Staying Free

Okay, so last time we were...

I have a mirror in the back, and so I'm trying to hide my balls.

Okay, so last time we ended with this topic of Jericho.

One of the things we said about Jericho was the battles that were won at Jericho were

lost in AI shortly after.

And so it's one thing to get free, it's another thing to stay free.

So today, one of the things I want to do is talk about this idea of how do we stay free

once we get free.

That's something I want to explore.

Yeah?

So let me go over that again.

In Joshua chapter 7 verse 1, we see that the battle that was won in Jericho in chapter

Joshua 7:1

6 is lost in AI in chapter 7.

And so it is easy to get free, it's easy to gain ground.

But once you get free, how do you stay free?

Once you gain ground, how do you hold ground?

That's an issue that all of us face.

So today we'll start that whole topic of how do we stay free?

How do we hold ground?

So here are maybe six points we can start with.

Obviously, every point will have two sub points, but we're used to that by now.

So hello to anyone who's there for the first time.

You guys next week.

So the first point, if you want to hold ground that you have gained or if you want to stay

free after you have been set free is one.

You have to figure out how you want to order your life in terms of what you value most.

The pursuit of what you value most at present will be what will order your life.

Let me put it this way.

My life is ordered by what I value most.

My life is ordered by what I value most.

And where is this principle taken from?

It's taken from Luke chapter 22, verse 19, where it says, where your treasure is, there

Luke 22:19

your heart is also.

So once I've been set free or once I gain ground, I have to quickly begin to change

what I value most at present.

Because ground that is gained or freedom that is received can only be sustained if I change

my value system.

So what do I value most?

My life is ordered by what I value most.

Why?

Because what I value dictates my choices.

What I value dictates my choices.

What I value grabs my attention.

Whatever grabs my attention is what will influence my affections.

Whatever influences my affections will set the direction for the next day.

I'll say that again.

Whatever I value will be what grabs my attention.

Whatever I pay attention to begins to influence my affections.

Whatever I'm affected by sets my direction.

So let's say I've been set free from fear.

And it applies to any area that you've been set free from.

Let's say I've been set free from fear.

I now have to begin to cultivate the value of either courage or peace in God or not visiting

places that used to trigger off that fear or faith or tremendous trust in God.

I have to pick the value that I need to.

Because for every freedom that I gain I must look at, okay, how do I stay here?

And it requires a value change.

Is it porn or is it sexual immorality?

It's the same principle that what do I value now so that I can walk in the freedom I have?

Is it purity that I value?

Is it intimacy with God that I value?

Is it a cause that is so important to me that it is important to stay free of sin?

Is it the cost I've paid in the past that now becomes motivation for I will not go down that path again?

What is the value system that you will change to sustain the freedom that you have now received?

Because as I develop a value system or say this is highly valuable to me,

that is when it grabs your attention.

And so even when you begin to deviate it pulls you back because it grabs your attention.

Once it grabs your attention it affects you, it influences your affections or your feelings or

your emotions about things.

And that then is what sets direction.

And so every time I deviate or every time I begin to wander off I'm pulled back to the center again

because of the values that I set for myself.

So you have to find out in the area that you are receiving freedom what is the value that you want to set?

Is it with regard to finances where you have been set free from debt and from

just poverty?

What are the new values you establish?

I mean I was in such debt it was crazy like over 60,000 dollars in debt and it was

I think it was mostly my fault and so I couldn't even blame others.

Then I had to establish value systems.

People were super kind to me, super gracious, they began to forgive my debts.

I began to pay off my debts but a time came when I had to establish a new set of values

in terms of how I function financially.

And so every time I would want to go back into old ways of stretching myself for

building things on dreams that I didn't have the resources for.

I'd have to go back to the values that I now began to establish that would dictate my choices.

I know I'm repeating the same thing again and again but this is so critically.

So these values have to be drawn out from scriptures, drawn out from the nature of

Jesus Christ.

They have to be drawn out from the spiritual before they are drawn out from the natural.

As in most things are first wrought in the spiritual so you have to draw these principles

out from the word.

And for each of us it's different.

So you could have the same financial problem that I'm having or you could have the same

problem with fear that I'm having or you could have the same problem with sexual immorality

that I'm having but our response or our values will be different because our background and

our values will be different.

