Teleios – Renewing Faith

Cool guys. So I'm starting a new series today called TELIOS. I had a nice picture for it.

I don't know if you can still pull it up. And so I believe we've come out of the wilderness

that we were talking about. And now we've got to come into this place called TELIOS.

TELIOS basically means reaching its end or full grown or to be mature.

That is the idea of TELIOS where you come into your fullness.

There's a metamorphosis that happens where you come into a place of maturity or perfection almost.

But I'd go with the words reaching its end, full grown, mature.

And today I want to start with the idea of renewing our faith for the new post-COVID landscape

that we have to journey through. And I'll talk about that next week.

What does a post-COVID landscape look like? So I keep repeating that word.

It almost sounds like Jurassic Park 4 or something.

But next week we'll explain what post-COVID landscape looks like.

But today we're going to talk about how do we renew our faith because we need faith for what we need to step into.

When it comes to anything that God reveals, because we talked about how in the wilderness

God was revealing things to us, that he was showing us his power so that we can come back part of it stronger.

So one of the things that happens is whenever God reveals something,

he reveals it and then gives us permission to walk in it.

And after he gives us permission to walk in it, he expects us to exert faith or release faith or realize it through faith actually.

Realize it through faith. So anytime God reveals something, his intent is now that I've revealed it to you,

I'm giving you permission for it. But you can only realize it through faith.

I'm giving you permission to walk in it and I'll even give you the provision.

So for example in Exodus chapter 3 verse 6, God comes and says to Moses,

Exodus 3:6

Hey Moses, I just want you to know that I am who I am and that is the revelation I'm giving you.

Then he says to Moses, listen Moses, I want you, I'm giving you permission to go back into Egypt and tell Pharaoh, let my people go.

And then in verse 21 he says to Moses, hey by the way Moses, I just want you to know that when you leave Egypt,

you will not go empty handed, I will provide for you.

And now after having said all that, Moses had to step out in faith.

But our problem or at least my problem is very often when it comes to faith,

I have realized two things that I still lack confidence in some areas and I still operate in fear.

Different pen.

I still operate, I still lack confidence and I still operate in fear.

I don't know if that's common to you but I'm still struggling with it.

I still suffer in certain areas from a lack of confidence.

I'm not confident that God will necessarily do it.

And then I still operate in fear and it shows two things.

If I'm lacking confidence and I'm operating fear,

it means that I really haven't come to a place called Teleos when it comes to love and when it comes to faith.

The Bible says perfect love casts out fear.

If I'm still afraid, it means I haven't matured in love.

And I haven't matured in faith because I still am not confident.

And my struggle and this again, I could easily say our struggle,

but my struggle is I sometimes find that God is, I had, this was a very difficult teaching to write.

I had to go and say to God, listen God, I'm going to say something now that is going to make me look ugly

and make it look like I'm accusing you.

But please can you handle it?

And of course he can.

So here's what I've realized that in some areas I find God unreliable.

I find him unreliable.

I'm not sure that if I lean back on him that he'll actually come through.

I find him unreliable in some areas.

For some of us it may be a few areas, for some of us it may be some areas,

for some of us it may be many areas.

And then I was telling him that not only do I find you unreliable,

but I find that I can't hold you to account or demand an answer from you

or keep you answerable to me for being unreliable.

And that frustrates me even more because when he doesn't come through,

it's not like I can go and say, excuse me, how come you didn't do this?

I can't do that. He's God.

It's almost like he gets away with it.

This is why I said I told him ahead of time that this is going to be an ugly conversation.

Now either this is my experience and it's not yours,

or perhaps it's your experience also by the look of your faces.

Some of you are pretending, some of you are letting on.

Any questions, anything you want to add?

Do you understand what I'm saying?

My struggle in my experience of God, our struggle in my experience of God,

I still find that in some areas I think of him as unreliable in those areas.

As in it's not that he hasn't come through, it's not that he won't come through,

it's not that he doesn't come through, but I still am not sure that if I lean back that I won't fall.

It's like a 50-50 chance sometimes, or a 75-25 chance.

And then I find it difficult that if he's unreliable, I can't hold him answerable or accountable.

Because he's God, so he does what he wants to do.

