Sermon

Valley Ready

Acts 29 Vancouver

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  1. He's not on yet.

  2. Check.

  3. Hello, check.

  4. We will sing These Are The Days Of Elijah.

  5. These are the days of Elijah,

  6. Bearing the word of the Lord.

  7. And these are the days of your servants,

  8. Moses, righteousness being restored.

  9. And these are the days of your servants,

  10. Moses, righteousness being restored.

  11. And these are the days of your servants,

  12. And these are the days of your servants,

  13. Of famine and darkness and sores,

  14. Still with voice in the desert,

  15. Crying, prepare ye the way of the Lord.

  16. Behold he comes,

  17. Riding on clouds, shining like the sun,

  18. At the trump record,

  19. To lift your voice to hear of him lead,

  20. Out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

  21. These are the days,

  22. These are the days of Ezekiel,

  23. The dry bones becoming a splash.

  24. And these are the days of your servant,

  25. Rebuilding the temple of praise.

  26. Oh these are the days of the harvest,

  27. Of fields that are white in the world,

  28. And we are the neighbors

  29. In your dominion,

  30. Declaring the word of the Lord.

  31. Behold he comes,

  32. Riding on clouds, shining like the sun,

  33. At the trump record,

  34. To lift your voice to hear of him lead,

  35. Out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

  36. Behold he comes,

  37. Riding on clouds, shining like the sun,

  38. At the trump record,

  39. To lift your voice to hear of him lead,

  40. Out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

  41. Out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

  42. Alright, we have a few guests.

  43. Tuni, you want to introduce your friends?

  44. So we have Ken, we have Karen,

  45. They're from Singapore, and they have a friend,

  46. Ruth, right? Yes.

  47. From China, that's right.

  48. Welcome.

  49. Jeremy, you want to introduce your friend?

  50. Hi Mika.

  51. Today, as you can see, I'm very well behaved, very well dressed.

  52. That's because my mother-in-law is here.

  53. And her name is Salome.

  54. Oh, welcome.

  55. Alright, let's pray.

  56. Abba,

  57. What you've given me today is

  58. not a teaching or preaching, it is

  59. for us to prepare ourselves for the work in hand.

  60. What we've been talking about, Abba, over the last few weeks is

  61. you directing us to Victoria

  62. and Nanaimo, and you building

  63. churches there.

  64. And so we come tonight, or this afternoon,

  65. with hearts willing to learn,

  66. with ears that are attentive,

  67. with a vision of the future,

  68. with ears that are attentive to prepare ourselves for the work

  69. at hand. That's what we're doing today. So the

  70. next 30 minutes, 45 minutes is meant to prepare

  71. ourselves. Because we have heard enough,

  72. the time is nearing, and we need to be ready for the work at hand.

  73. So Holy Spirit, I pray that you put the right words on my tongue,

  74. that you give us ears to

  75. listen and hearts to receive. In Jesus' name,

  76. Amen.

  77. So, if you have missed out the last two or three weeks of teaching,

  78. Jacob has been talking about us going to Victoria

  79. Nanaimo

  80. with the intent of making the Father known,

  81. making disciples, multiplying churches.

  82. That's what we've been talking about. And what I have

  83. for us today is really prepping us for that work.

  84. So there are a few things I want to talk about. But it's very important

  85. for us to not look at Victoria and Nanaimo as

  86. wow, we're going to Victoria and Nanaimo. And Jacob said

  87. this is about training us and preparing us for the life ahead.

  88. And it's easy to just look at these two places and

  89. think about Acts 29, think about all of the desires of your

  90. hearts and be zoomed in on that.

  91. But it is a danger if we go that way. So I want us to

  92. first step out of it, because we need to

  93. go back to Matthew 28

  94. 19. And we need to start reading

  95. Matthew 28 19 a certain way. Now when we read over

  96. the next few weeks, we have to read it as, what did Jesus say?

  97. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

  98. in Victoria and Nanaimo.

  99. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations in

  100. Victoria and Nanaimo, baptizing them.

  101. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

  102. And teaching them to observe everything that commanded you.

  103. It is very important for all of us to go back to this

  104. before we delve into this. We have to know why

  105. we're doing it. We're doing it because we're following the commission

  106. of Christ that is for us. And right now, over the next

  107. little while when you read these verses, you have to put Victoria and Nanaimo

  108. into it. Because we are following a direct

  109. command from our King

  110. to go into these cities. So when you do that, it helps

  111. because now we remove from it anything else, because there is something

  112. that's been taught here, which is a purity of purpose. Before

  113. anything, this is the reason why we are doing it. Because we have a Savior

  114. who died for us. We have a King who has commissioned us for a work.

  115. And we now follow Him into what He is doing. And then

  116. comes everything with respect to what's happening at Acts 29.

  117. And with respect to the leading into

  118. these cities to do specific work there. But we cannot take

  119. this out of the equation. It's very important.

