Sermon

Telios – Testify

Acts 29 Vancouver

Open publisher episode ↗

Publisher transcript

Transcript

View source ↗
  1. So today the title of the message is

  2. testify so we're still in with us we still with that series on telly us and

  3. The title is testify or to speak or to prophesy

  4. That's basically where we're going. So

  5. Cut feedback on this should it

  6. Should you hey Brandon, can you turn that towards all the babies?

  7. Yeah

  8. Okay

  9. Evan can I

  10. Go a little lower in volume because if I shout it'll be really shouty. I have a feeling I'll be shouting at some point

  11. Yeah

  12. Yeah

  13. Let the baby sleep right now, I'll catch them halfway through yeah

  14. Okay, now can you increase it a little

  15. Whatever makes me feel like I'm loud enough

  16. Just the monitors I guess yeah, thanks

  17. Silence in the gallery

  18. Unruly part of the church a that

  19. Okay, so guys post kovat we are heading into a

  20. time of revelations 9 20 to 21

  21. So some of these things I'm saying

  22. being said

  23. From an isekar or a prophetic point of view

  24. So this is one of those statements that post kovat the earth is heading or the globe or the world

  25. We live in is heading into a time of revelations 9

  26. 20 and 21 so things are not

  27. This hasn't been a moment that has sobered the earth if anything the earth

  28. Continues with its ways of living and so it says in verse 20 and 21

  29. The rest of mankind when that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands

  30. They did not stop worshipping demons and idols of gold silver bronze stone and wood

  31. Idols that cannot see or hear a walk nor did they repent of the their murders or the shedding of innocent blood

  32. Their magic arts or occult and witchcraft

  33. their sexual immorality or perversity or their thefts and

  34. So if anything this cycle just like in the wash cycle in your washer will

  35. Get more intense

  36. And we talked about this when kovat first started if you go to the messages in March and April

  37. We talked about how some of these things would increase after kovat not decrease and unfortunately, that's

  38. The context in which we find ourselves

  39. So this is the context that acts 29 and churches around will have to play a central role in

  40. we've been talking about how the church is not peripheral to the world, but it's central and

  41. That the world is peripheral to the church and whenever the world has a central whenever the church has a central role to play

  42. Remember it is in the context of greater darkness

  43. So just as Daniel stood in Babylon just as John stood in Patmos against the

  44. Roman Empire just like Paul stood in the midst of Ephesus just as Moses stood in the middle of

  45. Egypt just as Elijah stood in the center of Israel that was that turned away from God

  46. So the context of the church playing a central role is in the context of Revelation 9 20 and 21

  47. where

  48. Idolatry the shedding of innocent blood occult and witchcraft sexual perversity and thefts will increase

  49. this is the

  50. Matrix into which God is asking actually not to step in because it'll be global. It'll be here

  51. and it'll be other parts of the world and

  52. While we don't rub our hands with glee

  53. Because of the things we are stepping into we do rub our hands with glee because this is exactly where Christ makes himself known splendidly

  54. So

  55. In a situation like this part of the governmental makeup of a church which we've been discussing is to behave

  56. Like the two witnesses in revelations 11

  57. Part of the governmental makeup of the church and we talked about this for the last two weeks is to behave

  58. Like the two witnesses in revelations 11 if you go to revelations 11 3 to 13

  59. and

  60. I'll probably park here for the next two weeks

  61. We've been talking about how the church must be the government of God on earth that we should be the government of God on earth

  62. and so

  63. We've kind of begun describing what it looks like and I'm saying to you one of the essential

  64. Makeups of a governmental church is to behave like the two witnesses of revelations 11 3 to 13

  65. So I'm reading revelations 11 3 to 13 and here's what it sounds like

  66. And I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for

  67. 1260 days clothed in sackcloth

  68. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth

  69. If anyone tries to harm them fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies

  70. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die

  71. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time

  72. They're prophesying and they have the power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as

  73. often as they want

  74. Now when they have finished their testimony the beasts that comes up from the abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them

  75. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city

  76. Which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt where also their Lord was crucified

  77. For three and a half days men from every people tribe language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial

  78. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts

  79. Because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth

  80. But after the three and a half days a breath of life

  81. From God entered them and they stood on their feet and terror struck those who saw them

  82. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them come up here and they went up to heaven in a cloud while

  83. Their enemies looked on at that very hour

  84. There was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city

  85. Collapsed seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven

  86. the second war has passed the third was soon coming so the

  87. The two witnesses isn't necessarily two prophets that will turn up. It is the nature of the church

  88. How do we know that because in Zechariah talks about the olive and the olive

  89. Trees and the lampstand and it is a picture of the church

  90. We'll talk about that later, but many things will come out of this simple

  91. Ten verses with regard to how can the church be governmental? What does it mean to be clothed in sackcloth?

  92. What does it mean to stand before the Lord? What does it mean to judge the earth?

  93. What does it mean to be like Elijah or Moses?

  94. What does it mean to finish your testimony? What does it mean to be persecuted? What does it mean to be revived again?

