Stance_acts29

About three weeks ago we started talking about standing.

How Ephesians 6 talks about stand in the day of evil.

So that was what we talked about three or four weeks ago.

Then from standing we moved to

the sound of marching on the top of the trees

which is from 2 Samuel and our conclusion was that

when you stand here on earth,

you fuel battles in the heavenlies

and that just as God said to David,

when you hear the sound of marching on top of the trees,

then I'll tell you to go forward.

We talked about that.

And so we talked about standing,

we talked about the sound of marching

and how standing here on earth fuels battles.

Today we talk about this whole idea of taking a stance.

Taking a stance.

And if you wanna define stance,

stance is basically the way in which someone stands.

It's a deliberate posture.

The way in which someone stands.

It's a deliberate posture.

It's a deliberate posture.

It's a deliberate posture.

So it's one thing to stand,

but it also matters how you stand.

It matters how you stand.

And so everyone has stances.

I don't know if you're old enough to remember Hulk Hogan.

Oh, you remember him?

I mean, Hulk Hogan had this stance.

Usain Bolt had this stance.

John Travolta had this stance.

The maple leaves have this stance.

It just depends, right?

So the point is, different people have different stances

and the reason you have a stance is

it begins to show people the kind of stand you're taking.

It's not enough to stand.

One must have a posture that begins to betray

the intent of your heart in terms of how you stand.

And so in the kingdom, our stance must portray three things.

Portray three things.

One, it's our stance in the kingdom

must portray our ability to steward things well,

must portray our ability to advance well,

and must portray our ability to be fruitful.

That's the kind of stance that we take here on earth.

If you are someone who's been transferred

from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the sun,

then the stance you take on earth,

the posture you adopt on earth,

the readiness that you display

must display these three things.

That I am someone who takes a stance

that lets the world know that I'm here

to steward things on God's behalf.

Two, I'm here to advance things on God's behalf.

Three, I'm supposed to be someone who bears fruit for God.

And it's a posture that takes us back to Genesis 1, 26 to 28,

where it says in the Genesis mandate that,

listen, I want you to steward,

I want you to advance and subdue,

and I want you to be fruitful.

Those were things that were said to Adam right off the bat.

It's a posture that fulfills the Genesis mandate.

And if there is one thing common to

what God wants us to do here,

then it is the ability to be faithful.

Our stance has to be faithful.

And faithfulness releases tons of things.

When faithfulness releases joy,

faithfulness releases life,

faithfulness releases trust from God,

faithfulness releases domain,

faithfulness releases dominion or rule.

Faithfulness releases these things.

Our stance is one that stewards faithfully,

our stance is one that advances faithfully,

our stance is one that bears forward

is one that bears fruit faithfully. And as we go into this further you'll

realize why this is so critical to our standing here guys. Faithfulness

increases your joy. Matthew 25, 21 says that because you were faithful he says

to the servant enter into my joy. Faithfulness increases trust. In 1st

Corinthians 4, 2 it says that one must prove himself faithful and when he does

he wins the trust of God. Faithfulness releases life. Revelation 2, 10 says

that if you are faithful to the end I will give you the crown of life.

Faithfulness increases your domain. He says to the servant who traded with five

minnows and made them ten minnows he says to them listen I'll give you ten cities

that you are charged over. Faithfulness gives you power over the nations.

Revelation 2, 26 if you are faithful to the end I will give you power over

nations. One of the things that this church just thrives at is power over

nations. Not that we have anything of our own to do but God will give us the

nations. We'll talk about that some more and it applies to everybody here. The

strange thing about any church is what is given to the church actually belongs

to its people. So if God says I give you nations then it means that listen if you

