Ark Carriers

And then they parted, you know, a heap of water, and then they were able to cross on

dry ground. That's how important it is, guys. Yeah? The second one. It might be even harder.

Yeah, but the point is the same. Yeah? So here we see in Joshua chapter 6, the fall of Jericho,

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

right? Same thing, right? How many times the Ark of the Lord is repeated here?

The fall of Jericho, it's all about the Ark.

Why? Because that's the presence of God here. Yeah? They are supposed to carry the Ark and

march in front. The first thing that, you know, Joshua got up in the morning and he asked the

priest of the Lord and took up the Ark, right? And then you see verse 6 as well.

So Joshua, son of Nun, called the priest and said to them,

Take up the Ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry the trumpets in front of

it, right? The first thing in the morning what he tells is, Take up the Ark, march, right?

Nothing else. Take up the Ark. That's how critical the Ark was.

So my point of sharing this is that the Ark is the fulfillment. The Ark carries the fulfillment.

The Ark carries the promise. The Ark carries the provision. The Ark carries the purpose.

The Ark carries the plans for the Israelites from God. That's how important the Ark was,

everything that God said about the Israelites and what they will accomplish is because,

I mean, who's going to help that? Who's going to help that fulfill? It's the presence of God.

And so this is why, in other words, the Ark is the lifeline for the Israelites. It's their lifeline

because it's the very presence of God with them, right?

And what makes the Israelites specialists because of this, the presence of God? The Israelites were

a small nation. The enemy doesn't fear them, but the enemy fears their God because they know what

God had done to the Egyptians. They dread, right? Fear in the enemy's camp. Not because they are of

a superior race. Nothing to do with ethnicity, race, color, creed here, but they fear the Israelites

because of Yahweh, God with them, right? And so on one hand, the Ark was a blessing for the Israelites.

It was powerful. And at the same time, it was disastrous for the enemy.

And I'll tell you more later. But the Ark was the throne, was the throne of God's kingship,

right? In Psalm 99, it says, the Lord reigns and he enthroned between the cherubim. Here he's talking

about the mercy seat here, right? God reigns in between the mercy seat, right? God, so the Ark

represents the throne of God, right? So here's an interesting. The Israelites did not move.

When the Ark was lifted, they would move. When the Ark rest, they would settle.

They were not deciding when the Ark should stay or when the Ark should move.

It's God who decides when the Ark shall stay, when the Ark shall move. Yeah? They are to follow the Ark.

And so the Ark would take them. The Ark would go before them into impossible places.

Yeah? Impossible places.

Like I mentioned, the crossing of Jordan, it was the priests who were carrying the Ark. Whether it

was the wall of Jericho, it was the priests who were carrying the Ark, right? So Israel's victory,

Israel's success, it was not based on strategy. It was not based on any strategy of the Israelites.

It was the sheer presence of God. Yeah? I think that is important for us to understand. And so on

one hand, whenever the Ark is carried forward, there is the power of God that backs them up.

And then whenever the Ark rests, there is provision. It's mind-blowing, guys. Yeah? There was a time,

there was a time when the Ark was brought to one man's house in Obed-idum, right? Because why?

Because David was scared to bring the Ark back because God just killed Uzzah, which I'll share

a little later. But David was angry with the Lord and he didn't want to bring the Ark back to his

own city. And so there was this man in Abinadab, right? Oh, sorry, not Abinadab. Sorry, he was

in Obed-idum's house and the Ark stayed there for three months. And it was not because of his

prayer, not because of his righteousness, but the Bible says because the Ark was in his house.

Everything about this man flourished. No, you know, Obed-idum, his cattle, his donkeys, his wife,

his children, everything about this man flourished. No, the Bible says. Why? Because of one thing,

the Ark was in his house. That's the power of God's presence in your life, in my life.

When the presence of God rests in you, in your house, there will be no lack. It's impossible to

have lack, guys. Yeah? And yet, that's how powerful the presence of God is, especially the Ark.

Like I said, wherever it goes, it brings victory. It leads them to impossible places.

