk. And then I will enter as divine warrior. I will set young men and women free.

I will call them from nations into the kingdom. I will call them my own sons and daughters. I will invite them into a circle of abundance, dancing and joy before the lion and the lamb.

And I will raise for myself a torch bearing generation that will go forth and will not return empty.

Cool.

So today we begin with what we said we would begin with. And that was the Ark. Not Noah's Ark, the other Ark, the Ark of the Covenant.

And we said that the Ark was the symbol of presence, power, worship and government.

Are we going to start with this?

So the Ark was about 45 inches by 30 inches by 30 inches.

Or if people like feet, 3.75 into 2.75 into 2.75 feet. It was made of wood.

And then it was inlaid and covered with gold.

The wood was representative of our humanity. The gold was representative of divinity.

People assumed that it was about 80 to 100 kilos heavy.

And so in a sense, guys, if you didn't look at the base, then this was the size of the Ark.

So it was about four feet across. And if you measure it to here, it's about almost exactly the dimensions of the Ark.

That was what it was. And it was made with acacia wood and then gold.

And it carried three items. And all these will become important as we talk about this in the future, too.

It carried three items and the three items were manna.

Go to Hebrews 9, 4. Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9.

Hebrews 9.

Hebrews 9, starting at verse 1.

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.

A tabernacle was set up in its first room where the lampstand, the table, the consecrated bread, this was called the Holy Place.

Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold covered Ark of the Covenant.

That's what we are talking about. This Ark contained the gold jar of manna, errand stuff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Above the Ark were the cherubim of the glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.

But we cannot discuss these things in detail right now.

So you had manna, which was basically, we'll talk about it, the proceeding word of God, full of grace, for our daily dependent sustenance.

For now, just write this down. We'll break this, not today, but in the future.

Because that was what manna was. Manna was basically the proceeding word of God, as in, he said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

And the intent was, listen, I'll tell you how to live. I don't want you to live by bread that you bake. I'll speak and it'll happen for you.

And so at some point we'll discuss the proceeding word of God, full of grace, as in, it has everything you need.

It has all sufficiency in it, not for tomorrow, but for daily dependent sustenance. That was the intent of manna.

Then after the manna came Aaron's rod, Aaron's rod, or Aaron's staff.

And that was the symbol of the order of the household and the government of God.

And we will talk about that. If you go to Numbers 17, can you go to Numbers 17? Numbers 17, 1-10, just so you can have a quick look at it right now. Numbers 17, 1-10.

The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.

Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.

Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.

So Moses spoke to the Israelites and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for each leader of each of the ancestral tribes and Aaron's staff was among them.

Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.

Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord's presence to the Israelites. They looked at them and each man took his own staff.

The Lord said to Moses, Put back Aaron's staff in front of the testimony or the ark to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me so that they will not die.

Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. So we'll talk about that.

And then finally there was the tablets. These are the contents of the ark. They are the tablets and the tablets were the moral nature.

The tablets are basically symbolic of the moral nature, the moral nature of a covenantal God or a covenant-keeping God, the moral nature of a covenant-keeping God

who dwells in the midst of his people.

And we'll talk about that too. It's beautiful when you actually take it out of just

Judaic observances and you look at what it actually means. It's brilliant.

When you take the Ten Commandments and you actually look at it, you'll find that the first three are about you and God, the next seven are about you and your neighbor.

And that what Jesus comes and does is take every one of those laws and just ratchets it up.

You shall not commit murder. Hey, if you're angry with your brother, you've already committed murder.

He just changes it. He ups the bar and then he begins to have you live that standard by living in you.

We'll talk about that. It's brilliant.

So those were the things in the ark. So how should we look at the ark? We should look at the ark as a painting, say, that Phoebe does for

What's his name? Sheldon. Yeah, that Phoebe does for Sheldon.

So when children draw houses, tell them to draw their family and they'll have a house and then be a big fat Sheldon and a relatively thinner Jane and a relatively good looking Phoebe.

And that's usually how most children draw. Now, would you say this is an accurate representation of the family?

No. But what is it? It is a picture that kids draw of the family. It's genuine. It's genuine.