so choose you can have the nations in Vancouver or you can have the nations

outside Vancouver because this is the inheritance I'm giving you. We'll talk

about that a little later but the point is guys once we are faithful these are

the things that are released to us. My faithful stance will release to me joy

which is strength. My faithful stance will release to me life so that I have

more time and more vibrance to be faithful. My faithfulness will release to

me his trust or approval. My faithfulness will release to me domain

over which I have influence. My faithfulness will release to me dominion

or the ability to rule and steward things on God's behalf. This is the

critical importance of faithfulness in my stance and what are we saying our

stance should be? Our stance should be one that's faithfully stewards, that

faithfully advances, that faithfully bears fruit. Remember these three things

critical as a Christian there is no question of me not stewarding things

well. It's expected of me that Jacob you're my son my son Jesus Christ

stewards things well now I expect you to steward things well. What I placed in

your hand steward it well and it'll give you more faithful stewarding. Second

faithful advancement there is nothing called a stagnant Christian it is

impossible for a Christian to stand still. He's always advancing. Any

Christian who's standing still is a Christian who is just on the verge of

backsliding. You cannot stand still. Stagnation and Christianity don't go

hand-in-hand and so we cannot use our age, our jobs, our busyness, our physical

financial conditions as an excuse for stagnation. None of them stagnate

spiritual life. Finally there's a faithfulness in bearing fruit as in

it's not enough that I'm stewarding things well it's not enough that I'm

advancing in the causes and the desires of God. I must then show evidence by

bearing fruit and it goes back to the Genesis mandate. Any questions on that

before we go on? It's advancing is to take territory that is not yours yet but

has been given to you. Once you step into that territory in that territory you

must be fruitful. So in the Genesis mandate God says to Adam listen I want

you to go subdue but after you subdue I want you to replenish the earth

and be fruitful. It is not enough to take what God has given you. Now that you have

taken what God has given you it must be fruitful. It must bear the God kind of

fruit and so it all begins with what do you have in your hand right now Moses?

Or what do you have in your hand right now woman of Zarephath? What do you have

in your hand right now little boy with five loaves of bread and two fish? What

do you have in your hand right now? Show me how you faithfully steward it. We are

always asking for more so that we can show God how well we could do if we had

more and God is saying what do you have in your hand right now? Show me what you

got in your hand right now and show me how you can steward it well and see what

I'll do with it. Which is great because then no one's exempt eh? You don't need to

have stuff to show him that you are able. You start with what you have in your

hand and you might have very little in your hand right now so what? Since when

did you need ten loaves of bread and four fish? He could have done it with two

loaves of bread and one fish. It just so happened that the kid's mom was

generous that afternoon but the whole question is what do you have in your

hand right now? And then with that you begin to advance and once you begin to

have to show fruit. This is our stance. Standing is one thing you can just stand

but what kind of posture are you standing in? This must be a posture 24-7.

With everything this doesn't just apply to spiritual life it applies to every

area of life. Every area of life and age, busyness, jobs, your lack or your plenty

does not determine this. A guy who has lack can show himself faithful and be

put in charge of more than a guy who has plenty. Any questions? And guys nobody

can stop it. Nobody can stop faithfulness. If you're faithful, let's

assume you're faithful and I really don't like you. I'll stop you. I can put a

block in your path saying Wayne's showing himself faithful. I don't like his glasses.

I'm not going to allow him any room in this church. Guess what will happen?

Either God will give him another church to grow in or he'll remove me but

faithfulness will not be stopped. It is impossible for someone who's faithful

not to increase. Impossible. Impossible. God will either plant you elsewhere or

he'll remove the one stopping you. That's how certain this thing called

faithfulness is. It's a secret to successful Christianity guys. And it's the

hardest thing to do because faithfulness means consistency in the

things that you're doing when you have very little to start with. Any questions?

Yep. Any questions? Okay. Guys the opposite of faithful and good is wicked

and slothful. The opposite of faithful and good is wicked and slothful because

he says well done good and faithful servant but he also says wicked and

slothful servant. And when you go to Matthew 25 14 to 30 you read that parable

where it talks about that. And here's the thing. Wicked and slothful is someone,

this really bothered me, wicked and slothful is someone who maintains

instead of stewarding, who maintains instead of stewarding and preserves

instead of multiplying and preserves and preserves instead of multiplying or

gaining. That's what God calls someone who is slothful and wicked. He says one

who is slothful or wicked maintains. He doesn't steward. He just maintains what's

been given to him. Who does God call slothful and wicked? He calls the guy who

took the bag of gold he had and buried it. He maintained it. He didn't transact

business with it. He just maintained it. And so he calls the one who maintains

and does not steward it, he calls him slothful and wicked. He calls the one who

preserves and does not multiply slothful and wicked. Scares you because you think

that if you maintain and preserve that should be good enough but it ain't

because he wants you to multiply anything that's put in your charge. And

then he also calls wicked and slothful those who have a wrong image of him.

Those who have a wrong image of him because he tells a servant you thought I

was a hard master. You had a completely twisted image of me. Wrong image of him

and the problem with having a wrong image of God is if you have a wrong image

of God you have a distorted identity of yourself. You have a distorted identity

of yourself because if we are made in the image of God and your image of God

is wrong then your identity is distorted. If you're made in the image of God and

your image of God is wrong then your identity is distorted. So one of the

things Acts 29 should just take to heart or anyone listening to this forget Acts

29. One of the things we need to take to heart is that we cannot live life. None

of us sitting here can live life that preserves or maintains. Our lives must

show gain multiplication stewardship. And by stewardship all I mean is if he's

put you in charge of something he expects you to be responsible and he

expects you to transact with it and increase it and distribute it.