But our response or our values will be different because our background and our individuality

or personality is different.

And so where do you go for this?

You learn to look at God's heart, God's ways in circumstances so that the Spirit of God

can show you, hey, why don't you establish this value in your life?

For some of us the fear of money is so crippling that you'll have to establish the value of

generosity that you will force yourself to be generous.

For some of us if it is sexual immorality we'll have to establish values where we begin

to go over the nature of God in terms of his holiness or we begin to establish the value

of intimacy where you get to know this God so well that now it becomes a poor exchange

to give up what you have with God for immorality.

Or if it's lying or deceit or pride, find the value that begins to dictate your choices

by affecting your attention, your emotions and your reaction.

That's the first step.

I can't see you guys so I don't know maybe I can.

I don't think so.

Nope, I can't.

Okay, so if you have any questions just text Brandon and Brandon, who's my media manager

globally, he's here in New York, he will pass the questions on to me.

Yeah.

Hey, by the way, before I go to the second point,

man, the dancing yesterday by Wilson and James and Emmanuel, whoa, that was something else.

I almost felt like I wish I was there to see that and I thought that was good and then Nick

stepped up and what Nick did, I think I'll put it on Facebook, it'll go viral.

Amazing Nick, you are very talented and gifted.

It was so good that James stopped dancing.

Anyways, because I can't see you, I don't know whether Nick is there or not, but

if he's there, you can give him a round of applause.

Alrighty, the next point I wanted to make was if you want to stay free or if you want to

hold ground that you have gained, there must be a return to renewed pleasure in the Word.

There must be a return to renewed pleasure in the Word.

I'm not saying there must be a return to reading the Word.

I'm saying there must be a return to renewed pleasure in the Word.

Jeremiah 6 verse 10 talks about it, where it talks about once again getting to a place

Jeremiah 6:10

where there's renewed pleasure in the Word.

Jeremiah 6, 10,

it says, let me try the message.

It says, I've got something to say.

Is anybody listening?

I have a warning to post.

Will anyone notice?

It's hopeless.

Their ears are stuffed with wax, deaf as a post, blind as a bat.

It's hopeless.

They've tuned out God.

They don't want to hear from me.

In some other versions, it says the Word of the Lord is offensive to them.

They find no pleasure in it.

So I'm not saying just a return to the Word.

I'm talking about a pleasure in the Word.

One of the ways to gain ground and to stay free is to have pleasure in the Word so that

the heart won't harden to the living Word.

Pleasure prevents the heart from hardening to the living Word because it's possible

to read the Word.

There are tons of people that read the Word.

My dad, before he became a believer, could quote any part of the scriptures because he

had read the Word many times.

But it wasn't doing much for him in terms of even being born again, leave alone, leaving

a Christian life.

So you can read the Word, but there can be a hardening of heart to the living Word.

And unless there's pleasure, and it's a question we have to ask, do I actually find

pleasure?

Do I take pleasure in reading the Word?

And so one of the things I do when I fall out of enjoying the Word is go back to God

and say, I'm going to read the Word.

Enjoying the Word is go back to God and say, Father, how do you want me to go about it?

Because preferably, delight should lead to discipline.

So can you give me a heart that can again delight in your Word?

Because then it's easy to cultivate a discipline.

But if God says, hey, the way I want you to go about it is first practice the discipline

and I'll give you the delight, so be it.

You've got to figure out which one God is asking you to do.

And if you can't figure it out, try either.

Whichever one works.

Because for some of us, and I'm talking to us in Acts 29 right now, and I've been through

this, where I'll read the Word, but there's this spirit of stupor that takes over as in

it's almost this sleepiness that hits you as you begin to read the Word.

If that is the case, come for prayer.

It's easily breakable.

It's easily breakable.

But as soon as you begin to read the Word, distractions begin to happen.

As soon as you read the Word, distractions I can understand, but as soon as you read

the Word, there's a sleepiness that takes over.

It's like stupor.

It's a dullness.

Know then that it's easily breakable.

Come for prayer.

Tonight, I mean today, this morning after service is over, that's one of the things

you want to get rid of.