So what was God's response? God's response was,

Hey Jacob, can you pick an area where you find me highly reliable?

So I started thinking, okay, what area do I find God absolutely reliable all the time?

Where I'm never in doubt that he's totally reliable, I've never doubted it in my life.

One of the areas that I found where I'm absolutely sure of his reliability is when it comes to forgiveness.

I found that it doesn't matter what I do, it doesn't matter how I did it deliberately or unknowingly,

whether I did it with my eyes wide open or my eyes wide shut, it doesn't matter how I did it.

I find that when it comes to forgiveness, he's absolutely reliable.

That I can go to him and tell him that I was sorry I did it knowingly,

I knew I could come and talk to him about it after I committed the sin,

and I can go through everything starkly with him, but I'm absolutely sure that God will forgive me.

And he asked me this question, why are you so sure that I'll forgive you?

Why are you so confident that you can rely on me for forgiveness?

And my answer was fourfold. One, his word, I'm absolutely sure of his word in that area.

That if I confess my sins, he's faithful and just too. Forgive me. I'm absolutely sure of that.

His nature, that he is my father, and like any good father, he's willing to let go

once I tell him how repentant I am or how sorry I am or sometimes that I'm not sorry,

but I wish I was sorry and I'm really feeling bad that I went ahead and sinned anyways.

His nature towards me when it comes to forgiveness is super kind.

And then I found that his covenant I can trust, as in his promise that,

listen, I shed my blood for you so that your sins may be obliterated from my presence.

That even though they were red as crimson, they are white as snow.

That I've removed your sin as far as the east is from the west.

I'm very sure of the death of Christ on the cross as an absolute forgiveness for me.

So there's his word, his nature, his...

And then the last thing I'm very sure of is his heart or attitude towards me.

His heart or his attitude towards me when it comes to forgiveness.

You know there's not been a single time in my life where I've asked for...

I'm not exaggerating. There's not been a single time in my life

where I've asked God for forgiveness and not only does he forgive me,

but after he forgives me, he comes and says something to me that is so blooming nice

that it restores me. It just doesn't leave me forgiven. It restores me.

It's like a parent forgiving a child, but after forgiving a child,

as a child walks away with their head held in shame thinking,

yes, he's forgiven me, but I shouldn't have done it.

The parent goes, grabs the child and says, you're my favorite.

There's never been a time where I have sinned and he's not come and said,

Jacob, not only do I forgive you, but I just want you to know how precious you are to me.

His heart towards me when it comes to forgiveness is so marvelous.

I never doubt his forgiveness towards me.

And in answering this question, God said, so now you see your problem.

Because when it comes to other areas of my life, I'm not able to rely on him

because I find that his word has been diluted by my experience.

His word has been diluted by my experience.

His word may say something, but I've experienced the opposite so many times

that his word is now diluted. It doesn't have the same strength.

That when it comes to his nature, I'm not confident of his nature

because my experience tells me he might fail.

When it comes to his covenant, I feel like yes, he hung on a cross.

Yes, he said it is finished, but the covenant isn't guaranteed enough

because my experience says otherwise.

What happens in the process, it makes you hesitant to ask for anything in that area.

You're scared to ask because if you ask, what if he doesn't come through,

it'll cause you to be disappointed again, it'll cause you to resent him again.

Now why would you want to resent the one you love?

And so what do we do? We don't ask, we just hope. Hope ain't good enough.

Hope is a little better than wish.

I wish this would happen to me, I hope this would happen to me.

That still ain't good enough.

So we want to talk about solutions. How do we get past this?

How do I solve this?

This is why many of us would rather resolve things ourselves

or reason it out in our heads than go to God

because our experience has taught us that this is not an area where you can rely on God.

And you can be stuck there and go to your grave.

Any questions?

Yep.

Yeah, nature is character.

Attitude is the heart that the character is expressed through.

So nature is my character.

So let's say I was the most generous person on Earth.

That's my character.

The heart attitude is when I actually buy you a car.

So that's how it works.

Any questions?

Please, did I just confess a whole lot of my inadequacies or is this real for you?

Sue says it's good. That's the way it is.

Anyone else who wants to give me a little more support than that?

You can relate. Karen relates.

Oh, sinful woman.

Okay.

Yeah.