  120. Now, I want us to read

  121. Psalm 126, verse 1.

    Psalms 126:1

  122. It says, When the Lord

  123. brought back the captives out of Zion,

  124. we were as those who were dreaming.

  125. And it says, their mouths were filled with laughter

  126. in the tongues, songs of joy.

  127. So it's very important for us also then

  128. to look at what will happen in Victoria and Nanaimo.

  129. And look at that and go, that is exactly what God is doing.

  130. He is restoring the fortunes of a people in Victoria

  131. and Nanaimo through us. And

  132. it is incredibly important to know what the end result is.

  133. Before we proceed into the work, before we jump into the work at hand,

  134. we already know the end picture. Because He is in the business

  135. of rebuilding cities. And He is using us then

  136. to follow Him into these two cities.

  137. So the large canvas is important

  138. before the specifics of Nanaimo and Victoria.

  139. And I can't tell you how important it is. Because the reason I'm saying

  140. this is because we can be very quickly going and doing

  141. things without this. We cannot

  142. afford to.

  143. Yeah? Jeremy's friend,

  144. what's your name? Mika? One of the things that

  145. Mika, you're someone that

  146. doesn't matter where you sit, doesn't matter where you are,

  147. God will always call you out.

  148. And it's like the story of Siqueus.

  149. Siqueus was in a certain place. He just wanted to see what was happening. But Jesus

  150. came calling. Like with Peter, like with

  151. Andrew, like with the disciples, He'll come calling.

  152. And you're called out, man. You're called out by Him.

  153. So it is very difficult. It will be very difficult for you

  154. to be

  155. in the fringes. You will always be

  156. in front. Meaning with respect to what God is doing,

  157. there are things that have been called and named

  158. and spoken upon in your life that you have to walk into.

  159. And I'm just speaking out loud today.

  160. Yeah? Because you are someone who He calls out

  161. always. He will not allow you

  162. at all to be anywhere else. You will be called out until

  163. you're like, oh, this is who I am. Until you wake up one day

  164. and recognize that it doesn't matter where I go, what I do, I'm always

  165. called out by Him for His things. Until

  166. the day you wear that cap, He'll keep on doing it.

  167. So we bless you.

  168. Where were we?

  169. Yeah, we talked about Psalm 126.1.

  170. So let's go. What I want to do today is really not a teaching.

  171. It's really prepping us for the work.

  172. And why don't we start with a few things.

  173. So I have probably ten different things.

  174. The first three things, we'll go into a little more detail. And then once those

  175. three things are done, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and then

  176. it's up to us to practice it, live it, walk in it, and

  177. God is readying us for the work. So number one.

  178. Count the cost. Before we step out and do

  179. anything, we have to sit and count the

  180. cost. Because following Jesus comes with a price,

  181. we have to pay a price. And before we pay a price,

  182. you've always got to count it. Jesus said it this way

  183. in Luke chapter 14. Because this is not something we are

    Luke 14 chapter mention

  184. dreaming up. This is His command or His commission for us

  185. to follow Him. And so Jesus said it this way in Luke chapter 14.

    Luke 14 chapter mention

  186. If you are building a house,

  187. you have to count the cost of what it will take you before you build it.

  188. Lest the building will be incomplete and

  189. you're like, oops, wasn't planning.

  190. Wasn't counting. You have to build it that way.

  191. And then He proceeds. I want to say if a king is going to battle

  192. with 10,000 troops and the other

  193. king he's battling has 20,000 troops, he's got to think

  194. about how this battle is going to be. He's got to have planning,

  195. strategies. He's got to count the cost. And then

  196. for us then to go into Nanaimo and Victoria,

  197. we have to count the cost. We have to, guys, spend

  198. time to think about the cost

  199. that we are willing to pay. It's very important.

  200. And I can tell you, there will be a difference between those who

  201. count the cost and those who do not. There will be a

  202. difference. Iris and I were

  203. shopping yesterday, a few things for the baby.

  204. And so we are at the store and we buy quite a few things

  205. including the stroller and the, now I know the car seat and all of that.

  206. So we bought all of these things.

  207. We need to pay now. And I take my debit card

  208. out and I'm like, okay. And I find out I have

  209. got a thousand dollar limit on my debit card. So whenever

  210. I took the debit card ten years ago, eleven years ago, I had

  211. said my limit for a daily transaction is a thousand bucks.

  212. I didn't think then that it will come a day when a baby is going to

  213. come and I have to buy a stroller

  214. and the stroller itself is eight hundred bucks or whatever. I didn't know.

  215. So, oh! And the

  216. lady goes, oh, it's not working. And I'm like, okay. I got it covered

  217. so I take my credit card out and realize that, oh, I don't have my credit

  218. card but I have my Apple Pay. So I go Apple Pay and there is a limit on the

  219. Apple Pay. You can only do a hundred at a time.

  220. So to pay the whole thing you have to do a few rounds of Apple Pay

  221. and now there's a third problem. The machine

  222. will only accept Apple Pay from one mobile once.

