The Elisha Company

Vivek, feel free to come and attend church services once in a while.

Yeah.

All righty, before we start, I'll just ask Betty to pray for the Dayton guys,

and then we'll start after that.

Go ahead, Betty.

And so Father, I just want to thank you for the people who have come to visit us today.

And I thank you specifically for the Dayton crew.

Thank you so much. They're our family.

Thank you so much. They're an extension of our family.

Thank you so much. They are your family, your people that you brought together from different walks of life, Father.

But you brought them up together with one heart, Father.

And I just bless them, Father.

Bless them, Father. Bless them that they may walk in a land of milk and honey, Father.

A land of milk and honey flowing.

That they be your gate-crashers, Father, or gate-openers, Father.

That your milk and honey will flow through these people.

That their hearts, because they're aligned with you, aligned with one another,

that when they speak, as they walk, as they have their way, Father, you have their way through them.

Each and every single one of them, Father, because that is your will.

That is your desire for Dayton and beyond Dayton.

And milk and honey, sticky, flowy substance, Father, so it cannot be contained.

It will go everywhere. It will go everywhere where they go.

And so we just thank you, Father, that these people will be the people of milk and honey.

That will bring your good news, bring your mercy and goodness to every place that they will go because they go with you, Father.

And Father, I just want to, I'd like to call up Mike.

Can you please come up?

And Father, I just, I just want to thank you for Mike, Father.

Father, I just want to thank you for Mike, because Mike is your strong man, Father.

Father, I want to lay hands on him for his healing, Father.

Father, you are with him. You are inside of him, Father.

And because he's your temple, healing and goodness will flow out of him.

And Father, Father, he'll be a refreshment in the desert, Father, others, Father, where there is dryness, when there is deadness, he's freshness.

He's not just water. He's snow. He's snow, Father, to be stored up and then to be released, Father.

So he's a refreshment in the desert. And you will heal him completely from head to toe, inside and outside, Father, so he could be a refreshment in dry, arid places.

So wherever there's dryness, deadness, discomfort, he's a man that will bring your goodness, your flow, Father, and again, your refreshment in life.

Father, he will bring life. So we thank you for him, Father.

We thank you for how you have moved through him, how you continue to use him for your kingdom.

And I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Mike, wait.

Because this picture of, like you said, you're a strong man, God gave me a picture of a horse.

And the first thing he knows about a horse is horses have muscles. And God wants to give you muscles.

You see this guy with a Detroit Tigers hat?

Just put your hand up.

So the guy, him and the guy sitting next to him, they work out like crazy.

They got pretty big muscles.

But God wants to give you, God wants to give you muscles, but it takes work. It takes a lot of time.

So God is calling you out to begin this training process.

And he's going to give you muscles that you didn't know you had, spiritually.

Spiritual muscles that you thought maybe they were for other people, but know they're for you.

And things that maybe, gifts of prophecy, gifts of healing, gifts of courage.

He's going to bring those out of you because you thought maybe they're for others, but know they're for you.

You can step into these things and use them for your family, for your friends, for those around you, people you don't know.

But it takes training. These guys have been training for a lot of years.

Don't think, okay, it's going to happen tomorrow, it's going to happen soon, but it will take work.

So step into this training process and God will just bless you along the way with your obedience, with your faithfulness.

He will bless you.

Father, I just pray that you'll help him to teach well, Abba.

He loves the word. He likes thinking.

I ask that you take his appetite for the word and his ability to think and now help him to teach well.

To break into little edible parts, things that are from your word that can be fed to others.

To simplify things, to tell stories.

To his ability to think, Father, I ask that you add imagination.

Spirit of God, I ask for imagination to run like crazy in his head.

He's very factual, Abba. I pray that you add imagination to his love for facts.

Let his wife notice it first, that the guy is actually daydreaming. He never does that.

So I ask Father for imagination to be added to his factual ways of approaching life.

Let it trigger something in him. We pray this for Mike right now. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Cool. Thank you, guys.

All righty. Hey, I want to talk about this thing called the Elisha Company.

And why talk about this? I actually have two sets of notes.

The Elisha Company has 15 points and my teaching on presence has 13 points. Which would you prefer?

I was thinking of both. No way.

Only one of them? Oh, let's go with Elisha then.

Yeah, because last night I thought we'd go with presence, but felt no Elisha Company. Why?

Because, one, going into Victoria, going into these different nations, it's pretty strange that at one time you go to so many different places.

And yet we're not spreading ourselves thin. Wally is happening every week.

I mean, I heard that there were tons of stories from Wally yesterday.

Derek was sending me photographs and telling me that there were stories.

I don't know why they always leave me out when it comes to muscles.

Really? There's a gym downstairs? Nobody told me.

But you know, my WhatsApp status says I'm at the gym.

So the reason we want to talk about Elisha Company is, and the words are very deliberate.

The word Elisha, which then means it is the next generation, the company means a troop.

Where it's not just one Elisha, it's a group of Elishas that now have the ability to be farmed out or to be sent out.

And you find them in multiple places. That's what this looks like.

So, I want to talk about that.

So in a sense, it's a prophetic message from scriptures.

It's not prophecy, but it's a prophetic message from scriptures.

So you can extract what you want and apply it to your lives.

And it's being released to a people. It's not being released to an individual.

It might give us a blueprint of how to approach the next four or five months.

And that's why I put that picture up there.

Somehow, eagles are always associated with either Elijah or Elisha.

But we're talking about a company, not an individual.

It's so refreshing, so satisfying when you have a quiver full of arrows and all of them fly straight.

It's one thing to have one arrow. You've got to shoot it, then go run, pull it out of the guy you just killed.

Put it back in your quiver, perhaps wash it and then shoot it again.

That's so difficult. It takes time.

But when you have a company, then it's amazing. You've got a quiver full of arrows.

And that's what we've become. That's what we've become.

