HCSKL 2010 Notes >
Day 22
The Sacrament of Communion
0:45 - Sacrament of Communion - Don't fall into religion - Don't let communion become religious. That's the responsibility of your own heart. Don't let anything become religious. You can let anything become religious. Going to church on Sunday - Reading a devotional - Reading your Bible - Praying because it's the Christian thing to do and it makes you lose the life behind something. So that is your place to keep your heart in the know.
1:15 - Season of receiving communion every day - Smith Wigglesworth did everyday. Don't just do it because he did it and it worked for him. We do that stuff.
1:45 - Three ladies with note pads - How much time do you spend in prayer - worship - on knees - prostrate? They wanted the Christian wake up with God calisthenics. So sincere. They thought they were going to get to where I was by doing what I was doing. Totally misses the heart of everything.
3:15 - Receiving communion every day with heart - You could do that with this communion. Or, like Holy Spirit did with me, He really did inspire me to do it - everyday I would receive communion in the morning before I went into the office. I would go into church real early... I would start with certain scriptures having to do with Jesus redeeming me. I would take the cracker and enter into a place where, This is your body broken for me. I remember it til you come. And I began to open up my heart and Holy Spirit would build in me based on all of the scripture that I was reading - He would build in me the very purpose and accomplishment of the flesh.
4:00 - Unless you eat - Believe and receive what it accomplished - You eat of the flesh. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. - John 6:53. That really means to believe and receive everything it accomplished. People say, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? - John 6:52b. Well, that wasn't what He was doing. They didn't understand. They were very offended at the thought. They were thinking literally. But it simply means believe and receive everything the flesh accomplished.
5:00 - The body - So there is great purpose in the flesh. It's talked about by But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. - Is. 53:5. Isaiah 53 talks about the beatings - the blows to the flesh. So He went through a lot. All with great significance.
5:20 - Meditate on the communion elements - And there is a place for you to meditate on that and get personal and commune with God with the communion element, where it never becomes religious. It's not just an ordinance that we should do. It becomes your reality.
5:40 - That revelation got so big in me concerning the body that it took a long time for me to even get to the cup. And then when I got to the cup it's the blood. And when you start thinking about the blood, meditating and praying and Holy Spirit made the power of the body and the blood extremely powerful in my life.
6:10 - Revelation comes alive through communing - I'll pass this along. Who has ever felt like it was easier to believe and pray for others when they were sick than to receive when you were sick? That's way the majority. That has never been my experience personally. And here is why I believe (that is so) - that revelation of communion. It's something that I could preach but it became mine in that season. I could always preach on it before that season but it became life to me. The word became flesh. It's not about preaching a good sermon on communion. It's about seeing it. That communion and union is where it becomes alive to you - to where that revelation rises bigger than any symptom, any situation.
7:40 - Participant's experience of being healed during a time of communing - Comments on participant's testimony of communing while hunting - pain in body. I was so filled with the Spirit. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; - Eph. 5:18-19. Meditating, musing, singing. At some point there was something that he "saw." He was thinking about his knee and he just spoke to the knee. "Knee you be healed. Pain you come out of me."
9:40 - We tend to reduce things to a method - Now we all know that we can do that technically and that's what we tend to do. We live out of our knowledge. We know that we can do that and then we pray. And then, "Why didn't it leave?" We struggle. And then we try it again. We reduce it all to a method.
10:10 - Not a method - A relationship - So he was just communing with the Lord. It wasn't with the purpose of (fixing) his knee. It wasn't trying to get hold of God for his knee. It was just enjoying Him. It sounded like, You're changing my heart. You're flooding my life. I love You. And all of the sudden there is an illumination - something that he is seeing now. Now he speaks and the authority of heaven comes and his knee is totally healed.
10:45 - So was the truth still the same a day before that? So did the truth change? Or did something change in what he saw? The truth stayed the same. The stone has been rolled away. By His stripes we were healed.
11:00 - We reduce healing to method - Healing flows through relationship - This is where we struggle. We think it's a fall in your lap thing. We think it's: I say this and You do this. We read. We study to show ourselves approved and we've got all of these promises. And then, "Where are you Lord? Why didn't you come? You said that if I said this, you would..." It's not a tactic or method or genie in a bottle. It's not rubbing a lamp and getting your three wishes. It's relationship. It's knowing Him. It's communion and union with God.
11:40 - Growing in union and communion - This (sacrament of communion) is a great way to grow there. Like taking this for a season and preaching and praying for the sick and seeing God move doesn't hurt at all. It all adds up. But this communion and union, personal place with God - I really believe it took fear out of my life - made me not feel vulnerable.
12:05 - Vulnerability - A lot of Christians feel vulnerable. You read natural knowledge - articles - and you read that this causes this. And then we get cautious. We use "wisdom." And I struggle with that whole thought personally. The reason we do a lot of things is because we are afraid that we are going to get it. There is a place here (union & communion?) where you don't even see that.
12:40 - Example: vulnerability to the flu - If you all had the flu. The thought of getting that would not even pass through me. I know that this (revelation on the sacrament of communion?) is part of that reason. It's not because I am a great Christian and I am so spiritual.
13:15 - Seeing a truth - It's the truth that comes in and you see what you couldn't see before. It's a truth. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. - John 8:31b-32. We don't tend to continue in the word. We get frustrated because we try it and it doesn't seem to work. And then we judge it instead of continue in it - honoring it - knowing that it's true - and there is a place for me to grow into it. We judge it and get frustrated.
13:55 - This (sacrament of communion) is one beautiful way that God has given us... Wouldn't you think if Jesus told us "as often as you do this... do it in remembrance of me. Remember my death until I come." So what He accomplished is what takes me through until the coming of the Lord.
14:30 - Receive the body. Let's release faith and believe that it's the body of Jesus. Lord Jesus, we just worship you. Do this personally. Release faith in what you understand about the body. Some thoughts get bigger in me right now... that...
15:15 - He came in the likeness of flesh - Just the fact that He came in the likeness of flesh. It speaks of our place with the Father. It speaks of His desire. It all reveals the "I love you" of God. It speaks of your value, of your potential. Just the fact that He came reveals His heart towards us. How couldn't we trust Him? How couldn't He be good? We have to understand. Just the fact that He came and took on flesh - made Himself of no reputation and wore a body here on earth reveals this relationship that He desires. It reveals the connection between God and man and our created value.
16:00 - And I honor that this morning. And I thank You that You came so that I could see first hand what my life looks like - what my life is called to follow - what my life is really all about and for. You are the living epistle of who God is - the living epistle of love. You are the One that we follow. And we just receive the giving of your body so that we could live in the Spirit -so that we could live forever and be one with You. You were made to be like us so that we could be made to be like you. Thank You that we are sons and daughters. We receive your body.
16:50 - Take the cup - Begin to respond from your own heart. Think about the blood - the innocent blood of Jesus that washes you clean. You're made white as snow. Thank you Lord - white as snow. Our sins are totally removed - totally gone. There is remission of sin because of your blood. Your blood speaks on our behalf and releases mercy upon our lives. Your blood speaks better things than Able's blood. Your blood speaks mercy and redemption. It speaks forgiveness and the goodness of God. You want us clean. You want us close. You want us in You. That's amazing. We didn't ask You to come, You came. For all that would receive would be called the sons of God. We receive your love. In this cup I see the symbol of your love. And I see that You shed your blood in the fight against sin. And I respond and say, Yes, I give my life back to you. And I separate myself from sin and it's identity and consciousness that I might be a fruitful son - that I might bear fruit in my life and multiply like You've multiplied in me. Thank You for this covenant. Father, You made this covenant with Jesus. It cannot be broken. It will never change. It's for the redemption of man. I step in and enter in to fellowship with this covenant through faith, realizing that this blood was shed for me. Thank You.