  223. So you can't do it again. So now I ask Iris

  224. and finally we even had to get a gift

  225. card from Baby Zara's because I can purchase it online and then

  226. use that and that took about forty minutes. So we're waiting there for forty minutes to make a transaction

  227. happen. Why? Because we did not count

  228. the cost. It's a funny story. Oh my

  229. goodness. When it comes to Nanaimo and Victoria,

  230. we have to count the cost.

  231. It can be different things for different people.

  232. It can be, see the thing is, for us

  233. it's not the money that's the cost because often times when we think about it

  234. money comes to the forefront but money is not the thing.

  235. Because going to Victoria, coming back for a trip like this,

  236. multiple times as we go, money will come. But it is all of the other

  237. things that you have to lay down. It can be, and we'll touch on those

  238. things. I want to be very practical about what we are to do.

  239. So we have to count the cost.

  240. If we don't count the cost, we will find ourselves in

  241. places where we are not ready.

  242. So the purpose of me sharing, going through these points

  243. today, the purpose is that we'll take time offline

  244. to sit down, think, ready ourselves.

  245. Because if I am following the words of Jesus,

  246. Jesus said, you've got to count it before you say yes.

  247. Saying yes because others are saying yes, or saying

  248. yes because Jacob is saying, hey let's go, it's good

  249. but it's not good enough. Good enough would be yes, receiving it

  250. and then saying, I have to pay a cost. And I'm

  251. willing to pay this cost no matter what.

  252. And therefore I am ready.

  253. When it comes to big decisions in our life, we do it.

  254. There is nothing more important than this.

  255. And I say that because Matthew 28, 19,

  256. that there is nothing more important than that in any believer's life.

  257. That is the most important thing. That is the overarching call

  258. of God over all of our heads. There is nothing

  259. more important than that. So if I'm just remembering what

  260. we were taught way back, remember this?

  261. So at the center we have

  262. there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. The right way to do it is

  263. Christ and his church is at the center. And then my family,

  264. my work, my positions, my wealth, all of those things go into

  265. that. So those things that we talked about, that we learned,

  266. now we have a new opportunity to practice it. Because at the center

  267. of everything that we are doing is Christ and his bride.

  268. And all of these things fall in place

  269. for us to live our lives in alignment

  270. with what God is asking us to do. So we have to count the cost.

  271. Go to

  272. Haggai chapter 1. You know what? Don't read it. We don't have much time. In Haggai

    Haggai 1 chapter mention Haggai 1 chapter mention

  273. chapter 1, it talks about this

  274. one of the fascinating things there is God is saying

  275. you're living in houses that are fully roofed. It's perfect. But you haven't

  276. built anything for me. I need you to build me a temple.

  277. And before he says that, he says consider your ways. It's so

  278. important for us to sit down and when we sit down and not just

  279. think of the cost or count the cost, but also consider

  280. our ways. Again, I'm telling you,

  281. there will be a difference between those who consider their ways

  282. and those who do not. Some things are some things as

  283. he established. We can't change it. It's

  284. up to us then to take time and do this. So consider

  285. your ways, he said. And I want to add

  286. two things to that. Number one, it is dangerous for me

  287. to rank or esteem myself higher

  288. than where I'm rightfully at. So one thing that I need to and you need

  289. to be careful about is do not esteem yourself

  290. higher than where you're at in life.

  291. And it is foolish to

  292. overlook everything that God has been doing in your life and what he has

  293. been doing to prepare you. Two things. One, I

  294. cannot esteem myself higher than where I'm at in life.

  295. So I'm able to do everything through Christ, but Christ

  296. has also been training me up, has also been prepping me

  297. up for the things of life. And if I go and

  298. try to lift, okay, we don't need to go into that story, but if you go to the gym and try to

  299. if I try to go with Powen and there is a, I don't know,

  300. 100 kilo stuff and Powen is going there and lifting it up and I try to do

  301. that, I'll be pretty, I'll be dangerous.

  302. On the other hand, if I've been prepped

  303. and if God has been doing things, there is a tendency

  304. that I can overlook everything that he has been doing.

  305. And you shouldn't do that either. It's important for you

  306. to also take into account what he has been doing in you.

  307. So when it says consider your ways, consider what he has

  308. been doing. Think about the last three months, the last six months,

  309. the last year. What has he been doing? It is

  310. important to find a relationship between everything that he has been doing

  311. and the work at hand. Yeah? You're tracking me?

  312. Yeah? Yeah?

  313. Good. So it's important. Once we do

  314. that, then we know where we stand and

  315. we know the task at hand and there will also come a very quick

  316. understanding of, aha, I need to dive right into

  317. everything that God is using to prepare me for my life.

  318. If you don't do it, you don't see what is happening, you have not thought

  319. about where you're at and there is a gap

  320. that you're completely ignoring. We don't want to do that.

  321. We want to count our costs, but we also need to consider

  322. our ways. So a few questions. What are some

  323. changes required of me to ready

  324. myself for the full work? What are some

  325. changes required of me to ready myself for the work

  326. at hand? And by that I mean the work in Victoria and Nanaimo.