Come up and ask someone to pray for you.

God will honor it, eh?

Because one of the things Satan loves doing to prevent a crown that is gained from being

held is to snatch away the Word of God so that you do not understand it.

He talks about it in Matthew 13 verse 19 when he's talking about the parable, he says,

Matthew 13:19

and the birds come and take away the seed before they can grow roots.

Before they can grow roots.

So be aware of that.

And once you begin to have pleasure in the Word, the next thing is to,

now that you have gotten the delight part right, how about disciplined reading?

And let me define disciplined reading.

Disciplined reading is not necessarily three chapters a day or five chapters a day.

Disciplined reading is chewing, recounting, practicing, chewing, recounting, practicing.

When you begin to chew the Word, recount the Word, practice the Word, you get God glimpses,

you get God discoveries.

And as that begins to happen, guys, pleasure is renewed.

It's like you now want to engage in it more because you're finding out things that

you thought only famous people and pastors find out.

And here you are being instructed by the Holy Spirit.

That's a great thing about the present day modern world.

Every tool that is available to every teacher is available to everybody.

In terms of studying.

So disciplined reading is chewing, recounting, practicing.

And in the process, you have God glimpses and God discoveries, and it allows you to

sustain your freedom.

Build on it.

And build on it.

Think of it this way.

So you get this plot of land.

It's overrun with thistles and brambles and bushes.

And that's initially how this idea of freedom begins.

The land is now yours.

It's no longer being held by somebody else.

You're no longer in prison on that land.

The land has been set free.

The land is yours.

Now begins the process of holding on to that land.

First thing you do is clear the land.

Because to let those bushes and brambles go on would just end up in the land either

decaying, rotting, or being infested with things that shouldn't be there.

Squatters with animals.

I know that it's an extreme example, but critters.

That's a better word.

And so what if you could clear the land?

Once you clear the land, that's great.

So now you begin to hold on to what you have received.

But how do you keep it that way?

Keep it that way by building on it.

Building something that is worthy of keeping on it.

It's a process, eh?

But it's brilliant.

Every area in my life then gets set free.

One area in my mind, another area in my mind, a third area in my heart,

a fourth area in my, in the way I walk.

And God keeps releasing things to me as I begin to follow these steps.

We'll talk about this probably next week too.

I'm just setting the foundations for next week.

The third thing that we can begin to do is recognize that

there is a tendency once we gain freedom for love to grow cold

because grace abounds.

So I've seen this happen in my life where there's an area I'm set free in.

But instead of building on it, I realize that God is so merciful,

God is so full of grace, that because His grace abounds

and because despite having messed up multiple times,

there is no consequence, there is no judgment,

that my fear in that area is diminished.

So to put it in a sentence, because grace abounds,

as it says in Romans 5 20, and because judgment is deferred,

the fear of God is diminished.

That's one of the problems with grace, eh?

Because grace abounds, because judgment is deferred,

the fear of God is diminished.

Otherwise, you and I would be far ahead of where we are.

Some of us know the areas that we are stubborn in, right?

You know you're stubborn in this area.

You may have your way of justifying it, but you know you're stubborn in that area.

But you don't seem to have too many consequences because of that stubbornness,

so why not continue in it?

Judgment is deferred, grace is abounding,

and the fear of God in that area diminishes,

and when fear of God diminishes, lawlessness increases.

When fear of God diminishes, lawlessness increases.

When lawlessness increases, love grows cold.

When lawlessness increases, as in when I begin to live in a way

that doesn't subscribe to the nature and the principles of God,

then my love grows cold.

But because of God's jealous love for me,

because he yearns jealously over me, I'll only get so far with it.

And I sometimes pray that,

Father, at least I find it difficult to pray,

but I pray, Father, keep me on a short leash or discipline me if necessary.

I don't like praying it.

And the way this is capitalized on by Satan is by providing opportunity

for indulgences, for the satisfying of whatever the flesh desires.

And the other subtle trick is to convince you that nibbling

at things that are impure or ungodly will not affect your life,

that it'll, it's okay.

It's only a small nibble.

Or what we don't realize is that lives are being sedated slowly.

There's a scripture in Thessalonians which scares me always.

Scares me always.

