Signs-and-Wonder-part-2

Okay, so guys I'm starting again.

Signs and Wonders Part 2.

So the first miracle that Jesus did was

at the wedding in Cana. And so the first miracle

was John Chapter 2, verse 1 to 11. And when you look at the first miracle

John 2:1–11

there was a need at the time and Jesus

wasn't actually ready. I'm just bringing these points up

to show the kind of God we have and the willingness

he has to do miracles, signs and wonders.

We somehow have been convinced because either of

we have been convinced because of a lack of miracles and signs and wonders

in our lives around us and through churches coming up

with continuous theologies to tell you why things don't work.

We sometimes forget how willing this God is.

To engage in signs, miracles and wonders.

So when you look at John Chapter 2, verse 1 to 11, you see that

John 2:1–11

1. There was a need.

2. The need was the kind

that would cause embarrassment

and loss of dignity.

So it was not a question of life and death, though embarrassment

and dignity was pretty important in that culture.

3. Jesus was not ready.

It's not my time, he said. He wasn't ready.

And yet, to spare a family

embarrassment and a loss of dignity

Jesus performs a miracle. And I would say to you, he only did what

I saw his father doing. And so in the process, he restores

to this family

restores lack, as in he makes up for the lack

he restores dignity

he restores shortfall

shortfall as in

when you don't have

enough, you don't know what is enough. It's insufficient.

So he restores shortfall. And in the process

he restores, he shows 5 of his disciples

at this stage in his life, he only had 5 disciples.

For the first time, his 5 disciples see a miracle

and they actually end up believing.

That's how verse 11 ends. That they actually end up believing.

That's the first miracle.

I want us to understand how willing God is to do

miracles, signs and wonders.

Guys, these are things I'm struggling with.

I'm struggling with.

How have we reached a place where we

struggle with a God who does signs, miracles and wonders?

I was checking online. And every place

I check online, every article ends

the same way. Yes, God can do miracles, but he is sovereign.

Yes, God can do miracles, but that ended with the apostles.

Yes, God can do miracles, but we shouldn't expect it every time.

Yes, God can do miracles, but we live in a earth that is

sick and dying and suffering. Yes, God can do miracles,

but our trust should not be in miracles. Yes, God can do miracles, but

the greatest miracle is salvation. Yes, God can do miracles, but let us not

become like a wicked and adulterous generation. There's so much

of it that you think to yourself, really, at the end of the day, does God

do it or doesn't he?

And when you look at the stories, it seems to present a different Jesus.

And either Jesus is the same unchanging Jesus, or

there's something hidden in the Bible that we're not seeing, where this was meant

for the New Testament times, or this was meant for the Samaritans, or this was meant for the Gentiles,

and this ain't applicable anymore.

I want to get out of this. I want to get out of this.

And the only way to get out of this is to take a hammer to it every time,

and then use mortar and

build a new structure.

There's two things. There's a deconstruction of a mindset, and the reconstruction

of a biblical view. It has to

be both, because you cannot inhabit what you don't believe.

You cannot inhabit what you don't believe. If you half believe it,

you will only inhabit what you half believe.

It's not even dependent on whether you got your miracle or not.

That becomes such a problem. How come I am still sick?

If I am still sick, then this doesn't work.

I want to get out of this so that I trust and believe Jesus has the same unchanging one,

who if anything is increasing in who he is,

then I will not be able to see the miracle.

If anything is increasing in who he is on the earth, because

the Bible says as the days come to an end, the devil is

increasing in his rage, his fury, his evil, his wickedness, and his

ways over the sons of disobedience. At this time, do you think Christ who said

that the greater the darkness, the greater the light will hold back who

he is through his people?

That was the first miracle.

Then you look at the fact that the Bible actually says in John

John 2:7

chapter 2 verse 7 that through this miracle he displayed his glory and

his disciples believed him. Five of them believed him. That's the first time they

decided, ah shucks, this is more than a rabbi we have in our midst.

The last miracle he did was in John 21 verse 6, where he says,

John 21:6

boys do you have any fish? And they say, we fished all night.

And he says, okay, cast your net on the other side. And they pull up 153 fish.

And in the process, Jesus restores Peter.

He restores provision.

Restores provision.

He propels them into their future commission.

That you just won't be fishers of fish, you'll be fishers of men.

That's his last miracle.

One of the words that I want us to just continuously focus on is the word

restore. Restore is the word restore.

Restore is the word restore.

What we continuously focus on is the word restore.

Because we said this yesterday,

that the reason God does signs, miracles and wonders is

because he is obsessed with restoration.

He's so obsessed with restoration that he allows

the murder of his son.

That's how obsessed he is with restoration.

He's so obsessed with restoration that his son is slain before the foundations of the earth were laid.

And that God is not

waiting for some end day. If he was waiting for some end day,

the Bible would be much shorter and the Gospels would be missing because he would just turn up on the end day

and in one swoop restore everything. Remove the devil,

make us whole and we'd be restored. But that's not the plan.

The plan was that the kingdom would break in with the coming of the Lord.

The plan was that the kingdom would break in with the coming of Jesus and then we would work towards

this time and everything would come to an amazing finale.

But in the process, we gotta show the world

what it looks like. And Jesus is alive

and he's left his body on the earth for one purpose. Can you join me

in my mission to restore?

