An Army that Proclaims

One of the things we want to do before we leave today is to just pray for the elections tomorrow.

Not that we say that one party should win or the other, but that let's see how we pray.

But we will just pray for it tomorrow because, again, seek the welfare of the city that we live in.

Today we start with

An Army That Proclaims.

An Army That Proclaims. That's the title.

And so when we talk about the Great Commission, which is in Matthew 28, 18-20,

when we talk about the Great Commission, which is in Matthew 28, 18-20, if you want to read it,

Matthew 28, 18-20, Matthew 28, 18-20.

It says that,

Then Jesus came to them and said,

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.

So the Great Commission is actually, it's actually the, actually marching orders,

marching orders for the church.

Marching orders for the church, or in other words, it's Jesus.

We don't think like this, but I'd like us to begin to think like this.

Jesus declaring war as in the triumph of a risen king,

the triumph of a risen king over every power hostile to his reign.

Hostile to his reign.

We don't think like this, but Jesus does.

He has always been a warrior king.

He's always been a warrior king.

And so the Great Commission, we love calling it the Great Commission,

and yet the very idea of commission carries in this sense of marching orders.

He says all authority, as in he's letting you know that as a risen king,

I now am the sole ruler of the entire universe.

Every other, every other, every other power is lesser, is counterfeit.

There is only one who rules the entire universe and that's me.

And from that place, he says, now that I have all authority, go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

And so the Great Commission is actually marching orders for the church,

as in if you were in a platoon or if you were in a brigade and you got your marching orders,

what it meant was you were being sent to the field and you were sent with a specific mandate saying,

this is what you need to do now, and then you would march off into that place.

So it's marching orders for the church and it exempts nobody.

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go.

Not therefore some of you stay, not therefore some of you pray, therefore go.

While you're going, you can pray, while you're going, you can stay somewhere,

but therefore go and make disciples of all nations.

Try not to create an image of what go looks like in your head because that can come later.

For different people, the go is different, but the go is for everybody.

So it's marching orders for the church, Jesus declaring war, and that sounds like so not Jesus.

He's not supposed to be anything but peaceful, nice, gentle, like a domesticated cat.

He's not that.

One of the intents when he rose again is, hey, I will take back everything that was stolen in the Garden of Eden.

I'll get it back.

And that all hostile powers will be subdued.

And in the process of hostile powers being subdued, I will get back what is mine.

And what is most precious to him?

Not the earth, not the mountains, not the water, not the rivers.

It's people.

Any questions on this?

We don't view this like this because we rarely view Jesus as a warrior king.

We rarely view Jesus as divine warrior or a warrior king.

Rarely view him that way.

And yet scripture is just replete with him being warrior king.

He cloaks himself with zeal.

He wears a breastplate of righteousness.

He rides a white horse.

He has the name King of Kings and Lord of Lords written on him.

He's a jealous god.

His name is Lord Sabaoth.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God raises up a standard against him.

He sees himself like this.

It's we who have gone soft.

Okay.

So that's one part of the Great Commission.

Marching orders for the church.

Jesus declaring war.

How is he declaring war?

From a place of triumph.

The triumph of a risen king over every power hostile to his reign.

You guys have watched the lion, the witch and the wardrobe?

Remember Aslan lying on that slab?

And the enemy has thought that he's won.

And then what happens is a crack on that slab.

Everything that the enemy thought he had won is lost in that one shot.

And what's the shot?

Him rising from the dead.

Every hostile rule brought low.

Next thing about the Great Commission.

The Great Commission, let's just call it a GC.

The Great Commission demonstrates, the Great Commission demonstrates the authority,

the Great Commission demonstrates the authority of the warrior king.

Of the warrior king.

Of the warrior king as he asserts, as he asserts his power over the earth.

As he asserts his power over the earth.

How does he do it?

It's crazy.

It's just like how kings used to.

He asserts his power over the earth by sending out his people.

By sending out his people to carry out his mission.

The Great Commission is a demonstration of the authority of the warrior king as he asserts his power over the earth.

The Great Commission is a demonstration of the authority of the warrior king as he asserts his power over the earth.

By sending out his people to carry out his mission.

That's what kings used to do.

Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar.

I mean take any emperor.

That's what they would do.

Send out his people so that they can carry out his mission.

And that's what Christ does.

And so when his people don't go, the question arises, who is their allegiance to?

Is it to the world? Is it to themselves? Or is it to the king?

And so it's a common thing. It's a corporate thing. It's not selective choice.

I've said this before, one of the things I really like about Jesus Christ is everything he demands of us, he has done.

But his demands are so strong. There's nothing weak about this religion, man.

We're the ones who make it look weak. But he, the demands he places on us, gosh, allegiance matters, man.

And allegiance always has feet.

Any allegiance that does not have feet is not allegiance.

So that's the second one.

The third thing, the Great Commission, there's a mandate.

The Great Commission has a mandate.

All this is encapsulated in Matthew 28, 18 to 20.

The Great Commission has a mandate.

