Chosen - Why?

For the month of February, instead of going with new topics, which we have been most of

the time, for the month of February we will go revise things we have done before. So it′s

going to be one of those retro months where we rewind and go over stuff. So at some point

we will also do Christ Life. I am just surprised that it doesn't matter how many times you

do Christ Life, there are people who haven't done Christ Life before, which is very odd.

But that's because the church is growing and it's a very good odd. So over the next few

Sundays we will try and stick with revising stuff we have heard before that we don't remember

the past. So we will try to answer some questions. It's like AI. It will just summarize notes

from the past and ask questions and we will try to answer. Don't worry, your pastor does

not create his messages on AI. No, but I was with a guy who works for the AI division of

the church, and he came up with an amazing Christian song in less than 30 seconds. This

is crazy. Where are we going with all this? You are going to get it to pray? Wow. All

right. Let's go to 1 Peter 2, verse 9. The topic today is why are we chosen? Chosen,

1 Peter 2:9

why? Chosen, why? So the topic is chosen, why? Oh, Don is offended that I didn't mention

his baby. So hello to Don's baby too. I mentioned Don but I didn't mention his baby. Okay. Yes,

this is true. So 1 Peter 2, 9. So what we are talking about today is, okay, so if we

are chosen, why are we chosen? Why are we chosen? Any stories before I start? Remy,

you have any stories to share? You want to tell us about anything that God has done in

your life? Sure, come. You have 3 minutes 43 seconds. 3 minutes 43 seconds. Okay. Yeah,

the last few months has been a season of trying for our family. And God taught me

and my family how to just be fully dependent on him. And literally just we have never

experienced lack like this before. But in the midst of it, what we found was that just

this new ways of discovering God all over again that it doesn't matter whether we have

resources or no resources financially or not, but just realizing that because he is with

us, we have everything. Just to put things into perspective, I have been without a job

for over a year and a half almost. And during this season, God showed us few things in terms

of what we are supposed to become, in terms of our identity, in terms of what God is calling

us as a family. And so that was such a beautiful season for us to discover. And at the same

time, he took us on a journey to just build character. And it was not easy because in the flesh,

we are so resistant, right? And I had to go through that for a few months. But he is so

faithful that when we are persistent, he is so faithful. And one of the things that I really

treasure a lot is that when we surround ourselves with people who are walking in the spirit better

than us, we gain strength through them. And that was such a difference maker that people around me

helped our family just to stand tall and not be shaken, constantly reminding us of God's faithfulness

and promises. Yeah. And so when we prayed about this year, he said it was going to be a year of

restoration. And so we are expecting that things are going to fall in place. And he did. So things in

perspective is I have been trying to get back into the workforce to have steady income again.

And things are not opening up despite listening to him, trying to hear him and obey him. But every step of

the way, he gave us promise or a word of encouragement just to endure and that it's coming. And so this year,

he opened doors that we never expected. Actually, I'm starting a job tomorrow. Thank you. Yeah. And this job

just fell on my lap. I was not looking for it, but it just fell on my lap. But he is such a good God that

all the months of uncertainties, now when I look back in hindsight, it was a journey that I needed to go. And

we needed to go as a family, right? And even to tell our kids why we went through those things and

including them as part of the journey. And they learning that, okay, God said to my dad a certain way and

that's why we are in this position. So overall, just God's goodness just overflowing. And the best thing is,

you know, I'll be very honest, we sing this song that even when we don't feel it or even when we don't see it,

that he's working, right? That song, Waymaker, we sing that a lot. And that song, the meaning of that song really,

how do I say? It really came full circle because all these months, he was working behind the scenes to just set up

this for me. Like this company that I'm joining, they are an American company that have been in the business for the last

15 years, but they started their operation in Canada just last year. And I'm the first sales hire in this company,

right? So just can't imagine how he opened doors like that. And he even gave me options to choose. So thank you for...

Praise God, I mean, you and your family stood strong and you were faithful. So praise God, yeah? Well done. Yeah.

Anyone else? Before I continue?

Three minutes, 41 seconds.

Yeah, 43. He got 43. I just want to testify to God's faithfulness in us being basically moved on without our choice from the house that we're in right now

because it got sold and we're renting. And considerable anxiety and angst, especially on my part, about what are we going to do,

where are we going to go? All the houses we're looking at are not nice. And then this one house came along that's better than any house we've lived in

before in terms of just how nice it is. And it was on the market beginning of January and we didn't look at it until January 22nd.

And given the price and how nice it was and the areas and it should have been gone. And so I believe that Father held that house for us until we found it, until he directed us to it.

And now everything remains to be done is to purge all the junk that we have. And I'm feeling like the Lord is leading us into a new stage in our lives

where we're a lot less encumbered by things around us, a lot less encumbered by space, the big yard to maintain. And it's a very small yard. And so I'm just feeling really blessed.

I'm feeling really high right now. It's just a wonderful high. Doesn't happen very often with me, but it's great.

That explains why the playing has improved to me, doesn't it?

