Culture – Household of God Part 2

Wendy?

Wendy?

Wendy?

Hello.

Awesome.

Well, welcome, guys.

We had our break.

Jelena is going to come up.

She's going to speak for a bit, and then we'll wrap up a little bit after that.

Yeah?

What?

Nope, I'm good.

So, I want to talk today about priest-shepherds.

What is...

This was something that we see in Christ's life.

It's how he ministered in a city.

It was Christ...

What was Christ like ministry in a city, and how can we begin to pattern after Christ,

earthly ministry in our lives?

So we see there's three different ways that Christ functioned when he was walking on the

earth.

As he ministered, as he lived on the earth, he functioned as a priest-shepherd, a prophet,

and a king.

And today I just want to take a little bit of time and talk about priest-shepherds.

What does it look like to be a priest-shepherd?

What does it look like to, as we've been talking about over the last couple of weeks, hey,

we need to remove the old.

We need to remove the stale.

We need to step into something new.

And so I want to start by reading from Mark 5, 34 to 44.

No, sorry, it's Mark 6.

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have

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to eat, but he answered them, you give them something to eat.

And they said to him, what shall we go and buy, 200 denarii worth of bread and give it

to them to eat?

And he said to them, how many loaves do you have?

Go and see.

And when they had found out, they said, five loaves and two fish.

And then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.

So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties.

And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and he said a blessing.

He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

And he divided the two fish among them all.

And they all ate and were satisfied.

And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

And so if we look at this story, we almost can break it into three different parts.

First we see that Jesus shows up.

If we go earlier in the story, we see that his disciples have just come back from ministering.

And he says to them, hey, let's go away.

You guys have been busy.

Let's go away and rest.

So they've intentionally gone to a desolate place.

They've gone to this desolate place, but the crowds have seen them going and people begin

to go and gather there.

So he's gone to take his disciples to rest and they get to this desolate place and there's

crowds of people.

It wasn't their intent.

It wasn't part of their plan.

They've gone to get away from people and they show up and there's all these people there

waiting for him.

And it says that Jesus had compassion on them.

He was immediately aware that they were sheep without a shepherd.

He saw these people.

They'd gone to get away from people.

But as he sees this people, his heart shifts because immediately he's aware of what his

father's heart is.

And he immediately is filled with compassion.

Then we see that what does he do?

He immediately gathers them and begins to teach them the word.

And then we see that these people are hungry.

They're in a desolate place.

There's nothing there.

They've come and he's all they've come for.

And then we see him intercede with a radical action.

His disciples say we should send them away to eat.

He says no, no, we'll feed them.

They've come to us and we're responsible not just for them spiritually but we're also responsible

for them physically.

His compassion wasn't just for their spiritual well-being but hey, how do I actually take

care of these people?

They're lost.

They have nothing else.

And we see that he telescopes God physically into their lives.

This kind of highlights, okay, what was his life as a priest shepherd?

What did it look like?

We see three aspects.

A priest should be a shepherd.

A priest should be a proclamer.

And a priest should be a mediator interceder.

So what is a priest shepherd?

If we look at Revelation 7, 16 to 17.

Revelation 7, 16 to 17.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.

The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.

He will guide them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eye.

We see that hey, what is required of us?

To carry out Christ's ministry requires that we care for people.

We have to be Christ incarnate.

We have to be Christ in flesh to build relationship with the sheep that he sends our way.

It's only when we begin to say hey, if Christ is the high priest, Derek was talking about

this earlier.

Hey, Christ is the high priest and we're supposed to be seated with him.

But can we move to that place not just when we're here.

Can we move to that place from every aspect of our life saying hey, I have to be seated

with him.

As I'm seated with him, suddenly I have the ability to function as a priest and begin

to see people as he would as a shepherd.

This is something that's expected of us.

This is something that he's saying hey, as you let go of the old, this is something that

you have to begin to step into.

It's only when I begin to be Christ in flesh to people that God can enter broken lives

with mercy and power.

It's our responsibility.

It's our responsibility as individuals and it's our responsibility as the body to be

able to transmit God into the lives around us.

Then if we look at Malachi 2, 6 to 7, Christ came to proclaim.

He was a priest who proclaimed.

I brought my Bible with the tiniest print.

True instruction was in his mouth and no wrong was found on his lips.

He walked with me in peace and righteousness and he turned many from iniquities.

For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge and people should seek instruction from his

mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Here we see that this clearly says hey, this is what a priest is supposed to do.

A priest is someone who is supposed to guard the knowledge, who is supposed to speak the

word of God into lives.

We see this when we look in that verse in Mark 6.

It says he had compassion on them and he began to teach them.

How often do we see people and immediately begin to say okay, what good news do they

need today?

Hey, what message do they need from Christ today?

It's not a Christianese message but hey, what do they need to hear?

What is going wrong in their lives?

How can I begin to display through my life with words and with actions the good news?

Am I faithful to the biblical text?

And do I make the biblical text relevant to the context in which people are living?

Can I take what I know?

Can we take, here we have so much knowledge, we've been taught so much, but can we take

it and apply it to people's lives?

Do we have the ability to take what we've been taught as we step into what's new, what

we're this deeper level?

Christ keeps saying hey, can you come deeper in?

As we go deeper in, are we so aware of hey, this is what God's saying, now how can I begin

to speak it into people's lives?

Priests teach God.

And then if we look at a priest as a mediator or interceder, if we look at Hebrews 8, 6.