  95. We'll talk about this over the next two weeks

  96. But today with regard to the witnesses all I want to say is that there's two things that are distinct about them

  97. They stand before the Lord and

  98. To they speak on his behalf

  99. And that's the second half is what we'll be looking at mostly

  100. these are two distinctives of

  101. These two witnesses which I am saying is a type of the church if a church wants to be

  102. Governmental and the church must be governmental because Christ is head over all things Christ is head of the church

  103. Christ fills the church with his presence Christ speaks through the church Christ acts through the church

  104. Therefore if he is head over all thing and he's head of the church and he speaks in accents fills the church the church has

  105. A pivotal role to play in the affairs of the earth because Zion is a people through whom God issues decrease

  106. We've gone over this before I'm just going it over again so that I'm used to it guys

  107. The reason I repeat these things without even looking at my notes because I've got to be so well versed in what I've been

  108. Talking about so that I know it by heart

  109. So I always have a reason for what I do do you have a reason for what you do

  110. Do you have a reason for what you say?

  111. Do you have a reason it is one thing to believe it is another thing to have a reason for your belief and the reason

  112. Must be scriptural

  113. It can't even be interpretation it has to be simple scripture

  114. Which is why it's important to keep repeating it till you know it

  115. So

  116. One of the things about the two about the church is that about a governmental church is that it stands before the Lord

  117. It stands before the Lord. I love the fact that

  118. There is no speaking on his behalf till there is a standing before him

  119. There is no speaking on his behalf till there is a standing before him and to stand before him on one hand

  120. God makes you righteous so you can stand before him on the other hand Psalm 24 is

  121. Critical if you want to stand before him. It's a mixture of Psalm 24 plus Hebrews 10 22

  122. We'll go over each one. So, you know what it takes to stand before him to stand before him Psalm 24

  123. It's almost you have to think of yourself as one invited to the wedding feast on one hand

  124. Everybody sitting here has been invited to sit before him

  125. On the other hand having received the invitation you have to come to the wedding feast dressed a certain way

  126. Nobody is exempt from the wedding feast. Everybody is welcome. But now that you have come here is how you need to

  127. Dress there's a protocol and so Psalm 24

  128. Gives you the basics of what it takes to stand before God

  129. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it the world and all who live in it for he founded it upon the seas and

  130. established it upon the waters

  131. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord who may stand in his holy place?

  132. He who has clean hands and a pure heart

  133. Who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false?

  134. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior such as the generation of those that seek him

  135. Who seek your face of God of Jacob and so standing before him requires that now that I've been invited

  136. That if I want to stand in the holy place

  137. I have clean hands and a pure heart and my soul is not dedicated to any form of idolatry by idolatry

  138. I don't mean actual

  139. Pagan idols it could be idols that I've shaped with my own hands or swear by what is false

  140. These are allowed to stand before

  141. God and if you fall there's Hebrews 10 22 and if you fall there's Hebrews 10 22

  142. If you fall there's Hebrews 10 22 go to Hebrews 10 22

  143. Hebrews 10 22 let's start at verse 19

  144. Therefore brothers since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way

  145. Open for us through the curtain that is his body and since we have a great priest over the house of God verse 22

  146. Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts

  147. sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water

  148. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised his faithful the great thing about

  149. Falling and standing before God is that the falling and the standing before God has less to do with you and absolutely

  150. everything to do with his faithfulness

  151. Even first John 1 9 brings it out so brilliantly he is faithful and just

  152. It is not even my confession of sins that makes me

  153. Gives me permission to stand before him again. It is that he is faithful and just what is required of me

  154. Jacob can you please come to me with a sincere heart because I know your insincerity

  155. I also know your sincerity. Can you come to me with a sincere heart?

  156. This is what allows us to stand before him a

  157. But today I want to look at what does it take to speak on his behalf

  158. to speak testify prophesy on his behalf

  159. There's no one who's actually exempt from government because there is no one who is actually exempt from the church

  160. If you're here and you're the people of God and God intends to use the church as a means to act speak and

  161. Fill then nobody is exempt

  162. Press into this it's something that the Lord longs for you know

  163. Evangelists have been restored to the church

  164. Teachers have been restored to the church pastors have been restored to the church

  165. Teachers have been restored to the church

  166. Pastors have been restored to the church

  167. Prophets have been restored to the church apostles have to be in restored to the church

  168. But the one thing that is yet to be restored to the church is the governmental nature of the church

  169. It is the next thing that will happen

  170. The equippers have now been restored to the church now the church will learn how to be equipped

  171. two issue decrees as God sees fit that can affect the territories that are given to you.

  172. You would have no problem thinking about this if you were actually elected. Let's assume

  173. that you're in this area and this is Langara and you are standing for elections and by

  174. some strange way you get elected as the new MLA from Langara. You would have no problems

  175. believing that you would have an influence in the affairs of this area. The Defence Minister

  176. of Canada is actually the MP from this area, Sajjan Singh. He makes policy with regard to

  177. weaponry, with regard to when you go for war, when you don't go for war. I must believe that

  178. Jesus Christ, if he says that the church is governmental and is supposed to affect territories

  179. around me, that I actually will begin to believe that. Because if I can believe that of Sajjan Singh,

  180. I must believe it of Jesus Christ. Could you for a moment take your eyes of your own little problems,

  181. which are big in your eyes, but could you take your eyes off your little problems and believe

  182. that just because your little problems aren't yet solved doesn't mean that Christ cannot use you

  183. to affect territories, nations, regions. Between yesterday and today I was sitting down and writing

  184. down the people, the nations, the regions that have been affected by my simple obedience. Simple

  185. obedience. Nothing fancy. Simple obedience of going and speaking. I'm fascinated as I put the list out.