And the strange thing is, at the end of the day, the god of Elijah still gets known.

It's amazing. Elisha did twice the works that Elijah did, but it is the god of Elijah that was known through Elisha.

God still gets all that he's supposed to get.

And so that's why I'm deliberately calling it Elisha Company.

And we'll just look at Second Kings 2. I'll go from there.

And besides the message, if there's something else you want to look forward to, there's cake after the AGM meeting.

But I know you guys are so spiritual, you will say, but this is my meat and drink.

Thank you, Sue. The rest of you are on probation.

And so there is a rising of Elishas. So it's not one or two, it's many rising.

So there's a rising of Elishas. And if you read Psalm 18, verse 29, it says,

Psalms 18:29

Oh, God, you help me run over troops. You help me scale a wall.

And when Elishas rise, it becomes very difficult for any wall or any troop to stop them.

And it's almost like 1 Chronicles 12, 8 and 9, where it says the Gadites had faces that were fierce like lions.

They had the ability to handle sword and spear. And they were a troop.

The word Gadite means troop. When Leah gives birth to her son, she names him Gad.

And the reason she names him Gad is because she says, now I have a troop.

That's the sense of the word Gadites. And in 1 Chronicles 12, verse 8 and 9, it actually talks about that.

1 Chronicles 12:8

It says that the Gadites were a troop that could not be stopped because they had this ability with sword and spear.

And their faces were as fierce as lions. And their feet were as sure as gazelles. That's what it says.

So that's where we're going. So we'll look at the different signs that Elisha performed and extract principles out of that.

So the first one is in 2 Kings 2, verse 14. 2 Kings 2, 14.

2 Kings 2:14

And that is when Elijah throws his cloak over Elisha. And Elisha inherits Elijah's mantle.

That's the first one. And so one of the things that you can do, and when I say you, I mean you as a people.

I also mean you as individuals. One of the things you can do over the next few months is figure out what you want to inherit.

And what you have inherited.

We talked about this last week in response to a question. What is it that is characteristic of this Church?

There's pioneering. There is the prophetic. It is a body-centered Church.

There is freedom of worship.

There is a raising of leaders.

It is nation-affecting or nation-influencing. Those are the characteristics of the Church.

But now the question is, what do you want to inherit and what have you inherited?

What do you want to inherit? As you go forward, Elisha has to figure out what have I inherited and what do I want to inherit?

Both questions have to be asked.

And when you ask a question like that, here's another question you have to ask.

Okay, so who am I inheriting from?

So the first question is, what have I inherited?

Second question is, what do I want to inherit?

Third question, who am I inheriting from?

You have to have an idea. Inheritances must be longed for.

People who don't long after inheritance will squander their inheritance.

There should be a desire.

So who do I inherit from?

And so that then leads to two things.

One, what is it that I can inherit from the tribe or body or family that I belong to?

That's the first one.

And two, what can I inherit from Jacob or other leaders in the church?

It takes guts to ask that question, even, because it seems so self-promoting.

These are two questions you have to ask.

What can I inherit from the tribe or the body or the family that I belong to?

Because there are specific traits that you can inherit from the very spirit that is present in us as a corporate people.

And then the second question is, what can I inherit from Jacob's life or the life of a leader in this church that I follow?

Both questions need to be answered.

I'm sure your light is on, just so you know.

I was scared you would burst into that song, this little light of mine.

So these are two questions that need to be asked.

Any questions on these questions?

I have one.

When I'm thinking about inheriting something from the tribe or the body, it's more general in general.

And very strongly present.

Certain things are so strongly present.

I just asked Betty and Evan on the spot to come and pray for Mike.

It wasn't planned.

But there is an ability.

The spirit of the prophetic is so evident in this church.

It's very easy.

There's no laboring.

You go to Wally and you'll find certain traits present in the church in Wally that are so strong that you won't find it at Acts 29.

Same people, by the way.

It's not some new people that are in Wally.

It's these muscled individuals like Derek and Prashanth and Pawan and Mark.

And me.

So it's these guys who are in this church who go to Wally.

And yet the traits and the anointing and the way the spirit works in Wally is so different from Acts 29.

We don't realize what God is up to.

We don't see it.

And if you don't see it, you can't know what you want.

You got to see it. Someone has to show it.

How can it even be that the very guys who are in this church who operate differently here,

operate differently in Wally?

Because God builds tribes a certain way.

What do you desire then from what is present?

One should know.

And what do you desire from my life?

You should know.

Because that's how inheritances are bequeathed.

And you can be passive about it and you'll still get a sprinkle of it.

You can be active about it and you can get oodles of it.

You can get your own well.

And then somebody else drinks from your well one day.

Or you can be passive about it and you'll still get the sprinkle.

Because it's impossible to escape.

Any questions?

This is important for us to become who we are saying we need to become,

which is the Elisha Company.

Which we already are.

We're just informing ourselves of who we already are.

Hear me clearly.

We are informing ourselves of who we already are.

This teaching is not going to make you this.

This teaching is going to inform you.

Go ahead, Nana.

Can you give an example of what happens when you're passive?

Passive is...

Nah.

I don't believe in getting stuff from man.

Whatever God wants to give me, God will give me.

That's passive.

You've got to be like Caleb.

Say, I want those hills.

You've got to be like Peter.

Please, please, let me be the first man who walks on water.

That's active.

Everyone but Diana.

I won't repeat the name again.

The person may get offended.

So, if I want to give something to you,

then what do I do with my farm?

And if someone wants to give you a certain head and strong need,

what do I do?

Okay, so let me put it this way.

When I wanted things from Mike Scantleberry,

when I wanted things from Eddie O'Neill,

when I wanted things from people who taught me,

I would go and harass them, spend time with them,

spend money to go be with them, honor them,

find time, find ways to get things off them.

And I started ages and ages and ages ago.

I've said this to you before.