A mandate. A mandate is King Jesus commands people of the Spirit, meaning the Church, commands the people of the Spirit,

or the community of the Spirit, or the Church, commands the people of the Spirit to baptize nations

and to plant congregations and to teach them everything he taught us.

That's the mandate.

That's the mandate.

Matthew 28, 18 to 20. Go baptize them.

You baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, but what do you baptize them into?

What's he saying there?

Listen, I want you to go plant congregations. You baptize them into the body of Christ.

And that's the mandate.

King Jesus commands the people of the Spirit, you and I, if you're born again, you have the Spirit of God living in you,

commands the people of the Spirit to baptize nations.

To baptize nations, not to baptize an individual here or an individual there.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

So Cali matters. New York matters. Vancouver matters. All nations.

The crazy thing is this is what is demanded of us.

And he's a warrior king.

I mean, you want to see what he looks like? Just a picture of it.

Go to Revelation 19. Revelation 19.

Just so you don't think this is some kind of thing that we are creating.

Revelation 19.

Verse 11.

Revelation 19, verse 11.

Revelation 19:11

I saw heaven standing open.

Just try to imagine this, eh?

Everything takes time. Imagination takes time too.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse.

You know, sometimes I wish someone here could be so AI

that as I speak these images begin to form on the back.

And there was a white horse. A tenoring white horse.

Come on Matt, it's about time.

Hmm.

Not if Matt does it.

Okay. So till we get that, use your imagination, eh?

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse

whose rider is called Faithful and True.

With justice he judges and makes war.

His eyes are like blazing fire and on his head are many crowns.

He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is the word of God.

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses

and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

You need to understand that as soon as it says dressed in fine linen, white and clean,

we are not talking about angels.

Dressed in fine linen, white and clean, out of his mouth comes a sharp sword

with which to strike down the nations.

He will rule them with an iron scepter.

He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written

King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

He is the warrior king, he has always been that.

This is not something new.

The Great Commission, it's time we understood it from that perspective.

That's why I've titled this An Army That Proclaims.

Because at the end of the day, when this is our mandate

and this is what the Great Commission looks like,

then it requires that we understand preaching as warfare.

Or proclaiming as warfare.

Why?

Strangely enough, it's through proclamation of Christ,

it's through the proclamation of Christ that

it's a means that Christ uses,

it's a means that Christ uses to do a few things.

One, it's a means he uses to rescue captives from powers.

Two, it is a means he uses to call sinners to submit to his rule.

And it is a means he uses to enable them to renounce their allegiance

to renounce their allegiance to other gods.

Imagine yourself, imagine how you received Christ.

Someone proclaimed Christ to you.

Someone at some point, anybody who's received Christ,

who's a believer in this room, at some point, someone proclaimed Christ to you.

When Christ was proclaimed to you, here's the fact, here's the truth.

You used to be in the dominion of darkness,

in the proclamation of Christ and you being able to receive it or believe it,

you got transferred out of darkness into the kingdom of light.

It was through proclamation of Christ.

It is also through proclamation of Christ that you decided that Christ is actually God

and I'm going to bend my knee and say, you alone are Lord.

It is also through the proclamation of Christ that you realized that he can be one of many gurus,

one of many masters, one of many mantras, one of many idols, one of many gods, that he alone is God.

And therefore, now you had the option of choosing, you had to make your allegiance known,

all through the proclamation of Christ.

This is why proclamation of preaching is actually warfare.

It is the thing that will be most resisted in the entire universe.

Because if it can be stopped, then, supposedly victory is not ours,

but the crazy thing is it doesn't matter whether it's in North Korea, Russia, it doesn't matter where it is.

Paul put it very succinctly when he said, the gospel will progress even though I'm in chains.

Because just one person needs to catch it and the seed begins to germinate.

So it can never be changed, but you must understand that the reason you and I struggle so much

with presenting the gospel in a way that is understandable, in a way that has content,

part of the reason we struggle, or part of the reason we find it so difficult to go out and do it is because it is resisted.

You know, a soldier who's skilled loves fighting.

Some soldiers look forward to the battle.

I mean, I think of the Stanley Cup finals and I, she was just watching them.

I mean, I've only watched it twice because it happens once every 32 years with the Canucks.

But I think to myself, how do they go there and play the way they do under, there's this guy called Drew Doughty.

Drew Doughty is a defense guy for LA.

We were playing the US. It is the final game. It's overtime.

Whoever shoots the next goal wins.

Drew Doughty is sitting in the bench. He's got earphones on and he's listening to music and he's tapping his feet.

I'm thinking to myself, what kind of warrior is this who loves the taste of blood and the sound of the battle?

There are war horses like that.

We don't think like that. For us, this is such a struggle.

And it is a struggle because preaching is warfare.

And one of the things we need to understand is that proclamation is not, proclamation is not a calling.

Proclamation is your identity and I'll explain it to you.

So evangelism requires a wartime zeal.

Zeal.

And I must say, I don't have it.

I don't know what you'll say, but I want to admit that I don't have it.