Stewardship takes care of all those things. Being responsible for what you've

been put in charge with. Being able to multiply it, being able to distribute it.

Always for the sake of someone else. Never for your own sake. And so here we

have one who is wicked and slothful. Let's assume God called me wicked and

slothful. What he would mean is hey Jacob you've been maintaining things

that are stewarding it. You've been preserving things into them multiplying

it. You have a wrong image of me and therefore you have a distorted identity

of yourself. And none of us can say but I'm old I'm this I'm that I don't have

much. Great start with what you have. Start with what you have. Anybody who

grows by any other method than faithfulness will one day either

collapse under its weight or will be found incapable of handling what has

been placed in his hand. Faithfulness is the only way to handle the things that

God places on you because God will always place on your things you can't

handle. Faithfulness is the only way. Any questions?

Because guys in the kingdom of God you can only steward or multiply by giving

your life away. In the kingdom of God you can only steward or multiply. This was

the if you thought that was the bad news here's the bad news. The bad news is if

you want to steward things and multiply things in the kingdom of God you've got

to give your life away. So it's not just that God is saying hey I want you to

steward and multiply. He says but if you want to steward and multiply Jacob it is

impossible to do that without giving your life away. But if you want to

maintain and preserve ah then you can keep your life. John 12 24 unless a seed

falls to the ground it cannot bear fruit. Conversely you can maintain and preserve

by keeping your life but if you want to steward and multiply you have to give

your life away. And what do we mean by giving your life away? Giving your

reputation away, giving your finances away, giving your security away, giving

your pride away, giving all the things that the world asks you to hold on to

you are now willing to lay down and the moment you decide to lay it down you

find your life multiplying and you find that you don't care much for what you're

laying down. It's odd how this works eh? On one hand you are laying down the most

important things that the world says your life is about you're laying it

down. The more you lay it down the more it multiplies but you couldn't care too

hoots about the fact that it's multiplying because you're continuously

laying it down. This is the only way forward in Christ. Every other way of

going forward in Christ is a distortion, is a mixture, is dilution. Challenge me if

I'm wrong in this if what I'm saying is wrong but there is no other way. My God

how dare we dilute his ways right? If this is the way he walked what choice

do we have guys? Any questions? Feel free to ask. Yeah like let's assume that I'm

I've not been faithful but you have placed me in charge because because I

did you a favor so you placed me in charge of something big and now I

haven't proven my muscle through faithfulness I've earned it because you

placed it on me and at some point I won't be able to handle this because

everything in God requires an ability that I don't have and the ability that I

don't have can only be developed through faithfulness. I mean Joshua had

absolutely no ability to bring Jericho down but he had one thing faithfulness I

will do what you tell me to I will go around that city seven times I will just

be faithful otherwise he can't bring the city down. David did not have the

ability to bring Goliath down but he had proven himself faithful with the lion

and the bear but Goliath was a whole different ballgame but he had to prove

his faithfulness. He did not have the ability to be a king he was a shepherd

boy who is singing the wilderness and yet he then had to spend two years

running around from Saul and in the process built his leadership built up

men built up the mighty 30 had people trust him he took on something he was

not able to but he proved himself faithful through the desert. Time and

time again you take anybody in Hebrews chapter 11 or any person in the Bible

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

that was worth his salt and he always ended up doing something that was beyond

him but he did it because he proved or she proved herself faithful over a

period of time and they were old and young they were poor and rich they were

able and unable. You had 84 year old 85 year old Caleb and you had 80 year old

Barzilai. You had 120 year old Moses because as we get sorry go ahead no I'm

saying that everybody had to prove themselves faithful for 40 years Moses

had to prove himself faithful 40 years. Any questions? Okay so this then raises

two questions for us guys and here are the two questions that we need to deal

with. Remember we said that one we have to steward what we have two we have to

advance you cannot separate this please remember you cannot separate this there

is a tendency in good churches to steward things well there is a tendency

in good churches to advance but what we require is not just stewarding things

well or advancing it has to be both I must steward what I presently have I

must advance into what God presently has I must steward what I presently have I

must advance into what God presently has and when that happens then you're

fruitful so here are the two questions we need to ask that it raises two

questions on one hand on one hand what and how am I doing what and how am I

doing with what with that which I have been given I have to ask this question

father how am I doing and what am I doing with what you've already given me

how am I doing with that what and how am I doing with that which you have already

