WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

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want to thank you for joining us today, and we

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hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

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listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

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To find service times and watch messages online,

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see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

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enjoy this week's message. Well, thank you guys

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for praying with me for Pastor Brad and Jenny.

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They are in Malala. I don't know how to say it.

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Something like that. Some city up north of us,

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and they're ministering at a great church up

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there, and they send their love. But today, you

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get me. So I'm going to bring a word today. I'm

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excited about it. So first thing, we forgot to

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announce this because this is kind of a recent

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thing that just happened. Mike Winkleplek, as

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well as Nita Loveall, they've been working. You

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guys know that we've got the riverbank issue

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happening right now. We're in the process of

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partnering with our church and people from the

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outside to fundraise to help pay for that because

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it is a large expense. Mike and Nita actually

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prepared a GoFundMe. for you guys to share. If

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you have friends, coworkers, family members,

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people across the country that are asking about

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it, how they can get involved, how they give,

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GoFundMe makes it really easy to read a little

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bit what's going on, see some pictures and videos,

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and they make it really easy and frictionless

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to give. So that being said, if you would like

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to share that on your social media, man, we would

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love it. We would just love as much exposure

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as we can because a little bit from a lot of

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people goes a long way, amen? That being said,

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just a quick reminder, I know we passed out the

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commitment cards last week. If you guys are a

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part of this church, and you're here, you're

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plugged in here at Life Bible, we encourage you

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to just to give through the website or via check

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or cash if you are gonna give to that project.

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Don't use the GoFundMe account. And the reason

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for that is they do take a lot of fees for their

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platform. So anyway, we just wanna utilize the

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finances coming in as best as we can. All right,

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there was the administrative announcement for

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all y 'all. Let's jump in this morning. Last

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couple of weeks, Pastor Brad has been preaching

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on fasting and we are two weeks into our 21 day

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fast. How many of you guys are still in good

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spirits and happy about this? Dennis and Kathy

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are, come on, that's good. So I'm not, I promised

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Pastor Brad and I've promised myself, I'm not

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gonna preach on fasting today, but I am gonna

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just talk a little bit about it. And here's the...

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Here's the thing about fasting. If you have maybe

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been absent from church the last couple of weeks

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or you missed the fact that we were fasting corporately

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as a church, I just wanna encourage you, it's

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not too late. You can join right now and it is

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still gonna be amazing. And I shared this parable

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in first service. Do you guys remember in scripture,

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Jesus was talking about the vineyard owner who

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is bringing in workers for the vineyard. Several

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started early in the morning. Some came during

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the afternoon and some came an hour before the

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close of business and they all got paid the same.

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So I'm not, that maybe is way out of context,

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but I'm just saying it's never too late to start

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fasting with our church. Seriously though, we

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are, there's something about fasting as a church

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that really helps to establish unity in the spirit.

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And that is what we are going after in this season.

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So we just wanna encourage you to do that. Fasting

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really does clean your soul in a way that not

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a lot else can. And I'm gonna explain that. But

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when you fast and you say no to things that your

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flesh would normally really want, it's almost

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like just as you go through life, stuff, crap

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just kind of hits your life from every angle.

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Who can relate to that statement? And I'll give

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you a picture here because when I was, this is

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years ago, I was driving from Redding, not from

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Redding, from Sacramento, California to Red Bluff.

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And it's like 150 mile stretch of I -5 that there's

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pretty much nothing but orchards and fields.

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It's like called the breadbasket of California,

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but lots of farming. And so I was driving through

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there late at night, really fast. There was like

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a hatch of bugs that day because they were nonstop

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splatting on my windshield. And I was using all

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of my fluid, trying to keep my windshield clear

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so I could drive. But this was like a 80 -mile

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stretch of nonstop bugs, which was wild. So I

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finally pull off at a gas station. And I had

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like a half inch of bug carnage caked onto my

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headlights, let alone all the smears from my

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windshield that I was trying to keep clean. Here's

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how fasting works. I stopped at a gas station

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and I took a squeegee and I just wiped all of

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that off and it came off almost instantly. And

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then I was able to get back on the road and I

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had a clear picture of where I was going. That

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is a picture for what fasting does to your soul.

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Stuff hits, stuff comes and splats on your life,

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so to speak, and on your soul. And it makes it

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difficult to see where you're going and what

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God is doing and what God's saying. And there's

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something about fasting that helps clear some

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of the clutter that has accumulated over the

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year. So that's part of the reason that we fast

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as a church. The other reason that we do that

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is it really just changes your appetite. When

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you start fasting and you're giving up food,

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your appetites for things begin to shift and

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you begin to long for the things of God more

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than you long for other things. And I heard a

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pastor say years ago that when you fast, you

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actually, fasting causes you to grow hungrier

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for the things you can't see than for the things

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that you can see. And I found that to be very,

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very true. So there it is. That's it. I'm gonna

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stop right now. I'm not gonna preach on fasting

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today. But if you haven't joined the fast yet,

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guys, we got another week. It's not too late.

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Here's your invitation officially. But seriously

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today, I do wanna share and bring a word that

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I'm feeling stirred to release to our church

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today. And the word is gonna be regarding walking,

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embracing the authority of God. and actually

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operating in faith. And the reason I'm bringing

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this word is I really do feel like God has an

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upgrade, so to speak, for our church this year

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regarding the miraculous. And I really believe

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God is wanting to start to move in the miraculous

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realm in ways that you have not seen before in

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this church. And we've seen amazing things. I'm

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not discounting all the incredible miracles and

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deliverances and healings and salvations that

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have taken place in the last 25 years. But I

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just sensed the Lord saying, there's more for

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our church this year. And with that, an important

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piece of actually walking into that breakthrough,

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walking into impossible situations and seeing

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impossibilities in front of us and those walls

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come crumbling down. walking in the authority

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God has given us and taking steps of faith are

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absolutely necessary to see that type of breakthrough.

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So that's what I wanna preach on this morning.

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And if you guys have your Bibles, we're gonna

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start in Exodus 14. So you guys can open up to

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Exodus 14. If you didn't bring your Bible, as

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Pastor Trent says, we have a Sky Bible behind

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me. You can read along on the screen. So I'm

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gonna start in verse 13 of chapter 14. But before

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I do that, I just wanna give a little bit of

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context for what we're talking about here. So

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in this account, Israel has just been released

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from Egypt. So they had, Israel, the nation of

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Israel had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds

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of years. God raised up Moses to go and actually

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deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt. So

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Moses goes, he talks to Pharaoh, Pharaoh won't

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hear it. And then Moses starts with the power

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of God, starts releasing plagues of judgment

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on Egypt. And finally, after the 10th plague,

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Pharaoh says, okay, I'm done. You guys get out

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of here, take your flocks, your herds, your children

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and leave Egypt. We don't want you here anymore.

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So Egypt kind of pushed Israel out and Moses

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and Israel started marching. out of Egypt, kind

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of into the wilderness. And it actually says

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in scripture that the Lord led them to a specific

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location right next to the Red Sea. Now this,

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if we're just looking at it in the natural, the

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location he led them to was kind of like a dead

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end. And God led them there. And so in the middle

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of them marching to this dead end next to the

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Red Sea, Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, changes

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his mind and says, you know what? we're gonna

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go get them. And whether he was wanting to go

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capture them and re -enslave them or just slaughter

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them because he was angry, we don't really know,

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but he mobilized the army of Egypt, which at

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the time was like the superpower of the world.

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So imagine probably the most up -to -date military

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force in the world coming after Israel, a nation

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of former slaves that were completely unarmed.

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So they have... in a large army at their heels

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and they're facing a giant ocean at a dead end.

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Well, they're watching the army approach and

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the people start getting a little bit antsy.

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They're starting to freak out a little bit, understandably,

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but they started saying things to Moses like,

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were there not enough graves in Egypt that you

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had to take us out into the wilderness to kill

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us? And Moses, stood up and the people are freaking

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out and in fear. And he releases this amazing

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faith statement, which we're gonna read in verse

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13. So it says this, Moses said to the people,

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fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of

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the Lord, which he will work for you today. For

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the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never

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see again. The Lord will fight for you. and you

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have only to be silent. That was Moses' really

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polite way of saying, okay, if you're not gonna

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say anything in faith, then shut up. But he did.

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He obviously, he said, listen, God's gonna do

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a miracle for you, but you need to, at this point,

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just be silent and be still. Stand in faith.