I wish I could get to a place where I could be a little more supportive.

I wish I could be a little more supportive.

Yeah, I wish I could get to a place where I can say that in every area

I am easily able to rely on him that there is no fear

and that I'm absolutely confident. Unfortunately, that ain't where I am.

Yeah, it's a shame after all these years.

But at some point you have to wake up and smell the coffee. So how do I solve this?

One of the first things we can do, guys, is I know in this church

we talk about being a much loved child.

May I just change it around a little? Instead of going for the

I'm a much loved child, can you begin your day by receiving

him as your father afresh?

Our confession is usually I'm a much loved child. Why not

change it to every morning I receive you as my

father. And then

so ever since I started down this teaching, I've been

multiple times during a day I'll go and say

I receive you as a father, but what kind of a father?

I've got my own little acronym for it. You can come up with yours.

Mine is

I know that doesn't go well with father, but it's the best I could

come up with.

So how do I, so I go to him

quite often, I mean I've already done it twice this morning, where I

say father I come to you and I receive you as a father first. Every morning I'll

receive you as a father. Because I have to once again catch

the fact that you're a good father. So for me father when it comes to this

father I receive you as a willing father.

You're a willing father. You're a willing father.

The other one was either

holy or hallowed father. Meaning there is something about you father

that ain't, that isn't ordinary.

There is still a sacredness, a holiness about you. Why

is it important to put that in? Because it makes you realize that in his ways with

you he cannot compromise holiness.

That he's not a father who can do anything that is impure or wrong.

The next one really caught me.

He's highly aware of what's happening in my life. He's not

unaware. It's not, remember guys when we talk to him in prayer

it's not like he's going oh really I didn't know.

Prayer is not informing him. Prayer is

admission of your condition which he already knows. So I find

this very helpful that he's aware, he's aware of every ache,

pain, thought, sadness, fear.

He's aware. He's aware of my

restlings and my agony and my how am I going to manage this. He's aware.

I find that very helpful. I mean

if I being as evil as I am, when I become aware of

something in your life, the way I get involved I'm fascinated that I

actually care for you. Really it surprises me.

And if I can feel that way about you and become aware

of something and do something about it, how about this father who is highly aware?

The next one is he's in control.

He's in charge. That is very helpful because there's nothing

that's happening in my life that he can't fix. He's in charge. He's in control.

None of the universe, of the universe yes, but he's in charge of my life

and he's highly responsible as a father.

He takes his responsibility seriously.

He takes his responsibility for Jacob seriously.

He takes his responsibility for Jacob seriously.

Finally

he is kind. He is kind. He is kind.

So I've been doing this

for a little while now. Going to him and receiving him as a father.

And what then happens is in really difficult situations, situations of fear,

in situations of not being confident, this begins to renew confidence,

bring me back to a place of not being afraid.

It stops me from sinking into orphanhood.

Orphanhood is when you abandon help from the

father and try to solve things yourself. It prevents

me from being the elder brother. The elder brother is the one who lives in the house

but doesn't know he is loved. It prevents me from being the prodigal son.

The prodigal son is the one who just wants the promises but doesn't

want the father. The prosperity gospel is prodigal.

That's too

general a statement, but it fits in a few places.

So that's the first step.

The second step is can you try

and see if you can make obedience

if you can make obedience

and pleasing him

the main

focus instead of the outcome.

Instead of the outcome.

Part of the reason we are afraid is because we

don't know what the outcome is. We don't know whether it will work.

I mean I remember Darshan saying to me yesterday, hey Jacob when I go back to Toronto I don't know if this is going to work man.

Like I said here, this is my last shot. I've tried everything else. I'm not going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it. I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it. I'm going to be able to do it.

This is my last shot. I've tried everything else. I don't know if this is going to work.

And yet in his obedience he has pleased God.

Can I shift my focus to obedience and pleasing God?

Where oh God this is what you've asked me to do at present. I'll do it.

Oh God I want to please you.

How do you do obedience and pleasing? What is obedience an outcome of?

Obedience is an outcome of love. Pleasing him is an outcome of faith.

Because without faith it is impossible to please him. And if you love me you will obey me.

What if in every area of my life, be it when my body is hurting, be it when I'm scared of something nasty happening,

be it when I'm running out of money and don't have a job, be it when I'm stuck in a situation that I can't extricate myself out of.