But as it is in Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old.

But as it is in Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old.

As the covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on by better promises.

So here that we see hey, when Christ came, he came and said hey, the old was just a shadow,

step into something new.

And he's saying this to us again today.

Hey guys, can you let go of the old?

Can you let go of the stale?

Can you step into the new?

Can you step into the deeper that I have for you?

And as we begin to step into this deeper that he has for us, we'll be able to see that we

have the ability to function as mediators and interceders in the lives around us.

On one hand it goes back to what I was saying at the beginning.

Hey, can we be actively engaged?

Can we recognize as we step into a situation that hey, I'm seated with Christ at the right

hand of God.

Because of my position, because of how he's placed me, because of this deeper that he's

calling us into, through the spoken word and through radical actions, we can invite and

enable people to see and be touched by the saving love of Christ.

How often is that my intent when I go out?

It has to be more than when we come here.

It has to be when I engage with people at work.

It has to be, hey, does the world actually know what I'm about?

As I go about my day, do people know what I'm about?

Do they see me as a shepherd?

Do they see me as a proclamer?

Do they see me as someone who can telescope God into their lives and change their realities?

This is what it looks like to go deeper.

When people see me, do they just need a touch for me and their lives begin to change?

It requires all of me.

For me to be a priest, for me to be able to walk as the priest that God has ordained us

to be, it requires all of me.

God walked in a new covenant.

In Hebrews 8.13, he speaks to this new covenant and he makes the first obsolete.

Somebody was saying earlier that, hey, we have to shed the old.

We have to make obsolete that which in our lives, which was good but is old.

For what is becoming obsolete and old has to begin to vanish from our lives.

It has to begin to vanish from how we function.

It has to begin to vanish from, hey, this is how I did this.

This, it works well.

Yes, it works well, but what new is Christ giving?

He came to establish a new covenant and it's always active.

He's always opening that flower up for us to see more and more.

If we look at 1 Peter 2.9.

It says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his

own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness

into his marvelous light.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous

light.

How often do we think of ourselves this way?

Can we just take a moment and say, hey, do I actually think of myself this way?

Do I actually think that I'm chosen?

Do I actually think that I'm chosen to function as a royal priest within his body, which he

calls a royal priesthood?

Do I think that, hey, I'm part of his nation?

I'm supposed to be different than the world that I walk in?

I'm purchased by him.

I'm to be his possession.

Am I removing all the other things that I let own me?

He's calling us into his light.

How much of my day am I aware of his presence?

How much of my day am I aware of, hey, this is what the Father's saying.

Now can I begin to walk in that light?

We have to let go of the old.

We have to let go of the stale.

It's only when I'm able to give him my all that I can begin to function in Christ-like

ministry here on earth.

And so I want to talk about, hey, what are three things that are required of me?

One, there has to be an opening in my life to be trained.

There has to be an opening in my life to be trained to teach, to be trained to be able

to transmit and telescope God.

But how am I functioning within this body?

How am I functioning in my day to day?

And so first, am I functioning as a dedicated soldier?

I have to be a dedicated soldier.

What's a dedicated soldier?

A dedicated soldier is one who is so committed to what the body is building, what Christ

is building with his body, that I will suspend my own interests.

And so I really want to say this.

This is for us.

This is for Acts 29.

Hey, Acts 29, if you're a part of this body, are you a dedicated soldier?

Is this something you want to be?

How do we come in into what's happening?

How do we step into what God's saying, hey, this is about to break forth.

This is about to break forth.

Am I a part of it?

Am I desirous?

Am I saying, okay, Father, what next?

Am I willing to suspend my own interests for what he wants to do?

Am I willing to have those who are leaders or Jacob come and say, hey, I need you to

do this?

And am I willing to suspend my own interests?

This was something that we've been talking about the last two weeks.

Hey, am I willing to set aside my interests for what the body?

Am I willing to come under those who have been placed in leaders, who are shepherds

over us here to say, hey, I'm opening my life.

I'm willing to do whatever you ask.

Can I be a disciplined athlete?

Am I willing to exercise a level of discipline in my choices that are unbalanced like an

athlete?

We try to keep everything balanced in our life.

Hey, if I do a little bit of this and a little bit here and a little bit here, I can keep

everything balanced.

I can keep everything happy.

But an athlete or someone who has one sole purpose, their life becomes unbalanced for

them to excel at that.

When somebody's willing, wants to become a runner in the Olympics, he lets go of other

things.

His life becomes all about that.

Is my life all about what is being built here?

Is my life all about this new that we're stepping into?

Is my life all about, hey, I want to go deeper.

I want to go deeper.

I want to discover, hey, what does it look like to function in a way I've never functioned

before?

And then can I be a diligent farmer?

night or day to get a crop in without compromise or delay?

And it's not sometimes it's for a season, sometimes it's for a short thing.

But hey, am I willing to say, hey, take my time?

Sometimes our time is the thing we hold most precious.

Oh, but I need to do this and I need to do this and I have a little bit of time here

and I have time set aside for this.

God is saying, hey, in this time, are you willing to be a diligent farmer?

You've sown the seeds, the crop is ready to begin to come in.

Are you willing to work day and night to bring in that crop?

This is something we have to begin to ask ourselves.

This is something we have to say, hey, yes, I can come and say I'm all for this, but am

I willing to shift how I'm walking?

Am I willing to let my entire life change?

It's not about the service when we gather here.

It's how I'm living my life every day 24-7.