19:30 - An unbreakable covenant - Giving us access to the Father - There are so many things that the blood represents. It's not just the forgiveness of sin. There's a covenant expression there. It's a binding unbreakable thing. And because we've gone back on our word in our life people have said one thing and done another sometimes we lose the impact of that. But we are not talking about men here. We are talking about God. He has established a covenant forever that is unbreakable and unchangeable. You will always be righteous through the blood. You will always have an entrance way through the blood. You will always have access to the Father through the blood. The blood makes the way clear and possible. In fact, boldly you come, because you put your trust in God's love.
20:35 - Communing through a song - Sweep Me Away -
Slaves to Righteousness
25:30 - We are slaves to righteousness - Consider this: we used to be in bondage and yoked by sin and the burden of sin. The Bible talks about cords that can't be broken - the cords and bands of love. It says that we are slaves to righteousness - Rom. 6:18. It sounds like we are in bondage again but His yoke is easy. His burden is light. So we're actually bound to Him. They are covenant terms. And we are rooted and grounded in love. We are bound to Christ. It's a beautiful thing. So Father we thank You. We are enchained and imprisoned to the judgement of righteousness. There is no escape and we don't want out. We just thank You that it's not a ball and chain like the days of bondage. It's not a task master. It's not at the cost of our life. It's at the finding of our life. We thank You that You have bound us to You - that these cords and bands of love could never be broken. That You'll never change your mind about one of us. You know our value. You know what You made us to be. And You saw the price that was fitting to pay because You knew what was necessary for redemption. For through the shedding of blood there was the removal of sin. And we thank you through the blood of Jesus. We stand in your Presence as sons and daughters of the most high God - not lacking in any good thing. For it's your good pleasure to give your kingdom. And we receive it Father. And we wear righteousness very humbly but very boldly. This gospel humbles us because it's You coming to man. It's You coming in the likeness of flesh to send an eternal message of more than hope but a message of true life. And we thank You for this gospel. And we ask that it would light our hearts even brighter, consume our understanding even deeper and be the stronghold of our life. Lord God, come and constrain us with this truth in Jesus' name. Amen.
27:40 - A lady came and said, "I don't like that we are slaves to righteousness" - the term slaves. Are you kidding me? You are bound to serve the judgement of righteousness all the days of your life. It's a good thing.
Sacrament of Communion (cont.)
27:50 - Participant comment on the reasons that we commune and identify with Christ. He put on flesh and walked among us, lived a sinless life and then gave Himself as a sacrifice.
28:35 - That's all the beautiful truth of the sacrament of communion. When you camp in that and receive those communion elements there are times when that will explode in you (become real in you). And Holy Spirit will show you other aspects of receiving communion.
29:00 - You gave it all - You held nothing back - Sometimes I will take communion and all I will realize is: You didn't hold anything back. All that was yours is mine. You gave all that you were so that I could have life. And I will kneel. And I will respond (back) the same way. Here I am Lord. I give all that I am for you. Hebrews says that we ought to consider Him - For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. - Heb. 12:3. So there is a place to live free from discouragement and weariness. It's by considering Him. He considered not Himself. Here is what it's saying. When you get self-centered, self-conscious, self-sorrowful, feeling sorry for yourself, it's a very weary, discouraged place.
30:25 - Don't let things be traditional - Do everything with heart - Don't let things just become traditional. Where the life is determines where your heart is responding. Don't do things just in a tradition or just because you can. I've seen foot washing ceremonies where there was very little heart. It was just going through the motions of washing each others feet. I've been in other foot washing ceremonies where I could barely function because it was so emotional - the love that was in the room - the heart of the people. It was overwhelming.
31:10 - Foot washing services - Weeping as washing. Servant heart. Message was sent by the act.
Examples of Faith to Follow
33:20 - Hebrews 12 real quick. v.3-4 ... - For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. - Jesus is everything. He is the truth. You are looking to Him. Let's back up to v.1...
32:45 - Chapter 11 - Great cloud of witnesses - Examples to follow - We have a great cloud of witnesses - Hebrews 11 talks about them. This is people who lived a life worth following. They are an examples set before us. Some people interpret this as a cheering section in heaven cheering us on. "Rah, rah, go boys." It's not really saying that. But the great cloud of witnesses is the people talked about in chapter 11 who are examples to follow - patterns to follow. Those who through faith and patience inherit the promises - Heb. 6:12. Follow me as I follow Christ - 1 Cor. 11:1. So there is a great cloud of witnesses who showed us what it meant to lay down their lives - to not love their lives unto death. And the world wasn't even worthy of these people. That's what Heb. 11 talks about.
33:45 - v.1 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, - It sounds so sentimental.
Jesus - Our Mediator
Jesus interceding for us every day - He is mediating - It's kind of like how we say that Jesus is praying for us every day. That's not really what it is saying at all when it says that He is making intercession - Heb. 7:25. Intercession is the word mediate. It means that Jesus is representing you to the Father. He is sitting as a defense attorney pleading your case to the Father. And you have a right because He is there. He's your defense attorney. He's speaking on your behalf. He's not sitting up there praying for every individual every day. People say, "You've got Jesus praying for you every day." That's not what the scriptures are saying.
34:40 - He is the mediator - the go between. No man but the man, Jesus Christ - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; - 1 Tim. 2:5. So we have access because He is there at the right hand and His blood is speaking on our behalf. He is making intercession - stepping in on behalf of - stepping in for. It doesn't mean that He is literally praying for each person and speaking good things over you every day and blessing every family on the earth. He is blessing us in that His body and His blood have been given and His blood has been applied to the mercy seat.
35:25 - He's still a man - Mediating on our behalf - And He is still in flesh and bone as a man, in the holy tabernacle of the heavenlies, pleading on behalf of man. He said, "Touch me, a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as I." Why does He do that to His disciples? He wants them to see that He's still a man. It's important and He's still a man and He is going into the holiest place in the heavens - not made with human hands. Why? Pure, holy, acceptable and through Him we become pure and holy and acceptable. And we come through the Christ into the Father. But He is still a man. A man at the right hand of almighty God.
36:15 - The Bible calls Him a man. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; - 1 Tim. 2:5. Capital Man - the Man - Jesus Christ - meaning the anointed man. That's really cool. It means a lot. It's not a small matter. Get that personally.
36:40 - He fulfilled every requirement - He fulfilled everything for which Adam was designed - We just see Him as Jesus. We forget that He was made to become a man. He took on the likeness of sinful flesh. He's the captain of our salvation. He was the sacrifice made perfect. He was perfected through the things that He suffered. He became the perfect sacrifice because He went through every thing that man goes through but He passed with more than flying colors. He went through with holiness and fulfilled the law and manifested everything that Adam was created for. And through that perfection we become complete. We put our faith in Him because we are so amazed by Him because He is the Standard and He is called Life. Anything outside of Him is not life.
38:05 - He came to get me back - One with the Father - He became like me to show me that I'm to be like Him. You can't take that now. You're way too late. I'm not just a mere man. I'm created to be a son. And Jesus came in a flesh body so that I would qualify and get back to Papa and be one with Daddy God. That is so much more than a prayer to go to heaven. This is my destiny revealed. This is my purpose. This is who I am.
