Living like the Bride

We are talking about being unleavened today.

And it's a continuation of this whole idea of Gilgal

and authentic sons and cleaving the heavens open.

So if you want to find out more about what I mean,

you'll have to go and listen to the tapes.

Someone was telling me that,

man, sometimes we are Zion people,

sometimes we are Gilgal people,

sometimes we are this people and that people.

I get quite confusing, I agree.

So let's leave those terms out for the present.

Let me start by saying this in introduction that,

guys, authentic sons, and we said our theme

that the Lord has given us for 2010,

which has already started, is open heavens, authentic sons.

Open heavens, authentic sons.

And the premise that we've discussed thus far,

thanks Heidi, is this, that authentic sons

have the ability to cleave heavens open.

Authentic sons have the ability to cleave heavens open.

Not to part heavens, to cleave it open,

to literally tear it apart.

And where do we get this?

We get this from Matthew 3,

where an authentic son, the authentic son, the Christ,

steps out of the water.

And when he steps out of the water,

the Bible says that the heavens were torn open.

And from the heavens came a voice which said,

this is my son in whom I delight and listen to him.

And the whole intent of what we're trying to shape

before we enter 2010, is that we want to be authentic sons

who have the ability to cleave the heavens open,

so that we can become oracles of God,

where God will say, listen to these people.

They've got what I want to release on earth.

Listen to them, because they have become authentic sons.

Because they have separated the waters,

and the separation of waters, we said,

was in aligning with the purposes of God,

and setting aside that which is not of God.

We talked about that.

That's what we are called to be through this year and into 2010.

And I wouldn't be surprised, as I said,

if Eddie talked about this at the conference,

if he's coming next year.

That authentic sons have the ability

to cleave the heavens open.

When the heavens are cleaved open,

because of the ways these sons are growing up and behaving,

what will happen is,

God will begin to use them as oracles of God on earth.

And once he begins to use them as oracles of God on earth,

here's what will happen.

There'll be tremendous favor.

There'll be tremendous understanding of Revelation.

It's one thing to see Revelation.

It's another thing to understand and demonstrate it.

It is not the truth that sets you free.

It's the knowledge of the truth that sets you free, guys.

You'll hear this word bandied about nowadays

in Christian circles, open heaven, open heaven, open heaven.

They'll even locate places where there are open heavens.

That's an Old Testament model.

You do not look into the New Testament

through the lenses of the Old Testament.

You stand in the New Testament,

wear lenses of the New Testament

and look at the Old Testament.

You cannot take locations and make them open heavens.

This is unscriptural.

It's wrong.

And I'm coming out strong against it,

because it is something that is not right.

Because it is substance less,

but is being spoken about like nobody's business.

It excites people, but it is not true.

An open heaven is when God's favor is upon you

because you have begun to walk like an authentic son.

If I don't walk as an authentic son,

I can use those two words, open heaven,

in my talking as much as I want,

and it doesn't mean zip.

God, I understand this.

We are not here to tickle ears, guys.

We are not tickling ears here.

Authentic sons cleave open the heavens,

and then they begin to walk under the scepter

of the Lion of Judah.

We talked about that when we talked about the book of Esther,

and we said, King Xerxes held out his scepter in favor

and welcome to Esther, and she came forth.

And it's the same way with us.

When we as authentic sons begin to walk like authentic sons,

the heavens cleave open,

and you begin to walk under the scepter of the Lion of Judah

in favor, in his delight, in his authority,

and in his understanding.

Do you want to see who an authentic son is?

Look at Jesus.

He walked in God's favor.

He walked in his delight.

He said, this is my son in whom I'm delighted.

He walked as an oracle of God on earth because the father said,

listen to him.

He walked in understanding that starts right off in Luke 152.

The boy grew up in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man,

and he walks in authority.

He knew his authority.

This is what authentic sons look like.

When a church becomes this, can you imagine the oracle of God on earth suddenly?

Even if it's half this crowd, you become an oracle of God on earth.

You begin to speak the things of God on earth,

and it doesn't matter if you don't have a wide platform

because when words are spoken, they go forth and accomplish what they've been sent out for.

This is how it works, guys.

This is how it works.

Like I said, once we become oracles of God, it's not just a message, guys.

It's not just a message of kingdom that we speak.

We become the message.

Everything we speak, we already are.

We become the message.

The messenger becomes the message.

Imagine that.

The messenger becomes the message.

That's what happens.

There were so many times when Jesus didn't speak a word

and yet circumstances around him would change.

The messenger becomes the message.

And the message of the kingdom...

I mean, you know what the kingdom is?

The kingdom is Jesus Christ's reign on earth.

That's the kingdom.

The message of Jesus Christ's reign on earth is unleavened.

Is unleavened.

Is unleavened.

The message of the kingdom is unleavened.

What I mean by that is it's free of wickedness.

It's free of malice.

Instead, it's full of sincerity and truth.

So on one hand, the message of the kingdom is free of malice and wickedness.

On the other hand, the message of the kingdom is full of sincerity and truth.

It's free of rules, but it's full of principles.

Isn't that awesome?

It's free of rules, but it's full of principles.

I like what Paul says.

Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.

It's free of rules, but full of principles.

It's free of coercion of forcing somebody or trying to make something happen.

It's free of coercion.

Like Marcus was saying, it's free of having to strive.

It's free of coercion, but it's full of yieldedness and trust.

Full of yieldedness and trust.

Free of coercion, C-O-E-R-C-I-O-N, and yet full of yielded trust.

It's free of condemnation and full of love.

Free of condemnation, full of love.

Free of condemnation, full of love.

Guys, this is the unleavened message of the kingdom.

And when I say unleavened, we'll talk about what unleavened means a little later.

But it's unleavened, meaning nothing has been added that is not unleavened.

It's unleavened, meaning nothing has been added that is not unleavened.

But it's unleavened, meaning nothing has been added that is not of God.

If this is the unleavened message of the kingdom, here's my question to you.

Is this your life as the messenger?

Because if this is the message of the kingdom, then the life of the messenger has to be unleavened too.

Do you understand why it's important to grasp the whole principle of being unleavened?

If the message is unleavened, the messenger has to be unleavened.

Vital.

My profession should match my lifestyle.

My lifestyle should match my profession.

I know we talked about this before.

You heard messages on this before, but this is a little different.

But I just want us to understand why we are talking about this.

And to elaborate on this, we'll take 1 Corinthians 5 as a test case

where Paul calls individuals and the corporate body back to being unleavened.

And we'll draw out principles from 1 Corinthians 5 for this house.

1 Corinthians 5.

I'm going to read the whole thing.

I'm reading from the NIV.

The NIV is not necessarily always the accurate version, nor is the KJV by the way.

But we'll do with what we have right now.

1 Corinthians 5.

Okay, here goes.

This is a test case that explains the principles of being unleavened.

Paul talks about it.

It is actually, chapter 5 verse 1.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you

and of a kind that does not occur even among the pagans.

A man has his father's wife and you are proud?

Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship

the man who did this?

Even though I'm not physically present,

I'm with you in spirit.

And you thought Sewell invented that line.

Even though I'm not physically present, I'm with you in spirit.

And I have already passed judgment on the ones who did this just as I were present.

When you're assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus

and I am with you in spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,

hand this man over to Satan so that the sinful nature may be destroyed

and the spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good.

Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast,

as you really are.

For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

Therefore let us keep the festival not with the old yeast,

the yeast of malice and wickedness,

but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

I have written you in my letters not to associate with sexually immoral people.

Not at all meaning the people of the world who are immoral or greedy

and swindlers or idolaters.

In that case you would have to leave this world.

But now I'm writing you that you may,

that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother,

but is sexually immoral or greedy or idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.

With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?

Are you not to judge those inside?

God will judge those outside.

Expel the wicked man from among you.

Strong eh?

Okay.

So talking about church and sin guys,

whenever there is a gap or a discrepancy between

the profession of a church and the lifestyle of a church,

it requires confrontation

and it requires a reconciliation of sin.

We talked about reconciliation last time.

Whenever there's a gap between what the church professes and the lifestyle of the church,

and we're talking about a people now,

and a people is made up of individuals parts.

Whenever there is a gap between what a church professes are its values

and it is, it is,

doesn't match up with the lifestyle of individuals that make up the church,

then it needs to be confronted and it needs to be reconciled.

So my question to you is does that mean

if there's a sin in my life, you have to confront it or how does it work?

What sins does the church deal with?

I mean,

because if it were to become the rule or the principle that

if there is any sin in anyone's life in the church confronted,

then all we would do every Sunday at least is to confront sin.

So where is the line?

Where is the logic in this?

What do you think?

I mean, does the church monitor everyone's sins now and who is the church?

Is it the pastor?

Is it a group of people who are elders who go around to each house looking for sins?

How does it work?

Do we monitor each other's sins or how does the church deal with it?

Causes someone to stumble?

All of the above.

All of the above?

Anyone else?

Pardon? At the appropriate time?

I'd like to use a word

that

best explains it.

When there is contaminating sin

in the church,

when there is contaminating sin in the church,

then the church must deal with it.

And by contaminating sin,

I mean sin that infects or spreads in the

body where one individual sin is

a source of the other sin.

In the

body where one individual sin now begins to affect

the body.

When there is contaminating sin in the church,

it'll need to be dealt with.

Contaminating sin that we see in the Bible, for example, in Revelation 2 20,

Jesus tells the church in the theater, I'm not too sure.

It says,

I'm sad that you have tolerated Jezebel,

who is now beginning to spread sexual immorality and idolatry in your

midst.

So one of the contaminating sins that a church would have to deal with

is false doctrine.

False doctrine.

