Sermon

Teleios – The Zion Realm

Acts 29 Vancouver

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  1. Okay, today's topic is the Zion realm. We are talking about teleos and we said last

  2. week that the idea of teleos is teleos is to bring to completion. Teleos is to bring

  3. to completion. Teleos is lacking nothing. Teleos is to be made perfect. Teleos is to... Can you

  4. see how powerful this arm is? It's going right up there. Amazing, praise God. Teleos to bring to

  5. completion. To bring to completion. To make perfect. To lack nothing. That's the idea of the word

  6. teleos and so we're doing this series for the next seven or eight weeks where we're talking about how

  7. God wants to, having drawn us out of the wilderness where he's spent time with him and having empowered

  8. us through encounters and through time set aside, he wants now to bring us into a place of maturity

  9. so that we can operate as the church that he wants us to be. So, teleos is to bring to completion,

  10. to lack nothing, to perfect. The moment you think of the word teleos, you have to think of Isaiah 46

  11. 10 because the way God works is he always shows you the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46 10 says,

  12. I make known the end from the beginning, from the ancient times, what is still to come. I make known

  13. the end from the beginning, from the ancient times, what is to come. So, because God operates

  14. from the end, it is always good to see the end if you want to walk in the paths of God and when we

  15. don't, we stumble, we stagger, we try to somehow find our way but if you can see the end, you now

  16. have a point towards which you can keep walking. And the moment we start thinking along the lines

  17. of teleos, as in bringing to completion, this is the way to operate. Oh God, if you want to bring

  18. me to completion in a certain area, then even though I may be here, I need to see the end that

  19. you have for me. This is how Jesus operated because it says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2,

    Hebrews 12:2

  20. for the joy that was set before him. So, he knows why he's here and having seen what is set before

  21. him, he starts walking towards it with a flint-like forehead. It doesn't matter whether it's a very

  22. important area or a not so important to other people area. If you can see the end that God has

  23. constructed for you in any situation, then you can take the church towards that place, you can take

  24. your life towards that place, you can take your faith towards a place because there's an end that

  25. God has. And if you don't see it, then you have to stagger and stumble around. You can still get

  26. there but it's less intentional and more prone to error. When you have an end, you create expectations.

  27. Now that I know there is an end, I create expectations, I have expectations. Now that I

  28. know I have an end, things become habitual even though my circumstances are saying no,

  29. even though my circumstances are saying, you don't have enough money, even though my circumstances

  30. are saying you don't have enough strength, even though my circumstances are saying you don't have

  31. the resources, the ability, the caliber to complete what lies ahead. I begin to habituate myself to the

  32. end knowing that God is able, God is faithful, God is willing, God can do it. This is how Abraham

  33. is fully persuaded that God having said what he said can bring it to pass. For full persuasion,

  34. you need to see the end. You see that in Abraham's life again and again, he was fully persuaded that

  35. he would have a son so he doesn't mind changing his name to Abraham and enduring for 25 years.

  36. He's fully persuaded that there is a city that is built without hands whose designer and architect

  37. is God and that is the city he's heading towards. So it's okay for him to camp in tents as he leaves

  38. where he is not knowing where he's going. Hebrews 11 verse 8. He's fully persuaded that since he's

    Hebrews 11:8

  39. been given a son, a son of promise, it doesn't matter that he may have to slay Isaac, that Isaac

  40. will be revived and given back to him. So this is what is meant by creating expectation, habitual,

  41. becoming habitual in your discipline as you walk towards the end. As in, it doesn't matter,

  42. yes circumstances are completely against me but I'm going to habituate myself to think differently

  43. because I have seen the end that God has constructed for me. And thirdly, it is only when we work like

  44. this that we can endure. You cannot endure otherwise. You can endure if you know the end

  45. and if it is a God end, you can endure because you know what awaits. This is what makes mums wait for

  46. nine months. You can endure because there is something that awaits that God has shown you,

  47. so you can press towards it. Endurance is impossible without a God end. So the point

  48. is that I must enter at the end right away at the beginning. I must enter the end at the beginning.

  49. It's not a riddle, it's not too convoluted even though it sounds like that. You enter the end at

  50. the beginning of everything. And if you enter the end at the beginning of everything, that's

  51. brilliant. So I have to see ahead of time what God has for Jeremy. I have to see ahead of time what

  52. God has for Jeevan, for Aaron, for Diana. I have to see ahead of time what God has for Jill. And I

  53. actually, this is one of my favorite things to do during the week, what is it that awaits them and

  54. therefore once you have that picture, you can start building a person towards the end. Otherwise,

  55. what are we doing? We're doing nothing. We're just meeting for church.