It's not a zeal. It's not a wartime zeal. It's not send me out there.

It's a struggle.

I'll do it in obedience. I'll do it once God says, but it's not something I look forward to every morning.

You're so fortunate that you don't have a mic and you don't have to confess your sins while I do it here upfront.

But it's a wartime zeal.

It's a wartime zeal.

And missions, missions is the primary battleground.

Missions is the primary battleground.

Be it Cali, be it Richmond, be it New York, missions is the primary battleground.

And this church must have both.

Must have proclamation on a daily basis in the city that you live in where it's the toughest.

It's always where you are that is the toughest.

It's easy to go outside and do it.

But it also needs to have mission and mission is the primary battleground.

Be it Richmond, Cali or New York, that's the battleground.

This is why any church that does not indulge in missions is a monstrosity.

It's a monstrosity. It's failed its very purpose.

Any questions before we move on?

Who does this? Not a few professionals, not a few guys who get paid.

Who does this? Everybody.

How we do it and the way we do it will be different.

Any questions?

So Christ is still establishing like he did in Luke 10.

Can you go to Luke 10? Luke 10?

Luke 10.

Mike just sent me a picture of a horse that he created on chat.

I have opened a Pandora's box.

Luke 10.

Luke 10.

It looks like a goat but we leave that alone for now.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It looks like a horse.

Luke 10 verse 9.

Luke 10:9

Heal the sick and tell them the kingdom of God is near you now.

Luke 10 verse 19.

Luke 10:19

Luke 10 verse 19.

Luke 10:19

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions to overcome all the power of the enemy.

Nothing will harm you.

Christ is still establishing, Christ is still establishing an army of, an army of disciples,

an army of disciples to fulfill.

His commission.

And when he does it, the very word commission means these things.

The moment he's at his commission, he expects you to follow.

He places you under order.

He trains you on the job.

He commissions you to have authority.

And he sends you in the power of the Spirit.

This is what he does.

You must see this as something that absolutely belongs to you, is the demand on you, is meant for you,

and that at the end of the day, when Ashish gets to heaven, when Prosper gets to heaven,

when Anileh gets to heaven, this is what we will be given crowns or well done good and faithful servant.

This is what it's about.

Not a bit of worship here, not a bit of preaching.

That part is the easiest part.

This is how we'll be evaluated.

So Christ is still raising an army of disciples to fulfill his commission.

And he expects, the moment he says the word commission, listen, it wasn't meant for the apostles.

One of the ways the church has avoided the whole thing is to say that it was meant for the 12 apostles, not for anybody else.

That's one way.

Or it was meant for those that have gone to Bible college and not anybody else, in which case, Tuni is the only one who would make it.

But he expects all of us to follow.

He places all of us under order, which means there'll be someone who will help us.

Three, he'll train you on the job.

Four, you get commissioned to have authority over serpents and scorpions so that you can trample over them.

Because like I said, Proclamation and any part of this commission of Matthew 28, 18 and 20 will be opposed because it's the only thing that saves people.

At the end of the day, when the jobs are done, when our bodies are old and in the grave, when all that is done, the only thing that matters will be, did someone receive Christ or did he not?

Does one enter the kingdom or does one not?

It's the treasure of darkness.

When it says, I will give you the treasures of darkness, what is God talking about?

I'll give you souls.

Any questions?

First Peter 2, 9, you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a chosen generation.

To do what?

To show forth or to proclaim the excellencies of God.

He's not saying that's your calling.

He's saying that's your identity.

The moment you got born again, Jacob, your identity was that of a proclaimer.

Proclaiming what?

The excellencies of God.

Let's try it.

Aaron, proclaim the excellencies of God.

Putting you on the spot.

Anyone who yawns will be next.

Go ahead.

Yeah, it's actually easy.

It's actually easy.

We just shudder when we have to say this to someone who's not a believer.

Hey, proclaim the excellencies of God.

Yeah, sometimes the creator thing may not work, but the moment he said my God, it was like a sigh of relief.

People get affected by this.

It's actually easy.

It's just that when we go out, it gets so scary.

And we do it because we obey.

We don't do it for the thrill of the battle.

It's like having a box full of weapons.

Put your hand in, pull out one.

And if that doesn't work, take out another one.

Throw spaghetti at the wall.

See if it sticks.

We've got an array of weapons.

It's like Captain America or Iron Man.

See, these are the things I'd like on AI.

With sound effects, if possible.

That's how this works.

Proclamation is critically.

The way I wrote it down is proclamation is the tsunami of the kingdom.

Proclamation is the tsunami of the kingdom.

Proclamation is the tsunami of the kingdom.

As in it is the mighty revelation of the eternal life.

The splendor of Jesus Christ made known through your words across the earth.

Across the earth as the waters cover the seas.

That's from Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 14.

Habakkuk 2:14

Proclamation is the tsunami of the kingdom.

As in it might seem small.

It might seem like it's regressing.

It might seem like it's being pushed back.

My God, every time it's pushed back, usually someone arises.