  186. We'll get there. The way God has us testify, prophesy and speak in the present is by first

  187. showing us the end. Because the present is really ugly. The end is very different from where things

  188. are at. What God has as a picture of the end is very different. I mean look at Eliana. You think

  189. her end will be like this? Do you know what a beautiful end this child has? We have no idea.

  190. Right now all she can do is eat, sleep, poo. ESP. Just one second.

  191. Yeah so you have to see the end from the beginning so that you can work towards it. One of the things

  192. that will happen with Eliana is that she'll sense things early. She'll sense things early. You know

  193. you have this AVAC planes, A-W-A-C. You see them when you're going to SeaTac. They are these planes

  194. with big round umbrella like things over. And AVAC basically means early warning and control.

  195. And one of the things that will happen with this child is that she'll have the ability to sense

  196. things early and that's a good part where she'll be able to sense situations. Sense people before

  197. she's actually in the situation. Before she knows people. Even at a young age she will know who to

  198. approach who not to. The kind of people and the kind of situations she can and she cannot step

  199. into. The so-called negative part of it is that Eliana will try to control outcomes because she

  200. knows what awaits. One of the things Matt and Rachel will have to learn how to do is help her

  201. not to be controlling so that she lets things happen. Another thing about this child is that

  202. she'll take up causes. She'll take up causes and she'll escalate these causes rapidly because she'll

  203. have a skill to assemble people. If she and her brother are standing in a group of ten people,

  204. her brother will have a different skill set but this girl will have ten people eating out of her

  205. hand very easily. You'll see this when she grows up. You'll see it in a couple of years. She'll know

  206. how to escalate causes very rapidly. It might be save the ants or something or the termites

  207. but she'll know how to get a whole group of people together to save the termites. So on one hand,

  208. that is a huge advantage. Criticism will be water off a duck's back for this child. You can criticize

  209. her and she'll say... One of the things that the parents will have to watch out for is that she

  210. will know how to change an atmosphere by deflecting or blunting what was meant to harm and she'll step

  211. into situations early in life where she can walk into a room that is tense, where there's a lot of

  212. fighting going on, argument and she has this amazing ability to walk into a room and deflect

  213. or blunt the harm in the place so that the atmosphere changes rapidly. If there is a

  214. beatitude that I would associate with this child, it would be blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed

  215. are the peacemakers. Which child is making all this noise? The same one I'm talking about? Oh my

  216. Lord. This is why I said the end is very different from the beginning. God's word associations are

  217. very different from ours. If I called out this word, let's see what your word association would be.

  218. Army. General, Navy. One more time, let's try. Army. See, but when, if you threw the word army,

  219. okay let's say vast army. Any associations? Surprisingly with God it is bones. Bones. We

  220. don't realize how extreme God is. When God says army, his association, word association will be

  221. bones. Vast army, valley of bones. We don't realize, we haven't realized. We get very excited with a

  222. shoulder pain disappearing or stuff like that and it is good. These are critically important things

  223. when your shoulder is paining. But we don't realize the alpha and omega-ness of this God and therefore

  224. we fall short in government. When I see a valley of bones, he sees a vast army. One of the cleverest

  225. ploys of the enemy is to help lower the expectation that children can have of everything so that God

  226. is a far cry. So right from when you're a kid, you are forced to lower your expectations so that you

  227. can never ask or imagine Efficiency 20. It's out of question. It is a killer. It is a killer. Either

  228. your parents help you do that or circumstances just completely lower your expectations. Government

  229. is run through seeing ends even though you're in the midst of a valley of bones. So if you go to

  230. Ezekiel 37.1. Ezekiel 37.1. Ezekiel 37.1. Ezekiel 37.1. The hand of the Lord was upon me and he brought

  231. me out by the spirit and the Lord set me in the middle of a valley. The hand of the Lord was upon

  232. me and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley. So guys,

  233. the first thing is the hand of Yahweh speaks of overwhelming force with which you are seized by

  234. God. Whenever the Bible talks about the hand of the Lord is upon me, it's not something casual. It

  235. is this overwhelming force with which God seizes someone. And here is a statement I want you to

  236. remember because I think it is critical if we can get this that God seizes those lives. God seizes

  237. those lives he can help himself to. He can help himself to at will. You want the hand of the Lord

  238. upon you? Ask yourself this question. Is my life the kind of life that he can help himself to at

  239. will? Whenever the Bible talks about the hand of the Lord was upon me, you will find a character

  240. who's gotten to a place where God can help himself to that life at will. We pass quickly

  241. past that the hand of the Lord was upon me because we use it so frequently that it loses

  242. its meaning but it is the overwhelming force of God by the spirit that seizes someone to do

  243. something ridiculously impossible. There are four things that you need to surrender if you want to

  244. be a man like this. The first one is I have to surrender who I am. Second one is I have to surrender

  245. where I go. Third one is I have to surrender what I have. And the fourth one is I have to surrender

  246. what I say. I no longer have the freedom of self-determination when it comes to these four

  247. things. Great time to do stuff like this. If it's your birthday today, man, these are some of the

  248. things that you can really step into. God willing, we'll respond to these four things towards the end

  249. of the teaching. But if you want to be, if I want to be a man that God can seize, then I have to be

  250. a man who he can help himself to at will and it requires a surrender of who I am as in my identity

  251. but be that my identity come from vocation or from any other thing. Where I go as in are my feet

  252. willing to go anytime, anywhere, at any cost to wherever he sends me. What I have as in my security,

  253. my money, my bank account and everything that I have at his disposal. And the last one is what I

  254. say. Where I cannot amend what he wants me to say and doesn't matter how unpopular, how contradictory,

  255. how at opposition it puts me. These are four things that allows you to become a man on whose

  256. hand God, on whose head God's hand can rest because he seizes you. Any questions? Any questions?