I'd beg the pastor in the church in Bahrain to allow me to come

and pick up people from the airport

because sitting in the back of the car listening to them converse

hatch dreams that I'm either now living or I'm yet to live.

Yeah.

Next one.

Yeah, the next one is in chapter 2, verse 16,

where Elisha's must handle rejection.

The Elisha Company must handle rejection, must handle rejection.

In verse 16, it talks about the very men who Elisha had raised,

50 of them were not willing to acknowledge Elisha

as the one who Elisha had appointed.

They were not willing.

They kept, Elisha said, listen, Elisha's gone.

I saw him taken up in a whirlwind.

But the 50 don't want to give him the privilege of now becoming the next leader.

So they're saying stuff like, no, no, let's go search for them.

They insist Elisha is so embarrassed that he says, all right, go search,

because he knows Elisha's gone.

But there'll be resistance.

So the second thing that the next point that we need to be aware of

is that a seeming rejection, a seeming rejection or refusal,

or refusal by people, by people to accept your new position

or sometimes your new form internally and externally will happen.

And you must bear, you must bear people's scrutiny.

You must bear people's scrutiny.

You must bear people's scrutiny till they either reject you or accept.

So what happens is when people change,

when you change, people find it very hard to interact with you.

I was telling someone last night that people converge around what you project.

People converge around what you project.

Always remember that, eh?

People converge around what you project.

And so as you begin to change, you begin to project a different person.

When you project a different person, people find it very hard to interact

because they want the old Dilna.

They want the old Mark.

They want the old David.

They don't want this new David.

They want the old fun guy.

And then when you begin to change, people find it very hard.

And so there will always be this resistance, this rejection.

And sometimes it will be from people who really know you well,

who don't want to lose out on the old Jillian or the old Don or the old Kezia.

They don't want to.

And you've got to stand your ground.

You have to let them scrutinize your life and decide whether they want to receive

or they want to reject.

Internal and external change does happen with Elisha's.

Some of your closest friends, some of your family members will begin to push you away

because they don't like the new you.

Any questions?

Hey, Mary and her brothers, Mary and her children preferred the old Jesus, man.

The Jesus of Nazareth was a really nice Jesus.

Good carpenter, took care of his family.

And then he changed.

He changed and began speaking crazy.

And when he began speaking crazy, Mary and the siblings turned up at the door

and said, we want to take you home.

It was an intervention.

That was what was happening there.

It's not a new idea.

They came to take him home.

Because they wanted to lock him up for a while so that he'd come back to his senses.

And that's when he states that line, who's my mother and who are my brothers,

but those that do the will of the Father.

One of the ways we can avoid rejection and refusal is to refuse to show how you've changed

either with your words or with your actions.

Hide your bush, hide your, hide it under the bushel now.

Hide, hide what?

Hide it under the bushel now.

I'm going to let it shine.

Hide it.

You'll be safe.

Do not speak, do not show.

I'm not suggesting that.

I'm saying it's a bad idea.

I saw a few heads going, hmm, that's a good point.

No.

So Jacob, how do you handle the change?

If the internal and external change is real and it is God,

then you will have to take time to sometimes explain it, sometimes just...

There are three options.

One, you take time to explain it.

Some will understand.

Or you just be quiet because even if you explain it, no one will understand.

Three, you cannot amend it.

Four, you should not get proud about it.

So there was a certain person whose friends advised her not to move to a certain city

because they thought it was a really bad idea.

The person tried explaining it.

Some understood.

The person tried explaining it.

Some got even madder.

So it doesn't always work.

So these are the four ways.

Explain it because some will understand.

Do not explain it because it's no point.

Do not be proud.

Do not amend.

Do not be proud.

Do not amend.

Yeah.

Yeah.

When we change, people get detached and it's okay.

Because if your change is genuine and it is Christ-like, they will recognize it.

They will recognize it.

Later, yeah.

They will recognize it.

And during the time of detachment, it is difficult.

It sucks.

But they will recognize it.

It happened with my parents.

But they recognized it later.

And they were only proud of their son.

They were not very proud of him for a while.

But then they were super proud.

Yeah.

You always keep the door open.

And that's the pride part.

Pride is when you reject them because they rejected you.

Pride is when you reject them because they rejected you.

Okay.

Third one is in 219.

2 Kings 2, 19.

And it says that,

The men of the city said to Elisha,

Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see,

But the water is bad and the land is unproductive.

And then Elisha takes a bowl, a new bowl,

Takes some salt and it sprinkles it at the source.

And the waters get healed.

And they will never lead to barrenness and death again.

One of the things we must realize, guys,

This is not what God is saying we will become.

This is who we are.

God is informing us of who we are.

Please make that distinction.

We are not teaching this so that we become something.

We are teaching this so that we are informed of who we are.

It's like an instruction manual for a car you already have.

Not a car you're waiting for.

Yeah.

So the third thing is, guys,

And you should try this.

Try this in Japan. Try this in Israel.

Try this in New York. Try this in Vancouver.

Try this in Burnaby. Try this even in Surrey.

There's hope for every city, Derek.

So, we have, we have, we have,

And when I say we, I'm including everybody in this building.

It's not an Ax 29 thing.

Yeah?

We have the permission.

We have the permission

and the power

to end

bitter years,

to end bitter

years

of unfruitfulness

and

sequence of things that are aborted,

have been aborted, sequence of things that have been aborted,

sequence of things that have been

aborted.

Or a cycle of

things, a cycle

of things that have been aborted.

We have the permission

and the power. You need to, you need to,

I'm only informing you of what you already have.

I'm informing you of what you already have.

That I,

I can go, you can go, we can go

to places and we have both the permission

and the power to end

cycles of

abortion. I'm not talking about

real, like, pregnancy abortions.

I'm thinking, I'm talking about things that

keep getting aborted. The thing with abortions

is this, that something begins to

flower and it almost comes to

a place where it's going to bear fruit and then it collapses.