These things should sink somewhere deep inside.

When you look at his miracles,

you have the nobleman's son who was sick and

Jesus says to him, go, your son

is well. And when he was going, his servants meet him and they say, hey, your son

is well. And he said, which hour did it happen? And they find out it was the

same hour that Jesus spoke. There was a miracle

of fish being caught on the other side of the boat

when Peter says to him, go away from me for I'm a sinful man.

There were demoniacs, one in Gadarin, two somewhere else

and many more where people were delivered of

fears, not ordinary demons,

demons like legion. Mary was delivered of seven demons.

There was Peter's mother-in-law who was

unable to move because of a fever and Jesus lifts her up and

rebukes the fever. There was walking through the midst of persecutors

who were going to throw him over a cliff and he walks through them

and they cannot stop him. There were lepers that were healed.

There were the ten lepers and then there was a leper in Luke 5

who said, if you are willing, you will make me clean. There was a widowed son

who was dead and he was raised back to life. There was a centurion servant

who was raised back to life. There was the stilling of the storm.

There was the paralytic, many paralytics. There was Jairus's

daughter. There was the issue of blood. There was Bartimaeus

and then there were other blind men. There was the mute man and Jesus touched his tongue

and he became okay. There was the pool at Bethesda where there was a man who had

been crippled for 38 years. There was another man who had a widowed hand.

He stretched out his hand and the widowed hand on a sabbath became well. There was the feeding of the

5000. There was the feeding of the 4000. There was the word of Fatha

and the mouth was spoken and the ears popped open. There was a syrophenician woman

whose daughter was demonized who was healed. There was a blind man in John chapter 9

John 9 · chapter mention

who began to see but he saw things like trees and Jesus asked him to wash

touched his eyes again and his eyes were restored. There was a boy

that would be thrown into the fire by a demon and the father brought him to the

disciples. They couldn't do anything. Jesus healed him. There was a woman who was bent for

18 years, a daughter of Abraham. He delivered her from a demon and he

was taken back out. There was a man who came with a swelling or dropsy on sabbath.

Jesus healed him. There were the ten lepers and they all walked to the priest.

All of them got healed. One man came back. There was Lazarus who was put in a tomb for

four days and he came out of it alive. There was a fig tree that existed

one day with leaves and in a few hours was completely

withered away by Jesus' command. There was Malchus, the man

whose ear Peter cut and Jesus put his hand on his ear and the ear was

restored. There was a resurrection where a man who was dead and who was put in a tomb

rose again to life and presented himself to the disciples.

There was a cat of the 153 fish. There was a walking through walls and

appearing to the disciples while they were sitting hidden. There was a walk to

Emmaus and he was breaking bread and suddenly he disappeared.

You are saying that this Jesus

doesn't do anything anymore, Jacob? Get your

mind right.

I'm talking to myself. After giving you that entire list

John 21 verse 25 still says that if I would begin to record

John 21:25

everything that Jesus did there would not be enough books to record them.

So what we are hearing is just this vignette

of what Jesus did. There aren't enough books to write

all the things he actually did. What kind of man is this, man?

Who roams the earth today

and who lives in his body and is waiting to do the same thing.

Either he is unchanging

and he does the same yesterday, today and forever or we've got

some really bad theology to justify our

importance.

The thing is we've got to prove this. We've got to prove it works.

But you can't prove anything till you believe what has been said.

The book of Acts is a repeat. All these things I've mentioned

all these healings, deliverances, provision happens in the book of Acts.

The only things that are added on is there are thousands of salvations

there's this amazing thing called translation that happens

where a man is in one spot, one second and the next spot he's about

eighteen to twenty miles away in a second.

There's

angelic interventions that happen in the book of Acts

where Peter is in a prison and suddenly the doors start just swinging

open. Chains fall off. Two different occasions.

Once with Paul and Silas, once with Peter. Doors swinging open, guards standing there

nobody aware, walking right through and he had to literally pinch himself

to see if this was real and the angel actually wakes him up by kicking him.

Saying, wake up Peter.

Paul had the same thing, chains fall off.

Besides that the other miracles that happen in the book of Acts is

Simon Magus being struck blind and

Herod being struck to death. Acts chapter five and

sorry, and then Ananias and Sapphira are dying on the spot.

Acts five, Acts nine, Acts twelve. Acts eight, Acts twelve.

These were miracles too. But miracles

that resulted, yes in the word of God spreading, yes fear being caused

among people, amazement but opposition being removed.

Those are the additions in the book of Acts.

But otherwise you can basically put miracles

under these categories.

You can put them under multiplication.

Healing is my mic still on.

Deliverance from demons.

Replacement as in healing is one thing

but when someone who doesn't have

a hand suddenly has a hand replaced, when someone who doesn't have

who is mute from birth has hearing replaced.

You're talking about more than something that is damaged being

repaired. You're talking about something being

literally recreated or regenerated.

Control over nature where elements of nature

are controlled or made to go one way or the other

like it did with the wind and the waves.

The ability to conquer

times and space

where he appeared, disappeared, translation.

These are things in the New Testament where

provision which is one of God's

favorite things to do in miracles and life where

what was dead was brought back to life. Look at this man.

Look at this. What kind of God are we serving?