  56. Raising up always involves an end.

  57. This is why in Ephesians 4 it says, and so there are equippers and what is their job to bring us

  58. into a place where we attain the full stature. There is an end.

  59. And so we go about that and this is why it was important to talk about faith last time.

  60. We go about that by both perceiving and receiving things in faith, perceive and receive in faith.

  61. As in I have to receive the end that God is saying awaits in faith. And usually when God shows a

  62. godly end, it is way beyond what I could ask, think or imagine. So to begin with it, it is hard

  63. to believe. Leave alone the circumstances that usually surround you when you are shown an end.

  64. When David was shown the end, that he would be the most amazing king that ever existed, so much

  65. so that Jesus would take on the name son of David. When Noah was shown the end, that he would be the

  66. only man left alive with his family. When Moses was shown the end of how Israel would be delivered,

  67. when Joseph was shown the end, where he's already talking with death but he refuses to let his bones

  68. be buried in Egypt. When he was shown the end, he was already talking with death but he refuses to

  69. let his bones be buried in Egypt. When these people were shown their end, their circumstances were dire.

  70. But once you see the end, you have now the audacity to say to people,

  71. it may take 400 years but you are to keep my bones in this particular tent. You're not to

  72. bury me here because 400 years later I want to be buried in the land that was promised to my forefathers.

  73. And like I've said before, every time the Israelites would go past that tent, they'd have

  74. scourge marks on their back but they would have hope in their hearts because they knew these bones

  75. are still there, which means these bones will be buried in a land that is not where we are at right

  76. now. Sometimes when you see the end and you're able to now give it expression of form or shape,

  77. others are encouraged. Leaders who don't have an end they are working towards and by a leader

  78. I mean anyone who has one person under them are leaders that can never bring people into a land

  79. that has been promised because they do not see the land themselves.

  80. You cannot bring people into what you do not see.

  81. And so you should keep asking for greater clarity, greater wisdom, greater clarity and God

  82. adds as you show yourself faithful. God does not necessarily give you a picture

  83. because you ask. God gives you a picture because you ask and you are faithful.

  84. Any questions?

  85. This thing is growing on me.

  86. I feel like a youth pastor.

  87. I feel like a youth pastor.

  88. Okay, any questions? All right, so what I want to show you the end of,

  89. which is critical to what awaits is the end of the church. I'm not talking about end times.

  90. Unfortunately, the only end that really does well on TV is the end times. I wish it was not that,

  91. that we see the teleos of what things look like, the teleos of the church and by church I mean

  92. the universal church of Christ believing churches and yet I also mean the local church. So I want

  93. to focus on the church which we are parts of and the reason I need to focus on the church

  94. is always remember and this is why I was insisting that we sing as a church.

  95. Because we take our identity from the whole. The whole does not derive its identity from the parts.

  96. It's the loaf that gives every fragment its identity. It is not the fragments that are

  97. put together that form the loaf. The Bible says that we are one loaf and that we've been put

  98. together, fragments put together. Our consistency, our content comes from the loaf, Christ. And the

  99. moment you are baptized, you are baptized into the body. You may be baptized in the name of the

  100. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit but you're baptized into the body, 1st Corinthians 12-13, so that you

  101. drink of one spirit, baptized into the body. And so if we could catch the teleos or the completion

  102. of what the church should look like in Vancouver, what Acts 29 should look like, what are the

  103. different parts that we can look at? Maybe we'll begin to function differently and God will be able

  104. to function differently through us. That's the intent. And so Hebrews 12-22 is perhaps where we'll

  105. park for a while. Let me know when it's 3.50. Hebrews 12-22 is where we will park for a while

  106. and here's what it says, you have come to Mount Zion. You have come to Mount Zion.

  107. You have come to Mount Zion. What is Mount Zion? Mount Zion is a place where God resides. Mount

  108. Zion is a place where God resides. Mount Zion is a place where God resides. Now I want us to begin to

  109. think like this and we'll repeat it again and again so that we think like this. See some of you work

  110. remotely. Praful works remotely, Derek works remotely, Jeevan works remotely. I've been working

  111. remotely. So we work remotely but just because we work remotely does not mean that we are not part

  112. of the company that employed us. Just because we do not meet together does not cancel the fact

  113. that we belong to certain firms. Just because we do not go and sit at a table and do work at a certain

  114. place does not mean that we are not being paid what is due us from the company.