Am I, do I even want to be a dedicated soldier?

Is this something that I see myself?

Am I willing to let others say, hey, you know, in this area, this could be shifted?

Is my life disciplined?

Is it disciplined for one pursuit?

Am I willing to work day and night or do I only want to work part time and then leave

the rest to go about the life I have planned for myself?

If you're here, if you're part of Acts 29, our intent is, hey, can I open my life to

be a disciple who's being disciplined to be a priest?

Am I opening my life to be discipled?

It's only a discipled and disciplined priest who can recognize a sheep and as a shepherd

instantly telescope God in.

But I have to be trained.

Am I coming?

Am I willing to be trained?

Even those of us who maybe are recognized as shepherds in this house, are we still being

trained?

Are we still opening our lives?

Are we still saying, hey, what needs to be shifted?

As a shepherd, if we look at Hosea 2, 2, 23 and 1 Peter 2, 10, they say almost the same

thing.

But one is the Old Testament and one is the new.

In Hosea 2, 23 it says, I will planter for myself in the land.

I will show my love to the one I called, not my loved.

I will say to those called, not my people, you are my people.

And they will say, you are my God.

I have planted her for myself in the land.

I will show my love to the one I called, not my loved.

I will say to those called, not my people, you are my people.

And then if we go to the New Testament, we see the same thing being said.

1 Peter 2, 10.

Once you were not my people, but now you are the people of God.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This should become active.

If everybody, we have no leaders and followers here.

Everybody is being raised.

Everybody should be a desire to, what does it look like to begin to function as a shepherd?

This should become active through our lives.

Once you were not a people, now you are the God's people.

Once you have not received mercy, now you have received mercy.

Is this something we are displaying?

Is this something we are displaying in this house?

Is this something we are displaying when we go out?

Because this is the very nature of a good shepherd.

So I ask us, can we exchange our hearts?

Because we are being disciplined to disciple, if not today, then tomorrow.

So can we exchange our hearts?

Can we lay our hearts down?

Can we, what started in worship, hey, I surrender the old.

Can we begin to lay down our hearts and say, hey, I want to be discipled.

Can I open my life to be trained to be able to transmit, teach, and telescope God in all

that I do?

And am I willing to give my life to Christ and his body?

Can be easy to give my life to Christ, but am I willing to give it to his body, this

body, as a dedicated soldier, as a disciplined athlete, and as a diligent farmer?

And so I really want us to, this isn't an instant response.

For some of us, you have to actually think this through.

You have to take time, because this is a life commitment.

Am I willing to open my life?

Do I desire to be trained?

And how much of my life am I willing to give to a physical body, to a physical people that

will require things of me, that will demand things of me, that will ask things of me?

Because that's how Christ functioned.

Thanks, Julian.

I'm thinking.

How do we respond to what we heard?

Guys, one thing I want all of us to know is, especially at this time, when we know that

God is asking us and telling us, hey, you're walking in this direction, I need you to walk

in this direction, and he has things for us, at the risk of sounding repetitive, I say

again, please don't sit back and say, okay, you know, I'll catch up later, because you

do have the option to sit back if you want to, or you can jump in sooner, quicker, faster.

That's up to you.

Yeah?

Yeah.

I have a feeling this thing will...

Oh, it works.

It's 6.52.

We won't...

I won't take a lot of time, but I want to touch on a few things that I think it's important

for us as a people to look at and measure ourselves personally against as a plumb line,

because the word is a plumb line for us.

It tells us this is how you are to be, and then you and I, anything and everything that

I speak today, disclaimer, everything that I speak today applies to me, as it applies

to you, and especially for the guys who are new here, for the first time, if you're wondering

what's going on, it's a different time we are in, because we know that God has told

us, hey, I want this new thing for you, and it also requires us thinking differently,

asking questions to ourselves, hearing what he has, and then shaping ourselves so that

we are ready for it.

So it's a great time to be here.

I joined Axe 29 about 12 years ago, I think.

That's when I first moved here, and Heidi, Joan, Ruth, Sue, they've been here from, I

guess, day one.

One of the things I know in the last little... the 12 years I've been in Axe 29 is we've

gone through changes.

We have gone through changes.

If you stepped into Axe 29 in 2014, and you step in again in 2023, it'll look very different.

Ask Heidi how week one was and how today is.

It looks different.

One of the things I can tell you is because things will change, if you aren't prepared

to change, you will fall back, or fall behind.

So it's not really, hey, you need to change.

This is more so, father, I am part of a bride that you're raising, part of the bride that

you're raising.

And so it's, I don't want to miss it.

That's the mentality.

Yeah, it's not, hey, if you don't change, you're going to miss out.

No, it's more so, I want to.

I want to be involved in what God is doing.

I am part of his bride.

How can I say, yeah, you know, you guys do it.

I'll jump in later.

No.

Yeah, it's super important, guys.

So listen, even if it's for the next 20, 30 minutes, listen, knowing that this applies

to you.

And the only thing I ask of you is measure yourself against the plumb line of the word.

You need to do that.

I need to do that.

If we don't, then we will have blind spots that will never be addressed.

The great thing of having a brother or a wife, brother before I got married, wife after I

got married, is that, man, they'll tell you exactly what's happening with you.

You'll be the best person ever in your mind.

Just have them speak and they'll tell you the things that you need to change in.

Phoebe is laughing.

There's one person laughing.

It is true.