  257. Any questions? The first thing that God will do when he leads you back and when he leads you into

  258. this valley of bones and so by valley of bones I mean he shows you where you are presently. And

  259. one of the things he does is he wants you to get so accustomed to the reality of your situation.

  260. Look at what he does with Ezekiel. He says, Ezekiel I'm going to take you to this valley. It was a

  261. known valley. It wasn't a random valley. Ezekiel goes to this valley and God doesn't show him a

  262. bird's eye view. He puts him in the valley. In the valley he takes him back and forth. The Bible says

  263. and God took him back and forth. The spirit of God took him back and forth and around so he could

  264. see the bones glistening in the sun. We do not operate with God by avoiding our present reality.

  265. We get so used to it that it breaks your heart or it makes you wear sackcloth or it does something

  266. to you. That the bones lay on the surface of the valley meant that whoever threw those bodies there

  267. meant to impose upon those bodies the indignity of a curse because it says in Deuteronomy 28 verse 25

    Deuteronomy 28:25

  268. that any man whose body is left to the scavenging birds is a man who is cursed.

  269. It wasn't buried. It was just left there. It was an indignity. It was supposed to be

  270. a way to make sure that a corpse and the family that the corpse belonged to was cursed.

  271. Then God goes on to let Ezekiel know, hey Ezekiel do you realize that these bones are extremely dry?

  272. They've been here far too long. They're long dead with no life force and they're hopelessly dead.

  273. While he's showing Ezekiel the reality of his situation, God's doing something else and please

  274. understand this. I'll go over this again if you need to. This is the way God operates. He shows

  275. you a very dead situation that isn't showing any life. He shows you the ins and outs on it. He

  276. exposes it. He brings it to the open and as you look at it, he at the same time begins to show you

  277. the end. It is not one or the other. In verse 5 and 6 of 37 you realize that as God is taking him

  278. through the valley up and down the bones, he's also showing him, hey this will live, this will live,

  279. this will live, this will live. This is the way God operates. You've got to think like this.

  280. Take any situation in your life which is a valley of bones now, indignity, curses, bondages,

  281. unbroken, continuous, long dead, hopeless, glistening in the sun, bleached, irretrievable

  282. and as he begins to show you the condition of those bones, he is also saying, let me show you

  283. what's going to happen. Let me show you what's going to happen. It is at the same time

  284. what happens with us and may it not happen to this church. This church is far too grown up to go

  285. through this again and again and again and if you do go through it, snap out of it quickly by asking

  286. for help and so while he's showing you the bones, he's also showing you the end from the beginning.

  287. He does this in Deuteronomy chapter 9. You would think to yourself, how could you do this oh God?

    Deuteronomy 9 chapter mention

  288. Deuteronomy chapter 9. Look at how it starts. Deuteronomy chapter 9 verse 1 to 3. Verse 1 and

    Deuteronomy 9 chapter mention Deuteronomy 9:1–3

  289. 2 are, let me show you the bones. Verse 3, let me show you the end. This is not at all inspiring.

  290. Here oh Israel, you are now about to cross the Jordan. Hallelujah, they start shouting. To go

  291. in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you with large cities that are walls up to

  292. the sky. Now they're beginning to pant and shiver. The people are strong and tall,

  293. Anarchites. You know about them and if you don't know, then let me tell you what I have heard about

  294. them. Who can stand up against the Anarchites? But be assured that today the Lord your God,

  295. the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire, he will destroy them. He will

  296. subdue them. You will drive them out. You will annihilate them as the Lord has promised you. It

  297. is this thing where God always shows you this is what the true reality is Jacob. But as I'm showing

  298. you this true reality, can you just look up and can you see what I have in store? Can you see what

  299. I have in store? Problem with the church is you keep looking down and you see nothing changing.

  300. You have to see the end before the present changes. You have to see the end before the

  301. present changes. Otherwise you don't even know what you're expecting change as. You don't even

  302. know what you expect to change. Let him show you what he can do. Let him show you what he can do.

  303. Otherwise your expectations are at best slightly better than mine which is like pointless.

  304. This is what Abraham did. He knows that he's in a tent. He knows that he's left his clan country.

  305. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 9 or thereabouts. While he knows that God is also saying listen I know

    Hebrews 11:9

  306. you're on a journey from the Ur of Chaldees. You've come out. You've left everybody behind.

  307. You even left Lot behind and I know you're journeying. You look at your tent and you think

  308. to yourself is this what I bargained for? But let me show you. Let me show you the end. And Abraham

  309. looks and he sees a city that an architect has built. A city that is indescribable. A city that

  310. no hands have made and he suddenly is filled with enough moxie to see through.

  311. You might think that this is just a fancy way of putting it but one of the reasons Jesus endured

  312. the cross was for the joy that was set before him and part of it was the father's joy. Part of it

  313. was to see the joy of me and Jeremy, Isaac and Sue and Blessy and Eva and Echo being drawn back

  314. to the Lord. You must understand that it is that kind of end picture that allows you to keep

  315. marching towards it. What is your end picture for what you are at present completely embedded in?