Let's just pray for Anne and Kamal. They are heading off to Sri Lanka on Tuesday. And how many remember, how many know someone called Dagmar?

Oh my God, quite a few except the first row. Where were you guys? Dagmar is Anne's mom. She'll be turning 95.

So let's just pray for them as they go. Father, thank you for Kamal and Anne. Dagmar was the one who used to make the things that we just ate.

And boy, for years she used to feed this church. And as Anne and Kamal go now, Father, we just pray such protection upon them that going and coming will be without a cold or sniff.

Any headache, any ache or pain, none. They'll be so safe in your embrace. Thank you, Spirit of God.

You who breathe life, you breathe into them right now. And as they go, they will breathe out life to situations in Sri Lanka.

And we bless Dagmar in Sri Lanka as she nears her 95th birthday. And we thank you for your hand of protection and your faithfulness. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Cool. So if you go to 1 Peter 2.9, and I'll read it from the Passion Translation.

Before I read things from the Passion Translation, I usually compare it to other versions so that what we are reading is not outlandish or is not too different from what most of the other versions say.

And that's why I'm reading it from the Passion Translation, because it explains it a little better.

But you are God's chosen treasure, priests who are kings, a spiritual nation set apart as God's devoted ones.

He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light. And now he claims you as his very own.

He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world.

For at one time you were not God's people, but now you are. At one time you knew nothing of God's mercy because you hadn't received it yet.

But now you're drenched with it. Okay? So I'm just going to go over why we are chosen.

If we are chosen, why did God choose us? And the first one is for his glory. For his glory.

And I pray that we remember these reasons to our being chosen.

Christianity sometimes reduces being chosen to going to heaven.

And that's a very poor religion, if that's the reason. It's a great reward, but it's a poor religion, if that's why.

So for his glory, the first intent is for his glory. Why was I chosen? Why were you chosen?

Why was I chosen? For his glory, as in to show forth his praise.

As in when people see my life, when people approach me, when people engage with me, I'm supposed to show forth things that will bring him praise.

Show forth things that will bring him, or behave in a way that will bring him praise.

In 1 Corinthians 10.31, Paul says, whatever you do, do it for his glory.

And the way he says do it for his glory is, can you heartily and freely do things for his glory?

A little later we'll talk about this idea of heartily and freely.

And one of the expressions of heartily, freely done things is joy.

And it's so critical to who God is. So critical.

And the question that I ask myself, and you ask yourself is, is joy really a super important core essence of your being?

Especially when you're on your own, when we don't see you in church.

Is joy something that I'll get scoops off if I put my hand into your heart?

In Jeremiah 13, verse 11, and we read this last week.

Jeremiah 13:11

In Jeremiah 13, 11, it says, as a loincloth clings to a man's waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord.

This idea of glory is not devoid from God. It is completely attached to God.

It's only in my proximity to God that I begin to reflect glory.

It's like the sun and the moon and the planets. They don't have a light of their own.

The light comes from another source. And so the idea is, like it says in Jeremiah 13, 11,

God is comparing Israel and Judah to some versions say belt, but some versions say, as a loincloth clings to a man's waist,

so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord.

If there were to be my people, these were the words he used, my people, my pride, my glory,

an honor to my name, so that I could show them off, so that I could show them off to the world.

This was God's intent, and then the next line is quite sad. It says, but they refused.

This is what it means to be chosen. One of the reasons we are chosen is so that we can be his people, his pride, his glory,

an honor to his name, so that he can show us off to the world and be proud.

One of the struggles my mom used to have is she would often think that if she praised me, that it would go to my head.

I don't know why. And that it would go to my head, and that I would become proud, and then I would fall.

So I remember once driving down 9th Street and having this really explosive conversation with her,

where I said for years, and I was over 50 then, and I remember saying to her,

for years I've never heard you say a word that praises me. Never. I said, you always underplay it.

I mean, the rest of the world will say good things about me, but you won't.

And so I said, why? Why can't you? Then it slowly came out why.

But after that, my godman, she would tell me how proud she was of me, because I assured her that it won't go to my head.

And from then on, she would take every opportunity to tell me, and every authentic opportunity,

she wouldn't just say it because I preached. It would be like, that was good kind of a thing.

And my mom wanted to. She wanted to say, I was proud of you when you did that.

But for 50 odd years she didn't. And surprisingly at 50, I'm getting angry and upset that I missed out on it.

It is strange how we kids behave, eh?

And so, god desires and god won't hold back on compliments. He never holds back on compliments.

The trick though is, do not rest in his compliment, because his compliment also sets you up for,

but can we deal with this, this, and this?

One of the things that I used to do very often is, when things would go wrong, my thing would be, okay, things are going wrong.

Let me get god's perspective on it. And I'd get god's perspective on it, but I'd get the god's,

I'd write down all the good perspectives of god, but I wouldn't concentrate on all the other things he's saying.

There are a lot of things that need to be worked in my life.

God has the ability to balance kindness with correction.

And if I only take kindness, I spend my entire life without correction.

I've got to take both. And where do you think correction comes from?

Rarely from god, because he knows we can't hear it, it comes from people.