And then when it rests, it provides, it brings peace. Yeah? And then the enemy, it ravages the

enemy. You know, one time, the Ark was captured by the Philistines. Yeah? Because the Israelites

did not consult God and they went to war with the Philistines. They went on their own. And then,

Philistines captured the Ark. And so, they brought the Ark and then put beside their own God, Dagon.

Yeah? And then the next morning, they'll find that their gods were smashed.

And then, boils, you know, tumors. There were disease after disease that plagued them. And then,

later on, they don't want to do with this Ark, right? They're tired of it. Yeah? They don't want

to deal with this Ark of God anymore. So, what they did was, they put on a cart. And then, they

carved gold off their tumors and then, you know, tried to appease this Ark of the Lord. And then,

they sent it back to the Israelites. Yeah? You know, I'm just cutting the story short here.

But it was disastrous for the enemy. And yet, you know, I want to share three terrible ways of

handling the Ark. Yeah? Three terrible ways. The first one, you know, the Israelites eventually

lost sight of the significance of the Ark. Tragic, hey? The Ark was going before them.

It was accomplishing what God wanted. And yet, came a point of time when they lost sight of the

significance of the Ark. And like I said, there was one time they went and they fought the Philistines.

And then, they were defeated. And so, what I'm trying to say here is that the presence of God

cannot be manipulated. They did what they want and they expect God to back them up.

This is the same mistake that we often do. Can we go to the next slide? Yeah.

Yeah, three terrible mistakes, right?

They expected God to back them up and then, following their own desire, they did not consult

God. And they went ahead and fought the Philistines. They were badly defeated.

And like I said, God's presence cannot be manipulated. You and I cannot do what we want.

And oftentimes, we do that. Yeah? We have our own dreams and ambitions and expect God to back us up.

But here, in Numbers 10, verse 35 and 36 says, whenever the Ark set out, Moses said,

Numbers 10:35

rise up, Lord, may your enemies be scattered. May your foes flee before you. And whenever it came to

rest, he said, return Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel. Right? So here, what we are

seeing here is that Moses has no control over the Ark. And he is not going to back them up.

The Ark would rise whenever it wants. Why? Because it's the presence of God here. Yeah?

So that's the first mistake they did. They tried to manipulate God. Yeah? They went ahead with their

own plan and expected God to back them up. Second mistake. It's even worse.

They took it as a lucky charm. Yeah, Brendan, if you can go next. Yes. Yeah, they treated the

Ark like a lucky charm. Yeah. So they were fighting the Philistines there. And then in

1 Samuel 4, verse 3, here it says, and when the people had come into the camp, the elders of

1 Samuel 4:3

Israel said, why had the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? And then now they said,

let us bring back the Ark of covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us,

comes among us, it may save us. Right? It may save us. They thought that if they bring back

the Ark into the battle, they think they'll win. The Ark is not a magic potion, guys. Right? They

took it like a, like a, like a little more than like a talisman or a ceremonial token or a lucky

charm and things that it will work. It didn't. And then the third one, irreverence. Right? You

know, Uzzah touches the Ark, spot dead. So let me read it. 2 Samuel 6 says, when they came to the

threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark of the Lord because the oxen

stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act. Therefore,

God struck him down and he died there beside the Ark of God. Right? When we read this passage,

I think this is a passage that is often misunderstood. And I, I want to clarify a

little bit here because at first glance, this feels shocking. Right? Why would God

strike someone down, spot dead? Right? The Ark was about to fall and then Uzzah is only trying to

steady it. And so he dies instantly. And so like, does he has good intentions? Absolutely. He has

very good intent. Right? But good intentions do not replace obedience or reverence. Hear me again.