What if my two main foci, focus, whatever the word is,

would be one, hey father I'll be obedient in whatever you ask me to do.

And I'll try to please you by trusting you.

How the outcome works out, I'm going to pick up the desired outcome that I have in my heart and give it to you like play dough.

So that you can shape it. Because this I know, that whatever you do will be beyond what I can ask, think or imagine.

Because Efficient 320 says that. So here is my desired outcome.

I'm not going to abandon my desired outcome. I'm going to have expectations.

But here is my desired outcome. This is what I'm hoping will happen.

But here is the play dough of my desired outcome. Could you now begin to mold it with your nail scarred hands?

Because I know for a fact that it is going to come out better than I can ask, think or imagine.

So it doesn't matter whether it's a pain in my body, whether it's money I need, whether it's the salvation of somebody,

whether it's the freedom of somebody, whether it's marriage, whether it's finding the right person.

It doesn't matter what it is. These two things kick in.

Because we can only control our obedience. We can only control pleasing him. He controls the outcome.

The Bible says it again and again. Man can throw the dice. God controls the outcome.

And the thing is, when it comes to his children, I do not, you know in hindsight,

I do not think that everything that I look at has turned out better than I desire.

Any questions?

Okay. Third.

Let's redefine faith. Let's redefine faith. I know you know what faith is, but I'm just writing it down differently.

Faith is the assurance.

I love it. Faith is the assurance. It's his absolute assurance, all the title deed.

This is an old way of saying it. A title deed was what you would get when you would buy a home.

Before you occupied the home, you would get a title deed saying the home belongs to you.

I remember getting a call from this guy called Raj in Surrey saying,

hey, just want you to know you qualified for your car. And I was behaving as if I already had the car.

Why? Because he just called me and told me I have the car.

This is the word of a man who said, hey, I have the car.

This is the word of a man who's saying I've gotten the car, I've been approved, you got the car.

And so I'm behaving like I already have it. I'm cleaning my old car because I'm going to return it.

But it's the word of a man. The title deed is something you have in your possession,

even though you haven't occupied what is actually yours.

It's the assurance or the title deed of things I hope or expect because it's divinely guaranteed.

Because it is divinely guaranteed.

It's divinely guaranteed.

So it is important to hope and expect. You must have a hope or an expectation.

It must be divinely guaranteed, as in either in the word or God has already shown it to you.

And then you already have the assurance or the title deed.

It is perceiving as Tortue.

It is perceiving as real fact that which hasn't been revealed to my senses.

It's perceiving as real fact that which hasn't been revealed to my senses.

revealed to my senses.

It is perceiving as real fact that which hasn't been

revealed to my senses.

And so I started cleaning my car.

I started getting everything out of the car.

Why?

Because I was going to return the car and get the new one.

There was no guarantee I had on paper.

It was just the word of a man saying, you've been approved.

You can come and pick up your new car.

And that caused me to begin to walk as if I already had it.

This is important, guys.

This is important.

It's not a denial of your present circumstances.

It's not a denial of your present circumstances.

But it is imposing a new value.

It is imposing a new value.

It is imposing a new value.

It is renaming what you are going through.

There's a cool story in Second Kings 4.

It's about this woman who had a son, a son that was given to

her as a promise from God.

And he dies.

He has a headache, and he dies.

He dies, and she rushes to meet the prophet for help.

And as she's going on her way, they ask her, what's wrong?

It's a Sabbath.

How come you're rushing away?

And she says, it is all good.

All is well.

And then she goes further down, and people ask her, where are

you going?

Is everything OK?

And she keeps saying, it is well.

She gets to the prophet's servant, Gehazi.

Gehazi asks her, is everything OK?

It is all right.

It is well.

What was she doing?

She was assured of things that she was expecting or hoping,

because she knew it was divinely guaranteed.

So she began to walk and talk and behave as if it was a done

deal.

And so the prophet comes, and he finds the boy dead.

He lays down on the boy, prays for him.

The boy wakes up and sneezes seven times.

I was thinking, poor guy, if it was a COVID case, they would

send him back into isolation immediately after having raised

him from the dead.

But that was just a thought on the side.