  115. Christians think that they come to Zion when they come together to meet like this. Zion is the place

  116. where God resides. Zion is the place where God resides. Two scriptures we'll be flip-flopping

  117. through is Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 onwards and Psalm 48. Both talk about Zion.

    Hebrews 12:22

  118. We have already come to Zion is how many virgins put it. You and I have already come to the place

  119. where God resides and I want us to be aware that after we leave the service it does not change.

  120. All that is happening is you're working remotely but you still belong to this place that God resides

  121. in and the place that God resides in happens to be a people. That he has taken a permanent residence

  122. there it is his favorite resting place. That he refuses to live anywhere else but amongst his people.

  123. He can span the heavens and the earth and he lives amongst his people.

  124. Some in heaven at present others on earth but he lives amongst the people.

  125. It is important for Vancouver that you begin to think like this.

  126. It is important for Vancouver and different nations in the world that you

  127. who are listening online and who are part of Acts 29 begin to think like this. That you have already

  128. come to Zion which is the place where God resides. Hebrews 11 10 says that this is a city

  129. with unshakable foundations whose architect or designer is God. He built it.

  130. Hebrews 11 10 that this is a city this place called Zion that you have already come to.

  131. The company that you belong to is a city that has been completely from conception to completion

  132. been constructed by God himself with invisible instruments and hands. It has an unshakable

  133. foundation meaning it can never be removed. It can never diminish. It can only increase.

  134. You have already come to this particular city and its designer and architect is God

  135. and it's unshakable. I'll just keep repeating myself over and over again because truths

  136. unfortunately in this situation will only be learned through repetition.

  137. We are coming to a city which is a city of seventh day rest as in the rest that God created on the

  138. seventh day after he created everything else is the city that we live in. It is a city that oozes

  139. with rest. Rest of the body, rest of the soul, rest of the spirit, rest of the mind, rest of the

  140. mind, rest of the spirit, rest of the spirit, rest of the spirit, rest of the mind, rest of the spirit,

  141. rest of the spirit, rest of the mind, rest of the family, rest of how you earn your livelihood, rest

  142. in terms of how you live out your life. This city oozes with rest. Next week across the earth they'll

  143. celebrate the feast of tabernacles which is supposed to be a feast of rest. Why? Because God

  144. resides in our midst and therefore it can only be a place of rest because it's Shekinah or his glory,

  145. the glory of the father and son are sufficient for everything pertaining to life,

  146. for everything pertaining to life, the splendor, the weight, the magnificence, the power,

  147. the glory, the honor, the worth of God is enough for me and for you. We got to think like this. I

  148. keep going back to that phrase as you think so you will inhabit what you think you will inhabit.

  149. This is a city that is presently accessible as in you don't have to wait to die and go to heaven to

  150. access the city. It's presently accessible and it will be manifested fully in the future

  151. but remember by faith you have already come. Oh by the way we didn't read Hebrews 12 22 let's go

  152. there read it so that you actually believe it. Hebrews 12 22, Hebrews 12 22.

  153. And I mean says you have come other versions say you have already come and so on.

  154. Hebrews 12 22 but you have come to Mount Zion to the heavenly Jerusalem the city of the living God.

  155. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels and joyful assembly.

  156. Just that one verse we are touching but you have come to Mount Zion to the heavenly Jerusalem the

  157. city of the living God. You have come to it is not something reserved for you in the future.

  158. It is now you Jacob you Jill you Sue you John you Aaron you Sheldon you have already come to

  159. Mount Zion the city where the living God resides. It is a city where there are thousands upon

  160. thousands of angels. The angel armies actually occupy the city. You have come to Jerusalem that

  161. is not the traditional Jerusalem in the Middle East for she is in bondage Galatians 4 28 but

  162. this is Jerusalem who is a mother and she is heavenly. Now we'll talk about that.

  163. You have come to the city of the living God. This is your normal

  164. place of dwelling. You do not dwell on the earth. You are citizens of another kingdom that are

  165. living here on earth in tents. Your eyes like Abraham have to be set on are set on a city

  166. built by a designer and builder who is God and that is where your eyes are set and if we are

  167. able to achieve that Acts 29 and those that are listening online I say to you that your churches

  168. will become powerful bastions of God's desire here on earth in these times that await us.