Good intention do not replace reverence and obedience. Just because you don't, you don't

want to be late to a dinner party or to a meeting. You are, you're driving fast. Yeah. But you cannot

run through a straight light, straight red, I mean. Why? You may have good intent, but you cannot

break the law and order. You will be punished. So you have a good intent not to be late for the

meeting, but you'll be punished. Yeah. And likewise, good intentions cannot replace our obedience

for the Lord or reverence for God. Here, the core issue is not a momentary mistake. Oh, you know,

you know, you know, Uzzah made a mistake and then no, it was a systemic irreverence, a systemic,

you know, irreverence. And I'll tell you why. The problem did not begin with Uzzah. Yeah. The problem

did not begin with Uzzah. God instructed in Numbers 4, he said, the sons of Kohath shall

carry, shall carry on poles on their shoulders of priests. Right. So God said very clear that

there is a specific group of people who are supposed to carry the ark. That's one. Yeah. And

then the Philistines put the ark in a cart. Maybe it was easier to drag. Maybe it was more

convenient because it's on wheels now. Right. But God said, you will not. It has to be carried on

shoulders. There was a systemic error there. Right. They copied the Philistines. They copied the system

of the world. That's one mistake. Right. And you know what? When I find this, it was very interesting.

The ark remained in, you know, in Abin Adab's house for 20 years, guys, 20 years. And you know what?

Abin Adab's son is Uzzah. So the ark remained in Uzzah's house for 20 years. Uzzah grew up with the

ark. He's familiar with the ark. For 20 years, he had not touched the ark. He knows that. And when

it was stumbling, he tried to help. Right. He knows. He knows that God said, they cannot touch

holy things because they will die. He was warned way ahead of time. Yeah. So, you know, Uzzah's

familiarity breeds casualness. He knows he will die. But his familiarity dulled reverence.

And I pray that this thing will not happen for us as well. Because, you know, we think that this is

Uzzah's problem. But sometimes this can be our problem too. Whenever we come to church, church is

familiar. Church becomes familiar. Worship becomes familiar. Yeah, I know worship. Yeah, I know

teaching. Yeah, I know the Bible. Yeah. It can become familiar. And when familiarity is

settled in, it dulls irreverence. Now people are worshiping. People are expressing, you don't care

now. You know, I'm speaking on my own behalf. There was a time when I began to be familiar with how we

worship and how we do church. There was this casual attitude. Yeah. And I pray that that doesn't sink

in. We have to guard against this casualness, guys. You know, I'm not saying you're doing it.

But I'm saying that we have to guard against this. And how do we guard against this? Intentionality.

Intentionality. Whether you are tired, doesn't matter. Whether you are emotionally high, doesn't

matter. What if the musicians, you know, depends on when they're in a good mood to sing?

What if there are Sundays when they don't want to play? Yeah. You see, irrespective of how high or low,

how much energy we have, it's important that we are coming into the presence of the God of the

universe in this place. Yeah. And so, whether I am tired or not, whether I have had enough sleep or

not, I will get up, I will rise up, and I will worship the creator of the heavens. Yeah. And so,

I will get up, I will rise up, and I will worship the creator of the heavens and the earth who is

dwelling in our midst. That requires intentionality, guys. You know, irreverence is not a small issue,

guys. It's not just disrespect. It misplaces confidence in God. So, what I'm trying to say

here, God is saying that his presence is holy, not casual. Right? You know, he even tells Moses,

the ground that you're standing is holy. Why? Because his presence is there.

He's, God is never casual about his presence. You just read from one story to another, God's

never casual about his presence. Yeah. There was never a time when God allowed the people to

play and touch the ark. No. He guards his holiness. He guards his glory. He will not share his glory

with someone who is casual. Yeah. So, what we're trying to say here is that this was not

God being cruel. This is not God rejecting sincerity. This is not about God angry with

Uzzah without warning. No. This was God protecting his, the holiness of his presence. Yeah. And later

on, you will see that David, David came to his senses. Yeah. Because that day, David was also

upset with God. Why would you strike a man down? David was angry and he did not bring the ark.

But later on, he realizes, and in 1 Chronicles 15, he says, because you did not carry it the first

time, the Lord our God broke out against us. Right? They did not carry it. Why? Because they put it in

the cart. Right? So now, David realizes, because we did not seek him according to his rule, as in

God's way. Right? And you know what he did? You know, he brought back by carrying it. And so,

the breakthrough came when obedience returned, guys. This is critical, guys. So, Uzzah did not die

because he was near God. Uzzah died because God was treated as common. God's not common.