This is just nuts man. Not bad Manoj.

This is just nuts. This is who God is.

These are the areas of miracles.

Life as in physical life being restored.

Provision. This is one of God's

common themes providing miraculously.

A miracle is a violation or an

overriding of the natural by the intervention of the supernatural.

Time space.

Yeah. I got stories I can share from

time space man. Multiplication where things multiply.

Healing.

Deliverance. Replacement or regeneration.

Control over the elements of nature.

And usually whenever these

things happen it would affect three

groups of people. It would affect those

watching. It would affect those

with Jesus as in his disciples.

And it would affect those on whom

or for whom the miracle was done.

And the reactions would be

awe, doubt,

resistance, opposition.

And we have to

take stock of that. That there are three groups that are affected

when miracles are done. The ones who are watching, the ones

with you in the process and the ones to whom the miracle

is done. And the reaction is either awe

and amazement, sometimes doubt

and often times resistance and opposition.

Because there can't be a neutral reaction to a miracle.

It's impossible to be neutral.

But let's

set this aside. I just wanted you to know that we can visit that later.

But I want us to look at the different areas that the world is

waiting for us to be provided, for us to provide

them in. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I want to go into method now. Method.

Don's question is, do we have the same

authority in all these areas just like Jesus?

I would say

when it comes to miracles, because it's the supernatural intervention

of God violating or overriding

natural order, I'd say it's

not as much about authority

as it is about us

doing what God is asking us to do in any given moment.

Because in all these things, the one thing that he wants to do is

restore.

He wants to restore.

So when he's providing, he wants to restore what is missing. When he's healing,

he wants to restore what is damaged. When he delivers, he wants to restore

sanity back. There are times when casting out demons

requires authority. But somehow when we think of miracles,

we are thinking of an intervention by God, a supernatural

intervention to change natural order. And I would deal

with authority only later. The first thing I want to deal with is my mental

space. Because I'm not even ready to acknowledge

that signs and miracles and wonders are God's

favorite thing. These are a few of

his favorite things.

She's

laughing too. So that is

where my struggle is. I think the authority thing will be easier for me.

So when it comes to method,

when it comes to method,

if you look at Acts chapter 3, verse 1 to 12 for instance,

Acts 3:1–12

Acts chapter 3, verse 1 to 12, where Peter and John went to pray,

Acts 3:1–12

everything is a song. It's so easy to remember things by song.

Peter and John went to pray.

They met a lame man on their way. He asked for some

alms and he held out his palms. This is what Peter

did say. Silver and gold have I

none. But such as I have, give I thee.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

of Nazareth, rise up and walk. He went walking and

leaping and praising God. Walking and leaping and

praising God. In the name of Jesus Christ,

of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

That's Acts chapter 3, verse 1 to 12, in song.

Acts 3:1–12

So when you look at that picture,

and the guy was asking for alms, he wasn't even asking for

healing. So when you look at that and we talk about method,

here are some things we need to know with regard to method.

First, expectation.

Second, professed knowledge.

Third, imitation.

Fourth,

professed

dependence.

Fifth, exposure.

Sixth, verification.

So the first one is perhaps

the most important. Do you have an expectation

that God does miracles?

One. That God does miracles today? Two.

That God does miracles today through you? Three. That God does miracles

every day through you? Four. That God does

miracles for the rest of your life. That expectation is

where we are struggling. Because what expectation does is expectation

triggers

unsolicited action.

Expectation triggers unsolicited action.

As in, it doesn't even wait for, hey, could you heal me?

I mean Peter and John were being asked for change.

But they had the strange expectation that if a man is

begging for money, it is their appointed responsibility

to say to the man, we don't have silver and gold, we don't have anything to give you, but we do have

something to give you and we have what we have to give is in the name of Jesus Christ

and you look like you need help, so in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.

Who asked him to get healed? Nobody. The guy wasn't asking, saying

please heal me.

Just about two months before that, Peter had denied Jesus three times.

Yeah.

I think God expects believers

to have some faith, but he doesn't expect unbelievers to have any faith.

Because what could they have faith in? They don't know Jesus.

God really shows off in front of unbelievers.

So

the first one is expectation. Expectation triggers unsolicited

action cause of anticipated outcome.

Cause of anticipated outcome.

Expectation triggers unasked, uninvited

unsolicited action because of anticipated outcome. I know what's

going to happen. I know you're asking me for money, but I'm just going to

go ahead and heal you because I know the anticipated outcome.

This wasn't Peter and John saying, hey, here's a lame guy.

Do you want to try that thing that Jesus did? Let's see if it works. It wasn't a

let's try this and see if it works. It was

this expectation that triggered

unasked, uninvited action because they had

an anticipated outcome that they knew would come to pass.

What confidence, man.

This is what I don't have.

Yeah, because he grew up amongst them. Capernaum and why wasn't

Jesus able to perform miracles in Capernaum and Galilee? He was the son of

the soil who grew up amongst them. They had seen him do things in

surrounding neighborhoods. He comes to his own town and his own town is not willing to

believe. So when there is enough reason to have

faith and you choose not to believe, then there's nothing much

we can do. So there can be people at Acts 29, you tell them a

thing that is from the Bible and you teach them and they can still resist it.