  169. It just so happens that the city is also the bride of Christ. Go to revelations 21 9 to 11.

  170. So on one hand this city is supposed to be our residence on the other hand it is also the bride

  171. of Christ in the sense that there's something so resplendent and openly intimate when it comes to

  172. the city. The city is not made of brick and mortar it is actually the bride of Christ the wife of God

  173. for the lack of a wife of the lamb. Go to revelations 21 verse 9 to 11.

    Revelation 21:9–11

  174. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven plagues came and said to me

  175. come I will show you the bride the wife of the lamb and he carried me away in the spirit to a

  176. mountain great and high and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of the heaven from

  177. God. It's shown with the glory of God and its brilliance was like that of every precious jewel

  178. like a jasper clear as crystal. The idea is there is a city that will be completed at the ends of

  179. the earth but there is the city that already exists. It's a place God has chosen to dwell in

  180. and that place happens to be a people. Any questions? If it's confusing ask but you have

  181. to think like this if you don't think like this you will see why we cannot do what we are called to do.

  182. Any questions?

  183. Okay at the center of all this is Christ at the center of all this is Christ. This city is what it is and you are who you are because of Christ at the center of all this is Christ and he's called the incomparable king the mighty king in Psalm 48. It says

  184. let's go there Psalm 48 verse 1 and 2

    Psalms 48:1

  185. Psalm 48

  186. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise in the city of our God his holy mountain.

  187. It is beautiful in its loftiness the joy of the whole earth like the utmost heights of Zaphon is

  188. Mount Zion the city of the great king. It is it belongs to an incomparably great king no one more

  189. superior than him. The reason the Psalm 48 opens that way and talks like that is to just show you

  190. its loftiness that it looms over every other city that it is greater than every other city and that

  191. it is far above every other city that it is situated far superior to every other city and every other

  192. ruler because in this city dwells the incomparable king Jesus. If you don't believe it go to Psalm 2

  193. and you'll see in Psalm 2 God already announces his intent Psalm 2

  194. and it says in Psalm 2 verse 6 I have installed my king on Zion my holy hill

    Psalms 2:6

  195. I've already installed my king there's nobody like him

  196. and where is this city where is this hill where is this place we're talking about here us

  197. this is why I wanted to sing and as we worship build your throne Jesus we enthrone you this is

  198. his residence his place we need to enthrone him to enthrone us to acknowledge the king that's all

  199. we're doing we're not crowning him he's already crowned he was installed on his throne

  200. he was already crowned he was installed in Psalm 2

  201. God raises him from the death from death sets him on a throne in deep heaven

  202. God raises Christ from the death from death and seats him on a throne in deep heaven and what

  203. what do we mean by deep heaven go to this the best way to think of deep heaven is go to the

  204. center of the universe the universe is expanding find the center in the center God has put him on

  205. a throne in deep heaven as in you control everything my son through you for you and by

  206. you were all things created he's put him on a throne and why did he put him on a throne he

  207. put Jesus on a throne so that Jesus could be in charge of running the universe so that Jesus

  208. could be in charge of running the universe so that he could run the galaxies so that he could

  209. run authorities so that he could run governments so that he could run nations that's why he was

  210. installed as king so that no name and no power would be exempt from his rule and not just for

  211. now but forever he's in charge of it all he's a final word on everything so where am I pulling

  212. this out from Ephesians 1 verse 20 to 22 from the message is exactly what I quoted I'm not

    Ephesians 1:20–22

  213. adding any words I'm just quoting it straight from the message Ephesians 1 20 to 22

  214. and then he says something marvelous which really got me he says that this Jesus who is enthroned

  215. this Jesus who is enthroned speaks and acts and fills

  216. his body the church that he speaks through and acts through and fills his body the church

  217. that he speaks and acts through the church which is his body that he fills the church with his

  218. presence there is nothing else nothing else that has the presence of God as much as the church

  219. of God it is not the universe it is not Jerusalem it is not a particular place it is nothing like

  220. that it definitely is not Toronto at the end of the day there is no place that God fills with his

  221. presence as much as the church and again the question then is what are we talking about when

  222. we talk about the church us there is no other place that God fills with his presence as much as us

  223. and that God speaks through and acts through primarily his church again who us

  224. Ephesians 1 verse 23 22 and 23 from the message then it goes on to say because everything is

    Ephesians 1:23

  225. under his feet because everything is under his feet and we already established that in

  226. verse 20 and 22 because everything is under his feet and since he fills speaks acts through the

  227. everything is under his feet and since he fills speaks acts through the church