38:50 - I'm never going to die - Grace meets faith through communion - When I am preaching this, I see me there or He wouldn't have come to us. This is more than a little gesture. He faced death and defeated it. And death has no dominion over us. We will never know death, ever. You're only going to see that in the secret place - when you start reading and expressing that to the Father. "Oh, my goodness. Death has lost it's power." I can't tell you how many times I have prayed this stuff out loud in my bedroom - and reading my Bible out loud and that meditating in the word. "Death has lost it's power. There is nothing to ever fear. It's never about me dying. Rejoicing that I will live forever. I'm never going to die." And all of the sudden, guess what I believed? I'm never going to die. I'm going to live forever and ever... one with Him in His presence. And I don't even see that totally clearly now. But I see that. So I am going to see it even more and more. And one day face to face.
40:30 - Get personal about these things - But that is just going to be doctrine to you if you don't get personal with Him. If you don't take that personally. It's just doctrine and we'll sing a song about it and we will grab some temporary joy until life gets in our face and reality sets in.
42:10 - High Priest forever - Unchangeable - He's a high priest forever. He is unchangeable. It's so important that you understand that He is a high priest forever - Hebrews 7. He speaks on your behalf. He mediates. The truth about who you are to the Father and in the Father and who you are because of the Christ cannot change and will not change - no matter what life is saying - no matter what. So the truth is we've got to go after this to grow until this revelation becomes one with our understanding - (through communing).
Eternal Perspective
43:10 - Paul prayed that we understand why we are Christians - That's why Paul in Eph. 1:15-23, after he heard that they were Christians - he saw that they had a genuine love for one another - a commitment to Christ - he called them saints. He said, "Now that I see your love for Jesus and your love for one another, I have not stopped praying for you. That the Lord would grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." And what you can really boil that whole prayer down to is, "Now that I see you are sincere in your faith towards Christ, I haven't stopped praying for you that you see why you've become Christians." That's really what he is praying. "That you understand the hope of His calling you - not your calling - the hope of His calling you. The glory of His inheritance - what He will receive by redeeming you in the sense of His great name being reestablished in the hearts of man and His glory filling the earth." He has given us the birthright - the privilege - to manifest His glory - His great name. What an honor - that He would trust us with the kingdom to manifest the glory of God - the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
45:10 - His inheritance - His increase - Sometimes we think that it's just all our gifts and all our talents and it's all our show. It's deeper than that. He deposits the blood of Jesus into the earth. It' an investment. He sows the blood of Jesus into the earth - like a savings account so to speak. And all of the sudden the blood begins to make interest and dividends and increase. And all of the sudden it reproduces after it's own kind. And you and I are the kickback (interest) of that deposit. We're the increase. We're on His IRS 1099 at the end of the year. "I received interest. I got Ron and Mary in my image, filled with my Spirit through what was sown. In fact I have way increased whatever I have sown." And a whole lot of interest gets reported. Each seed producing after it's own kind - Christ in us, the hope of glory - the manifestation of Christ. It's so much more than doctrine.
46:55 - Saul's conversion - God's increase - Not marked for what he was doing but for who he was - So Paul prays all of this because he knows that it is so much more than doctrine. Man, when you have a conversion like Paul's - dying for what he once was killing - that's conversion. That's coming into the light. When he was killing, he was sure that he was right until he saw the light. And look at the dramatic transformation. And as he was killing, he was marked for inheritance. There was a hope in the Father calling. God didn't mark Saul for what he was doing because he knows who he really is. And if the light would just shine, he would see. Do you see love in that? That's how we are created to love and be on the earth (like God's love).
48:35 - Great cloud of witnesses - We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. There are people that gave their life and didn't even have the revelation we have, they just saw it at a distance. They just knew that there was something on the horizon. There were people that saw their lives, in the OT, worth surrendering and giving for the glory of God and didn't even totally understand. They say it afar off. And yet they still committed their lives. That's amazing.
49:05 - We've turned it into what can you do for me, God? And if everything is not going my way, I'm not having a good day.
49:15 - Pilgrim perspective - They saw themselves as pilgrims on the earth - just passing through. We put all of our stock in this life. And what happens in this day has such a big voice. And we lose the big picture of the true reality of walking by the Spirit and living for the big picture. We fail to sow into that bigger picture. So we've got to get a better perspective - a deeper perspective of life. We're not living for the moment - for the temporal - by what we see. We live by what we don't see. What you see is always subject to change. What you don't see is eternal.
➡ 50:50 - Motives and perspectives - There is motive in all of this. This morning we are shifting into some perspectives and motives that we live by and embrace and go after so it becomes our foundation of motive - where we will live from an eternal view, a spirit led view, a view that's led by truth and not circumstances.
Storms of Life
51:25 - Hebrews 12 - v.1 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, - We heard how the great cloud of witnesses lived and laid down their lives. Now... Let US lay aside... every weight -
Prayers from fear - That could be a lot of things - self-concern, anxieties, fears that drive your pray and now your prayer is nothing but an expression of what you fear. It has nothing to do with communion and relationship. It has nothing to do with trusting God. It's just a religious expression of what you fear and you are calling it prayer. You've prayed about it all day? No, you've fretted about it all day. There's a point where you have to look to the nature of God, back to the cross and understand your place in this equation because of who He is and put you FAITH in Him.
52:40 - Manifest Christ no matter the trial - And understand that in that whole equation that you are fretting over, your whole purpose and goal isn't so much the outcome of the scenario but your display of truth in the midst of it. The whole purpose of God is the expression of Christ through your life in every trial. It's not the outcome of your trial. The priority of your life should be the expression of your life in that trial. That doesn't mean that we don't want wholeness and healing and deliverance but if you let the devil get you on the run to where the outcome determines your disposition, your character and your display in the future, you are in big trouble. Because then it is still about you.
54:10 - The expression of character and disposition should never be subject to change. People in the church say, "Well, God is doing this to build certain things in me - testing my character." Man that is something that is formed here. It's through looking at Christ and following Christ. And when we get thrown into the fire, what we've grown into and what we know... Now is not the time to arrive. When you are thrown into the fire is not the time to arrive - (i.e. - get established before the storm). We covered that in Mt. 7 last week (the wise man builds on the rock). We hear and do and (then) the storm comes. There is a window. There is some kind of grace revealed there, that if you walk out the word and you stay in communion with Him and you say "Yes" to Him that at some point the storm is coming to crush what is being built. But if it is built on the rock it can't move because you've become what you've heard. If you wait until the storm comes, you are late.
55:15 - Build before the storm - Get established - Ask any builder. If you are trying to build a house in a storm it's probably hard. If you don't have a roof on and the hurricane hits, it's challenging. That's not the Christian life. Sometimes we are out in the 40 mph wind trying to build - praying hard and fasting a meal. We are trying to build in the storm. No we are always building and when the storm comes, something is established that the storm has no effect on.
56:20 - That's relationship. That's union and communion with God. Or you are trying to live a doctrine and hope it works for you and gets you through life.
56:40 - Let this not be the case in our lives. Don't get drawn into it. Sometimes these things happen subtly, seductively. Have you ever found yourself just going through the motions? That's a very dangerous place because satan will take advantage of that because while you are going through the motions it tends to feel like you are doing your part. And then when the storm hits and there is an unpreparedness, there's a lack of real union and communion, sharpness. Then there can be an introspection, loss of identity, spinning backwards. I see the church do that a lot.
57:25 - Storms are coming. People don't like it when you preach that. Jesus preached that. Storms are coming. If you are over yourself, you are over that (the storms coming). It's not about the storm. It's about the great privilege to walk by the Spirit, of looking through the eye of truth, of having the strength of heaven living from the perspective of God in the face of everything. Even in the face of the loss of the dearest loved one in your life - if your faith is in Christ, we don't grieve as those with no hope, we don't covet that thing they've call relationship and feelings and emotions, we entrust it to God as much - as it hurts - as much as there is physical loss - as much as we are not in denial - and there is an empty chair where it used to be full - we know that the blood of Christ has saved us and we cannot lose and we are going to march on because Jesus is Lord and we are going to leave a legacy in the face of that kind of situation. That's a selfless life.