At that point, there's nothing you can do because

it's not for a lack of teaching, not for a lack of goading, pushing,

persuading, loving. It is just this is who I am.

There's nothing you can do.

Professed knowledge, as in this should

continuously be built up. Who Jesus is,

how he's a restorer, who he is in me.

This must continuously be built up.

Professed knowledge, meaning I should speak it out.

I should speak it out. I must have, it's a professed knowledge, not knowledge that

sits in my head. But this is who Jesus is. That's what we're

doing now. This is professed knowledge. We're looking at stories, looking

at scriptures, looking at the nature of God, particularly his intent to restore

and we're saying, but this is who he is. We are growing in knowledge and knowledge that

we grow in is always spoken. It'll be discussed.

Questions will come up. Professed knowledge.

Perhaps the difference between a

theologian and a practicing theologian is

one has knowledge and teaches it. Another one

professes it, wants to practice it, wants to see it work. It's not enough for it to

be something that is filling books. I don't want

this to fill books. I don't want it to be in my notes.

I want to see us, I really mean us.

I really want to see us show the world that this works.

Third, imitation.

Imitation recalls how Jesus did it.

And it makes

contextual adjustments so that we can repeat the same, we can

imitate the same thing in our context. Imitation

is how did Jesus do this? How did Paul do it? How did Peter do it?

So that's how they do it. So I'll probably do the same. Only

there might be contextual changes that I'll have to make and so I'll make those changes.

Maybe I can't

tell the doctors and nurses to leave the room because I'm in the hospital room.

Let them stay but I'll ask all the other moners to leave.

But imitation

is

something that I have to learn from Bible stories.

This is what happened in the Bible. This is what I'll still do. If anything needs to be added, I'll add.

But this is the methodology, guys.

The fourth one is

profess dependence where I acknowledge the source

of the miracle. I

give him

recognition for what he's doing. I rely,

I speak about my reliance on him

as I go about doing what I'm about to do.

And you'll see this. Peter in Acts chapter 3, hey guys, he says in

Acts 3 · chapter mention

3 verse 12 and verse 16, do not look at us. This is

surely in the name of Jesus Christ. You know with Jesus we are talking about the one that the

rulers put to death, that Jesus Christ. It is surely by the power

in his name that this man has been healed. Same thing in Acts chapter 14 that we

Acts 14 · chapter mention

read yesterday. It is this profess dependence which

acknowledges, gives glory, and

speaks of the one in whose name you are going to do what you're

going to do or you just finish doing what you have done.

One of the coolest things is when I know that something is going to happen and you go

tell someone that listen, I'm going to pray in the name of Jesus and when I'm going to pray in the name of

Jesus, this is going to happen. But I want you to know that it has nothing to do with me,

it has to do with Jesus. Tell the person. It is so much

fun.

It is such a foolish, boastful,

clamorous, not glamorous,

clamorous as in loud and unruly declaration of who

God is and what he's going to do. Your absolute dependence on him.

He's giving glory before it happens and after it happens.

The fifth one is exposure. You have to calibrate exposure.

As in you have to decide, Father as I go about

doing this healing or miracle,

do I do it publicly in open space or do I

do it privately where I call this person aside? Do I expel moaners

or don't I? Do I close the doors or do I not close the doors?

Jesus had to go through this process every time. There were times when he didn't want to

do it publicly and he was forced to do it publicly and the Bible says that

because the information was shared publicly, Jesus couldn't enter the town again

because there was too much of a crowd. Other times he would close the door so that nobody saw it.

Other times he would expel the moaners. Other times Paul and Silas

would do things out in the open and immediately would be followed by opposition

and beating up. When the spirit of divination was cast out as the woman

in Acts 16, seconds later Paul and Silas were beaten up by the crowd.

It's only today that we use healing in

mass crusades to invite people in so that

whatever intent the crusader has is met.

But in the New Testament it was thought of before

it was done. Because the

primary intent here is restoration.

And the last one is verification. Verification is when you

ask the person to validate the

miracle that happened. Go to

the doctor, go to the priest, go to whoever needs to check

whether the fish I gave you is plastic or real

before you eat it or before you boil it. Because plastic doesn't boil well.

Encourage validation.

Encourage validation. Jesus

at one point goes up to Thomas and what does he say? Listen, here

feel the nail marks. Because Thomas had

said till I put my fingers into the marks of the nail I won't believe. Feel it.

That is something that we must

engage in. So these are the six steps in terms of methods. Any questions?

Exposure.

When it comes to where and how I do the miracle I have to

figure out, I should calibrate as in I should calculate whether God is

saying do it openly. Do it

behind closed doors.

Call, expel moaners.

Call in the pastor. Depends.

Who do I take with me? That's another important thing. Who do I

take with me? Exposure is so important who I take with me.

Why is it that at times I can take all twelve? Why is it that other times

I can only take Peter, James and John?

Why is it that at times I break the bread

and I multiply it and give it? Why at other times do I say

to Philip you go do it? That's what I mean by

exposure. Any questions?

Pardon?

Will take time.

Yeah, I'm not sure but perhaps.

For me the only step that I really want to

cement forever is expectation.

Once I cement that the rest of it

is not going to be a problem.

The rest of it

will just increase. Imitation is not much of a problem if you are fluent in the

word or have an idea of what the stories in the Bible are.

