Holding Fast

Jesus, you're jealous over us.

You're jealous over me.

You're jealous over us.

Jesus, you shed your blood, all of it, so that we become sons and daughters.

Jesus, you took away religion and gave us relationship.

Jesus, you are the lover of our souls.

Jesus, we don't have anyone else like you.

Jesus, you are king over our lives.

Jesus, there is no name like yours.

Jesus, we look at your cross.

We think about and remember your sacrifice.

Jesus, we recognize that there is more we can give you.

There is more we can give you.

There is more we can give you.

And today, we want to do that.

Not just for today.

With our lives, we want to give you more.

With our lives, we want to give you more.

Jesus, we are not satisfied.

Jesus, we recognize your hand over our lives.

Jesus, you're so real, so patient, so kind, so powerful.

And we honor you.

We can burst out even right now in words, in expressions of surrender, because your presence is here.

Jesus, you defeated Satan.

And you give us authority and power.

Jesus, when you could have done it all by yourself, you still chose to use us.

And so this afternoon, we give you our lives.

We give you more than we have ever given you.

I give you more right now, Lord.

More than I have ever given you.

Each of us give you more right now than what we have ever given you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Jacob asked me to teach from or pick any of the themes from Psalm 91.

And the title for today's message is, Holding Fast.

Holding Fast.

So let's read Psalm 91, 14 to 16.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.

I will protect him because he knows my name.

Because he calls to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him in trouble.

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Psalm 91, 14 to 16.

I'll read the first part again.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.

I will protect him because he knows my name.

See, this is just one passage in the scripture that talks about holding fast.

The theme holding fast is prevalent throughout the Bible.

You'll see several scriptures where you'll read over and over again the theme, the idea of holding fast.

Let's look at a few of them.

Can you go to Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 4?

Proverbs 4:4

Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 4.

Proverbs 4:4

Let your heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments and live.

Hold fast.

Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse 20.

Deuteronomy 10:20

Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse 20.

Deuteronomy 10:20

Fear the Lord your God and serve him.

Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

We'll read a couple more.

1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 21.

1 Thessalonians 5:21

1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 21.

1 Thessalonians 5:21

But examine carefully, examine everything carefully.

Hold fast to that which is good.

Hold fast to that which is good.

Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 6.

Hebrews 3:6

Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 6.

Hebrews 3:6

But Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are.

If we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

If we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

See, holding fast is a continuous act of leaning on and latching on to the Father's sure and

steady presence.

It's a continuous act of leaning on and latching on to the Father's sure presence, steady presence.

We've been talking about it over the last few weeks that his presence is real, whether we feel it or not.

His presence is absolutely real.

It's as real as the sun.

And when the Bible keeps on talking about hold fast, hold fast, hold fast, hold fast, what we are being taught

is that there is a chance that we can live through life without holding fast.

There is a chance that I can go through life without being mindful of the fact that sometimes I've got to move past emotions,

move past what I think I know, move past what I have seen to be able to hold fast to the Father's steady presence,

sure presence.

His presence is so real.

There is nothing more real than that.

When Iris, Brielle and I, we went to Niagara, we got on the boat that takes you to the falls, right?

So as you, Iris was on one side, Brielle was with me, and so she's super excited.

It's the first time she ever got on a boat.

So Brielle is looking around at all of the people because it's really crowded.

She's looking, people are wearing this red thing that goes over them.

It's very different because she hasn't experienced anything like this before.

She's excited.

She's laughing, she's looking around, and then the boat moves, and as we are moving, we get pretty close

because it gets you close enough so that you can actually feel the falls.

And around that time, without anyone asking, Brielle just lifted herself up and latched onto me

and just held on closer and tighter than she was doing before.

It's just an increased latch because she knows that things are going left and right.

She's going to have a steady hold.

And so she grabbed herself, she pulled herself into me, and then latched onto me

because she knows that I'm standing and that I'm steady.

I'm steady.

So she can steady herself by latching onto me.

So the idea of latching on and the idea of leaning on is really an everyday thing.

It's a continuous act.

It's not a one time a week or a few hours a week act.

It's a continuous desperation, a continuous latching on, a continuous leaning on his sure presence,

his steady presence.

And the reality is when we hear it, it makes sense.

But then there are times in our lives when we're not doing things that are, quote unquote,

considered spiritual.

We do things where we have work and work sometimes takes thinking.

Or you're talking with a friend and the friend has, it's not a Christian friend,

so you're not talking necessarily scripture or about God.

And it's a completely different scenery.

It's a completely different place.

Or it's late into the night or early in the morning and you're not feeling like it.

There is no one in this room who doesn't go through these passages where you don't feel like it,

where it doesn't really seem like he is there with you.

Always remember, you and I have the ability inside us to push through how we feel.

Through how we feel.

Because what we feel cannot and should not dictate how we are.

What I feel should not dictate how I live.

The truth should dictate how I live.

So when I first surrender my being, all of what I am to the truth that he is here,

that his presence is here, then my feelings will slowly but surely follow me.

First, I operate with my will.

There are times in our lives when we have to give precedence to feelings,

because God is a feelings God.

He has emotions.

He gives us emotions.

But we can't just rely on emotions.

We can't just rely on how I feel, how you feel.

