Sermon
Toolkit- The nuts and bolts of Hebrides 2.0
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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We talked about toolkits last time. This one is called the Nuts and Bolts of Hebrides 2.0.
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I won't go into trying to explain what Hebrides 2.0 is. You can listen to the past and come
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to a conclusion. Basically, we are saying that just as God turned up 75 years ago off
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the coast of Scotland, He is doing so again and He is doing it through us. We want to
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see how we steward what God is doing. When you look at the glory of God in the Old Testament
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and the New Testament, there is a distinct difference. I would suggest that we should
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go with New Testament precedent without ruling out what happened in the Old Testament. That's
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a good stance to take. On one hand, we don't rule out what happened in the Old Testament,
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but we take our cue from what did the display of God's glory look like in the New Testament?
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When you start looking at it, when you look at the New Testament, you find that the first
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display of glory was when in Luke 2 verse 9 the angels came to declare that Jesus Christ
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was born in Bethlehem. It was glorious. It was a display of heaven. Then you see the
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next one in John 2.11 where Jesus turned water into wine and they said it revealed His glory.
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Then you see His glory revealed in Matthew 17 where on the Mount of Transfiguration,
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His clothes began to radiate from inside out and His face was brighter than the midday sun.
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Peter later talks about this in 2 Peter 1.17 where he says, hey, we saw it. We're not inventing
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tales. We actually were there when it happened. Then in Luke 24, you see Him entering a room
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that's locked and He just turns up. Then in Luke 24, you see Him ascending and you can imagine
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how a cloud comes and takes Him out of sight as a man that has allowed them to put their fingers
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in the nail-scarred hands, literally rises up. Then you see the next display of glory in Acts
Acts 2 chapter mention
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chapter 2 at Pentecost where there was a sound of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire began
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to get distributed over 120 different people. Then you go to Acts chapter 9 and you see a man
Acts 9 chapter mention
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called Saul riding a horse on his way to Damascus and he gets struck by such a bright light that
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he falls off his horse. Then we go to Revelation 1 and you see John on the island of Patmos beginning
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to see the Son of God in His brilliant splendor. These are the displays of glory that we see in
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the New Testament. Anything else that you can think of? We're talking about, so what does glory
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look like for us? What are we seeking after? These weeks we've been talking about how God is
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once again on earth releasing a purifying fire and has entered the earth as a divine warrior
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and He's once again doing what He did 75 years ago in Hebrides and we're calling it Hebrides 2.0
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and that the glory of the Lord is what we are after. But if I don't know what I'm after,
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then when we do touch it we won't know that we found it. It's what happened to Christopher Columbus.
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He got to America and thought he was in India. So we got to be able to define it.
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Any other display of glory that you can think of in the New Testament?
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So the question is what does fullness of glory
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look like for you?
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And here's the thing, if you haven't thought and imagined it, if you haven't thought
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and imagined it,
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if you haven't read up on it and if you don't think about it, don't imagine it, don't read upon
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it, then how can God do more than you ask or imagine? I have not seen
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a person who has not thought of God, who has not imagined God, who has not seen the Lord,
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ask or imagine. I have not seen, ear has not heard what God will do for us, but it is beyond what we
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can ask or imagine. Have you asked or imagined? What does it look like? And if you ask or imagine,
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shouldn't it tie up with biblical precedent?
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What does it look like? What do you want to see? And does it match up with what the Bible wants?
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The thing is guys, sorry go ahead.
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Very good. There was one missing link which I was going to bring up later. Steven is being stoned
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and it was an evil stoning practice. A guy would be pushed off a ledge and he would be pushed off
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a ledge that was twice the size of the man and the hope was that if he falls and that fall kills him
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great. If not, the first witness would take a stone that was so heavy and drop it over his heart
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so that it would kill him and if that didn't kill him then they would begin to stone him.
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While this is happening, while they're stoning him, he says, I see heavens open and I see
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the glory of Christ revealed and then what does this glory do to him? This glory doesn't make him
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go charismatic or go fluffy. Here's what the glory makes him do. Oh God forgive them for they
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know not what they're doing. He takes the words of the cross and spreads it across other people that
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are speaking against him. That's another incident where it happens. But one of the things we have
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to do is imagine what this looks like. A dying art in churches today is imagination.
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That's one thing that will be taken away from us because of AI and Google which is like prehistoric
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now because we don't imagine anymore but we are called to imagine. Once we can imagine then God
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will say, hey I can do more than you can ask or imagine. So what's what in your mind is the fullness
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of glory? What does it look like to you? Just on the side thought I'd ask you to begin to think.
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So when it comes to revival, when it comes to revival
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or to displays of glory,
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what are you looking for? What are we looking for? I'll tell you what we are looking for.
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You can add to this. Here's what we are looking for. One, services like this full of
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the tangible presence of God.
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The tangible presence of God.
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The Holy Spirit falling on us. Don't ask me how, don't ask me what happens but the Holy Spirit is
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falling upon a congregation on you, on us. Wave after wave of worship.