Because he sneezed seven times.

Sneezed twice, and you get thrown into isolation nowadays.

So you see this in 2 Kings 4.23, where the woman keeps

saying it is well.

Guys, one of the things you have to realize is it is

important for you to speak what you believe, and we'll

get there slowly.

Any questions on this?

Learn this by heart.

Faith is the assurance or the title deed of what I hope and

expect, because it's divinely guaranteed.

I have to keep going back there.

I've got a rotator cuff that is so painful that I can't play

Mike's guitar.

Last week, I asked Mike to bring his guitar.

I started playing it and realized that it is so painful

that I can't play the big guitar.

So I asked, what's her name?

Emily?

No, not Emily.

Jane to get me her guitar.

And I played the small guitar.

I had to change the length of the guitar.

I had to change the length of the belt today.

Sheldon helped me do it.

Because in any other position, my arm will hurt like crazy.

It's been very painful when I go to sleep and stuff like

that.

But having said that, I also know that faith is the

assurance of things I hope or expect.

And what is my hope or expect?

That will be completely repaired.

That will be completely healed.

Completely healed.

Now, why do I have this hope or expectation?

Because it's divinely guaranteed.

But I still have to go back to the father who is willing, who

is holy, who is highly aware of the pain that I have, who is

in charge and in control, and who is super kind.

And so I already know the outcome.

So even though it may pain, it will not stop me from playing

the guitar or going about life as normally as possible.

Because it is just around the corner.

It cannot be stopped.

It must happen.

I'm not even saying it will happen.

It must happen.

And so what if two minutes from now I feel otherwise about it?

Well, three minutes from now, I'll go back to this.

What if eight minutes from now I feel bad again?

Ten minutes from now, I'll go back to it.

What if?

Yes, there are two ways of speaking.

One is to speak because you believe.

Two is to speak so that you believe.

Yeah.

Kids do that all the time.

I know daddy's going to get me a car.

I know my daddy's going to get me a car.

I know my daddy's going to get me a car.

And when he sees his daddy coming, it gets louder.

So there's two ways to do it.

Either you speak because you believe it.

That is a preferred method.

Or you speak it till you believe it.

One is you're saying it because you made it.

The other one is faking it till you make it.

These are not biblical scriptures or anything.

Just telling you.

And rename it, guys.

It's not a denying of my...

I'm not denying that my hand hurts like crazy.

I find it hard to put this jacket on.

I was asking Jeevan to help me put this jacket on.

So I'm not denying the circumstances,

but I refuse to focus on it.

Instead, I know a new value will be imposed

and that value will be healing.

Rename.

Rename what you're going through.

Is your hand not well?

Rename it.

Hand is well.

Doubt, on the other hand, is wavering between two minds.

What doubt does is it believes God's ability,

but it questions his methods, it questions his motives,

and it questions his character.

Doubt is not...

For us as Christians,

doubt is not thinking God cannot do it.

Doubt is believing God is able,

but questioning his methods, his motives, his character.

And so you drown in what, why, how, when.

You drown in what, why, how, when.

What's gonna happen?

Why isn't it happening yet?

How is it gonna happen?

When is it gonna happen?

And you drown.

And the only way to overcome doubt

is to go back into the word.

Next one, 1 John 5, 14, 15.

1 John 5, 14, 15.

Beautiful verses.

These verses you must learn by heart.

This is a confidence that I have.

That if I ask God anything according to his will,

he hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

He hears me.

And if he hears me,

then I know that I have as my present possession

whatever I asked of him.

Just listen to it again.

It's just crazy.

It is so, it is so straightforward.

This is the confidence that I have.

That if I ask God for anything according to his will,

he hears me.

And if he hears me,

then I can be sure that I can have as my present possession

whatever I asked him for.

So make sure when you ask that you fit your asking

into his will.

Make sure when you ask that you fit your asking

into his will.

Sometimes God will say,

hey, do you want to rephrase it again?

Father, I want a million dollars, Father.

Can you rephrase it again?

Father, can I have a hundred dollars?

Cause I have this need to meet immediately.

Meaning fit it so that it is within his will.

It is within his will.

Find out what God's desire and will for you is.

Fit it into his will.

Know the parameters within which

you are supposed to operate at present.