It's with life.

We have the permission

and the power to end the things

that are being aborted.

And we have the permission and the power to end

bitter years of unfruitfulness.

Guys, if you, if you

and I understand that this is who we already are,

not what we are going to become,

then you begin to walk in it. We're just being

informed of who we are so that we can

do something with who we are.

As in go and find a situation

that's unfruitful. In Wally

or in Burnaby or in Tokyo

and say, well then, I know

that I have the permission and the power to end this.

And it's not with magical

words, it's with a simple prayer. Because

permission and power does not require a whole set

of words, man. When you

have permission, what words do you need?

You don't even need words, you have the key.

Open sesame is

enough.

Own this.

You own it by going over it.

Again and again and again.

Own this for your own life. There are things in your

life that are unfruitful.

There are things in your

life that are being aborted again and again and again.

Own this for your own life too.

Oh God, in this area, I'm not

producing. Every time I sow seeds,

they're taken away.

Hopelessness has begun to take

over where you don't even think

anything is going to change. You don't even

want to talk about it because talking about it

is like revisiting old wounds.

Try this out in your own life and it's easier

to try it out in someone else's life.

Any questions?

Okay, fourth one.

It's from Second Kings

to verse 23 and 24.

This one

may not apply to all of us

at this particular

time because we may need to learn

how to do this. But in 23 and 24

it says, but from there, Elisha went

up to Bethel. As he was walking along the

road, some youths came out of the town and

jeered at him, go upon you

baldhead. They said, go upon you

baldhead. He turned around, looked at them, and called

on a curse on them in the name of the Lord.

Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled

forty-two of the youths, and he went to Mount

Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

So what's the principle

we draw from here?

Decree

divine judgments

against

powers

that try

to

dismantle or destroy

the church

or try

to prevail

against

the church

being conscious

that a battle

is not

not against

flesh and blood. That's not food and

beverage, it's flesh and blood, but

against

powers.

Yeah. For some of us

the battle is against food and beverage too.

But, I mean

flesh and blood, yeah.

Decree divine judgments.

Decree divine judgments. This is something that

has to be learned, because

how can I learn how to decree divine

judgments? Those three words are

important. If we are not

prone to speaking, we are not prone to

decreeing. You cannot turn the switch on

overnight. One should learn how to do

it. Two,

it must be divine,

meaning it should be God-inspired. Three,

it is a judgment. Your judgment has

to be accurate.

And if you haven't practiced

it, you cannot do it tomorrow.

That's why I said it doesn't apply to all.

Some of the things that we've been learning

over the years is so that we can all come

to a place where we function together

at the same level of maturity.

But that is a pipe

dream, because we don't all grow together.

Some of us grow fast, some of us

grow slow, some of us don't grow.

But, we still

get to participate in what God has made

us as a people.

Take a plain, rare situation

and move around.

So Instagram,

every situation where we are all by

ourselves, and we get divinely

inspired to decrease ourselves.

How do we go about it?

Very easy. WhatsApp, text,

call, sing.

This is what I sense. What do you think?

Call anybody that you think is in

a place where they operate in this.

Whoever you think operates in this, call them, ask.

Verify.

I still do it.

I'll call someone and say, hey, this is what I'm thinking.

Because these three

words are critically, do I know

how to decree? Have I practiced decree?

We started talking about decree in

1990,

no,

2003 we started talking about it.

If you

haven't practiced it, then it's on you.

Divine, it has to be God inspired.

Judgment,

it has to be accurate.

Because if you call down fire,

you're not going to be able to do it.

So make sure you're wearing an asbestos suit.

Because otherwise

you can lose

some hair.

And then it's against powers that

dismantle or destroy the church.

Examples,

someone is a super real

man.

Maybe I shared this with you.

I remember some guys going to a

particular city

in India

where

a man

who is probably the fourth

or fifth richest man in the world

lives, who

was funding tons

and tons of activities against

churches.

And these

people went there just for

nine hours. And they sat

in a hotel room with some locals

and began to decree that this

must end. That this

funding of

the dismantling and destroying of

believers in

churches must end.

Four hours after

these guys gathered and prayed,

that man lost

fifty-one billion

dollars

and was completely

undone in terms of both his

financial standing and his

power and clout.

Not just in that nation but around the world.

That is sometimes

how effective this can be.

I know those guys who went and did

that.

That's how

powerful this can be at times.

That man cannot rise again.

He cannot rise in that nation.

He cannot rise in the world.

So,

I'm just giving you one recent example that I know of.

Any questions?

If our battle becomes against flesh and blood, then we

step into a spirit that is not Jesus.

Because at some point,

James and John say,

can I call down fire on these guys?

And Jesus says, you are not of my

spirit. James and John

actually knew that they could call down fire.

And they knew because they had already read

the Old Testament that they knew Elijah did it.

They knew that

this was real. It wasn't

something they were imagining.

It was real. And Jesus says, you're not

of my spirit.

How did you

create something

not against

flesh and blood with maybe

somebody actively

using that spirit?

At least the way

that I think is a sincere way

to pray is, Father, I release this

man into the hands of the Holy Spirit.

For I know you're a compassionate, merciful

God who is able

to rescue him from his ways of error.

I seek his salvation

that if it be today or

the day before he dies or the second before he dies

that he sees you face to face and receives

you as Lord. For there is nothing

as terrible as a man being cut off from his

creator. So, Father,

stop this man.

Even let what happened to Nebuchadnezzar happen.

But let him come back to his senses

and let him receive you as Christ and Lord.

Yeah.

Sorry?

Oh, yeah.

They were praying for his salvation.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There is a tendency in us to exact

a pound of flesh for all the evildoer.

I have to first get my heart

right. And that's

why it's good when you pray with a group of people because your

heart may not be right. Then suddenly someone

else begins to pray with such compassion that you feel

ashamed. It's happened to

me.