Sela.

That's why it sucks. That's why I prefer compliments from god.

So, this is why we were chosen. This is why you were chosen.

This is why Remy was chosen. This is why Michael Barnes was chosen.

This is why Anilay was chosen.

Somehow in my head, I must understand that I am chosen only for one reason, to glorify him.

Words like glorify aren't used in English today, so it's a very archaic word, but it's critical to the Bible.

I was chosen to glorify him. What does it mean to glorify him?

To telescope things that he is. To telescope things that he is.

To make those things appear big on a screen for people. That's what glorify means.

When you glorify someone, that's what you're doing.

Holiness revealed, yes. So, yeah, very good. I'm glad you were away for two weeks, but you remember.

But, so, his holy love magnified, telescoped and put on a screen.

His holy kindness magnified, put on a screen. It is his otherness.

The otherness of his love, the otherness of his kindness magnified.

This is what it means to glorify him. Can we not forget it?

In every little action, in Jane's interaction with Sheldon, in Sheldon's interaction with Phoebe,

in my interaction with you, in your interaction with your mother,

if this can somehow become central to me where my intent is to telescope him,

and you realize how much else we telescope every day.

In Matthew 16, you have Peter being the gateway of two realms.

On one hand, in Matthew 16, he stands and Jesus says to him,

this revelation did not come from the earth. It came from the Father.

Because what Peter says, he says, you are Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

And he says, this revelation didn't come from the earth. It didn't come from flesh. It came from the Father.

And he complements Peter on becoming a gateway here on earth for the most amazing revelation that man has ever brought.

The only other revelation like that was in Exodus 33 when God said, I am who I am to Moses.

After that, this is the first time someone is recognizing Christ as King and God.

About eight verses later, Peter has pulled Jesus aside and he's telling Jesus,

listen, don't talk about the cross. We got a good thing going here. Don't mess it up.

And the same Jesus who said, this revelation is not from the earth, but it's from my Father and in heaven,

now pulls him aside and says to him, Satan, get thee behind me.

It's a matter of seven or eight verses, so maybe a couple of hours in real time.

How does one go from being the gateway of heaven to the gateway of hell?

How would you and I react if Jesus said to you or me, Satan, get behind me?

He actually said it to a human being.

Satan, get behind me.

And so to glorify means to telescope. And so the question is, Jacob, on an average day,

how much are you telescoping from which realm, which kingdom?

And what you telescope in secret is eventually what you'll telescope in public.

Any questions?

We are always caught in this tussle, guys, between two kingdoms, eh?

Always. And they're both vying for our attention.

The difference and the advantage we have is the spirit of one kingdom dwells in us,

the spirit of the other kingdom dwells outside us.

That's the advantage we possess. The spirit of the Father and the Son dwells in us,

the spirit of the world dwells outside us, and he has actually no internal power over me.

Greater is he that is, now you understand, in you than he that is in the world.

The external force versus the most powerful being in the entire universe who is uncreated, living in you.

The advantage is distinct. The choice is the difference.

You were chosen to glorify him. The next one, you were chosen to belong to the kingdom of the Son.

Colossians 1, 12 and 13, if you turn to it. Colossians 1, 12 and 13.

A lot of this you may have heard simply because it's retro month, but that's good.

Colossians 1, 12 and 13.

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,

he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son.

So you have something called the domain of darkness. This is really, it's not some figment of imagination.

There's a domain of darkness and you've been transferred into the kingdom of the Son.

From the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son.

I've said this before, but one of the things that's happened is that the Gospel has been reduced.

The Gospel has been reduced.

Has been reduced to a personal salvation plan.

To a personal salvation plan.

The reason I'm bringing it up again is so that you don't and I don't perpetuate the personal salvation plan when we talk to people.

The Gospel has been reduced to a personal salvation plan and in the process it strips the Gospel of its cosmic dimension.

As in the enormity of what God is actually doing.

So Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, Peter, they all talked about one simple thing.

Repent from your sins and enter the kingdom.

But we have reduced that to invite Jesus into your life.

Till we get back to the centrality of the fact that the invitation is Jesus inviting you into the kingdom.

That is so important and we've lost that.

It's not a personal plan of salvation.

It is the establishing of a kingdom that is from everlasting to everlasting because he has been a king from everlasting to everlasting.

And so what he is saying is, listen, repent of your sins.

Turn to me the king.

Look what I have done for you.

And if you receive me, I will invite you.

I will give you entry into a kingdom.

We have to stop presenting the Gospel as invite Jesus into your life.

The invite Jesus into your life should only come after Jesus is inviting you into his kingdom.

It is a kingdom where then you begin to talk about how it has affected your life.

We don't think like this so we just go back to Jesus.

Jesus did this for me. Jesus did that for me.

That's really not the purity of the Gospel.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Jesus came to establish a kingdom.

For 40 days after he rose again, the only thing he preached about was the kingdom.

Unless you be born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.

The ones that enter the kingdom of God constitute the church.

The kingdom is not a realm. It's a reign.

The kingdom is not a realm. It's first of all a reign, a rule.