Now the contaminating sin is surprisingly greed.

Greed.

Greed.

For instance, what if I were to engage in a business and

come to your houses to pray and start selling you my business?

What if I were to take your offerings to build my own empire?

Greed. Jude talks about it.

Peter talks about it.

People whose God is their belly.

Contaminating sin.

There are churches here in Vancouver that are broken up because of money

being

moved from place to place.

Greed is a contaminating sin.

Another contaminating sin is abuse.

Any form of abuse in the church, be it between a husband and wife in a

home that we are aware of and that we do not do anything about

or abuse from the pastor or the elders upon the people is a contaminating

sin because it brings in control and dominance that is completely

opposite of everything the cross represents.

Contaminating sins are sins that the church is aware of but will not

do anything about.

They will tolerate it and in tolerating it, it is beginning to infect

the church because they're lowering the standards that God has

set.

Why?

So that peacekeeping is put into place.

Sexual immorality.

Another contaminating sin, which is what Paul deals with right here.

You must understand the background of this.

Here is a man who's living with his stepmom.

It's not a one-night stand.

He is living with her on a regular basis.

The church is aware of it and is refusing to do anything about it.

Now in us as Christians, we think that is such a terrible thing.

Please understand in Corinth that was normal.

It was a decadent society in which having a mistress was a very normal

thing as it still is in certain cultures and societies around the

world, even among Christians.

So for us it might be, oh, how could he?

But for them it wasn't a big deal, which is why Paul continuously

had to write about idolatry and sexual immorality to the Corinthian

church.

But if there's sexual immorality in this house and we are aware of

it and we do not confront it, that is again a contaminating sin.

Because the reason we will not confront it is because we want to

keep peace.

How?

By completely ejecting the peace giver.

The Prince of Peace, we kick out so that we can have peace in the

church.

How ridiculous is that?

That's contaminating sin.

Strife and rebellion is contaminating sin.

Strife and rebellion is contaminating sin guys.

Strife spreads, rebellion spreads.

Accusation and slander is contaminating sin.

How about that one?

Never thought of that eh?

At least I didn't.

That accusation and slander within a body is contaminating sin.

Strife and rebellion is contaminating sin.

Sorry, yeah, gossip is part of slander and accusation is contaminating

sin.

Just imagine that.

It spreads and infects.

How can I not infect you if I come and gossip about Anne and Elmer

and you go and tell somebody else, tell me how I'm not infecting the

church.

Strife is dissension, quarrel where we are in the middle of a

where we keep, we divide the church into factions.

These are contaminating sins.

It spreads.

I mean we, I mean you can see it in families.

You can see it in companies.

You can see it in churches where you get divided into two or three

different factions.

I'm of Paul, I'm of Paulus and I'm of Cephas.

Happens so often.

Unforgiveness.

Contaminating sin.

Unforgiveness is a contaminating sin.

And then any sin where you are approached by the church and asked

to make restitution restore and come into a place of reconciliation.

If you refuse that, that is a contaminating sin.

So let's assume you come and tell me Jacob, this is what we as a

church have decided so that you can bring yourself back into reconciliation

with the body and with God and I refuse it.

I said no.

Then I need to be expelled because now if I stay I will contaminate

the church because I have refused the most vital thing that the

Holy Spirit does in a community, which is to bring reconciliation.

He reconciles us with Christ and he reconciles us as a body, which

is why in first Corinthians 12-13 says you have been baptized

into a body by the Holy Spirit.

It's like a part that is gangrenous and refuses to go to the doctor

or go for healing or go for anything that will take the gangren

away and says no, I want to be part of the body.

It stays in the body.

Your body will die.

It requires expulsion.

Questions?

Unforgiveness almost always results in strife, dissension,

accusations, slander, gossip in the body.

If unforgiveness is there, if for instance, I have something

against Elmer and Anne, it will eventually spread.

Within the body.

Yeah.

Outside it's your personal thing that you have to sort out,

but if it's anyone in the body, it needs to be sorted out.

If I'm aware of it, I would, I mean there were two people in

this church who needed to settle things and so one day they

both sat down.

They were both willing to, they both sat down and I locked

the doors and left and they sorted things out and I came

back and they were friends.

I mean they were never enemies, but they needed to sort out

stuff.

It was as simple as that.

Lock people up and leave.

But within the body it needs to be sorted out.

Then I now take Heidi and Chris and Wayne with me and we go

and say you need to do this and they refuse again.

So now I come to the church and I say these two are refusing

to reconcile.

We as a church need to now tell them and we go tell them

that and then if they refuse treat them as if they were

heathen.

Yes, you never ask a person to leave the church because of

sin.

You always sin.

The church is a great place for sinners in a sense, but you

only ask a person to leave when they refuse to reconcile

with God and with each other.

So let me change the words.

That was a Jewish word.

So it works in their context.

Treat them as one who is not part of your fellowship.

That would be the way we would say now not as heathen because

for the Jews it was very clear how to treat heathen.

Oh, they wouldn't do would not allow a Gentile into his

house.

Matthew 18 if you just want to turn that quickly Matthew 18.

We have to aspire to these high standards because the Christ

we serve is a holy holy wonderful absolutely attainable

standard God.

Matthew 18.

Matthew 8, sorry, Matthew 8.

Matthew 8.

Nuts.

Where is it?

Guys, can you find that part?

Oh Matthew, let me just sorry guys.

I thought it was Matthew 8.

Oh, sorry, Matthew 1815 Matthew 1815.

I was right.

Matthew 1815.

Here goes.

This is what acts 29 will have to operate by.

If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault.

Just between the two of you.

If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

But if we will not listen take one or two others along so

that every matter may be established by the testimony of

two or three witnesses.

If he refuses to listen to them tell it to the church and

if he refuses to listen to even to the church treat him as

you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I tell you the truth.

Whatever you forbid or do not allow on earth will be forbidden

and not allowed in heaven and whatever you lose or permit on

earth will be loosed and permitted in heaven.

That's how and just so you know church if as you said God

forbid such a situation happened where I refuse to listen

to the individual who's come and there's a in the case of an

elder everything has to be first of all established by two

or three witnesses.

You cannot bring an accusation against an elder just with

I feel like bringing an accusation you have to establish

it by two or three witnesses after that you come and tell

me and I refuse it you go and speak to the elders and they

come and tell me and I refuse the church tells me and I

refuse it and I pull rank on you then I just want you to

know that one of the things that I have set in place for

29 is there are two people that I've asked that you can approach

one of them is Eddie and the second one is Bob Krant Bob

Krant not as a regional minister of the North American

Baptist but Bob Krant as a friend of acts 29 as a friend

of Jacob.

These are two people you can go to and they will speak they

will listen to you and they'll speak to me not with an intent

of doing me harm but to remedy the situation but these are

two people you can go to because no one is exempt from this

process.

It has to be established.

Eddie might I feel terrible if Eddie had to do that because

I love him so and I'd like to honor him with my life in a

sense of speaking but if he's too far away you can go to

Bob.

Good.

Yep, non-contaminating sin would be anything else that is

personal between you and God where like last time I told you

about lying and how Matt and I spoke about it.

So it could be lying.

It could be lust.

It could be anger where we do not know about it in church,

but it's happening outside you deal with it with God because

we need to understand that personal sins are confessed to

God and the sphere of confession is as broad as the

context of the sin personal sin is confessed to God and the

sphere of confession meaning how far do you go with the

confession is completely dependent on the context of the

sin.

If I do him harm then it is pointless that I just confess my

sins to God after talking to God about my sins.

I need to go and set things right with him husbands and wives

be aware of this.

It is insufficient that you talk to God about what you said

or did to your husband or your wife.

There is a party there that has to be spoken to.

Your spouse has to be then spoken to it is insufficient to

say hallelujah.

Lord, I'm guilt-free.

Now you have forgiven me.

There's a party that needs to be spoken to.

So the the scope of confession is dependent on the context

of the sin.

If it's intra personal, then you'll have to settle with the

person.

But if it's between God and you then you speak to God about it.

So that's how that part works.

So why go and confess your sins one to another?

If the only reason you do it is because one, someone starts

praying for you to now you have brought it into the light and

we talked about this last week and you're more aware of it

and you'll walk circumspectly.

Those are the reasons and you confess if you're someone is

ministering to you confess your sins to them.

So that sometimes when a root is revealed or there have been

so many instances guys when I'm ministering to someone else

when I'm ministering to someone and the Lord says talk to them

about this and they'll stand there and with a face as hard

as Flynn.

They'll say no never happened.

I think to myself come on man.

Your healing is waiting and I know it happened.

But they won't want to say face.

It's the saddest thing.

Saddest thing and they walk away because their pride

won't allow them to.

We'll talk about it.

We'll talk about that.

Contaminating sins must not be strapped aside for the sake

of peacekeeping.

Because if we don't confront contaminating sin, we emasculate

our moral right to preach the Kingdom message.

Let me say that again.

If we don't confront contaminating sin in this body be

it present then we are literally emasculating ourselves

or our moral right to preach the Kingdom message because

you cannot be an embassy of God representing the morality

of the King of Kings when you don't actually deal with it

on the embassy level and an embassy that does not represent

its King should not speak its message.

Simple.

A church that allows contaminating sin will not have

the ability to produce sons guys.

Won't have the ability to produce sons.

You'll produce bastards.

I don't know why we are talking about all this, but it is easily

possible to be on missions abroad in Quebec and Indonesia

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yet strangely enough in Acts chapter, 1st Corinthians chapter 5, Paul doesn't spend much time focusing on the sin and the sinner,

he spends most of his time focusing on the church and its attitude. It's so strange. He says, okay you got this guy who's sinning

and he explains the sin but then the rest of the chapter is devoted to dealing with the church and its attitude, not with the sin and the sinner.