I'm telling you, this is so, it can change the way we live.

It can transform our mornings and evenings.

When we begin to more and more realize that his presence isn't going anywhere,

and his presence is right here, right now,

and every moment of my life is divine because he is here.

I talked about this a month ago or so where I said,

his presence makes the ordinary divine.

His presence makes the ordinary divine.

So even right now, his presence is here.

So I can be talking, but his presence is here.

You're sitting there, but his presence is here.

It's so real.

And his cry is to get us to a place where we are so much more aware of his presence.

And I've been trying it over the last few weeks,

where in places and at times where I usually don't recognize his presence,

I'm beginning to recognize his presence.

So when I leave home and I'm walking to my car so that I can drive away for work,

that's a period of time sometimes when I'm just thinking about the next thing

and I'm just in the rhythm.

So I'm learning how to know, Hey, now is the time where he's here right now with me.

He's walking with me.

He has prepared the day for me.

Whatever is going to come to me after this,

he's aligning things for me.

His presence is so real.

Now, what does it do?

It changes the way I look at my days.

It changes the way you look at your evenings and your nights.

And he's all about this transformation coming in our lives because it's so real.

It can absolutely turn your life upside down.

100%.

You can be a different man, a different woman when you begin to realize

that his presence isn't anywhere else.

It's right there with you.

And he's just waiting for you to engage his presence.

So you can't hold on to him when you don't know that he is there.

The first prerequisite of holding on, holding fast is that you recognize that he is here,

that you recognize that he is wherever you are at.

And sometimes it causes you to leap in your heart.

Sometimes it causes you to bow down in worship.

Sometimes it causes you to say, I just can't.

I'm not in a place where I can relate to you right now, but help me.

And he helps you because you begin to push away your feelings.

You first operate with your will and the truth that God has taught you.

He has given you and then your feelings will follow you.

Try it, guys.

Try it more and more and more.

Our God is a God who so delights in us transforming.

He loves it when we look different day after day.

He's all about that.

Where one day you wake up and you realize that you're so different from the other.

One day you wake up and you realize that you're so different from how you were even six months ago.

That is the portion of sons and daughters.

It is the portion of sons and daughters.

And I remember saying this with everything I have to say after this too.

See, you have to always recognize that with God and in him,

you can have such speed and acceleration that you can never have on your own.

In terms of God things, in terms of things that you desire in him,

in terms of what you think he has for you, don't look back.

Look at how much acceleration and how much steadfastness he can bring to your life.

Look ahead at the next three or four months of your life before you walk into 2025.

And realize how much ground you can travel with him in the spirit.

So much, so much that by the time you're here, if we have a December 31st meeting,

you'll sit here and you'll look back and you'll see and realize that,

Abba, you've brought me to a completely different place.

And the thing is he demands this of us, because he can't release certain things to me and to you

unless I am prepared to change while he's a good God.

And he is a good God. He is a good father.

His dreams for me and you are so real.

He wants these things for us, but he's also pulling from the other side and saying,

can you come deeper?

Are you prepared to leave certain things behind?

Can you hold on to me? Hold fast to me like never before?

Hold fast to me like never before, because I'm prepared to show you something new that you haven't seen before.

You don't know what acceleration even means.

You don't know what the gift of speed even means.

Let me show that to you.

Let me show that to you, because with my spirit and when you're aligned, there are possibilities,

so much possibilities, because I'll have you travel or I'll have you cover the distance.

So true, guys. So true.

There is not one word that I said that's excessive.

In fact, I can't explain with my words how real it is.

He gives supernatural speed.

He gives acceleration in the spirit.

He causes you when you're prepared to leave your ways and latch on to him, lean on to him, hold fast to him.

He gives you a new start.

Your days and nights begin to look very different when that happens.

So let's look at a few prerequisites for holding fast.

One, you cannot hold fast to the Father from afar.

You can only hold fast from near.

You cannot hold fast to the Father from afar.

You can only hold fast from near.

only hold fast from near.

You cannot hold fast to the father from afar.

You can only hold fast from near.

If you think he is distant, you can cry out to him,

but you can't hold fast to him.

But if you're convinced of his nearness,

and even better when you're dwelling in his presence,

you can hold fast.

Read Psalm 91, because a lot of things that we talk about

will circle around Psalm 91.

We started with verse 14, but now we

are going back up to verse 1.

Read verse 1 with me, please.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

It's a very familiar scripture, right?

Because this Psalm is Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Psalm 121.

These are Psalms that I'm sure some of you

can recite the whole thing.

Very familiar.

But when you look at this Psalm, and across scripture,

you'll find there are certain passages where

there is a condition.

There is a condition that God says, if you do it this way,

then these things happen.

And so here, the Psalmist says in verse 1,

he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust.

Go down a few verses and read verse 9.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place,

the Most High, who is my refuge?

Verse 9.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place,

the Most High, who is my refuge?

Think about it, guys.

The Lord is your dwelling place.

Just think about it.

He is your dwelling place.

Meaning, if you had an address, it would be him.

He is your dwelling place.

Just think about it for a second.

You are my dwelling place.

That's why Paul is able to see what's

our first primary calling in life.

What is the primary calling in life?

I'm sure there are different ways to put it.

But let me put it this way.