So, the lesson that we are learning here is that you cannot manipulate God. You cannot do what you

want and expect God to back you up. Secondly, the ark, the presence of God is not a lucky charm.

Right? And then the third one, you cannot carry the presence by being casual and, you know,

irreverent. Right? So, please keep track of where we are going here. It's important, guys. Yeah? So,

I'm starting with the ark. Yeah, do not miss the plot, it says. Yeah? Because there's this buildup

that we are going. And we have divided this teaching into three parts. Right? So, we are starting with

the Old Testament. Right? The ark, where it's been asked by God to Moses to build the ark. We have

built the ark and then it's supposed to be carried. And then now we are progressing here.

The ark is the very presence of God that is to be carried. Right? It cannot be manipulated. And

so, like I said, the ark was the lifeline, the lifeline for the Israelites. Their promise,

what God had said he will do. Their provision. Yeah? Their protection. Their plans. Their purpose.

All of those things hangs in one thing and that's the ark of the Lord. Yeah? So,

David wanted to build a temple. And then he wanted to bring back the ark into the temple and put it

in that holy sanctuary. And so, David wanted to build and God would not allow him to build. Why?

Because David is a man of war. He had killed many people. And he said, there's so much blood in your

hands. It's not you, but your son Solomon will build the temple. Right? And so, I'm just cutting

the long story short here, but Solomon builds a temple and then brings the ark and then puts it

in the inner sanctuary. But then, Solomon realizes that in 2 Chronicles 6 verse 18, he says,

2 Chronicles 6:18

but will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens and even the highest heavens cannot contain

you. How much less this temple that I have built. Right? Solomon realizes that this temple is too

small. If the heavens and the earth cannot contain who God is, then how can God dwell in such a small

temple that I have built? Right? And so, he realizes. And so, what I'm trying to say here is

that the ark was never the end. Yeah? And so, that's why I, here I'm saying, catch the plot.

Follow the plot because you'll miss out here. So, the ark was never the end. The ark was a pointer.

The ark was a shadow for what was coming. And that's Jesus. Beautiful, hey?

The ark in the Old Testament points to Jesus. And I'll tell you why. You know, Hebrews,

and that's part 2 now. We're in part 2 now. It's like a movie. No, we're, yeah. Yeah. So,

we are in part 2 now. Yeah? So, part 1 was the Old Testament and how the Israelites dealt with the

ark. And then now, the second part is when the ark in the Old Testament points to Jesus. Yeah?

So, in Hebrews 11, it says, Christ came as a high priest by his own blood. And here we see the Old

and the New Covenant. Right? Here in the Old Testament, God's presence dwelt between the

cherubim. Like I mentioned, right? The ark has a cherubim, two cherubim facing each other,

and God's presence dwelt between the cherubim. And in the Old Testament, the mercy was

accessed once a year when the priest would enter. Right? And then the ark was hidden behind the veil.

And then, you know what? When Jesus came, God's presence is no longer in a box, but the presence

of God dwells in a person, and that is Jesus. Yeah? And then, mercy is not accessed once a year.

Jesus says, your sins are forgiven. Yeah? And if someone repents, your sins are forgiven.

And if this girl repents, your sins are forgiven. Yeah? The mercy seat. Jesus becomes the mercy seat.

Crazy, eh? Now the veil is torn. The door is fling white. You and I have access now. We don't have to

rely on a priest to go and sacrifice on our behalf. You repent, you receive Christ,

you receive Jesus, you receive salvation, your sins are cleansed. Crazy, eh?

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1, right? So, here, what was once carried externally

is now received internally. Big change, eh? Big shift. The ark, they carried the ark once upon a time.

Now the ark has now become the person. Right? Beautiful. Jesus does not carry the ark.

He becomes the ark. Beautiful, guys. Yeah? And remember the three things that I mentioned?