They put a few hearts also. It's genuine. And it's a visual representation or aid.

It's a visual representation of a spiritual reality. In this case, I'm talking about the ark of a spiritual reality.

So the ark doesn't explain it all. It's an understandable copy. It's an understandable copy.

That's why when Paul writes about it in Hebrews, he says these are copies of the heavenly things.

They're not an exact replica, but it helps us understand. So here's the thing, guys. There was a box like this.

The difference was it was about the same dimensions. The difference was that it would be covered with gold.

And on top here, there would be a cover and the cover would have two angels, one angel on this side, one angel on this side with a wing stretched out like this, just about this side.

So it wasn't some massive thing. And then at the bottom, there would be poles here.

There would be poles because most of the pictures we see, we see them carrying the ark on their shoulders, but usually the poles are here or here.

And that was not true. The poles were at the feet of the box. Why? Because this was in the Bible, it says the ark was like the throne of God.

And if the ark was like the throne of God, he would be carried above.

You still see it in the Middle East or Middle Eastern stories or Asian stories or Indian stories.

You would have these kings come in these things called palanquins where there would be people who would have them carried on their shoulder because the king had to be higher.

And so the ark was actually called the throne of God. Let's look at scriptures that say so.

If you look at Exodus 25, Exodus 25, Exodus 25, that's the entire description of the ark. Exodus 25, verse 12.

Exodus 25:12

The king would now cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet with two rings. So it would be right at the feet.

And imagine four people carrying a 200 pound thing, eh?

And so the ark was, the ark was God's localized presence, God's localized presence in their midst.

So you're talking about the eternal, infinite, transcendent,

holy, invisible, immense God who fills time and space and spills over, as in he goes even beyond that.

He decides to be localized amongst a sinful people.

It's crazy. It's not like God lived in the box, okay?

But the box became the localized presence of God. His presence fills the universe and beyond.

But this box became the localized presence of God. The immense, invisible, eternal, infinite, transcendent God who fills time and space and goes beyond made his presence in this box.

And for Israel it was a big deal because they had seen him on Mount Sinai. They had seen how a whole mountain burst into fire and smoke.

They knew what it was to have this God on their side. There was no other God on earth who had done anything like this.

It was magnificent and frightening at the same time.

And yet as soon as this box begins to be carried by the priests, they realize that the same God is now with them.

And by the way, when Israel was journeying through the desert, we need to know that there were two tents.

We sometimes think it was just one tent that Moses went into.

The song that we sang, Linger, that Tune had written, it was the first tent. It wasn't the second tent.

So you'll find that after the Golden Calf incident, what happened was Moses decided that he would take a tent and set it outside the camp.

And so every time he wanted to meet with God, he would leave the camp and he would go outside the camp and meet with God.

And whenever he would meet with God, the pillar of cloud would begin to hover over the tent and Moses would come out with his face shining.

But even though Moses started there, he had been given a pattern and orders by God saying, I want to dwell in the midst of the people.

And that began the construction of the Tabernacle with the outer court, with the bronze lava, with the altar for sacrifice, with the holy place,

with the menorah and the table with the bread on it, the lampstand and the table, and then the Holy of Holies, which was completely dark.

But in that darkness, there was a box like this overlaid with gold.

And God said, Moses, I want this box or this Ark of the Covenant, or as the message calls it, the chest of God.

I want this right in the center of the camp.

And once it was inaugurated, and you hear about its inauguration in Exodus 40.

Once it was inaugurated, the cloud would come and it would be over the Holy of Holies right above the spot.

And then when the cloud would move, the people would move. Why?

Because they knew that this was symbolic of the presence of God.

Why would they move if God didn't move? Did they know where they were going? No.

Did they trust the one who dwelt in the midst? Yes.

And to get to that tent, and they're called two different names.

The name of the tent that Moses used to go outside the camp was called the tent of meeting.

This was called the tent of testimony. Why?

Because within this Ark, there were things that testified of what God wanted to do.

People would have to line up to even get near this tabernacle.

They could come into the outer courts, but only one man went into the inner courts.

Why am I saying all this? Because you must realize what Jesus, your friend, has done for you.