Dependent acknowledgement I think most of us

are okay with. Exposure is hearing and doing. Verification is scary.

Because it proves whether the thing was real or not.

Expectation is where I would have a struggle.

This must be my constant expectation.

What a place to start his first miracle.

Yeah.

In Cana at a wedding.

So know this that

it only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. It only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Realize that miracles happen by the power of the Holy Spirit

not by you. Try to take the pressure off you.

Try to take the pressure off you. This can only happen by the power

of the Holy Spirit. Try to take the pressure off you.

So Jacob shouldn't we ask the Lord before we go heal somebody? I think we've got

the asking quite, we've got the asking

thing done quite well.

Most of us know how to hear God. I think now what is required

is a daring. And so we know

that it is only by the Holy Spirit that it happens. Luke 5 17, the power of God

was present to heal. Jesus needed the power of the Holy Spirit there.

Romans 15 19, the words and the deeds, the signs and the wonders

Paul says that I have done all across the place is by the power

of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3 verse 5, why are you

Galatians 3:5

going back to your old ways? Aren't the miracles that were done amongst you in this church

done by the power of the Holy Spirit? Isaiah 60 verse 1 and 2

Isaiah 60:1

this is something that perhaps you can read every morning for the next

hundred days where you start with this idea of the

Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me.

And he has anointed me to preach the

good news to the poor, to open the eyes of the blind,

to set captives free, to set people at liberty,

to announce the year of favor. The year of favor

was a year when people would be released from that which was damaged and broken

and people would be restored. That was the year of favor. It was the year

of Jubilee. Isaiah 61, let me

read it. I was pleading with the Lord that today as I

teach, oh God would you teach me, would you help me to understand words that I've

never understood before. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord

is on me because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up

the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the

captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim

the year of the Lord's favor, to comfort those

who mourn. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord

has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor, send me to

bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, release from darkness

for prisoners.

Keep going over that. The other thing I want to say guys, and I think this is such a

critical point, is that miracles lie at the heart of the Gospel.

Miracles lie

at the heart of the Gospel.

Miracles lie at the heart of the Gospel.

Miracles lie at the heart of the Gospel. Why is this important?

What's the commission? Go preach the good news to all nations.

The Gospel, if our primary

job is to preach the Gospel, then miracles

lie at the heart of the Gospel. Because here's the Gospel guys,

listen to this. Here's the Gospel. Because most of us

wouldn't know how to define the Gospel. I asked myself the day before yesterday

and I, Jacob defined the Gospel. I was surprised at how ill-defined

it was. Here is the Gospel.

The Gospel is the good news

that the one and only

Holy God has promised

to restore all, has promised to restore

all things, including you,

through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.

Let me say that again. Here is the Gospel. This is what we are supposed to preach.

Here is the Gospel. The Gospel is the

good news, this is part one of the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news

that the one and only Holy God

has promised

to restore all things,

including you, through the death

and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.

That he's restoring all things, including you. What have we

made the Gospel? We have made the Gospel my salvation. I am saved.

That is not the way the Gospel was

meant to be in the heart of God. The idea was, listen,

I'm the one and only Holy God. I'm the sovereign one. I made the

earth beautiful. I had a plan for it. I knew

that Adam would mess up, but I still had a plan for it. And I'm not going to change

my plan. And I have promised right from the moment I turned up in the

garden and cursed the serpent, I promised there. And I promised before

the foundations of the earth by having my son slain. I promised

that I would restore all things, all things, including

you, Jacob, through the death and resurrection of my son Jesus Christ,

whose love for you is extravagant,

who came as a willing sacrifice to reconcile,

to restore all things back to me so that I can have Eden back.

Eden is mine. You gave it away. I get it back.

And I will restore. That is why this word restore

is critical when it comes to miracle signs and wonders. Because healing

signs, wonders, miracles are meant for one thing.

To give the world a taste, to give the church a taste, to give you a taste

of what is going to happen one day already because the kingdom has broken

in. This must somehow grab my heart.

Because like it or not,

signs, wonders and miracles lie at the heart of the gospel. Because the gospel

is about restoring.

These are the works of God

meant to restore creation and undo brokenness.

That's what these things are. No other religion offers it.

Why are we domesticating, taming, sterilizing, sanitizing, destroying

what God has meant? I would say

I put it this way. Dare to think.

Dare, I'm just taking words that Derek said yesterday,

dare to think, dare to think

God's absolute

desire to restore. Dare to think God's absolute

desire to restore

the world.

Dare to think

God's absolute desire to restore

in super store.

In super store.

Dare to think God's absolute desire to restore in super store

through a miracle

in a life

in a life

today.

Dare to think like this, that God has

this obsessive desire to restore.

And that often those restorations come not

through a long process, though there are some processes that are long for restoration.

Often those processes come also through

miracle signs and wonders. And it might happen in super store

or in the street or at work. And it might happen

through you and it might happen today.

I feel like coughing but

it's so difficult nowadays you can't cough.

So I'll have to drink coffee and drink water and give my throat a break.

What do you do when you shout like this?

It's not like it's 20 minutes, it's like

almost 20 minutes.

It's like 20 minutes.

It's like 20 minutes, it's like almost an hour.

I'm talking about the worship.