given me how am I doing with that am I stewarding it properly am I paying it

enough attention am I nurturing it am I being responsible about it am I actually

pouring my sweat and blood to make sure that it grows am I asking you for how I

must deal with cumin and how much deal with caraway seeds and how I must deal

with different things like Isaiah 28 says am I finding out how things need to

be ground how things need to be separated am I doing that and if I don't

do that and just look at what God has in the future then it ain't Christianity so

that's the first question the second question is on the other hand am I

asking him for my inheritance and what is my inheritance Psalm 28 the nations

this is not specific to pastors this is specific to every child of God every

child of God must ask this thing so on one hand father given where I'm at given

my age given my job given where I'm living what do I presently have how am I

stewarding that how do you think I'm doing with that and the second thing is

father what about the inheritance that you want to give me and what is the

inheritance that you want to give me across this room the inheritance that

you receive is the same inheritance that your elder brother received nations

ask of me and I will give you nations as your inheritance some to it why is it

that we think that that only belongs to a few missionaries pastors speakers and

not to the rest of us it was given to all of us it was given to our elder

brother and we are co-heirs with him how we go about it may be different but how

could you and I ask for anything less it's like King Xerxes stretching out his

scepter towards Esther and saying to her ask of me half the kingdom she doesn't

ask for half the kingdom she asked for her people what are we asking for we

don't want half the kingdom that's a prosperity gospel what we are asking is

give me people oh god give me the people give me nations it's the same thing I

elder brother asked for how we go about it we can flesh out but please understand

that all of us ask for the same thing

questions

no questions any disagreements do you think perhaps that asking for the

nations is not your thing it's something less but then you must admit to you that

you're asking for something less if you are to imitate Christ you have to ask

what he asked for if you are to imitate Christ you are to ask for what he asked

for and God says to him at his coronation ask of me and I will give you

the nations for your inheritance

absolutely yeah but ask for the nations I'm not talking about going somewhere

we'll come not I can assure you all of us will not go to the nations it's not

the way God works God doesn't make bricks he makes stones they are

different so I'm not talking about all of us going off to different nations no

but ask him for the nations at the end of the day when we talk about nations

we are talking about the thing we sang in that song 8 billion different what's

that line 8 billion I can see your heart 8 billion different ways I love that line

and what's the next line every precious one a child you died to save I can see

8 billion different ways and these 8 billion are spread across nations and so

some of us may not go some of us may go but the point is 8 billion different

ways that his heart has expressed itself must now be gathered in and that is your

inheritance that is your inheritance we are his portion he's our portion but

this is our inheritance guys and this is the only thing that the church and

Christians are supposed to aim for everything else is what has been

brought in over the last few hundred years

questions okay guys and you'll see this pattern throughout in scripture in 2nd

Corinthians 10 12 Paul will say we will confine ourselves to the sphere of

service assigned to us so he'll say that in one breath and in the next breath

he'll say but we plan to expand and go beyond our presence sphere of activity

as your faith grows Matthew 25 15 each one was given according to his

present ability Matthew 25 verse 21 I will put you in charge of many things

Matthew 25:21

because you have shown yourself faithful 1st Corinthians 4 2 now it is required

that those who have been given a trust must prove themselves faithful Joshua

14 10 give me that hill country where the anach live so that I can go with God

and drive them out the point is each scripture shows that on one hand God is

saying hey Jacob be faithful in what I've given you stay within the sphere of

influence that I've presently given you show yourself faithful in that and hey

Jacob while you're being faithful in that I'm sorry you've been so faithful

I've got to give you more so advance into greater territory it's like

two steps at the same time you can't but do this every morning one should get up

and say father I will be faithful in what you have given me father but what

have you to add to what you already have given me hear that again this is a daily