It basically says that whenever you resist spiritual truth,

you invite delusion and it dulls areas of your life.

Whenever you resist, whenever Jacob resists the spiritual truth,

he invites delusion into his life and it dulls that area of his life.

So if you have been resisting a spiritual truth in your life continuously,

then in that area, you will become delusional.

You will become your own master.

You will become the central figure in that area.

You will become the idol that you worship.

Once delusional in that area, you become dull.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So one of the things we have to do is this need to understand that

once I am free in an area,

the grace of God abounds, but I must not therefore now take it easy

because whenever the grace of God abounds,

there's a flip side which is fear is diminished.

Fear is diminished.

When the grace of God abounds, it must draw me into this virtuous cycle

of continually increasing,

not decreasing.

God won't hold back grace because that's not in his nature,

but I can receive it in vain or exploit it

in a way that isn't helpful to his purposes or to my life.

So I love saying on Sunday mornings, on Monday mornings, on Tuesday mornings,

I said it last Sunday, the listen guys,

come to this God.

He is willing to forgive.

He's willing to cleanse.

He's willing to purify.

He's willing to not remember.

He's willing to be a father.

He's willing to embrace you.

He has paid the price.

There's nothing outstanding.

As if I have never sinned, absolutely holy, absolutely blameless.

I have never sinned.

Absolutely blameless, absolutely perfect, and all of it is true.

And it is true every day because of the precious sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And I don't even want to say but.

I want to say it is absolutely true.

And now the question is how do I respond to it?

Do I therefore now take for granted that I can go back

into the thing that I've been set free from

and know that this will be true tomorrow too?

Because that's a theory.

So just be aware of that.

The fourth one probably applies more to guys my age or getting to my age.

And the reason I say that is the fourth way that I

hold on to ground that I have gained or walk in the freedom that I have been given

or stay free is by numbering my days.

By numbering my days.

Ephesians 5.15 talks about it.

Psalm 39 verse 4 talks about it.

Psalms 39:4

Psalm 90 verse 12 talks about it.

Psalms 90:12

Ephesians 5.15, Psalm 39 verse 4, Psalm 90 verse 12.

Psalms 39:4 Psalms 90:12

What I love about this idea of numbering my days

is it says teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom.

Teach me to number my days so that I may get a heart of wisdom.

I mean if you didn't know I'll be turning a year older on July 17th.

I have a feeling May thought my birthday was on June 17th.

But anyways we will deal with that later May.

I'll be turning a year older on July 17th.

And I know that I have spent more than half my life.

That I have lesser years left than I had in the past.

And that if I learn to number my days, I will be able to do it.

And if I learn to number my days, as in if I were to realize that I don't have as much time as I

thought I had, that I must make every day count, then I might begin to live my life more

circumspectly because there's so much that needs to be done.

Most of you if you look at the prophetic words you have received, you will find,

and this is my experience,

you will find that you really haven't gotten to completing it yet.

I'm marvel at guys who received prophetic words and they have completed what was spoken.

They've finished what they've been given to do.

And so I have to put this pressure on myself to now

hold the ground that I have gained by believing, by trusting, by making every day count,

because every clock is ultimately God's.

Time is not mine.

It's a loan that's given to me and I cannot thoughtlessly throw it away,

but must give account for it.

Even though heaven is guaranteed, I think one of the things that I've learned

is that there is a dread of standing before the judge of the world to give account.

1 Corinthians 5 actually talks about it.

It is a dread.

This is a problem knowing God as Father and knowing him as loving,

is we completely separate the words like dread from love,

because they don't go together, right?

But when you stand before one who is absolutely holy, absolutely just,

absolutely gracious,

when you stand before one who still bears the marks on his wrists or hands and his feet

on his side,

when you stand before someone who, in a flash, shows you everything that was going on,

when you stand before someone who, in a flash, shows you everything that was given to you as an advantage,

millions and millions and millions didn't have,

when you stand before one and then have to give account,

it's not that your eternal security is at risk because that's taken care of.

But there is still a dread of giving account to the one that I've been talking about.

I've never phrased it the way I just did and it doesn't frighten me but it wants,

as I was saying, I was thinking to myself, I want to be more responsible with time.