  327. And you need to answer these questions.

  328. Not now, but because we're going to count the costs

  329. and because we're going to consider our ways, we have to do it

  330. in a different setting. Think, ponder with God,

  331. answer these things.

  332. Second question,

  333. what are some things in terms of my thinking that needs to change

  334. in terms of my thinking that needs to change?

  335. What are some things

  336. in terms of my thinking that has to change?

  337. God can reveal it to you,

  338. people around you can reveal it to you.

  339. Number two, what are some changes with respect to my relationships

  340. within the body where I need to change? Don't think about

  341. family right now, think of this family here.

  342. What are some things that I need to change with respect to my

  343. relationships with this family right here?

  344. As I prepare.

  345. And you have to have answers for these things, guys. If we try

  346. to answer them and you go, oh, I can't really think of anything, everything is so beautifully perfect.

  347. It's not the case. Then you're

  348. probably blinded to it. There are things

  349. that I have to know. Because when I think about it, there are two or three things that

  350. at least two things that

  351. come right at me. So I have to then

  352. sit down and think about, okay, Abba, you're bringing these things

  353. to mind. I need to change in these things. And I'm

  354. willing, I need help.

  355. Now when I do it, I'm becoming ready for the work at hand.

  356. I'm not interested today in

  357. speaking something that's not going to be helpful for us, guys.

  358. I know for a fact that if we go down this path, it will be so

  359. helpful for us when we are in those cities. So helpful.

  360. So it's relationships inside the body

  361. is important. My thinking is important. Those are two things

  362. as we go out that we cannot take lightly.

  363. And then third question or fourth

  364. question. You need to also look at what

  365. the devil has been doing over the last little while

  366. with your life to trip you up.

  367. Are there things that are recurring? And I'm not talking about

  368. habitual sins.

  369. I'm talking about think. Be aware. Look

  370. back at your life in the last three months, six months. See what are the

  371. things that are tripping you. They keep coming up.

  372. What are the things that keep tripping you?

  373. What are the things that keep pulling you back? It's almost

  374. like you hit your stride and then you keep walking and then all of a sudden

  375. you're back. What are those things?

  376. This is where the body can be so helpful. Because if you take

  377. the time to think, to count the costs, to consider

  378. your ways, as God reveals these things, as others who are with you

  379. that you walk with, as they help you, you'll see a big

  380. change happening. Big change happening. This is

  381. life on life. This is living out everything we've been hearing.

  382. Number two.

  383. And maybe here I'll answer

  384. Sade's question.

  385. We need to prepare in abundance

  386. and give in plenty. Prepare

  387. in abundance and give in plenty.

  388. I want to take us to 1 Chronicles 22. You don't have to read it.

  389. No, you can read it later. But the picture is

  390. David wants to build this temple. And he knows that. God has told

  391. him he's not going to be the one building it. His son is going to be the one building it. So he knows

  392. that already. But you find David still

  393. preparing in abundance. And I'm using those words straight out of

  394. 1 Chronicles 22. Preparing in abundance

  395. for the building of the temple that was to come. You see him

  396. thinking about the gates, the doors of the gates.

  397. You see him thinking about the nails. And him knowing that these

  398. nails are going to be needed by Solomon later, he

  399. puts them together. He brings them. He gathers them. He knows that

  400. iron and bronze are needed. So he gathers them in plenty.

  401. He knows that cedars are going to be needed. Timbers are going to be

  402. needed. So he brings them. He prepares in abundance

  403. for the work in hand.

  404. When we think of Nanaimo and Victoria,

  405. I pray that as a family we look at this as

  406. not a side thing we're doing

  407. along with everything else we're doing. But I wish I had

  408. the drawing here before. This is central to what God is doing in our

  409. lives. And if, and I know that

  410. in a church like this, we all know each other, but we're also

  411. in different stages of our lives. So it is possible

  412. because I was reminded as I was writing this of someone here who asked me, hey,

  413. I want to find out my purpose. I want to find out what my

  414. life is about. I want to find out my purpose. And let me answer you

  415. with this. If you are able to look at what God is doing

  416. and delve right into it and say, I'm going to

  417. obey you Jesus into these things, then

  418. your purpose will follow you. You don't wait

  419. for your purpose. As God opens up things

  420. and He says, here is the path, walk in it. You jump

  421. right into it and you walk. Your purpose will follow you.

  422. The specifics of it will be opened up to you.

  423. The gift will be unwrapped. But you've got to do it.

  424. Because sometimes we look at our

  425. life and we go, okay, I really need to know the purpose.

  426. What am I really supposed to do in life?

  427. I know I'm going to Acts 29. I know I'm doing this

  428. and I know I'm doing that. But what's the real purpose? So the specifics

  429. regarding your purpose will unravel as you obey Him

  430. fully and you're fully committed to it.