cry father I will be faithful in what you have given me father what do you

want to add to what you have already given me given that I have been faithful

in what you have given me oh my god may age not stop you may age not stop you

because I'm telling you something faithfulness gives you life I'm talking

about real physical quickening life faithfulness gives you life faithfulness

gives you joy and if you have life and joy it's a potent combo man

so evaluate your life over the last two years evaluate your life over the last

two years 2017 2018 how did you do all these last two years did you preserve

and maintain life or did you gain and multiply it for the sake of others did

you preserve and maintain life or did you gain and multiply it did you steward

it well and if we haven't done well praise God we got an opportunity to

start today did you preserve and maintain life over the last two years or

did you gain and multiply it for the sake of others

guys this church God will shut it down if we don't steward in advance he'll

shut it down if this church ever goes into maintenance mode he'll shut it down

because he's put far too much in this for us to go into maintenance or

preservation mode he'll shut it down and I would rather that he shut it down

because we have to both steward and advance and be fruitful and none of us I

exempt from this I love the fact that this applies to all of us none of us are

exempt you know today or actually day before yesterday Feb 22nd is the day

that acts 29 this church enters into its 14th year we were officially

recognized as a church on Feb 22nd 2006 we had been around in 2005 to so

whichever way you cut it this is we're at that point in our life where we're

entering the 14th year and I'm not going I'm not trying to make much out of the

14th year thingy but the question we need to ask as we go into the 14th year

of our life is what is our stance what is our stance what is our stance and our

stance has to have both this and this so let's look at how we need to be going

into the future

so here are some things that we can't let go of a what is our stance the first

stance we have is steward steward faithfully what has been given steward

faithfully what has been given steward faithfully what has been given and what

have we been given here are some of the things that we already know that we have

to hold on to we must live the teachings of Christ and his Apostles live the

teachings of Christ and his Apostles if you want to figure out what the

teachings are second Peter 3 verses 1 & 2 will give you an idea where it says go

2 Peter 3:1

back to that with the Holy Prophet said uttered and that Christ had commanded

and that was given to you through the Apostles basically is the epistles and

the Gospels and some of the sayings that prophets of old had spoken of that

pointed towards Christ and what he would build here on earth and what is he

building here on earth the church the only thing that he's still building here

on earth is a church so the first thing steward faithfully what has been given

these are some of the things we have to steward faithfully can never back off

on this live the teachings of Christ and his Apostles live the teachings of

Christ and his Apostles to teach the teachings of Christ and his Apostles

teach the teachings of Christ and his Apostles Christ put it this way teaching

them to observe everything that I have taught you Matthew 28 so live the

teachings of Christ and his Apostles teach the teachings of Christ and his

Apostles why so that we may bear accurate witness in a watching world so

that we may bear accurate witness these are things guys if we miss out on then

we've lost what has been gained over the last 13 years so it's my

responsibility and your responsibility as leaders and parts of this church part

of part of the sure that we will continuously learn to live effortlessly

the teachings of Christ openly and we will teach the teachings of Christ

anywhere and everywhere we go beat one person or 20 people or a hundred people

people why because we want to cultivate an accurate witness because the world is

watching three rally your life and your family around the teaching around the

teaching so that we can participate in this beautiful thing called the church

which is his temple and his family rally your lives around the teaching so we can

be the church yeah yeah yeah one of the things that's required of us as we go

forward is not to forget these things that we've established since 2015 that

we'll rally our lives we'll rally our jobs we'll rally our possessions we'll

rally our monies we rally as in we bring everything and center it around put the

focus on the tea on the one thing that we are supposed to become here on earth

which is the church which is a temple and his family the temple of God and his

family remember talking about this right for those of us who missed out on it

quick diagram that will bring us back to reality and which will shock us and

perhaps cause us not to come back here is the usual formula is me and my family

are at the center we will occasionally serve the church we will use 10% of our

monies to help God's business we will give some time after our jobs are done

to the church and we will perhaps leave a sum of our possessions for God me and

my family at the center we will serve God will give him some time and we serve

God back so that's one picture that's the usual picture but here's a real

picture Christ and the church at the center me and my family exists for one

reason alone to serve Christ and the church all my wealth is at his disposal

not just 10% my job is a method of causing God to enter the world and the

world to enter God and my possessions are also available at his disposal this is

real Christianity this is diluted Christianity in diluted Christianity me

and my family are at the center and we do serve God and we do give him 10% and

after our jobs are done we do put in some time and our possessions we do part

with it every now and then but real Christianity is when Christ and church

at the center me and family my family exists for one reason alone to serve him

our wealth exists for one reason alone to serve him our jobs exist for one

reason alone to serve him and our possessions exist for one reason alone to

serve him if you don't believe this check out Matthew 10 and Luke 14 I'm

giving you the good news Jesus spills it out even more aggressively this is

giving your life away

this is giving a little to the kingdom

any questions we've been through this before so I'm assuming you don't have

any questions you should have asked them two years ago

ok guys when truths are difficult to handle don't collide with them and fall

down bend yourself so that you can carry it and let it work its way through

you sometimes and truth are hard to handle and you collide with it you're

broken instead of that when truths are difficult to handle just bend a little

carried on your back work on it and over a period of time let it work into

you so that you become what it needs you to become if you try to take it on

straight away it sometimes breaks you can rally your life and your family

the last one is rally the church around mission rally the church around mission

we rally our families and our lives around the church and then we rally the

church around mission and the moment we rally the church around mission it means

that we begin to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel

we begin to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel I don't mind going over this at