I wanted fire and brimstone. I didn't say it, but

inside me I really wanted it.

And then while I'm desiring

it, the other person is praying, Father, mercy

Lord, shower some mercy. And I'm thinking to myself, this is

for me.

Next one.

Chapter 3, verse 17.

Chapter 3, verse 17.

For this is what the Lord says, you will see neither wind

nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with

water. And you, your cattle, and your

other animals will drink. This is an easy

thing in the eyes of the Lord. He will also

hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow

every fortified city, every major town.

You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the

springs, and ruin every good field with

stones. So this is

when, guys,

one of the things we should be able to do

is cause

when, when, when, what's

her name? What's her name? Betty. When

Betty was praying for Mike, I was thinking

of this. Where streams

are refreshing it cause

we must be able to cause streams

to flow

in desert

or

parched places,

arid places. This is

not who we need to become.

This is who we are. Isaiah 32

2. Just read Isaiah 32 2.

It's such a cool scripture.

Isaiah 32 2. Look at

what causes it to happen.

Isaiah 32

2.

We think

streams in the desert are things that

God just makes happen, but look who makes

it happen. Start with verse

1. Isaiah 32 verse 1. See

Isaiah 32:1

a king will reign in righteousness

and rulers will rule with justice.

Each man will be like a shelter from

the wind and a refuge from the

storm, like streams of water in

the desert and the shadow of a great

rock in a thirsty land. God is

literally saying, listen, this is what I've made

you. You go into Victoria,

you stand, and you will be

able to be a shelter in the storm.

You stand and you will bring

into families, into lives,

in Tokyo, in Victoria,

an ability for streams from me to

flow. I will cause you to refresh.

This is not who we need to

become. This is who we are.

Draw from what is common

in this house and

use it in your situation,

in your workplace, in your mission,

in your home. Draw from

it. It's like

belonging to a company that has certain

benefits.

Let's say you work for an airline.

Now you have some benefits that come with the airline.

Draw from it.

Let's say you belong to Google or Microsoft.

There are certain benefits that come from

it. You get free computers, maybe.

Or maybe not.

Draw from it.

We are talking about things that we can draw from.

Isaiah

32 tells you why there will be streams

in the desert. It's not because God suddenly

carves out a stream. It is because

that is the kind of shepherds we are.

We must own

this, guys.

Go over it again and again so that you

identify with your nature.

We are just being informed of

our nature in God.

Wally, know this. Know that you can

end unfruitful years.

Know that you can cause suddenly streams to flow

in desert places.

You look at things in Wally and you think, how can this change?

That's exactly

why God comes in.

We are so far removed from when we got

saved that we don't realize how

parched, arid, dry, deserted,

addicted, perverse we

were.

And then, God happened.

Next one.

Chapter 4, verse 1.

2 Kings 2, 4, 1.

2 Kings 2, 4, 1.

The wife of a man from the company of the

prophets cried out to Elisha,

Your servant, my husband, is dead.

And you know that he revered the Lord.

But now his creditors have come to take my two boys

as his slave.

One of the things we are

called to do is to provide for

ones

who have served

faithfully,

who have served faithfully,

but for various

reasons

fallen upon hard times.

And the various reasons could be sickness,

could be sin,

could be bad

decisions, could be

betrayal, could be

reasons we don't know,

could be

them leaving

and not

being able to make it.

Whatever it be.

This is a strange one, eh, when I saw it,

that this

Elisha company, this group

that is here under this roof

must be able

to provide for those that have served

faithfully.

Even as I speak, if they come to mind,

send them some money.

Even as I speak,

if they come to mind, if you remember Melchizedek

in your life, who come and

broke bread and water into your life,

bread and wine into your life ages ago,

that are struggling,

that have had a hard time,

send them something.

Respond to some of these things immediately.

These are men who serve faithfully,

but for whatever reason are not able to do well right now,

well then let your plentee supply their lack.

Yeah?

Any questions guys before we go on?

Some maybe left.

They left before their time.

Before things could work out for them,

they left. Maybe they were part of this church

and they left.

If you remember them,

and you remember their faithful service,

bless them.

I remember there was a woman

who was a priest,

she was a priest,

she was a priest,

she was a priest,

she was a priest,

I remember there was a person

who left this church,

and we felt

that the person was going through a really hard time,

so we sent Derek,

with a certain amount of money,

to just drop off.

And he went in the middle of the night,

dressed in black

with a mask on,

ta-dan, ta-dan,

and he left some money there.

So,

if you want to do that,

then the outfit is still available.

In this case,

it was anonymous.

But remember those that have served us faithfully

and bless them. It's who we are.

It's who we are.

Next one.

Chapter 4, verse 17.

This is again one of those things where,

if you haven't learned how to do this,

it will not happen right now,

but chapter 4, verse 17.

Then Elisha said, call her.

So he called her and she stood in the doorway.

About this time next year, Elisha said,

you will hold a son in your arms.

No, my lord, she objected.

Don't mislead your servant or man or god.

But the woman became pregnant the next year,

about the same time she gave birth to a son,

just as Elisha had told her.

The child grew, and one day he went out to his father,

who was with the reapers.

His father told the servant, carry him to his mother.

After the servant had lifted him up

and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap

till noon, and then he died.

She went up and laid him on the bed

of the man of god, then shut the door

and went out.

One of the things that I so look forward to this church doing

is, will you contend,

will you contend

for what you know

god has ordained a birth?

Will you contend for what you know

god has ordained a birth,

so that the son who is born,

so that the son who is born,

so that the son who is born

will not meet an untimely death?

This is critically, there are so many things

that god births and ordains,

and guys the strange thing is when god births

something, he does it with words.

How does god birth anything?

He announces it.

Why does he announce it?

He announces it to make his people know

that I'm going to do something.

That's what the prophets were doing.