Or one church arises.

Or one man arises.

Or one nation arises.

Or a Moses arises.

Or a Paul arises.

Or a Gideon arises.

Someone arises.

Just when you think it's regressing.

And then it comes forth with such force.

And it makes known the mighty revelation of the splendor of who Christ is.

And as it begins to get known, the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the seas.

Everything gets inundated.

That's how this works.

But every day one needs to have the courage to be that man or woman.

I was listening to this girl in Shillong talk about, I think I said it last time.

She said her fear went away when they put a gun to her head.

Till then she was afraid.

Well the day someone put a gun to her head because she was freaking,

she was afraid of what they would do to her.

She was afraid of what they would do to her.

And then someone put a gun to her head because she was freaking, the fear went away.

I don't know how that works.

You would think you would become more fearful.

Any questions?

Second Corinthians 520.

I just want to show you how critical proclamation is.

Second Corinthians 520.

It says there that we are ambassadors of Christ.

And then it goes on to say in verse 20, God is making his appeal through us.

And what's the appeal?

Be reconciled to God.

As in make your peace with God.

How do you make peace with God?

By recognizing Christ whose blood was shed for your sins.

And that way all hostility between God and man,

all sin that kept you away from God is now reconciled.

As in the ledgers have been settled, the debt has been paid.

Beautifully.

But how can I be an ambassador that appeals on behalf of God without proclamation?

Guys, try to wrap our heads around this.

It is not our calling.

It is our identity.

It's like seeing,

you know, there's this beautiful story.

It's a horrible story.

But it's so brilliant.

There was a king, maybe I've said this to you,

there was a king who decided that in his land,

he'll make sure that there are no eagles left.

So he sent out his soldiers and said, get rid of every eagle that exists.

They finally came upon a nest.

And it was the last eagle and its nest.

And there were three eggs in that nest.

And the soldiers decided to break the eggs.

And once they break the eggs, that's the end of eagles in the land.

And the king had a really wicked plan.

He said, no, don't break those eggs.

Kill the eagle, bring the eggs.

And he decided, he put the eggs amongst chicken.

And so these chicken who would scound and scratch the earth began to hatch these eggs.

The eggs hatched, the eagles came out.

They fluttered around with these chickens scratching for earthworms in a chicken coop.

Over a period of time as they grew, they didn't even know that they could fly.

They didn't even know that they could fly.

And every day the king would come and rub his hands with glee,

saying, aha, I have them where they wanted them.

They're eagles, but they do not know.

What's the point of the story?

The point of the story for me is this.

Jacob, you have forgotten your identity.

You are waiting for calling.

You're waiting for a command.

You want to obey God.

You want to do what he tells you.

When you hear his voice, you will go out.

All that is good, but there's something greater than that.

And that is that proclamation is your identity.

It's not a calling.

It's not a demand.

It's not obedience.

It's my identity.

One day one of these eagles decides when he's chased by an angry-looking rooster,

the eagle decides to flap its wings.

And as it begins to flap its wings, it begins to fly.

It begins to fly.

And the rooster goes, cock-cock-cock-cock-cock-ock.

I need AI for that, too.

And this eagle begins to just soar, and that's the first time it realizes

that the chicken coop wasn't meant for it.

I'm trying to work that into my head and into my heart,

that, Jacob, proclamation is not your calling.

It's not obedience.

It's not doing the will of God.

It's not the duty that you are bound to.

It's not some kind of thing you're called to in church.

It's not some kind of evangelistic mission you're on.

Listen, proclamation is your identity.

It's very natural for you because you're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

You've been changed.

Something inside you wants to speak, wants to speak.

The spirit of man, the spirit of God that I have within me,

that has become one with the new spirit that I receive,

it speaks, it speaks, it speaks, because it's after the image of God.

And my God speaks.

Everything he does, he speaks first.

He created the earth through speaking.

He got me saved through me speaking and someone speaking to me.

It's my identity.

It's not my duty or calling or mission.

I sing.

I sing because it's my identity.

You play the guitar, I can sing.

May not be the best one.

Tony is better.

Emily is better.

But my God, I can sing and it's my identity.

But like eagles that are growing up in a chicken coop,

we've been tamed to sing.

To think that every time we go out, it's like a big deal.

Clumsy words are God's favorite thing to use.

Second Corinthians 520, the other one was 1 Peter 2, 9.

We already went over that.

The next one is Romans 10.

I'm just giving you scriptures where it's impossible to live this king

and kingdom life without embracing and enjoying.

I look forward to the day when I will first embrace and then enjoy.

Romans 10, 14 and 15.

Romans 10, 14 and 15.

Romans 10, 14 and 15.

How then can they call on the one they have not believed in

and how can they believe in one of whom they have not heard

and how can they hear without someone preaching to them

and how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

I think it's in the passion translation it says,

how welcome is the arrival of those proclaiming the joyful news,

as in how lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news.

Another way of saying it is how welcome is the arrival of those

proclaiming the joyful news.