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Here's the thing guys, if we believe in the priesthood of believers then it is incumbent upon you
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to imagine and think about things the same way that I do because it's not the pastor's job.
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There is no clergy lady divide. We hunger after the same things. I put it in words and I present it
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to you but the imagination and the thought must be the same for Vivek, for John and for Nelly.
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It should be the same.
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The duty of presenting it is mine.
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But we're not passive consumers of a message. We're after someone, right?
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And so these are things that I'm sure you imagine but it's good to now begin to take it more
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seriously because of the times we are in. Wave after wave of worship.
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Tongues, prophecies, repentance, people undone and changed, anxiety and fear disappearing.
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So this is one set of things. Let's go and look at another set. Wouldn't we love to see
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the same things that we see in the church?
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Anxiety and fear disappearing. So this is one set of things. Let's go and look at another set.
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Wouldn't we love during this time to see healings, deliverances
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and not flaky stuff but verified testimonies where when Don and Kezia come next week
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because Kezia and the baby Eliakim are doing well but Don looks like a man who hasn't slept
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forever, yeah? So that's why they're not in church. I'm kidding, I'm kidding but Don is quite the
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sight. He's asking for stuff like, can you get me sanitizer? That will kill all the germs.
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There's the same guy who used to give me, Derek, Jeevan and everybody else water out of the same
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bottle. Times have changed but healings and deliverances that are verified. When Don and
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Kezia come next week, you'll hear verified healing testimonies, medically established
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testimonies, not someone falling over and people saying, oh he's healed. He perhaps has another
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injury on his head but these are verified testimonies, eh? How about the church developing
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a reputation
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for signs and wonders so others can come?
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What about young men and women
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coming to church or coming to a gathering and being set alight because of presence?
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Being set alight because of presence?
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How about manifestations of the spirit?
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Manifestations of the spirit that are from the Bible, like what? Like rushing wind.
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New Testament, like the place shaking as it did in Acts chapter 4. Like cloud and fire.
Acts 4 chapter mention
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This is from the Old Testament. Like sounds of heaven. New Testament.
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And look at this list. Wouldn't you like it or would you not like it?
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Wouldn't you like it or would you not like it? This would be good. And these are all
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legit desires and biblical phenomena. These are legit desires and biblical phenomena.
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When one begins to shy away from this, one decides what God can or cannot do. We restrict
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him. We restrict him with less than two pounds of gray matter. We restrict the creator of the
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universe with less than two pounds of gray matter that he gave. And with stupid traditions. Stupid
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cultural and religious denominational traditions. We restrict him.
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But is this something that can be seen as a display of glory in our midst? Any questions on that? Any
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pushback? Any sense that now this is not for us? Because these are all legit biblical phenomena
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and these are good desires. As we look at this, here are the different reactions we can have.
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Now I want to keep away from it. Two, now I just want to meditate on Christ. Nothing wrong with that.
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We're going to talk about meditation on Christ. But try and identify if there's a resistance
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that is godly or ungodly, disguised as religious to these things.
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A lack of faith is different, but resistance is different.
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I may not have the faith for it, but am I resisting this?
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Any questions? Any disagreements?
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The line just lies with the guy who forces it. If we force it, we may get it once or twice and then
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we'll have to use smoke and mirrors to recreate it. Then it becomes such a veery endeavor because
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every time we gather, we'll have to do that song with that beat and have Nick jump twice as high
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so that all of us can jump. It just gets Nick. I'm just picking on you because I can.
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You can force this and as soon as you force it, here's what happens.
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Flesh and whatever is off the flesh decays or deceives. When it's off the spirit, then it has life.
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John 6.63, the words that I speak to you are spirit and life. Flesh profits nothing. Flesh decays.
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Flesh profits nothing. Flesh decays. The spirit gives life.
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But here's the other extreme then. Because we are scared of going into the flesh,
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we will not touch anything that is off the spirit. That's not how you learn how to do anything.
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I can't hear you.
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Yeah, so it's easy to...
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Churches use emotions to manipulate. You can have the whole place go quiet and then have a
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loud touch and people will feel touched. Or I can start crying here and then open my eyes to see
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how many more are crying and make sure I cry some more so that you all get to cry.
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All we'll use up in the process is tissue boxes. More trees will die.
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But what if we didn't use methods like that? What if we didn't use songs to stir up? What if it was...
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If the spirit of God does it, so be it. If it doesn't happen, then what's not happening?
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Anything that has to happen must be of the spirit. So I've got to make sure that I don't use emotions
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or the desire of the flesh to feel something to manipulate the church.
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And charismatically, there's an even better edit.
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It's an art. That's why televangelism flourishes.
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So there's that side of it. And then there's a thing where we get so traditional that...
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So scared of that, that now we won't touch anything of the spirit. And that's the other extreme.
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Neither is good. Each is evil. Evil.
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These are all legit. This is what we are looking for. Now let's look at what he's looking for.