Your primary calling in life is to live and move

and have your entire being in him, which

is why Paul actually says this.

Believe in Acts 28 or so.

He's in Athens teaching the men in Athens.

He addresses the men of Athens.

And he goes through a few things.

And then he says, you can have your entire being,

your living, your moving, your life in him.

That's what dwelling in him means.

That's the essence of dwelling in him,

where there is no aspect of my life,

there is no aspect of your life that's outside of him.

And so sometimes we have the head knowledge that, yes,

my dwelling is in him.

I have the head knowledge.

How can it trickle down to practical, real life,

everyday living, where I can't do?

Well, Jesus says this.

Jesus says this.

You can do nothing outside of me.

But when you think about that verse,

it seems a little you can do nothing outside of me,

Jesus said.

If I'm honest, I actually think that I can do certain things

outside of Jesus.

If I'm honest to myself, that's how I live.

I live with a pretty good conviction

that I could do some things without Christ.

And that's sad.

And the truth is what he is saying, of course.

It's my ignorance that makes me feel sometimes

that I could do some things without him.

Because when I look back at my life,

I'm not always thinking of him.

I'm not always convinced that he is in it.

I wish I was living like that 24-7.

But the truth is that outside of Christ,

I cannot do anything.

And so what he is after is to get me to a place

where the way I speak of this will change,

where next year, same time, I'll sit here or stand here

or wherever you're at, wherever I am at,

will be able to say, I can't actually

do anything outside of him.

And you'll mean it.

You'll mean it sincerely.

That I can't do anything outside of him.

My living, my moving, my being, all of this is within him.

He is my dwelling place.

See, all of the things that we are talking about

with respect to Hebrews 2.0 and all the other things

that God is speaking to us, this is such a prerequisite,

to dwell with him, to be in his presence.

Acts chapter 17, verse 26.

Acts 17:26

And he made from one man, this is Paul speaking, sorry,

it wasn't 28, it was 17.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind

to live on all the face of the earth.

And a few things after that, I'll skip that.

And then it says, for in him we live and move

and have our being.

For in him we live and move and have our being.

So there are two things at play here.

The first thing is my understanding of this truth

that I live and move and have my being in him.

And that's foundational.

I need to understand it.

I need to be convinced of it in my mind

that I can't live outside of him.

That anything that I do outside of him

is me building things with my flesh.

Anything that I do outside of him

is me building things with my flesh.

Anything that I do outside of him

is me just choosing my own way.

And that there is a different way,

which is when it comes to everyday life.

I'm not talking about church, I'm not talking about ministry,

I'm not talking about the next thing that you do

in your Christian group.

I'm talking about everyday life,

when you wake up until you go to bed.

The times in your life when sometimes you feel

like you're just doing it.

God is saying, come on Derek, come on Ashish.

There is a different way where you recognize that

you are not able to do anything outside of me.

And you're in my, you are, you are in me,

moving in me, living in me.

There's nothing outside of it that you can do.

And so the foundational understanding of this truth

has to be so real in my mind.

And that becomes a foundation from where I can move forward.

But that has to be there.

That this is the truth.

My Abba,

covers me.

I dwell in his presence.

This is the truth.

I keep, and how do you do it?

The only way to do it is to keep reminding yourself about it.

There's no other way to do it.

You have to keep reminding yourself about it.

When you forget, you keep reminding yourself about it.

You then keep reminding yourself about it again,

and keep reminding yourself about it again,

to until one day this becomes so real to you,

that no one can take it away from you.

It is so deep inside your being

that you can give this gift to others.

That others who come to you will recognize

that there is a different way you can live.

That this is not Christian ease.

This is life in the kingdom.

This is Abba and father.

That is what the world needs.

That they come to your,

the quest meetings and the

pursuit meetings and the warly meetings

and these meetings here on Sundays,

and they come to you for,

come with you for dinner afterwards,

and they are so sure there is something going on with him

because he seems to be,

or she seems to be a different person.

I have never met a person like this,

so let me ask the question,

why are you like this?

And you're not doing anything fancy.

You're not doing anything Christian ease

to get that question.

You are just living your life

because this is the only reality you know,

and it started with this fundamental understanding

in your mind that you submitted your mind to

and said, I cannot do Abba anything outside of you.

I must have my being inside you, in you,

and my dwelling place is you.

So that's number one.

That's the first step.

And the second step is,

now that you have done it,

align your steps and align your walk,

align your path with this truth.

And when those two things combine,

now you can say what Paul said.

When those two things combine.

And so the only way to grow in this

is to be disciplined in your thinking

and your walking by trusting

in the helping power of the Holy Spirit.

I'll read that again.

The only way to grow in this,

and I'm talking about a lifestyle change, growth.

I'm talking about a type of growth

where you never look back

and you never go back to the person you were before.

And the only way to grow in this

is to be disciplined in your thinking

and your walking by trusting

in the helping power of the Holy Spirit.

The helping power of the Holy Spirit.

Trust His power.

His power is helping in nature.

It is empowering in nature.

It is empowering in nature.

The second prerequisite

is that you cannot hold fast to Him.

You cannot lean on to Him

and latch on to Him,

to His sure steady presence

if you're not dependent on Him.

You cannot hold fast

unless you're dependent on Him.