People may reject it or people may accept it, but his rule is unquestionable.

He is the king. There is no other.

There is no otherness that no human being possesses.

Everything else is created. He alone is uncreated.

Therefore, there is an otherness he has that no other king, no other power, no other dominion, no other authority can compete with.

It's otherworldly.

That kingdom is what he is inviting you into.

Can we take the time to present the Gospel like this?

Our default Gospel is faulty.

Our default Gospel is faulty.

It has been shaped by the highly individualistic nature of the world,

which is why people don't think much of church, don't think much of culture, don't think much of order,

don't think much of anything because it's Jesus and me.

Don't think much of sin.

There is no Myob in the kingdom.

Sorry, go ahead.

Yeah, so John 3.16 says, God so loved the world that he gave his only son

so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.

And so it's not that that's not part of the kingdom.

That's what the kingdom offers. The kingdom offers you eternal life.

But he is inviting you into the kingdom so that you may have eternal life through receiving the king.

So we've got to change. Sorry, go ahead.

Sorry? Yeah.

Yeah, so another word we use for kingdom is rule.

Rule is something they're familiar with.

There's Trudeau's rule, there's Trump's rule, there's Biden's rule, there's different people's rule.

Rule is something we are familiar with.

Or presidency. Presidency gets it too democratic.

But the idea of rule, that under Jesus' rule, guess what?

I've never had to turn anywhere but to him for healing.

Under Jesus' rule, guess what?

For one and a half years I did not have a job,

but somehow we were sustained and God opened the door.

Under Jesus' rule, guess what?

I've got a band of brothers and sisters that are there except when I'm moving on Feb 24 to 26.

Under Jesus' rule.

And so we begin to, it's a complete shift of thinking which will shift your language.

Under Jesus' rule, we have been able to go to different places and set up little embassies called churches.

Under Jesus' rule, it's guaranteed that anyone who receives him will after this life rise up like he rose up.

Under Jesus' rule, there is a time coming where there will be no tears, no fear, no pain, no sorrow, no shame.

Under Jesus' rule, I have seen people who have been demonized set free and demons go running out of them.

This rule didn't start when he came. It has been forever and will be forever.

Do you want this rule? Do you want to come under this rule?

To come under this rule, you have to recognize Jesus Christ as a king who came down to the earth,

lived here, died, rose again and is now seated again on a throne.

That is such a critical part of the creed.

There's a preacher who puts it this way.

He says, we sell or want Jesus as pain remover.

So we present him as healer, as purpose giver, as history maker, as prosperity creator,

as someone who gives meaning to the universe.

While all that is true, the one thing we fail is to recognize that he is of unsurpassing worth, as Paul said,

and that just the unsurpassing worth of Christ is worth laying everything down for,

instead of waiting for him to heal, provide and do everything else.

All that comes with him, but that is not what we must sell him as.

When somebody enters the kingdom, like the Christ kingdom, how it's taught is pretty simplistic.

Should the church be changing that a bit?

Is there a better way to look at it?

When somebody enters the kingdom, where their rank is, should they know that?

Should they know that?

I would say when someone enters the kingdom, the thing that we have to introduce most is the culture of this kingdom.

If I introduce the culture of the kingdom, people will find roles, maturity, rank, function.

They'll find everything.

One has to introduce the culture of the kingdom.

Some culture is innately developed.

Some culture has to be externally taught.

And so that's how we go about it.

If you go to Saudi Arabia, there's a culture there.

You can't change it because it comes from the king and comes from what the king believes.

And so anybody who goes to that country has to behave a certain way.

Cities have cultures.

The culture in Vegas is different from the culture in Salt Lake City.

So if you introduce culture and it takes time because it's a collective thinking of a people,

it takes time but eventually it's got the ability to permeate.

So it's Jesus who's inviting you into his kingdom, into his purpose, into his work.

And the father's intent is,

Can I conform you, can I conform you to the image of both my son, who is the king I installed, on Zion?

And that's taken from Psalm 2, verse 7, 8.

Psalms 2:7

Any questions on that?

Now you can see why he talks about priests and kings, where he refers to you as priests and kings.

Why would he refer to you as that except that you be conformed to that image too?

Other than Melchizedek, if you go to Zechariah, there's, Chapter 3 or Chapter 4 has a lampstand

and it talks about it being the things that, the oil that flows into the thing is shown as priest and king.

There is Joshua in Zechariah 3, who, he's a priest and then they put a new turban on him

but he's given a place among the people who stand in the court.

There is Jesus and Melchizedek. There is Abraham. Abraham is called a prince among men.

He's not called an ordinary person. He's referred to as that.

So the priest-king motive has been present for David.

David is the ultimate priest-king, where on one hand he's king and then he disrobes and wears a linen ephod

and dances as a priest. So it's been present throughout.

And then of course in Revelations it keeps talking about priest-king.

Yep.

Yeah, so when we talk about inviting Jesus into your life, it's almost, most prayers are without the need for repentance.

So let's invite Jesus into your life. Jesus is savior. He must save you from something.