Because I will be given, I will be asked to give account for it.

So one of the questions that you need to ask every night,

every night you ask this question, did I live today well? Did I live today well?

Will Jesus Christ say, well done good and faithful servant at the end of the day tonight,

and my tonight will come three hours before you? Will Jesus Christ say, well done good and faithful

servant? Asking that question and answering it perhaps will give us an ability to see the weaknesses

we might be struggling with and will help us prepare for tomorrow, will give us time to change.

Hey, one of the things I want you guys to pray for before you finish today is pray that

Paul and Kiara and the kids, Eddie's son Paul and his wife Kiara and the kids get to

come to Vancouver in July, mid-July and that the visas and every document that needs to be sorted

out gets sorted out so that they can come and spend five to six months with us.

And I think it'll be life-changing for us and for them. So just pray for that before you finish it.

May just pray for that as a church.

Yeah.

The fifth thing that helps us to stay free or to hold ground that we have gained.

These are just the basic building blocks and next time we'll talk about, okay, now that these basic

building blocks are in place, how do I not just hold on to the ground that I've gained but build

on the ground that I've gained.

The next thing is, guys, once you're set free, once you gain ground, it is very easy to be

swayed by experiences and by feelings. So many people who are set free have a recurrence of an

experience or feel a certain way and so much of what is gained in terms of freedom is lost because

we begin to trust what we feel or begin to be sucked into an experience that reminds us of

something in the past and suddenly the trust we have, the faith we have goes out of the window.

So when I sometimes experience things that I experienced in the past that was nasty,

or when I begin to feel a certain way about an issue where I'm sure God is saying go forth and

stuff like that and I begin to feel a certain way, it's so easy to inhabit a pitch tent on that

mountain or on that valley thinking, ah, shut, it's happening again, so my freedom wasn't real,

or it was so temporary, or man, it was pointless, it was so easy to feel that way.

Or man, it was pointless, and then you begin to sometimes turn against God

and this is a faith statement you've heard before, but I have a choice, I can either magnify the Lord

or I can magnify the situation that I'm currently embedded in. I can either magnify the Lord

or I can magnify the situation that I'm currently embedded in.

So much of what we receive prayer for, so much of what we stand in faith for, so much of what we

believe has been granted to us already, so much of freedom that is spoken over us, so much of the

prophetic that is spoken over us is stolen away so quickly because of my experience and my feelings.

And every time it is stolen away or every time I lose it, it almost feels like I've got to start

again from square one. And starting from square one is always painful, and so I have a choice when

these things happen to me that I either magnify the Lord or I magnify the situation that I'm

currently embedded in. And I've said this so many times and it's such a powerful statement, go to

what you are feeling to what is true and use words to get there. Go from what you are feeling

to what is true and use words to get there because truth is always rooted in proclamation.

Go from what you're feeling to what is true, use words to get there, and use words to get there.

And when you are feeling what is true, use words to get there because truth is rooted in proclamation.

Never forget that, guys. Truth is rooted in proclamation.

This is why I so love reading Romans chapter four.

That man knew what he felt at 99, that man knew what he felt when he looked at his wife who was

as old as him. That man knew what he felt when he looked at how important he was.

But he had this ability not to be embedded in his situation and magnify it,

not to look at his importancy and then begin to

go with his feelings. He began to use words. He used words to magnify God. He used words

that helped him move from how he felt to the truth because always remember truth is rooted

in proclamation. A truth that remains in your heart and is not proclaimed is a truth that is stillborn.

And don't be cautious about joy when it comes to the proclamation of truth. Don't be cautious

about joy when it comes to the proclamation of truth. Sometimes when we proclaim truth,

we proclaim it so cautiously because our experience in the past has so dented our

expectation and our trust and our hope. When I was not a Christian, my favorite way of dealing

with life was imagine the worst case scenario so that you won't be disappointed, so that you won't

get hurt, so that you can protect yourself should things go wrong and things fail.

If I am to continue now with the same kind of philosophy, then

it's the question that Elijah asks the king of Israel. Is there no God in Israel?

And as I say this, I realize that some of us are going through situations where we've

been ravaged, where we've had really bad experiences. So this sounds like

such a demand that is being placed on you. It's not a Christian demand. It comes out of

a relationship with someone who you love and who loves you intensely first.