And then once you do, you have to behave.

Here's the scripture.

It says you can have, you...

This is the confidence that I have.

That if I ask anything according to his will,

he hears me.

And if he hears me,

I know with certainty that I can have

as my present possession,

what I have asked him for.

And so it goes back to the whole idea of behaving

as if you have it,

even though it hasn't come into your hands yet.

Go ahead, Ruth.

First John five, 14 and 15.

You have to behave like you have it,

even though you haven't received it.

Really, Jacob?

This is like brainwashing.

It's psyching yourself up.

You would think so, but unfortunately Jesus said it.

Mark 11, verse 23, where he says,

Mark 11:23

when you pray, believe that you have already

received it and it shall be yours.

I know these...

I mean, the churches don't even talk about this anymore

because they think it's a faith movement.

No, it's Jesus' movement.

In Mark 11, 23, he said this.

Whatsoever, Jacob, you believe.

You say in prayer that whatever you pray,

believe, Jacob, that you have received it

and it shall be yours.

You have to behave like you believe

before you receive it.

You have to believe.

Learn how to behave.

Learn how to behave like you believe

before you receive it.

Examples, Abraham.

Guy's 99 years old, but he behaves like

he actually believes God that he's gonna have a child.

Peter, never walked on water,

behaves like he actually believes it

because he steps out of the boat.

One of the things I love doing,

whenever there's a challenge of faith,

is I like doing something that'll defy

what I'm going through.

So I remember once...

Don't try this at home.

This is only for professionals, like the most TV ads say.

So one day I felt like my left side of my chest

was hurting and my hand was hurting.

I'm thinking, I've got to do something about this.

So I used to have a treadmill then

that was graciously given to me by a few people.

So I don't know why.

But so I decided to go on the treadmill

and I decided, well, if my chest is hurting

and my hand is hurting, let's just go

and really wreck this treadmill for the next 30 minutes.

And so I was on the 30 minutes.

That's the longest I've ever been on the treadmill

in my life.

And after 30 minutes I got off and I thought to myself,

looks like you're in fine shape, so keep going.

So I'm not asking you to try it out.

All I'm saying is sometimes you have to try it out

and sometimes you have to behave like you actually believe

that you have received it.

Any questions?

Any questions?

Go ahead.

How do you know God's will?

The easiest way would be if the word says so,

then you know it is yours.

That is the easiest way.

And most, many, many, many things are covered

just through the simple promises of God in the Bible.

And then there are specific things said to you

where you have this absolute surety it's God

and you've got to step out.

And you may find that you're falling flat on your face,

but it's soon you know how to get up and keep walking.

Like every trip I've gone on, I've had to step out in faith.

Go to Mongolia.

Don't know anybody there, but you go there.

And then whatever needs to happen happens.

Your dad and me have gone to places together

where we knew nobody, but something would transpire.

So either it is because you've heard his voice

or it is because of the Word of God.

What is the risk?

You might lose a lot of money and you might look really foolish.

I mean, you think you don't look foolish?

Look at what you've gone and done.

Who in their right mind would do this?

You had an apartment, you had a job, you had a girlfriend.

Anyone who had any sense would stay there.

But you've taken this ridiculous step of faith

and you've stepped out here.

Crazy, right?

You don't laugh.

But this is what adventures and adventures are all about.

This is what adventures and God moments are made up of, guys.

This opens doors so wide, so wide, that it changes everything.

Behave as if you have already received it.

I'll take five minutes more.

Here's another crazy, crazy thought.

Whatever you ask for in prayer according to his will,

you actually receive it immediately in your spirit.

You've got to realize this.

God ain't delaying stuff.

Whenever you ask for something,

know that you've received it in your spirit.

Receive it in your spirit.

It is his will.

The Bible says in the Amplified, it actually says,

you have it as your present possession.

How can you behave as if you've already received it?

If you don't think you've already received it.

You have in your heart to begin to believe that,

ah shucks, God, I asked according to your will,

so it is granted to me.

Receive it in my spirit.

And then, having received it in my spirit,

I begin to watch it transpire in the physical.

And if that takes a second, a minute,

a year or 25 years like Abraham,

I'll keep going to the fact that I will still behave

like I believe it because I have received it.