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So that was Moses' rally cry to the nation of

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Israel that was freaking out. Now let's keep

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reading in verse 15. The Lord says to Moses,

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why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel

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to go forward. Lift up your staff and stretch

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out your hand over the sea and divide it that

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the people of Israel may go through the sea on

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dry ground. Okay, so we're gonna reference this

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passage of scripture a couple times today, but

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I wanna just stop here for a minute because I

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was reading this passage. I thought it was very

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interesting to me that Moses, there, it seems

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to be a little bit of a gap where he addresses

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the nation. And then the very next thing written

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is God speaking directly to Moses saying, why

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are you crying out to me? And my guess, if I'm,

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I'm not adding anything to scripture, but my

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guess would be after Moses gave his rally cry

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to the nation of Israel, he may have turned around

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and been like, oh Lord help. me, help me, help

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me. How is this going to work? How are we going

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to have breakthrough? Right? I mean, he recognizes

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the will of God is to deliver Israel and to bring

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them into safety, but he had no clue what it

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was going to look like. So God actually, and

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I'll give you the full story in a nutshell. He

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divided the sea. The Lord caused an east wind

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to blow. Israel went through the Red Sea on dry

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land. Egypt followed them. their chariots got

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stuck and then God brought all the water over

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the top of them and literally destroyed the whole

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army. So it's an amazing story of breakthrough

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where they're facing an impossible circumstance,

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impossible situation, and God showed up and brought

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incredible deliverance and breakthrough. But

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I wanna go back to Moses here because God asked

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him a really good question. Why do you cry to

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me? When I read that, I was like, that's so interesting.

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It kind of sounded like God was a little annoyed

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or was rebuking Moses. It carries that kind of

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that association. And I was specifically looking

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at what did he ask Moses to do? So after he asked,

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why are you crying out to me? He said, Moses,

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take your staff and lift it up and then lift

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up your hand and divide the waters and lead the

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nation through. So God, specifically asked Moses

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to hold up his staff. Why is that? Why was that

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an important piece of this miraculous breakthrough?

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Well, when you look at scripture, the staff actually

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represents authority. It's a symbol of authority.

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And we see that all through scripture, specifically

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with shepherds. Shepherds in scripture, that

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staff, they use the staff to direct the sheep.

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to correct the sheep. They also would hold their

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staff over a certain area and they would have

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their sheep walk under the staff as a way to

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count the sheep. So it was a tool that actually,

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back then it represented a shepherd's authority,

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okay? And we even see this with David in Psalm

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23, one of the most famous Psalms in the Bible.

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David says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall

00:14:58.169 --> 00:15:01.299
not want. Well, two or three verses later, he

00:15:01.299 --> 00:15:04.320
says, his rod and his staff, they comfort me.

00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:07.259
What was David saying? David was actually saying

00:15:07.259 --> 00:15:10.940
the correction and the authority of God in his

00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:15.039
life actually brought comfort to David. And that

00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:17.379
there was a comfort knowing that he was under

00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:20.659
the Lord's authority and in the flock of God,

00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.279
so to speak. So that is what the staff actually

00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:27.830
represented, authority. So now let's look at

00:15:27.830 --> 00:15:31.210
Moses' staff here because God specifically told

00:15:31.210 --> 00:15:34.730
him to hold it up. Moses was actually a shepherd

00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:39.549
before God called him to lead Israel into deliverance,

00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:42.049
right? You guys know this? Actually, Pastor Brad

00:15:42.049 --> 00:15:45.549
preached on this Christmas Eve this last year,

00:15:45.629 --> 00:15:49.389
but essentially Moses spent the first 40 years

00:15:49.389 --> 00:15:51.960
of his life as a prince of Egypt. After that,

00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.200
he was driven out of Egypt. He left and he became

00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:57.100
a shepherd for the next 40 years of his life.

00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:02.059
And so Moses knew what life was like as a shepherd.

00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:05.460
He spent 40 years in that occupation. So he was

00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:08.000
used to using that staff to bring direction,

00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:11.139
correction, even stewarding the flocks that he

00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:14.539
was in charge of, using that staff because that's

00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:20.220
what he did. And in the middle of that, God actually

00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:23.240
called him out of shepherding sheep and called

00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:27.059
him to shepherd a nation of people. But he used

00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:30.519
the same staff that Moses used with the sheep.

00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.820
God actually said, listen, this represents a

00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:37.720
symbol of your God -given authority to the people.

00:16:39.850 --> 00:16:42.210
Here's the amazing thing about Moses' staff.

00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:45.110
It carried with it, it wasn't just a symbol of

00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:47.490
God's authority on his life. It carried with

00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:51.330
it the power for the miraculous. And I wanna

00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:54.509
read a passage of scripture here out of Exodus

00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:59.610
4, two through five. So the Lord said to Moses,

00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:02.470
this is the burning bush encounter happened in

00:17:02.470 --> 00:17:06.509
Exodus 3 and it continues into Exodus 4. So the

00:17:06.509 --> 00:17:08.829
Lord said to Moses, what is that in your hand?

00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:12.980
Moses said, a staff. And he said, throw it on

00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:15.759
the ground. So Moses threw it on the ground and

00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:19.059
it became a serpent and Moses ran away from it.

00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:21.480
I was reading that and I'm like, that's actually

00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.460
really funny. He like threw the staff down, turned

00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:25.799
into a snake and he took off. How many of you

00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.740
in this room would do the same? Maybe you don't

00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:31.700
have an affinity for snakes. Anyway, so that

00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:34.380
was the first miracle that the Lord actually

00:17:34.380 --> 00:17:37.440
led Moses to perform. He threw a staff down,

00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:40.259
turned into a snake. So then the Lord said to

00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:42.420
Moses, put out your hand and catch it by the

00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:45.779
tail. So he put out his hand and caught it and

00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:50.079
it became a staff in his hand. And then the Lord

00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:53.720
says this, that they may believe that the Lord,

00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:56.579
the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham,

00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:59.880
Isaac, and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.

00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:04.849
And here's what I wanna... focus on in this scripture.

00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:07.849
First of all, God had to actually, as Moses was

00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:11.390
coming out from being just a shepherd to sheep,

00:18:11.589 --> 00:18:16.750
God had to actually train Moses how to use the

00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:19.690
authority that he was giving him. And with that,

00:18:19.730 --> 00:18:23.029
he had to train him on how to walk in the miraculous,

00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.700
partnering with that authority. This is the first

00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:27.839
training that we get to see. This is the first

00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:32.420
miracle that Moses did in the newly given authority

00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:35.279
that God had given him is he took that staff

00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.880
and he threw it on the ground. It turned into

00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.079
a snake and God walked him through how to do

00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:46.339
that. Okay, so here's the reason why. God actually

00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:49.220
gives the reason why he was released in the miraculous

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:52.569
through his authority. And he says that so that

00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:57.190
the people would believe that you are sent by

00:18:57.190 --> 00:18:59.710
the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and

00:18:59.710 --> 00:19:03.930
Jacob. And that really is true that the authority

00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:08.250
that Moses was carrying in the staff, the reason

00:19:08.250 --> 00:19:11.549
the miraculous was partnered with it was to actually

00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:15.890
give a proof to people that Moses was operating

00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:18.920
under God's authority and not his own. That that

00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:21.480
was part of the reason for the miraculous is

00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:24.980
actually a proof of Moses is not operating in

00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:27.380
his own authority, in his own willpower. He's

00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:31.200
operating under God's authority. And so, and

00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:33.920
Jesus actually declared the same principle in

00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.880
John 14, 10. He said, believe me that I am in

00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:42.500
the father and the father is in me or else believe

00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:45.559
on account of the works themselves. What was

00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:48.059
Jesus saying? He was saying, listen, Put your

00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:51.380
faith in me that I'm operating in the father's

00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:54.339
authority, that I am God. But if you don't believe

00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:56.960
that, then at least believe the works that I'm

00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.460
doing because that should point to the authority

00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:02.180
I'm walking in. That's what Jesus was saying.

00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:06.259
And he showed that principle. But most of the,

00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:09.519
I wanna say this, most of the miraculous signs

00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:14.559
that Moses did, he did using the staff. So I

00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.940
wanna go through some of these. First of all,

00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:19.640
Exodus 4 .17, God is still speaking to Moses

00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:22.799
and he says, and take in your hand this staff

00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:27.759
with which you shall do the signs. Or if you

00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.799
wanna say it this way, with which you will do

00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:34.460
the miracles. God actually specifically told

00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:37.119
him to take with him that staff representing

00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.299
the authority that he was carrying. And from

00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:43.319
that staff, from that authority, he would begin

00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:46.130
to do the signs. that God was asking him to do.