You cannot hold fast

unless you're dependent on Him.

I like the story of Daniel.

I was reading a few weeks ago,

and the story where he is set.

So think about Daniel, right?

He is a guy who God raised in the kingdom,

and King Darius looks at him and says,

this whole kingdom that I,

and it's a huge kingdom,

this whole kingdom that I am ruling,

King Darius says,

I'm gonna set 120 satraps over it.

120 rulers over it.

And above these 120 rulers,

I'm gonna keep three people to watch over everything.

So Daniel was one of the three.

And then a point came

wherein the Bible says the spirit of excellence in him.

The point comes when King Darius says,

you know what, I'm gonna take you

and you're gonna be the top guy looking after everything.

So the other two high officials

and the 120 satraps,

they'll all report to you.

You look after the whole kingdom for me.

Think about it.

Should be a very busy man to be able to do it.

Should be a very busy man.

And it's not like the people who are around him

are the kind of people who are looking for his best thing.

In fact, they're all against him.

Because you see a few verses down,

all of these guys coming together,

two King Darius to say,

for the next 30 days,

make sure that you write an injunction

and sign a document

according to the law of Medes and Persians.

And we'll talk about it another day perhaps,

but it's not a,

when it says in the law of Medes and Persians,

it isn't just a law.

It's actually spiritual powers behind what's happening.

But we'll talk about it a separate time.

And they say, sign this document,

set this injunction that no man in this kingdom

can pray to anyone outside of you, King.

And you know the story.

Daniel hears about it.

He hears that the King has signed the document.

And once he recognizes

that the King has signed the document,

he goes home.

He goes to his upper chamber

where the windows of his upper chamber

are open towards Jerusalem.

And then it says,

he knelt down and prayed.

He thanked God and he knelt down and prayed.

And here is the part that I love,

as he had been accustomed to.

Here is one day when the entire gang of people around him

turned against him,

and they made the King sign a document against him.

They brought in an injunction against him.

And that day,

instead of turning to the King,

instead of going and telling the King that,

hey, I have a better idea,

because he could have done that,

instead of choosing to go somewhere

and conspire with others,

because he has always been conspiring with the Holy Spirit,

because he was always conspiring with the Lord,

because he always had this habit

of going up

to his chamber,

where the windows of his chamber

were open towards Jerusalem.

And he knelt down

in thanksgiving

and in prayer.

That is discipline.

That is a lifestyle

where it doesn't matter what you're hearing.

It doesn't matter what has been told to you.

You have the confidence

that I knelt before the King of this universe yesterday.

I knelt before the King of this universe this morning.

I knelt before him my life,

and I am going to bow down before him,

because when I bow down before him,

when I am desperately in need of his protection,

his covering,

his name will protect me.

His presence will protect me.

He is so convinced of it

that he doesn't fret his way out any other way.

He goes to this one place

that he has always gone to,

because he knows that's the place that he finds refuge.

That's the place where he finds comfort.

That's the place where he knows there is a tomorrow

because God has already said it.

You cannot hold fast to the Lord

unless you're desperate for him,

unless you are depending on him.

Because if you don't have dependence,

why would you need to?

If I don't depend on him for something,

what's the need for me to hold fast to him?

There's really no need.

And this dependence,

when it moves away from just important things

to everything,

that is transformational living.

Where this dependence is not just about

who do I get married to.

This dependence is not just about

do I leave my job and look for something else

or do I stick?

This dependence is not just about finding a place.

This dependence is not just about

important things in your life.

This dependence is an everyday thing

where you live and you move

and you have your being within him, inside him.

There is no other way.

So you cannot hold fast.

You cannot hold fast

unless you're dependent on him.

And our father is looking for children

who are ever dependent on him,

day and night.

They're dependent on him

because they can't do anything outside of him.

They're convinced of that in their minds

and after having been convinced of it in their minds,

their steps now align with that truth.

Real dependence will cost you to build an altar of prayer.

Real dependence will cost you

to build an altar of prayer.

This is the way to measure your dependence.

This is the real way to measure my dependence on Abba.

If you look at my prayer life, your prayer life,

it'll really tell you how dependent you are on the Lord.

John 15, five, I am the vine and you are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit

for without me, you can do nothing.

Real dependence will cost you to build an altar of prayer.

In this generation, the times we live in

need men and women of prayer to rise up.

It is a truth.

This time in history, perhaps like any other time,

but this time, because this is the only time we know of.

We don't know what happened 80 years ago

except for reading it.

But I'm telling you, it's so true.

This time, this moment, right now,

requires, demands men and women of prayer to rise up.

Men and women of prayer to rise up.

And let's make everything real, guys.

Tell yourself, talk to Abba even now and say,

I've got four more months, is it?

Something like that, for the rest of this year.

Train me up, Abba, that my prayer life changes.

It goes to a completely different level.

Where previously, you couldn't do it

past a particular time, but now you're seamlessly in it

because he has given you a key.

Where you're not working too hard to make it happen.

Where there's something that has happened

because there is a real desperation inside your heart.

There is a real desire within your heart

and he gives it, as we were singing this morning,

pour it out, he pours it out, he pours it out.

When there is real dependence, when there is real desire,

he truly, truly, truly pours it out.

So may you yourself know this,

that I've been this way, Abba.