  228. and this is the clincher and this is why I've been spending so much time trying to get here

  229. and if you don't think like this we will not be able to agree with this next sentence because of

  230. the church is not peripheral

  231. to the world

  232. but the world

  233. is peripheral to the church

  234. no right-minded christian thinks like this

  235. everything screams otherwise that the church is relegated to the side that it's a non-player

  236. that it is co-opted by culture co-opted by politics that it is continuously being persecuted that it

  237. is weak that is full of corrupt contaminated hypocrites that it doesn't amount to much that

  238. that it doesn't amount to much that it is middle of the road that it is lukewarm and yet there is

  239. one who sits at the center of the universe on a throne in deep heaven who keeps saying but

  240. i speak through the church i act through the church i fill the church with my presence everything

  241. is subject to me because everything is under my feet and since i speak fill and act through the

  242. church any local church or anybody that begins to rise up to this truth will find out that the

  243. church is actually not peripheral to the world but the world is peripheral to the church and one day

  244. when a church begins to understand this that church begins to have a certain clout in the regions

  245. appointed to it but till then we think we're climbing an uphill we think we are fighting an

  246. uphill battle i i'm not talking about one or two people doing this i'm talking about an entire

  247. group of people 40 50 people thinking the same way everyone's mind indoctrinated with the truth

  248. brainwashed with the truth man nothing like washing your brain with the truth it's a good brainwash

  249. any questions

  250. what is what actually mean

  251. yeah this is how we see the world and the church this is the world this is the church

  252. this is the church we're changing god is saying it's not that way this is the world this is the

  253. church whoever thinks that this is the world and this is the church we don't think like this

  254. we think that the church this is the world and the church is a little side thing on the side

  255. a few people get saved every now and then there's a revival every now and then god is saying no it

  256. was never supposed to be like this this is the one if i am the center of the universe and only

  257. christ can make that claim then my body is at the center of the universe too if i speak act and fill

  258. this one thing called the church then that becomes the primary center around which everything else

  259. but will my people think like that

  260. what do we make this out to be oh we are in the world but let's become prosperous let's become

  261. healed let us become mighty let us have a lot of money and that becomes a little

  262. enclave in the world that's not what we're talking about this doesn't lessen persecution

  263. this doesn't lessen lessen the attacks of the devil this doesn't lessen circumstances going

  264. bad it just means that there is a people that think differently and no longer do circumstances

  265. the devil or persecution stop the church from advancing finally the kingdom is beginning to do

  266. what the kingdom is supposed to do but it requires a group of people to think like this guys

  267. it is so hard to think like this

  268. it is so hard to think like this

  269. so hard to think like this but it takes a group of people to think like this 40 50 people thinking

  270. like this together it changes the way they worship it changes the way they think changes the way they

  271. they imagine

  272. according to psalm 48 this church is a fortress like dwelling that is impenetrable

  273. psalm 48 verse three to five actually talks about it psalm 48 verse three to five

  274. impenetrable some 48 verse three to five actually talks about it some 48 verse three to five

  275. some 48 three to five

  276. it says this is his divine abode an impenetrable citadel for he is known to dwell in the highest

  277. places. See how the mighty kings united to come against Zion. Yet when they saw

  278. God manifest in front of their eyes, they were stunned, trembling. They all fled

  279. away, gripped with fear, seized with panic. They doubled up like in frightful

  280. anguish, like a woman in the labor of childbirth. This is an impenetrable

  281. fortress. It is not how we think of the Church. Do you realize why it is critical

  282. that you be vitally connected to the Church? That you cannot be a member, that

  283. you cannot be an event visitor, that you cannot be a turn-upper at a meeting. It

  284. does not make you part of this impenetrable fortress, this dwelling

  285. place where the incomparable king resides. Become such an integral vital

  286. part of it. Connect intrinsically because it gives you such tremendous benefit.

  287. There is no other organization in the world that gives you these kind of

  288. benefits. And the strange thing is once you become part of a Church, you exist

  289. for the benefit of others. It's an impenetrable fortress. It is the place

  290. where the angel armies and the commander of the armies of Israel dwells. We are

  291. talking about something called government. Why are we talking about

  292. government? Because I think it is time for Acts 29 to begin to explore the

  293. realms of how a Church exercises governance over areas allotted to it. It

  294. cannot be done through a pastor. It cannot be done through a few leaders.