00:20:46.210 --> 00:20:49.309
And when you look at the book of Exodus and into

00:20:49.309 --> 00:20:54.569
numbers, Moses used his staff all the time. Five

00:20:54.569 --> 00:20:56.549
of the plagues, five of the 10 plagues involved

00:20:56.549 --> 00:20:59.490
either Moses or Aaron lifting up that staff of

00:20:59.490 --> 00:21:03.250
authority before God released that judgment.

00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:07.349
Same thing when they left Egypt. What did Moses

00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:10.539
do? One of the first things that he did At the

00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:13.059
Red Sea, he took the staff and parted the waters.

00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.220
When they were in the wilderness and the nation

00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:17.420
was thirsty, the Lord said, take your staff,

00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:20.359
strike the rock and water will come forth. And

00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:22.759
that's what he did. So there was, you see this

00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:26.400
connection of every time there was a circumstance,

00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:30.960
there was a situation that was outside of Moses's

00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:34.599
natural ability to solve. And he needed a supernatural

00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:38.019
divine intervention. What did he do? He lifted

00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:41.799
up the staff of God. The authority that God had

00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:46.700
given him for the miraculous. So I wanna, I hope

00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.279
you guys are sticking with me here. I'm gonna

00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:50.500
talk about another staff here and that's Aaron's

00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:55.059
staff. Again, knowing that the staff actually

00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:59.180
represents authority, we see the same principle

00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:02.740
with Aaron. Now Moses, he was the main leader,

00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:05.460
but Aaron was... kind of his sidekick, if you

00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.960
want to look at that. You got sheriff and deputy

00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:10.039
sheriff. He was right alongside Moses the whole

00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:13.119
way and was helping him speak on behalf of God

00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:17.059
to the people. He was the main, like the high

00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:19.940
priest over the tabernacle. So Aaron had a lot

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:22.960
of responsibility. Well, in number 17, Israel

00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:27.319
was in the wilderness and actually I'll backtrack

00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:32.500
to number 16. Israel was in the wilderness and

00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:36.559
what happened is there was a rebellion that popped

00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:39.240
up. And there's a man named Korah from the tribe

00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:44.559
of Levi. And Korah grew jealous that Moses and

00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.259
Aaron had the authority from God and they were

00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:49.880
leading the people. And so Korah said, what makes

00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:53.940
you guys so special? All the people are consecrated.

00:22:53.980 --> 00:22:57.819
All the people are holy before God. Why should

00:22:57.819 --> 00:23:00.910
we? follow your leadership? Why should we trust

00:23:00.910 --> 00:23:03.190
what you're telling us? Is more or less what

00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:07.269
Korah and his fellow compadres were saying. So

00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:10.150
all that to say, this rebellion started happening.

00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:13.450
Well, God very quickly in number 16, he brought

00:23:13.450 --> 00:23:16.089
judgment to that rebellion. Essentially, Moses

00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:19.269
said, so be it. You present your offering to

00:23:19.269 --> 00:23:20.970
the Lord and I'll present the offering to the

00:23:20.970 --> 00:23:24.660
Lord. with censers and essentially fire came

00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:27.240
forth from the presence of God and consumed the

00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:29.259
rebellious people. So it was a really intense

00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:32.980
story, but God shut down that rebellion really

00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:35.859
fast. Well, the very next chapter in number 17,

00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:41.799
God actually directed each leader of the 12 tribes

00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.839
to bring their staff of authority before the

00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.519
tabernacle and the tent of meeting. And God gave

00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:52.220
specific instruction. He said, listen, each tribe,

00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:55.759
the 12 tribes of Israel, they all had leaders.

00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:59.019
He said, you're gonna etch your name into the

00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:02.319
staff and we're gonna put all 12 staffs before

00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:05.759
the presence of God. The next day, the Lord said,

00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:09.940
the staff which buds is the staff I have chosen

00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:14.680
to give authority to and to actually be over

00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:18.769
the tabernacle and the priesthood. And so Aaron

00:24:18.769 --> 00:24:22.490
was the leader of the tribe of Levi. So they

00:24:22.490 --> 00:24:24.289
all put their names on the staff. They all put

00:24:24.289 --> 00:24:27.950
them in the tabernacle. And the next day they

00:24:27.950 --> 00:24:30.710
came into the tabernacle, they pulled the staffs

00:24:30.710 --> 00:24:33.349
out and all of them were the same except for

00:24:33.349 --> 00:24:38.650
Aaron's, which had budded. It had sprouted, budded,

00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:42.230
blossomed and was producing ripe almonds. So

00:24:42.230 --> 00:24:45.210
it had four different levels of growth that were

00:24:45.210 --> 00:24:47.650
coming out of this dead staff that had probably

00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:52.569
been dead for over a decade or two. Dry as you

00:24:52.569 --> 00:24:54.430
could imagine. So that's a miracle in and of

00:24:54.430 --> 00:24:56.730
itself that the Lord would cause life to spring

00:24:56.730 --> 00:25:00.130
forth from this dead piece of wood. And you know,

00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:02.230
there's a lot of things that we could look at

00:25:02.230 --> 00:25:05.029
in this passage. I'm not gonna look at too much,

00:25:05.049 --> 00:25:07.750
but I wanna make a couple notes here because

00:25:07.750 --> 00:25:09.549
there's a few things that we need to note from

00:25:09.549 --> 00:25:12.759
this account. The first thing, is that all of

00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:15.880
the chiefs of the different tribes, they all

00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:19.700
had a staff. They all had a level of authority

00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:23.680
that God had given them, that was given to them

00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:28.759
by God. But they wanted that authority to increase,

00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:31.920
whether it was from selfish motive, whether it

00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.480
was from a bad heart or jealousy, they wanted

00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:41.480
control and power over Moses and Aaron. And so

00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:45.740
God, with this test, he actually declared, no,

00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:49.859
Aaron and the tribe of Levi, they are the chosen

00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:52.539
vessel that will minister before the temple and

00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:55.940
that will step into that authority and help lead

00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:59.119
the nation. And so it was God's way of saying,

00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:03.059
this is the authority that I'm blessing. And

00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:06.299
I think that's the key is it speaks to the nature

00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:08.740
of authority. The first thing that we need to

00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:11.240
know about authority is authority comes from

00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:15.960
God. It comes from God. It's not just given to

00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:19.700
the people who want it the most. God -given authority

00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:23.279
has to be God -given. God has to actually give

00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.319
it and release it to someone. And it's given

00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:29.440
to those who are actually dedicated to doing

00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:32.859
his will. When you look at Moses, when you look

00:26:32.859 --> 00:26:35.799
at Aaron, you see two people. Yes, they made

00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:38.400
mistakes. They had their own sin issues. They

00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:42.160
were human, but they were devoted and dedicated

00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:46.599
to doing God's will, which is actually what gave

00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:50.460
them, put them in a place to receive authority

00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:56.180
from God and exercise that authority. Moses and

00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:58.319
Aaron were dedicated to doing God's will. Thus,

00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:00.619
they were given the authority which carried the

00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:02.859
power to do God's will. Again, we talked about

00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:05.799
the connection between authority and power. I

00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:08.519
wanna just highlight one other Old Testament

00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:10.519
passage and then we're gonna move into the New

00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:13.819
Testament. I promise, I'm almost there. But Numbers

00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:18.119
20 is really, really key because it deals with

00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:22.180
this issue of authority. and specifically the

00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:24.559
importance of those operating in God's authority

00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.240
doing his will. So if you guys have your Bibles,

00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:29.019
you can open up. I didn't put it on the screen,

00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:32.960
sorry. But Numbers 20, what is happening is Israel's

00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:34.940
in the wilderness. Again, they're complaining,

00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:40.359
they're grumbling again. And what does God do?

00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:43.299
They're out of water. And so God speaks to Moses

00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:45.839
and says, hey, I want you to take your staff

00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:49.119
and I want you to go to the rock and I want you

00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:52.460
to speak. to the rock and the rock will bring

00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:55.200
forth water. Now, earlier in Moses's life, the

00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:59.019
Lord told Moses to strike the rock and water

00:27:59.019 --> 00:28:01.119
would come out. This time it was a different

00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:05.160
instruction. So God's will shifted as far as

00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:09.079
how Moses was to bring water forth. And so Moses

00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:12.779
made a mistake in this passage. He was upset.