Take me past the outer courts, into the holy place.

I want to see, pass the braves and altar. Lord, I want to see your face.

Take me past the crowds of people, and the priests who sing your praise.

I hunger and thirst for your righteousness, and it's only found in one place.

Take me into the holy of holies.

Take me in by the blood of the lamb.

Take me into the holy of holies.

Take the call. Touch my lips. Here I am.

We don't realize the dramatic change in the privilege that we have.

One man, once a year, scared for his life, going in, coming out.

And so, this God who, for Israel it was a big delay, and the Ark was a throne of God.

The Ark was a throne of God.

And so you can read about that in Genesis, Exodus 25, 12, where they put the ring so that it could be held up.

And the Ark was a throne of God, carried above the shoulders, like this, like you read in stories, carried above the shoulders,

with the shout of people, because the king was in their midst, with the shout of the king in their midst.

They understand where all the songs and the writings of David are coming from.

Be exalted, O King of the heavens, let your glory fill the earth.

There's a tribe set apart for this called the Kohatites.

Only they were allowed to carry the Ark on their shoulder.

And they knew he was king, eh?

They wouldn't go anywhere without him.

Now you can see why Uzzah and Ahio did something that was heinous.

Not they, they got caught for it.

David was the one who did it, brought it in on an ox cart.

The king of the universe, and he had specified how he wanted things done.

And they bring it in on an ox cart.

It is a recipe for disaster.

This God is to be revered.

In our times of worship, always exalt him as king, eh?

He's your, like it says in the Chronicles of Narnia, he's your friend, but he's not tame and he's a king.

Revered him, he's a king.

He's not tame and he's a king.

Revered him while, I mean, that's why I love that song.

It says, you are our king.

And then it talks about thank you for the cross, my friend.

He calls me friend.

These are terms that are so mixed, but we don't forget who he always is.

The lid of the box that was placed above was literally called the mercy seat.

If you read Exodus 25-17, make an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits and a cubit and a half wide.

And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.

And so the idea of atonement was mercy.

Mercy means someone who covers what you have done wrong.

So that's the, it was called the mercy seat.

And I love what God says he'll do for them.

And go to the last verse, verse 22.

There above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the arc of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for Israel.

There was at some point when Moses would turn up into the tent of testimony, somewhere here, God would actually speak.

What did it even sound like?

Or was it, how was it conveyed?

We do not know.

But he says, between the cherubim at the mercy seat, I will speak to you.

This was just the privilege of Moses.

Countless pressures the fact how we get to have conversations with God.

This church must move from seeking answers from God to having conversations with God.

One of the things that was said about Moses was, with other people I talk to them in dreams and visions,

but with Moses I talked to him as a friend would talk to his friend face to face.

It was in conversations that Moses would find out things.

But his idea of facing God in a dark tent where the only light was the light that came from his glory.

And he would actually talk.

We get to do this every day.

Do not fall short of the privilege that you've been given and train to take advantage of it.

Any questions before we go on?

If the question is how do we train, just go listen to the 100 messages in the last 20 years and you'll get it.

Yeah, because that's like a moot question.

It's a shame if I live short of the privilege that I have been called to and given.

And it's a shame if I don't push into the privilege that I've been called to and been given.

Two things, if I fall short of it, if I don't push into it.

You fall short of it because you don't push into it.

Any questions?

Can you speak a little louder, Betty?

Yeah, let's assume that Derek is flying to London today

and he doesn't realize that his ticket affords him the signature lounge that's not even for normal people.

It's only for certain people.

He goes, sits there and then a Porsche EV is supposed to pick him up from the signature lounge and drive him to the plane.

So he doesn't have to walk on that silly little walkway to the plane.

And he has these privileges because he's at the airport right now, by the way.

And so he has these privileges and he doesn't know it.

So you fall short of your privileges, things that were offered to you, you do not take advantage of.

So that's one.

Two, this thing of not pushing into knowing what God has for you.

Where God has plenty, but it's either humility or laziness.

I don't know which one or a mixture of both.

Or disappointment.

Things that keep you from pushing into God.