So in your mind, you may be thinking, man, everything is going so well for me.

All of these things are for someone else.

Then you're going to miss out.

So listen to this from a place of father, if this is true for me, I want to catch on

to what you're doing.

So I have five or six things that I want to speak about.

And for each of those things, do what I said.

So one, you conform as in conform to the image of Christ to the degree by which you are prepared

to pass through the fire, the refiner's fire.

I'll explain it.

In Malachi chapter two, there is a verse and it says, the Lord is like a refiner's fire.

The Lord is like the refiner's fire.

Maybe Brandon, you can bring the picture up.

In that, metals go through the process of refinement and it's hot and it melts.

And when it melts, draws the thing that's bad will surface.

And when it surfaces, you take those things out, then you have pure metal.

There is a refining that happens.

And I like how it says in Malachi chapter two, I think it's verse three, because it

says the Lord sits as a refiner.

He sits as a refiner.

And I like the verse in the New Testament and Malachi is just before the New Testament

starts and I also like what we read in the New Testament where it says, Jesus Christ

sits at the right hand of the Father.

He sits as a purifier.

He sits as a refiner.

Man, this is what he is about.

And so if you have this thing, you can look at all of the black stuff, if you can see

it, on the top as the metal is melted, it's silver, it's gold, it doesn't matter.

That stuff is the bad stuff that sometimes we aren't aware of.

And those things come out in the open when there is fire, when there is purifying, refining

happening.

One thing I need you to think about is, is this happening to you?

One, it can happen to you in your time with the Father directly.

Two, it can happen to you as you open the Word and the Word speaks to you.

But three, the part that may be a little more difficult for some is it happens when you

sit down and talk with Mark and Mark says, hey, I've seen this thing happen in your life.

Derek, why so?

Can you change?

Now, I may not like hearing from Mark and then I lose it if I don't accept it.

I have to hear what others in the body may be bringing up, especially those who are leading

you.

It may be a house church.

It may be Jacob.

It doesn't matter.

Those around you, when they say, hey, I need you to think about it, you need to take that

into account.

You can look at that and say, well, maybe it's not realistic.

That may be true.

Maybe it is true.

But you do have to think about it.

If you think that, nah, it doesn't really matter, that's wrong.

If Sue brings something to me, I have to consider it.

Period.

If I think, well, what can Sue teach me or who is Sue to teach me?

It is wrong.

I need you to really understand this.

We are part of a body and the body is the most precious thing as far as Jesus is concerned.

One thing you should never do is play with the church.

You must never do that.

If there is one thing in Acts chapter 10 verse 20 or 20 verse 10, it says, the church, I

Acts 10:20

bought it with my precious blood.

You have been kept as overseers because I bought it.

Jesus bought the church with the precious blood.

Man, if you look at each other and think, yeah, we are all buddies, it is true.

We are part of a family.

We are brothers, sisters, it is all true.

But this person right here is very precious to Jesus.

You have got to get that.

You cannot play.

In the grand scheme of things, when it comes to the church and the body, the bride, you

cannot play.

Yes.

What does playing look like?

Thanks, Diana.

It could be me just saying, I don't really care about eco.

Whatever eco has to say, well, eco is a certain way.

I have seen eco and I know eco for the last seven years.

What good can come out of Nazareth?

What good can come out of Nazareth?

That is an example.

It depends.

It is my heart and my attitude.

All I want you to know is today I need you to think and understand this.

Every person who is part of this body is a precious child bought by Jesus Christ.

And therefore, you need to know this, that you have to associate with them as you are

a part of the family.

They are not an outsider.

They are not whatever you think they are.

They are sons and daughters.

And more importantly, when there are people who are trying, if you are, again, if you

belong to a house church, whatever group, whatever leader you have, you have to associate

with them if you are part of the body, knowing that these are people that God has placed

in my life.

If you do not associate with them like that, you have got to bring it up and let's say

talk to Jacob.

Because how is it that if I go to May's house church, I am going off script, but that's

okay.

If I go to May's house church, as an example, and May is the one set as the leader of that

house church, and I go there and I cannot attend the house church, I can attend to what

May has to speak, but deep down in my heart, if I have made a decision that you know what,

I am just coming here and the teaching is good, but I don't want to let go of who I

am.

You know, May is a different person.

May's character and my character are different.

If that is the attitude that you have, how is it that you can learn from her fully?

And if that is the attitude you have, one, you can change without telling anyone.

Or two, if you struggle with it, talk about it.

Otherwise, you're going to waste the next 10 years or five years or three years being

at May's house church without addressing it.

Make sense?

The best thing you can do is tell May, May, can you help me?

That takes humility.

That takes humility to tell May, May, I've been doing this for the last two years.

I know I'm wrong.

I need help.

That would be a great way to do it.

So one of the questions I need you to ask yourself is when it comes to going through

this process of refinement, do you see beginning of the year, January 1st, 2023, and now are

you two different people or are you the same people?

Or are you the same?

You must be another person.

Because we are being refined, we are being purified.

And the extent to which you submit to this process, to that extent, you will look like

Jesus.

The extent to which you submit to this process, to that extent, you will look like Jesus.

It's as simple as that.

Number two.

This is, I can get pretty passionate talking about this, so I'll try not to.

You cannot disciple people if you aren't being discipled.

You cannot disciple people if you aren't being discipled.

And what does that mean?

First, let's talk about what discipleship is not.

Discipleship is not just going to the house church.

Discipleship is not just coming to the Sunday service.