00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:15.619
He'd been with these people for 40 years. It

00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:18.529
was probably a little... upset at them and they're

00:28:18.529 --> 00:28:20.910
grumbling. And so what did he say? He said some

00:28:20.910 --> 00:28:23.890
very snide remarks to them. And then instead

00:28:23.890 --> 00:28:26.829
of speaking to the rock, he took his staff, his

00:28:26.829 --> 00:28:29.869
symbol of authority, and he struck the rock two

00:28:29.869 --> 00:28:33.690
times. God in his mercy still brought forth water

00:28:33.690 --> 00:28:37.309
and gave it to the nation of Israel. But the

00:28:37.309 --> 00:28:41.309
Lord was very displeased with Moses and actually

00:28:41.309 --> 00:28:44.910
brought a pretty severe discipline to him. And

00:28:44.910 --> 00:28:47.269
he says, Moses, because you did not hallow me

00:28:47.269 --> 00:28:51.349
as holy before the people, you will not enter

00:28:51.349 --> 00:28:53.549
into the promised land. You can see it from afar,

00:28:53.670 --> 00:28:55.809
but you're not gonna actually enter into it and

00:28:55.809 --> 00:29:00.029
inherit it. So why is this so important? God

00:29:00.029 --> 00:29:03.730
takes, when we use the authority that he gives

00:29:03.730 --> 00:29:07.630
and we step outside of his will, it's a big deal.

00:29:07.670 --> 00:29:09.809
That's what I would call an abuse of authority.

00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:12.859
When we actually take something that has been

00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:16.460
given to us by God and we step outside of what

00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:19.559
he asked us to do with it, that's an abuse of

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:23.759
authority. And ultimately God disciplined Moses

00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:28.900
pretty intensely because of that. So looking

00:29:28.900 --> 00:29:31.420
at scripture, you will always see that authority

00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:35.619
and power are connected. When someone has authority,

00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:40.349
it has been given to them. by God to complete

00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:43.670
God's assignment on their life. So God gives

00:29:43.670 --> 00:29:47.690
authority so that that person can actually walk

00:29:47.690 --> 00:29:50.670
in the power of God and complete the assignment

00:29:50.670 --> 00:29:55.170
God's given them to complete. Ultimately, that

00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:58.329
power that comes with authority is given to enforce

00:29:58.329 --> 00:30:02.029
the will of God. And I'll just give a quick example

00:30:02.029 --> 00:30:06.130
here. You know, in our world, we have police

00:30:06.130 --> 00:30:09.430
officers, right? in the United States, and a

00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:12.390
policeman will have a badge that actually represents

00:30:12.390 --> 00:30:16.490
authority, right? Maybe it's Lane County Sheriff

00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:20.609
or it's Oregon State Police or it's some federal

00:30:20.609 --> 00:30:26.009
branch of law enforcement. Regardless, there

00:30:26.009 --> 00:30:29.670
will be a badge that actually says this person

00:30:29.670 --> 00:30:34.269
has been given authority by the government in

00:30:34.269 --> 00:30:37.660
order to enforce the law. right? We understand

00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:39.900
that with policemen. So they have a badge that

00:30:39.900 --> 00:30:42.460
actually declares the authority that they carry.

00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:46.039
But here's the amazing thing. Our government

00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:48.680
just doesn't send policemen out with just a badge,

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.299
right? They also give them tools they need to

00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:55.619
enforce the law. right? A police officer might

00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:58.440
have a baton. He might have handcuffs. He might

00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:01.240
have a handgun or a taser or pepper spray or

00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:03.559
whatever it might be, whatever the job is needed.

00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:07.240
In other words, there was a gift of authority

00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:11.339
that was endowed to a person, but also the power

00:31:11.339 --> 00:31:14.420
to enforce the authority and the rule of law

00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:17.630
and the government. That we understand that from

00:31:17.630 --> 00:31:19.950
a natural perspective. Well, the same is true

00:31:19.950 --> 00:31:24.869
spiritually. God gives authority to us. He also

00:31:24.869 --> 00:31:30.509
gives us the power to enforce the will of the

00:31:30.509 --> 00:31:35.170
king. Does that make sense? Okay, I'll give you

00:31:35.170 --> 00:31:36.869
one more example from the Old Testament and then

00:31:36.869 --> 00:31:40.769
we'll move on. Elisha the prophet understood

00:31:40.769 --> 00:31:44.160
this principle. And if you look at, I think I

00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:46.099
might have this on the screen, I might not. 2

00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:50.160
Kings 4 verse 29, in that passage of scripture,

00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:55.640
Elisha, he had been staying with a Shunammite

00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:58.779
lady and her husband and their family. And he

00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:01.200
was off in Israel doing different things. Well,

00:32:01.220 --> 00:32:05.420
the boy died, the Shunammite son died. And so

00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:08.740
the mom found Elisha in Israel and she pretty

00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:12.509
much just said, hey, can you please raise my

00:32:12.509 --> 00:32:14.329
son from the dead? I'm giving you guys the cliff

00:32:14.329 --> 00:32:17.009
notes edition here. And so what does Elijah do?

00:32:17.109 --> 00:32:20.750
The first thing he does in verse 29 is he takes

00:32:20.750 --> 00:32:24.710
his staff. He gives it to his servant Gehazi.

00:32:24.950 --> 00:32:28.170
And he says, Gehazi, take this and run to the

00:32:28.170 --> 00:32:33.150
child. He said, lay the staff on the child. Why

00:32:33.150 --> 00:32:35.269
did Elisha do that? I read that. I'm like, that

00:32:35.269 --> 00:32:37.990
is strange. Well, the reason is he actually understood

00:32:37.990 --> 00:32:41.849
that that staff represented the authority that

00:32:41.849 --> 00:32:44.009
God had given him as a prophet over the nation

00:32:44.009 --> 00:32:47.089
of Israel. And he recognized that if God gave

00:32:47.089 --> 00:32:51.450
him authority and that he gave him that mantle,

00:32:51.549 --> 00:32:56.369
then he would also give the power to enforce

00:32:56.369 --> 00:32:58.890
the will of God and to bring about the miraculous.

00:32:59.250 --> 00:33:03.509
Elisha understood that. Okay. So let's go back

00:33:03.509 --> 00:33:07.710
to Moses. Exodus 14 verses 15 through 16. The

00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:11.509
Lord said to Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell

00:33:11.509 --> 00:33:14.150
the people of Israel to go forward, lift up your

00:33:14.150 --> 00:33:17.170
staff and stretch out your hand over the sea

00:33:17.170 --> 00:33:19.890
and divide it that the people of Israel may go

00:33:19.890 --> 00:33:25.349
forward on dry ground. See, Moses started crying

00:33:25.349 --> 00:33:29.029
out to God, probably praying desperately, Lord,

00:33:29.170 --> 00:33:32.440
help me. And God kind of rebuked him a little

00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:35.279
bit, said, no, lift up your staff, lift up your

00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:38.640
authority and divide the waters. Do what I've

00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:41.500
already declared I wanna do. And that's deliver

00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:47.059
this nation out of challenge. So here's my point,

00:33:47.099 --> 00:33:54.140
guys. I think like Moses, a lot of us, we can

00:33:54.140 --> 00:33:57.680
relate to Moses where God has given us authority.

00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:01.410
He's given us an assignment. And many times we

00:34:01.410 --> 00:34:07.029
will pray and cry out to him asking for breakthrough,

00:34:07.250 --> 00:34:10.250
asking for a solution. Meanwhile, we're actually

00:34:10.250 --> 00:34:13.590
holding the tool in our hand that we're supposed

00:34:13.590 --> 00:34:16.409
to bring the breakthrough from. Does that make

00:34:16.409 --> 00:34:18.329
sense? Moses had the staff with him the whole

00:34:18.329 --> 00:34:21.030
time. The Lord said, hey, look what's in your

00:34:21.030 --> 00:34:24.199
hand, lift it up and divide the sea. And I think

00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:27.559
right now, corporately, we're facing an impossible

00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:31.139
situation, just like Israel was, even with this

00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:33.460
riverbank. Now, I know we've had some breakthroughs.

00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:35.460
We've had permits come in at all the right times.

00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:39.739
We've had really low quotes come in for the work

00:34:39.739 --> 00:34:42.619
compared to other quotes. But there is still

00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:46.599
an impossible situation that faces us. So that's

00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:48.880
happening corporately, but I wanna now take it

00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:51.380
to the individual level. Probably every one of

00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:53.780
you in this room has something in your life right

00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:58.380
now that just seems to be obstinate and stubborn

00:34:58.380 --> 00:35:02.090
and refusing to bow at the feet of Jesus. And

00:35:02.090 --> 00:35:03.730
I don't know what that is. And maybe if you don't

00:35:03.730 --> 00:35:06.570
have an impossible situation, I hate to prophesy

00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:08.489
anything negative, but you're gonna have one

00:35:08.489 --> 00:35:11.030
at some point in your life. That is guaranteed.