Humility, like bad humility, laziness and disappointment.

These prevent us from pushing into God.

So must get past that, eh?

Fourth one, fear of man.

Fear of man.

Humility, laziness.

Third one was what?

Humility, laziness, disappointment, fear of man.

Four things that prevent you from pushing into God.

Where do we see it?

There was a king who was told to ask whatever he wanted in terms of a sign.

And he started saying, no, no, no, I don't want a sign.

It was Ahaz, I think.

And the prophet has to come and say to you, what's wrong with you?

God is giving you a privilege to ask for a sign and you're choosing not to.

So that's one.

When it comes to fear of man, Nicodemus.

The guy could have had a relationship with Jesus like nobody.

Because he had this one-on-one encounter in the middle of the night with Jesus.

And he had a choice and he chose not to because of the fear of his compatriots.

You've got another guy like Jehoash.

Who, you can imagine how Jehoash felt on the day of the fourth battle.

And the fifth battle.

And the sixth battle.

Because he struck the ground three times and then he stopped.

The third battle he knew he would win.

And then they come again.

And they come again.

And they come again.

And you can imagine the regret.

It's not laziness as in physical laziness.

It is a spiritual lethargy or sluggishness that begins to take hold.

The mercy seat was where God would talk with them.

And here's another thing.

If you go to Leviticus 16, 2, you will see why Moses told Aaron,

Hey Aaron, don't go into the holy of oldies.

If I'm not here, don't even risk it.

Don't go in there.

And you would wonder why Moses was saying that to Aaron.

And then in Leviticus 16, 2, you kind of see why.

Leviticus 16, 2.

Anyone here who's read Leviticus in the last two months?

Really?

Oh my Lord.

Leviticus 16, 2.

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron,

who died when they approached the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses,

Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses

into the most holy place, behind the curtain,

in the front of the atonement cover, on the ark,

or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

If anyone ever looked, they would find between the cherubim,

on the atonement cover, the cloud of glory, the Shekinah.

In a dark room, it was the only light.

There was nothing else there.

The lamp was outside.

The table of showbread was outside.

In the Holy of Holies, there was only one thing.

Light.

And that was the light that was not earthly.

It is the light that no darkness can swallow.

It is divine light that came sheerly out of the glory and the holiness

of the God you and I were singing to, and we serve.

And he says, don't come in, because when he talks about the cloud,

he's not talking about smoke.

He's talking about the Shekinah that we read about so often in the Old Testament.

There's the Shekinah of God came in.

In fact, in Exodus 40, after Moses sets up the entire tent of meeting,

he finishes putting the last touch, and guess what happens?

The Shekinah, instead of staying within the wings of the angels,

fills the place to the point where it says,

Moses could not enter to minister.

It is impossible.

This is what we are talking about, guys.

This is who we are dealing with.

But he was confined to that and to a man who could see him once a year,

besides Moses, and that cannot be.

But the same privilege is being open to us.

Question is, can you and I take advantage of it?

Outside the times of worship, to the point where our worship is a result,

to the point where our worship is a result.

When people come in here, my dream, and it's not a far-off dream,

when people come in here, my dream is that the presence of God will bring assurance,

will bring confidence, will bring reverence, will bring restoration,

will revive things in people that come in.

Whether they are believers or not, when they come in, that it first happens to us.

That when I come in here, there will be an assurance, there will be a confidence,

there will be a reverence, there will be a reviving,

there will be a restoration of things because I am in the temple of God.

Remember what we are called. We are not the ark. We are the temple.

Christ is the ark.

No longer do we need a symbol of His presence because His presence now dwells somewhere.

Remember that the Holy of Holies, the curtain tore.

And when the curtain tore, God no longer lives in buildings.

God decided He will live in people. People become the temple.

People become the temple. 1 Corinthians 6.19, you are the temple of the living God.

Acts 29, you are the temple of the living God.

Don't you know that you do not belong to yourself?

You are the temple of the living God.

Which is why we sing songs like the blood because it could only be the blood.

It could only be the blood that washes us clean and prepares us for a transcendent,

invisible, eternal, holy, brilliant God who now has a place, a place to dwell in.