58:25 - Facing a crisis through "Christian psychology" - The other one (other way of handling) is a lot of "Christian psychology". That term is sketchy to me. It's a lot of just expecting the way we are to feel, the way we are made up... A lot of that needs to be challenged and changed in our lives. (We expect the very things that should be changing.) We pamper how we feel so much. We accommodate it, "I know how you must feel brother..."
58:55 - Facing a crisis through a perspective of truth - It's not denial - If you came to me in some of those situations you might have to think that I'm in denial. "Brother, you are just in denial. Look, we have to face the reality and face pains of the loss." We think that we have to be a wreck.
59:00 - New perspective - You’re not stuffing feelings - You just don’t see like that anymore - So we think you have to be a certain way or you are stuffing everything. But I wonder if your eye has changed and you don't see it that way (now). And you are not stuffing anything because you don't see it that way. And the only reason you are feeling that way is because of the way that you see it.
59:25 - Participant comment - You’re not saying don’t cry over loss...
Grief
59:30 - Unhealthy grief - Don’t let loss rise above the truth of the gospel - I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is, when that loss becomes your identity and you can't rise up past that end it suppresses you and it becomes the snowball of your life and you lived through that loss or that pain and it wraps around you and now you are the expression, the product of the loss instead of the product of the finished work of Christ. That's where we've slipped into something that's not God. It's undue grief. It's beyond measure. It's across the line. It's flesh. No, it would be foolish to say there's no sense of physical loss. But why is it so easy to be aware of the physical loss rather than the finished work of Christ?
1:00:10 - Scenario of grief - So you pray and pray and they die. And now 2 months later it's Christmas. And now Christmas doesn't feel the same because they died. There's an understandable natural “sure” in that. We all can relate to what I'm saying. But at the same time I am challenging (unhealthy grief) in the sense of all of the sudden we are afraid to talk about Bobby because he's not here (anymore). And Mom's going to burst out and be red-eyed all day and she already is. And let's not even mention Bobby... Somehow we are trying to “handle” it all.
1:01:00 - Walking on eggshells - Fear to speak hope and life and truth - All somebody would have to do in that scenario when everybody is in the room... [Extended description] It's all real. But here's what faith does. Here's what understanding does. And I'm not talking about religious goofiness - just trying to be a Christian. I'm talking about faith. I'm talking about believing and understanding the truth. I'm talking about being sensitive to people but not to leave them where they are. All you need is one person, not to be a hotshot Christian, but somebody that cares and understands and loves enough to be bold and confront what has happened. That scenario happens all the time.
1:02:00 - We make grief worse with sentimentality - Here is how sentimental we are. We think it's worse if our deepest loved one dies before Christmas rather than in June. What does it matter? It's just as bad in June. We make it psychologically 10 times worse. We do that to ourselves. That's how we are in our emotions.That’s psychological. That's human nature.
1:02:30 - [Extended discussion - a week before my anniversary] We make that have to hurt worse. That it's harder to be okay. It's a trap.
1:03:00 - Speaking out in grief situations - Scenario - loss of child - Here is all you need for one person to do in that scenario. “So guys it's so good to be here. I just want to be straight and honest. Let's not walk around and feel uncomfortable that Bobby is not here, and we all know it.” And Mom starts to cry. And people are saying, “Stop talking like that.” “No, listen. Let's stop beating around the bush here's what I think we all ought do. We know that life is bigger than today. And life is bigger than the fact that Bobby is not here. Do you know that Bobby is very much alive right now? Do you know that the gospel we all preach in the churches we all go to every week this message is true that you can't fail - you can't lose - that life is a privilege. Let's thank God right now for the day Bobby was born. Let's thank God that our relationships were so clear in a way that we cry when we miss him because he was so awesome in our lives. Let's thank God that we had the privilege of knowing Bobby and being a mom to Bobby and being a brother to Bobby. And let’s thank the Lord right now for his blood that saved Bobby’s life forever and ever and ever. And I know that you might say, ‘Hey but we prayed and he died.’ But he didn't die. Don't you forget that he didn't die. he's alive.” And all of the sudden you preach the gospel. And you get the family in a place where there is praise and thanksgiving Instead of just loss and despair. “Are we really Christians guys? Are we going to let this temporal moment rule what we live for and see?” You can talk that plain and straight in situations like that and nobody would get offended because it's life giving. Because nobody is having fun in the position they are in. And there has to be a way to see it in Truth. We don't grieve as those who have no hope.
1:04:55 - Does that deny loss? Does that take away the value of Bobby? No. But it sure exalts the gospel And an eternal view and the power of Christ - and at the same time preserves our hearts in love for Bobby without being afraid. That stuff happens all the time.
1:05:30 - Another grief scenario - Death of a mother - [Extended discussion along the same lines] See there is life in that. We are afraid to even talk like that. Still unresolved, hurt… “Why did she die?” “Why did my prayer work?” And slowly - self, self, self... And now what was a blessing and a gift from God, called a good mother, you begin to covet at the cost of truth. And you’re just another hurt individual that says they believe the gospel and doesn't understand what you believe.
1:07:05 - It doesn't mean that you’re a robot. It doesn't mean that you don't have feelings. No physical loss is very real.
1:07:15 - Funeral of a 10 year old that got hit by a car - hundreds of people at the funeral. I did the grave side. Mom was in prison. “He’s in that box!” People started to fall apart. “Listen to me. He is not in that box!” Preached the gospel. Many put faith in Jesus. The principle message: God getting our eyes off of the things that we see and getting them onto the things we don’t see. Why would we let a passing moment be the motivation of today?
1:12:40 - That's just an illustration of the perspective and the mentality that saves us. The gospel saves us.
Run Well
1:12:55 - Mindsets that weigh you down aren't from God - Back to - Hebrews 12 - v.1 - Let us lay aside every weight - Don't you be weighted down. If your mindset or your mentality isn't producing life - isn't moving you forward, it's never from God. If what you're thinking and the track you are on isn't edifying, even if it's just planing you out and putting you in neutral it's not God. His yoke is easy. His burden is light.
1:13:40 - So we are not to carry this human weight that life brings.There's an eye to see through. He's not putting bricks on your shoulder to see how many you can carry. He lifted off the burden. It's not his workout program to make you spiritually massive.
1:14:15 - v.1 - Lay aside every weight - So that doesn't make any exception for any weight. It's every weight.1:14:20 - The enemy's strategy to misidentify you... - And the sin which so easily ensnares us - that old action, that old mentality, that old lifestyle that tries to encroach back and say, “This is who you really are.” The word “ensnares” means it's a set trap. It's a strategy. It tries to rope you in. Sin tries to rope you in. And a lot of that happens through a lack of understanding, through a lack of identity. All of the sudden it sells you because of what you fail to see. It weighs you less than how you measure up in Christ. It gets you to compromise. Without sometimes intentionally compromising, if our identity isn’t locked in, we don't see ourselves for truth and we’ll give ourselves to less than truth.
1:15:25 - ...So that you to settle for less - In other words, do you remember yesterday when we preached that you're a house fit for a king? The word “mansion” literally means dwelling place. So we’re a house fit for a king. If you don't see that, you might give your house to less than Him. But if you really see who you are there’s no vacancy.
1:15:50 - That's why we teach so much on the identity. The value that you see your life possessing in the sight of God will determine strongly, how you respond to those snares and what you will give yourself to.
1:16:00 - All sorts of problems are related to lack of identity - A lot of addictive behaviors are directly connected to identity crisis and esteem issues. A lot of relational fall outs, a lot of marriage issues, illicit relationships - just bouncing around from person to person - trying to find and locate a value that you are designed to possess but it's looking in all of the wrong places for all the wrong things. It's because you don't see who you are.