The proclamation is important because without proclamation,

you know one of the scenes I had in my mind, this is just imagination.

I was just imagining someone yesterday in that festival

and there were believers there and one of them going and talking to somebody

during the festival while they're eating at a food truck.

Someone's talking to somebody, proclaiming Christ, leading someone to Christ,

not knowing what awaited.

These stories happen so many times.

You know the owner of Bentol Towers here in Vancouver.

They used to live in Seattle and so one of their relatives I think

was driving down from Vancouver to Seattle and there's a soldier standing by the side of the road

and he was coming a ride and finally a car, really good looking car stops by.

The guy gets in and it's a long way and he's thinking to himself,

should I talk to this guy about Christ? Should I not?

If I talk to him, he may boot me out. He looks too rich.

He may not want me here. He begins to talk to the guy, tells him about Christ.

And the guy doesn't listen, doesn't say anything, but he listens to him,

drops him off where he wants to. He gets off and drives.

Next day he finds out that just about two blocks down from where he left him,

there was a semi that crashes into him.

I mean we can hear hundreds of stories like this where God intervenes because someone had the,

either someone obeyed or someone in their joy proclaimed.

Find the joy of proclamation because it's part of your identity.

Find it. Some things have to be found guys.

Everything is not automatic. Find the joy of proclamation.

Find the joy of proclamation.

Isaiah 61. Do you know that in Isaiah 61 there are five places where it says proclaim

and then five places where it says instead?

When you read Isaiah 61, you'll find that the spirit of the Lord God is upon me

for the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the good news, proclaim liberty to captives, proclaim.

There are five proclaims and after the five proclaims there are five insteds.

Now that I have proclaimed, here, instead of joy, go ahead Emmanuel.

Oh the story. So the guy, sorry.

Shoot, I didn't complete the story.

That's terrible. Even AI can't help with that.

So he goes two blocks down the road and then finds out that there was an accident and this man had died.

But what he didn't realize is that between dropping him and getting there,

this man calls his wife and tells him about this stranger who walked into his car and how he received Christ.

He had no idea. He finds out later that the man had received Christ

and that he had hardly two blocks to cover before he died.

And it's someone from the Bentol family.

I remember hearing this story the first time from someone who was aware of this about 30 years ago in Canada.

Many such stories you hear, eh? Last minute reprieves because someone proclaimed.

And so when it comes to Isaiah 61, five proclaims and so it's sequential.

First, announce or proclaim and then instead, instead of mourning, give you joy.

Instead of ashes, give you beauty. Instead of heaviness, give you praise.

But it seems to be God's way of doing. It's almost like God saying, hey, if you don't proclaim, don't expect.

He may out of his grace and mercy do things in people's lives through you even though you don't proclaim.

But the pattern in scripture is very simple. Announce and I'll turn up.

Announce and I'll turn up. Announce and I'll turn up.

Matthew 10. Go to Matthew 10 verse 7.

Matthew 10:7

Matthew 10 verse 7. What does he say?

Matthew 10:7

Go proclaim my kingdom and then once you proclaim the kingdom, heal, raise, cleanse, cast out freely you have received, freely give.

Go proclaim the kingdom. Go let them know that there's a new sheriff in town, that there's a new rule in town.

And in this rule, strange things happen. People get healed, demons get cast out, lepers get cleansed, dead get raised.

Go tell them. Tell them that it has arrived.

Tell them that it has arrived. Once you announce it, then I'll do it.

Mark 16 verse 16 to 18. Same thing.

Mark 16:16–18

Go tell and once you tell, these signs will accompany you.

Mark 16 verse 16 to 18 says exactly that. Go announce.

Mark 16:16–18

Sometimes the reason, and there's not an excuse, sometimes the reason we do not see what Mark 16 says, we do not see what Mark 10 says is because of our fear of announcing.

The fear of announcing what God will do prevents us from seeing what he will do.

We try to do it the other way. Let me do it first. If it works, I'll announce.

His thing is, announce it and I'll do it. Mark 16, 16 to 18.

Go therefore into all the world and preach the gospel and here are the signs that will accompany you.

Here's the crazy thing. Josh, just come out since you're sitting up front.

Here's the crazy thing. Just hold on to my shoulder. Wherever I go, he accompanies me.

Wherever I go, he accompanies me. It doesn't matter where I go, he accompanies me.

Yeah? And this is so much fun.

But I need you to understand that this is how Mark 16 verse 16 to 18 works.

Mark 16:16–18

And these signs shall accompany you if you believe.

These signs shall accompany you if you believe. As in, it never leaves you.

The question is, what is your expectation? Get out of the way, Anna.

Dennis, your mom must be thinking, my God, what church has my son joined?

The point is, these signs accompany me. Again, it's not a question of calling.

It's not a question of faith. It is a question of expectation because this is my identity.

Read it. Go proclaim the gospel and these signs shall accompany you.

As in, they follow you wherever you go.

In my name, you will cast out demons.

You will speak in tongues. You will lay hands on the sick and the sick will recover.

You will drink things that are poisonous but they will not harm you.