We become that temple.

His presence now dwells amongst the people.

Therefore, when someone comes in, they must know the assurance, the confidence,

the revival, the reverence and the restoration that is present in the room because the people have gotten it.

Because they've gotten the forgiveness they need because they heard the voice at the seed of atonement.

And they are, the glory in His presence. It's something that they know.

Understand this, that us as human beings, especially once we are born again,

it is natural for us to feel and think and know and recognize the presence of an invisible God.

If I'm not feeling that, I can quickly adjust. I can quickly attune myself to it.

You can ask any of these musicians. These musicians can come here feeling pretty unmusical.

And then they come here and the music begins and they can easily attune themselves to begin to play.

Soccer players the same way. Hockey players the same way.

You might be running a fever till an hour before, but you come there and you draw everything you can out of you

because you know who you are, the temple of the living God.

But Jacob, how can I be a temple of the living God? Listen to what 1 Peter 2 says.

You, Keziah, are a living stone. You, Matt, are a living stone. You, Meera, are a living stone.

You, Tuni, are a living stone. And that these living stones have been put together

so that we can become the temple of the living God.

And therefore it matters. This is why it matters.

This is why it matters. This is why it matters when someone is struggling to be part of a temple made up of living stones.

This is why it matters. This is why it matters when a stone wants to become a brick.

This is why it matters when a stone is beginning to crack. This is why it matters.

Because what is being built here is the most beautiful construct on the face of the earth.

A dwelling place for God.

And then people come in and they recognize him.

What makes him recognizable? The intimacy, the closeness of a people.

That's what makes him recognizable. He can manifest himself like the song says.

He can manifest himself. But you go to a house and you will always know who is the best friend of the host.

If I come to your house and your best friend is there, it doesn't matter that you are serving us all the same amount of food,

giving us the same drink, same chairs. I'll spot your best friend in seconds.

We are his temple in the wilderness in a sense. He is the Shekinah glory.

They carried him on their shoulders because he was king.

I want us to understand something about the idea of king.

Where the king is, is the place where he is.

I want us to understand something about the idea of king.

Where the king is, there his government is.

Where the king is, there his government is.

When a king speaks, his whole government is speaking.

When he moves, his rule moves with him.

Where the king is, there his government is.

What is government? Let me define government.

Government is to steer with a rudder.

This is why it says govern your tongue. How your tongue goes, so your body goes.

James Sabatri. Government is to steer with a rudder.

Steer with a rudder. It's a system under which the right to make laws

and the right to enforce laws belongs to a person.

And he can delegate it to someone or a people or a nation.

That's what government is.

It might be only one man called Christ, the king.

It might look like just one person. But in that person lies all power.

Which is why we go here. Where the king is, there his government is.

So when the king is present here, his rule is here.

What does this rule look like? Very simple.

You see his rule in Isaiah 61, 1-5 being read out in Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

That's his rule. We'll touch on that. His rule is very simple.

He's a benevolent, magnificent, brilliant, kind, generous, God full of goodness.

That's his rule. Full of goodness. That's his rule.

And we look at it. But where the king is, there his government is.

The question is, what is your expectation? What is my expectation when the king is somewhere?

What is your expectation? We must understand the story of a roof being ripped open

and people lowering their friend. Not so much about faith, but about expectation.

There was an expectation that if King Jesus is in this house, then something good is going to happen.

Faith always carries expectation. There is no forward movement of the feet without expectation.

That is why it says of Abraham that there was a meshing of what he believed and what he did.

And therefore he gets called what? Friend of God.

So where the king is, there is rule is. These are things if we somehow learn and remember,

then when you come here or when you gather together, you will always be aware of the expectation you can come with.

I'm aware not only of the expectations that I have, I'm aware of the expectations I have for Aaron and Reni.

I'm aware of the expectations I have for Matt and Rachel. I know the expectations I have for what's her name?

Shireen. I know the expectations that I have for Sedeq. It's not just expectations of myself from God.

It is what I expect from the king who is present and his rule to break out into the lives in his temple

made up of living stones like you and I. And is anything too difficult for him?