Discipleship is not leading a house church.

Discipleship is not teaching.

Discipleship is not hanging out with your favorite crew within the church.

Discipleship is not just any of these things.

These things can all be part of it in that it fits into the greater thing called discipleship,

but it isn't all of it.

Discipleship primarily is at one point in your life, you made a commitment that for

the rest of my life, I want to be a disciple of Jesus.

And you made a commitment that when I do this, I do this by walking with the body that God has put me in.

You ain't a disciple.

You ain't a true disciple if you are walking by yourself, even though you're part of this body.

And this thing, it's close to my heart because the church is filled with independent people.

I'm not just talking about Acts, I'm not talking about Acts 29.

There are people like that at Acts 29, but this is a thing around the world in the global church.

Discipleship comes with a cost.

Salvation is free, so it's easy.

Salvation is free.

Discipleship comes with a cost.

Here is the other thing.

The package in which God sends people to you, people who are supposed to help you, change you, transform you,

and again, please listen to this.

You always have a relationship directly with God.

You always will hear him through the word.

At the same time, you are supposed to follow Jesus into his body and that is the place.

There is a quote, someone wise said something like this.

You cannot have godly mature Christians without other godly mature Christians.

Paul writes it.

Hey, teach young women how can they be a Christian?

How can a dude teach young women everything that has to be taught?

May can help.

May knows more about that than me.

I can try, but there are things that may can help with that you can miss out on if you aren't okay walking with me.

The body is not one person.

The body is the body that God has put together.

In that body, there are arrangements that God has set.

There is an Acts 29, Jacob.

All of us come under him in that he is the set man of this house.

And then he has placed people in the house.

Come under him in that he is the set man of this house.

And then he has placed people over house churches, etc, etc.

That is an arrangement that God has set.

The package in which this comes to you, because the package doesn't align with your likes and dislikes, don't say no to it.

You don't know how many people there are in the world.

Who could have gone much faster in the things God had for them if they did not ignore the package that was sent?

Package is in, I look a certain way.

I talk a certain way.

I may not be best buddies with Sen as an example.

Sen may find Mark to be a little more her personality type.

Guys, these things exist.

But can I still learn from the person God has put in my life?

It takes humility, man.

But it is good if you can change.

It is good if you can change.

You don't know how much traction you can get in your life if you can ignore your personality likes and dislikes.

And there is the other thing.

There is no perfect church.

If you think that Acts 3.9 is not perfect, go to any other church.

There is no perfect church.

There is no church where you'll walk in and you'll go, wow, I like it.

Everything is great.

Just wait 10 weeks.

There will be things that you will be like, oh, that's different.

So there is no perfect church.

And there is no perfect people.

But can you in the arrangement that God has set for you, learn?

Say yes to the process.

Stick with it.

This is the other thing, guys.

Don't say yes to it.

And then three months later, because something happens, stop the process.

Don't do that.

Stick with it.

If there is one thing I can tell you from my life.

At one point in my life, I made a decision that I want to be a disciple.

And it does not matter what happens.

I try intentionally to be a disciple every week of my life.

Every day of my life.

There are days when I'm not doing it well enough.

That's OK.

But I have made a commitment that it doesn't matter.

I want to be a disciple.

It doesn't matter.

I want to be a disciple.

Have you made a decision that you want to be a disciple?

Can you tell the time you made that decision?

Can you tell me the before and the after?

If not, can you make that decision now?

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, teaching them.

How can you do disciple?

How can you disciple people when you yourself haven't given fully to the process?

It's difficult or it's impossible.

You have to give yourself fully to this.

And it will be painful.

It will be costly.

There will be things where you go, oh, this is uncomfortable.

That's OK.

That's exactly how it's supposed to be.

If it's all easy and you feel no pressure ever,

you aren't being discipled.

You're friends.

And you may ask the question, well, why is it that I need to go to these people,

if I am part of a house church, can I not be discipled by this person?

You're part of a body and you will for sure be learning from everyone in the body.

Having said that, there is an arrangement that God has set.

You've got to know what the arrangement is.

And if you don't like that arrangement, you have to ask yourself why?

Don't sit idle.

Don't let time pass by.

Bring it up.

Why would you waste time and not bring it up?

Why would you do that?

And I tell you, if you are like that, go talk with Jacob as an example.

And say, Jacob, this is where I am at.

I hear you.

I understand you.

I haven't given to this process yet.

This is why.

Can you help me?

Four beautiful words.

Can you help me?

Ask guys, because it changes our lives.

This is the way Christ commissioned.

And the church is filled with people also.

Keep in mind, who haven't gone through the church as in the wider church, who haven't gone through the process of discipleship.

When they started, things were fine and dandy and all great, great miracles, great this, great that.

But because they did not follow the process that was set, 10 years later, 15 years later, 12 years later, something happened and it derailed.

It's foolish to do it yourself.

Now, let me go back to my notes.

Romans chapter 12, verse 5.

Romans 12:5

Romans chapter 12, verse 5.

Romans 12:5

It says, none of us, hear this, just listen to me.

What a verse.

Romans 12, verse 5.

Romans 12:5

None of us exist outside of the body.

No Christian is an unattached Christian.

We are all members of each other, connected to each other with the purpose of serving each other.

This is what God intends to do with us on this side of eternity.

And you cannot be a disciple without opening up your life.

That's the other thing.

And you need to again, I have to, you have to measure yourself against the plumb line.