I mean give Don and Michael a turn at worship and they repeat the song so many

times that at the end of the day I didn't know how to sing a little louder.

Sorry Michael.

And by the time Don was done

I didn't have any moves left.

Alright moving on.

Even Phoebe stopped.

Guys the Gospel can't just be words.

It has to be words like the Bible.

It has to be words, it has to be words, lifestyle works.

The Gospel can't just be words, it has to be words, lifestyle

works. First Thessalonians 1.5.

Sometimes you have these scriptures hidden away in places like Thessalonica.

Nobody goes there. First Thessalonians 1.5.

Guys who get completely ignored, Neham, Obadiah,

Thessalonians. We think Thessalonians is a person.

It was just a letter written to the people there.

First Thessalonians 1.5.

For we know brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our Gospel

came to you not simply with words but also with power,

with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

Beautifully. This Gospel is not just words, it's words,

lifestyle works. Words, lifestyle works.

So the equation is very simple. When words are spoken,

when words are spoken,

works happen.

And the works that happen validate

the words.

When words are spoken, works happen.

And when works happen, it validates the words and

the presence of God.

That's why Jesus said, son your sins are forgiven.

But since you don't believe that, let me show

you that my words matter. Pick up your bed and walk.

And in him picking up his bed and walking, the people

around realized, oh shucks, his sins are forgiven too. Which is what I just

sang, Psalm 103. Forgive all your sins, heal all your diseases.

This is how it works.

First Thessalonians 1.5.

John 14.11. Listen to it. Just listen to it.

Jesus is saying this, John 14.11. I'm reading from the message.

If you can't believe that the Father is in me and I'm in the Father,

believe what you see these works. If you can't believe

what I'm saying, look at the works I'm doing.

How can we sanitize this?

Guys, there are two extremes nowadays. We mutilate the Gospel

by either peddling signs without preaching the Word

or preaching the Word without an expectation of signs.

We mutilate it. We mutilate the Gospel

by either peddling signs without preaching the Word

or preaching the Word without an expectation of signs.

And I'm saying Acts 29. Acts 29, please

let us preach the Word and expect signs.

Because that's how Jesus said we should go about doing things. Jesus commanded

go, preach, heal, raise the dead,

cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. And if He commanded me to do that

and if I obey, He will not hold back. Heaven backs

what Jesus says. If He commanded,

go, preach. And that's the order.

He commanded it, go. So they won't come here,

you go. Go, preach, heal, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,

cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Heaven will back you up.

Jesus said in Matthew 16, verse 17 and 18,

Matthew 16:17

these signs will accompany those who believe. Jesus said,

these signs will accompany those who believe. They will cast out demons.

They will lay their hands on the sick and the sick shall be healed. Jesus said this.

Come on, man.

We've got to at least begin to experiment with this and increase our level of

expectation.

Jacob, you're setting us up for failure.

If after praying for five people, one person rises,

I can live with that.

I always think your batting average

goes up as you bat more.

I know I've said this before. Jeevan and I were sitting

with a pastor from New West and he asked Jeevan,

why is it that more miracles happen in India and South America and places

like that than in Canada? I had a really good answer but unfortunately,

Jeevan beat me to it and his answer was better so I shut up.

Jeevan said, that's because in

an Indian village, when you don't have money, you can't go to the bank to

get it. When you don't have medicines, you can't go to a doctor because there's no doctor.

When you have a pain, you can't go

and get Tylenol. You do not have a choice but to turn

to the only one who can help you.

When they turn to their gods and they find no relief and you tell them that

your god heals, they come. And he says,

people begin to see miracles because they do not

have any other choice. It's true.

Now when they come to you and you say you're a Jesus believer

and they ask you to pray and you don't know how to pray, all you do is lay hands and say,

Jesus please take this pain away and Jesus take the pain away and you become a

hero and you realize this is much easier than you thought.

There's no great intellectual

thinking in this. It's just foolish obedience.

The second part

of the definition of the gospel is, he redeemed

you so you can join his community and become

partners with God on his mission of restoration. That's the second part

of the gospel. The first part of the gospel was that it is

the good news of the one and only holy god promising to restore

all things including you through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ

who extravagantly loves you. As you believe that

and with faith receive that, he now redeems you so that you

can join his community and

partner with him on the mission of restoring all things.

That's our mission, restoring all things back to the father. That's your mission.

Why do you think Jesus is saying go preach, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, heal the sick,

cast out demons? Why is he doing that? Because he wants everything restored back to him.

That's why he came. I'm restoring all things back to my father.

I'm reconciling all things back to my father. Why is

Jane singing walls be broken down? Because Jesus said that the wall

of hostility between God and man, between Jew and Gentile,

I'm breaking down. Coming to reconcile.

This is what we are supposed to do.

Let me end with one verse and one story.

John 14-12, Jesus is saying

I'm on my way to my father. I'm giving you the same work to do that I've been doing.

Period. I'm on my way to the father.

I'm giving you the same work to do that I was doing.

How do you argue

with stuff like this man? You know where we get stuck? When he said

greater works, what did he mean by greater works? How many of us have done

greater works? Really? See the rest of the scripture.

I'm going to my father. I'm leaving you to do the work

that I was doing. I'm leaving it to you to do. Whether your

works are lesser or greater, we'll figure it out later. But at least start with that.