  295. That has been the problem with every revival. Every good thing that has

  296. happened on the earth has always fallen short because it's always because of a

  297. few revivalists or a few reformers or a few leaders who ran ahead of the

  298. pack. But the pack did not run. God is not interested in a few revivalists or a few

  299. reformers bringing change anymore. He's saying where can I get a group of people

  300. who begin to think alike? Amazon has a very simple approach to leadership. It

  301. wants to raise up leaders that can raise up other leaders so that there's never a

  302. lack of a talent pool. In fact the talent pool at Amazon is supposed to keep

  303. increasing because the leaders cultivate greater leaders. Where do you think he

  304. got the idea from? From the whole idea of yeast. Every successive bit of yeast

  305. is supposed to be more potent than the yeast that went before. The Church is a

  306. fortress dwelling. It is where God sits as judge, as sovereign. It is a city

  307. where the angel armies dwell. We don't know anything about these things but my

  308. God we will know something about it. This is what government looks like. What

  309. do I mean by government? As in government is when a church begins to

  310. deliberate decisions for cities and for peoples. A church begins to craft with

  311. God judgments. A church begins to issue decrees that go forth. Isaiah 2 verse 3

    Isaiah 2:3

  312. Look at it. Isaiah 2 verse 3. Let's just go to a regular version.

    Isaiah 2:3

  313. NIV. Isaiah 2 verse 3. Many peoples will come and say come let us go up to the

    Isaiah 2:3

  314. mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his

  315. ways that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion. The word of

  316. the Lord from Jerusalem. Isaiah 33 20 to 22. Isaiah 33 20 to 22. Look on Zion the

  317. city of our festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem a peaceful abode. A tent that

  318. will not be moved. Impenetrable. That's what I was talking about. Its stakes

  319. will never be pulled up nor any of its ropes broken. Unshakeable foundation.

  320. Then there the Lord will be a mighty one. It'll be like a place of broad rivers

  321. and streams. No galley with oars will ride there. No mighty ship will sail them.

  322. Impenetrable fortress. Verse 22. For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our

  323. lawgiver. The Lord is our King. It is he who will save us. The idea is that a

  324. church begins to understand who she really is and as she does a strange

  325. thing begins to happen. She begins to govern. She begins to govern. She begins

  326. to deliberate decisions for cities and nations that are given to her. She

  327. begins to craft judgments with God. Fair judgments with God. She begins to have

  328. decrees sent out spoken from her that begins to affect areas around her. We look

  329. at Joseph in the future as a governmental type but I just want to

  330. start us down this road. This is what it means to be governmental and the question

  331. then is why have we not seen this yet? Why have we not seen this yet? May I

  332. suggest to you that we did see it in Acts in the book of Acts. We did see it

  333. in the book of Acts. We did see it in the book of Acts. It was not one Paul that

  334. upset Ephesus. Sure Paul had a hand to play in it. But these churches began to

  335. I mean when you see the letters written by Jesus to the churches of the book of

  336. Revelation you see them taking a stance in the midst of a culture and beginning

  337. to sometimes change the culture. Sometimes we get co-opted by the culture

  338. but at the end of the day in the book of Acts you see how the church was

  339. governmental. How when they would go to Malta things would happen. How when they

  340. went to Derby things would happen. How they would go to Sergius Paulus and he

  341. would be changed. How Simon the Magi who was known as a great one had his

  342. greatness removed. How a eunuch from Ethiopia gets touched so that an entire

  343. African nation is touched and things begin to happen in their African nation.

  344. How Thomas went to India. How another apostle went somewhere else. It was this

  345. governmental authority residing on fishermen.

  346. We see it with revivalists in Wales in different islands of UK sometimes at

  347. Azusa but one of the things that happened with all these revivals like I

  348. was saying earlier was that it was built around revivalists and not around a

  349. revived church. We need faith for this.

  350. Can you go to Hebrews 11 33 to 38? Now you see why faith was given to us. Faith

  351. was given to us so that the church may function a certain way. Hebrews 11 33 to

  352. 38. Let's start at 32. Man I look at this and I think to myself Acts 29 your time

  353. has come. Starting at verse 32. What more shall I say? I do not have time to

  354. tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah about David and Samuel and the

  355. prophets who through faith. Hey can you just open this Aaron? Who through

  356. faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut

  357. the mouth of lions, quench the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword,

  358. whose weakness was turned to strength, who became powerful in battle and

  359. routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

  360. There were others who were tortured refusing to be released so that they

  361. might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced years and flogging and even

  362. chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning. They were sawed in two.