That's what he says in Amos,

that listen, before I do anything, I

tell my prophets about it.

In those days he had to pick a few prophets.

Today a church can be prophetic.

He announces it. That's how he births everything.

He announces it.

And when things are announced

and things have to be sustained,

you have to then begin to contend for it.

Think of some of the things that god has announced

he will do, either through this church

or he has announced it in this church.

Think of some of those things.

I don't want to repeat them before you.

But do you contend for it?

Do you contend for it?

Because guys, one of the things that can happen

in churches like this is because

there are things that god keeps saying or doing,

we can get neutral about it.

I'll tell you what neutrality sounds like.

Elijah is on Mount Carmel.

And he says, if god is god,

follow him.

Or follow Baal.

And the strange thing is,

the next verse says,

and Israel remained silent.

Israel remained silent.

There's a challenge being thrown out by Elijah.

If god is god, follow him.

If Baal is Baal, if Baal is god,

go ahead, follow him.

And instead of saying god is god,

you're just coming out and speaking.

Sometimes when things are being birthed

and you do not speak,

it's not disagreeing with people in the church,

you're disagreeing with god.

But in my heart I'm agreeing.

Thank god you had to both speak

and believe in your heart before you got born again.

So, will you contend for what you know

that god has ordained your birth

so that the son who is born

will not meet an untimely end?

Some things are sustained by us agreeing with god,

saying, oh god, this is what you said

and I agree with you.

I'll open my mouth and I'll speak.

I'll open my mouth and I'll speak.

Sometimes it requires stretching over

that which is dying to revive it.

That's the kind of contention we're talking about.

It has to be life upon life.

You pouring out your life

to see what god has spoken will live.

But Jacob, why does god need that?

Can't he do it himself?

He can do it himself, but he's the head of the body

and he uses the body

to stretch over that which is dying.

It is his life that gives life, but it happens through you.

Hey, I want to say something else

that is going to bother some of us.

If what I'm teaching right now

is something that you're not connecting to,

it is because...

This is such a harsh statement to make,

but I just feel that I have to make this

so that you're aware of your condition.

If what I'm saying is not connecting with you,

it is because your spirit is dulled

to the life-giving things of god.

And the reason I'm saying it is so that

you will wake up to the fact that you need

to enliven yourself.

Not because of the teaching, not because of the preacher,

but because of the content.

Just so you know.

But you can always talk to each other

and you want to be able to get everything

regarding that to go on.

No, no, no, no. I really don't want us to rara.

But I want us to be able to

speak when required, eh?

Sometimes when I ask you

to stretch out your hand

and I see you sitting like this

stretching out your hand, I think to myself,

why? Is it pride?

Is it rebellion? Is it disobedience?

Is it disagreement? What is it?

Don't understand it.

When I'm in a church, it doesn't matter

how tired I am and the pastor asks me to do something,

I'll do it. Why? Because I want to

stand with the people of god, even though

my hands are tired.

Why do we not do it?

You think you will not be held accountable for it?

You will be held accountable for it.

I hate rara.

Hate it.

Because it's so artificial.

J-E-S-U-S?

Jesus!

Let's say an amen now. Let me hear an amen.

No!

But should an amen come from within you?

Say it. Thank god our

worship leaders don't do this too.

Okay, next one.

Sometimes guys,

Elisha's staff won't do,

Gehazi won't do.

Sometimes you have to go and pour out your life.

Remember that, eh?

You can't send someone else sometimes.

You have to go.

As Elisha, sometimes you have to go.

As Elisha, sometimes you have to go.

I mean, for these guys going to Japan,

I mean, for these guys going to Japan,

I mean, for these guys going to Japan,

I mean, for these guys going to Japan,

I mean, for these guys going to Japan,

embrace what is being taught.

This is what you can do in Tokyo.

For guys going to Israel,

embrace this.

We don't go to the Holy Land for Holy Land tours.

The Jew needs to be saved even if he's special.

Just like the Afghani

and the Pakistani needs to be saved.

And the Indian needs to be saved.

And the Bangladesh needs to be saved.

We got this absurd thought that

chosen people, Abraham's physical

descendants, so

there'll be some magical way in which they'll be saved.

Nope! It's only through Jesus Christ.

We got to stop making

this myth

this myth

Christians exploit Israel

for their own benefit.

It's wrong.

That's just a side

hobby horse to flog.

No, no, no. Christians should go on tours.

I'm sure when you go on a tour and you walk the paths that Jesus walked,

it'll break your heart.

I'm not saying no to that.

But we need to look at Israel

as a nation that needs saving.

And we don't.

Sometimes

Elijah's staff and Gehazi

being sent will not do.

You have to go pour out your life.

Sometimes guys when it looks like

why go all the way, why spend so much money,

why do this, it is because

you alone can set

that place free.

You were called for that.

You alone. Nobody else can.

I can't.

You can.

And when you know that in your heart

and when you know that in your heart,

spare no expense.

Spare no expense.

Yeah.

Elijah tries. He says

hey Gehazi, take my staff and lay it on the boy's

body.

Nothing. Squat.

Sometimes you need to go.

Next one.

Chapter 4, verse 39

to 41. Chapter 4, verse 39

to 41.

Elijah returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the region

while the company of prophets was meeting with him

he said to his servant, put on the large pot

and cook some stew for these men.

One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found

a wild wine.

He gathered some of its goods and

filled the fold of his cloak.

When he returned he cut them up,

put it in the pot of stew.

This was a whole vegetarian thing.

That's what went wrong there.

Though no one knew what they were.

The stew was poured out for the men but as they

began to eat it they cried, oh man of God

there is death in the pot. They could not eat it.

Elijah said get some flour. He put it into

the pot and said serve it to the people to eat

and there was nothing harmful in the pot.

So one of the things

this is another very cool one.

That you've got to believe man because if you believe this

and walk in it because God is saying this is who you are

then people will benefit.