least 52 times a year because this is the one thing that church has forgotten

any questions on this so my responsibility as a pastor is very simple I must encourage us and

model what it is to live the teachings of Christ and his apostles I must teach the teachings of

Christ and his apostles and must practice them myself so that we may bear accurate witness in

the community third I must rally my life and my family's life and encourage you to rally your

life and your family's life around the teaching so that we can participate in this beautiful thing

that Christ has made which is called a church which is the temple of God as in where he dwells

and the family of God where he is father and we are children but it is a profitable family business

this is not some family business where prophets don't come in like I've said before we have a

Godfather and he runs a profitable family business and then we rally the church around God's mission

what's God's mission I've come to restore the world and you are the voice through which I will

restore it so therefore proclaim and demonstrate the gospel guys I don't mind going over this

again and again because after having gone over this at least a hundred times we still sometimes

struggle with this right so it's worth going over again and again any questions on that

okay now the second part this is what we already have learned so this is what we must nurture we

must do it it as people come in we must teach them what we are learning but now comes the other part

what about the inheritance that God has for us what about the inheritance that God has for us

that's the second part how do we advance how do we advance into what is being given to us and what

are we being given we are being given the nations so we got a very simple mandate guys everybody here

has a very simple mandate from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth that's

your mandate doesn't matter who you are the mandate is common that's the only mandate we have from

Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and the ends of the earth everything else we do your job your vocation

your salary your family everything serves a simple mandate from Jerusalem to Judea to the Samaria to

the ends of the earth there is no other mandate if there is another mandate please raise your hands

and let me know and if it is biblical I'll wipe this off the board there is really no other mandate

Acts chapter 1 8 I've sent the Holy Spirit so that you may carry the news from Jerusalem to

Acts 1 · chapter mention

the ends of the earth Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 14 so that my glory may cover the earth as the

Habakkuk 2:14

waters cover the seas as for acts 15 verse 15 and 16 rebuild the temple tabernacle of David so

Acts 15:15

that the Gentiles may seek my name right to the ends of the earth Matthew 28 20 go preach the gospel

to all nations at the end of the day this is your mandate whoever you are whatever you do serves this

purpose it must grab our insides eh I have the advantage of being a pastor so it grabs my

insides because that seems to be one of the main things I'm doing for you it might be a little

more difficult to grab grab it just because there are 20 other things that you do besides what I'm

doing acts 1 8 Psalm 2 8 acts 15 17 Matthew 28 20 acts 1 8 acts 15 17 Psalm 2 8 Matthew 28 20

so one of the questions that we should ask is what is the apostolic map that has been given to

this church guys think of this way if you were in Israel and you were one of the tribes and so

there was this famous Israelite tribe called the Bergmans and another famous Israelite tribe

called the Callahan's and so when they come into the land God says Callahan's you shall get this

part of land and then the Callahan's had their clan and so each clan got a certain amount of

land the same with Bergmans the Bergmans would get a piece of land and they would have to cultivate

their own little plots in the same way what is the apostolic map that has been given to this church

because once we have a look at it you can decide which part of the land God wants you to have and

which part of the land you would desire to have God likes both he likes to give you and he also

asks you what do you want with Caleb it was Caleb going and asking Moses hey Moses can I have that

that was not allotted to him but he was asking for that he also got land allotted to him God

does it two ways Jacob what do you want I'll give you that and Jacob by the way I also have something

for you you get both you get what you want and you also get what he is giving and if you have an

idea of what this church has been given then I would suggest to you that you can begin to pick

look at the map that is before us Ryan you want to go to the next slide guys what's your pick here

what do you want do you want the households in Vancouver do you want Delta do you want Maple