1:16:35 - Seeing the truth of who you are protects you - Do you see that truth protects you from that? That's what it means. Truth makes you free. So you can live in a place where you are not subject to those ordinary snares - those everyday ways of man. All of the sudden you see differently. All of the sudden those things don't have a voice in your life because of how you see yourself. And you realize that your life is not there. And there's nothing there to pull on - nothing to captivate. There is nowhere for the trap to hold because you see clearly. You're His sheep and you obey. You're in love.
1:17:25 - Human relationship and their fractures - When human beings really believe that they are in love are pretty cool. It's when human beings say, "I don't think I love you any more" or there are unresolved conflicts or "I love you. Do you love me?" starts creeping in, now word that shouldn't have been spoken are spoken and you can't forget them. Then there is no apology for the thing you think deserve an apology. And five years later your heart is not in love. And that's not even the reality (it wasn't really love to begin with). And we weigh that in our relationship with God (we superimpose that behavior onto God). But God's never in that realm. But that's what people do. Then the next thing you know they have another person in their life.
1:18:05 - But back in the beginning you would have never imagined that. Because the love that you feel compels you. Love lives your life. That's why if you love Him you will keep His commandments.
1:18:20 - John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments. -
This verse does not put us back under a law - Reading in legalism - That's not a legalistic phrase. If you love me you will do what I say because you love me. Because you love me you will walk one with me. It will be the spontaneous flow of your life. You're not trying to keep His commandments to validate your love for Him. You keep His commandments because you are in love. It becomes the easiest thing to do.
1:18:55 - When two people are sure that they are in love they are eating off the same plate... same spoon. They are stary-eyed. So there is an expression there because they are sure that they are in love. And in that place there is nothing else that is an option. They are not thinking anything else than one another.
1:19:25 - Love Me like I have love you - See the best in Me as I have seen the best in you - Like a covenant - That's why He tells us to love Him like He loves us. That word is agape. In other words, the way that God loves you and sees you, He's asking you to see Him. Life will interpret Him differently and try to define Him. Circumstances will suggest and impose on Him apart from truth and He's saying, "You need to love me when it looks like I am failing. You need to love me and believe the best about me when it looks like I haven't moved. You need to love me and know who I am lest you misdefine me through life. The way that I have believed the best about you all along, you need to look at Me and know and believe the best about Me. I'm asking you to love me the way that I have loved you."
1:20:10 - Natural covenants between stronger and weaker tribes -That's like the greater tribe making covenant with the lesser tribe to find a sense of synergism and completeness. Big strong tribes make covenant with smaller tribes because there is something that smaller tribe had that the larger one didn't have yet. They would enter into covenant because it would make them a little stronger a little more complete. So the lesser would really benefit.Then all that the larger tribe's would become theirs and vice versa. That way the stronger tribe could obtain something that they didn't have. So covenants in the natural.
1:20:50 - Even though God is good in all of His ways, humans see fault - But in this covenant with man - this expression of love - loving Me as I have loved you - we HAVE missed the mark. We've lived other ways and been found guilty. But the truth is God is always just and right. He is good in all of His ways. But humanity has the ability to define Him through certain ways to find fault with Him.
1:21:15 - We misidentify God - We are faulty - He is not - So if I am seeing fault I am deceived - If God looked, could He find fault with us? But that is not the plain that He is living from. That actually makes me not want to have fault. That is so impressive to me that it puts honor and diligence into my heart. And all He is asking is "Don't look at me apart from how I have ever looked at you." And in my heart I realize that if He looked, He would find fault. And He doesn't want me to look and find fault because there never is one with Him. So if I am seeing fault (in Him) I am deceived.
1:22:00 - He could find fault in me but refuses to because He is there to bring out the best in me. How beautiful is that. So the way I love you, you love Me.
1:22:10 - Endurance in faith - Don't pick yourSELF back up - Let us run with endurance - You need it to finish the race. You are going to be challenged. You are going to feel like you can't run anymore sometimes. You are going to feel like it is too far - too long. "I can't do this." And you will be tempted at times to pick back up yourself and cater to yourself and love yourself and feel sorry for yourself and cater to yourself and pamper yourSELF - that SELF that is supposed to be dead.
1:22:50 - The resurrection of the dead is not supposed to be raising yourSELF. We all say, I've never seen the resurrection of the dead. You probably have. You've probably raised the dead many times. We practice the wrong kind of raising from the dead. Once he is dead, let him be dead (SELF).
1:23:20 - Praying for the deer to get up - Todd's wife hits deer. Daughter wants to pray for the deer to get up. Todd wants the bologna. Eat the bologna.
1:24:35 - v.1 - Let us run with endurance - Why? - Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. - Heb. 10:35-36. So you can't fulfill the will of God in your life without endurance. So don't throw away your confidence or you won't endure. You'll cop out and sell short and it won't be truth.
1:25:15 - We're leading up to a scripture on discouragement and weariness, then we will take a break.
1:25:45 - v.1 - The race that is set before us - So there is a calculated race before us. There is a reason that Jesus laid ahold of us. There is something we're pursuing, attaining to, growing toward.
1:26:00 - v.2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. - How are we going to do it? Looking unto Jesus. What does love look like? Jesus. The author and finisher - He's the One that authored this thing. He's the One that is consummating this thing. He started this thing and He will finish it. Without Jesus - His life's expression - you would have nothing to put your faith in. You'd be grabbing for the stars - a pipe dream - a whim - a prayer - a hope. But Jesus authored true Bible faith. His life and his life lived and everything He expressed and said and did gives us a concrete foundation - the Rock - to have faith. He's the One that authored faith. And He is the One that will finish it in us because we'll keep our eyes fixed on Him.
1:26:55 - That means "yeah but" is no longer in your vocabulary. The only "yeah buts" are "We were dead in our trespasses. Yeah, but God who is rich in mercy..." "But Gods" are acceptable.
1:27:20 - v.2 - Who for the joy that was set before Him - So Jesus saw beyond what He was going through. He had a bigger vision than right now - than what it was costing Him - than how this feels. If He didn't He would have never gotten through because He went through what we couldn't even comprehend.
1:27:50 - Jesus saw what the accomplishment of His sacrifice would be - There is a lot that He saw. He saw us. We're His joy. He saw the conquering of death and the removal of sin. He saw the victory of the cross and the resurrection and ascension. He saw the mercy seat covered with the blood that He was about to spill. It's a huge thing that He saw. He saw the accomplishment of His sacrifice and suffering. And we the whole motive of it. Are we His joy - His good pleasure. Absolutely. Take it that personal.
1:28:30 - Israelites in the wilderness - Did not pay the price of SELF - But to get there He had to pay the price of HimSELF. What would have gotten the Israelites to the promised land? Paying the price of themSELVES. That was the only thing that kept them from the promised land. God was faithful. They had everything they needed to get there. It was self-centered. It caused them to complain, grumble, miss the blessing, mystifying who God was, thinking for themSELVES, "It would be better for us..." Me, me, me - and they died there in that place. And eleven days away was where they were called to be.
129:15 - God would have given them the land. Eleven days from there - and they wandered for 40 years in a wrong mentality. Eleven days shy of where they were called to rule and reign. The only thing that kept them from the promised land was SELF-centeredness.
1:29:40 - Complaining - You can't even complain unless you are thinking for yourself. The Bible says don't you complain like they did lest you be destroyed like they were by the destroyer - Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. - 1 Cor. 10:10. The destroyer takes advantage of your heart, your disposition, the flaws and weaknesses in your life and works with whatever you give him. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; - Phil. 2:14-15. What makes the generation perverse? It's living for lust - itSELF. But you have escaped that through His divine nature - Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. - 2 Peter 1:4. You've got to challenge yourself and not give yourself permission...