There's this thing called immediacy of faith

and the eventuality of faith.

One is you receive it immediately and then it says,

with patience, cultivate the promise.

Hebrews 10, 34 and 35.

Patience and immediacy have to work together.

When they combine, you have what you believed for

and you receive it.

You know, I think Acts 29 has a corporate ability

to believe for great things,

but has not yet built up the individual capacity

to receive things that are ridiculous.

We have the corporate ability.

We, as a people together, can achieve great things,

putting our faith, but when it comes to individual lives,

we have to up our game some more.

This involves a little bit of work, guys.

It involves going to the word.

It involves believing God.

It involves receiving the Father.

It involves going through this process.

Why go through all this?

Just resign yourself or call up the banker

or call up your mother or call up your father and fix it.

But you never get to enjoy the adventure of God

when faith is absent.

Never.

Remember you have an active enemy.

Remember you have an active enemy.

The devil.

Now here's the thing.

The devil knows that he cannot penetrate the shield of faith.

Ephesians 6 verse 16 says that you can quench the arrows

Ephesians 6:16

of the evil one with the shield of faith.

So the devil knows that he cannot penetrate the shield of faith.

So what does he do?

He tries to dissuade you from taking it up

or persuade you to lay it down.

And what trick does he use to do this?

Viriness.

He viries you.

He viries you so that you won't go again and pick it up

because you picked it up too often.

He either dissuades you from picking it up

or persuades you to lay it down

because the weapon that he uses most effectively is attrition.

Where the intent is can I keep up this pressure

so that Jacob decides,

eh, this is too much work.

But if you can stand,

you will break a bastion that he has built over years

and it will never rise again.

Never rise again.

You can't imagine the number of times

I had to stand up with faith against sickness.

For years I did that

when now that bastion's crumbled

and it is not much of a fight.

When you arm wrestle someone,

once you beat them three times,

they come to the table afraid.

I've tried it with my 11-year-old nephew.

He is dead scared of me now.

So,

don't cast away your confidence.

There's an old song, children's song,

keep the switch of faith turned on.

Don't cast away your confidence,

keep the switch of faith turned on.

Don't cast away your confidence,

Hebrews 10.35,

because great are the rewards.

Great are the rewards.

So,

don't cast away your confidence.

Let me conclude.

Use words, guys.

When you feel like you're weary,

when you, my God, man,

this is such a cancer in our midst.

We do not use words.

If after being persuaded you cannot use words,

it's highly unlikely that you will use words at home.

Guys, I know that most of you are resilient and stubborn,

but may I say something to you?

You're not disciplined.

It doesn't, it's not a blanket statement.

Maybe some of you are very disciplined,

but by a general rule,

we are stubborn, but we are not disciplined.

Stubbornness is what happens when we take a stubborn stand.

Nope, this is the way I want it.

It's not childlike, it's childish.

It's churlish.

It just demands its way.

Discipline is something else.

Discipline happens in here.

Discipline repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats,

and that is painful.

And if we don't learn it now,

we will not learn it in our old age.

Unfortunately.

Stubbornness and discipline are two different things.

Don't confuse them.

Just because you can take a stubborn stance

doesn't mean you are disciplined.

It just means you're stubborn.

I need to make that very clear

because I've seen people in this church

who really can stand,

have a high threshold of pain,

can be stubborn, can get things done,

but ask them to do something repeatedly

over a few weeks, months,

and you don't have the discipline for it.

These things are learned through discipline.

You got to do it again and again.

What?

Just because you get knocked down five times a day,

you're going to stay down?

Really?

Phoebe would never walk.

I'm sorry, I'm getting irritated.

Use words, guys.

No, actually, I'm not sorry at all.

Use words.

Use words.

Use words when you're feeling weary,

when you're feeling beaten down.

Use words.

Your faith or the lack of it speaks.

Your faith or the lack of it speaks.

Use words.

It has the power to impart life or impart death.

I know you know that.

But use words.

Use words.

Use words.

I know you know that.

It's in Proverbs 18, verse 20.

Proverbs 18:20

Use words.

Steal your ship to the port of his calling

by agreeing with him,

by confessing things that he is saying about you.

Remember, he said,

whoever says to this mountain, be removed.

Whoever says to this mulberry tree, be removed.