If you don't acknowledge what you need saving from, he cannot be savior.

And so you can't even repent until you first acknowledge that I need saving.

The next question is saving from what? And then you have to say I need saving from this, this, this and this.

Aha! Now you need a savior. Well then, there is a savior and his name is Jesus.

So this idea of inviting Jesus into your life often is, just say with me, Jesus, Jesus, I invite you into my life,

invite you into my life, forgive all my sins, forgive all my sins, and now send your spirit within me,

send your spirit within me and take me to heaven, take me to heaven.

And now, if you're saved, please join a good church, so many of you.

While there are many that have gotten saved like that, the better way is more difficult, more laborious, but more solid.

It's a more excellent way.

Next one.

The reason we have been chosen is so that we can make all things new.

So the first reason was for his glory.

Second reason is, second reason is to belong to the kingdom of the sun.

To belong to the kingdom of the sun.

To belong to a kingdom. The kingdom belongs. The king is the sun.

And the third reason is to make all things new. This is why we were chosen.

In 1 Corinthians 5.17, it talks about you are now a new creation.

In Romans 8.21, it talks about how creation will one day be liberated from its bondage

and be made new. Right now it's groaning, but one day it will be made new.

Revelation 21.5 talks about how you hear a voice from heaven saying,

Behold, I have made all things new.

And so, and then, I mean, when you look at it, you see how in Genesis 2.9 there was a tree of life,

and then you go to Revelation 22 and verse 2, and you see the tree of life that was barred now being restored.

There is no plan B. I know you've heard me say that a million times. There is no plan B.

One of the reasons I was chosen was to make things new.

Was to make things new in your life, was to make things new on the earth, was to make things new.

Because that's what's been done for me, now it must be done for others.

But these are things we forget. These are the reasons we were chosen.

Chosen why? This is one prominent reason to make things new in people's lives.

Remember, when we say kingdom, we are talking about God Kinging. God is Kinging.

The moment we say the kingdom of God is here on earth, we are saying our God is Kinging.

I mean, it's very obvious that there's a shift in whoever leads the US.

This new man has come. He's become the President of the US.

And every day you know that he's trumping, for the lack of a better word.

Every day he's doing that. And he's a mere mortal. God is Kinging.

He's making, like, what is this guy's sign? Executive orders? Yeah.

There's not a day when God is not signing executive orders, eh?

That are full of kindness, full of love, full of newness, full of gentleness, full of power.

Every day. But who is he doing it through? We. And he can do it without us.

But he loves his kids involved.

So, making new is an essential reason why I'm chosen. If I forget it, I'm wasting the Holy Spirit.

I know that's a drastic statement to make. But if, as a believer, who is now growing in the Lord, has been a believer for years,

if it is not my desire and intent and discipline to make things new,

then I want to say to you that I am wasting the life of the Holy Spirit in me.

Because he's done everything. And he'll keep doing it. But surely he lives in me so that he can do something for others.

How will the river flow through the nations?

God is kinging. And whenever he kings, he makes things new.

And guys, in charismatic churches like ours, even though we are affiliated with the Baptists,

how we see kinging, how we see God doing things, is very different from how God may do things.

And I've asked this question before, but if God is kinging, what does it look like? What does kinging look like?

What does kinging look like? Does it look like healing, miracles, deliverance?

Does it look like prophetic declarations? Or does it look like mercy, justice, issues of race, issues of ecology and environment?

Is it a revival? Is it a stream? Is it a gushing river? Or a waterfall?

You see, it's all of this. So when you see a believer who thinks saving trees is important, it may not be your thing.

But we are talking about something of cosmic dimensions, where it is the earth and the universe that is groaning in labor,

that is in bondage, and yearns to see liberty, as in, even though inanimate, God is saying in Romans 8 that creation knows the decay it has suffered

and is waiting for a day when it can become Eden again. We don't even understand this.

But Hebrew writers have continuously written of these inanimate, not living things in ways that are so different.

The trees will clap their hands. The mountains will bow. The seas will roar.

The morning star sang as creation was being made. Do you see what has happened to personal salvation?

It reduces it to you and your father. There's something seriously wrong with that because it doesn't share God's heart.

It was not just you who fell and so have to be recreated. The fall was massive. Recreation is massive.

And you play a massive role in it because the moment you change Joy's life, you've just played a massive role in changing one life that may change a hundred or change a thousand. You don't know.

Begin to long for this kind of a thing to capture your heart. Part of the capturing comes through teaching. Part of the capturing comes through meditating.

When both are done, the Holy Spirit has room to work. He works with the Word.

Wherever the Word is spoken and dwelt on, the Spirit of God will find enough room to hover and birth things.

That's why I feel that it's important to go over some of the things we've learned and they just go, it's like water under the bridge.

So that's another reason that we were chosen for. You forget that reason and I want to say to you, you're wasting the Holy Spirit because all he's doing in your life then is having you speak in tongues and having you experience the love of the Father but it's still all you.

He wants to do so much more. He wants to King. He's the Spirit of the King.

What we know is when God is Kinging, when God is Kinging, life flows from the throne.