You cannot tell that you are a disciple if you haven't opened up your life to the people you're walking with.

So for instance, if I, and this is true, I learn from Jacob.

I have two ways I can do this.

I can give 80% visibility to Jacob in terms of what's happening in my life.

Or I can be transparent about what's happening in my life.

It's not easy.

But in the long run, it helps.

I wasn't planning on saying this, but maybe I should.

I may regret it later, but it's okay.

I'll see.

So when, when I was in the university, I was in the university, I was in the university.

So when, you know, when I was wanting to get married, I had been talking to this girl and I was almost ready and thinking, yeah, you know, this girl is the girl I want to get married.

And I remember going to Jacob, it was a New Year's Eve thing.

I was, you know, I said, hey, Jacob, I need you to pray for me.

I'll tell you, everything inside me was like, Jacob, I pray that this one thing you will not bring up.

Because I don't want you to bring up this thing.

Because in my heart, I know exactly what's going on.

I want to marry this girl.

I hope you won't say, I heard from God that, hey, you know, you need to, you need to not marry.

I'm praying.

I'm praying inside me saying, hopefully this doesn't happen.

And he starts prophesying over me five minutes, 10 minutes.

I told you, I may regret this.

It's okay.

He prophesies over me for five or 10 minutes.

And then he pauses for like a good minute.

My heart is pounding.

And then after that, he says, hey, Derek, the girl you're talking with, I think you should just give it some rest.

Give it some rest for a week or two weeks.

And then you pick it up and see what happens.

Everything inside me crashed.

January 1st, 2021 or something.

And he didn't say anything.

The only thing he said is just give it some time.

If after you take the time, you're like, you want to get mad at this girl?

Get mad at this girl.

But if after you take this time, you're like, there's something that I missed, then, then that's what it is.

I remember two days later I'm sleeping.

I'm taking a nap, which I rarely do.

And in the, I have a dream, which I rarely have.

And in the dream, I go to the father and he has something in his hands.

I go take it and run away.

And all of a sudden the Holy Spirit told me, is this what's happening to you?

Are you fast forwarding?

Are you trying to make it happen?

Because you think this is the time.

Are you saying, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is the time.

It cannot be any other way.

Are you trying to take something that isn't yours?

And I know you may have different interpretations to this.

That's OK.

I understood it very clearly in my heart and in my spirit that second.

And then I went, I had only been like chat, I guess, texting with this girl.

I can't text guys later.

I told you I'm running into trouble, but that's OK.

It's not like we dated for five years.

That's all I wanted to tell you.

Thank you.

The point being, I'm glad I listened.

I'm glad I listened and I'm glad I opened my life up to hearing because I wouldn't have married this girl if I did not.

Iris, that is.

Opening up your life to those you're walking with is costly.

It won't be comfortable, but it will be good for you.

That is how it works.

You can say no to it, but that's your choice.

You cannot be forced to do anything else because everyone has free will.

You cannot be controlled to make decisions any which way, but you do have the choice.

And I'm telling you, as someone who has gone through this process and want to go through this process until I die, this is a good thing for you.

Number three.

Honor unlocks grace.

Honor unlocks grace.

What do I mean by that?

Again, another thing, a disclaimer, Jacob did not ask me to say these five things.

I'm just telling you.

These are things that I believe the Holy Spirit wants you to hear.

So this isn't Jacob saying, hey, talk about honor.

No, this is what I believe you guys need to hear.

I need to hear.

This is what we need to change.

What do I mean by honor unlocks grace?

Read with me.

First Timothy four, verse 14.

First Timothy chapter four, verse 14.

It says, do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

Just an example of what happens in the community that God puts you in.

This is Paul telling Timothy, Timothy, do not neglect the gift you have.

How was it given to you?

Well, it was given to you by prophecy when when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

There is some grace is something you receive from God.

But sometimes you receive grace from God through people.

In other words, let's say Jillian has a grace in her life that is strong in her life.

I can receive that grace from her life if I honor that grace in her life.

You honoring the grace that God has deposited in people's lives.

And right now I'm going to say in the arrangement that God has set for you, as if you're part of this body, there is an arrangement in that arrangement that God has set for you.

If you honor the grace that will unlock it for you, the grace will flow from wherever it is into your life.

It is the way it is.

But here's the thing, guys. How do I honor someone?

And this is again in this time, day and age, so important.

If I want to honor to me, there are multiple ways I can do this.

I can go to him, look him in his eyes and tell him, thank you.

I've been blessed by you. Thank you for what you've done for me.

These conversations, man, must happen in the context of a body.

You may think whatever you want to think about a person, but you've got to express.

You've got to learn how to express it with your mouth, with words.

Look them in the eye and tell them what they have done for you in Christ.

Tell them how you're blessed because they walk a certain way.

I tell Jacob often, Jacob, one thing I appreciate about you is the transparency with which you live.

I have told him I have benefited more from him, not by his teachings.

I have, but more so from the transparency with which he lives.

That has taught me more than anything else.

I can keep that in my mind, in my heart.

I can maybe send a text message, but there is something when I go to him or to you and say, thank you.

You've got to practice this.

It is important.

We will wrap up at 7.40 or so.

Yes.

Yeah, good question.

I didn't complete that yet, but one of the things I said is we have to learn as a people to talk to people in person

and express to them how we benefit from them.

I personally think that sending a text message is good, but not good enough.

That's my opinion. It's not in the Bible.