There is this combination when you use words

of faith and of authority,

where you begin to speak to things.

Be foolish.

Speak to things.

Speak to your back.

Speak to my shoulder.

Speak over people.

Keeping it in our heads will not do any good.

You don't know how many times I've said,

rotate a cuff, you will heal.

You will be repaired.

God has healed my body over and over again

in the last 32 years.

This hand will be healed.

And why am I saying it so confidently before you?

Because I'll come and show you soon.

This hand moving like a famous cricket bowler.

Yeah.

Right now I'm like that Sri Lankan bowler

who has to throw the ball like this.

What's his name?

Okay, sorry.

Apologies, apologies all around.

Yeah.

But soon, it'll be back in form.

It's only a matter of time.

This shoulder will repair.

I'm not saying, God, you better do it, okay?

My dignity is at stake.

No.

I'm not saying, God, you better do it, okay?

My dignity is at stake.

No.

It's the most normal thing for him to do.

After all, he's my father and he's back.

He's willing, he's holy, he's aware,

he is in charge and he's kind.

Yeah.

Use words, guys.

Use words.

And let me end with this sentence.

In my...

The more I quote COAT,

the more I quote my heart with faith,

the more I will reflect God's presence and promise.

The more you do this,

the more your heart gets coated with fresh...

the fresh paint of faith.

And if you don't,

your heart will reflect your circumstances.

If you do, your heart will mirror God's promise and provision.

That's the strange thing with faith.

You can't take a vacation,

because when you take a vacation,

the paint dries and it begins to reflect your circumstances.

But as you begin to walk in faith on a daily basis,

and here is a question I've asked Axe21 before.

Is it your preference to walk in faith,

or is it something you use when things are difficult?

Jesus' preference was to walk in faith.

It wasn't like, oops, no food today.

Let's go fishing. Let's believe for fish.

No, it was his preference.

And so then your heart gets coated with faith

and it begins to always reflect the promises and provision of God,

while otherwise it will mirror your circumstances.

And so faith has this ability to pull or connect

what is available from my Father in heaven

to my circumstances on earth.

What a beautiful sentence.

I don't know whether I came up with this sentence,

beautiful sentence.

I don't know whether I came up with it.

Really, I forgot.

Maybe it's someone else's, because it sounds really good.

Faith pulls or connects what my Father has in heaven

to my circumstances on earth.

It's like when you pull two wires and connect them

and the Christmas tree suddenly comes alight.

It's like that.

Faith pulls from heaven what my Father has for my situation

and connects it to my circumstances on earth,

and suddenly things begin to transpire.

Any questions?

Okay.

Sheldon, you want to come and play for a second?

Emily, you want to sing Miracle Worker?

We'll end with that, and then if anyone needs prayer,

we can pray for you.

Okay.

Pardon?

You are here.

Please believe that you receive it and behave like you receive it.

It's critical.

So important.

Why are you standing in the middle of the hall?

Let it show.

Let it show.

Let's sing the song as I play it.

Please pray.

Can I have the words for Waymaker?

Thank you.

You are here, moving in our midst.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, working in this place.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, moving in our midst.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, working in this place.

I worship you.

I worship you.

Because you are Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper,

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

You are Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper,

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

That is who you are.

That is who you are.

Yes, that is who you are.

You are here, touching every heart.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, healing every heart.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, and you're turning lives around.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, a man in every heart.

I worship you.

Let's sing that part again.

You are here, working in this place.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, mending every heart.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, turning lives around.

You are here, turning lives around.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You're mending every heart.

You are here, mending every heart.

I worship you.

I worship you.

You are here, a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper.

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper.

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper.

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper.

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.

Even when I can't see it, you're working.

Even when I can't feel it, you're working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

Even when I can't feel it, you're working.

Even when I don't see it, you're working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

Even when I don't see it, you're working.

Even when I don't feel it, you're working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

Even when I don't feel it, you're working.

Even when I don't see it, you're working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

You never stop, you never stop working.

You never stop, never stop.

You are way maker, miracle worker,

promise keeper, light in the darkness.

My God, that is who you are.

You are way maker, miracle worker,

promise keeper, light in the darkness.

My God, that is who you are.

That is who you are.

That is who you are.