Where the king is, there his government is. Where a king speaks, his government speaks.

A prophetic word that is tested out is like the decree of a king. Even if, hear me, so that there be no mistake about this.

Even if it does not have a scriptural worth in it.

Because when the king speaks, his whole government is speaking.

And then when he moves, his rule moves with him. Which is why, when God tells you to move,

move with him because his whole rule, his whole government moves with him.

What do we define his rule as?

A system under which the right to make laws and the right to enforce laws.

Making laws is not enough. If you have to make laws and then pass it through the House and the Senate, you ain't a king.

To make laws and to enforce laws and then a step further. It belongs to a person and he can delegate it.

He can delegate it.

I love the fact that one of the ways of describing the law of God is in the Republic.

It's not a democracy. It's not an autocracy. It's not a monarchy.

I'll tell you what it is for us guys and don't forget this.

It's not democracy, autocracy, monarchy, Republic.

There's nothing else man in Israel knew it. It is God with us. That's what it is.

That is what Israel knew. That is why it was important that the ark go before them.

If the ark went before them, they knew victory was theirs.

If the ark went before them, they knew seas would part.

If the ark was captured, they found out that other gods would fall.

This is who we learn to be. This is not learned in a day, but it is learned over time.

That it is not a democracy. It's not an autocracy. It's not a monarchy. It's not a Republic.

It is God with us. And then when if we were in the Old Testament and you had James and Pavan and Prosper and Aaron carry this thing,

200 pounds on their shoulders, we would confidently follow because we actually believed that the presence of the only God Yahweh actually was with us because there was a cloud over that box.

And we would go anywhere. We would do anything. And I'm here to say that we have someone far greater than the ark here.

In the person of Christ who is Shekinah, who is the glory of God.

To be able to somehow connect with things that are invisible but eternal instead of things that are visible and temporal.

The ark disappeared. I think it was King Hades or one of those guys who burned the temple down to bits and the ark was burned too.

You won't find it when you go to Turkey, me.

But we are looking at someone who is invisible and eternal in our midst right now.

Who's thrilled at what we are talking about.

Who walks like he walks among the lampstands. He walks amongst us. Angels stoop to hear these truths.

And he walks here thrilled at the fact that we are coming to the realization that we are actually not our own, but we are his.

And that we are actually living stones that he brought alive and that we are actually being put together to form a temple so that his Shekinah can dwell here right now.

What is your expectation of your Shekinah, of his Shekinah when it is invisible?

What is your expectation of his Shekinah when it is invisible?

Come on, man. We've got to become spirit people, yeah?

To go where we are supposed to go, we cannot depend on our senses and what we feel.

We have the ability, church.

And we don't need to switch off.

We are spirit men and women.

Our spirits are constantly alive, saturated with the Holy Spirit.

The same Shekinah that dwells there now dwells in here too.

I'm a spirit man.

Born again by the word. Born again by the spirit.

Occupying a body that he made that will be transformed.

And a soul that's been constantly renewed.

But I'm a spirit man and I know the spirit of Christ who is present here.

We can follow him. We can follow him.

We can follow an invisible spirit of the living God who is here.

This is who we are.

We don't live by flesh and blood. Come on.

And the people that begin to think like this can easily identify him.

They can answer what Jesus asked naked emers.

Can you see the spirit? No, I can't see the spirit but I can see him moving in the trees.

The wind moves in the tree. And he said that's how it is.

That is, don't know where he's going but you can track him.

And when you track him, leave everything and follow him.

It brings satisfaction guys.

Don't switch off eh?

When the body is tired, when the mind is weary and fatigued,

there is one that still is highly alive.

The spirit of man, completely energized by the Holy Spirit.

This was what made people like Moses different.

In an Old Testament when his spirit was still corrupt,

he had the ability to go into the presence of God.

This was what made Joshua different.

A young man, as young as you, sitting there, not wanting to go away.

When we leave here, when we go and eat shawarma at al-Basha,

you're still alive as a spirit man.

It prevents you from going off keel eh?

You stop operating in the flesh.

You spend more and more time, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% of your time as a spirit man.

This is real guys.