What are they? The two tablets. Jar of manna. Aaron's staff, right? And you know what? Those

three things, you will see those three, very three things in the lives of Jesus. Yeah? Beautiful,

eh? Let's start with the first one. The two tablets, which is the tablets of covenant, right? Jesus

becomes the true tablet of covenant. Yeah? Like in the Old Testament, the people of God has to come

into an agreement with the commandment that God gives. Right? In the New Testament, when Jesus came,

people, when they receive and believe in Jesus, they enter a relationship with him. He becomes

the covenant. He becomes the tablet of covenant. Beautiful, eh? You know what? In the Old Testament,

the tablets testify to God's faithfulness. Right? But, and then it brings moral order. Right? It

instructs moral order. But they could not transform a human heart. The tablets on their own cannot

transform a human heart. And the tablets were, the tablets revealed what was right, but it lacked the

power to make people righteous. Right? And in the Old Testament, the covenant was external. It was

supposed to be carried. But in the New Testament, Jesus becomes the covenant. Jesus becomes the

embodiment of the law. Yeah? And then Jesus becomes the promise. And Jesus becomes God's

faithfulness walking in our midst. This is so different, guys. It gets better and better.

Through the live death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you and I now enter a new covenant.

You don't have to die anymore. Yeah? Death doesn't have the final say anymore. It's crazy, eh?

So that's the first one. The second one, jar of manna. You know what? In the Old Testament, God,

sorry, in the Old Testament, Moses puts a jar of manna inside the ark, signifying

the provision of God. Right? The bread of heaven. But manna was given for what?

For daily sustenance, but it was only for a period of time. It was seasonal. It was temporary.

Right? And then the second was, it was a sign of dependence. You cannot store manna.

Right? Even if you store it, yeah, maggots would form. Right? It was for a very short period of time.

So the Israelites had to continue relying on God. And third one, manna preserved their lives for a

very short period of time. Right? So those are the three things. And then you know what? When you look

into the New Testament, through Jesus Christ, oh man, you will love this. Christ comes and says,

manna is the bread from heaven, but Jesus says, I am the bread of life.

It's a game changer, guys. Right? Jesus says, I am the bread of life. And then he's saying,

it's no longer temporary. It's not going to sustain you for a period of time.

And he's saying, I am the bread of life and I give you eternal life.

It's no longer temporary, guys. He is saying, the life that I give you is permanent.

The shift is not simply receiving God's provision, but Jesus Christ becomes the provision.

Jesus Christ becomes the bread of life. Not for a season, but forever. Not for a journey,

but for a lifetime. Crazy, guys. That's the second aspect, right? The jar of manna.

The third aspect, which we find in Jesus Christ, is Aaron's staff. Right?

You know, in that story, the staff of Aaron budded supernaturally, right?

Like, you know, think of this for a second. The staff. The staff is a

lifeless rot. So they say, lifeless, right? When you have made it into a rod, it's lifeless.

The staff is lifeless. But it began to sprout and blossom. Right?

And it settled the rebellion of the sons of Korah. It settled rebellion.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ becomes our high priest and king. And then

his resurrection is the budding staff. How do you see? His resurrection becomes the budding staff.

Death could not hold him. Resurrected. And now authority flows from him. He said,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. That's what Jesus said.

Authority does not come from man, not from the approval of man, not from popularity,

but it comes straight from the father. Crazy, eh? And finally, you know, we're talking about the

mercy seat. In the Old Testament, there was this spot where, like I mentioned, the blood would be

sprinkled and God would come, like I said, and then blood would be poured. And then that's where

the mercy seat. It's the most significant part of the ark.

And the mercy seat stood between a holy God and a sinful people. Right? And the mercy seat was where

the sacred meeting place where justice and then compassion would intersect.

And this was once a year. And then in the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as

a Hylasterian. That's a Greek word. Hylasterian. The very word that is used for mercy seat. He's

saying, I am the mercy seat. Where judgment and mercy meets. And Jesus is saying, I am the mercy

seat. Yeah? Jesus entered not once every year, but once and for all. Right?