What is it we are talking about?

We will see

the preserving

power

of God

working through us.

Working through us.

The preserving power of God working through us.

Guys

there's a scripture which says

rejoice for the steps of the

righteous man are

ordained by God in the time of trouble

he will preserve you, uphold you, keep you.

We are appointed to be keepers.

People that we keep will be

preserved, will be upheld,

will be protected.

Own that eh?

You are people that can keep.

This is something God is giving you

saying if you keep somebody

I'll make sure they're protected.

There's something in the Bible called protective hospitality.

Protective hospitality is when

people come into your care and

you make sure that

on my watch nothing will happen.

That I would

lay down my life, the life of my family

before they are touched.

That is keeping power.

That is preserving power.

That is a power that whenever God gives something in your charge

you will make sure that that person

is protected.

Protective hospitality is what makes the father

throw the son out

so that he can be

destroyed but you can be preserved.

Preserving power is

sacrificial. It is a power that God

gives because the people have realized that we are

keepers. As in we have

the ability, we have the desire, we

have the compassion and we have the faith

to keep those that are given to us.

The demonized can come, the depraved

can come, the addicted can come.

But as they bask under your shelter

you prepare a table for them in the presence of

their enemies and they begin to recover.

Some of you have seen that.

Some of you have seen the people that have come under your charge

and how day after day,

month after month, week after week, you see

them being set free. It is the

power of God that sets them free. But it comes

through you. That's what keeping

power does. That's what preserving power does.

We have seen it in this church. And we will

see it again and again and again. Because

this is our nature given by God. We are

just being informed of who we are.

The world needs this

guys.

Do you know what happens when the demonized

set free? You don't even pray

because they come under what is called your covering.

Yeah.

It's a magnificent thing that God is informing

us about.

When you keep somebody

something begins to happen.

Next one.

Next one.

442.

What time is it?

Say that with a little more

enthusiasm.

There you go.

A man came from Baal, Shalisha

bringing the man who got 20 loads of barley

baked from the first ripe grain along with some heads of

new grain. Give it to the people to eat.

Crazy. This guy was tithing or giving

his first fruits.

He was giving his first fruits and instead of

taking the first fruits and keeping the first fruits

Elijah distributes it.

I find that so amazing.

Someone told me about that

five or six years ago.

Before that when I would receive first fruits

I would keep the first fruits.

People would honor me with their first fruits saying

here is my first fruits at the beginning of the year.

They would say Jacob thank you for what you've done in my life.

Here's the first fruits and I would keep it.

It would help me do

whatever I want to do. Travel, do this, do that.

Spend it on my own.

I'd keep the first fruits. Someone told me this.

Hey have you read 2 Kings 2, 442?

It says so he

brings his first fruits to Elijah

and Elijah instead of keeping it says distribute it.

And once I began distributing it

I found that it increases

it doesn't decrease. That's not the reason.

The reason was

what a cool thing to do with first fruits.

It multiplies.

So the principle here is very simple.

Release first fruits.

Release first fruits.

And then if you receive it

use it to feed others.

And then if you don't

you will not receive it.

And you will see

this word

in bold letters.

When money multiplies

a few things happen.

One, you can provide for others.

You can end poverty

in your community

or your company.

And you can have

your needs

wants

whims

fancies

and burgers

taken care of.

Yeah.

Next one.

Let's skip a few.

Because it's 103 and we got the AGM through.

Let's go to sixth one.

The company of the prophet said to Elijah

look the place where we meet

with you is too small for us.

Let us go to Jordan where each of us can get a pole

and let us build a place there for us to live.

So you know the story.

The prophet said to Elijah

can we go build a school for prophets?

And Elijah said yes.

They took permission.

They go build a school.

While they're building the school, after having

taken permission from the man of God

which is the same as taking the permission of God

they begin to build a school and they borrowed an axe

because Israel had no metal implements.

They borrowed an axe.

They're chopping. The axe that flies off

falls into the river, drowns.

And they come and say alas alas master

the axe that was on the river.

They say alas alas master the axe that was

borrowed meaning it would be super expensive.

And Elijah says take this staff

throw it where the axe fell

it comes floating up.

Guys, this church

and if you don't know it yet

you must have been living under a

Bushel.

So one of the things that we are

so meant to do

is to restore people's

destinies back to them.

This church excels at it.

Wherever you go

know that you can take

anybody anywhere in the world

and the anointing of God will be

present upon you to help them

get back into the trajectory appointed

to them. Sometimes it's a trajectory

that they lost, sometimes

it's a trajectory they haven't found.

We are meant to do this.

We are meant to do this.

Every time someone comes

to this church or comes into

your presence know that you have the

ability in some small way

to put them back on the path that

they either lost or haven't found.

We restore people's

destiny. We restore

desolate heritages. We give back

to people what they lost.

We do this well.

It is a trait in this house.

It is yours. It is

from God. It has very little to do

with you.

But one of the things we excel at

wherever the axe is

drawn, go back there, throw the

wood shaft in and it will come

floating up. Pick it up.

Tell them to pick it up. You don't pick it up for them.

You tell them to pick it up.

You can only tell people what God is saying.

From there on it's up to them whether they run in it or not.

Elisha doesn't go and pick it up. Elisha says

there it is, go pick it up. Then it's up to the

person if they want to pick it up. But if they pick it up

they can start rebuilding or building

what God has ordained them to do.

This is a trait in this house. Embrace it.

Example,

I met with the guys from Dayton

last night and can

put people back on their trajectory.

It's the easiest thing to do.

It flows like water.

Doesn't matter. You can go up to

anybody on the street today and you

have the ability to begin to speak into their lives

and restore them.

Restoring desolate heritage

is so a part of our DNA

that it's inescapable.

Evidence of what?

Yeah, but you announce it,

they have to pick up the axe.

We don't pick up the axe for them. We cause it to

float to the surface.