00:35:11.389 --> 00:35:14.510
You will face something that you will not be

00:35:14.510 --> 00:35:17.690
able to overcome without the power of God. If

00:35:17.690 --> 00:35:19.849
you're walking in the calling that God's called

00:35:19.849 --> 00:35:23.130
you to walk in. So maybe that's family issues.

00:35:23.210 --> 00:35:26.250
Maybe that's a work dilemma, a financial challenge,

00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:29.510
demonic oppression, a physical disease. There

00:35:29.510 --> 00:35:32.150
could be a variety of different things that is

00:35:32.150 --> 00:35:36.150
facing you right now. Like David facing Goliath.

00:35:36.150 --> 00:35:38.690
In the natural, this just doesn't add up that

00:35:38.690 --> 00:35:42.130
I will ever have victory over this thing. And

00:35:42.130 --> 00:35:46.949
I'll say this, there is a place for prayer. Absolutely.

00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:50.659
We have to discern what God's will is. And if

00:35:50.659 --> 00:35:53.679
you don't know what God's will is, then you need

00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:57.400
to, prayer is where we start. But in Moses' situation,

00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:01.159
he knew the will of God. He knew what God, at

00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:03.760
some level, he knew that God wanted to deliver

00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.159
Israel. And because of that, God was asking him

00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:10.820
to step into the authority that he's already

00:36:10.820 --> 00:36:13.880
given to release the miraculous. And I'm telling

00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:16.690
you, The same is true for us. God is looking

00:36:16.690 --> 00:36:19.829
to actually release breakthrough over the impossible

00:36:19.829 --> 00:36:25.750
situations in our life this year. You know, and

00:36:25.750 --> 00:36:28.789
it's only when we partner with God, with what

00:36:28.789 --> 00:36:31.929
God has spoken, and we use the authority that

00:36:31.929 --> 00:36:34.690
he's given that those situations will begin to

00:36:34.690 --> 00:36:37.969
crumble. And truly the life of a believer should

00:36:37.969 --> 00:36:41.369
be embracing the authority God gives and walking

00:36:41.369 --> 00:36:45.539
in its power. And that is, I'm gonna say this,

00:36:45.619 --> 00:36:50.280
that's standard issue for a believer. And I'm

00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:52.239
gonna talk about this in a little bit, but the

00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:56.760
truth is, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you

00:36:56.760 --> 00:37:00.059
have been given a level of authority. Now, I'm

00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:03.119
not saying there aren't other levels that God

00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:06.280
gives more authority to some. and less to others,

00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:09.860
but there is a baseline level of authority that

00:37:09.860 --> 00:37:13.199
God has given to every person that would call

00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:15.199
on the name of Jesus and would actually declare

00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:20.000
Jesus as Lord of their life. And it may not be

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.780
the authority of someone who would lead a nation

00:37:23.780 --> 00:37:26.179
or the authority of someone who would lead a

00:37:26.179 --> 00:37:29.619
church or a movement, but it's still a strong

00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:32.579
level of authority. I'm gonna talk about that

00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:35.679
in a little bit. But first, I do want to just

00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:41.260
say, I want to say this. Authority, we already

00:37:41.260 --> 00:37:44.460
talked about how it comes from God, right? And

00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:47.780
it's given to those who do his will or who are

00:37:47.780 --> 00:37:51.340
purposed to do his will. Well, similarly, as

00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:56.079
believers, we have to do the, we're called to

00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:58.780
do the will of God. We're called to actually

00:37:58.780 --> 00:38:01.139
step into that place where we're being obedient.

00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:05.460
And as we do that, it positions us to receive

00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:09.139
the authority that he's given us. So John 1 verses

00:38:09.139 --> 00:38:14.280
11 through 13 says this, Jesus came to his own

00:38:14.280 --> 00:38:18.119
and his own people did not receive him, but to

00:38:18.119 --> 00:38:21.239
all who did receive him, who believed in his

00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:24.079
name, he gave the right to become children of

00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:28.019
God. who were born not of blood, nor of the will

00:38:28.019 --> 00:38:30.480
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of

00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:32.920
God. How many of you guys have ever read that

00:38:32.920 --> 00:38:35.800
scripture before? That's an amazing passage.

00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:38.800
What is it saying? Those who would receive Christ

00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:41.639
Jesus as Lord, those who would submit to his

00:38:41.639 --> 00:38:45.460
word, submit to his will, that they would actually

00:38:45.460 --> 00:38:49.670
become his children. That's not a light thing.

00:38:49.769 --> 00:38:52.690
We get used to hearing that as Christians, but

00:38:52.690 --> 00:38:56.090
the implication is as a child of God, it's not

00:38:56.090 --> 00:38:59.889
just a get out of hell free card. It's not just

00:38:59.889 --> 00:39:02.010
you're gonna go to heaven when you die. It represents

00:39:02.010 --> 00:39:06.929
that you are being grafted into the family of

00:39:06.929 --> 00:39:11.130
God. That as you become a child of God, there

00:39:11.130 --> 00:39:14.469
is a level of authority that's given to you.

00:39:14.510 --> 00:39:17.969
And that Greek word for the right, God has given

00:39:17.969 --> 00:39:20.030
them the right to become children of God. That

00:39:20.030 --> 00:39:23.449
is the word exousia in the Greek. And that word,

00:39:23.670 --> 00:39:26.969
it can mean right. It can mean authority, jurisdiction,

00:39:27.449 --> 00:39:31.389
liberty. The point is when you are given the

00:39:31.389 --> 00:39:34.230
right to become a child, that you've actually

00:39:34.230 --> 00:39:37.849
been given an authority to be a child of God.

00:39:39.710 --> 00:39:43.570
And I'll give you an example from Luke 15, the

00:39:43.570 --> 00:39:48.650
prodigal son in Luke 15. he did everything wrong,

00:39:48.869 --> 00:39:52.210
right? He got his father's inheritance early.

00:39:52.269 --> 00:39:55.869
He squandered it on sin. He was feeding pigs

00:39:55.869 --> 00:39:59.510
hungry to eat what the pigs were eating. And

00:39:59.510 --> 00:40:01.809
then he came to himself and he said, man, even

00:40:01.809 --> 00:40:04.969
if I lived as a servant in my father's house,

00:40:05.070 --> 00:40:07.449
I'd be in a better place. So he went back to

00:40:07.449 --> 00:40:10.949
his dad and he was gonna repent. He had no expectation

00:40:10.949 --> 00:40:13.750
of anything other than just being a servant in

00:40:13.750 --> 00:40:16.309
his father's house. So he repented to his dad.

00:40:16.349 --> 00:40:19.829
The dad ran toward him, embraced him, threw a

00:40:19.829 --> 00:40:22.570
robe over his shoulder, sandals on his feet,

00:40:22.690 --> 00:40:26.809
and a ring on his finger. Now, he wasn't just

00:40:26.809 --> 00:40:31.050
giving him a couple nice gifts. They represented

00:40:31.050 --> 00:40:33.489
something. And most commentators will believe

00:40:33.489 --> 00:40:37.090
that the ring he put on his finger was actually

00:40:37.090 --> 00:40:40.570
a signet ring. It represented a signet ring,

00:40:40.650 --> 00:40:44.900
which would give the son the authority. being

00:40:44.900 --> 00:40:47.360
under his father and under his father's house.