This is how I've been.

But now, Lord, take me to a different place in prayer.

I wanna build an altar of prayer in my life.

I wanna build an altar of prayer.

Because that is what today demands.

And when I say today demands,

I'm not talking about our lives.

Of course, our lives demand it for ourselves,

but I'm talking about for everything we talk about,

everything we dream about,

with respect to the agenda of the king for this kingdom,

it requires you to build an altar of prayer.

Not an altar of prayer where it's the same way we've been,

but an altar of prayer where something has changed.

And you know for a fact that new oil has been poured out.

You know for a fact that the wind is different,

as Tuni was singing,

that there is a freshness to this wind.

And these aren't just some sort of ideas out there.

This is real.

This is real.

This is real.

These are ideas out there.

This is real.

That when you,

there is such a desire that no one has,

you don't have to kind of pull yourself into praying.

It's there, it's such a desire, such a dream,

such a, not a dream,

such a pleasure to be praying,

such a pleasure to be praying.

So holding fast cannot happen

unless you're truly dependent on him.

Three, the act of holding fast is strengthened

by a revelation of his love for you.

The act of holding fast.

Someone texted me saying,

there's some problem with the speakers.

The act of holding fast is strengthened

by a revelation of his love for you.

Is it because I keep moving?

All right.

Okay.

Psalm 91 verse 14,

Psalms 91:14

because he holds fast to me in love,

I will deliver him.

The act of holding fast is strengthened

by a revelation of his love for you.

I won't spend too much time on this one,

but just this idea, guys,

just this idea that,

yes, you can't really hold fast to him

when you're not fully convinced of his love for you.

And I know that all of us are convinced

of his love for you.

We are convinced of his love.

All of us are.

But,

can we gaze

upon the Christ who is crucified on the cross?

Can we gaze

on the risen Christ?

Just those two things.

Just those two things.

When you do it continually,

when you make it a habit to look at,

when I say gaze, I actually mean

to look steadily with admiration.

Always with admiration.

Spending time looking at the crucified Christ.

Spending time looking at the risen Christ.

See, you know one thing that will do?

It will absolutely change our hearts

to become so much more soft in him.

Because sometimes we go past these truths,

knowing it very well and being convinced of it,

but without really giving it time.

Without really giving it time.

Can you look at the risen Christ?

Can you keep gazing at him?

Looking at this Christ who is crucified.

Looking at the Christ who is now risen.

To see how much he loves you.

Because when you're in places like that in your life,

it is impossible not to be touched by his love.

It is impossible to be leaving that room,

that space when you do this,

without something transformational,

truly happening inside your being.

Make it a habit.

Make it a habit of looking at him.

I'm not talking about praying.

This is different.

This is,

don't have words for it.

I don't have words for it, Abba,

but I just want to look at you, Christ.

I want to gaze upon you,

which is what is said in Psalm 27.

Psalm 27.

Verse four, one thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek,

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,

and to seek him in his temple.

So true.

It requires time.

So create time.

See, another thing that's very practical,

and I hope it will be helpful for you,

is also cultivate

a discipline of an undistracted heart.

And I'll explain it.

Cultivate

the discipline of an undistracted heart.

It's so helpful,

because sometimes we have the best of intentions

to be with him,

but our heart is distracted.

There's no shortage of desire,

but the heart is distracted,

because there is something that's going on,

or your mind easily,

you know, you're doing it for five minutes,

and then the sixth minute,

your mind just easily goes somewhere else.

Or you do it for 15 minutes,

and then your mind just goes into the next thing,

or maybe you're on your phone all of a sudden,

you're looking at things,

and then you're like, oh, I'm on my phone,

I've been on my phone for two minutes,

let me put this on the side,

and let me get back to it again.

Learn the discipline of an undistracted heart,

where you're set in your mind to be undistracted,

and it keeps improving.

You keep getting better at being undistracted.

Like Mary,

it doesn't matter what's happening here and there,

she has chosen the better portion.

She has chosen the better portion.

I don't want to talk more about it,

but cultivate it, we all need it.

We all need it.

It looks differently for different people,

but if you can cultivate it,

an undistracted heart, it'll bless us immensely.

So we'll begin to wrap up.

How does the scripture say we can hold fast to him?

How do we?

So these are the prerequirements,

what we've talked about.

They were the prerequirements to hold fast,

but how does the scripture say

we can hold fast to him today?

Number one,

you hold fast to him by holding fast to his commandments.

You hold fast to him by holding fast to his commandments.

Joshua chapter 22, verse five,

Joshua 22 · chapter mention

but be very careful to keep the commandment

and the law that Moses,

the servant of the Lord gave you,

to love the Lord your God,

to walk in obedience to him,

to keep his commands, to hold fast to him.

I'll repeat it.

To walk in obedience to him,

to keep his commands, to hold fast to him.

You hold fast to him by holding fast to his commandments.

Psalm 119, verses nine to 11.

Psalm 119, verses nine to 11.

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

With my whole heart, I seek you.

Let me not wander from your commandments.

I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

Wow.

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

With my whole heart, I seek you.

Let me not wander from your commandments.

I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

That I might not sin against you.

Some of these scriptures from Psalm 119,

I'm saying it only because,

I'm saying it because it has helped me so much in my life.