When God is Kinging, life flows from the throne. I would suggest to you that the more I become aware of it, the more confident I will become of what may happen through me.

I suggest to you, the more I become aware of it, the more confident I will be of what will happen through me.

When you become aware that this is something that the Spirit of God likes doing, that when God is Kinging, life flows and whatever it touches springs to life.

When you become more aware of it, you will find yourself becoming more confident of what may happen through you.

Next one.

It doesn't matter whether it's few people or too many people. Tunis still worships long, eh?

And then you always end up finishing at six.

God is asking us to jump into this river, eh?

Next one. We are chosen to show a life marked by Kingdom Living.

To show a life marked by Kingdom Living. We were chosen to show a life marked by Kingdom Living.

Let me quickly give you just three or four important aspects of Kingdom Living.

Number one, right living or right relationship with God, yourself, others and the earth.

In other words, there's a simple word for it, righteousness.

Does my life exhibit this? Unfortunately, no.

Right living or right relationship with God, myself, yes. Others, earth? Not really.

Haunted to reflect that. Again, God, myself, is so easy it comes back to the individual.

What else shows a life marked by Kingdom Living? Peace and rest.

Peace as in there's something whole about you. There's something whole about you.

There's something whole about you. That's so cool, eh, when you can say of someone else,

hey, there's something about that person that's whole. It's not that the person's perfect.

You still have speed bumps and small potholes, but there's something whole about the person.

It's not because the person can run, the sun run or can climb a mountain.

It's not because of that. It's something whole about the person.

That'd be such a cool statement. To be whole is to have shalom, to have peace and rest.

Ah, that'd be so marvelous. If someone could say that about my heart, my mind, my emotions, my thoughts,

the way I live, what I exude. Third one.

You see, guys, here's the other thing. Do you see what a rarity is to find believers like this?

And shouldn't we then aspire? I'm not saying we are not. I'm just saying we need longer periods of this.

Oh, there are times when all of these we are, but longer stretches, publicly and privately.

Third one. This is a favorite of mine and one of the things that present I'm hung up on.

Joy and happiness. Joy and happiness.

Happiness because you're just happy. Joy because even when things are not going well,

you still have the ability to be full of hope. It's both, eh?

Happiness because it's a good day. The Canucks are playing and they want, they're on a,

forget the Canucks. They really don't even get me started there after the trades last week.

Okay, so forget that. Oh my lord, move on, move on.

It's a definition of eternity, eh? The Canucks winning the Stanley Cup.

So, joy and happiness. Happiness is the, did I ever ask you why the Canucks don't have a website?

Because they can't put a string of three W's together. If you get it, you get it, otherwise you don't.

So, joy and happiness. Joy and happiness. Joy and happiness. Guys, if you're not happy, if you're not joyful,

if I'm not happy, if I'm not joyful, there's something seriously wrong with me and I need to fix it.

I need to fix it. Pay attention to it. We have the happiest, most joyful being living in us, around us,

over us, getting up every morning. He's there, go to sleep at night. He's there. He's never missing.

He's always present. He's the most joyful being in. It's like a kid having a joyful dad.

It's like having Ronald McDonald for your dad. Can you imagine what that'll be like?

That's what we're talking about. And so, if after all that, I find myself in places where I'm angry or irritated easily,

the things that I've written down to practice this year, do not be afraid. Do not be offended. Do not be proud.

Do not be afraid. Do not be offended. Do not be proud. And you can keep moving them around, eh,

because one is the reason for the other. Do not be afraid. Do not be offended. Do not be proud.

Those three things can get you into joy pretty fast, because these are the three things that steal joy.

Fear, offense, pride.

And the last one, the empowering of the spirit. What does that mean?

That most things in my life happen not by might, not by power, but by the spirit. That's what it simply means.

Where is all this found? This is all found in 1 Corinthians 420, which is the scripture we threw at Siddhi and Romans 14-17.

Combine those scriptures and you get this.

Next one. To proclaim the king to tribes and nations. To proclaim the king to tribes and nations.

To proclaim the king to tribes and nations. Why? Because they are his inheritance. Tribes and nations are his inheritance.

This one's important. We might stop with this. I've got two more and I can tell you them if we take long on this.

Guys, if you go to Luke 443.

Luke 443.

Jesus says that, listen, they tell him stay because we are having a revival of sorts. Crowds are looking for you.

And he says don't you realize that there are other villages where I have to go with the message of the God's kingdom.

And this is the word God has sent me to do. You look at Luke 9, 59 and 60.

And it's the idea of, listen, let the dead bury the dead. As in, don't get tangled up in civilian affairs.

You go proclaim the kingdom.

You go proclaim the kingdom.

Here's the thing, guys. Going back just one week when Dilna wasn't here.

We are saying that, we made the statement last time, the earth is filled with the glorious splendor of the Lord of Heaven's armies.

Who is holy.

Who is splendid.

Of the Lord of Heaven's armies.

Who is holy.

Luke 6.3, the numbers 1421 last week.

We said, this is the statement that we can take to the bank because the numbers 1421, God swears by it.