Because if we are a body, guys it's very different how this operates. We are a holy people. We must, I know I keep repeating it every Sunday

but we are not holy individuals first. We are a holy people first and then we are holy individuals.

Paul doesn't focus on the sinner and the sin, he focuses on the church and says, why are you so proud? What's wrong with you?

How can you be so relaxed and so tolerant about this worldly attitude towards sin? You are worldly wise in your attitude towards sin, Corinthian church.

What's wrong with you? Why are you so proud? You are arrogant and blind and you are relaxed about this. His whole intent is to talk to the church.

Strange, huh? I mean you would think he should rip a strip out of the sinner. It's the people first, guys.

Can't turn the gospel into a tolerant, worldly wisdom, kind of a gospel divorced from Christian ethics.

In Acts 29 we need to develop a passion for holiness and a revulsion for sin if we are actually a holy people.

Because that's a key to being authentic sons of the Father because the Father said, be holy because I am holy. Be perfect because I am perfect.

And all those letters are being written to whom, guys? Was any of these letters written to, I mean take any letter in the Bible.

Take it from Romans onwards, right down to Revelation even when Christ writes letters. Who are these letters being written to?

To people, to people of God, to the body. Even Christ when he dictates a letter says to the messenger at the church and the sin.

It's a people that he wants, a holy people. He doesn't want a holy superstar. A holy people.

This is what we have to become. I'll correct that. This is what we are called to be. Questions, comments before we move on?

Okay, moving on then to church. Sorry, Joan you had a question? Ruth, go ahead.

Perfecting?

Just rephrase your question Ruth. Is this like perfecting character? Give me 15 minutes and we'll be there.

It's on the other side of the page because it answers exactly, I mean, it's on the other side of the page.

Is this like perfecting character? Give me 15 minutes and we'll be there.

It's on the other side of the page because it answers exactly, I mean, it literally deals with that part of it. Is it perfecting of character?

I'm just fascinated at how much there is in this chapter Ruth and how he deals with that question.

Gosh man, the word of God never ceases to have, it never comes to a place where you've dug it all.

I mean, I'm talking about chapters, leave alone the book. Church is the Holy Spirit in you.

Guys, look at verse 3 and 4. I mean, going back to Sue's standard statement when she's not here.

Even though I'm not physically present, I'm with you in Spirit.

And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this just as if I were present.

When you're assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and I'm with you in Spirit and the power of the Lord Jesus is present,

hand this man over to Satan so that his sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

So Paul says he's present with them in Spirit. What does this mean?

Sue, you want to take a shot at it?

When Paul says, I'm present with you in Spirit, what does he mean?

Something that is present in them and the same one in me.

Wow, very good theologian. Any other comments?

In my thoughts, in my concern, I'm with you.

Okay.

Okay.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 2, 12 and 13.

It says in 1 Corinthians 2, 12 and 13,

we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God,

that we may understand what God has freely given us.

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught us by the Spirit,

expressing spiritual truths and spiritual words.

So the first statement that we can make is that if you were Paul, for instance,

you can say, if you were Paul, you can say, if you were Paul, you can say,

if you were Paul, for instance, you can say that I have received the spirit of God.

That's the first statement we make.

Now let's turn to 1 Corinthians 6.

1 Corinthians 6.

Starting at verse 15.

It says that, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?

Shall I then take members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?

Never.

Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?

For it is said the two will become one flesh.

Listen to verse 17.

Look at it again.

He who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Just think of the enormity of that, guys.

Just think of it.

I still, I've been thinking about it, I've been thinking about it for a long time.

I've been thinking about it for a long time.

I chosen to be a prostitute because I was a prostitute.

Just think of it.

I still, I've been thinking of it for the last three days and there's just little lights going off, but not big lights yet.

He who is one with the Lord, meaning you, if you are one with the Lord because of Christ's life in you, you are one with the Lord in spirit.

It's both a big S and a small S.

I, Jacob, am one with the Lord in spirit.

Do you know what, how terribly intertwined or one that is?

I have received the Spirit of God.

I am one with the Lord in spirit.

Both a big S and a small S.

Because it's really not clear, because both make sense.

I'm one with the Lord in spirit.

We also know from 1 Corinthians 3.16 that you are the temple of the?

Now let's go back to what James was saying.

You know what Paul is saying to them?

Paul is saying, guys, I have received the Spirit of God.

You have received the Spirit of God and you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I am one with the Lord in spirit.

I am not there, but the Spirit of God is there and because the Spirit of God is there, I am there.

That's what he's saying, guys.

It's ridiculous.

But that's what he's saying.

I do not understand the length and depth of it yet.

But it fascinates me that that's what he's saying.

In other words, the Spirit of God came to us and raised us from the dead very quickly.

In you.

Now do you understand why in Acts 5.3 Peter says, why have you lied against the Holy Spirit?

Why have you lied against the Holy Spirit?

Who did Ananias came and lied to?

To Peter.

In the context of the body, they were bringing things to the body and he comes and he lies in the presence of the body to whom?

To Peter.

And Peter turns around in Acts 5.3 and he says, why have you lied to the Holy Spirit?

Fascinating man.

That I am one with the Lord in spirit.

You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

You have the Holy Spirit in you.

I may not be there, but if the Holy Spirit is there, I am one with the Lord in spirit, therefore I am there.

Paul understood something that I personally don't understand.

But because I do not understand it, that's not mean that I have to minimize this and say, oh, he was just being polite in the way he was speaking.

It was not symbolic.

What we have done in Christianity is whenever we don't understand things, we render it symbolic.

So another way of saying it is, therefore, if the Spirit is present among you, I mean, Paul is saying,

Therefore, if the Spirit is present among you, then I too am present among you by the same Spirit.

That's what he's saying.

So now you see why attacks against leaders or attacks against the church order or strife that is created in the church by people,

though targeted at men, is really taking on God, the Holy Spirit himself.

Because at the end of the day, another word that I love using for the church, it is the community of the Spirit, forged by the Spirit, nurtured by the Spirit, kept by the Spirit.

This is a people formed exclusively by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, when reconciliation with each other or therefore when contaminating sin is persisted in,

really a person no longer has part in the body of Christ.

Stark truth. Let me say that again.

If a person continues to persist in contaminating sin, if a person refuses to reconcile with another in a body,

then the person has no part in the body of Christ.

That is the stark truth repeated again and again in the Bible.

And therefore, the church has to discipline the person so that the person can be reconstituted into the body.

But the person actually has no part in the fellowship of the body when the person chooses not to reconcile with someone that there's a difference in the body.

Or when a person persists in contaminating sin, despite being told and encouraged and helped,

then the person actually has no part in the body.

Therefore, Paul in his authority says prophetically, expelled this man in the name of Jesus Christ.

Stark truth.

We do it publicly.

We do it publicly.

Paul at one point said, Paul or Peter, I'm not too sure.

They said, when elders in particular make mistakes, make sure you don't sweep it under the carpet and tell them to be nice.

Make sure that it's done publicly.

Because things get to the level of things being done publicly only after repeated refusal on a private level.

Expelling cannot be done privately, guys, because these are the standards that the Word of God talks about.

It says first go settle it privately.

Doesn't work.

Take the elders of the church and try to settle it privately.

Doesn't work.

Take the church.

Now it becomes a matter of the church.

This is after repeated occurrences.

Yeah.

And it is a way to keep peace.

If you don't do it publicly, it'll keep peace.

But eject the peace.

Prince of peace.

By preaching and teaching this, we now have a way to keep peace.

We have a way to keep peace.

We have a way to keep peace.

By preaching and teaching this, we now have put ourselves in a place where we have to practice this.

Otherwise, we are fakes.

This is why I had to call up Bob Kran and tell him, listen, I just want you to know that this is what I'm talking on.

And I want you to be, I'm asking you to be not as a regional minister or NAB or anything.

You've got to be this as a friend of Acts 29.

So when reconciliation or contaminating sin continues and reconciliation is refused, the person no longer has any part in the body of Christ.

Therefore, Paul has this man expelled.

And let's talk about church and expulsion unless you have any questions.

Church and expulsion.

Unless you have any questions.

Now, that is what I'm talking about.

Any questions?

Now, that is not a contaminating sin.

Yes.

It's always the, as we look at the next bit, we'll see that the expulsion is not for judgment, but for reconciliation and remedy.

But it is the process that is biblical and has to be followed.

Do you think the church members were aware of this and they were aware of the job that they have to do, but they were still not doing it?

As you read 1 Corinthians 2 to 5, you'll see Paul saying, as I had written to you earlier.

So he had broached this.

Paul heard about it, but he had written to them earlier about the same thing.

So it's not the first time they're hearing about it.

Yes. Yes, he is.

Not the elders. He's selling the whole church.

Yeah. Yeah, he is.

Because he had already written to them previously about this.

And they haven't listened.

In fact, statements like, I told you before that you are not to associate with anybody who is immoral.

When I told you that, I didn't mean that you cannot mix with the people of the world.

I mean, he has broached this subject before.

And one of the problems at Corinth was they were looking at his letter and saying, ah, guy can speak big in his letters.

But when he comes here, he's nothing.

And therefore he writes, that's what you think?

Wait till I come. I'll come with a rod.

So yeah.

So it's an expulsion.

Oh, by the way, guys, we have worked this into our constitution.

Just so you're aware.

We did that before Acts 29 was incorporated.

We had this as a statement of faith and it's part of our bylaws and is with Ottawa.

Oh, wherever.

Oh, but the part about the commission.

Yeah. Yeah.