I think there is something about you going to a person and saying thank you.

There is something about it.

And so that's on the side, but a couple other things.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5.12-13.

1 Thessalonians 5.12-13.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.

You see the words being used there?

Respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Guys, one of the things I can tell you is pastoring a church is a very difficult job.

I personally believe that it is the most difficult job on earth, and I'm convicted by it.

And so when you have a pastor, again, I promise you, Jacob didn't tell me to tell any of this stuff.

If you think he texted me to say these things and I'm saying it, I just want to make sure it's not the case.

It is one of the most difficult things you can do.

Paul wrote in it, I think in 2 Thessalonians or something.

It's interesting when you read it. Alexander the coppersmith, he deserted me.

He did things to me that were harmful.

No one defended me, but the Lord defended me and the Lord helped me.

Man, this is Paul writing to Timothy.

Can you see the anguish with which he is writing?

This is not a one time thing that happened to Paul.

These things happen on a much regular basis to pastors.

And if you belong to the body, you've got to be understanding of the amount of weight they carry on their shoulders.

And you've got to stand alongside them and say, thank you, and I want to run with you.

Thank you, and I honor you. Thank you, and we are with you.

Because if you don't feel that or think that there is something wrong, man,

at least you've got to go find a place where you can be like that.

It is important to understand the weight that they carry.

And I'm telling you, other leaders here carry this weight too.

So do not think that this is just Jacob.

It is, you've got to understand that as I walk more and more with Jesus and with the people around me to, again, not be a follower.

I follow Jesus, but I am supposed to make disciples.

As I proceed on this path to make disciples, there is a way I need to operate.

Otherwise, I will not be able to do it.

I am not a follower of disciples. There is a way I need to operate.

Otherwise, how can you teach these things to anyone who is following you?

What will you have to tell them?

What can you expect of them?

How will you expect something of them if you haven't done it yourself?

Another thing, if you hear something about someone you honor, and you know it's not the right thing you're hearing, and there is no one else listening, speak up.

Be loyal to those who are absent.

I read that on my third grade notebook, and it has stuck with me all this while. It's not in the Bible either.

Important.

Because that's the integrity of your heart. If you know the truth, if you know the truth, speak.

Don't be neutral.

Don't be this or that, or I'm not sure. If you know it, you've got to speak it.

Next.

So use your words, use your deeds, use Bible, the word actually says that, use creative, ask the Holy Spirit for creative ways in which you can honor.

Creative ways in which you can love each other.

You can ask the Holy Spirit for all of this.

And see what happens.

Next.

Number four.

You, as in us, unify to the extent to which you submit.

You, as in us, unify to the extent to which you submit.

I don't want to take too much time here, but real quick.

First Corinthians 1, chapter 10.

I appeal to you brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you.

But that you may be perfectly united in mind and in thought.

Ephesians chapter 4, 11 to 13.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

I'll give you a second to write it. Ephesians chapter 4, 11 to 13.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service.

So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

You unify to the extent to which you submit.

Again, I like to always think of it this way.

When the father looks at what's happening here right now and the body of Acts 29, the way he sees it is often different from the way we see it.

He has things planned for us.

There are things that he sees that he needs us to address and we have, Jacob and the leaders will have to see it.

If you see something, you can bring it up and say, hey, I believe this is something God is asking us to think about.

The whole point being us as a body must be united.

It is the desire of heaven that his bride is united.

There is actually nothing more important than this.

And so here is again measuring yourself against that plumb line.

I want to ask you, if you have people with whom you're like, man, you know, I don't.

I don't. I don't really have any big problems, but I'm going to neutral change it.

Go talk to them. Bible says consider others more significant than yourself.

So I've got to consider Mohini more significant than myself.

That is the way of the Lord.

Unity in the church, the devil doesn't like it and you shouldn't play into it.

I'll repeat it. Unity in the church, the devil doesn't like it and you shouldn't play into it.

So there must be unity of vision.

If I ask you what's Acts 29, you know, someone who is new, if they come and ask you, so what do you guys do?

Like, what's this all about? You must be able to tell them exactly what's who we are.

And it's not necessarily learning what's on our website, word to word, so you can tell it that way.

It's more so you carrying the DNA of the church.

You must know the DNA of what this church is.

And you must be able, if you've been here for a year or longer, you must be able to communicate that.

So submit to the order that God has established. That is one way to unify.

Submit to the vision of the house and submit to the apostolic teachings.

We'll stop in 10 minutes.

Next.

You must compete with each other to be the least.

You must compete with each other to be the least.

You must compete with each other to be the least.

John Chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

Jesus is about to go to Calvary.

He has spent a good three years with his disciples.

And after all this time, after three years, he has taught them, he has sent them, they have come back.

All of the stuff that he had to do, he has done.

And at the end of it, just before he's going, they're at a meal.

And the way it works then, when your feet is dirty, you wash it.

Only then do you get in and eat.

Because basically your feet is visible to everyone next to you.

They're all sitting there because typically the servant comes and the servant has to clean the feet.

But there is no servant in the room.

You know what all of these guys are thinking?

Who is going to be the next main guy?

They're all thinking, I'm the best.

I'm the greatest.

I want to be the next guy.

And there is silence in the room.

Jesus stands up.

He starts washing their feet.

Can you imagine guys, going on a rabbit trail for a second?

It must have been so difficult not to tell them anything.

Without telling them anything, he starts washing their feet.

I would have talked for 15 minutes before I washed the feet.