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What is he, as in Christ, looking for?
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What is Christ looking for at a time when there's a refreshing? Whenever there's a refreshing or a
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revival or when the glory of God seems to be like a tsunami across the earth, you know that the
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presence of God is beginning to do different things amongst people. One of my favorite things
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to do over the last three weeks is to sit with each person whenever I am with you in a restaurant
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or something and ask you, hey, so tell me something. What is different? What is happening to you?
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And what is happening to someone else? And I love the answers I'm getting. And they're different.
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All I say is you can't use the words awesome, amazing, fire, revival. Wow. You have to describe
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what's happening without using these five words. You take those five words away, you might have to
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speak English. And then let's see what it sounds like. Because there's something afoot.
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So what is he after? What is Christ looking for? Here's what he's looking for.
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Recommitment to God and his word. Two, turning from habitual sin that wraps itself around our feet,
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like it says in Hebrews 12, and causes us to keep stumbling, turning from habitual sin and apathy.
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Three, passion for the kingdom
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and truth. Passion for the kingdom and truth. Or passion for the kingdom and truth.
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Or passion for the kingdom and how it operates. The principles, the truth,
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how it operates. Passion for the kingdom and how it operates.
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D, or four, fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, like it used to happen in Acts 2, Acts 4, Acts 9,
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Acts 10, Acts 19. Fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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Here's another one. Transformed lives
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that transform lives that are expressed in purity, boldness, proclamation.
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This is what he is after. Which is not to say that our desires or what we are after is wrong.
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It is just that the priority has to shift. This is what he, Christ, is after when he sends a fresh
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wave of the Spirit into a people. When he begins a Hebrides 1.0 or a Hebrides 2.0 or when he begins
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the Welsh Revival or when he, whenever he does this and we look at all the revivals in the New
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Testament, we look at them. We'll see what's common. What can we expect? But this is what Christ wants.
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Christ wants Acts 29, this church, everybody sitting here to recommit to God and the word.
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So when this becomes a measure, the questions change. The question is, over the last three and
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a half weeks, Jacob, have you found a greater delight and interest and consumption of the word?
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The next one, turning from habitual sin and apathy. Habitual sin. Are there habitual sins in your life,
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Jacob, that you have a greater desire to break out of? Habitual sin. Go past porn and lust and pride
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and focus on the self. Some of us are little idols to ourselves that everybody must serve.
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So the question is turning from habitual sin and apathy. You know sometimes how easy it is to measure
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apathy? It's just a question of when do you turn up and why do you turn up and what do you do after
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you turn up? Three simple questions that can answer apathy. When do you turn up? Why do you turn up?
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What do you do after you turn up? At a workplace, that's how they evaluate you. It's the same with
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the kingdom. Passion for the kingdom and how it operates. This is what Christ expects when
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this happens. You take any revival that was genuine in its early stages and you'll find this.
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Passion for the rule of the king in our lives and then in radiating circles of influence. A passion
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for the king and his ways, his rule and how it operates first in our lives and then in the lives
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around us. But it must first show in mind so that it can be something that increases in its radius of
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influence. Fourth one, fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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Hey we may be affiliated with the Baptist but we are actually looking for the baptism of someone
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greater than the Baptist which is the Holy Spirit. There'd be no mistake in mistaking that.
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So fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. Is it biblical? Look at Acts chapter 2. When they're filled
Acts 2 chapter mention
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with the Holy Spirit? Yes. What happens in Acts chapter 4? The Holy Spirit is filled with the
Acts 4 chapter mention
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with the Samaritans and the Samaritans now have an experience of the Holy Spirit. What happens in
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one-off phenomena. In Acts chapter 19 Paul is with people in Ephesus again and he asks them what kind
Acts 19 chapter mention
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of baptism did you receive? And they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. It started in actually John 20.
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Jesus turned to his disciples and said receive the Holy Spirit and he breathed on them. You think
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chapter 4 the place begins to shake and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day
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do you, these are the questions that I must ask, Pawan must ask, Lenny must ask, Crystal must ask.
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Do I, every time I gather, am I in a place of yieldedness to you Holy Spirit so that a fresh
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baptism, anointing, immersing of my person happens in the life of the Spirit so that when I come up
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I am different. Now how am I different? I become more like Christ. That is the measure of the
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baptism of the Spirit. When the measure of the baptism of the Spirit is falling backwards
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and getting up after a little while and speaking in tongues, it is good, have it,
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but if it ends there it's not good enough.
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This is what we are after or this is what he is after. And the last one, transform lives.
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Lives changed. Lives changed. How does it express itself? In purity, in boldness, in proclamation.
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You think when you meet Don he'll talk any more about Barcelona or Real Madrid, sorry,
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you think he'll talk about Real Madrid, you think he'll talk about Ronaldo? He's got only one soccer
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player now, Eliya Krip. He's already started playing with him. And check apathy in your life,
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check apathy in your life. And the moment you see apathy in your life you have a choice.
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Stay in it, enjoy it, seek the sympathy of others or snap out of it.