00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:51.159
That the son could then stamp that ring and it

00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:54.760
would be as if the father had stamped that piece

00:40:54.760 --> 00:40:58.139
of paper. Which you look at this and you have

00:40:58.139 --> 00:41:02.119
to recognize the grace of God is amazing because

00:41:02.119 --> 00:41:07.380
that prodigal son did nothing to deserve or merit

00:41:07.380 --> 00:41:11.179
being restored to a place of authority. He just

00:41:11.179 --> 00:41:15.969
came back and had just repented. in God's mercy

00:41:15.969 --> 00:41:19.590
and grace toward him, didn't just welcome him

00:41:19.590 --> 00:41:22.429
back as a servant, welcomed him back as a son,

00:41:22.530 --> 00:41:25.349
a child of God, and immediately restored authority

00:41:25.349 --> 00:41:29.610
to him. That's incredible. And the truth is,

00:41:29.690 --> 00:41:33.889
we are all called to do the same. We're called

00:41:33.889 --> 00:41:37.980
to be joined to God. enter into his family as

00:41:37.980 --> 00:41:40.760
a child of God and then step into the authority

00:41:40.760 --> 00:41:43.119
that he's given. So I wanna read Luke 9 verses

00:41:43.119 --> 00:41:46.579
one through two. It says this, it says that Jesus

00:41:46.579 --> 00:41:50.059
called the 12 together and he gave them power

00:41:50.059 --> 00:41:55.039
and authority over all demons to cure all diseases

00:41:55.039 --> 00:41:57.960
and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of

00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:02.940
God and to heal. So in this passage, the disciples

00:42:02.940 --> 00:42:08.260
were given power and authority. Right? The authority

00:42:08.260 --> 00:42:10.199
word is the Greek word exousia. I just talked

00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:12.900
about that. It's the same word from John 1 verse

00:42:12.900 --> 00:42:16.559
11. He also gave them power. That's the dunamis

00:42:16.559 --> 00:42:20.960
power of God. To not just be good Christians

00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:24.639
and do their thing and wander around and preach

00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:27.579
a couple times. No, he gave them, yes, to preach

00:42:27.579 --> 00:42:30.260
the gospel, but to also demonstrate the kingdom

00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:33.300
through miracles, through casting out demons,

00:42:33.360 --> 00:42:36.250
through signs and wonders. That is what Jesus

00:42:36.250 --> 00:42:39.309
commissioned his disciples to do when he gave

00:42:39.309 --> 00:42:42.829
them that authority and power. And the truth

00:42:42.829 --> 00:42:45.030
is, I was just talking about the grace of God.

00:42:45.090 --> 00:42:49.230
The disciples did not really deserve it. They

00:42:49.230 --> 00:42:53.769
did not merit a lifetime of working for authority.

00:42:53.869 --> 00:42:55.650
And finally, Jesus said, you know what? You're

00:42:55.650 --> 00:42:58.949
ready for it. No, the truth is Peter after this

00:42:58.949 --> 00:43:03.809
denied Jesus three times publicly and Judas betrayed

00:43:03.809 --> 00:43:07.469
Jesus. Judas was casting out demons and healing

00:43:07.469 --> 00:43:10.710
the sick along with the other 11 disciples. So

00:43:10.710 --> 00:43:14.550
the point is it wasn't by merit. It was by the

00:43:14.550 --> 00:43:18.150
grace of God that the authority of the kingdom

00:43:18.150 --> 00:43:21.789
was released. And as children of God, we've been

00:43:21.789 --> 00:43:24.150
given the same commission to proclaim and establish

00:43:24.150 --> 00:43:27.010
the kingdom through the miraculous. And we can

00:43:27.010 --> 00:43:30.670
only do that when we embrace the authority that

00:43:30.670 --> 00:43:36.760
he has given us. And I say embrace because a

00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:40.719
lot of times we fail in that element to actually

00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:44.440
embrace the authority that God gives us. Due

00:43:44.440 --> 00:43:48.000
to our own fear, insecurity, our own issues,

00:43:48.059 --> 00:43:51.119
sometimes we actually push back. When the Lord

00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:54.260
is looking to give to us the authority of a son

00:43:54.260 --> 00:43:56.840
in the kingdom, we push it back. So we say, we

00:43:56.840 --> 00:44:00.139
can't handle that. Notice what Moses did. First

00:44:00.139 --> 00:44:02.440
of all, Moses tried to get out of the call many

00:44:02.440 --> 00:44:06.079
times in that encounter with the burning bush.

00:44:06.179 --> 00:44:08.920
But even when the Lord first was teaching him

00:44:08.920 --> 00:44:10.860
how to operate in authority in the miraculous,

00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:14.619
what did he do? He ran away. He saw the miracle

00:44:14.619 --> 00:44:17.079
and he took off. We do that all the time. I do

00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:20.300
that all the time. Where God is looking to actually

00:44:20.300 --> 00:44:23.760
release his authority into our lives, teaches

00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:28.000
how to walk in power. And it freaks us out for

00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:30.619
whatever reason and we push back. And sometimes

00:44:30.619 --> 00:44:33.099
that's the authority he gives us. Sometimes we

00:44:33.099 --> 00:44:36.599
push back on the delegated authority that he's

00:44:36.599 --> 00:44:40.579
put over our lives, right? Just like Korah pushed

00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:43.940
back against Moses and Aaron's God -given authority.

00:44:44.139 --> 00:44:46.440
We can do that too with delegated authority.

00:44:46.500 --> 00:44:49.059
Say, well, nope, we don't wanna come under that.

00:44:50.519 --> 00:44:54.039
But the truth is, God is looking for us, his

00:44:54.039 --> 00:44:56.239
church, to begin to break through impossible

00:44:56.239 --> 00:45:00.659
situations by embracing his authority. And how

00:45:00.659 --> 00:45:05.039
do we do this? We can only embrace authority

00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:09.480
by faith. There is no other vehicle that allows

00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:12.840
us to begin to operate in the authority that

00:45:12.840 --> 00:45:15.420
God's given to each and every one of us as believers.

00:45:15.900 --> 00:45:18.519
And if I'll say it this way, if authority is

00:45:18.519 --> 00:45:22.719
given by grace, To each believer, not by merit.

00:45:22.760 --> 00:45:26.599
Faith is what accesses that authority and manifests

00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:30.260
in the supernatural and the miraculous. Jesus

00:45:30.260 --> 00:45:32.599
gave, and we can see that from the disciples.

00:45:32.739 --> 00:45:36.400
Jesus gave his disciples authority freely in

00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:39.179
Luke 9. And then he also in Luke 10 commissioned

00:45:39.179 --> 00:45:42.960
72 others to go out with authority. So he gave

00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:46.440
the authority freely to the disciples, but they

00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:50.190
had to partner their faith through action. through

00:45:50.190 --> 00:45:52.409
the laying on of hands, through casting out demons.

00:45:52.570 --> 00:45:55.010
Because guess what? It's one thing when Jesus

00:45:55.010 --> 00:45:57.150
is right in front of you saying, I give you all

00:45:57.150 --> 00:46:00.250
authority. Go heal the sick, go cast out demons.

00:46:00.449 --> 00:46:02.909
It's a totally different thing when two disciples

00:46:02.909 --> 00:46:06.469
walk 10 miles through the dusty roads of Judea,

00:46:06.469 --> 00:46:08.750
they come to a new town and there's a demonized

00:46:08.750 --> 00:46:11.369
person in front of them screaming at them. Well,

00:46:11.449 --> 00:46:14.130
all of a sudden, it's not just authority that

00:46:14.130 --> 00:46:16.570
matters. They have to access that authority through

00:46:16.570 --> 00:46:18.849
faith. and lay their hands on that demonized

00:46:18.849 --> 00:46:21.369
person or some lame person that hasn't walked

00:46:21.369 --> 00:46:24.170
their whole life. It took faith for the disciples

00:46:24.170 --> 00:46:26.630
to partner with the authority that was freely

00:46:26.630 --> 00:46:29.610
given. And the truth is, it's the same for us.

00:46:30.309 --> 00:46:34.690
We have to partner with the authority that God

00:46:34.690 --> 00:46:37.769
gives freely as a gift. And I'll share a brief

00:46:37.769 --> 00:46:41.730
story with you guys from my grandpa. He passed

00:46:41.730 --> 00:46:45.010
away last summer, but several years ago, when

00:46:45.010 --> 00:46:48.349
I was still in California, my cousin and I, we

00:46:48.349 --> 00:46:51.210
were driving up from California to go to a family

00:46:51.210 --> 00:46:54.929
hunting trip. And we decided to take my cousin's

00:46:54.929 --> 00:47:00.170
really old Toyota Camry. It really shouldn't

00:47:00.170 --> 00:47:02.849
have been on the road anymore, but it was. And

00:47:02.849 --> 00:47:05.230
we were driving in this Camry. And on the way

00:47:05.230 --> 00:47:07.829
back from the hunting trip, we decided to stop

00:47:07.829 --> 00:47:11.650
by Harrisburg to visit my parents' house. And

00:47:11.650 --> 00:47:13.389
so we're driving back from the hunting trip.