You will pick up serpents and they will not hurt you.

And Jesus watched over what they proclaimed and made sure that he endorsed what they proclaimed with signs.

I mean, why are you holding on to me, man?

Sorry, Josh. I mean, I know we are friends, but I'm not going to lie.

Sorry, Josh. I mean, I know we are friends, but we're in church, Josh.

So, it accompanies us.

It's such a cool thing to realize that these things are our identity.

Proclamation is our identity. Accompaniment of signs and wonders is our identity.

So, the first thing I would say is to live quiet lives and be in control of your actions.

Just avoid it because we live in a pluralistic world where when Christians drink, it isn't very kosher.

So, just avoid it.

But other than that, and I'll tell you why it's kosher since I went down that road and Emmanuel asked me to finish the story.

The reason it's not kosher is because there are religions that frown on drinking.

And sometimes when they see Christians drinking publicly, they lump us with the same worldly kind of approach that people think the world has.

There was a guy who used to come to Acts 29. He was from Turkey. His name was Ali.

He went back to Istanbul and they tried to re-indoctrinate him back into Islam.

They took him, put him in a room.

And one of the things, I met him, I went to Istanbul and I met him.

One of the things that they would do to him is they would show Ali videos of Christianity in North America.

And most of it had to do with Christians, supposed Christians, drinking, partying, living a very different life.

And they said, how is this different from the world?

And I was fascinated by Ali's answer.

We were a very small church then, about eight or nine people.

His answer was, but these are not the Christians that I have associated with.

They don't live like this. Their lives are different.

So that's to deal with the drinking thing.

And yet, the Bible doesn't say you can't. It's just Jacob saying it.

But where would we be going before drinking?

Yeah, we don't balance things.

In Christianity, nothing is held in balance. Everything is held in tension.

In Christianity, nothing is held in balance. Everything is held in tension.

On one hand, I must live a life that is exemplary so that people can see my life and say, aha, that is what Christ looks like.

Look at the way Dilna treats his dog. Look at the way he treats his children.

Look at the way he works. Look at the way he pays his taxes.

Look at the way he does things.

You see in that man, a man who is honest, innocent and straight.

And so they begin to imitate him.

So that's one hand.

On the other hand, without proclamation, this exemplary lifestyle will only help people understand that Dilna is a good man.

But why is he good?

If he does not proclaim, they will not know that he is good because of someone called Christ,

because otherwise his goodness is the same as filthy menstrual rags.

So we don't hold this in balance. We hold it in tension.

And in the Western world, we've fallen for, let's just show them Christ with our lives.

Because that's an easy way out, man.

As long as, who was it? Martin Luther said that you can talk all about Christianity, Jacob,

but in the one place that the world around you opposes you, if you are silent, then you are a coward and not a soldier.

You can talk all about Christianity, but in the one area that the world around you or the country around you or the city around you or the people around you,

the one area that they feel offended by, that they oppose, in that area if you remain silent,

it doesn't matter that you've spoken about everything else about Christianity,

in that one area when you decide to be silent, in that area you are a coward and you are not a soldier.

Proclamation is identity.

The other thing is, guys, perhaps, perhaps, yeah?

Just think of this. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth,

speaks. I mean, I don't know whether you bumped into Derek out there today.

I don't know if you bumped into Evan when you were out there.

Evan today would not have said a word. Why? Because the Leafs lost yesterday.

Derek is the happiest guy on the planet. Why? Because Liverpool just won the Premier League.

Out of the abundance of the mouth, of the heart, the mouth begins to speak.

Out of the abundance, you know Jason from Calgary was supposed to meet me at Calgary Airport

because I had a three-hour layover. Last minute he calls it off.

And I'm sitting at the airport and he's texting me, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, and then I realised why he didn't come to meet me.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Therefore, is it perhaps possible that Christ is not my magnificent obsession to the point

where I can show forth His excellencies as naturally as I speak about hockey or about horses or about burgers

or about planes or about stuff?

There's another script in Matthew 15, 8, and here's what it says in Matthew 15, 8.

The lips speak, but their hearts are far away.

They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.

Is it perhaps because God becomes less desirable in my life at times that I am not willing to?

Why would you speak about something that's less desirable?

So that's one side. The other side is the fear, because proclamation is war.

Proclamation is war.

Preaching is war. Forget the word preaching. Proclamation is war.

And we can't have Mel Gibson rouse us up like Braveheart every time we go out, eh?

This has to be a settled identity. The proclamation is my identity.

It's critical in warfare.

Why? Why? Because here's the thing, guys.

Because Christ has caused Christ through the cross.

Christ through the cross has paid for every human's sin.

But the fact is that Christ has paid for every human's sin.

But to transfer out of kingdoms of darkness into the kingdom of the sun,

I need to hear it.

Will you proclaim it to me?

Colossians 1.13. Let's go there quickly. Colossians 1.13.

Colossians 1.13.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loved.

He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the sun, the sun that he loves.

So we need to understand that Christ through the cross has paid for every human.