And so here is the truth. It is the truth as true as there's snow outside and the sun rose this morning.

Here is the truth. The entire earth, Capitol Hill, Surrey, North Korea, Kabul, Vancouver, Toronto, Florida, anywhere you go, Houston,

the earth is filled with the glorious splendor as in the weight, the magnificence, the presence, the power, the goodness, the laughter, the judgement.

The earth is filled with the glorious splendor of who? Of the Lord of Heaven's armies.

A king who has armies at his disposal. And it's not confined to a city or a nation.

It's the entire universe, the Lord of Heaven's armies. The earth is filled with his splendor and he is holy.

Why are we chosen?

We are chosen so that we can practice Acts 26, 16 to 18.

Why? Because this is true but people are blind.

And they do not know.

Guys, this is so critical, eh?

We're not pushing against, we're not trying to push something that is not present.

We're not trying to usher in something that is absent.

We are dealing with something that is present everywhere, as thick as the air, as clear as the words I'm speaking right now.

It is present but eyes are blind and ears are deaf.

And so we have been chosen to proclaim the king to tribes and nations.

Acts 26, verse 16 and 16 to 18.

Acts 26:16

This was Paul's mandate, this is our mandate.

Acts 26, 16 to 18. Listen to it. It's so beautiful.

Acts 26, 16 to 18.

But now, up on your feet, I have a job for you.

So let's assume I'm speaking to Tuni.

But now, up on your feet.

Up on your feet.

No, no, no. Why are you sitting down?

But now, Tuni, up on your feet.

I have a job for you.

I've handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what's happened today.

And to what I'm going to show you.

I'm sending you off.

To do what?

To open the eyes of the outsiders so that they can see the difference between dark and light.

And choose light.

To the seed of the darkness.

To the seed of the darkness.

And choose light.

To see the difference between Satan and God.

And choose God.

I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven.

A place in the family.

Inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing me.

Acts 26, 16 to 18.

What are you waiting? Off you go.

You can sit.

This is it.

That the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth.

That the earth is filled with the glorious splendor of the Lord of the armies of heaven who is holy.

And what are you supposed to do Sheldon?

Up on your feet.

And I'm, no you're okay.

Up on your feet and I'm sending you off to open the eyes of people.

So that they may see the difference between darkness and light.

So that they may see the difference between Satan and God.

And they may choose light and choose God.

And in the process they get invited into a family.

They begin to live real lives.

Crazy.

We are not working against the grain.

Just remember that eh?

Tomorrow remember that.

When you're at some railway, some SkyTrain station.

Remember that.

Remember that.

When you're at traffic and you're munching through your Schnecken.

Amazing Schnecken.

Traffic is a bakery that makes this amazing pastry called Amazing Schnecken.

Oh sorry you had no context right?

And Anna just happens to work there.

I'm hoping to take advantage of her employment.

You were chosen to display the works of the kingdom.

You were chosen to display the works of the kingdom.

You were chosen to display the works of the kingdom.

Matthew 9, 2.

Matthew 10, 7 and 8.

Luke 7, 22.

Romans 15, 17 to 21.

Let's look at one.

Luke 7, 22.

What are the works of the kingdom?

Luke 7, 22.

And then we'll go to John 14.

Luke 7, 22.

Look at this eh?

In the next two or three hours Jesus healed many from diseases, distress, evil spirits.

To many of the blind he gave sight.

Verse 20.

Men showed up before Jesus saying,

John the baptizer sent us to ask you,

are you the one we've been expecting or are we still waiting?

In the next two or three hours Jesus healed many diseases, distress, evil spirits.

To many of the blind he gave the gift of sight.

Then he gave his answer.

Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard.

The blind see, the lame walk.

The lepers are cleansed.

The deaf hear.

The dead are raised.

The wretched of the earth have got salvation.

Hospitality extended to them.

Works.

And do not back off guys.

Someone was asking me recently,

so is part of Acts 29's mandate healing?

I said yeah from the very beginning.

And that I've lived that throughout my life,

evil on the church.

Then after I went back I was thinking,

who was the last person who got intervened really amazingly and healed?

And I was thinking of Anne,

who had a car crash three days before she came here

and started jumping up and down like Phoebe.

And so don't back off eh.

Don't back off.

Just, just do not,

refuse to take

your own inadequacy or impotency

as a reason to paint God with those colours.

My inadequacy or impotency is not a reflection of God's potency and sufficiency.

And one day through my inadequacy and through my impotency,

like happened to Abraham and like happened to Paul,

we will trailblaze.

Romans 15, verse 17 onwards.

Romans 15:17

Remember these words.

Tote.

Train, obey,

train, obey, trust, expect.

Train, obey, trust, expect.

Never stop training.

Obey whatever God tells you to do at that moment.

Trust Him, not your experience.

Expect results.

And the last thing for now,

why are we chosen?

We are chosen to war and advance the kingdom.

We are chosen to war and advance the kingdom.

I'll give you the scriptures.

Genesis 3, 15.

I will put enmity between your seed and the seed of the serpent.

The war started long ago.