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Any questions?
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Once we give him what he wants, and I'm praying that this is what we give him, and it'll happen
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not because of us but because of him. So what's the point of teaching this if he's going to do it
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anyways? We are aware of what he's doing. Intentionality always helps. You know what you're
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supposed to focus on and what you're supposed to set as your second priority. When this happens,
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set as your second priority. When this happens, this begins to happen just so naturally.
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How does this not happen to people that are here?
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It is as natural that this will happen.
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We shall see it, guys.
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We shall see it soon.
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Wouldn't it be so crazy if he had a reputation for signs and wonders?
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You know how many people could be helped?
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Okay. What were revivals like in the New Testament? Revivals in the New Testament.
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Let's look at them. Acts chapter 2, Pentecost. You know that one.
Acts 2 chapter mention
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There were people from 12 different nations and here's the thing, they were all in one accord
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and they were together and then the Spirit of God comes and he falls upon their heads,
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cloven tongues of fire. They begin to speak about God. They begin to proclaim
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people. So that's revival through the Holy Spirit.
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Let's take the next one. Acts chapter 5,
Acts 5 chapter mention
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1 to 16. Fear and reverence
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in the church. This was an internal matter and I pray God that it happens to us too,
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that there'd be a cleansing of the house. Acts 5, 1 to 16. This is the story. You know it. Ananias
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and Sapphira. They try and come to corrupt a fledgling church. Come to destroy, to undo the
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fabric of a fledgling church. A God steps in and in his stepping in. Ananias and Sapphira die,
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but it goes on to say in the verses after that after that there was fear and reverence in the
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church. People were hesitant to join things unless they were really serious about God.
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I was reading it and I was thinking, father, could we have that? Could we have it at Acts 29
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where you are able to hold a plumb line against the church and say, hey guys, to whom much is
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given, much is expected, can you measure up? Won't that be good? What is the beginning of wisdom?
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The fear of God. It's the dread of offending the one we love. The dread of offending the one who
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laid his life down. The dread of offending the one we love. It's a holy, godly child to father fear,
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spouse to spouse fear, where a husband refuses to look at anybody in any situation in any country
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because he can't bear the thought of grieving the one he loves even though she's not there. That is
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fear. So this was a revival that broke out because of fear. Splendid, eh? You should read it. Let's
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just go to Acts chapter 5. Acts 5. Reading from verse 10. At that moment she fell down
Acts 5 chapter mention
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at his feet and died. Then the young men came and finding her dead, carried her out and buried her
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beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. The
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apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people and all the believers
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used to meet together in Solomon's Colony. Listen to the next line. No one dared join them even
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though they were highly regarded by people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed
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in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets
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and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he
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passed by. Crowds gathered also from towns around Jerusalem bringing the sick and those
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tormented by evil spirits and all of them were healed. This is the nature of what we are trying
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to go after but part of it requires a fear and the reverence of God. Yeah? Look forward to it,
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church. It's not a frightening thing. It's a consuming fire that comes from the Father.
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You know, you guys are getting better. There are nods now, yeah? It's very encouraging.
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We will get a voice one day. Next one. There was the Samaritan revival. That's in
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Samaritan revival is in Acts 8, 4 onwards, 4 to 25. Go to Acts chapter 8, 4 to 25 and you'll see
Acts 8 chapter mention
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there. This was a revival where it transformed a community. Acts chapter 8, verse 4 to 25.
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How did it begin? It began with Philip.
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People, look at this, hey? Verse 6, when the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs
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he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. There's something to it, hey?
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When people saw and heard, they paid close attention.
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Do it again, oh God. Do it again. Do it again.
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And then it goes on to describe the rest of it right from Simon the Sorcerer and so on.
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This was when an entire community was transformed because a man called Philip began to
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trust God for signs and wonders. Let's take another one.
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Let's take another one. Conversion of Saul. Conversion of Saul. Acts chapter 7
Acts 7 chapter mention
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to Acts chapter 9, till he falls off his horse and meets the Lord. But we need to remember that why
Acts 9 chapter mention
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are we taking Saul as an example of a revival? Sometimes guys in a revival all you need is one
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man to burn. One man to burn. You just need one man to burn. One dillna, one hip, one toony,
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just one man to burn or one woman to burn. One Shireen, one Maya, one Ruth.
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Age is not a factor guys. One man to suddenly catch fire. Like I've said, I've quoted D.L. Moody
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every so often saying the world is yet to see what God can do with a man who is consecrated to God.
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The world is yet to see what God can do with one man who is consecrated to God, as in set
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apart to God. Sometimes in these revivals you find people like this. Nobody's. You've never
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met before and suddenly God does something and it changes. The question though here is when we look
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at Acts chapter 7 to 9, who should we pick as that one man? Should we pick Stephen or should we pick
Acts 7 chapter mention
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Saul? That's a question. Yes, Saul did what he did but who triggered him? Who held the cloaks of
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the witnesses because every time the witness would go and drop a stone on the guy or throw a stone,
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they would take off the outer cloak, give it to a man who stood there and the man who stood there
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was Paul and he can hear what Stephen is saying. He's seeing this clan that he's persecuting. A
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man is dying and the man is saying I see the heavens open and I see the son of God in all his
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glory. Paul knows the scriptures. Then he goes on to say, oh God into your hands I commit my spirit.