That's up to the person, right?

Even Jesus wouldn't force

someone to do what he told them to do.

Even Jesus wouldn't.

I mean, if I could force

you guys to do what I wanted to do,

If I could force just one person

sitting at that corner to do what I wanted to do,

I would do it.

Okay.

One more.

Two more.

Okay, two more.

Chapter 8 was 7-15.

Chapter 8 was 7-15.

Elijah begins to

anoint Hazael the king.

And

as he begins to anoint him as king,

he begins to prophesy and predict the future.

He begins to

finish what

Elijah had left unfinished.

He begins to

on one hand complete Elijah's

task because Elijah kind of resigned and got raptured.

And now he is completing Elijah's task.

And he is also

predicting the future of what will happen to

Israel, the things that are going to happen.

Some of us, and

it's open for the entire church, but some

of us will finish

what Jacob can

never finish in this lifetime.

Some of us will finish what Eddie could never

finish in his lifetime. Some of us will finish

what the people that went before us

will not be able to finish.

Some of us will do this.

I want to

give you a direct word.

Please come and, yeah,

you Prashanth, please

embrace this.

Please come

and join this company.

Please

give it another shot.

You are one of the most capable

individuals I've met.

Please come and give it a shot.

I plead with you.

It's not that you're not doing

everything you're supposed to do. You're one of the most exceptional

workers that I

have seen. But I

think you know what I'm saying when I say please

come because you will

finish some of the things that I cannot,

that others cannot.

Take this upon

yourself because you don't have a mantle

yet and that mantle must fall

on you because you have the ability to finish

it. I

can plead on my knees if I need to.

That is, no, I know, I know

you wouldn't want that, but

that is how desperate I am

about this because I know that you can

finish some of the things nobody else in this church can finish.

I'm not embarrassing you. I'm just

exalting you, if anything.

It puts you in a

difficult situation though and I

appreciate that, but

yeah.

Last one.

Chapter 6,

verse 12.

The enraged king of

Aram, this enraged the king of

Aram, verse 11, he summoned his officers

and demanded of them, will you not

tell me which of us is on the side of the king of

Israel? None of us, my lord the king,

said one of his officers, but Elisha the prophet,

who is in Israel, tells the king in Israel

the very words you speak in your bedroom.

I don't know if you believe this, see?

I'm absolutely convinced of it. I've seen it

at work. Unfortunately, I cannot

share more stories on

Arrow when it's being recorded, but

do you believe? I really asked

this of you and only you can answer it.

Do you believe?

I believe

that the destiny

of nations

will be

shaped

on the annual

called

Acts 29. By Acts 29, I mean

anybody attached to it.

Do you believe that?

Because a few of us

will learn

to command here

the chariots of Israel

and its horsemen

to fight

princes of Persia

and Greece.

And see spiritual realities

come to pass

on Earth.

It's a question, eh? I'll end with that question.

Do you believe

that the destiny of nations

can be shaped on this annual

called Acts 29?

I don't know if you believe that,

but it's a question

worth asking.

Some of us will learn to command

here chariots of Israel and horsemen

like Elisha did. You know what happens

when you command here the chariots of Israel

and horsemen? You become to the enemy

a threat that

dismantles its plants and you become to

Israel protection.

You become to Israel protection,

you become to the enemy a threat.

That's what Elisha did.

He was surrounded

by people and he says

his servant says,

look we are surrounded, what are we going to do now?

And Elisha says, oh God will you open the eyes of

this man? And he opens

his eyes and he sees the chariots of

Israel and the horsemen. What does that do?

On one hand for Israel it becomes protection.

Doesn't matter how many thousands there are, there are more

amongst us than there are with them.

And two, it becomes the enemy,

its defeat. Two things happen.

Some of us will command here the chariots of

Israel and horsemen to fight the princes of Persia

and Greece, which is from the book of Daniel,

and to see spiritual realities come to pass here on earth.

The question though is,

do I really believe that the destiny of

nations would be shaped on an anvil called

Acts 29? When I say destiny of

nations, the shape of those nations, how they

will be affected.

Powers, spiritual

and governmental.

Do you really believe that?

Because it happened in the book of Acts.

That is something you

have to ask and to the extent

that you believe it, begin to step into it a little

bit. Maybe begin to start by praying

for a nation.

Then perhaps investing in that nation.

Then perhaps going to that nation.

Then perhaps saying, can we do this

and this in this nation?

Then perhaps saying, but these are the powers that are involved in

the nation. Then asking, how do we deal with

these powers? Then saying, can you

forge a team that can go and deal with these

powers? Then saying,

what do we do with regard to spreading

the gospel in these nations?

Then saying, okay, these are the people we need to

connect to. Can you give us, O God,

inroads into corridors of power? Can you give us,

O God, inroads into the poor?

It all started

in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Think of that for a second.

It all started in an upper

room in Jerusalem. It is the

sheer power of the Spirit of God

with a people who were willing

to obey and did not love

their lives unto death.

They overcame the

devil by the word of the testimony

and by the blood of the lamb.

And they did not love their lives

even unto death. What does it

mean not to love your lives even unto death?

That you don't

think much of the things of

life to begin with. And death

later.

But things of life

first.

Any questions?

There are two more,

but they're okay.

Any questions, guys?

God is informing

us of who we are. He's not asking

us to become anything.

He's just informing us. So we don't

even need to pray.

We don't need to pray saying, O God, make us this.

But some of these points apply directly

to you. If they apply directly

to you, change your thinking.

Go over this again and again and again and again.

Yeah?

So let's not pray. Let's go to the

AGM. Yeah?

What do you do with an instruction manual?

You read it and you put things together.

Yeah?

Cool.

What happens next?

Oh, we pause

for a couple of minutes

and then everybody is welcome

to stay.

But if you haven't signed

your life away and given us

the PIN code to your bank

account, you cannot

vote. Yeah.