I remember when I was very young,

probably, I don't know, nine or 10, whatever,

a pastor came to me when we were praying,

and he laid his hands on me.

I'm so young, I don't know anything.

And he said, be like David.

And I really took that seriously.

I said, I really want to be like David.

I don't know about David, I don't know too much,

but I really want to be like David.

And so I had times,

I'm sharing this because a lot of you guys go to school,

and this is Trinity Western and other schools

that you guys go to, or UCW, whatever else.

I thought I'll add this because,

what I did during that time, it changed my life forever.

Because I really believed that I could be a man

whose heart was after God.

Of course I sinned, of course I made mistakes,

of course I wasn't, I'm still not perfect.

That's a given, of course.

But you don't know how much trouble I got out of

because I took it seriously.

How much trouble I got out of

because I received that as a 10 year old or whatever,

and said, yes, Aba, as best as I can,

I want to guard my ways, as best as I can.

As best as I can, I want to live for you,

as best as I can.

You've got to be in your schools, wherever you are,

you've got to be people like that,

where you have a zeal that's so different

from those around you.

And it's not because they don't have the zeal,

it's because you've been given something special.

The truth has been shared with you.

Some of them don't know the truth.

But when the truth has been given to you,

you've got to do something with the truth.

See, the more we know, the more responsible we should be.

The less we know, we have more room.

But the more we know, the less room we have.

Because we are on a short leash at that time.

And this isn't just for young, as Pawan calls it,

he's not here, he said, well, I won't say the first part,

he said, young kings and old something.

I won't say what the old something is.

He put me in that category too.

But he said, young kings.

This is for the young kings,

but it's not just for the young kings.

This is for us, who are older than the young kings,

and for people older than me.

Even though the verse says,

how can a young man guard his way or stay pure?

It's not just for young men and women.

This is for any one of us here.

And it's so not religion.

It's so not religion.

This is just wanting,

in the best way possible, to love him back.

That's what it is.

This isn't, you shall not, you shall not, you shall not.

And of course, all you shall nots are right and true.

And we must fear at the you shall nots.

There's no problem saying that.

That's the word.

But this is more than that.

Where you say, Aba, I really want to live for you.

Wanna please you, help me.

I made mistakes yesterday.

I made mistakes two days ago.

But now, let me start afresh,

so that I will not fear making mistakes,

because I wanna love you so much more,

and I wanna do you well.

I wanna please you.

That's what it is.

So it's not a count of how many mistakes we did in the past.

It's not a measure of,

oh, will I not do the same thing again?

It's truly, Aba, I know for a fact

that I can't do it myself anyway.

My life has taught me that.

Your life has taught you that.

You can't do it on your own anyway.

But with him, I wanna love you.

With your spirit, I wanna please you.

With your spirit, I wanna make you proud.

Now, that is good.

Because now, it's not a list of do's and do nots.

It is truly a thing where your heart pleases him.

Your heart and the way you are pleases him.

So you cannot hold fast,

or you hold fast by holding on to his commandments.

And you do that even when the pressure is mounting.

You do that even when the pressure is mounting.

Guys, I wanna say this,

because it's important.

At no time in our life should we allow the devil

to convince us that because we made mistakes in the past,

it's too late.

Because we made mistakes in the past, it's too late.

At no time should we allow the devil to convince us

that because we made mistakes in the past,

the future can't be as good as what it could have been.

That is a lie from the pit of hell.

The truth is that the blood of Jesus Christ

washes me clean.

The blood of Jesus Christ washes you so clean

that it's as far from the east as from the west.

That's what the Bible says.

So do not ever allow the devil to cause you

to look back at your life,

an event or events that you have turned away from,

to tell you, to convince you

that your future will be dependent on what you did

or what happened to you.

Do not give him that power

because the power lies with Christ.

And if you choose to walk with him,

the power is yours to overcome that.

And whenever you see commandments in the Bible,

wherever you read commandments for us to follow,

always look at it from a place of,

Abba, I don't have the power to do all of this,

but with you, I have the power to do all of this.

And set that as a thing in your mind

because the more you're convinced that

I can't, then you can't,

but the more you're convinced that you can with him,

then you can.

That's the key.

The more you're convinced that you can't

because it's difficult, then you can't.

But the more you're convinced of this truth

that you can with his power, you can.

You can, you can.

That is the truth.

Number two, you hold fast to him

by holding fast to his promises.

You hold fast to him by holding fast to his promises.

I won't read it, but I'll let you guys go home

and read it or read it later.

Hebrews chapter three, verse 14.

It talks about holding fast

to the beginning of your assurance.

Holding fast the beginning of our assurance firm

until the end.

Hebrews chapter three, verse 14.

Hebrews chapter three, five and six,

talk about the same.

Holding fast your confidence

and your boasting in your hope in Christ.

You hold fast to him by holding fast to his promises.

So there are two types of promises.

One is the written word which contains promises.

And then there is the spoken word,

prophetic words, Rhema words,

words spoken over your life.

Both sets of promises.

So you hold fast to him by holding fast to his promises.

Rhema words, words spoken over your life.

Both sets of promises.

And when you know for a fact,

the written word for sure you know

is his promise to you.