1:30:30 - "Yeah, but" - Permission for less than what Truth wants you to be - That "yeah but" thing is so detrimental because you weigh it in the natural and give yourself allowance to be less than truth. And you allow your attitude to live when it should be crucified. And you have it all substantiated - why you feel the way that you do. And you have that court case all laid out in your mind. And it sells you short of Him no matter how "right" you are - you are found "wrong" in the sense of righteousness.
1:31:15 - Jesus had to have lived this way or He would have never done what He did on the cross. He would have had a reason - why not to go. So when He looked to men they were His reason to go (joy that was set before Him) and it wasn't what He saw in the natural (persecution).
1:31:25 - Don't judge by the flesh - He judged no man according to the flesh. He saw every man for his potential and purpose. Paul said - For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: - 2 Cor. 5:14. He died for all, then all died. And now I live and I am going to live for Him - the One that died. I am never again going to judge any man according to the flesh. Why? I am going to judge a man because He died. You are worth His death. I am going to see that every man is worth His death. I'm not going to read any man for face value anymore.
1:32:15 - v.2 - Endured the cross -
Jesus endured the cross - He had an eternal perspective -So we're to run the race with endurance. What caused Him to endure? He loved not His own life unto death. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13. He knew what the giving of His life was accomplishing - and the seed He was sowing and the fruit it would bring. It was of greater value than saving Himself from the temporal suffering of the cross. What His faith saw through the cross was of greater value than saving Himself from the cross. If you are not selfless you are not going to be doing that. Especially because Jesus deserved none of that abuse.
1:33:00 - Don't reap what you sowed - Reap what He sowed - Sometimes if we think that we "deserved it" we endure it a little better. And that's usually in the realm of condemnation. The devil plays us and makes us think we deserve something as if we are still under the law of sin and death. No, once your heart cares and sees, you're subject to righteousness. You don't reap what you sow. You reap what He's sown and it's life through Jesus Christ.
1:33:20 - As soon as you repent, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus overtakes the situation and crushes the law of sin and death.
1:33:25 - Sickness and sin - You don't have to get sick because you sinned. Your heart is sorry. You've confessed it and all unrighteousness is removed. So you remain righteous. How does that unrighteousness attach to righteousness? It can't. How does the law of sin and death attach to righteousness? It doesn't because there is no sin to see. There's nothing to stick to. The law of sin and death is looking for sin-consciousness. It's looking for guilt and condemnation and shame. It's looking for sin to attach to. "ooh sin, death!" Strip that thing off and be free. Be clean.
1:34:30 - v.2 - He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God - He knew the truth all along. Did He know in His heart that He was innocent? Did He commit himself to God? Did He take personal what men said and thought? Because He knew the truth in His own heart. He was in touch with the truth of who He was and the why behind His life. Do you see why motive is so important?
1:34:55 - v.3 - For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. - Consider him - That means that you need to let your life live through Him. Such opposition from sinners against Himself - If He was considering HimSELF, He wouldn't have endured. He actually considered the sinners.
1:35:30 - Lest you become weary and discouraged in your soul - That means if you are weary and discouraged that you are considering yourself. Be challenged by that and encouraged.
1:35:45 - v.4 - Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. - Watch here for your purpose in Christian living. What are you complaining about? You haven't hung on a cross and died.
1:36:10 - BREAK
The Powerful Effect of a Life Lived Well
1:36:45 - We're going to read this one more time and then we are going to go back to Matthew.
1:36:50 - v.3 - For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. - v.4 - Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. -
Our fight against sin - Living a righteous life - Lest we take things personal - take things to account for ourselves and fail to not love our lives unto death because we haven't yet shed our blood in our fight against sin. Do you know how we fight against sin? It's not by exposing it and telling people to change. It's by living righteous. It's by walking in love. The goodness of God changes men. Walking in right relationship with God - It separates you from the identity of sin and it can confront and convict and challenge others to hunger for what you have. Why do we pursue Jesus? Because He is amazing - attracted to Him - drawn.
1:38:05 - We don't fight sin by picketing but by living out Jesus - Sometimes we think it's making billboards and posters and picketing against sinful behavior. No it's walking in love - walking in mercy. It's overcoming evil with good - mercy triumphing over judgement - toning down a harsh word with a kind word. It's expressing who God is on the earth. It's light in the face of darkness. Your fight against sin is living a righteous life - a life that bears fruit unto God. It's living a life without grumbling or complaining so that you can shine as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation - Phil. 2:14-15. So your life reveals truth and confronts men.
1:38:55 - It's not just going out there saying, "You shouldn't sin. Turn or burn." It (a life lived in righteousness) brings men to a place of repentance. There is a place for those conversations. But you will find that your life opens up that opportunity - people you work with - people you meet - people that see your life.
1:39:15 - Praying for people out in public. Bystanders will track you down and want to talk. They see your life.
1:39:25 - At the hospital nurse is convicted by Dan's life - You know Him don't you? You really know Him. I got mealy mouthed. She was observing and watching. How about you? I don't know Him. Do you want to? Prayer. Her face looked different. Three days later I saw her. How are you? The Father is speaking to me every morning when I wake up. She was acting goofy like me. God was real. And she was in love.
1:42:40 - Kidney stone nurse - I didn't even know she was in the room. I had been saved 3 days. "I was impressed with how you handled that. You're mature." 3 days saved.
Weariness & Discouragement
1:43:30 - So you endure because you don't love your own life and you keep your eyes on Jesus. If weariness or discouragement creeps in locate it. You are considering yourself way too much. There is a place that grace will take you through (to). There is a place to get your eyes off of you.
1:44:00 - Think about Jesus - Prolific works yet facing debate and persecution - going into all of these villages and doing all of these good works. We pursue the works. He had the works. Everything He did was pure. He had prolific works - immeasurable - couldn't keep track of it all. And yet people were still reserving the right to debate who He is - blasphemer, heretic... Should we kill Him? After a while, if He was trained to think anything like we are trained to think - "Well, these people don't appreciate me. All I am doing is good and they are calling my good, bad. Are these people even redeemable? Why should we even save them? These people need to change." That's how we would think.
1:45: 10 - Love is patient - Impatience has to do with selfishness - We lose our patience. Why? because we haven't been established in love. Love is patient. Don't separate them. You don't need to pray for patience. Just become love and you will have patience. If you find yourself out of patience with people you are seeing them face value and you are seeing them for not changing or for how you need them to change to suit you right now. It's something self-serving. It has something to do with looking at them through the eye of flesh. That's what will cause you to be impatient.
1:45:55 - God would have thrown in the towel if He thought selfishly - If God was like that, He would have thrown in the towel on us. He would have said, "Dan, you are never going to get this. It doesn't even look like you want this." When I threw my Bible against the wall at 19 years old, if He was anything like how we were taught and trained to be... "Well then, have your way. Fine. I'm done with you. If that's the way that you want it. Have it." And then 14 years later, "You? You hated me remember? You wish you didn't even know me remember? Oh, you want to come now? Are you in a jam?" Tell me that humans don't have those conversations with each other. All the time. And you are really just saying, "You really hurt me. I've never forgotten."
1:47:00 - Humans think selfishly - The reason this all matters so much is that we are all created to be one together and we all have great need of one another in the sense of spiritual synergism, unity and oneness. It's all just a perverse form of that though. It's all alive in us. What you are really saying is, "I really needed you. You would have been a blessing in my life. But you turned your back on me and I've been hurt all of these years. And now you want to stroll right back into my life as if nothing went wrong. I don't think so."