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Paul knows Psalm 22 where it's a prophetic word that is spoken by David that Christ would later
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on speak and then he hears a third phrase from Stephen as he's dying. Father forgive them for
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they know not what they're doing. Paul knows who said that before because that's the people he's
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after, the ones that believe in it. So who is that one man who's been touched by the revival, touched
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by the glory of God? Was it Saul or was it Stephen? I would say both because one does not exist without
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the other and then there's another man in the equation called Barnabas who starts a revival
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in Antioch and that's when he goes and finds Paul and he brings him when nobody else wants to touch
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Paul. You have no idea how many hands and feet and legs and lives were risked for one Paul, Ananias
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who was told listen don't know go near him and he goes to Simon the Tanner's house so that he can
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open his eyes. Sometimes these revivals produce one man but you don't know and I don't know how
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effective we have been in bringing that man up so that he can burn.
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God, can you imagine what Paul's hearing that day?
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Next revival that we see in the New Testament, Cornelius's household.
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Cornelius's household. Now we go into Gentile
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revival. This is the first time, all this time it was Jews, the Samaritans, the Samaritans were
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frowned upon sect of the Jews but now we're going into pagan territory. Now we're talking about you
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and I. Where God suddenly begins to affect the people of the world.
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Where God suddenly begins to affect Cornelius and the household and how does he do it? Through
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a godly man which doesn't mean he believed in Judaism or Christ but a godly man who gathers
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his friends and relatives, friends and family and the spirit of God falls upon them.
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What is your expectation church? You know what my expectation is nowadays? Every time I turn up for
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a meeting I do not know what might happen but I look forward to everything that might happen.
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I do not know what might happen but I look forward to everything that might happen.
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I want to be like a wind sock at the airport that blows whichever way the wind blows and if the wind
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changes, stop, change. Jesus said this about the spirit. You don't know where he's coming from,
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you don't know where he's going but you'll hear the rustling of the spirit in the trees.
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Every time we gather a people who are in the middle of something like this must have the same
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expectation and if you haven't slept enough go sleep but don't make sure that this ain't the
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place where you fall asleep. I'm not looking at anyone though I could but that's not the point.
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The point is this that you know the point. Next one. Did you know that there were so many revivals
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in the New Testament? Next one is Antioch. Antioch in Acts 11, 19 to 26. This was an ethnic revival.
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Hey, know this that there'll be times when you are called to someone's house and they'll say all we
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have here is a few of my friends and family and there might be one godly man there and the rest
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of them may be anti-god but you are called there and this one Cornelius has called you there to sit
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and talk about the Holy Spirit. Remember the season you are in and tailor what you say according to
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the season you are in so that you can open for God what he wants to do from heaven here on earth.
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You must understand your point of origin. Your point of origin from now on is that you belong
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to a different realm called heaven and heaven's trying to pour something on earth. It just so
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happens that heaven thinks you in with all your flaws and your lack of theological finesse are
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the portal through which heaven can begin to work here on earth. So when you go into situations
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instead of pulling out your best message, your best song, be that portal so God can begin to
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do here on earth what he did 75 years ago. Antioch, this was an ethnic revival. The first one was
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family and friends and those family and friends went out and for all you know Italy had believers
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because of Cornelius but in this case it was Greeks. It is predominantly Greek.
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There are times when you might think I don't want to get clannish but there are times when you'll
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have to go to your people because God wants to start something with your ethnicity.
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Sheldon's already jumping with joy saying I'm going to Hong Kong with Jacob.
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Yeah.
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I'll be there on the eighth so you want to come with that yeah you'll have it'll be hard to now
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withdraw that yeah. Yeah. So the point is this God does this different ways. We're just looking at
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the things he did. Let's take two more. Sometimes it starts with one person
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but she becomes responsible for a movement. Acts chapter 16 verse 14 onwards. There was a woman
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called Lydia. Paul and his companions go to the river because they had heard that some
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people gather there. They go there. There's a woman called Lydia who sells textiles in
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Tatria. They go begin to chat her up. She is so amazed by what they say about God that she
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welcomes them into her home and then there begins a church of Philippi and the churches of Tessalonica.
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Revivals often end up not just reviving people but going to the point where churches
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birth. This woman then ends up introducing them to the city where they get arrested and so you have
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the jailer who is going to commit suicide and then a woman with divination who gets delivered. These
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are the first three members. Wouldn't you count yourself an amazingly lucky pastor if you found
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for yourself a jailer who was going to commit suicide, a woman with a demonic spirit and a
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merchant who was selling textiles. They become your first three members. Hallelujah.