There's not a single human being on earth that presently exists or will be born tomorrow whose sins have not been paid for.

As in, the ransom has been paid.

They can be taken out of the house that they now dwell in and transferred into a house where they will be safe.

But they do not know it.

One of the strange things about the World War was when the World War II ended

and Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, actually went and signed a declaration of surrender,

there were still soldiers that were left in jungles that hadn't heard that the surrender had happened.

They hadn't heard. And so they were still fighting.

One of them, I was reading an excerpt on him just three months ago, one of them fought for nine years,

till he was the only one on an island.

But it was impossible to approach him because he would somehow get ammo and with his old rifle, anybody comes near him, he would shoot

because he did not know that the war was over.

You cannot transfer people out of the kingdom of darkness.

And this kingdom of darkness has guardians.

2 Corinthians 4, 4, it says that Satan has blinded the eyes of people

and they cannot see the light of the gospel unless it's brought to them.

Colossians 2, 8, it says we have been taken captive by the elemental spirits of the world,

by philosophies, by traditions and the ways of men so that people are caught, they are trapped.

And the only thing that removes the veil, the only thing that breaks through the blindness is when someone proclaims.

And the moment the proclamation happens, these guardians, you read about them in Mark 3, 27 and Matthew 12, 29,

what are these guardians? Josh, come.

So Josh is the guardian of this entire row.

He prevents anybody from approaching the three of them.

Anyone comes and tries to force their way, he pushes back at them.

He doesn't touch them, he pushes back at them.

Yeah. And so now there's a problem.

I cannot enter to rescue these three because they are protected.

Matthew 12, 29, Mark 6, 7, talk about it.

So do you know what I do? I go get someone stronger than me.

Emmanuel, come.

Matthew 12, 29 says, if you want to plunder a house and have the captives in that house escape,

take someone stronger than you who is pretending to limp, but he's not really that way.

Oh, you played today. Okay, wrong strongman I picked.

And he now comes and he just binds him up and holds him steady.

Now I can go and pull out Sen.

Now I can go pull out the three of them. This is how it works.

I know this makes it sound funny and all the stuff, but let me read from the scriptures.

All of you can go back to your respective places.

Emmanuel, yalla, yalla, run, run.

Okay, let's turn to Mark 3, 27 and Matthew 12, 29.

Mark 3, 27. Mark 3, 27. Matthew 12, 29.

Mark 3, 27. Let me start at 26 or 27.

In fact, no one can enter a strongman's house without first tying him up.

Then he can plunder the strongman's house.

Go to Matthew 12, 29. Matthew 12, 29.

Or again, how can one enter a strongman's house and carry off his possessions

unless he first ties up the strongman? Then he can plunder his house.

You must understand that proclamation is a way of tying up the strongman.

Please understand, proclamation is a way of tying up the strongman.

When you proclaim Christ, the enemy has no other choice.

I'll tell you why the enemy has no other choice.

Because at the moment when Satan thought that the Son of God has been crucified and his reign is over,

at that very moment he loses the entire battle.

You should read Colossians 2, 15. Colossians 2, 15.

It's so beautiful. Colossians 2, 15.

Read it from the NIV and then we read it from the message. Colossians 2, 15.

Starting at verse 13, reading from the NIV.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,

God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.

Having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us,

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, disarmed the powers and authorities,

he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Reading from the message. Starting at verse 13.

When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God.

Beautifully. God brought you alive, right along with Christ.

Think of it. All sins forgiven. How do you think that happened? Someone spoke to you.

Just look at that again. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life,

you were incapable of responding to God. And then someone came along and proclaims.

And the moment they proclaim, look what happens. God brought you alive.

How did he bring you alive? With the words that were proclaimed.

God brought you alive, right along with Christ. Think of it. All sins forgiven.

The slate wiped clean. The old arrest warrant cancelled and nailed to Christ's cross.

I love the next bit. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe

of their sham authority at the cross and marched them naked through the streets.

Beautiful, eh? That's why proclamation is so critical. And it is war.

If I were the devil, why would I not prevent you from proclaiming?

I would use everything in my arsenal to prevent you from speaking.

Here would be my normal tricks. Your words are pretty clumsy.

When you explain the gospel, my God, it's terrible.

Two, what will people think when they hear you talk?

They'll think you're a goody two shoes and you're holier than them and it won't be good.

Three, don't you know that the rule is you're not supposed to talk to anybody about God and politics?

Don't bring it up because it'll give you a bad reputation.

Four, remember what happened when Tunis spoke about God at the office?

They mocked him. You'll get mocked.

Five, don't bring up Jesus because rejection sucks and people will laugh at your face.

Six, why can't each one have their own beliefs?

You have your beliefs as a Christian, Hindus have beliefs as Hindus, Muslims have beliefs as Hindus,

Muslims, why mess it all up? Just let each one be.

If God wants to touch them, he has amazing ways to touch them.

Seven, let them see your life. Let them see how you type.

And maybe they will be touched and they will become Christians.