00:47:13.449 --> 00:47:17.789
And as we're driving, I just hear, A sound that

00:47:17.789 --> 00:47:20.110
sounds like a ball bearing going out or like

00:47:20.110 --> 00:47:22.489
the axle is about to break. I don't know. I'm

00:47:22.489 --> 00:47:24.429
not a mechanic. I'm not very mechanically inclined,

00:47:24.449 --> 00:47:26.969
but the sound was getting louder and louder and

00:47:26.969 --> 00:47:29.750
louder as we drove from Eastern Oregon down into

00:47:29.750 --> 00:47:31.610
the valley. And by the time we arrived at my

00:47:31.610 --> 00:47:35.130
parents' house, it was like. something is going

00:47:35.130 --> 00:47:37.750
to break on this car. I don't know what it is,

00:47:37.809 --> 00:47:40.309
but this is not good. And so we get back to the

00:47:40.309 --> 00:47:42.610
house and we have a big family powwow. My grandpa

00:47:42.610 --> 00:47:44.429
and grandma were there. My aunt and uncle were

00:47:44.429 --> 00:47:46.829
there. Mom and dad, I had cousins. So we had

00:47:46.829 --> 00:47:49.010
this big circle in front of my parents' house

00:47:49.010 --> 00:47:52.510
and everyone was arguing about what do we do

00:47:52.510 --> 00:47:55.460
with this car? Because I was supposed to go back

00:47:55.460 --> 00:47:58.039
to California with my cousin in this car. And

00:47:58.039 --> 00:47:59.579
I'm like, man, it does not sound like it's gonna

00:47:59.579 --> 00:48:01.659
make it. So all of us were, we were talking,

00:48:01.739 --> 00:48:04.119
maybe we need to get a bus or a train, or maybe

00:48:04.119 --> 00:48:06.780
someone can lend us a car. And we're, no one

00:48:06.780 --> 00:48:08.360
could come into an agreement. We're all arguing.

00:48:08.579 --> 00:48:11.920
And all of a sudden, my grandpa, who was a man

00:48:11.920 --> 00:48:15.880
of very few words, emphasis on very, he rarely,

00:48:15.960 --> 00:48:18.820
he just didn't talk much. Whenever we would have

00:48:18.820 --> 00:48:20.679
him pray for family gatherings, he would just

00:48:20.679 --> 00:48:24.639
say, Lord Jesus. Bless the food. Amen. That was

00:48:24.639 --> 00:48:26.820
it. I mean, and that was just him. He just didn't

00:48:26.820 --> 00:48:30.059
talk much and rarely asserted himself. So in

00:48:30.059 --> 00:48:32.500
the middle of this circle of probably eight people,

00:48:32.619 --> 00:48:35.500
my grandpa just steps into the middle of the

00:48:35.500 --> 00:48:39.199
circle at 85 years old. And he says, the car's

00:48:39.199 --> 00:48:42.059
gonna be fine. I'm gonna pray for them. They're

00:48:42.059 --> 00:48:43.960
gonna get in the car. They're gonna drive 400

00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:46.119
miles to California and nothing's gonna break.

00:48:46.739 --> 00:48:49.880
And all of us just, it shut us up. It really

00:48:49.880 --> 00:48:53.469
did. And why was that? Because he, in that moment

00:48:53.469 --> 00:48:57.789
at 85 years old, he recognized his authority.

00:48:58.269 --> 00:49:00.829
Now I'm just gonna give it the baseline level

00:49:00.829 --> 00:49:03.449
of authority of him being a believer and that

00:49:03.449 --> 00:49:06.269
he had faith saying, God is gonna preserve this

00:49:06.269 --> 00:49:09.110
car. And this is not an issue that we have to

00:49:09.110 --> 00:49:10.809
worry about. So sure enough, he prayed for us.

00:49:10.829 --> 00:49:13.090
We got in the car. It sounded like it was gonna

00:49:13.090 --> 00:49:15.650
break for 400 miles, but it didn't. We made it

00:49:15.650 --> 00:49:18.809
to California and we were totally fine. Well,

00:49:18.869 --> 00:49:22.170
why do I share that story? Because it took faith

00:49:22.170 --> 00:49:25.409
for him to actually exercise authority in that

00:49:25.409 --> 00:49:29.409
situation. He had to actually step into something.

00:49:29.650 --> 00:49:33.829
It probably felt a little bit risky, but he heard

00:49:33.829 --> 00:49:36.610
God, he believed God, and he said, this is what's

00:49:36.610 --> 00:49:40.949
gonna happen. And I'm telling you, for us, we

00:49:40.949 --> 00:49:44.130
can't operate in the authority that God's given

00:49:44.130 --> 00:49:47.820
without faith. The two have to work together.

00:49:48.480 --> 00:49:51.380
And the Roman centurion in scripture understood

00:49:51.380 --> 00:49:55.079
how authority relates to faith. In Matthew 8,

00:49:55.119 --> 00:49:59.420
verses six through 10, he approaches Jesus, this

00:49:59.420 --> 00:50:01.800
Roman centurion, and he says, Lord, my servant

00:50:01.800 --> 00:50:06.239
is paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And

00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:08.500
he said to him, so Jesus said to him, I will

00:50:08.500 --> 00:50:11.219
come and heal him. But the centurion replied,

00:50:11.480 --> 00:50:13.880
Lord, I'm not worthy to have you come under my

00:50:13.880 --> 00:50:19.500
roof. but only say the word and my servant will

00:50:19.500 --> 00:50:24.340
be healed. For I too am a man under authority

00:50:24.340 --> 00:50:27.400
with soldiers under me. And I say to this one,

00:50:27.460 --> 00:50:29.519
go, and he goes. And I say to another, come,

00:50:29.699 --> 00:50:32.699
and he comes. And I say to my servant, do this,

00:50:32.760 --> 00:50:36.940
and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he marveled.

00:50:36.940 --> 00:50:38.940
And he said to those who followed him, truly

00:50:38.940 --> 00:50:43.179
I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found

00:50:43.179 --> 00:50:48.050
such faith. So notice the centurion in this situation,

00:50:48.309 --> 00:50:53.769
he understood something about authority. And

00:50:53.769 --> 00:50:57.269
I believe it was that authority. He understood

00:50:57.269 --> 00:51:00.809
that there was an authority on Christ. And because

00:51:00.809 --> 00:51:03.389
he understood that Christ was carrying the authority

00:51:03.389 --> 00:51:06.150
of God, he recognized the power of that, that

00:51:06.150 --> 00:51:07.909
Jesus didn't even need to come to his house.

00:51:08.090 --> 00:51:11.090
Jesus, just say the word. I know how this works.

00:51:11.659 --> 00:51:13.519
The centurion's thinking, I'm under authority.

00:51:13.599 --> 00:51:15.760
When my superiors tell me to do something, I

00:51:15.760 --> 00:51:18.699
do it. I've got soldiers under me. When I tell

00:51:18.699 --> 00:51:20.559
them to do something, they do it. You don't even

00:51:20.559 --> 00:51:23.139
need to come to my house. Just say it, say it.

00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:25.980
And it is going to happen. And what did Jesus

00:51:25.980 --> 00:51:29.719
do in that situation? It says he marveled. There

00:51:29.719 --> 00:51:31.719
are very few instances. I think there's only

00:51:31.719 --> 00:51:34.639
two instances in scripture where Jesus marveled

00:51:34.639 --> 00:51:36.960
because of someone's faith. This is one of them.

00:51:37.449 --> 00:51:40.030
And he turned not to the centurion, but to all

00:51:40.030 --> 00:51:43.829
those who followed him and said, this is unlike

00:51:43.829 --> 00:51:46.849
faith. It's faith like unlike anything I've seen

00:51:46.849 --> 00:51:50.469
in all of Israel. What did the centurion understand?

00:51:51.070 --> 00:51:55.489
He understood authority and he partnered with

00:51:55.489 --> 00:51:58.530
his faith without authority. So I wanna, before

00:51:58.530 --> 00:52:01.429
we close here, I wanna just define what is faith.

00:52:02.510 --> 00:52:05.510
Hebrews 11, one defines faith. And so we're gonna

00:52:05.510 --> 00:52:08.750
look at that passage. It says, now faith is the

00:52:08.750 --> 00:52:12.389
assurance of things hoped for. It is the conviction

00:52:12.389 --> 00:52:16.869
of things not yet seen. Faith, and I wanna focus

00:52:16.869 --> 00:52:19.289
on the last part of that because that scripture

00:52:19.289 --> 00:52:22.329
defines faith kind of with two different wings.

00:52:22.730 --> 00:52:25.210
So the assurance of things hoped for and it is

00:52:25.210 --> 00:52:29.510
the conviction of things not yet seen. Faith

00:52:29.510 --> 00:52:32.769
is a conviction of things unseen. That's what

00:52:32.769 --> 00:52:35.809
faith is. And I'm gonna say this. if we're looking

00:52:35.809 --> 00:52:40.309
at conviction, conviction is not passive, right?