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But this was the revival in a place called Tessalonica and Philippi just happened to be the
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first place where it started. Beautiful, eh?
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Next one. This was a mass revival. This is the kind of revival that we sometimes hear of and see.
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See.
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Acts 19, Ephesus.
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Acts 19, Ephesus where when you read from Acts 19 1 to 20 you see people came by the droves
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repenting. And how do we know they repented? Guys, Ephesus was a city known for its magic. Even today
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when you go to the Natural History Museum in Britain you'll find papyri where incantations
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and chants written in Ephesus are still kept there. It is a city of magic and into that city
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comes Paul and after the seven sons of Sceva are beaten up and they go running because they took the
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name of Christ in vain, you had a mass revival where people came and they started throwing their
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magic chants, their amulets, their incantations and I believe the cost of it ran into close to a million
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in today's currency. People repented and turned to Christ. What a sight. This still happens.
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Some of the older members here know how I tried the same thing in the middle of a forest in
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Indonesia surrounded by 10 villages and set up a drum and put a fire in the drum and people started
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coming tearing off stuff and throwing it. Witches would try walking up the steps and they would try
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coming up the steps and you didn't even have to speak. They would come to the third step and then
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they would fall backwards because the power of God wouldn't allow it to happen. But I don't want to
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see it in Indonesia once. I want to see it in Vancouver at Acts 29 on a regular basis where
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people are set free. You think this city is any different? Victoria and Vancouver are known as
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the vortex of some of these practices. And God is giving us an opportunity saying,
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hey, can you rise up? I want to do this through you.
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And somehow he looks at you as he says this and he doesn't feel discouraged about your lack of
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response like I do because he knows your hearts. And when he looks into your hearts, he says,
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they're a quiet lot but my God, if you could see the fire inside.
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And I then have to use tremendous faith to believe what he's saying.
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Last one. I love this one. Acts 28, 4 to 10. Imagine going to Hawaii.
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This island was smaller. There was a man called Publius, whose father was sick
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and Paul heals him. But before Paul heals him, he's already got a reputation because a snake bit him
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and the snake died or was thrown into the fire. This brought to pass Mark 16, 18, which says that
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you shall drink poison, you shall trample on serpents but they shall not harm you. Then he meets
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Publius's father, prays for him, a man gets healed. And I love the next line. All the people
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in Hawaii got healed. Come on, man.
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Pardon? Yeah, I'm just thinking of Hawaii.
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All the people who were sick got healed.
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I'm so tired of how people have the amazing ability to take this God who is unchanging
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and decide that this was only for the first 30 years of Christianity and then it's over.
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That must require some kind of stupid thinking.
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That God has changed. He's stopped. What is it about his nature that he has stopped?
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Is he the I was or is he the I am? How do we then cut off a portion of God saying this is done?
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Because we don't see it. We don't see it. We don't see it. We don't see it. We don't see it.
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We don't see it. So what's common? What's common to all these things? What's common?
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Common. A oneness forged by man in obedience to God. In most of these situations, you will find
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Beat the Samaritans. Beat Cornelius. For Peter, it was a big delay. He's a Jew who's struggling
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with it and telling God, listen, didn't you say don't mix with the Gentiles?
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There's a oneness that is forged. And for this oneness to be forged amongst us, I have to break
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break the little round idol called Jacob. I'm putting round for myself because for my birthday,
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Vibi gave me a round little beaver with an RCMP cap and said, this looks as cute, round, and
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adorable as you. And then he didn't sign his name. So now I'm getting really scared thinking,
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I hope it's not a female. But fortunately, he found out it was Vibi in time. The point being this.
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Till I break this little round idol called Jacob, oneness is going to be difficult. Can you break
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the idol that you are, where everybody has to serve you, where everybody has to jump to your
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women fancy, where everybody has to pat your head, tell you how wonderful you are?
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Can you not be that idol?
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Because that then allows oneness.
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Vibi, you came in a minute too late.
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Oneness found by man. Oneness. Here are the common things. Second, there were healings and deliverances.
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Third, this one I didn't realize was common to all of them. There was opposition and divine protection.
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Four, there was a cleansing of the church from religion
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and manmade traditions.
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From religion
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and manmade traditions.
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One, two, three, four, five.
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People saw signs
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and paid attention.
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Six, Christ became supremely valuable.
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Christ became supremely valuable
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of unsurpassing worth.
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I'm going to read out something for you. I wasn't written by me to get an idea of the last point.
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If I still have it.
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Listen to this thing.
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As Christians, we receive him simply as sin forgiver because he can make us guilt free.
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As a rescuer from hell because we love being pain free. As a healer because we love being disease free.
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As a protector because we love being safe. As prosperity giver because we love being wealthy.
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As the Lord of history because we love having purpose. But do we receive him as supremely
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and personally valuable for who he is? We rarely receive him that way.
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The way that Paul did when he spoke of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord.
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We don't receive him as he really is. More glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful,
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more satisfying than everything else in the universe. The day we start doing that,
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we will prize him, treasure him, cherish him, and delight in him like we never have.