I'll tell you a story.

I'll tell you the story so that we

also begin to do this.

So in Jan of

20, my God, this COVID has made an entire

year disappear.

I'm going to tell you a story.

An entire year disappeared.

Jan of October of 2019,

I was in Delhi and I met a couple there and the couple's name is

the husband's name is Kalyan. Very simple guy.

No particular gifting, no charisma.

He's from south of India and his wife, Anandi, she was

more like

a horse.

She was like a horse, raring to go.

So they felt a call upon their lives to go to north India

from south India, which is like going from Vancouver to Quebec.

Completely different culture, language, everything. So they decided to go

and they didn't know the language. So they decided to go and

they decided to go to a particular city called Varanasi, which is the birthplace of Hinduism.

And so they go there.

And that was 15 years ago.

Over the last 15 years,

I'll come to the conclusion then trace back, over the last 15 years

they've planted 800 churches.

They don't know how to speak the language.

Even now the husband, his Hindi is pretty bad.

I speak better Hindi than him.

But over 15 years, especially in the last 10 years, 800 churches.

In one of India's

toughest places, if you ask an Indian, it is one of the

toughest places to plant churches because that province is

so solidly Hindu and nationalistic

that it is like going into the lion's den. But that is

the place they planted 800 churches. So how do they go about it?

So whenever they come to a city,

they'll decide that, okay, for the next seven weeks, let's go

walking through these streets and pray. And so for seven weeks, they'll

pray. So when Jane texted me this morning and said,

I want to feel like today is a significant day where walls

have to come down, we've got to do something like we did at Jericho, I was thinking

of what this couple do. So they'll go around

the city walking the streets for seven weeks, praying against spiritual

powers that they recognize or they feel

affecting the city. For seven weeks they do that. After seven weeks,

signs and miracles start happening.

So there'll be people that are demonized, people that are sick who will come

in their path. And when they come in their path, these guys will go

and just pray. And no fancy prayer, no

shouting, no great method or anything, just simple prayers.

And invariably after seven weeks, healings and signs and miracles

start happening and people get healed or people get set free.

And now, instead of saying come to our church,

which they have, they'll say,

where do you come from? And the guys will say, we come from such and such a village in the province.

They'll say, next time you go to your village, we'd love to come and see the village.

And so they'll go to the village that the family hails from.

And when they go to the village, they'll meet the rest

of the village and the rest of the family and in the process begin to

establish relationship with that village and with the family and start a house church

in that village. And in the process, over the last

15 years, they've established 800 churches.

All these 800 churches are house churches.

So the intent is not to,

if you meet someone in Vancouver and you bring them to Acts 29,

it is spread this out. Spread this out.

When I met them, I was in awe. I was in awe partly

because they looked so ordinary.

That blew my mind, man. Seven weeks of prayer,

signs of miracles start breaking out, partly because the prayer involves

going through the city, looking at spiritual powers that need to be

stripped, blessings that need to be spoken. Seven weeks of that, miracles

and healings, people turning to Christ, going into their

families, their friends, their relatives, into their villages, into their

hometowns, establishing house churches there. And then coming back to the city,

training these guys and sending them out.

Let's pray.

I personally feel, Father, that we've come to the conclusion

of all that can be taught on revival.

From now on, we can

remind ourselves of this thing

called a revival that you are releasing across the globe through us.

But there's not much more

that you, Holy Spirit, want to teach us about it.

You're saying, that was four good months of teaching.

Now go do.

So I thank you that you're putting a stop to it, Holy Spirit.

I don't know what your plans are next week, but it ain't going to be

more to show us about revival.

You're done with that.

Now go do.

May that be

the slogan for the next

eight months. Now go do.

Now go do, now go do, now go do, now go do.

Now go do.

Go restore.

So Father, we just take a minute to just

commit ourselves to this.

The signs and wonders thing has to be added to everything

we've learned from Shekinah 1.

So I'm just going to ask Derek to come and conclude.

And

anything else, Father?

Anything else?

Another term, another phrase I hear is boots on the ground.

Boots on the ground. Now go do.

Boots on the ground.

And the third thing you're saying is not at the pace you've been doing it.

Not at the pace you've been doing it. Father, you're not interested

and this sounds kind of rude.

I'll make you sound rude when I say this, but you're not interested in

us coming and sharing a testimony of how we spoke to this person

or how we spoke to that person and the person was touched or the person's heart is

open. You're saying that's good, but that's not what I'm

after. I'm after you now taking on my obsessive

heart and having a passion that is so

fiery, so fierce that you will not settle.

That you will be the beautiful feet on the

mountains. That this is no longer about a chance

meeting, but this is about deliberate, intentional going out.

Yeah, I'll let Derek come up.

There's something more you want to say about that, but I don't know what you want to say.

I don't have the words for it.

I might come up after Derek, Father.

Father, I thank you that

everything we've been hearing is for now.

It's very much for now, Aba.

Father, we just want to take a minute or two to

talk to you, to set our hearts

to the commission that you've given us.

You're telling us that

you're telling us this is what I've done always.

I restore people back to how

I created them, and I want to end brokenness.