  363. They were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskin and goatskin,

  364. destitute, persecuted, mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered

  365. in deserts and mountains living in caves and in holes and in the ground. They were

  366. all commended for their faith. Yet none of them received what had been promised.

  367. This is the kind of faith that God is inviting us to rise to if you want to be

  368. governmental. If you want jobs, thanks, money and healing then this is not for

  369. you. If you want more then governmental walking of the church is this way. And

  370. when we do that the other thing comes anyways.

  371. Psalm 48 verse 12 to 14.

    Psalms 48:12–14

  372. This is what we'll be trying to do over the next many weeks. Walk about Zion, go

  373. around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels that

  374. you may tell them to the next generation. For this God is our God forever and ever.

  375. He'll be a guide even to the end. Let me read it from some other version. Message.

  376. Circle Zion, take her measure, count her fortress peaks, gaze long at a sloping

  377. bulwark, climbing her citadel heights. Then you can tell the next generation

  378. detail by detail the story of God Passion. Circle Zion, count her towers,

  379. consider her walls, climb her palaces and then go tell the coming generation of

  380. the care and the compassion of our God. Yes this is our God, our great God forever.

  381. He will lead us onward until the end through all time beyond death and into

  382. eternity. This is what I hope to do so that in the end we will begin to think

  383. like this. That we will, you know if you don't expect you will forget. If you don't

  384. expect you will forget. If I don't expect something from God I will forget that

  385. God can even do it. When we don't expect we forget that God can do it. If we

  386. don't expect the church to walk like this we will forget that the church

  387. actually is supposed to walk like this in Christ. That she is able to do this.

  388. We'll fall back into human ways of thinking because we don't have such an

  389. expectation. I refuse to go down that road. I refuse to go down that road for

  390. this time and for a purpose such as this was I born. To bring the church into a

  391. place where it begins to govern and function as it is supposed to in Christ

  392. who resides amongst a people who is an incomparable king. So let me end by

  393. starting at the beginning. Don't worry it doesn't mean I'm going to start all over

  394. again. I could see just sheer fear on people's faces. Oh my god he's going to

  395. start again. Yeah. Derek how come you didn't tell me man? Just one simple thing all you

  396. had to do was tell me. This one's on you. So let me start at the end.

  397. Sorry let me start at the beginning. I want to read out a word that I heard not yet.

  398. Let me read out a word that I heard before Acts 29 was official. Acts 29 already was

  399. meeting so in a sense it did exist but it wasn't official yet. This was in October 2005 and it was

  400. a word released to two churches. One of them actually I've never read this word out and felt

  401. now is the time to release this word that was given 15 years ago and it was given to another

  402. church too and they for different reasons have not walked in it and they're a very strong church

  403. but they have not walked in it and I believe it's time to speak this out right now but before I do

  404. that I also want to preface it by words that Pastor Mike spoke when Acts 29 turned 10 and I

  405. just want to preface it with that and then I'll read the word so don't put it up yet Don. So here's

  406. what Pastor Mike said when we were turning 10. I believe that you are able I believe that you are

  407. about to enter into one of the most if not the most awesome time in the history of this local

  408. assembly Acts 29. The first five years of the next 10 this was in 2015 or 16 the first five

  409. years of the next 10 will be very significant for you as the Lord completes his fashioning of you

  410. into the place of mature sonship. So for those house church leaders who are doing a study on

  411. mature sonship on maturity keep going at it. The next thing he says is the time of conception and

  412. formation is now. The manifestation of that which is within that which is invisible will take place

  413. after 2020. To navigate this decade you need to strain and press into hearing a now word and

  414. moment by moment whispers of the voice of God from his throne and so here is the word that was

  415. given in 2005. There are fatherless multitudes orphans in the spirit waiting to find spiritual

  416. fathers. In this house there will be a reconciliation of wandering Christians who will come back to the

  417. father's house. There are fatherless churches that you will become the spiritual father over

  418. not just in Vancouver but right around the world and God will father through you a supernatural

  419. work to reproduce. You will wait on God for the supernatural food of heaven because there are

  420. going to be such men and women around you hungry for the word of God to flow from you. You are

  421. about to step into a new realm of the mercy and the grace of God because mercy is on the left

  422. and grace is on the right of you and wherever you turn you will find every need met by the grace

  423. of God. This city will begin to realize that Papa God is moving in his power restoring back what you

  424. didn't even know was missing. I will revive, I will provide, I will break through even right now. You