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These were common to the revivals in the New Testament.
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Oneness, healings and deliverance, opposition and divine protection,
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cleansing of the church from religion and man-made traditions. People saw signs and paid
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attention. Christ became supremely valuable and of unsurpassing worth. This was common to all the
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revivals in the New Testament. Guys, we've seen the chariots of fiery
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like Elijah did. Please, please listen. Don't switch off yet. I'm almost done. Don't switch
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off yet. We have seen the chariots of fire like Elijah did. We have seen the mantle fall and it
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is ours to pick up. Those that are diligent in pursuit, those who walk in oneness, those who
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wrestle with faith, and those who walk in humility will enter and enjoy and distribute
-
and deliver this move that God is igniting in our midst to people around. All I need is 10 people
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in this church. All I need is 10. I was talking to the Lord about it and I said, Dika, if you get 10
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people, 10 who will diligently pursue, wrestle with faith, just 10. He says, you get me 10
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and I'll make sure this happens. That's all he needs, 10. 10 people who are willing to dig.
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You know, if you knew there was a treasure in your backyard, all you know is this. There's a
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treasure in your backyard or you're in a dry place and your fields are slowly beginning to wither.
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Why? Because the rains have failed. But in a dream, three nights in a row, the Lord turns up and He
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says to you, there's a well in your backyard, 20 meters from the white wicket fence. Go towards it
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and you go there. You know that there's a well there because God has spoken it three times.
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Or you know there's a treasure there and you start digging. You dig two feet, it's not there. What do
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you do? You dig six feet, it's not there. What do you do? You dig eight feet and you hit stone and
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mud. What do you do? You hit 10 feet and you find a trickle of water that won't even quench the
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thirst of a crow. What do you do? What do you do? You keep digging. Why? Because there is something
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that has been given to you that is so solid that you know it's only a matter of time before you hit
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the water bed. Once you hit it, that cannot be stopped.
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God is saying give me 10 people like that who can stick with it. Give me 10 people who can do what
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I ask them to do in numbers. In numbers it says that God brought them to a place where there was
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a well that God had provided water from to Moses when Moses asked for it. We don't even know the
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well, the name of the well. It's a famous well but somehow the Old Testament doesn't record that well
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and he says when they came to beer and please read it as beer and not beer and think it's
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permission. When they came to drink, so when they came to this place called beer, they found a well
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that Moses had asked God for and water would come and so here's what they did. They began to take
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their staffs and their sceptres and the leaders and the people came and they began to sing a song
-
of celebration before the water came and here's what they sang. Spring up oh well, spring up oh
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well, spring up oh well, spring up oh well and they start digging with their staffs and with their
-
sceptres and as they dig water begins to flow and the people drink. 10 people is all what God needs.
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10 who are willing to dig with faith, with faith, with faith that does not fail, that does not fade,
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that does not need another confirmation because God is saying you're up to here with the words
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I've given you. Now start digging, give me 10 and I'll make sure that what I ignite here will go
-
across the earth. All he needs is blooming 10. Strangely enough for God, 10 is usually enough.
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Where do we first see it? Genesis. What if there are 10 people in the city, will you spare it?
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Yeah. How many people does it take before you can build a synagogue? 10.
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If 10 of us can catch this and move forward then the church will step into waist-deep water.
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Those in diligent pursuit, those who walk in oneness, those who wrestle with faith and those
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who walk in the truth, those who walk in the truth, those who walk in the truth, those who walk in the
-
diligent pursuit, those who walk in oneness, those who wrestle with faith and those who walk
-
in cross-bearing humility will have key bearing authority and new names in this new season.
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Let me read that again. Those who diligently pursue, those who walk in oneness,
-
those who can dig with decrees and celebrate the well of healing that God promised in the
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leaders approved, those who can wrestle with faith and those who can walk with cross-bearing
-
humility and key bearing authority will have new names in this new season. You know, at home,
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someone made me a vest. It's not a vest. It looks like a vest. On one side is a cross and the other
-
side is a key and on the back it says, holy to the Lord. There's a connection between cross-bearing
-
humility and key bearing authority. There is no key bearing authority till there is cross-bearing
-
humility and if 10 are willing to stand up for this, then know immediately that the knife of
-
circumcision will be applied to you. What does that mean? That you must be circumcised then.
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That's part of the equation because otherwise you can't walk in this. So let's pray and as we pray,
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if you're one of the 10 and we might have two sets of 10, three sets of 10, all I need, not all I
-
need, all God needs is 10. So I'm just going to pray and this is between you and God, not even
-
between you and me. So Father, I want to be the first of the 10. Please count me in. Please take
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the knife of circumcision and apply it to my life wherever it needs to be undone, wherever things
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need to be cut off, wherever there is a demand to worship the idol called Jacob,
-
wherever there are luxuries afforded. Oh God, this is so worth it.
-
I come Father as one of the 10. There are others here that will rise up Father.