Eight, you go tell them that God heals and you pray for them and they don't get well, you're finished.

Nine, look at your own life. You've got problems. Your dog doesn't like you. Why would they listen to you?

It's just endless, see, the things that we come up with.

I would use these tricks again and again and again and it would silence you.

And as I'm saying these things, you realize that all of us are silent because of that.

This is supposed to be something everybody does naturally.

It is your identity.

I've got to stop here because we need to pray.

I'm going to ask Karen to come up to pray.

As she comes up, I just want to read two scriptures.

Here are the two scriptures. We'll just read them. I won't explain them.

I love this line.

It's not mine. It's too brilliant.

We live out the Great Commission call to war

by the Great Commandment call to love.

We live out the Great Commission call to war by the Great Commandment call to love.

As in at the end of the day, we follow the divine warrior into battle with hostile powers, not with people.

We go out to war because we love people.

That if they die without knowing Christ, there is an eternity waiting for them that is separate from God.

No amount of ritual, no amount of tradition, no baptism, no river, no pilgrimage.

Nothing is going to help me recognize, be with for the rest of eternity

the one who made me and made me because he loves me, died on the cross because he loves me,

and is willing to live in me because he loves me.

Nothing. That is bothersome.

The Great Commission.

We live out the Great Commission call to war by the Great Commandment call to love.

Yeah. Two scriptures I wanted to read out. First one is Acts 10.38.

Acts 10.38.

Try and learn this so that you don't forget. Acts 10.38.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.

I love putting my name in there.

God anointed Jacob of Vancouver.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

And he went about doing good.

Delivering all those that were harassed by the devil. That's one.

And then the other one is Acts 26.18.

And it says, I am sending you to them.

To do what? To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.

From the power of Satan to God.

I am sending you to them.

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.

From the power of Satan to God.

So that they may receive forgiveness of sins.

And a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

What does verse 19 say?

What does verse 16 say?

Can someone just read it out with a very loud voice?

26.16.

Can you read it from the NIV?

Can you hear her?

They're not doing what you're asking them to.

One more time, Hamari.

Read it, read it.

I have appeared to you to appoint you as servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.

Keep going till verse 18.

Till verse 18.

I have rescued you from your own people and from the Ten Commandments.

I am sending you to them.

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.

And from the power of Satan to God.

So that they may receive forgiveness of sins.

And a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

Amen. You can sit.

Okay, so Karen's going to pray for the elections tomorrow.

We aren't ones that subscribe to or promote one party over the other.

So let's see how she prays.

And then we can see what principles we can draw, yeah?

This is a tough one to pray for.

So what if you like the liberals and I like the conservatives and Jillian likes the greens?

Yeah, becomes a problem.

And some just walk out, they don't vote.

Father, Father thank you for this country.

Some of us were born here, some of us have come here.

You've given us a good place to live and we're grateful.

We're grateful for the opportunity that we have to elect a government here.

Some of us get the opportunity to vote, not all of us do.

But we can all pray as you've commanded us to.

We are so grateful that nobody comes into power unless you put them there.

That the people, the men and the women that are going to be elected tomorrow are there because you are choosing them.

But Father, you ask us to pray.

And so we humbly come before you.

We say Father have mercy on our land.

There's many things that have been done in our country that are not righteous.

But Father, we know you hear our prayers.

We know that you are a good Father and that this country is important to you as are all countries.

But this is the place that you have placed us.

And so Father, we humbly ask that you would have mercy on our country.

That you would put people into places of power and influence that would bring honour to your name by the decisions they make, by the actions they take.

And so Father, for those of us that have the opportunity to vote, whether we voted already or will vote tomorrow,

we ask that you give much wisdom and insight and that your will would be done.

That your kingdom would rule here in this country.

That even as our country was called the Dominion of Canada because it was about you having dominion from sea to sea,

that Father, that that would be true.

That you would have dominion from sea to sea in this great land.

And that Father, that we would, that we would stand on guard for you because you have given us this place to live.

We thank you for that now.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

That was actually a very cool prayer, right?

Yeah, I think, so one, thanking God for the freedom we have in this land.

It's huge.

Some of us come from countries where we don't have that freedom.

And I sometimes think every grade 10, 11, 12 should be sent to another country for three months and they'll be ever thankful for Canada.

So that's one.

Two, oh God, show mercy to this land.

Yeah?

And when he says show mercy to the land, we're talking about people.

Three, what are the principles that this country was formed on that agree with the kingdom?

Dominion from sea to sea.

It's on the parliament building in Ottawa.

So we take what this country was built on and say, oh God, remember.

Four, we're supposed to pray for the ones who come into places of power so that in their decision making,

they do things that align with the kingdom and are conducive to the spread of the gospel.

If not, we still go on.

Five, all power and all authority on earth, sometimes even when it's corrupt, is because God allows it and it requires us then to live either with them or in a way that aligns with the kingdom.

So that is a really good prayer.

It's hard to pray for these things, eh?

So well done, Karen.

If you need prayer, there'll be someone here to pray with you.