  316. You've been embedded in it for years. So much so that you smell of it. People have to go by and

  317. they know the aroma they can get off you as they walk by because you've been so embedded in it.

  318. It is easy for a preacher to stand here and say stuff like this

  319. but there is a God who wants you to think like this where you begin to see the end picture.

  320. So what if you're not alive to see it? You will see the end picture even if you're not alive to see it.

  321. I have an end picture for the church. I'm not talking about Acts 29. I have an end picture for

  322. what the church will look like in 20 years, 30 years, 40 years. I dreamt what I see right now.

  323. I dreamt what I see when Jane leads worship. I dreamt what I see when Jeevan does Nandigama.

  324. I dreamt what I see when Karen and Sue come to preach, come to pray. I dreamt this. I dreamt

  325. this when we were two people. I dreamt nations. I dreamt nations. I dreamt kings. I dreamt rulers.

  326. I dreamt the changing of territories. I dreamt the taking of nations.

  327. Why am I so excited? Because God is faithful but I must see the end picture

  328. and 20 years from now or 30 years from now I still know what the end picture is and 30 years from now

  329. if I am not alive it does not matter because I have seen the end picture and I will have enough

  330. faith to bring it a pass even if you bury me. You got to see the end picture.

  331. Other religions do. Other religions plan 100 years in advance so that the balance of power will shift

  332. so that certain nations that they used to rule over will come back into their territory. 100 years

  333. they don't mind waiting. They'll die for it but they will wait to see. 100 years from now

  334. the same rulers who once used to rule certain parts of Europe and certain parts of Asia

  335. their hope is that it'll come back again.

  336. Companies plan far beyond their founders.

  337. And while he's showing you the end from the beginning here's something else he does which is so

  338. so

  339. god-ish but so sneaky is not the word so I don't know the right word. As you wrestle through the

  340. contradiction of where you are at and what the end picture is God begins to ask you a question and

  341. the question is can this happen? Can this happen? Can this happen? And he expects a reply.

  342. He asks you a question and the question is can this happen? Can this happen? Can this happen?

  343. And he expects a reply. So while he's showing him the value of bones he's also showing him the end

  344. picture in verse 5 and 6 and yet he's also asking Ezekiel a question. Hey Ezekiel do you think these

  345. bones can live? Do you think these bones can live? Do you think these bones can live? He's

  346. showing you the end picture. He's also showing you the present and even though he's showing you the

  347. the end picture. He's deliberately asking you a question, can these bones live? Can

  348. these bones live? Can these bones live? And Ezekiel tries to get out. He tries to

  349. disengage. He says, oh you know God and God will not settle for a disingenuous

  350. reply like, oh whatever you will oh God, oh you know God. He does not allow that.

  351. He wants to hear whether what I have shown you is enough for you to believe

  352. Jacob. What are your words now? What does your mouth speak? And initially

  353. Ezekiel's reaction is, oh you know a lot and God doesn't let him get away with

  354. that. A disingenuous reply like, only you know God or your will be done won't cut

  355. it. He asks a question expecting a reply. Die speaking what God has shown you so

  356. that the ones you are speaking it about will live.

  357. And once he begins to see that Ezekiel is moving away from whatever you will or

  358. God to, I will do what you command. Now he says call the dry bones to attention

  359. on my behalf. Guys this is what government is about, on my behalf. On my

  360. behalf. I want to do things on his behalf. I want to be the one who fills the room

  361. with his presence because he fills the church with his presence. I want to be

  362. the one who acts on his behalf because he acts through the church. I want to be

  363. the one who speaks on his behalf because he speaks through the church on his

  364. behalf. Call the dry bones to attention on my behalf. On my behalf always starts

  365. with simple obedience to a simple command. On my behalf always starts with

  366. simple obedience to a simple command. It does not start in some profound way. It

  367. is simple obedience to a simple command without any need to understand. Without

  368. any need to understand. That goes beyond your limitations. Your limitations are

  369. not going to prevent you from obeying. Your limitations begin to disappear as

  370. you obey and take one step, one step, one step. That is when leprosy disappears.

  371. That is when water holds you up. Water holds you up and lepers begin to get

  372. cleansed as you begin to walk because everything that you do on his behalf

  373. starts with one simple act of obedience to one simple command. I can reel off

  374. simple commands that I obeyed. Go to Jakarta even though you're flying to

  375. Bahrain. Go tonight to Jakarta. Changes the direction of East Java and the

  376. effect that this church had in Indonesia for years because one simple command to

  377. go to Jakarta to meet the Sultan of Java on a day that he's desperate to

  378. prophesy over him changes the nature. One simple command go to Ulaanbaatar. You

  379. don't know anybody there. Check into a hotel and wait there and even today

  380. there's a course called the Tellyos Bible course that is being done across

  381. Mongolia that you guys participated in that has been translated into the

  382. language then from one end of Mongolia to the other. Go meet the person in

  383. charge of West Java. Three of us fly there. Simple command. Do not know what

  384. is going to happen. Go connect with Jeevan and let Jeevan have the freedom to run

  385. so that a 4,000 year old curse that disallows a certain community from

  386. buying land is broken and a whole gate or portal now opens for generations and

  387. generations for another thousand years if the Lord tarries of people that were