This is why Paul said, hey, our outer man is wearing out,

but the inner man is being continuously strengthened.

Come on, that's a name we should have.

You don't have to wait till your hair go gray

and you're beginning to look like Dilna.

You can begin this process early.

We are still young.

Dilna gave me a hug after the 20th anniversary.

Dilna gave me a hug after the 20th and said, I love being in this church.

And I thought for a second, why?

But then...

So, yeah, we have to focus on being continuously

in the process of strengthening the inner man.

Because the outer man wears away sometimes just because you've had a terribly hard day.

Ephesians 1, 21 and 22, read from the message.

Ephesians 1, 21 and 22, from the message.

Hey, are you guys OK if I end it in 10 minutes?

You don't mind?

You won't feel like you were robbed,

didn't get your money's worth?

Oh, sorry, the jacket's gone.

Forget what I said.

Yeah, Ephesians 1, 21 and 22.

Verse 20.

All this energy, issues from Christ,

God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven.

And he was raised from the dead.

And he was raised from the dead.

And he was raised from the dead.

And he was raised from the dead and set him on a throne in deep heaven.

When they were in the wilderness,

they set him on a throne that looked something like this,

and they carried him around.

But now he's set him on a throne in deep heaven.

And then I love the next bit.

In charge of running the universe,

everything from galaxies to governments,

no name and no power exempt from his rule.

And not just for the time being, but forever.

He is in charge of all of it, has the final word on everything.

At the center of it all, at the center of all this,

Christ rules the church.

The church you see is not peripheral to the world.

The world is peripheral to the church.

The church is Christ's body in which he speaks and acts,

by which he fills everything with his presence.

It goes back to what I was saying here.

Where the king is, his government is.

Where the king is, where the king speaks,

his whole government is speaking.

When he moves, his rule moves.

It's hard to wrap our heads around it,

our hearts around it in one sitting.

Blessed are they that meditate on the truth.

What is meditation? God-directed self-talk.

God-directed self-talk.

Where you take something God has said,

and you go over it again and again.

Self-talk with God.

God-directed self-talk is what meditation is.

Go to Isaiah 9, 4.

You know the other crazy thing about this king

is that this king owns everything.

Philippians 2, verse 9 to 11.

Philippians 2:9–11

I've given him a name that is above every name.

Nothing is exempt from him.

He owns everything.

Every time we turn up here together like this,

or in any gathering, know that he shows up,

and he shows up in his full authority.

His authority does not reside in a place,

it does not reside in a document,

it resides in him personally.

The closer you get to him,

the greater is your experience of his authority.

Therefore, when he takes a signet ring,

and puts it on the finger of a church,

it's like the king saying,

listen, now if you stamp, I'll back it.

Let's for a moment assume that Hebrides 2.0

is a signet ring given to this church.

That it is actually true.

Now there'll be skeptics,

there'll be people who want evidence and results for it

in a period of time.

That's okay.

But what if he has given a signet ring?

Then when you stamp it, all of heaven

knows your name and backs you up.

Hey, aren't these shoes nice?

I just thought they matched the green on this.

I was hoping someone would comment,

finally I decided I've got to do this.

Thank you, you should have thought of this long ago.

What does this rule look like?

What does this rule look like?

What does his government look like?

It's Isaiah 61, 1-5,

in Luke 4, 16-21.

So let's go to Luke 4, 16-21.

Let's go to Luke 4, 16-21.

Luke 4, 16-21.

It's one of my favorite passages.

Because I can so see it's happening.

So he's finished the time in wilderness

and he's coming back.

Verse 14.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit

and news about him spread through the whole country.

You know, sometimes what blows me away

is that as we're reading the scriptures,

he's here and he's hearing this.

It's very hard then to focus on the scripture

because he's here.

This is about him and he's here.

We're reading it out and he hears it.

And he pays attention to how we are hearing it.

And then by his Spirit, he quickens our heart

as his word is read because the word is life.

It's strange how this whole thing works.

Plus, it gets more complicated.

He knows everything I'm going to say next.

Sometimes I wish I could slip one in, but...