And Paul knows this very well. This is why Paul says, all who are justified freely by his grace

through the redemption that came by Christ, Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement

through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. Paul knows, eh? Paul knows this idea of

the mercy seat. So he's writing about that Christ has entered on your behalf, on my behalf,

that Christ has entered on your behalf, on my behalf, once and for all. Done and dusted.

Beautiful, guys. This is why you and I don't have to look at the ark anymore.

Now the ark becomes irrelevant. Jesus becomes the ark. And then now we switch on to part three.

See? Christ being the ark and then now Christ in you. Crazy man, guys.

Yeah, Brendan, next one please. Yeah.

Next. Yeah. So do you see the progression here? Right? Christ being the ark to Christ in you.

And then the progression was the ark was among the Israelites. It was carried. Right? The second

part was the ark was fulfilled in Christ. And then the third is the ark is now dwelling in the believers.

Beautiful, man. We are not replacing Christ here. We are not replacing Christ. Don't misunderstand

this, right? But we are participating in the indwelling life of Christ. Now Christ in us. We

carry the ark on one hand because it is Christ who is the ark in us. Right? So we become

carriers of the ark. That's where the teaching title is heading. Yeah? Because Christ becomes

the ark. He is the one true God. And he is Christ in us. Now your body has become the temple of the

living God. This is why now we understand, right? When the Bible says that your body is the temple

of the living God, you and I become carriers of God's presence, his ark. And John says,

I in you and you in me, right? And Paul also writes about this in, I think in 2 Corinthians,

you said you are a letter from Christ written not on the tablets of stone but on the tablets

of human hearts. Now the covenant is not something outside written on a stone, but the law is now

written in your hearts. This is the new covenant, guys. Yeah? So the presence that was once carried

on the shoulders of men and then that very presence incarnates in flesh through Jesus.

And now the very presence that Jesus now dwells in the flesh is now incarnating in you and in me

through the spirit. This is not a downgrade, guys. This is an upgrade. It's evolving. It's an upgrade.

The presence of God was carried on a human shoulder, on a box. Yeah? You and I have the

presence of God in living in you and living in me. Man, that's an upgrade, man. Yeah?

Now we have hundreds of chests here now.

Inside you, carrying Jesus. Beautiful, man, guys. So the question is no longer,

where is the ark? That's a wrong question now. Where is the ark? No.

The question should be, how are we carrying the ark?

Ark. Yeah? And so what does that mean for us now? You know, three things that I mentioned.

Covenant, like the two tablets. What's in the ark? Three things. The two tablets. Jar of mana.

Air and staff. Now think of these three things. That's in your life and in my life.

That's in your life and in my life. First one, we are tablets of God's covenant. We and I

have entered a covenant with the Lord. Why? Because Christ in you and you in Christ has become one.

One. Yeah? What was external? What was external? No, no, no. A covenant is when

you enter an agreement. Yeah? And you and I have entered into an agreement with Christ. We have

become one with Christ. And so now what is internal has to be left out now. Now the ark that is in you

has to be now manifested. This is why carrying the ark becomes important now. Manifesting the

ark becomes important now. Because you represent the very person that you have entered a covenant

with. If you have entered into a covenant with Christ, now you are displaying who Christ is.

You are displaying Christ's agenda. Christ's mission. Christ's plans. Christ's strategies.

Christ's purpose. We entered that covenant, right? Because we live in a world that is shaped by

human values and there is this confusion. Remember, Jacob was talking about two systems

yesterday. And we live in two systems. A system of Babylon and the kingdom of God.

And when we and I, you and I have entered into a covenant with God, we represent this kingdom of

God. You are in the world but you are not of the world. Right? And so it's important now because

the presence is no longer an occasional experience. Presence is never an occasional experience now.

Why? Because the indwelling has become permanent. And so it is a continual reality now.

That's something we have to understand, right? And we have to switch now from an event Christianity,

event-based Christianity to embodied Christianity. Because Christians, we always make programs and

events and training programs and conferences and other things, right? Event-based Christianity

may be helpful to some extent. But we have to switch from an embodied Christianity now.