  388. not allowed for 4,000 years now being allowed. What has been permitted in

  389. heaven will be permitted on earth when a people decide that they will obey a

  390. simple command and act on his behalf and what is forbidden in heaven can be

  391. forbidden on earth. I can't... the only reason I'm not going into each

  392. story is because I've told these stories many times over. But this

  393. government thing is real and it happens to simple people who obey a simple

  394. command on his behalf but before you do anything learn how to stand before the

  395. Lord man. God loves restoring physical life and he loves reviving spiritual

  396. life. God loves restoring physical life. He loves reviving spiritual life. This

  397. government is benevolent. It restores physical life. It revives spiritual

  398. lives. This government is benevolent. It restores physical lives. It revives

  399. spiritual lives. It's the main agenda of this government. It reverses

  400. decomposition. I mean those bones have been lying there. It reverses

  401. decomposition and starts restoring flesh. Listen to these words. Audible words

  402. spoken into the invisible will eventually burst forth in sight and

  403. sound. Audible words, audible words spoken into the invisible will eventually burst

  404. forth, will eventually burst forth in sight and sound.

  405. Audible words spoken into the invisible will eventually burst forth in sight and sound. God is going to help you and Jaya to distill the way you speak. Distill, as in where all the sediments that need to be removed from the

  406. council or advice or conversations that you have with people and with each other will be distilled so that every other sediment of the past of a certain way of thinking, of cultural, traditional, denominational, religious,

  407. intellectual, experiential council will suddenly be removed and all that will be left is a pure sediment, is a pure distilled form of council that God is going to use you to do the work of

  408. council will suddenly be removed and all that will be left is a pure sediment, is a pure distilled form of council that God is going to use you both for. You just said you finished your 18th anniversary. Well, for the next 12 years till you actually have your 30th anniversary, enjoy advising and counseling those that will say surely they must have been with Jesus.

  409. That is one of the things he wants to do with you and so be very deliberate about seething cultural, intellectual, denominational, religious, experiential sediments so that all that is left is the pure distilled version of God's council and they'll come to you in droves and their response will always be these must have spent time with Jesus.

  410. Just as they said of the disciples, uneducated bunch of fishermen, these must have spent time with Jesus. This is something God will begin to use you tremendously and it will be an ever enlarging circle.

  411. Guys, audible words spoken into the invisible will eventually burst forth in sight and sound. Any questions?

  412. All those incidents that Jeevan mentioned where situations were happening and then we would pray was basically speaking audible words into the invisible and watching results change in two days and three days, decreeing what needs to be decreed as the word of God from the church upon territories, upon powers, upon deities saying,

  413. release, saying be gone, saying burst forth, saying come forth.

  414. Authority and morality go hand in hand, build both up, it's brilliant and as Ezekiel discovers suddenly think of being in this valley say somebody at Grouse Mountain or I can't remember the last valley I was in but look at a valley and think of it full of bones and then think of his words that he's speaking and as he

  415. begins to speak these words the strangest thing happens, he hears bone begin to rise and knock against bone and there's a rattling and the bones begin to fit and it's not a random fitting, it is a very proper fitting as bone finds bone correctly and connects and even as he watches sinew and flesh begin to cover it and these bones now become corpses that begin to come alive, that begin to come alive and then he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and he sees bones and

  416. begins to literally come alive. Ezekiel's never done this before. Sometimes God will take you and put you in a very huge situation or he'll start you with something small, he knows the level of your faithfulness. So don't think you'll start at the bottom of the rung. The kingdom has no bottom rungs, it just

  417. has assignments and these assignments and the domain you have increases with

  418. faithfulness. There's no ladder that you have to climb up but there's faithfulness

  419. which allows you to increase your domain.

  420. In rapid response to the word Ezekiel marvels as bone rattles on bone fitting

  421. properly and just as it looks like it's going to come together in verse 8 you

  422. see that the whole process is about to collapse and abort because there is no

  423. breath in the bones. So imagine these bodies being put together. Suddenly you

  424. see your grandfather, you see your nephew, you see your grandmother, you see your

  425. great-grandmother, all their bodies restored, flesh coming over their faces.

  426. It's like one of those movies where CSI puts back finds a skull and puts flesh

  427. over it and you know aha this looks like Derek and so it's that kind of a thing.

  428. Sorry Derek. So it's that kind of a sense but just as you think things are

  429. now on the upswing it looks like it's going to abort because there is no

  430. breath in the bones and this is where we as Christians just do not know how to

  431. persist. Persistence is alert discipline and enduring patience. Alert discipline

  432. and enduring patience. Persistence alert discipline and enduring patience. Alert

  433. discipline as in I'm not going to back off I'm alert to this. I know this thing

  434. has come together it suddenly looks like it's going to abort again but instead of

  435. being frightened of that I'm going to persist because what he has said I'm

  436. fully persuaded can happen. Get up Jacob. So you don't throw away your confidence

  437. because the just shall only live by faith and they shall not live by anything

  438. else but faith. Faith that sees, faith that speaks. You know tomorrow it'll be

  439. 27 years since I came to Canada. I just realized I've lived almost half my life

  440. in Canada but one of the things that happened when I was immigrating to

  441. Canada and things looked completely wrong and most of you have heard that

  442. story is is that there was one thing that I persisted in with alert discipline

  443. and with enduring patience that God said he would bring me to this land. My God

  444. will bring me to this land. It didn't matter which pastor I met. It didn't

  445. matter which prophet I met. It didn't matter which senior Christian I met who

  446. came and said to me use your head. God does use logic. Operate with logic. The

  447. continuous declaration of my lips was but God said and it must come to pass

  448. and do you know how much this nation has benefited? Do you know how many nations

  449. have benefited because of that one stance? You think I couldn't say no and

  450. walk away? The prophetic and destiny is not inevitable. It is conditional and the

  451. condition is simple obedience.