Going back to Luke 4.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit

and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

He taught in the synagogues and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth where he had been brought up

and on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue

as was his custom.

As he stood up to read,

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

I mean, orchestrated from the beginning of history.

As he stood up to read, it was his turn to read.

Now, guess what?

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Unrolling it, now he decides where he'll read from.

Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written.

And then he begins to read.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me

because he has anointed me

to preach the good news to the poor.

He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners,

recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Then he rolled up the scroll,

gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.

And he began by saying to them,

today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

This is his government.

This is his rule.

Now go to Isaiah 61,

and you'll get the longer version of it,

which you and I must memorize.

Isaiah 61,

1 to 5.

This is his rule.

Isaiah 61,

he changed the word some when he was reading it out to them.

He has the right to.

But if he was living today,

they would say he took it out of context.

Isaiah 61,

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives,

release from darkness for prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

meaning to proclaim Jubilee,

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

to provide for those who grieve in Zion,

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild ancient ruins,

restore places long devastated.

They will renew ruined cities

that will have been devastated for generations.

That's his rule.

And that's what he wants to bring through us into the world.

We are the temple.

He is the Shekinah in our midst,

and then through us, in our midst,

and then through us.

We'll do the rest when we meet next.

But there is something called governmental grace, guys.

Governmental grace.

Governmental grace.

You can go read about it in 2 Chronicles 1.10.

You can read about it in Proverbs 29.4.

You can read about it in Psalm 72.

Solomon recognized it.

David recognized it.

And they asked for it.

And we need this.

It is the grace of God.

I'm just setting you up for the next time.

It's the grace of God

given first to the church

and then

for the cities we live in

and the nations we will father.

Yeah, nations.

And how do we go about it?

We recognize it in Scripture.

Is it real?

Does Scripture say that it exists?

Then we define it,

now that we've seen it.

Then we receive it

by faith,

because we are very ordinary nobodies.

Then we execute it

in our areas

with the power of the Spirit.

Then we practice it

in increasing circles,

increasing radius.

Then we explore it further.

And finally, we convey it

to sons.

It's a genderless term

who are tested.

It's beautiful, eh?

We recognize it in Scripture.

One of the places you see this in Psalm 72.

Psalm 72 is a coronation psalm.

And David is crying out saying,

Oh God,

I am a sinner.

And David is crying out saying,

Oh God, I need

the ability, the grace to rule.

I don't have it.

Give me the grace to rule.

In 2 Chronicles 1.10,

God says to him,

Solomon, ask whatever you want.

Whatever you want.

And you know what he asks for.

He says,

Give me the wisdom

and the grace that I require

to rule your people.

And then God says,

Because you ask for this

and not for wealth and riches,

you can have this

and I'll give you wealth and riches too.

It's governmental grace or wisdom to rule.

And once we,

so how do we go about it?

Because this is an important process

for most things, eh?

In this church, especially going forward.

Recognize it in Scripture.

Once you recognize it in Scripture,

define it.

Because when people ask,

I must give a reasonable explanation.

Define it. Once you define it,

receive it with faith.

It cannot be received if not by faith.

Because we are nobodies.

Receive it by faith.

Next, in your little area,

begin to execute it

by the power of the Spirit.

See how it works.

Next, now that you know how it works,

practice it and let it increase in radius.

After that, explore it further.

There's never a limit to the things of God.

And once you explore it further,

convey it to sons that are tested

so that they don't have to start working all over again.

Yeah, we'll stop there.

Keep your spirit sharp.

You're a spirit man or a woman.

Keep your spirit sharp.

It'll prevent you from walking in the flesh

and satisfying the desires of the flesh.

You'll be surprised how easy it is

to go from keeping your spirit sharp

to two and a half hours of social media.

How easy it is.

There's an old Simon and Garthacool song,

Slip Sliding Away.

Slip sliding away.

No, we won't end on that note.

Okay.

If you need prayer,

someone will be here to pray with you.

Otherwise, I'll see you not this week,

but I'll see you the week after.

And we'll say hello from Columbia.

Yeah?

Bless you guys.

Good. Someone put...

I'll see you next week.