Is with Ottawa in the sense that we have incorporated this into Acts 29 right from its inception.

So that we have the right by the laws of the land to do this.

Just so you're aware of it.

So in your yeah, we've committed ourselves to it.

And so when you sign that little piece of paper saying you so like acts 29, just be aware of it.

I signed that paper too, by the way.

Church and expulsion.

In putting out in putting this man or someone out of the body of Christ, what happens is we put the person out into the world and the world is Satan's domain.

OK, when we put someone out of the church, we put him into Satan's domain.

That's what we put him in the Satan's domain.

So when someone is asked to now be put out of when someone is put out of the body of Christ, he's put into the world, which is under Satan's domain.

And the result is the destruction of his carnal nature, destruction of his carnal or sinful nature.

Some people say, oh, the result is that he dies out in the world.

That would not be remedial.

That would be judgmental.

So the intent is to purge the sinful nature.

So the result is the destruction of its sinful nature.

The purpose is a man's salvation.

The purpose is a man's salvation.

And sorry.

When I say sinful nature, I don't mean sinful nature as in Christian has a sinful nature.

It means destroying that persistence and sinning is destroyed just because once you're thrown out of the covering of the house where the favor of God is into the domain of Satan, situations.

I mean, at the end of the day, what does Satan want to do?

Steal, kill and destroy.

That then drives the person back to a desire to come back and lodge himself in God.

We've got different examples in the Bible.

Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel chapter four, verses 32 onwards, you'll see Nebuchadnezzar who suddenly rose up in pride.

And then one day he becomes like a animal in the wild, long nails and long hair.

And he comes back to his senses and he says, God is God.

And he declares God is God.

Israel, Judges chapter 12, no, Judges chapter two, verses 13 to 19.

Judges 12 · chapter mention

You'll see in Judges chapter two, every time a judge arose, Israel walked with the Lord.

But as soon as the judge died, they would return into their sinful ways and the oppressors would come and ravage them.

And when they would be ravaged, they would call out because they have already tasted of God.

They would call out for his mercy and God would show mercy and they would be restored.

Jonah, I mean, that's an Old Testament picture, but Jonah was running away and ran too.

The Corinthian church, the man in Second Corinthians chapter five,

Second Corinthians chapter two, most people say is a different man, not the same man.

But there was another man who was expelled out of the church in Corinth.

Guess what?

Paul says to the church in Corinth in Second Corinthians two, bring him back.

He has learned his lesson.

Return him to the fold.

So it does work in that sense.

Yeah.

Which then leads us to another point.

Unless a church is a community that has learned to live in truth and love,

why would anyone want to yearn to return?

For a church to be remedial in its discipline,

a church will have to be a place where God dances in our midst

so that when we leave, we will yearn to join God who dances.

Because if the church is not that community, then, I mean, do you know why remedy fails?

It fails because there is nothing that is particularly drawing me back to that community.

So you chuck me out? Sure. Big deal.

I'll go down to another community.

Or you chuck me out? I'm not missing much.

I can sit in front of TV and it's as good.

If TV is as good as Acts 29, then Acts 29 is failing.

But it's really not satisfying for long.

It can be without the Lord.

Yeah, but the reason church discipline does not work or is ineffective in most places

is because being expelled out of a community of believers is no big deal.

I'm telling you this, guys.

If you expel me, God forbid, out of this community, it won't be my desire.

I mean, I'll have so long to come back, man.

I love being with us.

I don't like coming to...I'm not talking about coming to Acts 29 or I come to church.

No, I like being with us and what God does in our midst.

I really like this.

It's like when Artie was upset with me for two weeks, two December's ago,

and he told me, no coffee for you.

And he meant it.

He shouted at me and threw me out.

And he said, no coffee for you.

I knew what that meant, that I'd not get his coffee beans.

And so for the first two or three days, I managed with the leftovers.

The fourth day I went down Main Street and other streets looking for coffee roasteries.

And I found places and I bought their coffee and I would go and make it.

And I'd hate getting up in the morning because it was lousy coffee.

And I thought to myself, what have I gone and done?

Yeah.

Because Kenyan grade A coffee, there's nothing like it, guys.

And you've got to roast it right.

And he does that.

So I remember finally after two weeks when we both became friendly and he still wasn't talking

and yet just as I came to lock the church because we used to meet the church there,

as I was leaving he said, that's for you.

That was his way of reconciling.

I said, sorry, that's for you.

Thank God he's not listening to the state.

And so I went there and it took every ounce of my moral fiber to pretend that no big deal.

I said, well, thank you.

But inside me it was, I got my coffee, I got my coffee, I got my coffee.

You see, because I'd gotten so used to it and I so like it and it's such a thing to look forward to when you wake up

that suddenly it was like, oh, shucks, it's taken away.

That is how church should be like.

Then discipline is so not fun.

Whatever you're thinking, Matt, hold it.

Don't say it.

I was taking some kind of comment and saying...

Yeah, I know.

You had that look.

So once we become a community that basically how I've written it is that God dances in our midst,

then it'll hurt to leave, guys.

Then it'll hurt to leave.

Some cautions though.

This removing of a person from fellowship because he's refusing to either deal with contaminated sin

or refusing to reconcile within the body is not pronounced like a fatwa by, oh, the right reverend pastor.

No, no, no, no.

This is not that kind of a decree.

It's not done by a small Kabbalah group.

It's the result of a sin known by all, contaminating all, and therefore the action has to be taken by all.

It's not taken by one person or two people or three people meeting and saying, we've got to kick this guy out.

That's not how it works.

That's how they get rid of pastors.

Doesn't work like that.

It is that is forgive me for saying this, but that is our secular humanistic sympathetic way of thinking.

But this only happens after a process.

First, the person is persisting in sin and he's aware of it.

Let me put it this way.

When a man sleeps with his stepmother, he's aware of it.

When he's told first, he's made aware of it.

When two people tell him he's aware of it, when the church tells him he's aware of it and he still refuses to change, then he really has no part in the fellowship.

The part where now the whole church tells him that he needs to go to the book.

Yeah.

That part, it becomes an action like a public humiliation also.

No, it's a public, it's, why is it humiliating?

Because he's been kicked out of the community.

But what about the sin?

If the sin does not humiliate him, then if this humiliates it again, there's a, it's misaligned.

Something is wrong.

We'll come to that how we cannot have it both ways.

We'll come to that.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so you don't do it till you go through this entire process.

Yeah.

Yeah, very clearly.

Because it's persistent sin that is being done in the open.

That's the thing, James.

It is persistent sin being done in the open.

Therefore, it is being publicly humiliated.

It is being publicly humiliated.

This is the thing, James.

It is persistent sin being done in the open.

Therefore, it is being publicly now confronted.

If it is persistent sin done in secret, it's different.

This is persistent sin done in open view.

The same thing, this is why God said about Zimri, and not Zimri, God said about Phinehas,

that I will remember your jealousy for me forever.

Because when God in his glory, like as in visible glory, came down among the Israelites,

and all Israel was worshipping, Zimri was caressing.

Zimri was caressing Kosvi, and couldn't care two hoots about the glory of the God of the universe.

And Phinehas is consumed with jealousy, and he takes a javelin and pokes both Zimri and Kosvi,

right through, in public.

And there was a plague that had started, yeah, the plague stops.

God says, I'll remember your jealousy for generations, for me.

When a sin is practiced publicly in defiance of the people of God and God himself,

and if there is no change, time after time after time, of encouraging change,

then it is dealt with publicly.

Christ was humiliated publicly, for these very sins.

He didn't die in a secret garden somewhere, hung publicly for the entire world to see.

Hung naked, beaten, spat upon, humiliated publicly.

It does contaminate the whole church.

Yeah, you walk outside of being authentic sons.

Again, what, even the contamination is public.

H1N1 is public.

It's not something that's happening in secret.

Therefore, the government is making public announcements to counter it.

And contamination is public.

Yeah.

Good question, though.

Because I always say God cherishes our privacy.

This is not his first resort, guys.

First, he speaks again and again.

Then when he sees that it isn't working, he shows someone else.

And that's why the Bible says, if you go and help your brother come out of sin,

you have covered a multitude of sins and you have delivered him from the snare of the devil.

After that, he sends two people more.

It's such a long process.

Sometimes this takes years.

Years.

And like Grisela was saying, reason for discipline is remedial, not judgmental.

And the other thing that I pray, God, that we'll do is when someone else comes from another church

where the person is being disciplined, maybe never be in a hurry to accept them,

regardless of whether they are a wonderful sax player or a great dealer.

If you're being disciplined in another church and you come here,

I mean, if I find out this is just a... let me change my words.

Let's assume that Diana was coming to Acts 29 because she's being disciplined at Emmanuel.

She would not be welcome here.

Diana, we realize that you're being disciplined at Emmanuel Baptist Church now.

This is not true. It's just an example.

We realize you're being disciplined at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

And so till you are sorted out with that house and things are reconciled,

we would not be able to receive you as a son in this house because you have to settle things with them.

You can.

But not as an integral member, for the lack of a better word, member.

Okay.

So Jacob, then what happens if someone comes from another church or not from another church?

They have no fellowship and they're continuing in public skin.

So how would you deal with that?

I would go and tell them and I may not be able to do anything if they're not part of this house.

But guess what? Once this house speaks and declares that you need to correct yourself

and you do not, really, God help you.

Because are you not dealing with me, mortal flesh?

You're dealing with him who is the spirit of?

God, who wants us as sinners to be transformed into what Christ looks like,

but who says that the church is not a haven for people who want it both ways either.

We'll talk about that now.

His body. Yeah, his body.

Otherwise, you know what will happen, guys?

I was going to talk about this on Tuesday.