  431. Watch my words. It will happen to you. Because He's a good Father.

  432. And when you say, it doesn't matter where, it doesn't

  433. matter how, it doesn't matter what, I am in it.

  434. If you say, go, I will go fully. I'll give

  435. prepare in abundance and give in plenty. That's where you start.

  436. Leave the rest to Him. He'll take care of it.

  437. So I want to... Yes, Diana.

  438. So you already said that the work in Victoria will be central

  439. to our lives as a body. But the work that He gives us, there

  440. might be something personal for us as well. So how do we balance that

  441. out? Or could there be two completely separate things

  442. that we're doing? Everything comes under

  443. Matthew 28-19. Everything that we do comes under

  444. Matthew 28-19. And then under this are specifics.

  445. So God may ask you very specifically to do something in

  446. Burnaby that none of us here are being invited into

  447. or called into. And so this is part of counting the cost

  448. and considering the waste. Because the answer for you may not be

  449. the answer for me. It could be different. But because God is

  450. doing this with Acts 29, we cannot

  451. as... We should not as individuals, because we can't.

  452. We should not as individuals take a step back and say, well, it's for the rest

  453. of those guys. They'll do it. Because one of the things that Jacob kept hammering

  454. initially was this idea that this is not for house church

  455. leaders or a few people. This is for all of us. My

  456. goodness, man. Matthew 28-19 is for all of us.

  457. All of us.

  458. And we should be so excited about

  459. living the word. Living the word.

  460. So, yeah.

  461. There are different things that we may be doing.

  462. But we have to sit down and weigh things and then decide.

  463. So,

  464. we talked about conspiring with the Holy Spirit earlier on. Not today, but

  465. in one of the sessions before.

  466. We need to conspire with the Holy Spirit also as we do

  467. this exercise to reorganize our schedules

  468. and our time commitments. We need to sit down

  469. to conspire with the Holy Spirit. So, if I need to

  470. do these things, I need to sit down with the Holy Spirit

  471. and say, Holy Spirit, this will demand

  472. of me to spend time outside of work,

  473. outside of this thing and that thing and this thing.

  474. And you know what? I really need your help.

  475. So, between you and I, I'm committing to this.

  476. And I'm prepared to pay this price.

  477. And I'm also prepared to re-prioritize the things

  478. in my life to make it happen. Conspiring

  479. with the Holy Spirit is also useful in your

  480. preparation for the work at hand. So, you sit

  481. down and conspire with Him. As a family, sit down and conspire with

  482. Him. It's going to be so good. Because even

  483. before you're there, you have sat down with Him and you've talked

  484. to Him. You've let Him know already, hey, here's what this looks like.

  485. You know my heart. I want to give it all. Because, guys, there are going to be days when

  486. it's not easy. And when you do this, you're prepared.

  487. So, a few things we need to do.

  488. We need to already start thinking about what we're

  489. going to be doing. Plan your time, your schedule.

  490. Because this is a real place

  491. that real people need to go to using the 24 hours that we

  492. have every day. So, we need to plan.

  493. Prepare. So, start looking at your summer holiday

  494. plans and start looking at when your days are off. And

  495. in all honesty, we have to now think of our days

  496. off this year. I'm going to say even to that extent. When we take time off

  497. this year at work, think about how that's going to align

  498. with this.

  499. Think about how that will align with this. Super important.

  500. Number two, organize your finances.

  501. What do I mean by that?

  502. Father, counting the cost, even the dollars are not

  503. the most important thing when it comes to counting cost.

  504. I am also prepared to spend. Because this money

  505. you gave me. This money I want to give for you.

  506. Three.

  507. Trade everything that he has given you.

  508. Be a good steward. Trade everything that he has given you.

  509. Don't put it under your bed.

  510. It's the story of the

  511. guy who was given talents that he traded.

  512. He made a lot of money.

  513. He made a lot of money.

  514. He made a lot of money with these talents that he traded.

  515. He multiplied it. So you have to look at your life

  516. and go, when it comes to these things, what are the things that are

  517. so innate to me, so me. Because you've built

  518. me that way that I need to trade, use.

  519. Because we're a body. Diana is good at certain things

  520. that I'm not good at. And she's good at

  521. us and therefore she has to trade it use it for the benefit of all of us and for

  522. the benefit of those in Nanaimo and Victoria we have to trade the talents

  523. trade the gifts that have been given to us and this goes without saying but when

  524. I look at my life I find a gap that I need to fill prepare by feeding on the

  525. word this is very important prepare by feeding on the word like never before may

  526. this church now as we prepare may there be such a wind of the Holy Spirit

  527. amongst us that all of us are spending way more time here than ever before so

  528. important

  529. prepare by feeding on the word

  530. next prepare by setting up

  531. godly disciplines it's part of considering your ways what are the

  532. things that I need to change habits that are not fruitful what are the habits

  533. that I really need to have in my life to be able to accomplish what God is saying

  534. set up godly disciplines I was talking with Emily K a few weeks ago and Emily

  535. was saying how she's been waking up at a particular time and she's sitting down