And that reality now shapes how we worship. How we make choices. How we make decisions.

Everything changes, right? And then the second one is power and governance which we talk about, right?

When believers begin to understand the weight of this, that I am carrying the presence of God,

that I am an ark carrier, then if I am carrying it according to his will, power will manifest.

Yeah? When I carry his presence, darkness will retreat, hearts will soften,

healing will flow, systems that are broken will be fixed.

That's how we carry, guys. Sorry? Yeah. When we carry the presence, when believers carry

the ark, darkness retreats, hearts soften, healing flows, and the systems that are broken are fixed.

Now God governs through his people. God begins to reign through his people.

It's so different, guys. Yeah? And we simply have to abide.

If we abide, we bear fruit. If we abide, Christ begins to manifest, right? And then the second one,

the jar of mana. We are supposed to be jars of mana. As in like, we are supposed to be

God's provision for others. Yeah? The ark carriers live in the divine sufficiency of God.

We live in the divine sufficiency of God. We live in the divine sufficiency of God.

Not in self-reliance or in anxiousness. Yeah? So, you know, when you hear of this verse,

you know, hear it again. And I often get confused with this. Not confused in a sense,

I don't understand, but I don't live this way. And I fail to understand sometimes.

God rewards according to his riches and glory, not according to my needs and circumstances.

Yeah? Yeah, go ahead.

The jar of mana?

Yeah. Yeah, or else. Or else I'll share you later.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I'll finish in five minutes. Yeah.

So that I get dinner with Derek. Yeah. So, you know, the jar of mana, right? We are supposed to be

jars of mana for others. Because we dwell in the sufficiency of God.

Right? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. God never provides barely for your survival, guys.

Yeah? You know, you know, my wife was sharing about the prodigal son story. How one of the things

that made the son, the prodigal son, return to the father was,

there was plenty in my father's house. Even the servants were well fed.

Yeah? Provision was one of the reasons too. Here, you know, I'm not going to preach another sermon

on that. But one of the provision, like, one of the generosity of nature of the father is he's

an extravagantly lavishing father. And that made him that even servants have plenty.

And so we are supposed to be jars of mana for others. As in, to be the supernatural,

God's supernatural provision for others as well. Yeah? And the last one is Aaron's staff. Right?

Aaron's staff. We are supposed to be a people of authority. Jesus said, all authority in heaven

and on earth has been given to me. And then he goes on to say, I now authorize you to go and do

the same. Crazy, eh? These are some of the Bible verses which you and I don't fully understand.

Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And you know what? He goes the extreme, saying,

you are the light of the world. Crazy, eh? Do you think you are the light of the world?

If I say I am the light of the world, it sounds proud. It feels like I'm bragging.

But that's what Jesus said. Do we think like that? Most of the times, no.

We have to change the way we think, guys. We have to think from a perspective of

how God sees and thinks of us.

It's crazy, yeah? And Christ begins to rule and reign when we have been authorized and when we

give a life that is consecrated to God. See, there is no authority without consecration

because God is holy.

And why many Christians live a defeated life is because there is no consecration.

Right? It's just like they are just carrying an empty box.

It's like the Israelites. They took the ark into the battlefield, but it didn't help them.

Many Christians carry the presence of God, but it doesn't help. There's no power. There's no fruit.

Why? There's no life of consecration.

Because a life that is yielded to God, God begins to manifest his power.

Right? So just to wind up, the one who dwells in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

That's a very powerful statement, guys. That means the one who is living in you is greater

than the one who is in the world, meaning anything in the world is inferior to the one living in you.

To the one living in you. That means anything that I face in life is inferior.

Why would you fear of something inferior?

Right? Why would you be insecure of something inferior? When you know that you're going to

beat them, when you know that someone who is much more powerful is with you, why would you fear?

These are straight from the Bible, guys. Yeah?

So I pray that we understand the weight of this.

God entrust us with his ark, with his presence to carry.

It's a privilege for us, guys. It's a privilege. It's an honor. It's an honor. It's a privilege.