  452. You know one of the things I find not good about this generation of young

  453. people is that not too many are finishers. When I look at the older ones

  454. here you realize that one of the things you learned if you're over 40 is that

  455. you knew how to finish. This generation is great and starting stuff.

  456. They love starting stuff every third week but the ability to endure through

  457. routine and through the drab and through nothing happening and no recognition and

  458. finishing it man that is an apostolic Holy Spirit quality to finish. Desire that

  459. more than anything else to finish.

  460. Withstand the mocking spirit. We talked about this yesterday. At the end of the

  461. day I said no not at the end of the day at the beginning of this teaching I

  462. said the title for this teaching is testify to speak to prophesy. Guys we are

  463. so blessed we are so blessed. I give praise to God I thank God that this

  464. church has in its core DNA the ability to prophesy the respect for the prophetic

  465. the unction to prophesy the spirit of prophecy it was born in this church it

  466. was when this church was born we were born with that. We don't know we don't

  467. realize how blessed we are that this is a natural part of our being but we will

  468. be called to account and God will come and look at the tree and say now that

  469. you have grown show me the fruit and the fruit is no longer personal prophecy the

  470. fruit is can you prophesy to the nations.

  471. I'm pressing this hard on stuff like this because I see the end for us too

  472. and there are different ends. God shows you an end one year from now God

  473. shows you an end ten years from now and he would prefer that we finish it in the

  474. time frame that he has allotted.

  475. So don't stop halfway withstand the mocking spirit that's his great so you think this

  476. can actually happen great so you saw the end picture how many years has it been

  477. Jacob 13 14 40 how many years and you hear that mocking spirit.

  478. You know there was a guy called Rabshakeh don't name your son that Rabshakeh

  479. Isaiah 36 Isaiah 36 he he reveals something that we need to know Isaiah 36

  480. really smart ploy this was Isaiah 36 verse 2 to 9 then the king of Assyria

    Isaiah 36:2–9

  481. sent his field commanders with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at

  482. Jerusalem when the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the upper pool on the

  483. road to Washerman's field Eliakim son of Hilkeah remember who Eliakim is we talked

  484. about him last week Isaiah 22 22 Eliakim was the guy who had the keys on his

  485. shoulders he carried government on his shoulders yet look what is happening to

  486. him now. Eliakim son of Hilkeah the palace administrator Shebna the

  487. secretary Joah the son of Asaph the recorder went out to him the field

  488. commander said to them tell Hezekiah this is what the great king the king of

  489. Assyria says on what are you basing this confidence of yours

  490. oh which one is it man all the parents are denying that it's their child.

  491. Jeeva go show your face no so the field commander said to them tell has my god

  492. the very name of Jeevan. That's that's that's for those who don't know Greek

  493. that's a that's a dialogue from a Hindi movie where the villain speaks Greek

  494. yeah yeah pardon that at night in the village when the child refuses to sleep

  495. the mum says child go to sleep otherwise Jeevan will turn up no the

  496. actual name of the guy is Gabbar he's like this he was the most amazing villain

  497. that ever existed nobody's been like him before ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha yeah

  498. gosh we're going somewhere completely different we've is he kill 36 I mean the

  499. children have gone quiet that's good as he killed 36 verse 4 the field commander

  500. said to them tell Hezekiah this is what the great king the king of Assyria says

  501. on what on what are you basing this confidence of yours you say you have

  502. strategy and military strength but you speak only empty words on whom are you

  503. depending that you rebel against me look now you're depending on Egypt that

  504. splintered read of a star which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on

  505. it the point here is he says to Israel hey Israel do you really think that your

  506. words can help you he's trying to take away the only weapon Israel has words

  507. and then he is using words to intimidate them but he's taking away the only

  508. weapon there he had they have if you read the other versions it says do you

  509. think your words will amount to anything Rapshaka has the ability to come

  510. to you and say hey Emily you've been praying for a while and declaring things

  511. how's it going with you hey Roslyn how are things changing for you hey Jacob

  512. how long have you been saying stuff has anything happened you think your words

  513. will amount to anything you think your words are weaponry you think your words

  514. are strategy it's the only thing I have it is the only thing I have all I have

  515. is words you know when I was watching the looking at the lyrics of the song

  516. so will I everything there is words just words so Ezekiel has a valley full

  517. of slain corpses but no breath and then in the ISV verse 9 puts it this way then

  518. he ordered me Yahweh ordered me prophesy to the spirit son of man tell

  519. the spirit this is what the Lord God says come from the four winds and breathe

  520. I often go and ask the Holy Spirit whenever there's a situation Spirit of

  521. God so what are you saying I want to say that I want to say that I'll ask the

  522. Holy Spirit what do I need to speak into the situation what do I need to first

  523. see in the situation and once I see it what do I need to speak two questions

  524. that I always ask father what do I need to see in the situation father what do I

  525. need to speak in this situation what I see is what I will speak everything in

  526. life is it is the only way to deal with it show me another way to deal with it