One or two more points and we can go back to either summing this up or worshiping, however may

lead. Once I am set free, I have to make sure that the triggers that used to

set me back into bond with your captivity or once I gain ground, I have to figure out how to

break the triggers that would always have me lose the ground I've gained.

I have to break those triggers and one of the simple ways of breaking triggers is not to frequent

places, things, habits, friends that draw me back into the same. It's a solution. I mean,

we know it yet. It's crazy how either friends can draw us back into a situation or just feeling

lousy about what someone said can drive us back into the same cesspool that we were released from

two days ago. It just fascinates me that as a believer, we are still so vulnerable to that.

So one of the things I try to learn is the first place that I must go

is the first place that I must go when you have hurt me, when it seems like

circumstances have disappointed me, when the report is not good, when someone said something

that is critical, that is hurtful. The first place I must go to in trouble must be the harder caught.

And if I'm able to do that, the confusion, the storm, the bitterness, the lack of self-esteem,

the fear stops. But here's the problem. It assumes that you have a relationship with God as Father

a relationship with God as Father that actually thinks that he is good and he will not do you harm.

Because if you don't believe that already, it is very hard in times of trouble to go to one

who you are resentful against. And that is one of the easiest ways to go back into the cesspool

that you were freed from. It is, at Act 29, there are many that lose out on the freedom they have

gained in a matter of two or three days. Because the fundamental principle of God being good and

of God being a Father and not being resentful against God for my present condition has not

been established. I still struggle with it every so often. I think to myself after all these years,

why are you struggling with it?

God doesn't want to teach me something in my trial. God just wants me to unlearn things.

Sometimes we need to think like that. Oh, I'm going through a trial. God is trying to teach

me something. No, God is trying to help you unlearn things. Because every time you're in this trial,

your response is the same Jacob. Can you unlearn some things?

I don't know who said this, but unless I can look at the darkest, blackest storm

full in the face without damaging God's character, I do not yet know him. I miss, I'll say that again.

Unless I can look at the darkest, blackest storm

full in the face without damaging God's character, I do not yet know him.

And so I would say to you, I do not yet know him. I'm talking about me. Because there are some black

dark stones where I begin to feel the twinges of resentment. And the resentment is usually

why couldn't you prevent this? Or how come you're not intervening? Or how come you're not stopping

this? I prayed and so on. I'd like to get to this place where I can look at the darkest,

blackest storm full in the face without damaging God's character, without leveling a charge against God.

I'd love to get there, man.

Break triggers, guys. Don't frequent the places that you go to.

Find things to do. When you're set free, make sure that you don't have idle time after times of freedom.

When you gain ground, make sure you don't have idle time. What are the things that you need to

do? When you gain ground, make sure you don't have idle time. One of the tricks of the enemy is to do

to you what was done to David. During the time of war, when kings go out for battle, David was not

in the battlefield. He was on his balcony walking up and down aimlessly, idly. And you know what

happened after that. One of the things I do, and I think Emily had texted me asking, okay,

when you come back from a trip, what do you do? So there's two things I do on a trip. One, I make

sure that I work out of rest so that I'm not exhausted. And two, once I come back from a trip,

I hit the ground running because I know that most of these trips are a high, it's a Mount Carmel kind

of an experience. And when you come down Mount Carmel, you can go into what is routine. Vancouver

can become, I know this place, this is familiar ground. And you go into idle situations. I refuse

to go into idle situations because there used to be a struggle in the past. Many years ago, when I

first started going on trips, I remember telling Acts 29, some of the old timers will remember this,

when I would tell them that, listen, don't pray for me when I go on a trip. Pray for me when I

come back from a trip because that's when the idle hits, ideally.

These are little tricks to prevent triggers from, another thing,

don't, I've said this before, don't Facebook and TV watch late nights. It's a der statement, man.

You tell your kids that. Be a kid and hear your own advice.

There are triggers that need to be broken, guys.