  536. in this one area in our house where she spends time with God no one else just

  537. herself and God and that's a place that she has to encounter him every day so

  538. what are other disciplines other godly disciplines that you need to cultivate

  539. that you need to set up as you prepare

  540. another thing I would add and this is really when it comes to give in plenty

  541. be prepared to give all of yourself to this work what does that really mean

  542. don't be tight-fisted give all of yourself for this don't be tight-fisted

  543. don't jump into this with we'll see how it goes give it all give it everything

  544. and I'm not talking about money because when we talk about being tight-fisted it's very easy

  545. to think about money I'm not talking about money is one thing but don't be

  546. tight-fisted when it comes to how much of yourself you give to others don't be

  547. tight-fisted with your time with your words with your attitude don't be

  548. tight-fisted give all of yourself to others so the thing is guys what Jesus

  549. accomplishes on earth is not done by superstars it is done by a people by a

  550. community of ordinary people what Jesus accomplishes on earth is done by a

  551. community of ordinary people it happened 2,000 years ago it started 2,000 years

  552. ago with a group of 12 it continues today with ordinary people living a

  553. certain way weighing everything that he has said and placing it over our heads

  554. and saying I bow down to no one else but him and his words it will dictate how I

  555. live it will dictate everything that I do my words my passions my my my my

  556. disciplines my life my work everything will bow down to how the king wants me

  557. to live and maybe we need to talk about it because none of us are pastors like

  558. Jacob we're all regular people Jacob is a pastor sorry Jacob if you're watching

  559. hello and he has trained us up well to know that the royal priesthood belongs

  560. to all of us if you if you've been here long enough you know that you belong to

  561. the royal priesthood so how how dare we step into something without recognizing

  562. who we are we are a royal priesthood

  563. one more thing I want to take a little bit more time on and then we'll go

  564. through it real fast number three repair rebuild restore as per I say 58 6 to 12

  565. that turn I know it's quite long well let me tell you tell you this way over

  566. the next little while one of the passages that we should go to read again

  567. and again and again understand with the Holy Spirit I say a 58 6 to 12 58 6 to

  568. 12 yeah one of the passages where we need that we need to give our time to

  569. and learn with the Holy Spirit is this I had great plans to hooking up my iPad

  570. with this thing to to point out a few things but I'll try to do it without it

  571. because it ain't working good do I say 58 6 to 12 we'll spend a few minutes there

  572. rebuild repair restore after I say a 58 pattern so the first verse that I want

  573. us to read is I say a 58 verse 12 here is how it says and your ancient ruins

  574. shall be rebuilt you shall raise up the foundations of many generations you

  575. shall be called the repairer of the breach the restorer of streets to dwell

  576. in read that again it's about us I say a 58 verse 12 and your ancient ruins shall

  577. be rebuilt X 29 you will raise up the foundations of many generations X 29 you

  578. shall be called the repairer of the breach in Victoria and Nanaimo and you

  579. acts 29 you are the restorer of streets to dwell in that is them that is how

  580. God sees us already okay so we we're starting from the very bottom and then

  581. we'll make work our way up so I say a 58 12 spend time over it go over this

  582. again and again and again until this is so inside you that even at night you'll

  583. wake up I'll be like you'll say just like that it's important we need to we

  584. need to see ourselves how God sees us before we go right into it and start

  585. doing stuff so let's read that again X 29 you shall raise up the foundations of

  586. many generations so what does that mean see one of the things even as Jacob

  587. mentioned remember you talked about the the women the Salvation Army women in

  588. Victoria the work that they did there have been others too after the fact who

  589. worked there and there are things that he started in one generation that in

  590. his timing he has already placed it for others to finish okay so there are

  591. things that he started in Victoria Nanaimo he started it he did it things

  592. happened and then he sometimes keeps certain things for the next generation

  593. or the generation after to come and complete it's so scriptural Abraham

  594. this is what is going to happen to you by the way it's going to take 400 years

  595. there is something that I this is amazing there is something that the

  596. father really loves when he looks at us and he sees the generations like it's a

  597. view that we don't have but he enjoys that view he loves it that he starts

  598. something and then he leaves something and same with us there will be things

  599. that we start that Phoebe and others will continue and finish it's the way he

  600. works he's a god of generations and so x29 you shall raise up the foundations

  601. of many generations you shall be called the repairer of the breach the

  602. restorer of streets to dwell in so we'll do we we have to do these things as we

  603. follow him in the cities but if you look at Isaiah 58 6 to 12 I want to divide

  604. that into two sections it's it's like an if-then statement Jeremy will know it

  605. it's like if you do this then the rest of it I'll do right if you do it then

  606. the rest of it works yeah if you do it the rest of it I'll do and and for today

  607. okay just for today let's not even let's read it once we'll read once what he

  608. says he'll do and the for today just forget it why because what he says he'll

  609. do he'll do yeah so let's just read it let's read together I say a 58 8 to 12