There's a place where Jesus chases out the moneylenders out of the temple

and he says, you have made my house into a den of thieves.

A time comes when he's standing looking over Jerusalem and he says,

Oh, Jerusalem, oh, Jerusalem, how I've wanted to gather you as chicks in my arm.

But now, since you have rejected me, I leave your house.

Some two years ago when he kicked out people from the temple, he called it my house.

Two years later, he's saying, your house is left desolate to you.

God forbid that ever happens to us.

Where he has to change my house to your house.

God forbid that.

It's the worst thing that God can say to us.

How his heart must grieve.

How his heart must grieve at times.

Where things have started as my house and he now has to say your house.

And yet power brokers and power structures sit in their spiritual armchairs

and plow it over how well church is going.

Maybe never become those fat cats ever.

Ah, that's the horriblest thing anyone can say to a church.

Church unleavened.

Guys, NIV uses the wrong word.

NIV uses the word yeast.

Now, yeast is fresh.

Leaven is not fresh.

You can take yeast out of a bottle and throw it in and it's fresh.

But it's a wrong usage.

It's leaven and leaven, how it used to work is leaven consisted of keeping back

a little portion of last week's dough, allowing it to ferment,

then adding it to this week's dough.

That's how leaven worked.

So with each week it would get more and more potent.

So this week you make your bread and you take out a little of the dough from this week

and you keep it aside until it ferments and then you take that and add it to next week's dough.

Yeast is fresh, leaven is not.

So the longer the process was repeated, the more potent and sometimes infected the dough got.

And this is exactly how it is with the tolerance of sin in a body or in our individual lives

where you take a little bit from last week's sin and instead of getting rid of it fully,

you have repented of it, you have kind of made things okay.

But instead of letting it all go, you keep a little of last week's sin,

back and now you add it to this week's dough.

Now you think, but I dealt with it last week and I'm just taking a little,

just a little, I'm tolerating a little, but it is so potent from last week that when you add it

in this week's dough, suddenly you've got something that's even more infected.

The week after that it gets more potent and it's repeated.

The longer the process is repeated, the more potent it gets until it comes to a point where it's not.

The longer it sits, the whole dough gets sour.

Yeah, sour dough.

No, no, I'm serious. Sour dough.

And that's how it works with tolerance of sin in my life or sin in the body,

a little of which can infect the whole body,

which is why in the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover,

they had the ceremonial cleaning of the dough.

That was the whole idea, guys.

I'm going to clean my house and get rid of every bit of old leaven that I've been using to bake my bread

because I'm going to start now with this Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover.

And that's going to be the first day of the year.

And that's going to be the first day of the year.

And that's going to be the first day of the year.

And that's going to be the first day of the year.

And that's exactly what he does.

He says, I am inaugurating a new season for you.

You are becoming a new loaf, a new battered dough with no leaven in it.

This is what we're talking about, guys.

We are continuously celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

That's what Christ came to do.

He said, I am inaugurating a new season for you.

I am inaugurating a new season for you.

Unleavened Bread.

That's what Christ came to do.

He inaugurated a new start or a covenant.

I want us to look at this beautiful verse in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7.

1 Corinthians 5:7

Hey, Heidi, can I trouble you for some more water, please?

1 Corinthians 5, 7.

Look at it, or let's start at 6.

Your boasting is not good.

Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole battered dough?

Little leaven works through the whole battered dough.

Get rid of the old leaven that you may be a new batch without leaven as you really are.

It's vital.

You've got to see that there.

He says, get rid of the old leaven so that you may become a new battered dough, which you really are.

Why is that important?

Because, guys, please understand that Paul is not a new battered dough.

Please understand that Paul is not saying, get rid of sin so that you can become holy.

Please listen.

This is so cool.

He's not saying, get rid of sin so you can be holy.

He's not saying, get rid of your bad ways and old life so that you can be holy.

He's saying, no, no, no.

Guys, become what you are.

You are already holy.

Go ahead.

Because then the Catholic priest says, has been sanctified.

It's a done deal, guys.

Paul is not falling into old Testament ways of saying, oh, if you want to be holy, do this, this, this, this, this, and you will be holy.

Get rid of sin and you will be holy.

No, no. He's saying, get rid of the old leaven so that you can be the new battered dough that you already, which you are.

It's like saying, become what you are.

Become what you are.

That's what Paul is trying to say.

Or if you would have, if you would, you would become what you are meant to be.

Yeah, but the beautiful thing is we have become that.

We have become that, but we don't want to see it.

Yeah.

So another way to put it would be, I must become what I already am by God's grace.

I must become what I already am by God's grace.

So this is not going back to works, guys.

This is not saying get rid of sin and you will be holy.

No, no, no.

Because you're holy, be sinless.

I must become what I've already am by the grace of God.

Become what you are.

Guys, I'll write the statement down.

A holy life, a holy life is not what makes us holy.

But if we have been made holy, it should show in a holy life.

If not, there's something wrong, guys.

Go back to my old saying, you cannot be half pregnant.

Thanks.

Now Paul is so thorough in his letters, man.

So all the writers in the book are looking at spotlight.

old saying you cannot be half pregnant thanks

Paul is so thorough in his letters man he leaves no room for maneuvering

it goes back to the father saying this is what I've called you to be and I made you this now live it out

it is related to our understanding of the truth because most of us live holy lives to be holy

and God is saying but I've already made you holy live holy lives because I've made you holy become

what you are it's like you looking at your son and saying this is my dream for you I've told you

about it now become what you are back on track which is usually how God deals with sin in my life

he's saying Jacob why did you do that you know what I've said about you you know what you're

called to be so come come son rise up get up step into what you are called to be it's that kind of

thing guys the reason we're talking about all this is because like it or not holiness of a body like

this is central your family values affect your children the plumb line of holiness that acts 29

sets will affect you is if you're a part of this house if you're if you're a connected part of this

house it'll affect you if we lower our standards it'll affect you too because the values of a

household affect its people if this was a household given to social work among the poor

and the needy and hungry and the helpless in downtown then I guarantee you that it'd be part

of our DNA this house likes being sent it's part of our DNA family values determine how we are

and just so you know when Paul talks about there about celebrating the Feast of Passover this does

not mean that we have to now go and celebrate Jewish festivals guys okay that's not what God

he's saying celebrate the Feast of Passover and then he goes on to say what kind of celebration is

it he says let go of malice and wickedness and cling to sincerity and truth because there is

a tendency to begin to practice Jewish festivals and think that by practicing it we are perhaps a

little closer to God no no if you read Romans 1139 it says that and this also I was going to tell

you on Tuesday it says that that the only way a Jew is grafted into the body of Christ is when

he believes if he does not believe he will not be grafted into the body of Christ there is no

speciality to Jewish festivals functions observances now it doesn't bring you one iota of holiness read

it understand it and stand in the New Testament and look at the Old Testament when we begin to

practice Jewish festivals we are standing in the Old Testament and looking into the New Testament

we are standing in this shadow and looking at the substance when we are called to stand in the

substance and look at the shadow questions comments so let me conclude that part and then

we move on to the last bit if I belong to Christ I must put off my former ways guys it's one thing

to struggle with former sin but it persists or be relaxed about it shows that I don't really want

to be part of the body of Christ it's one thing to struggle with sin and all of us do it's one

thing it's one it's one thing to struggle with sin but if I persist or I'm relaxed about sin then

it shows irreverence towards being a melos or member of the body the actual body of Christ

so church is for the church is for this is no I mean the church is not a place for the

the church is for people who are working through sins and patterns and habits but it is neither

is it a fellowship or a haven for those who want it both ways the one thing to it is it's one thing

to struggle with sin but to persist or be relaxed about sin shows that shows an error man even I

can't read it shows an irreverence towards being a melos which means a grief for a member of the

body of Christ gosh that is terrible thanks game you should have said no Jacob it looks beautiful

oh speak the truth okay just don't look at that for a while let me put it this it's one thing to

struggle with sin but it's another thing to persist in it or be relaxed about it this is

where each one of us has to check our lives guys are you am I relaxed about it which is as bad as

persisting in it when you're relaxed about it you will borrow from last week's dough and add it to

this week and if I am relaxed or persisting in sin and I have made no attempt to change and I'm

not struggling with it and resting in it then really I have an obnoxious irreverence for being

a melos m-e-l-o-s Greek word for being an actual part of the body of Christ there's an absolute

irreverence for it m-e-l-o-s that's the word used in the Bible you are members melos of the body of

Christ meaning you are a limb attached to the body I got a call from a family in India who we

had met three years ago and when we met them three years ago one of the things the Lord said

into their lives was that someone's going to come into your life and say to you that I want to send

you on a trip abroad and I'll pay for your entire airfare and I'll pay for your hotel for your food

and accommodation that was in 2006 and last week a person comes to them and it's a family of four

people and says to them I'd like to send you to Malaysia and Singapore and I'd like to pay for

the entire trip I'd like to pay for all the hotels and I like to pray for the pay for the food now why

am I saying this to you sometimes when you look at the words that have been spoken over your lives

by whoever you may think nothing is happening this took three years folks but it came to pass

I'd suggest that you occasionally go home and look at things that have been spoken over your life

because you have to remind yourself because it does come to pass this took three years and I got

a call from them saying that we are going and the person's paying for the entire trip for four

people man took three years they'd almost forgotten it so go back and check because many

of the things spoken over your lives will come to pass but live in the hope and in the faith of

it because when we don't believe what God has said sometimes that acts as a barrier from us

receiving things in exact time just thought I'll drop that in okay here goes unprecedented

living principles of glory and we're talking about Aaron's rod that's what we we started this two

weeks ago here's our premise for those of us who weren't here or I've forgotten the Bible says that

the ark used to be the carrier of God's glory so the priests would carry that the ark upon

their shoulders they'd step into the Jordan and the Jordan would part the ark was where the glory

or the what's what's another way of defining glory so go ahead goodness what else power it's