Nick sent a question. And the question is, so what would it look like practically to chew,

to recount, to practice a discipline reading? Okay, so let me give you an example. So

let's say I'm reading Jeremiah 50 or thereabouts. And as I'm reading Jeremiah 50,

the scripture that really gets me is further down around verse 22 or 23 or thereabouts. I'm not too

sure. I think it's Jeremiah 50 where it says, you are my battle axe. You are my weapon with which I

will undo nations, undo governors, undo situations. And so I'm reading that, let's assume. And so

what does it look like when you chew, when you recount, when you practice? And so the first thing

is, okay, Father, so as I read this word, I'll try to figure out what the context is. And I realize

God is actually speaking to Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar, I think. And he's saying, okay,

I will use a nation to undo you. So I understand the context. But now let's look at the verse. And

now the verse, as I read it, I feel God saying, hey, Jacob, I want to use you as a weapon.

I want to use you as my battle axe to bring down things around the earth. All right, so I write

down. I go look at what battle axe looks like, what weapon looks like, what is brought down by

God using a battle axe and weapon. How does it translate into present-day context? What does it

mean for Jacob? What does it mean for axe 29? Who are others that are walking like this that I can

learn of? And then here's the next thing. I'll write it down. And now after writing it down,

I'll say, do I really believe this? And I realized, no, I don't actually believe it.

It's great. When I read it, it sounded powerful. I felt lifted up. But tomorrow,

I'll find out that in a situation, I was not a battle axe. I was just a stick. And so I'll go

and I'll read it again and again and again. There are things on my phone where you will see

things that start at 200 and go down to 199, then 198. There's one where I'm on 189. Why are those

numbers put on the top of the page every day? Because I've decided that over the next 200 days,

I'm going to read this again and again, either a scripture or something that God has done.

And as each day goes by, I cut it down and write 199, 198, 197. Why? Because for the next 200 days,

if I read that scripture, for the next 200 days, if I read what God has said,

in 200 days, trust me, I'll absolutely believe it. And not only will I believe it, I'll behave like it.

Some things are important enough to read 200 days because it'll affect the rest of the world through

me. This is what chewing, recounting, practicing looks like. You chew as in you draw out whatever

you need to extract from it. You recount as in you remember every day and you practice only once

you become the word. This is not rocket science. We do this with everything in life.

So,

let's kind of stop there for today. How long was that? It's one of the shortest sermons I've

preached.

Anyways, do you have any questions guys? If you do, this sets the

basis, hey? Pursuit of what I value, pleasure in the word,

not exploiting grace, but growing in grace because grace is usually something that differs judgment

and diminishes the fear of God when Christians receive it in vain or take advantage of it.

Not to resist spiritual truths that come with setting free. Hey, here's the odd thing. You have

been set free by the knowledge of the truth. So, once the knowledge of the truth in a certain area

sets you free, if you resist that truth, then delusion comes in and you become dull in that area.

I'm supposed to increase in that truth. When I was set free from debts and stuff like that,

then I had to take the truths that helped set me free from poverty and financial debt and begin to

use them to now increase, not get resistant to them. Now that I'm free, I can start all over

again doing the same thing. No, now I have to take things that set me free. Let's for example, just

think that all that is required for me to be freed from a life of poverty was to become generous

with the two dollars that I had. And now from two dollars, I went to 20 and I'm still giving only

20 cents on the 20 dollar. From 20, I went to 200. I'm still only giving two dollars from the 200.

This is not building on the truth. This is resistant to the truth and whenever I'm resistant

to the truth, a delusion sets in and in that area I get dull.

Numbering your days. How about exchanging Facebook for the question,

every night did I live well today?

I want to hear that tonight before I go to bed. I'll be meeting Chad and having

the first part of that conference in NY shortly.

But it's not doing a conference or speaking that makes you hear the words well done, good and

faithful servant. I'm not talking about activity. Activity is easy to do. For pastors, it's super

easy but it doesn't mean that you hear well done, good and faithful servant. Look at the words,

faithful servant, good servant. So it depends entirely on what the master is asking you to do

and whether you please the master in the way you live today.

Okay.

I think I'll leave it at that and

I'm back tomorrow night so I'll see you during the week. Bless you guys. Thanks, May, for what you

are doing and Tuni and Anil, thanks for organizing the picnic. I heard it was a success and for all

the guys who helped you.