  425. will see manifestations of faith that only I God can take credit for. This frightens me. You will

  426. be part of something that the world has never seen before. The greatest restoration man has ever

  427. seen since Noah, affecting every continent at the same time. You won't contain it, you won't resist

  428. it. If you stand on the banks and put the tip of your toe in it, it will still reach out over the

  429. banks and drag you in. I have assigned angels, flames of fire who will be ministering spirits

  430. to and through you. God is about to do something in this house. He's about to release the gifts of

  431. the Spirit and things inside you that you have never even accepted. Gifts and ministries and

  432. anointings are about to spring forth in this church and in these people represented and listening

  433. online. Young men and young women, bishops, strong apostolic ministries, strong teachers will be

  434. going out from your company and they will reproduce this anointing. So take time to pull aside and

  435. develop the strong anointing store for a time such as this. What God is starting today is extravagant

  436. and beyond your ability to cope with. Are your ears awake? Listen, listen to the wind words,

  437. the Spirit blowing through the church. I need to release this to you and say to you that this is

  438. what I'm looking forward to and I'll do everything in my power to shape on God's anvil so that we

  439. become the plows, the pruning hooks, the spears, the javelins, the swords that we need to be. This

  440. is what awaits us. And so we'll be going down this road for a while now. What does it mean to be a

  441. governmental church as in how can a people together think a certain way so that Christ who speaks

  442. fills with his presence and acts through the church will find Acts 29. Now the church is

  443. connected with a dwelling place that he can then begin to govern from. God is a good governor.

  444. When he governs, he's benevolent. When he governs, he's sovereign. When he governs, he's a good judge.

  445. When he governs, mighty kings that unite against him tremble. When he governs, people get saved.

  446. When he governs, hell is depopulated. When he governs, people get healed. When he governs,

  447. he's both the king of Shalom and the king of Jerusalem. When he governs, there is righteousness.

  448. When he governs, people within are taken care of. When he governs, there is a Goshen and there is

  449. Egypt. When he governs, the sea splits open. When he governs, kingdom advances. But he does it through

  450. a people, through him whom he speaks, through whom he acts, in whom he dwells. And he loves filling

  451. with his presence. As you leave here, leave as remote workers, knowing that you still belong to

  452. the same company, that you are on their timesheet, that your hours are being recorded, that you're

  453. never separating. This is who we are. Think like this. And over a period of seven or eight weeks,

  454. perhaps we'll understand what it is to govern. And see, we are living in a time where it is not

  455. enough to show. It's not enough to tell. We have to show and tell. In times of crisis, people don't

  456. listen to words. People want to see. So what would it look like? And so Wali is back on. Here's a

  457. Rhema word that is for us. God, Rhema, the word God gave was Rehoboth. Rehoboth simply means,

  458. for now, the Lord has enlarged our territory and made room for us. And we shall be fruitful in

  459. the land. Remember this, guys. For now, the Lord has enlarged our territory and made room for us

  460. and we shall be fruitful in the land. For now, the Lord has enlarged that territory and made room

  461. for us and we shall be fruitful in the land. For now, the Lord has enlarged that territory.

  462. I'm waiting for someone to follow me. And for now, the Lord has enlarged our territory and

  463. made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land." Rehoboth, for now the Lord

  464. has enlarged our territory and made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the

  465. land. I really can't hear you. For now the Lord has enlarged our territory and made

  466. room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land. For now the Lord has enlarged

  467. our territory and made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land. For now

  468. the Lord has enlarged our territory, made room for us and we shall be fruitful in

  469. the land. For now the Lord has enlarged our territory and made room for us and we

  470. shall be fruitful. I can't see you standing, and for now the Lord has

  471. enlarged our territory. I still can't see you standing. For now the Lord has

  472. enlarged our territory and made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land

  473. Three more times, and now the Lord has enlarged our territory and made room for

  474. us and we shall be fruitful in the land. For now the Lord has enlarged our

  475. territory and made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land for now

  476. the Lord has enlarged our territory and made room for us and we shall be

  477. fruitful in the land Wali is only one of the things we are resuming resume your

  478. ideas for businesses resume your ideas for land resume your ideas for wealth

  479. resume your ideas for salvation reduce resume your ideas for going out resume

  480. your ideas for ministry resume your ideas for the spread of house churches

  481. when they are saying isolation quarantine God begins to do something

  482. else still keeping the rules so if you want to go to Wali and pray start doing

  483. it back in business