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Let us rise up please, oh God, let them not rise up if this is not a sure thing because I pray that
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we understand that the time for fun and games is over, that if God actually sees us standing,
-
He will mean business. And I'm reminded of Ecclesiastes 10 I think where it says,
-
do not make a vow to God Jacob if you don't plan to keep it because if you do, He will hold you
-
responsible. So make this as hard for me as possible, oh God, so that if I stand up,
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I'm standing up to be measured, to have my head shaved, to stand in line with others
-
and to march from dawn to dusk without complaint. If this is what I'm signing up for Father,
-
then please count me in, oh God. Come on Lord, you'll have your 10 easily in this church
-
and then another 10 and another 10.
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So we thank you for the first 10 Abba.
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We thank you for the first 10.
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We thank you for the first 10.
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You're seeing them.
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So I say to you what that boy said to you in Hebrides 1.0, you are a covenant-keeping God
-
and you are someone who engages your covenant amongst men. You ask for 10, there are 10.
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Now keep your covenant, oh God, otherwise how will I tell others that you, oh God, are faithful,
-
even though I know you're faithful. We pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you guys.
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I'm going to ask
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someone to come and do communion. I'll ask,
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Tarun and Jane to come up and do communion.
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And if you need prayer after that, there'll be people here to pray with you.
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And tell your, the school starts on Saturday. If you want to sign up, please do.
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Amen.
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Father God, we are here in your presence, oh Lord Jesus. We pray that you are with us, oh Lord
-
Father, and during this time that we've heard this message from you today and from Jacob. We
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pray that you fill our hearts with your presence, oh Lord. We fill, oh Lord, we come to you and we
-
surrender completely into you, oh Lord Father, and may this week be a blessing for us from your
-
heavenly Father. We pray that you strengthen us in any hurdle that is there with us, oh Lord Father.
-
We pray that you yoke with us, oh Lord Father, and for your burden is light, oh Lord Jesus. We walk
-
with you, oh Lord Father, for we know that you will open up those doors for us, oh Lord Jesus.
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In your mighty name we pray, amen.
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We'll just give a few minutes for the elements to be passed around.
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Amen.
-
Abba, I pray that as we wait for the bread and cup to come, I pray that,
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I pray that we see this cup as a cup of surrender.
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Jesus, you surrendered everything. You surrendered your life so that we can have life.
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I pray that
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as we take this cup today, it be a cup of surrender today.
-
Amen.
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So that we can carry everything you are here to ask us to carry.
-
Amen.
-
Father, I hear you saying, eat of my flesh, drink of my blood.
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These are usually terms we avoid, oh God.
-
It sounds terrible in today's context, and yet you're saying, will you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood?
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Eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, and then you went on to say, if you don't, you have no part in me.
-
In pagan religions, the God Paul said that when people would partake,
-
thanks, when people would partake at the table of their gods, they would become one with their gods.
-
It was an ancient practice.
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That's part of the reason you tell us now not to eat food offered to idols.
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But today you're saying to us, taking that motive from what Paul said, you're saying to us, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood.
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Partake with me, become one with me.
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So that you can say of your bride today here at Act 29, flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone.
-
So we thank you Father, as we say to ourselves now, quietly, that I eat of your flesh, Jesus, and I drink of your blood.
-
Strange thing to say, but we say it a couple of times to ourselves, that Jesus, we eat of your flesh, and we drink of your blood.
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It gives us life, it makes us one with you.
-
We partake at your table.
-
You said, if I don't, I have no part in you.
-
I thank you that you gave your flesh to be eaten and your blood to be poured out for my sin.
-
I don't know why you want us to do it this way.
-
We'll understand it better next time, Abba.
-
And so on the night he was betrayed, he took bread, he broke it, and he said, this is my body, which is broken for you.
-
Eat it.
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And so we eat it.
-
Let the will of heaven be the will here on earth of the people under this roof right now.
-
In the same manner after supper, he took the cup, he gave thanks, and he said, this is my blood, with which I sign a new agreement with you.
-
As often as you eat and drink of it, remember.
-
And so we remember the passage from John chapter 6 today.
John 6 chapter mention
-
Eat of my flesh, drink of my blood, and if you don't, you have no part in me.
-
So we partake at your table right now as we become one with you.
-
One with you.
-
We say that of God.
-
I am one with you.
-
Your spirit and my spirit have become one.
-
Say it again.
-
I am one with you, Lord Jesus.
-
Your spirit and my spirit have become one.
-
One more time.
-
I am one with you, Lord Jesus.
-
Your spirit and my spirit have become one.
-
Here's another one.
-
I am in you, and you are in me.
-
Crazy, eh?
-
I am in you.
-
I am in you.
-
I am in you.
-
I am in you.
-
I am in you.
-
I am in you.
-
And you are in me.
-
So we thank you, Jesus, for what you did.
-
We raise our glasses to you and bless you.
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We thank you as we drink now.
-
Magnificent sun, in Jesus' name.