  527. please I'm asking genuinely show me another biblical way of dealing things

  528. with things other than going this route show me how Jesus did it show me how any

  529. of the other guys from Joshua Moses all the guys in the Old Testament show me

  530. guys in the New Testament show me how else they did it other than seeing what

  531. the spirit was showing and he's very willing to show and then speaking what

  532. the spirit is speaking show me another way and it has to be audible it has to

  533. be audible it's tiring work guys he ordered me prophesied to the spirit

  534. son of man tell the spirit so what you're doing is you're asking the spirit

  535. of God what to say and then you're agreeing with him and after agreeing

  536. with him you're speaking here there's this very cool verse in Hosea 2 verse 20

    Hosea 2:20–22

  537. to 22 where God says I'll answer the skies this I'll answer the heavens the

  538. heavens will answer the earth the earth with rain the rain will answer the

  539. ground and the ground will produce new oil wine and grain it's this virtuous

  540. cycle that begins with God speaking I will answer the heavens the heavens shall

  541. answer the earth with rain the rain shall answer the earth and cause grain

  542. new wine and oil and they shall answer Jezreel as in whatever you saw that you

  543. will get back in bountifully Hosea 2 verse 20 to 22 speak your words can

    Hosea 2:20–22

  544. transform exceedingly numerous bones into an exceedingly vast army speak Psalm

  545. 29 the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is majestic the voice

  546. the earth the voice of the Lord births new life the voice of the Lord strips

  547. bare the voice of the Lord rules the waves let me go through that again

  548. Psalm 29 verse 3 onwards the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the

    Psalms 29:3

  549. Lord is kingly royal majestic the voice of the Lord shakes the deserts the earth

  550. the voice of the Lord strips bare that which needs to be broken or dismantled

  551. the voice of the Lord births new things the voice of the Lord rules over the

  552. turmoil or the turbulence of the waves the voice of the Lord and then when

  553. Jacob begins to agree with the spirit and begins to say the very things that

  554. the voice of the Lord is saying permitting things here on earth as they

  555. are permitted in heaven forbidding things on earth as they are forbidden in

  556. heaven and as he does three things at the same time look at the bones realize

  557. they are bleached in the Sun look at the end picture realize what God is for

  558. doing and then listen to the voice in his ear which says Jacob do you think

  559. this will happen can this happen can this happen and out of Jacob's heart

  560. first from his spirit and then from his heart and then from his mind comes this

  561. resounding agreement with God saying yes it can and then I begin to prophesy with

  562. the spirit and people change situations change families change bodies change

  563. nations change regions change governors are lifted up kings are brought down the

  564. destiny of nations are shifted someone asked me once why I haven't written a

  565. book yet simply because I cannot reveal what actually happened because I'll

  566. never be allowed back into those places again because if I put down any name or

  567. any place then I cannot go back there again any questions

  568. sorry as opposed to hearing and obeying yes but one of the things that God

  569. requires in the anatomy of faith is believe no first it starts with see

  570. believe speak act this is the anatomy of faith if you were to dissect faith it

  571. sees or hears and then it believes as in it's an unshakable conviction which you

  572. will not amend which you will not step back from and then there is a confessing

  573. or a speaking of what you believe Paul said it himself I believe therefore I

  574. speak God said it himself in Psalm 60 or 61 once have I heard it twice as God

  575. spoken and then there is the acting part of it which is a preemptive acting in the

  576. knowledge that what you have seen believed and now spoken will come to

  577. pass so I might as well get going because I know what awaits

  578. yep the sign language fulfill the idea of being audible

  579. yeah so symbols sometimes speak louder than words symbols can speak louder than words and so if you

  580. want to include sign language and being symbolic sure man the symbols that Jacob would set up when

  581. he knew that layman was tricking him and his cattle would multiply the symbols that were set

  582. up on the journey through the desert Abraham's altars those altars were symbols that were calling

  583. on the name of God or a character of God that would be exemplified over the next phase of the

  584. journey or was exemplified in the journey past symbols are powerful too any questions guys

  585. you know in the movie karate kid they make you do that that's what we are doing here I just want

  586. you to get so used to speaking I just want you to get so used to speaking and occasionally

  587. remove your eyes from your personal situations your personal situations cannot become the

  588. plumb line for the kingdom my ailment cannot be the plumb line for whether I believe for

  589. something profound to happen to 300 people in some other country I would love for my ailment

  590. to be undone to oh who is this yeah Eliana is allowed yeah my ailment cannot be the plumb line

  591. for my refusal to fully participate in something much greater is there not a cause is there not

  592. a cause please don't look at your personal situation and opt out because you haven't seen

  593. the reality in your life all that has to happen then is to preempt anything you do by sending you

  594. something that doesn't work out immediately the devil doesn't even have to oppose you he just has

  595. to delay things just has to delay things any questions okay so here's how I want to end

  596. seeing and hearing is both the same yeah seeing and hearing is the same when I say see or hear

  597. I just mean God conveying his thoughts Jesus put it this way in John 520 I only see what I hear my

  598. father I only I only do what I see my father doing but in verse 30 he says I only speak what

  599. I hear my father speaking yeah guys here's how we want one more question say that again

  600. no when the scripture that says people are blessed when they believe without seeing it's

  601. talking about Christ but otherwise when we walk our daily walks we are supposed to see what Christ

  602. wants us to see so that we can walk in it those scriptures are different yeah