And whatever you're convinced

God spoke over your life through men

as a promise for your future,

hold it tight, hold it fast.

And prophetic words spoken over you

do not relax and say,

well those things will happen at some point

or two years later or three years later.

Sometimes God gives you a word

so that you can use that word

as something you can stand on and take the next step.

It is never to be put on the shelf.

It's a word given so you can stand on it.

See Peter when he stepped out of the boat,

he didn't step on water.

He actually stepped on the word that Jesus spoke.

He stepped on that.

And of course then he floundered with him thinking

and looking at different things.

But you have to have a sure footing

when it comes on the promises spoken over your life,

either through the word that you're convinced about

or prophetic words that have been spoken over your life.

And you have to hold them close.

You have to hold fast to them saying,

Abba, I am looking at these things.

I'm thinking of these things.

I am reminded of these things.

Show me what's next.

Content with him.

Ask him.

Don't put it on the shelf.

Don't say, well, I'll get to it six months from now.

Don't say it will happen a year from now.

You have to be a type of people.

I have to be a man.

You have to be a woman.

You have to be people who brings it all together

and says, I hold fast to these things.

I remind myself of these promises that you have said.

And this is not for two years from now.

It is for now.

I ready myself right now.

I align my life right now.

And when you do that, now, now, now,

you're setting up for yourself an orbit

that will take you closer to where God wants you to go.

Cling on to his promises.

Don't put it on the shelf.

Don't say, yes, I know it will happen.

Work with him so that it happens at his time.

And it's not passive.

It's an active, vigilant, guarding of the promises

that God has given you.

It's an active, vigilant, guarding of the promises

that God has given you.

It's an active, vigilant, walking in line

with the promises God has given you.

And that is when you realize as you're going ahead

in your life, you realize that most of these things

have happened, but I need more.

That's the way it should be.

That father, these prophetic words, oh, I received it.

I list them down here, one, two, three, four, five.

Five out of six is done.

Now give me more.

You're not waiting until you're 70 for that to happen

or 80 for that to happen.

You're looking for it now.

You're looking for it today.

And if you're 70, you're saying,

Abba, here is everything that happened

in my 70 years of life, but for the next five years,

I'll be like a Caleb who will achieve in you more things

than I've ever done in the first 70.

Because that's the promise.

That I'm not limited to the first 70 of my life

and the pace at which the first 70 went.

From 70 to 75 is more than enough for me

to accomplish way more in you

than I've accomplished in the first 70.

And all these things are so true and real and practical

for anyone who wants it.

Hold fast to your confession.

Hold fast to your confession.

Psalm 91, verse two,

I will say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust.

I will say to the Lord,

my God in whom I trust.

I will say to the Lord,

my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust.

Your confession can alter your future.

Some of us have played Exploding Kitten so many times.

You know the alter the future card?

Take that and you're gonna change the...

It's like your confession can alter your future.

And this is not, you speak whatever you wanna speak,

it'll just come to you and happen to you.

No, this is a confession with your mouth using words

that you hear, that spirit realm hears,

that you're confessing because you're confident

of what he is, who he is,

and your guaranteed assurance in those things

causes you to confess.

So in Psalm 91, interestingly,

the Psalmist says, I will say,

it is important for you to say,

it is important for me to say.

And I'll tell you this,

our Lord loves people who speak.

Never think that I can be as much as a good Christian,

never think that I can be as much of a right Christian,

but I'm just not vocal.

It is foolishness.

You must use your words.

Your words carry power.

Your words dictate where you're going.

Your dictate where you're going.

Yeah, confess with your mouth.

Practice this, guys.

Don't curse yourself.

It's amazing how many times

without knowing, you could be cursing yourself

because you're used to speaking of things a certain way.

Don't curse yourself.

Because by saying you can't do it,

or by speaking or aligning with the words

or speaking or aligning with...

How you?

Oh, yeah, sure.

I'll give you an easy example.

You can be sitting, the question is,

can you give an example of how you can curse yourself?

See, when we think the word curse,

we often think of curse as,

you have to say something so bad,

and that's what a curse is.

Curse is not just that.

I'll give you an easy example of a curse.

You can be sitting here right now,

and you can be convinced in your mouth with your mind,

and you'll put it out in your mouth

when you're outside of here.

That you know what?

When it comes to sermons, I can understand most of it,

but somehow not all of it.

I have heard people say it.

That's a curse.

It starts like that.

Because you've essentially told yourself

that somehow the spirit of God inside you

can't help you understand all of it.

So when I say curse,

think things that don't align with the scripture,

with the nature of God,

that you have accepted for yourself

and have confessed with your mouth.

And when one of my friends told me this,

I told him,

you can if you want to.

The first thing you can do is speak

that you can understand every single thing

written in the word,

and being taught through the word,

so that you now begin to tell yourself,

encounter and cut off every word

until this point in your life agreed to

that was against the scripture.

And from here on, align with the scripture.

It changes you.

It's as simple as that.

Your confession matters.

Your confession matters.

Your confession can alter your future.

Your confession can change the destiny of your life.

And the last thing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a good question.

Because the moment you start,

repeat the question.

Yes.

What is set up here?

It's a great question.

Crystal asked,

what's the difference between what I just said

and the name it and claim it movement?