I can guarantee you.

After all this time, after teaching them everything he could teach.

The guys are competing.

And then at the end he says, you must be the least.

Strive to be the least in the room.

Compete with each other to be the least in the room.

It is important.

And guys, here is the thing.

Sometimes when you do this, it will not make sense.

Sometimes when you do this, you may question, am I doing it the right way or am I missing the plot?

Because these things sound good when you speak it.

But in situations they play out differently.

But if you're faithful to the way he commissioned you to be.

And you know that I am to be the least in the room.

And keep in mind, least in the room does not mean that you talk like,

Hello, how is it going?

No.

Least in the room does not mean that you have drooping shoulders and a head like this.

No.

Least means it's a matter of your heart.

You can have your head held high, your shoulders if you go to the gym like a bishop.

Like this.

It's a matter of your heart.

In your heart.

How do you perceive each other?

And that is the only thing you get measured by.

Because heaven does not measure how others perceive you.

Heaven measures what is in your heart.

Heaven does not measure how others perceive you.

Heaven measures what is in your heart.

And I can tell you when we go to heaven, when we are there,

we'll be surprised by the ranking system that you see there.

Because a whole lot of people you expected to be at the top, won't be at the top.

And a whole lot of people you thought nothing about will be there.

Because heaven does not operate the way we see the worldly systems operate.

You've got to catch it.

You've got to learn, I've got to learn, how can I be the least in the room?

How can I put the interests of others above me?

And these are the kind of things that we don't talk about much.

You may not understand, you may not get the feeling of I'm doing the right thing.

Because others may not understand what you're doing.

But heaven sees.

Last thing.

Move from the fringe or the middle to the forefront.

Move or shift.

From the fringe or the middle to the forefront.

Imagine it this way.

We are in the throne room of God.

And we all get to assemble around him.

There are three ways you can do this.

One, you cannot miss anything.

You must be in the forefront and you'll compete to be there.

Compete is the wrong word, but you'll do whatever it takes for you to be there.

Number two, you'll be on the fringes.

Or you'll be K-sara-sara somewhere in the middle.

You've got to ask this question of yourself.

It has nothing to do with where you sit in the church.

You can be where Xavier is and be in the forefront of what God is doing.

You can be here and be on the fringes of what God is doing.

It has nothing to do with where you sit.

But it has everything to do with spiritually when it comes to the things that God is doing in and through this body,

where have you positioned yourself?

Are you in the middle?

Are you in the fringe?

Or are you always on the forefront of what he wants you to do?

Here is the thing.

When I say it, you may think in your mind,

well, I'm not, you know, there are other people who know this more or there are other people who are more skilled or etc.

etc. etc.

Here is the deal.

If there is one thing the Bible shows you, it is that you don't need any ability to do what God needs you to do.

What you have to give him is availability.

Because the ability that he can give you is far greater than any ability that you can put together.

Yeah.

It does not matter how able you are.

It matters how available you are.

Because I can tell you on that graph, if your ability is too low, not there, but your availability is there,

the Holy Spirit can make you able.

So don't give the excuse that I am here, I am doing this because I'm not able enough or I'm new or I'm that.

If you are interested in the things of God, run for it.

Don't wait.

Run for it.

Don't wait.

Don't look.

Don't compare.

Run for it.

And avoid traps.

Avoid common traps.

You know some of the common traps there are?

Number one, hurt.

Well, this person said this to me and I'm hurt by it.

And so I've decided that for the next eight weeks, I'm going to pull myself back.

And then once I recover, I'll start again.

Church hurt is a thing.

You don't know how many Christians there are who have completely squandered their purposes because they got hurt in the church.

If you're hurt, talk about it.

Walk with someone so that they can help you.

Get out of hurt.

Don't fall for the common trap of hurt.

I'm not minimizing hurt.

I'm not saying it doesn't matter.

I'm saying there is a way out.

Number two, in terms of things you need to be mindful of, don't fall in the same common traps that others fall into.

You must have the identity that you're a son servant.

Christian life is a progression of moving from son to servanthood.

You must know that you're a son servant.

If you don't have that identity, guys, you'll always keep looking here and there.

And you'll always keep thinking, oh, why did it not happen?

Oh, you know, I can't do this the right way, et cetera, et cetera.

You've got to know who you are.

Your identity has to be solid.

Once your identity is solid and that you know that you are a son, you know that you want to live out as a servant.

I like to say it this way.

Wake up as a son, go to bed as a son, but live as a servant.

Wake up as a son, go to bed as a son, but live your day as a servant.

Have your identity, but because when you have it, then it will be much easier for you to walk with people around you.

So let's stop.

All good, all good, all good.

I told you it may happen.

Sorry.

I know it was working out pretty well.

I heard that, James.

So let's pray.

Aba, we come to you as your people.

We know that you want us to take to a new place.

It demands things of us.

And I say, Father, the things that I spoke from today, things that we heard Gillian speak,

things that you've been telling us from the first second we stepped in, we want to follow you.

We want to follow your spirit.

I'm serious about being part of your body in the way you want me to be.

I will not.

This is a priority for me.

And so I'll think about these things.

I will use the arrangement that you have placed within Acts 29 to get help if I need help, to talk if I need to talk.

So help me, Father, help us in Jesus name.

Amen.

Oh, one other thing.

This, no, next week is our last week in this location.

So come here next week.

But after that, we have another spot and there will be an email to tell you all about it.

Thanks, guys.