Ridge do you want Abu Dhabi or do you want Cardiff do you want India do you want Hong Kong do you

want New Zealand do you want Sao Paulo do you want South Africa do you want Lithuania do you

want Hanoi do you want Izmir do you want Tokyo Jodhpur Cairo Naples and New York the ones in

italics are the ones that are already done so you can't have them the one in white is just to show

you the countries that are at work in these places the churches we've planted in Vancouver

in Bahrain in India and UK now service these different cities some of them we haven't gone

to yet Naples hasn't been gone to Cairo hasn't been gone to Izmir hasn't been going to Lithuania

hasn't been gone to Hong Kong hasn't been gone to the rest of the place places we've already gone

to which do you want I mean don't think that this church is capable of doing this revelations 3 8 I

see that you have little strength but behold I place before you an open door we must worship

God that he thinks that he can take a bunch of nobodies like you and me and send us into

these different places because we don't have the resources for it we don't have the manpower for

it we don't have the smarts for it we don't have the skill for it but we got this great big wonderful

and he's saying I'm giving you a map what do you want where what would you like from this

besides the fact that I'm gonna allot stuff to you blows my mind when I write it down I think to

myself but father we don't have the money for it yeah I know father we don't have the manpower

for it yeah I know father we don't know what to do that yeah I know what does he want from us

faithfulness in stewarding faithfulness in advancing and if we do he'll make us fruitful

some of us may not go to these places there are different ways this can be support I'm

not talking about finances guys finances are the least of the problem me finances have never

been the problem in mission any questions before we conclude some of us may have an outward mobile

where the intent is go to different nations some of us are meant to establish things locally praise

God that we have both in this church some of us are meant to establish things in the households

that are in Vancouver in the church that will be starting in Delta in the church that will be

starting in two weeks in Maple Ridge we have the ability to build things here what about this

meeting here that we have here at Pilgrim people are needed to locally establish things because

we have to steward what we already have been given but then there'll be some that have outward

mobility where some of us will actually go places where at the drop of the hat you have the ability

to say okay I'm coming money is never the problem I don't mean it I'm not just shrugging it up saying

money is not the problem I realize everything needs money to run but money has never been the

problem I pray God that you take time to figure out where you want to go if you have a desire

to go but once you have desired that you want to go to one of these fields that have been given to

acts 29 then you need to muscle up and present yourself ready willing and approved muscle up

and present yourself ready willing and approved it is not enough for me to say I want to go once

I say I want to go hey there's a reason I don't go hiking with you up the grouse grind I'm not

ready to do it I don't have the shoes for it and those are the smaller excuses but if I say that

yes I want to take the top of grouse mountain then I'll have to muscle up I'll have to present

myself ready willing and approved it's one thing to desire something it's another thing to be

approved for it because you're ready so here are four categories that I pray God we'll remember

and one in every church there are people who are able and available this is a rarity in most

churches they able and available but fortunately in this church I'm surprised at how many are both

able and available this is usually a rarity the second category is able and unavailable this is

the most common category in churches and there are valid reasons perhaps but valid reasons aren't

right reasons they are just valid able and available is one category able and unavailable

is the second category where you are able you really want to you're able but you're not available

that's the most common category the third category is unable and available and if you're

unable when available then it is the responsibility of the leadership to make you ready responsibility

of the pastor and the leaders to make you able what normally happens in churches where people

are not able is that pastors just frown at them put them on the side make them do the ushering and

then move on with guys who are better and that is completely wrong if I'm available and I'm

unable it is then the leaders responsibility to make me able and then there's the last category

and the last category is unable and unavailable this is not Christian and if this is someone's

condition then someone was questioned whether they're Christians because as a Christian you

can't be unable and unavailable they just don't go with your Christianity these are the four

categories that we fall into all these three can be worked with this one can't be worked with

guys in Luke 14 28 when Jesus says count the cost he wasn't really saying count the cost and once

you decide then you can follow me his intent was to convey that no matter the resources that you

have and that you may lay down I want you to know that your assets are insufficient to do what I'm

asking you to do that's more along the lines of what he was saying he wasn't saying Jacob count

the cost and then decide if you can follow me you're saying count the cost and you'll find out

that regardless of how much you laid out what you have just ain't enough to follow me and therefore

alternative action is required and what is that alternative action that of considering everything

in life of less worth compared to following him I remember saying this long ago live as though

condemned to death unaffected by the things that the living cr Sor live as though contempt

to death unaffected by the things that the living crave for live as though condemned to death unaffected

by the things that the living crave for live as though condemned to death unaffected by the things

that the living crave for. Where one begins to renounce one's primary allegiance and rearranges

one's loyalties. That father this is the thing that I was taught to pursue but this is who

I now pursue. Then this category becomes alive, able and available. I'll stop here. We'll

conclude with that song which says in the crushing in the what's that song called? Yeah,