Matthew 16, 18.

I give you the keys of the kingdom and I say to you,

the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.

Acts 10, 38.

And Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power,

and he went about setting free those that were harassed by the devil,

and he went about doing good.

2 Corinthians 10, 5.

The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly.

They're not earthly.

They are spiritual for the tearing down of strongholds

so that anything that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God can be brought down.

Luke 4, 8.

And the devil took Jesus to a high place

and showed him all the kingdoms of the world

and said that if you bow down, I'll give you these kingdoms.

Revelation 11, 15.

And then I heard a voice of an angel that went across the earth,

and here was what the angel said.

The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of our God and King.

Luke 4, 8.

Nothing happened.

Jesus didn't bow.

He was being offered.

Revelation 11, 15.

Everything happened.

There's a war to advance the kingdom,

and God's been doing it forever, and we...

not forever.

For him, forever is very little,

and we need to do this.

And so we were chosen to do this,

and it doesn't come without conflict,

without consequence,

without suffering sometimes,

and without death.

The blood of saints often changes a nation without choices.

So this is the war side of it,

and the advanced side of it is big words,

but the idea of the kingdom of God is not so big.

Proclamation, which we talked about,

penetration, as in going to places that haven't heard the gospel,

and progression of what?

Of the gospel of the kingdom

by multiplying churches,

which are basically embassies of the kingdom,

and making disciples.

Okay, I'm done.

Can you close your book and try to remember all the things we are talking about?

Chosen for?

Just if you can put your notes away.

I'm not looking at it either, so...

And if you can do it in order, great.

UTW, you guys, should excel at this.

Ready?

So we were chosen. Why?

Why were we chosen? First?

Okay, to glorify God.

Second?

To become sons, to belong to the kingdom of the Son.

These are the reasons we were chosen.

The first one was to always glorify God,

magnify, telescope Him through the way I live tomorrow,

through the way I function.

The second one is to belong to the kingdom of the Son.

This is not... We were not chosen to go to heaven.

We were not chosen... All that is after.

The first thing is I belong to the kingdom of the Son.

And remember how we present the gospel then.

Third?

Sheldon, you look like you just want to burst out with it.

Go ahead.

Pardon?

Yeah.

We were chosen so that we can make all things new.

Critical part of us being chosen.

Make all things new.

Not just in our lives. That's already done.

We will waste the Holy Spirit.

If tomorrow I get up and it's like, oh, he... That's fine.

But after that, what, man?

I'm his feet, I'm his mouth, I'm his hands.

He's saying, get up. We've got stuff to do.

Places to go.

To make things new. Fourth one?

To go and proclaim.

You hold on to yours.

You hold on to yours.

So we were chosen to go and proclaim the kingdom to tribes and nations.

You cannot follow him without going.

Not possible.

And so that's where Isaiah 6.3 kicks in.

His splendor fills the whole earth.

He's saying, please, Tuni, can you go and open their eyes?

After they see, it's up to them whether they choose or reject.

But they must see and they haven't seen.

Fifth?

Display the works of the kingdom.

John 14, Jesus puts it this way.

If you don't believe the words I spoke, believe the works I did.

Come on, man, we need this.

And I know you're hungry for it.

And I know you haven't seen enough of it.

We see a bit here, a bit there.

Or we see it in our individual lives.

We haven't seen it just bursting forth.

But the day is coming.

I always think of this scene.

Paul trying to escape Damascus.

He's being lowered on the other side of the wall.

Pitch dark at night.

He doesn't know how much further he has to go.

But the basket is lowering, lowering, lowering.

At some point, he'll hit the ground.

It's going to happen because God is faithful.

I pray, God, that someone in this church like a Jeremy or like a Joy or like a Janelle

or any of these intelligent people sitting here will one day just get up and say like the guy called Smith in Hebrides.

And he says, Oh, God, I don't know about the rest of them, but my hands are clean and my heart is pure.

And you are a covenant-keeping God.

And you said that you will pour water upon dry ground.

Well, God, if you're a covenant-keeping God, then pour it now.

Otherwise, how can we say that you're a covenant-keeping God?

The audacity of the 17-year-old kid.

And the Spirit of God came into the house and it began to shake like a leaf.

And Hebrides 2.0 began.

And the last one.

Oh, nice one.

To display kingdom living.

That's an important one too.

Because if I don't display kingdom living, what can I?

Distribute.

You can only export what is working in your lab.

And so, display kingdom living, righteousness, peace, joy, and the power of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Essentially.

And just remember, do not be afraid.

Do not be offended.

Do not be proud.

You can add to it.

Number your days.

As in, do not waste hours on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Which no longer exists.

Till another week from now.

And then the last one is, we were chosen so that we can war and advance the kingdom.

And there will be consequences, costs, choices, conflict.

This is why you were chosen.

Can you please, church, go over it tomorrow morning?

Retro means going over things, rewinding.

And to all our listeners and viewers all across the earth.

Am I looking at the camera, Sidney?

Guys, go with us, okay?

Tomorrow.

So that you remember why you were chosen before you start the day.