God's goodness his reputation is splendor his weight his his nature his character all wrapped

into one is called his glory everything his reputation splendor weight glory nature character

influence all of it is encompassed in this one word called glory or cabod cabod means weight of

all that he is and the ark used to be the carrier of God's glory but we now know that who's the ark

now we we are the carriers of God's glory we as a corporate body folks most of the things we'll be

talking about can apply and will apply to our individual lives but never forget we need to see

things as a corporate body we are a new man we are a new man the Bible talks about Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 4:11–17

4 verse 11 to 17 says so that you may be built into the full stature of Christ that you may be

built into a new man we are that which is why when Lorian said did you write the song it is true that

I wrote the song but my response was deliberate when I said it is a song from this house because

that song would not be a reality if it didn't come out of what God is feeding us he broke the bread

about being sent two weeks ago and we shared in it it is ours our house got to begin to think like

that folks got to begin to think like that the focus is the body and the new man and the thing

is when we focus like that no it begins to filter and percolate and get deposited in our lives also

that's how it works Hebrews 9 verse 4 is where we found out that the ark had three things in it if

Hebrews 9:4

you want to turn to Hebrews 9 verse 4 Hebrews 9 4 the ark had three things in it

Hebrews 9:4

reading from verse 4 or verse 3 9 3 behind the second curtain was a room called the most holy

place which had the golden altar of incense and the gold covered ark of the covenant and it says

there this ark contained the gold jar of manna Aaron's staff that had budded and the stone

tablets of the covenant and in the last two weeks or more we have covered the stone tablets we've

covered the jar of manna and what it represents and you can pick up the CD if you don't remember

or weren't here and now we are going to talk about Aaron's staff just want to say that this is the

message I would like someone else to preach on my behalf and as we go on you'll kind of see why

this is the kind of message where you'd prefer a path someone who comes from outside and preaches

it on my behalf but that's not the way it works now anymore so we not I just thought I'll throw

that in let's read the background of Aaron's staff let's go to numbers chapter 17 number 17

Numbers 17 · chapter mention

number 17 yes the Lord said to Moses speak to the Israelites and get 12 staffs from them one from

the leader of each of the ancestral tribes write the name of each man on his staff on the staff

Levi right Aaron's name for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe place

them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you the staff belonging

to the man I choose will sprout and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you

by the Israelites to find the background go to chapter 16 and go to verse 16 chapter 16

no let's go to chapter 16 verse 1 to 4 look at what it says chapter 16 verses 1 to 4 Korah son

of Izar the son of Kohath the son of Levi and certain Rubanites Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab

and on the son of Pellet became insolent and rose up against Moses with them were 250 Israelite men

well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council they came as a group to

oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them you have gone too far the whole community is holy every

one of them and the Lord is with them why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly

when Moses heard this he fell face down then he said to Korah and all his followers in the morning

the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy and we will have that person come near him

the man he chooses he will cause to come near him you Korah and all your followers are to do this

take senses tomorrow put fire and incense in them the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is

holy you Levites have gone too far now come back to 17 and let's continue from verse 6 of chapter 17

so Moses spoke to the Israelites and their leaders and gave and their leaders gave him 12

staffs one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes and Aaron staff was among them

Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony the next day Moses entered

the testimony and saw that Aaron's staff which represented the house of Levi had not only sprouted

but had budded blossomed and produced almonds then Moses brought out all the staffs from the

Lord's presence to all the Israelites they looked at them and each man took his own staff the Lord

said to Moses put back Aaron's staff in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign to the rebellious

this will put an end to their grumbling against me so that they will not die Moses did just as the

Lord commanded the Israelites said to Moses we will die we are lost we are all lost anyone who even

comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die are we all going to die why did they react like

that go to verse 32 6 chapter 16 verse 32 or chapter 16 verse 28 then Moses said this is how

you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea if these

men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men then the Lord has not sent

me but if the Lord brings about something totally new and the earth opens its mouth and swallows

them with everything that belongs to them and they go down alive into the grave then you will know

that these men have treated the Lord with contempt as soon as he finished saying all this the ground

under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with their households and

all Korah's men and all their possessions they went down alive into the grave with everything they

owned the earth closed over them and they perished and were gone from the community at their cries all

the Israelites around them fled shouting the earth is going to swallow us too so that's the

background of the story and we needed to know that because as we talk about Aaron's rod this

is where the whole idea came from so basically Aaron's rod if you were to if someone were to

ask you and say so what's Aaron's rod about Aaron's rod first it represented the authority

of the father in the house Aaron's rod represented the authority of the father of each house each

house was told listen go and get your staff each staff is to represent the father of a tribe and

so Aaron's rod in this case represents the authority of the father of the house okay and

it also was placed as a signal or a red flag against bitterness against rebellion and against

obstinacy of the sons of the house so let me say this again the rod represents the authority of

the father of the house of the father of the house and it also was supposed to be a red flag

or a signal against rebellion obstinacy and bitterness from or off the sons of the house

so that's at its very base that's what it represents Aaron's rod represented on one hand

the authority of the father of the house but when it was kept in the ark it was supposed to

represent the rebellion it was not supposed to represent it was supposed to be a signal or a

red flag against rebellion obstinacy and the bitterness of the sons of the house any questions

comments

yeah a signal or or a or a please beware yeah yeah like a reminder in a negative sense not

in a yeah that don't like a warning sign so that's what the Bible says it was

supposed to do any questions with regard to this see folks there is core quality

among all believers we've talked about that all believers are now priests and

kings but one of the mistakes Cora made was he goes and says to Moses in

chapter 16 verse 3 or 4 chapter 16 verse 3 numbers chapter 16 verse 3 look at it

Numbers 16:3

they came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them you have gone too

far the whole community is holy every one of them and the Lord is with them

why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly folks Cora was right in

his initial statement the entire community is holy he wasn't making a

it was a correct statement we are all priests and kings there's an equality

among believers today there's no division between clergy and laity that

that doesn't exist anymore like I love saying the day Christ died and the

curtain was tore apart the Levites ran out of a job suddenly Israel's priesthood

did not have a job they were supposed to lead people into the holy of holy another

the holy of holies was exposed but as much as there is a core quality of

believers we need to understand that God sets for the sake of the house a

hierarchical order that does not have to do with rank and importance but has to

do with divine order you'll see that in the Godhead to father son and spirita

co-equal but we know from for instance John 14 28 that Jesus said the father is

greater than I it is not to say that God the father is somehow stronger and more

powerful than Jesus the son no we know without a shadow of a doubt that the

father the son and the Holy Spirit are co-equal but the father is first among

equals this is an old principle that God has been trying to develop throughout

but occasionally we who have postmodern westernized or easternized

mindsets do not like the whole idea because co-equality and the democratic

way of doing things is preferred and as we talk about it more you'll see what I

mean any questions preach on guys feel free to

question oh hey I'm not sure any questions see when God establishes a

hierarchy it is not for ruling folks it's for establishing order we and as

you go further we'll see how God fleshes it out but we need to understand that

God does not operate without order God does not operate without order

unfortunately what has happened please here's another thing why are we talking

about this you know I don't know whether you saw this on global TV but there

there's a family that has bought a house in the valley I don't know where here's

what happened they bought the house for hundred and twenty six thousand dollars

they thought they were getting a good deal what had happened was they had

foundations laid till the steps and then when the part that is right under

the house some of you saw it right right under the house the foundations are

faulty so what is happening is they can't even shut their front door now

because the house is beginning to sink you can see the paneling on the wall

begin to warp the house is at an angle why because the foundations are not

right they evaluated their house and they found that now it cost sixty

thousand dollars they are a low-income family who bought a brand new house and

now they won't even get sixty grand for it why because the foundations were

faulty but the house is new the house is new and useless it's at one point they

said we don't even know if this will become a death trap because it might

collapse on them imagine the door not shutting because the house is beginning

to keel over see that is why we are talking about this because if we want to

build this house right we have to get these principles in otherwise four years

down the road we'll all be walking like this hey how are you Diana good to see

you can't do that

because ruling carries in it lordship and authority and Jesus very clearly said

at one point the the people who are leaders in the world lord it over their

subjects and they rule over them I have not called you to do that have you

noticed that I am your servant and yet you call me master so when we talk about

ruling there seems to be a and that's not it that's not what he's calling us

to it's John somehow I'll get it's on your sheet but I don't exactly let me

just check where it is no it's not 1428 it's look 2223 look 2223 we'll actually

get there a little later yeah basically a guy called Cora and his cohorts decided

that Moses doesn't need to lead us anymore we are as holy as him so why

Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth and he's he instead of

arguing with them falls on his face and says I can't handle this yeah he actually