  610. so I said we're gonna divide that into two sections let's start with 6 and 7

  611. this is our part okay this is where we come in as a body is not this the fast

  612. that I choose to lose the bonds of wickedness to undo the straps of the

  613. yoke to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke that's for us we're

  614. seven again for us is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the

  615. homeless poor into your home when you see the naked to cover him and not to

  616. hide yourself from your own flesh again for us now he responds then with things

  617. that he will do which will read once and then we're just gonna put it on the side

  618. and what I mean by that is things that he says he'll do he'll do it he's so

  619. good at it then shall you light x29 break forth like the dawn and your

  620. healing shall spring up speedily x29 your righteousness shall go before you

  621. the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard remember where we started from

  622. presence to go before that his presence with us before that she kind of his

  623. presence is with us the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard then you

  624. shall call and the Lord will answer you shall cry and he will say here I am

  625. today we are only reading it once we just gonna put that on the side because

  626. he'll do what he says next our part if you x29 take away the yoke from your

  627. midst the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness if you pour

  628. yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted that's for

  629. us then his part shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the

  630. noonday and the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in

  631. scorched places and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered

  632. garden like a spring of water whose waters do not fail and your ancient

  633. ruins shall be rebuilt you shall raise up the foundations of many generations

  634. you shall be called the repairer of the breach the restorer of streets to dwell

  635. in so we started from verse 12 because that is the work at hand and we went

  636. back up and there are two things number one and this is so important for us a

  637. when we go to Victoria Nanaimo can we do it this way can we be a shepherd king

  638. can we on one hand recognize the evil at play the bondage that people are in the

  639. traps that they are in and the need for people to be loosened for captives to be

  640. set free all of which cannot happen with our power but can absolutely happen

  641. with his power in us that is essential and then on the same token can we also

  642. see the homeless and you can you can say well it's the same no it's different can

  643. you also see the homeless and the poor and the needy and give all of what you

  644. have so that their things are taken care of there are people who are in verse 7

  645. go back because this is important go back is is it not to share your bread

  646. with the hungry so when it comes to seeing a hungry man giving bread just do

  647. it

  648. don't discern just do it

  649. sometimes we can be discerning and I understand the discerning part but when

  650. you see a hungry man he said give food you're tracking me

  651. bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the see the naked cover

  652. him when you see a man or a woman who is naked don't wait for discernment the

  653. discernment is already given to you to use this word and obey just do it and

  654. not to hide yourself from your own flesh we can spend more time on it but let's

  655. just leave it there so there is that that we need to do but we should not be

  656. we should be careful not to be specialists specialists in one thing now

  657. what I'm a specialist in feeding the homeless and covering the nakedness of

  658. people when it comes to loosening bones that's I'm gonna leave that with a

  659. couple of others or my thing is that I really like loosening the bones and

  660. setting captives free but I'm not going to really do this part because that's

  661. really not no do both if all of us start doing both how rich will we be if all of

  662. us look at this and say Jesus we want to follow you into what you're doing we're

  663. gonna fulfill all of this I'm not going to say that I am a certain type so I

  664. can't do certain things I will show the desire to show everything and do

  665. everything I may not be able to do some stuff as good as person a but that's

  666. okay I want to do it all and this is important otherwise we will

  667. compartmentalize and specialize which is not in the kingdom

  668. so prepare yourself for both were six and were seven train my hands for war my

  669. fingers for battle and the reason I said shepherd King is because on one hand

  670. you got to take care of the poor and the hungry and the naked and being a

  671. shepherd helps but you also got to be a king that he has placed on earth to

  672. stand in his authority and say come out both both important so when the father

  673. his children into a city or a nation they are to tear down what needs to be

  674. torn down and you cannot build in fact what do we read this Jeremiah chapter

  675. one verse 10 Jeremiah chapter one verse 10 I'll read it see I have set you this

  676. day over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to break down to destroy

  677. and overthrow to build and plant so we have to do that and then we have to take

  678. were seven from Isaiah chapter 58 and hold it on the other hand man it'll be

    Isaiah 58 chapter mention

  679. so fun because I think and not I think all of us has to grow in it and what an

  680. amazing opportunity to follow Jesus to be obedient to his call and to do exactly

  681. what he's asking us to do few more things cities and lives will be contested

  682. by giants and they must be overcome cities and lives will be contested by

  683. giants and they must be overcome I like this verse Isaiah 49 even the captives

  684. of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible be delivered

  685. for I will content with him who contends with you and I will save your children

  686. so I'll just wrap it up by saying rebuilding is not about feeding the poor

  687. is not just about feeding the poor and clothing the needy it is the progression

  688. and expansion of an upside down rule the rule of Christ it changes everything and

  689. one of the things that came up and just I'll just say this and then we'll move

  690. on one of the things that came up one of the days when we met for an encounter

  691. metering is we will have to rename people and rename things work with the

  692. father and prepare yourself above as we go we know there are people who will

  693. meet who will need to be renamed there are things that will need to be renamed