It's a responsibility. Many people take it casually.

Many people take it casually. I pray X-119 doesn't get there. I pray that we

dismantle this casualness of carrying God's presence, because this is the most precious

thing that God gave you and I. You know what? When the father, sorry, the father,

the most precious thing for the father was his son. He gave it away. You know what? Jesus comes

and he gave his life away and he said, I will give you my spirit. It's the most precious thing

that he can give to us. Yeah? And if God has entrusted us with the most precious thing,

why aren't we guarded with everything we have? I pray that we begin to understand the weight of

this, guys. The weight of carrying the presence of God. You're not on your own. You carry the

presence of God in your life. Can you carry it to your friends? Can you carry it to your workplaces?

Can you carry it to your streets, to your neighborhoods? Can you carry it to the world?

The world doesn't know this, guys. And this is why I want to make an invitation for anybody who

is thinking about not knowing who Christ is and what this entails. The indwelling does not happen

when a person is not born again. Because we were all once sinners, but Christ died for us. And so,

if we believe in Jesus Christ, then we receive the forgiveness of sins. And that's when the

forgiveness of sin happens, then he makes his indwelling available for anyone who is born again.

That's how it works, guys. And I pray that if you're considering of being born again, explore that.

And explore the meaning of that. And for those who are born again, for those who have been born

again, think about the weight, the power, the privilege, the responsibility, the weight of

carrying this presence. Because the world is yet to experience this in its fullness.

So bless you guys.

So Father, we thank you for this weight that you've given us.

Father, I'm just going to ask Tuni and Derek to go to the front. And if there's anyone here

who wants to become a part of your kingdom who's not, Father, we don't want to end without your

invitation. Because this is your invitation. So I'm just going to ask Tuni and Derek to go to the

front. And if there's anyone that they can come up and pray and speak to Tuni and Derek, because

this is your invitation, Father. You're saying, hey, I've given my ark. I've given my ark to you.

I've given my presence. I came and gave my life. And Father, we don't want to take it lightly.

We're in awe of the creator of the universe who created each one here, who created each one here

with a purpose, with a plan, and with a call within them to know their Father.

And you are that Father. And you continually calling your sons and daughters home.

So we thank you, Father.

We thank you, Father.

As a church father, we just rise up to give you thanks. We rise up to give you thanks for

what you've entrusted to us, for what you've given us in our own words, in our own places.

But we give you thanks because you are here. You've entrusted this to us. You said, hey,

I'm calling you to be carriers of my ark. What is that carriers of your presence? What Tuni has

explained? So we come to give you thanks. We come to respond in our own way, with our own words, Father.

So I'm going to put the mic aside, maybe loud, it may be quiet.

But we don't want to leave without responding to you, Father. This is something that you said

this is something that you said is one of these five things that we're supposed to become who we are.

So Father, we give you thanks. I thank you, Father. I thank you for the privilege you've given me to be a carrier.

Can you help me steward it well? Can you help me carry you out into the world? I want to be a carrier

of your presence, of your power, of your government, of your worship. I want to carry it,

Father. I want to carry it. I want to carry it with the weight and the reverence and the awe that is due, Father.

We carry it as a privilege, Father. We carry it carefully. We don't treat it casually. We don't treat it

talentously. We carry it with the reverence that is due to carry you, to have you dwell within us, Father.

So we thank you, Father.

Father, as we close this event, we thank you for the privilege you've given us to be a carrier of your presence,

of your power, of your power, of your power. We thank you for the privilege you've given us to be a carrier of your presence,

So we thank you, Father.

Father, as we close, I just say that if anyone wants prayer for anything, if anyone

wants to give their life to you, that they come up, Father.

And I know Sue has asked people to pray, so if anyone needs prayer, there will be people up here to

pray. This is the end of the service. Also, that image that was up on the board earlier, if anybody wants it,

Rachel has made it in a few different sizes, and so you can speak to me and I can give you the image.

But yeah, for those who have been asked to pray, feel free to come up, and if anyone needs prayer, please come up.

you