said that they accused him of that yeah recognizing God's choice and so Moses

says sorry Matt just one sec so Moses says okay let God decide God decides one

by making sure that rebellion was swallowed two he says let me settle this

once and for all tell all the twelve tribes and their fathers to bring a

staff from each of the tribes so we decide once and for all which tribe is

to which person out of which tribal from now on lead and that's how Aaron's rod

takes and it begins to bud blossom and bear out almonds which we will talk

about good man

meekness is we talked about it ages ago gosh I'm forgetting my definitions

meekness is the strength that a horse has under the control of its master you

wouldn't call a horse that standing under its master weak but you'll be

surprised at how you can go and rub its nose and it won't do nothing to you and

yet it could take you out with one kick you've experienced that with cows no no

I'm not kidding Matt and I have talked about it he would remember you told me

once you yeah the calf that kicked you sorry not the cow

meekness is strength that is not aggressive but stands its ground it's

rained in it's under control yeah like a race horse just you let it go and can

really fly but it doesn't even chop at the bits when it's told to stand still

not aggressive but what did I say but stance stance in strength yeah

yeah and then he changed remember most of our cycle most of our understanding

of Moses comes from Charlton Heston so make sure that you're not thinking of

him when you think of Moses all our understanding of Moses comes from the

Ten Commandment movie it was on last night too oh then you're fortunate

because I mean I had so many I thought Moses had done so many things which he

really hadn't done but in the movie he did so I thought it sounded right but

it's not true but he changed he was a man of great I mean Jesus said he was a

type of me so yeah he was a meekness man that walked the face of the earth so

please understand that there is a hierarchical order in the priesthood of

believers and I've said this before God selects faulty inadequate man by divine

design God selects faulty inadequate man by divine design and it has nothing to

do with democracy succession reputation pedigree got nothing to do with that

nothing to do with reputation success succession pedigree or anything of that

sort and amazingly he appoints men and women to the church to equip the church

or men and women to the church to lead the church nothing to do with democracy

succession reputation or pedigree

unfortunately however the you can't use unfortunately and however so let's go

with however however since the Old Testament you can't use however and

since either unfortunately how do you get around this forget both since the

Old Testament man has all Diana's now stuck it why can't we use those words

get over it sadly since the Old Testament man has always tried to usurp

or take over leadership in the church through structures and methods that are

ungodly folks it's an old old old problem ever since the Old Testament man

has been trying to use up or take authority in the church through ungodly

methods or ungodly structures but if we as a people we as a church want to

represent God's glory God's reputation God's nature God's character if we want

to represent that accurately we have to understand that the principle of Aaron's

rod applies today as much as it applied in the Old Testament if we want to make

sure that four years from now the doors of this church will shut and open and

will not get stuck and will not be at a no angle this has to be established

because culture and time does not change these these eternal principles folks and

if we violate these principles then basically the earth consumes just like

that man's house is being consumed because the earth is swallowing that

house up so let's look at some orders or systems in the church today that are

and figure out if they're divine or defective please understand that

sometimes people set up a certain system in a church and it's based on their

understanding of scripture but I'd like to suggest to you that their

understanding is inaccurate just because I understand something doesn't mean it's

right I got to understand it correctly yeah I remember a girl who went for a

driving test and she didn't know that her indicator was a wiper so she's

sitting there for the test and she's got the guy next to him and he says give

you a right indicator and the wiper starts working I mean you need to

understand it correctly before and the other thing I want us to understand is

folks as we talk about this no you may think of churches you may think of

pastors you may think of people and you may think man they've got it completely

wrong or they got it completely right remember that we are not to throw

spears at people that's Saul's job we are not Saul like we are supposed to be

David like so even as we expose defective system systems and dismantle

them make sure that we do not throw spears at those who disagree with us

because that would be exactly what King Saul would have done we can't afford to

do that so let's look at some of the orders or structures in churches today

in terms of ruling one the first one is called and you must have heard of it

it's called episcopalian episcopalian that's how the papal structure works

where there's a Pope there are some cardinals there are some archbishops and

then there are some bishops and then there are some reverends and then there

are some deacons what happens in a system like this is that the subjects

are cut off and are in bondage to the king it's a Pope who decides what goes

and what does not this system has nothing to do with any godly order in

the church you cannot have one big honcho sitting and telling you what to

do from Rome or from Bombay it's a defective system it releases people who

are in bondage to a king who is seated far away that's not how we are supposed

to function and that's a common system in some churches it doesn't have to be

Catholic folks it can be a church that is not Catholic and yet has a structure

where there's a head someone and he issues decrees and edicts that have to

be followed by the group of churches under not the way to go the second

order is Presbyterian Presbyterian I'm not talking about any denomination I'm

talking about systems Presbyterian the Presbyterian system is basically where

you have elders telling the leader how to run the church you have elders

telling the leader how to run the church this is common in many many many many

many churches the elders tell the leader how to run the church and what happens

then is that it's a oppressive system that's run by consultation so if the

leader wants to do something I'll have to go and first sit at this table and

say you know I feel God saying that I need to do this this and this and then

you will all want to decide whether God is actually whether we should go ahead

with the God is saying it's ridiculous man this is exactly what happened with

Samuel Matt am I still on or okay this is exactly what happened with Samuel and

Israel God told Samuel I will be their leader and the elders of Israel I've

given you the scriptural reference there the elders of Israel come and say to

Samuel no no no no no you are old and your children are not following God we

want a king like the other nations it's a it's a it's a defective system it was

it's not a godly system yeah yeah and that's that's not a godly system I'm not

saying a church that adopts a system will not do relatively well but who's

who wants relatively well when we are talking about Christ the Son of God who

is perfect and whose ways are perfect and who paid the price for the body

whose bride are you messing around with I mean we're talking about the church

being the wife of Christ

yep the third system is congregational congregational is where there is

democratic rule the whole congregation decides whether we should do something

or not do something the whole congregation decides you know unfortunately

whenever the crowd gets together to decide something they usually chose

Barabbas that's exactly what happened with Jesus when the crowd got together

they chose Barabbas and so whenever there's a congregational model where

things are democratically voted on so that the church will decide to a

democratic election a democratic choice whether we should do something or not do

something I'm telling you it is so packed with stuff that'll undo what God

may want to do yeah the the church in Laodicea in revelations 314 the word

Laodicea means the rights of the people that's what the word means Laodicea

means the rights of a people and the what is the problem with the church in

Laodicea the church in Laodicea was lukewarm and I'm suggesting to you that

it is impossible when the majority decides on something for anything to be

without compromise folks you have to come to a happy compromise to gain

votes that's how politicians win

you know I know pastors and I've been in churches where there are good men and

women and they're making sacrifices for the church but ultimately regardless of

sacrifices they might make for the goodwill of the church the destiny of

the church is decided by either a democratic decision or by a group of

elders who may not be in the same page just the way it is then there is the

independent leader the independent leader is an authority unto himself the

independent leader is an authority unto himself he does what he wants and he

controls through charisma or intimidation an independent leader is an

authority unto himself he does what he wants and he controls through charisma

or through intimidation people like that end up being the head and the husband of

the church when it's actually Christ who is the head and the husband of the

church independent leaders will control either through tremendous charisma where

you will follow or through intimidation where you're afraid to touch or say

anything because you think something will happen to you in situations like

that Christ is no longer the head of the church they become the head of the

church in situations like that Christ is no longer the bridegroom of the bride

they become the bridegroom. Folks there's a difference when it comes to the bride

of Christ if you were getting married I'm assuming a bride chooses a bridesmaids

right yeah yeah but when it comes to the church the bridegroom chooses the

bridesmaids for the bride in the world a bride goes and says you you

and you will be my bridesmaids and then she spends a whole lot of money so that

they all look the same meaning they all dress up the same sorry please ignore

that observation but but the thing with Christ as the bridegroom is that he's

the one who picks the bridesmaids for his bride he knows who to pick to equip

the bride to be ready so when we decide who will be the bridesmaids for the

church who will equip the church through pedigree through reputation through

degrees through succession through election I'm saying to you that it is it

is it is just the exactly opposite way of going about it folks any questions

thus far we have a solution but any questions with regard to what we've said

thus far

how would we know who the right people are we'll come to that any questions

okay the Bible says that the way a church should go about setting itself up

is to be autonomous is to be autonomous by autonomous I mean it should be

self-governing it should be self-governing self-sustaining self

propagating a church should be self-governing meaning I mean to begin

with I met a person recently who I was sitting across and the person said oh I

think what I'm going to do is I'm going to start a church and I didn't have the

courage to say to him that are you sure that's what God is calling you to do are

you sure that's what your gifts or ability to equip is because as far as I

know that's not what the person is supposed to do but the person who's

sitting there and does not have a job at president said I think I'll start a

church and I'm saying to you that's usually not the way to go about it if

you if you are an equip or you will know it even before anyone else identifies it

folks if you are called to be a teacher evangelist pastor prophet or an apostle

I'm saying to you before anyone else knows it you have already known it

because God clearly spoke to you not in a hazy dream where you saw a nose coming

out and saying something no no no very clearly God will say I have this for you

so you will know it what do you do after that you wait why because you are now

appointed to the body of Christ the body of Christ has at some point to see that

in you to recognize and at some point release you to do what you're supposed

to do you have to wait for it to happen Jesus waited how long 30 years go ahead

Matt

self-imagined but then he should wait till the church actually sees it yeah if

the body doesn't see it if others don't come to recognize it then there's

something wrong because it is impossible once God has birthed that in you and put

that in your DNA for it to be saved hidden it'll come out folks it'll surely

come out the outside church meaning no no no it is no this is one thing if God

has called you to any of these servant roles you will know it before anyone

else folks you will know it you will know it first it won't be the other way

around God won't come and use someone to say I have no no no God would have

spoken to you first because these are Christ appointed things the Bible

doesn't say the Holy Spirit appoints these five services he says Christ has

appointed these five services you will know it the way to the way we should

build is to be self-governing self-sustaining and self proper

what I mean by self-sustaining is you know one of the reasons we said to the

North American Baptist Conference that we would like to discontinue the money

that you were giving us to do the church plan was exactly because of this because