Repentance & Forgiveness
1:47:45 - Prodigal son - Forgiving father - Instead of being selfless and being complete in Him and knowing His love and being in the fullness of God and being like the good father in the parable of the sons, "I'm so glad that you've come home. I've missed you. I love you. It's OK." And they feel such a need to make amends and you don't see anything but their value. "I'm just glad that you're here."
1:48:15 - Unforgiving brother - The other son was like, "What, is he going to waltz back into our lives like he didn't spend all of dad's money? Like he didn't just blow it all? Are you going to treat him like he is some kind of king?"
1:48:30 - Repentance - He came to his senses - The difference in that process was that the younger son came to his senses. He came to himself - back to the truth of reality. He got out of fantasy land. And he didn't come back arrogantly and expectantly. He came back even to serve. "Even if I have lost my place, at least I'm here because this was not me." That parable shows repentance - change.
1:49:05 - It's not arrogance. It's change. He didn't come back using the gospel, "Look I know that I blew everything but I know that you'll always love me. Haha. I'm home." It's not like that. It was, "What have I done with this great destiny? What have I done with this great provision? How have I spent these talents? I have spent them living for me." And all of the sudden he is heading home with a godly, sorrow filled heart.
1:49:40 - Father's forgiveness - And the father, who saw him as a son all along can only see him that way. He is changed. No need to even talk about that past stuff. "It's OK. I'm just glad that you are home. We'll do well."
1:49:55 - Prov. 1:28 - "they will call on me but I will not answer" How does this fit with what you are preaching? - Realize when that was written. That's man consumed by himself. That's pre-NT.
1:50:35 - Esau's regret - There are people like Esau. Esau cried bitterly and found no place of repentance. How can that be possible? We talked about this the week before last. I thought if you were sorry you could be forgiven. But Esau was only crying for himself because of what he lost and didn't have because of his sin. It didn't have anything to do with godly sorrow. It was regret. He was just crying for how his sin cost him instead of the sin that he committed and how it cost the big picture of God's plan, his identity and others.
1:51:25 - Coming to God because of crisis - So these people that you are talking about ignore God's way and get into a crisis... There are people who do this today and I've seen God still show them mercy. I've seen people come to God just to restore their marriage. They run to God as if God were the greatest thing there ever was. And they want their wife to come back. And their wife comes back.
1:51:50 - Insecurity - If you are sincere you are not dogging your spouse constantly. "Look, I've changed. I am after the Lord now. Things are different." And they are constantly bearing witness of themselves - self-affirming. It's all insecurity. It's just trying to desperately covet and get their spouse back in their life. You don't bear witness of yourself like that. Your life does that. You don't need to convince someone that you are changed. Your life determines that.
1:52:25 - Counselling - Insecurity - So if I am counselling someone like that and find out that they are doing that stuff behind the scenes, I'll call the wife and ask. "Is he bringing up his change a lot?" "God will get him through this. Your call is to always love him. I don't care how weak he is." I'll call her into Christ and not accommodate her because of his weakness and give her permission to be anything less than Jesus - and then go to the husband and talk to him in the same way - so that we are producing Christ in this marriage and not having a wife having a reason to be in the flesh because of the husband. Or the husband having a reason to be less because of the wife.
1:53:30 - If an excuse involving others won't hold water before Christ why do we accept it now - It would be a sad day if you get before the Lord and say, "I would have become more if it were not for my husband." Then why do we let that be real now? That would be so lame that you won't even be able to think it, let alone speak it in the light of Him. So why is it valid now? Probably because there is not a lot of light.
1:54:15 - If you live in the darkness you are blind and don't know where you are going. And then you have valid justifiable reasons for where your life is or isn't and there is somebody to blame. And every man will answer for his own life. You are not going to take a crowd of people into the judgement and talk about how others kept you from doing what God calls you to do. That's not going to fly there. Don't let it fly now.
1:54:50 - And He will say, "What about Me? Why didn't you believe in Me? It's faith in Me?" It's faith in Him - not others. "Have faith in me." "So what did they have to do with me?" This will keep you from letting others be the reason that you are not something.
God Disciplines His Kids
1:55:30 - Heb. 12:5 - Does God discipline His sons? Is God going to come and scourge us? - We talked a little bit about this the other day when we talked about God doesn't break your leg because you are on the wrong road. So that is not the kind of discipline He uses. There is discipline in the Lord. Sometimes it is hard to describe and explain. Let's go back to Hebrews...
1:56:40 - You have to understand that the law was set in place to tutor to our need for a Savior. So men reaped what they sowed apart from grace. There was a law of sin and death operating. So we see God as a God of wrath. And yet the wrath of God was fulfilled through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ.
1:57:00 - God still fathers us and disciplines us in certain senses... The same way that you lead your children in truth.
1:57:15 - Example of discipline: Dan corrected by God after man prays for him - God had told Dan to stop him from praying over him. But Dan let him keep going because it sounded OK. Dan was in leadership in the service. People were hanging in the balance. And I was there loving and protecting myself. "Now you listen to Me..."
1:58: 00 - Obedience - God is waits for you to obey - Obedience is a big deal. You'll hear preachers say, "Stop asking for another word if you haven't obeyed the last one that He gave you." There is a form of discipline in that. Sometimes God is just waiting for you to obey - because you already have conviction. And if He doesn't wait for you to obey and just gives you another assignment, it will just teach you... you won't be affirmed as a son. You won't be established. You'll have a loose ended, kind of, "Whatever... Hey, God still loves me. He knows my heart, praise God."
1:58:35 - So if Esau had just gotten restored back without the change of heart, would that have been a good thing for Esau in the long run? Or would it have enabled him and empowered him and become a weird stronghold in him?
1:58:50 - Disobedience keeps God from moving in you the way that He wants to - It's not good for you - So there are things like - you violate your conscience, you shipwreck your faith. And God is still loving. There are times when God loves you and isn't privileged to manifest that love in certain ways because of the message that it will send if you are not obeying or learning the right lesson.
1:59:10 - God won't enable you to live without diligence and honor - Here is an example. Sometimes you pray and it seems like heaven is standing still or you are not even getting through with God. And He is convicting you about making things right with a brother. And now you are failing to make things right with your brother but you have that conviction to make things right. But now you want to go into prayer and meet with God and seek God and receive the blessing of sonship. But you still haven't made amends with your brother or encouraged your brother like you know that you were supposed to. You're shirking that and avoiding that but you're still looking to enter in. There are times where it will be just dead in that place. As much as God wants to meet you there, He is not meeting you there. The best thing that might happen there is you might think of your brother when you are seeking God. But God won't just come and enable you to disobey Him and just smother you over with love and kisses when you are in a place of disobedience or failing to wrap up a lose end because it will teach you to live without diligence and without honor. It would teach you to try to have your cake and eat it too - without obeying the Spirit of God.
2:00:20 - Dan corrected (cont.) - We had a prophesy person come in.
2:00:25 - Prophesy is cool. But sometimes we chase after prophesy. You have to be careful that you don't honor aspects of the Spirit of God and moves of the Spirit in such a way that you open the door SO WIDE that everything is just God. There are times where it can get weird.
2:01:00 - Dan corrected (cont.) - It was a prophetic service and it attracts some weird stuff. Man prayed over Dan. God gave an impression to stop him. "I don't want them praying over you. Tell them to stop." I thought it was harsh. Hug. All kinds of things going on in the room. Crying, manifesting... it got weird... some people left. I knew something was off. Saw evil spirit hovering over man - the man that prayed. Because he prayed your authority was subverted. Now there is a mixed atmosphere - things functioning that are not Me.