I restore and I end brokenness. I restore

people and I end brokenness. And I do that

through ordinary people like you. In Mark

Mark 16 · chapter mention

Chapter 16, it says, anyone who believes. And Aba,

we believe the words that we've been hearing. We believe it, Aba.

This is who you are. This is your very nature.

Science, miracles, wonders, so that you

restore people, so that you end brokenness. It's your very nature,

Aba. It's your very nature. And so

we say yes to your commission to us. And Aba,

we're not looking, as Jacob said, we're not looking for stories.

We're not looking for things to share.

We're looking for

where do you want to go? Where do you want me to go? Where do you want me to go?

Who do you want me to talk to? How do I pray?

And I'm going to pray. And I will expect it, Aba,

that we will expect it as a people. Because you're the one who is doing it.

Your spirit is jealous over the city. When Jane

started, she said, she said, the city has been given

to you. The city has been given to you. And so we

say, yeah Aba, I look at the city, Aba. We look at the city.

We look at the city.

The city has been given to us. Because the city

is yours. Before there was anyone here, you were here.

And the people in the city will be restored

by the name of Jesus. The people in the city

will be restored. And the brokenness in the city will end, Aba.

Father, so we say yes to the commission

that we've been given. And we want to go.

And so we look at the, we don't, Aba, we don't want to look at

the next Saturday today. Next Saturday will come. But I want to look

at today. I want to look at today. I want to look at

tomorrow. Because this is for now, Aba. Because if

we wait, that's not what you want of us.

It's for now. It's for now. So church,

this is for today. This is for today. This is for

now. And Aba, you want us

to respond to this. So I don't know much, but I'm just going to

ask all of us, where we are at our homes, to lift

our hands to you, even in this room,

in response to the teaching, in response to the truth,

in response to your word, saying

I agree with your will for this city. I agree

with your will for the people, so that those who are broken,

their brokenness will end, so that people

will be restored. In my raising of this hand, Aba, in our

raising of these hands, we are saying yes.

And we see your power that is waiting to

flow through us, because you're the one who is doing it.

Jesus' name.

Guys,

as we sing this song,

to conclude, if necessary, don't sing it.

Just listen to the words, then sing it when you think you want to sing it.

This is not a song that I'm going to sing,

but I'm going to sing it for you.

I'm going to sing it for you.

This is not a song that I'm asking for

participation in. It's a song that I'm asking

as a response or as a prayer from our heart.

So sing it only if you need to, otherwise

listen to the words and commit to God as the song is being sung.

Father,

I just say that

even as I sing it

on behalf of others,

I'm going to sing it

as I sing it.

I'm going to sing it as I sing it

on behalf of others and for myself.

Father, help me with my...

actually, first of all, I just want to lay down my fears.

As I was listening to this message, I was like, but what about what other people think?

It so often stunts me.

Father, I just want to lay that down.

Worrying about others' expectations of how I should be

or act or behave. I just lay that down. Again, I lay it down, Father,

at your feet. And I just say, Father,

as I sing, I want to trample on it.

I want to trample on it. And I'll do it again and again as many

times as I need to. So you've got to

help me with this Holy Spirit. Because as I do that, I know

that you will clothe me with your boldness. That I don't need to try. I don't need to

work hard at it. But this you want me to do.

And if others wanted to, then you're inviting

them to do the same. And that you're going to clothe them with

power, with boldness, with opportunities.

Jesus blinded all my darkness.

He sparked my heart within.

His grace and mercy lit a passion.

Consume my sin.

Jesus blinded all my darkness.

He sparked my heart within.

His grace and mercy lit a passion.

Consume my sin.

Now like a city on a hilltop,

I'll shine through the night.

I am a light made for your glory.

I will not hide.

Now like a city on a hilltop,

I'll shine through the night.

Oh, I'll shine through the night.

I am a light made for your glory.

I will not hide.

As I've been touched by a fire

full of the world, come and watch me burn.

To sound it from the roof top.

To sound it to the roof top.

To shout it till everyone has heard.

Oh, I've been touched by a fire

full of the world, come and watch me burn.

To shout it from the roof top.

To shout it till everyone has heard.

Till everyone has heard.

This love will never be extinguished.

It's alive and wild and free.

I'm overtaken by his power.

His spirit in me.

This love, this love will never be

extinguished.

It's alive and wild and free.

I'm overtaken by his power.

His spirit in me.

His spirit in me.

His spirit in me.

As I've been touched by

a fire. So let the world come

and watch me burn.

Oh, I've been touched by a fire.

I'll shout it till everyone has heard.

Oh, I've been touched by a fire.

So let the world come and watch me burn.

I've been touched by

a fire. To shout it from the roof top.

And shout it till everyone has heard.

Jesus has changed my life. His name be lifted high.

This holy fire's burning inside of me.

I cannot hold it inside. I cannot keep it quiet.

This holy fire's burning inside of me.

Jesus has changed my life.

His name be lifted high. This holy fire's burning inside of me.

I cannot hold it inside.

I cannot keep it quiet.

This holy fire's burning inside of me.

And I've been touched by a fire.

So let the world come and watch me burn.

I've shouted

from the roof top.

Shout it till everyone has heard.

We'll shout it from the roof top.

And shout it till everyone has heard.

Everyone has heard.

Everyone has heard.

Everyone has heard.

Thank you guys.

Ciao for now!