we wanted to be self-sustaining self-propagating is giving birth

self-governing is where from within the house you now get a plurality of leaders

you don't get a plurality of leadership you get a plurality of leaders an

autonomous church is a self-governing church self-sustaining church

self-propagating church and you develop a plurality of leaders but you don't

develop a plurality of leadership meaning it's not because then it goes

back to all the elders sitting together and trying to arrive at a consensus I

have known of situations like that where five six elders will sit together and

they won't make a decision till all of them are agreed that's the way of that's

not the way I'll show you from the Bible that that's not the way some of us must

be thinking but how does this affect my life folks it affects our lives like

crazy because once you become part of once you become part of this every the

way this loaf comes together determines what filters into each life and we'll

talk about that see when you go to Acts chapter 15 for example they had a

Acts 15 · chapter mention

problem the Gentiles were beginning to enter the church and the Jewish church

in Jerusalem had a problem so they come for a huge discussion Peter also turns

up for the discussion because Peter had just had this amazing thing that

happened at Cornelius's house where the Gentiles started speaking in tongues and

received the Holy Spirit and you will notice that all the elders and the whole

church actually turned up for this meeting and they were having debates

discussions on this whole topic of if the Gentiles come into the church

shouldn't be circumcised them that was a discussion and then Peter who is a

leader and one of the prime leaders among the Apostles what does he do he

stands up and gives shares his testimony but Peter was a leader of the Apostles

but he wasn't the leader of the Jerusalem Church even when he came to

the Jerusalem Church he wasn't the one who was going to make the decision they

were elders are the elders were discussing too if you read Acts 15 and

then at one point James stands up and James was the leader of the Jerusalem

Church and then James says based on the principle that God is restoring the

tabernacle of David he this goes back to what we were saying last week folks we

do not have policies we have principles and those principles have to be derived

from the word and James listens to the whole discussion listens to what Peter

has to say and then he stands up and says based on the scripture in Psalms or

somewhere where it says I will restore the tabernacle of David and my salvation

shall reach to the ends of the earth I want to say now that the Gentiles will

not have to go through circumcision and then he states what has to be done

that's the way a church is supposed to work we can all discuss but at the end

of the day both the church and the leader has to give room to the voice of

the Holy Spirit and you got to step back it doesn't matter what my opinion is

doesn't matter in a sense what your opinion is you have to step back and

give place to the voice of the Holy Spirit I'd suggest to you the same

principle applies to your homes get this right in the beginning when you have

children and you'll find that just as it works in this house it will work in your

home where husband and wife are co-equal but the husband is first among the

equals folks and at the end of the day after the children have discussed and

the wife and the husband have discussed the husband has to have the ability to

step back and speak for God and make room for the voice of the Holy Spirit

for the home and the same principle applies to the house these are

scriptural principles not policies it's not a policy I'm the husband and what I

say is right doesn't work that way

I love in verse 16 and 17 of Acts 15 you should read the wording James sent a

letter saying it seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit that's how he words a

letter it seems good to us and the Holy Spirit because you've got to step back

and let the voice of make room for the voice of the Spirit hearing the Holy

Spirit is the privilege of the community meaning us hearing the Holy

Spirit is the privilege of the community a leader should take advice from others

but ultimately make room for the voice of God a leader should take why take

advice from the community but ultimately should make room for the voice of God

that's the way it's supposed to work and that's how we've been doing things I'd

like to suggest to you when it came time to move from we were Java to here

that's what happened the Holy I mean you know Tino and I was sitting with Artie

on Thursday and Artie was saying so why did you guys move why did you leave me

here like this and move and I was glad Tino was there because it was a witness

and I said Artie this is what God did and I told him how the Lord spoke and I

said to him we were happy here we hadn't outgrown this place I love the smell of

coffee likes everything about this place but at the end of the day we had to make

room for the voice of the Spirit it's the same with dollars that we give

speakers who are coming we don't sit and try to figure out so is this guy really

worth it or not it is amazing how some of you have been at those meetings we

decide on a figure almost unanimously because the Spirit of God says how about

this and we won't even talk and then when we speak out that figure is usually

the it's usually the same same you make room for the voice of the Spirit there

is a plurality of leaders but there's no plurality of leadership there is one set

man and we're going to talk about the set man principle next that's why I said

this is better preach from it someone else preaching because otherwise it

seems self-promoting but it's not set man principle if you want to go to the

next bit folks every house is to have a set man and the whole idea of set man

comes from numbers 27 numbers 27 to think that God put Aaron's staff in the

tabernacle just to to let churches know that there is a way to do things set

man principle every house is hot is to have a set man a set man concept is from

numbers 27 verses 16 and 17 numbers 27 verses 16 and 17 and here's what it says

Numbers 27:16 Numbers 27:16

numbers 27 verses 16 and 17 Moses said to the Lord may the Lord God may the Lord

Numbers 27:16

the God of the spirits of all mankind appoint a man over this community to go

out and come in before them one who will lead them out and bring them in so the

Lord's people will not be like a sheep without a shepherd that's where the

concept of set man comes from may the Lord the God of the spirits of all

mankind appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before

them one who will lead Berry them out and bring them in so lots people will

not be like sheep without a shepherd. Our usual response to stuff like that is, oh

we follow Jesus Christ, we don't follow man. I'd like to say to you that order

here on earth is established through the agency of man. It's always established

through the agency of man. So what are the qualifications of a set man? Does he have

to be an apostle? Does he have to be a prophet? Does he have to be a pastor,

teacher, evangelist? No, no, no. You have to be like David. You don't need to be a

title, you have to be like David. You have to be a man or a woman running after

God's heart. You have to be a hearer of God. You have to be someone whose hands

are skilled in war and you have the ability if necessary to kill giants. You

have to have a desire to build a house for God. You have to have spiritual

authority. You have to be anointed by Samuel and what I mean by anointed by

Samuel means the purpose of God in your life to do that must be

evident and must be recognized.

Questions guys?

Questions?

No questions?

Any comments?

Guys, don't feel scared to ask questions. This is how we build principles.

Okay.

Folks, a set man is a father and it's a father that produces sons. A hireling

cannot produce sons. A set man is a father and it's a father who produces

sons. A hireling cannot produce sons. You know, you can hire a pastor who has the

heart of a father. Unfortunately, because he has been hired, he will not be allowed

to produce children because he is hired and so he can be fired. So you cannot, he

doesn't have the freedom. He may be a potent man but he does not have the

freedom to produce children because he has been hired by someone who decides

whether he's to stay with the bride or not. A father produces children. A hireling

does not. If you turn to Judges 17, you'll see that story there. It's a very

sad story. Judges 17. Judges is Joshua after Joshua. Joshua judges Ruth. Judges 17.

Hey folks, if it's getting late, just imagine this in your minds. You don't

have to come this evening.

Thank God we're talking about not deciding things democratically but making room.

Okay, yeah, tug of war. If you show, yeah, if it's in scripture, we'll do that.

Okay, Judges 17, 10. Here is a guy called Micah and he, this was the time when

there were no prophets and judges in Israel and he meets a Levite and Micah

says in verse 9, where are you from? He says I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in

Judah and he says I'm looking for a place to stay. Look at verse 10. Then

Micah said to him, live with me and be my father and priest and I will give you

ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food. Hired him to be

father. But now go to 18, chapter 18, verse 19. Chapter 18, verse 19 or verse 18.

Chapter 18, verse 18. Judges chapter 18, verse 18. And it says that when these

Judges 18:18

men went into Micah's house, the same guy who hired this Levite to be his priest

and father and took the carved image, the ephod and the other household gods and

the cast title, the priest said to them, what are you doing? They answered him, be

quiet, don't say a word, come with us and be our father and priest. Isn't it better

that you serve a tribe and a clan in Israel as a priest rather than just one

man's household? Isn't this exactly what is happening folks? What does it say?

Yeah, the priest was glad he took the ephod, the other household gods and carved

image, went along with the people. This is unfortunately what's happening. It's

happening to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of youth pastors who are men

with a passion for God but who need to break into a church so that they can

serve and then move on to a tribe and a clan that is bigger. It's a sad thing

folks and these are men with a great passion. Do you see why we need to reform

things? Otherwise we end up in a system that is not, if you held a plumb line to

it would be off and there'll be times when we may be off but may God send us

people or send us the word so that we may hold it against us and then have the

meekness to correct ourselves. So folks make sure that you connect to a set man

whose staff or rod is blossoming. Make sure, this is where we talk about why it

is important, how does this all help me as an individual in the church? Make

sure that you connect to a set man whose rod is blossoming because only then will

the full purpose and grace of God placed in that house through the set man be

yours. Let me say that again. It is important that I connect to a set man

whose rod is blossoming and we'll talk about what that means because only when

I connect to a set man of that sort will all the purposes of God and all the

graces of God through that set man for the house become mine. Number 17 verse

12, I think it's in number 17 verse 12 or numbers 11 verse 17, God says to

Numbers 11:17

Moses I'm going to take the spirit that is off you and I'm going to put it on

these 70. It's not because a set man suddenly becomes special, it is just that

God has ordained order in such a way that when you connect to a set man whose

rod is blossoming then all the purposes of God for that house will flow through

into your lives. Numbers 11 17 and number 17 12. I think it's on top of the sheet.

17 12, let's go check it out. Number 17 12 says, no must be wrong. Numbers try

numbers 11 17. Numbers 11 17. 17 12 is not the right word. Numbers 11 17. Yeah,

numbers 11 17. I will, God is speaking, he says I will come down and speak with you

there and I will take off the spirit that is upon you and put the spirit on

them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will

not have to carry it alone. What's happening is some elders have come and

Moses needed help and God took that grace that was upon Moses and put it

upon the 70 so that they may have the same grace to judge properly. This is why

when Jacob blessed his children he didn't say son Ryan you will be this, no he

said run son Ryan you and your descendants will be people.