2:04:30 - Short discussion of how Dan is not afraid for anyone to touch him - not going to get slimed.
2:06:10 - Dan corrected (cont.) - This weird atmosphere is here because I didn't obey. Some thought it was the greatest thing. "So what do I do?" "Go cast that spirit off of that man and my glory will come into this place." But I waited 20 minutes knowing... trying to figure it all out. "Lord would you just let your glory come..." And you should have heard His voice - trying to shake me into sonship. "Look you know it's Me. You know I'm God. Why haven't you already obeyed? Why are you entertaining your flesh - loving your own life - fearing man? Why aren't you running if I have spoke?" Here is what He said exactly, "Now you listen to Me... You've been crying and praying for years for my glory. I give you one assignment and here you sit 20 minutes later. Now you go do what I said to do."
2:09:35 - Disobedience interferes even though God loves you amazingly - There is a chastening in that - a discipline. And unless I endure that and go through that I won't be approved as a son and bear the fruit of sonship. I'll sit in a cut off position even though He loves me amazingly. And God is bound in that moment to (not) accommodate me (in my disobedience) lest my heart (fail to) shift and change and I (fail to) grow in honor and integrity and discipline.
2:09:50 - God will discipline us for our sake - Not to spoil us - That's the way that we are supposed to father and mother our children - not out of anger and frustration and disappointment - but for their sake. Because if we don't discipline them we enable and spoil and silver spoon. And if you did that to your child people would say that it's a shame. "What did you do to that child. You've got them so spoiled." But we want God to spoil us. We think we want this and we cry until He gives it. Wrong.
2:10:30 - Dan corrected (cont.) - I got up and went to the man. "Are you the one who prayed over me?" Cast the spirit off of him. "Come out of him." Looked like I shot him.
2:12:40 - You don't need to understand it all - When you hear Him, obey Him - I don't need to understand all of that to obey. We are so busy trying to nit-pick the fine-tuned understanding of it all. We get so intellectual... Stop. You might not ever figure all of that out right now. But you get in relationship so that when He speaks you know His voice and when you know that it's Him you must obey. You don't even have to understand everything. That's what makes it faith.
2:13:15 - Dan corrected (cont.) - The atmosphere all started to make sense. And some people missed out on a beautiful, sweet move of God. His glory came in the room. All the fear and weirdness left the room. Oneness came. People were paying the price for my disobedience but God didn't intervene. He patiently waited for all of that to unfold. So that I could see my place, my responsibility. Until I moved, He wasn't moving. That's one of the disciplines I have received.
2:14:55 - God will sometimes WAIT until you obey - I've had other disciplines. You get little convictions. And then you go to pray and go through the motions but you know that something isn't right. Something isn't dealt with. Don't try to mask it over by painting a picture that everything is OK. There is a place where God will literally wait until you obey. Does He love you that whole time? Absolutely. But will He come to you and cuddle you in that place - when your conscience is violated - when your heart is not at rest in obedience? Will He come and say, "It's OK honey..."? Not at all.
2:15:35 - God is here to be your Father and transform you into the greatest sons and daughters - Your conscience and your pure heart go so hand in hand in your communion with God. When your heart doesn't condemn you, you have confidence before God that whatever you ask of Him you will receive. Why? Because there is this open, unveiled face of oneness because your heart is free and clean. Because you are walking in obedience - you're walking in love. You are following the convictions of your life in the Holy Ghost and you have access to Him. He is the most loving, merciful... But He is not here to enable you to remain the same. He is the Father and He is here to transform you into the greatest sons.
2:16:15 - Relationship without obedience won't work - So there is a place where He won't come but in a certain way until you receive the discipline of conviction - the instruction. And that's all a form of discipline until you actually walk that out. Some people rob themselves of intimacy and communion because of a violated conscience. And they know what they are to obey and they won't but they will still go to church and sing and go to the alter and hope that God will touch them. And they won't just obey what's in them. They are trying to have relationship without obedience. That's all a form of discipline.
2:16:55 - God doesn't break your leg because you're going astray - Reaping and sowing - And I believe that you can bind the gentle, loving, tender hand of God towards your life, in a sense, because of living outside of that truth (obedience). But God doesn't break your leg because you took a wrong turn. I heard a TV preacher say that when you are in the hospital bed and your leg is broken and you are in a body cast, if you listen you will hear God say, "Do I have your attention yet?" God does not put you in a body cast. In most cases it's just you are reaping what you've sown because you are not heeding Him. So that is not the discipline of the Lord. You can't look at it through the law. You have to look at discipline through grace.
2:17:45 - It used to be that men were reaping from the law of sin and death. It was actually the fruit of their doings. Sin of David - sin of Achen - sin affects a lot of people around you.
Disciplining Children
2:18:10 - Can you relate the discipline of the Lord to how we should relate to our kids? - Assuring your love for them. Assuring your heart and motive all of the time because kids tend to... because of that selfish thing that we all grew up in... they feel sorry for themselves. "I can't believe they are being so hard on me."
2:18:30 - You constantly have to keep the attention off of them and you walk them through and help them to understand the discipline. "Look, mommy doesn't have a need to be right in your life. I'm not here to boss you around. I love you and I want you to understand..." And there is a lot more communication that's necessary in discipline than we realize. A lot of times we think it's just missing supper or sitting in your bedroom. But there is a purpose behind the discipline.
2:19:00 - Why do you not spare the rod? It's a direct correlation to the actions one has committed. And what it's teaching them is when you live this way it brings pain into your life. That's the whole purpose of discipline and the rod. "If you live this way it's going to bring pain into your life. I want you to change this and this pain here is snapping you back to realize I'm not going there because this is going to be the result. This is to snap you back to truth and reality. You can't afford to live this way. Don't you realize that this lesson is for you. I'm not mad at you. This is for you."
2:19:50 - Parenting from wrong motives - Frustration - Parents often discipline out of frustration and impatience. [Example] That's message is you offend me. You've crossed my boundaries. I'm alive for myself and you are my child. You should know better. I didn't bring you on the planet so that you could be a pain to me. Go to your room and think about it. There are a lot of messages there. You are on the earth for me. You have the ability to ruin my day. You tax me. And we lose sight of love.
2:20:30 - Get self out of the equation - It's important to get rid of self or we can't discipline as parents. You'll just be mad at your kids. Then you will just degrade their value. You will touch them through your own pain, despair, discouragement and frustration. We probably all do that at times because of the flesh and our upbringing in selfishness.
2:21:00 - Parenting before salvation - really bad. "You ought to be glad that I let you live here." I thought I was talking sense into them.
2:22:00 - Parenting after salvation - You are not under pressure. PK. Your life reflects you. You are not alive for me. Now your life can reveal my life if we walk in unity.
2:23:00 - Pastor at marriage conference - If you want to know whether a pastor is godly, look at his wife. The most unfair comment on the planet.
2:23:10 - Pressuring others to behave a certain way because of how it reflects on us - If that is true then God is a terrible father because not everybody is jumping onto His lap. So He is a terrible groom because not everybody wants to be His bride. That's the stuff that pressures people and ministers. Then they pressure their families to look right because it reflects on them. I don't pressure my family to be a certain way for my name sake. Because I don't have needs there. People behind the scenes ask me to put pressure on "for the sake of the kingdom." "It's all for the ministry." "Don't go for me. Go for God." And then the spouse is just going through the motions. Plastic - putting in time - going through the motions to save face because something matters more than truth.
2:24:35 - My kids do not identify me - If you want to know me don't look to my kids. You are looking in the wrong place. Look at me. "You are not under pressure. You don't do anything because I'm your daddy. You do things because your Daddy is so awesome." I had that talk with my kids a lot.