  694. because we are digging wells like Isaiah sorry like Isaac we are re digging and so

  695. there are things that we will rename but that's just on the side will we'll do

  696. that later and then a few more things we will wrap up in five minutes number four

  697. shut down the voices of send ballot and Tobiah and others like them comes from

  698. Nehemiah chapter four

  699. it's important and for today I'll only talk about one thing if there are voices

  700. that try to make you feel that you're so inadequate that you can't do this and

  701. you know look at look at these guys and they maybe they can do it and I don't

  702. feel like I can do it this is what you're dealing with you read the

  703. Hama chapter 4 God said rebuild Nehemiah and his people started rebuilding

  704. there comes and ballot and Tobiah and you know what they're saying you guys are

  705. building look at this wall all that will take is for a Fox to run across and this

  706. wall you're building will come down you're so feeble so weak what are you

  707. building almost sounds like how dawn and Xavier talks to you in here on a soccer

  708. ground that's how they speak but jokes aside if you if you hear that you've got

  709. not just now but even as you do things it is because these voices it's a it's an

  710. old trick played by the devil to make you feel inadequate for the task at hand

  711. and you've got to as you hear it shut it down shut it down you cannot afford to

  712. give it room shut it down

  713. ok now three four points we don't have time to go into the details of I'll just

  714. read it you write it or think it think about it

  715. obedience is way more important than perceived results results are important

  716. but obedience is way more important than perceived results when it comes to some

  717. of the stuff we're talking about which is an invisible enemy we cannot go by

  718. perceived results we have to go by obedience and then leave it to him

  719. because all of the stuff that I said let's just put it on the site what a

  720. confidence we have to be able to do that that are good good father when he says

  721. something he'll do it

  722. next do not forget the significance of one soul because we could be doing

  723. things and this is important for me but for us because when we do things guys

  724. there are going to be times when in a few of us are going to be doing stuff

  725. that's going to involve 10 and 15 people and a few of us are going to be doing

  726. things one-on-one with someone never forget the significance of one soul

  727. never forget it

  728. next I want to spend too much time here expect creative solutions to difficult

  729. problems expect creative solutions from the Holy Spirit for difficult problems

  730. reference second Kings to chapter 19 or 21 verse 19 this is when the men of the

  731. city came to Elisha and said you know what this place is no good the water is

  732. bad the land is unfruitful what do we do Elisha says this is what you do come

  733. with a bowl of salt and a creative solution was given to him by the Holy

  734. Spirit that he did so be attended to the spirit for creative solutions to

  735. difficult problems and then the last thing I want to say as we as he

  736. prepares us is go back and read Ephesians chapter 6 Ephesians chapter 6

    Ephesians 6 chapter mention Ephesians 6 chapter mention

  737. that's the whole armor of God the full armor of God we've got to read that and

  738. I know I'm not saying read it but meditate on it ask the Holy Spirit

  739. conspire with him conspire with the Holy Spirit as we read it the helmet of

  740. salvation the breastplate of righteousness readiness for the gospel

  741. the belt of truth conspire with him sit down with him wear it

  742. it is important as I said earlier on for us to think about what happened in the

  743. past and to look at and consider our ways so that mistakes that we made or

  744. things attempted against us are brought to light it is important it's it's not

  745. exactly similar but there's a story that comes to mind I think World War two or

  746. something the Royal Air Force they found out that the planes that were coming

  747. back after going to Germany and thereabouts the planes that were coming

  748. back most of them were hit in certain locations bullets fired at them in

  749. certain locations and so they decided that you know what all of these planes

  750. they have the same pattern it's the same locations that they get a lot of hit so

  751. we need to reinforce those areas and make sense yeah but then one guy said

  752. uh-huh no I don't think you're doing it right because what if the planes that

  753. are not coming back are getting hit in other spots and we don't even see it and

  754. that changed the way they build planes so conspire with the Holy Spirit we all

  755. need to do this a we need to sit down and read through that passage and

  756. conspire with him prepare okay let's pray in close

  757. Abba you know our hearts you know our desires you know everything about us you

  758. know this body this is your people we are your people we come to you today and

  759. we we've been hearing we've been learning we want to prepare ourselves

  760. for the work at hand we really want to prepare ourselves about and this

  761. preparation is not a preparation where we just go and think about a few things on

  762. no all of this is with your Holy Spirit we don't have to lift weights that we

  763. aren't supposed to lift because you said I'm gonna give you a helper I'm gonna

  764. give you a friend I'm gonna give you a comforter so Holy Spirit we come to you

  765. we want to do this with you and all of us want to take time to count the cost to

  766. consider our ways we want to take time we're gonna give ourselves to you so use

  767. us Holy Spirit take all of us take this body and break it so that others can be

  768. fed take this body like it was done with your son father and break it so others

  769. can benefit father I pray protection and blessing over everyone here and those

  770. who can't be here with us and those who are traveling and Jacob and May as well

  771. in Jesus name amen that's it guys see you later