New Wine. New Wine. Yeah. And True Wine. Both are fine. Yeah. So any questions before I ask my last

question? Any questions? Can you speak a little louder? Yeah. Okay, if you fall into the third

category then it's my job to make sure that you're made able. If you fall into the second

category where you're able and unavailable then all you can do is try to take the horse to the

water, sprinkle salt in the oats and see if it'll feel thirsty at some point. Because if you're

unavailable there's nothing one can do to make you available. It's a decision that you have to

make. Guys the only reason we are unavailable for something is one because we are physically

not capable or two because we have other priorities. I wish there was some other spin I could put on

this that would make it more palatable. And there's nothing wrong with other priorities. Remember

we are not talking about going out to different nations. All of us will not go to different

nations. I'm just saying that one must be available for one simple thing through our jobs,

through our motherhood, through our work in the kitchen, through our work throwing out the garbage,

through our work in our lawns, through everything that we do. We have just one mandate that is

common. Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. I will live the teachings of Christ

out. I will proclaim and demonstrate the gospel and I will rally everything in my life to serve

Christ and the church. If this grabs us then you don't have to go to Timbuktu. And if that grabs

you, perhaps you are one who should go to Timbuktu. So we're not saying that if you make yourself

able and available we are going to pack you off to Izmir, though I'd love to send you there rather

than me go there because I heard it's not a very nice place. But the point is it's not to pack you

off somewhere. It is to say Jacob this is the only thing I live for. This is the only thing I live

for. This guy just got a job right? He just got a job in a new country, came and talked about it,

testified to how good God is. Now that he has testified to how good God is he says father now

that you've given me this job that seems impossible and I start off at the same place that I left

and earn more I just want to lay down and let you know that if the wind can go where you send it so

will I. Count your blessings, renounce them one by one. Not recount them one by one,

renounce them one by one. This is what is being asked of us guys. I just thrill at the fact

that we cannot escape this. That's okay Joan.

Guys any questions please? Ann does it answer you? I mean if you're able and available there's

let's assume you are the one you're talking about and I know it's not but let's assume for a second

that you're guilty so you're able and you're unavailable there's nothing I can do about it

nothing Kamal can do about it we just have to wait till your priorities will shift so that you become

available and the great thing is we do not have the ability to do this. When I look at that list

on one hand I can pat myself on the back and say wow what a great church and then on the other hand

realize immediately that we do not have the ability to do this. We are too small in numbers,

we don't have the money, we don't have the smarts.

And then you have to worship saying oh god you are the one who opens doors that nobody can shut,

you're the one who shuts doors that nobody can open.

Any thoughts any questions guys? I pray god that it grips your heart man.

I think anyone who is available and available becomes very evident. You know you have those kids

in your class they don't know a thing but their hand goes up. All the teachers started laughing

immediately. Every teacher in this room just because there are these kids who don't know the

answer but their hands go up immediately. You know there is a willingness they desperately want to be

available but they're absolutely unavailable. They don't know any they don't know and then it's the

job of the teacher to help them.

Like they're just waiting to be out so no need to go outside.

Then it's your responsibility to support it and encourage them. Guys leaders have a tremendous

part to play in this where one has to go by not what you see but what you see inside someone

and extract it and raise them. We're starting the church in Delta on March 31st.

It's starting the church in Maple Ridge March 14th. I'm going to Hanoi March 17th.

Going to Lithuania April 2nd. Going to Izmir not me you.

If you think that this is something god has for you let me know. Just because you let me know

doesn't mean you'll be going you'll have to muscle up and prove yourself approved.

But it would be so awesome if some of us went some of us established things at home

because your mandate is very simple Jerusalem Judea Samaria ends of the earth. Our stance is

very simple we steward what we have and we keep advancing so that we may be fruitful.

Yeah cool. Hey do you want to just sing that song and as we sing the song I want you to

ask this question are you able to rearrange your heart and your head so that

these things grip you more than your job your security your possessions.

Can you rearrange your heart and your head your feelings and your thoughts so that what

grips you is Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the ends of the earth. What grips you is Delta Maple Ridge

Izmir. Can you rearrange your priorities so that these things that we talked about grips you.

Can you and I say father for this I live and for this I die. Your purpose your pleasure.

That you no longer live for yourself you live for Christ and for others.

The intent is oh God can I proclaim and demonstrate the gospel so that others too

8 billion others made in your image can get to experience what I presently live.

I just start singing guys because I won't stop talking.