Because the name it and claim it movement is,

I'm gonna get as an example,

I'm gonna get that job tomorrow.

And I'll get it.

That job is mine.

Let's start with something as simple as that.

Two,

I'm gonna win that jackpot.

Two, I'll be really prosperous.

Two, a million dollars is coming my way.

Two, I'm gonna get a wife in the next six months.

All I need to do is just keep saying,

I'm gonna get a wife in the next six months.

And the drop of the hat, six months from now,

I'll get a wife.

That's examples of name it and claim it.

What I'm saying is being convinced of the nature of God

to know that my father,

if you're a single guy,

you're looking for a wife.

My father created me,

and my father said,

I will bring a suitable helper for you in my time.

And you then go to the scripture and say,

Lord, like Isaac needed an Eliezer,

you be my Eliezer.

You operate from that place first.

And then from there you say,

Abba, in your time it will happen.

That's a different confession than,

without having a scriptural reference point

for what you're asking for,

without having a scriptural mandate

for what you're asking for,

you can't have it.

Because God is not about,

God is not about just blessing us outside of his will.

See, the great thing is,

it's a great question.

The scripture,

this book is the boundary

that I have

to know what I can expect from God.

God is bound to his word through the scripture.

He is bound to his word through the scripture.

And so when I confess something from this word,

when I confess something from this word,

that changes my future.

Because that's, at that point,

it's not name it and claim it.

That is me submitting my being,

submitting my thinking to the truth of the word.

And then saying, Lord, you said it.

This is who you are.

It looks like it can't happen,

but I submit my being and my thinking

and my future to your truth.

And then from that place you stand up

and you say, I declare and I decree

that those who put their trust in the Lord,

their head will not bow down in shame.

And now that is a declaration

because that came right from your spirit man.

After you having been convinced of the truth

that this word is something that he binds himself to.

He can't be false to his word.

You can always stand on his word.

100%.

And if you're a wise man or you're a wise woman,

what you will do is you will look through the word

for his promises that you can ascribe to.

Because sometimes we're like that.

See, I got this laptop.

I'll wrap it in the next two minutes.

It's only because of Crystal.

This, I got this laptop

and I've been using it for a few days.

And this morning Iris comes in.

Brielle wanted to click on the keypad and stuff.

And so she's there and Iris comes and touches on the screen

and does a bunch of things.

And I realized that I have a touch screen.

I did not know it.

And so I was like, moving this around,

oh, it's a touch screen.

I was like, oh, I didn't know it.

I've been using it for a good month.

See, that's how you and I are

when we don't go through the Bible,

study the word to understand his promises.

What are my promises?

When it comes to opposition against your life,

can you stand up and say, because of my Lord,

the bones of my enemies will be scattered

when he rises up in judgment against those

who follow his name, follow his will.

It's Psalm 89.

There are these promises, many of them,

that you can hold fast to.

If you're a wise man, you'll do it.

If you're a wise woman, you'll do it.

And then you'll stand on it and then you'll declare it.

Last thing I'll say and finish this.

See, when you pray, there are six types of,

or four or five types of prayer, maybe six, we'll see.

One, when you're praying, you can pray in tongues.

And if you don't pray in tongues,

trust me, ask for this gift.

And it's an amazing gift to have.

Not having it or not desiring it could be like me

having the laptop but never utilizing the touchscreen.

Because there are certain benefits

that come with the touchscreen

that I will never be able to use and take advantage of

when I don't use the gift.

So praying, praying in tongues.

Two, declarations, faith declarations,

like I was saying before.

Three, warfare prayers, warfare prayers.

Four, prayers of thanksgiving and supplication.

Five, prayer of inquiry, where you go to the Lord and say,

I don't want to go on this path unless you tell me.

Should I go on it or not?

David did it.

David said, should I pursue this army?

Should I overtake them?

I don't know.

He inquired of the Lord and then the Lord answered.

These are very quickly four or five ways to pray.

And with each of these ways of praying,

if we were to immerse ourselves in it,

it'll change the way we are.

And declarations are a big part of it.

It's a big part of your life.

So don't be like me having the laptop

but not knowing how to use the touchscreen.

Because those are gifts that you should use.

Somehow this morning the Lord reminded me

about the gift of tongues.

And I did not mean to, I completely forgot about it,

but your question kind of took me in that direction.

Aspire for the gift of tongues if you don't have it.

Please, if you don't have it,

go to your leader and say, I don't have the gift of tongues.

I would love to have the gift of tongues.

Don't look at yourself and say, oh, I don't have it.

No problem, it's a sure gift you can have.

It's as easy as that.

But don't despise it.

Don't say, well, I don't need it.

Oh, it's a little, it's,

we have done ourselves a disservice by

looking at the deviations of what it should have been

and then saying, well, because of that, I don't want it.

So don't do that.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that we can stand on your word.

We thank you that we can trust your word.

Aba, we want to hold fast to you.

Hold fast to you with everything we've got.

Desperate, dependent, in love.

Hold fast to your commandments.

Hold fast to you, to your promises.

Hold fast to you by way of confessions.

Hold fast to you.

Hold fast to your name.

We want to be a people like that, Aba.

Lord, I thank you that your word transforms us

and right now it does.

In Jesus' name, amen.

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