00:52:40.409 --> 00:52:43.090
If you are convicted about something, Marissa,

00:52:43.110 --> 00:52:45.849
if you're convicted about a certain cause, maybe

00:52:45.849 --> 00:52:49.269
a political cause or a social cause, chances

00:52:49.269 --> 00:52:51.889
are, if you're genuinely convicted, you're gonna

00:52:51.889 --> 00:52:54.320
do something about it. Maybe you're gonna go

00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:56.699
to a demonstration or you're going to go to a

00:52:56.699 --> 00:52:58.800
town hall meeting or you're gonna become a financial

00:52:58.800 --> 00:53:02.119
supporter. When there's real conviction, there's

00:53:02.119 --> 00:53:04.840
real fruit that you're actually convicted about

00:53:04.840 --> 00:53:08.840
it. So when we look at faith, faith is actually

00:53:08.840 --> 00:53:14.019
the conviction of things not yet seen. That's

00:53:14.019 --> 00:53:16.579
what faith is. So I'm gonna say it this way,

00:53:16.679 --> 00:53:21.079
faith cannot be passive. You cannot have a passive

00:53:21.079 --> 00:53:23.820
faith that does not affect your life and how

00:53:23.820 --> 00:53:26.579
you live your life. It's impossible. By a biblical

00:53:26.579 --> 00:53:29.739
definition, it's impossible for your faith to

00:53:29.739 --> 00:53:33.940
not carry any type of weight that would change

00:53:33.940 --> 00:53:38.639
the way you live. See, faith, conviction of things

00:53:38.639 --> 00:53:41.960
unseen or our conviction of God's authority given

00:53:41.960 --> 00:53:44.900
to us, which isn't necessarily seen in the natural.

00:53:45.599 --> 00:53:48.639
It should cause us to live our lives differently.

00:53:49.400 --> 00:53:53.659
And Moses had to hold fast to his staff, which

00:53:53.659 --> 00:53:56.699
represented his authority and by faith divide

00:53:56.699 --> 00:53:59.960
the water, right? Sometimes we just read that

00:53:59.960 --> 00:54:02.260
passage in Exodus that he just divided the water,

00:54:02.360 --> 00:54:05.880
but he was given the authority. He held onto

00:54:05.880 --> 00:54:09.360
the authority. He was probably looking at that

00:54:09.360 --> 00:54:12.699
sea for a period of time before things started

00:54:12.699 --> 00:54:15.590
to shift in the natural. He had to stand in a

00:54:15.590 --> 00:54:18.429
place of faith, believing what God said, holding

00:54:18.429 --> 00:54:22.409
onto the authority given. And he probably had

00:54:22.409 --> 00:54:24.829
to wait. Maybe it was instant. I don't know.

00:54:24.849 --> 00:54:26.590
It doesn't say in scripture, but maybe it was

00:54:26.590 --> 00:54:29.610
30 seconds or a minute or two minutes or five

00:54:29.610 --> 00:54:32.090
minutes before that east wind blew the water

00:54:32.090 --> 00:54:34.449
out of the way to where there was a place for

00:54:34.449 --> 00:54:38.309
Israel to go. Regardless, it took faith for Moses

00:54:38.309 --> 00:54:41.340
to take that stand. And the same thing with Elijah

00:54:41.340 --> 00:54:44.059
in scripture, when it was supposed to rain, he

00:54:44.059 --> 00:54:46.320
prayed in faith. God, I know this is what you

00:54:46.320 --> 00:54:48.400
wanna do. And then he'd send his servant, go

00:54:48.400 --> 00:54:50.900
look for a cloud. No clouds. He did that seven

00:54:50.900 --> 00:54:53.500
times and he had to stay in a place of faith.

00:54:53.679 --> 00:54:56.719
So sometimes the breakthrough, the miracle doesn't

00:54:56.719 --> 00:55:00.199
manifest right away. but we have to hold to the

00:55:00.199 --> 00:55:03.119
fact that God has given us authority. He's revealed

00:55:03.119 --> 00:55:06.039
his will, and we are going to hold that authority

00:55:06.039 --> 00:55:08.880
and exercise our faith to see that thing come

00:55:08.880 --> 00:55:13.300
to pass. Okay, in the last three and a half minutes,

00:55:13.360 --> 00:55:17.300
I am going to just give us some practicals on

00:55:17.300 --> 00:55:21.059
how can we actually grow in faith. The first

00:55:21.059 --> 00:55:23.860
thing that we can do and we need to do is we

00:55:23.860 --> 00:55:27.849
need to consume the word of God. Romans 10, 17

00:55:27.849 --> 00:55:31.789
says, faith comes by hearing, hearing by the

00:55:31.789 --> 00:55:34.650
word of Christ. When it references the word of

00:55:34.650 --> 00:55:38.469
Christ in the Greek, that's the rhema word. That's

00:55:38.469 --> 00:55:42.510
the word that actually is living and it brings

00:55:42.510 --> 00:55:45.769
life. Not that the logos doesn't, but it's the

00:55:45.769 --> 00:55:49.070
fresh word from the Holy Spirit. And Bob Sorge

00:55:49.070 --> 00:55:51.610
talked about this fall when he was with us for

00:55:51.610 --> 00:55:54.070
Waypoint Conference. He talked about how when

00:55:54.070 --> 00:55:58.730
we read the logos, the Holy Spirit should be

00:55:58.730 --> 00:56:03.289
making the logos rhema to us. In other words,

00:56:03.289 --> 00:56:06.170
as we're reading the word, things are gonna begin

00:56:06.170 --> 00:56:09.150
to pop off the page. All of a sudden, something

00:56:09.150 --> 00:56:12.030
you read in scripture is gonna become very applicable

00:56:12.030 --> 00:56:16.409
to you personally. That's the rhema word in operation

00:56:16.409 --> 00:56:19.869
in our lives. So it is important when you are

00:56:19.869 --> 00:56:22.389
actually in the word of God, you are setting

00:56:22.389 --> 00:56:25.679
yourself up. for the Holy Spirit to begin to

00:56:25.679 --> 00:56:28.840
make the logos rhema. And that's where faith

00:56:28.840 --> 00:56:32.440
actually can begin to grow in your life. When

00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:35.860
you hear the word, faith comes. That's what that

00:56:35.860 --> 00:56:39.019
scripture says. The second thing we need to do

00:56:39.019 --> 00:56:42.440
is we need to actually learn to step out in faith.

00:56:43.000 --> 00:56:47.860
And I'm gonna say this, faith is incomplete without

00:56:47.860 --> 00:56:55.460
action. You can't have a, Living faith that doesn't

00:56:55.460 --> 00:56:58.639
carry conviction and action. It's impossible.

00:56:59.000 --> 00:57:01.840
Scripture gives us that in James 2. I'll just

00:57:01.840 --> 00:57:04.179
read you the last verse. He said, so also by

00:57:04.179 --> 00:57:08.500
faith, so also faith by itself, if it does not

00:57:08.500 --> 00:57:13.480
have works, is a dead faith. That's what James

00:57:13.480 --> 00:57:17.300
2 .17 says. See, real faith involves being convinced

00:57:17.300 --> 00:57:21.039
about what God has spoken and then actually acting

00:57:21.039 --> 00:57:29.510
on it. You know, I'll say this. If we say that

00:57:29.510 --> 00:57:34.309
we have faith in God, but we don't actually let

00:57:34.309 --> 00:57:37.710
that faith change our lives, I would argue scripturally

00:57:37.710 --> 00:57:41.230
that is a dead faith. And I don't, I'm not trying

00:57:41.230 --> 00:57:44.590
to sound harsh when I say that, but scripturally,

00:57:44.670 --> 00:57:48.630
that's what we see, that faith has to have the

00:57:48.630 --> 00:57:53.210
belief and it has to have action partnered with

00:57:53.210 --> 00:57:58.260
it. And I'll finish with a story here, but the

00:57:58.260 --> 00:58:02.119
Lord convicted me in this area a couple of years

00:58:02.119 --> 00:58:05.079
ago. I was here at the church. It was a super

00:58:05.079 --> 00:58:09.579
busy season. And I had a lot on my mind. There

00:58:09.579 --> 00:58:11.119
were things happening, things I was responsible

00:58:11.119 --> 00:58:13.880
for. I was running here and there. And I got

00:58:13.880 --> 00:58:18.300
a text on WhatsApp from a friend in India. And

00:58:18.300 --> 00:58:21.000
this friend says, hey, would you just pray for

00:58:21.000 --> 00:58:24.190
me? I was lifting weights. And I strained my

00:58:24.190 --> 00:58:27.909
back really bad and I am in debilitating pain.

00:58:28.090 --> 00:58:31.909
I can barely get out of bed. And I got that message

00:58:31.909 --> 00:58:33.929
and I was in the middle of a bunch of things,

00:58:33.969 --> 00:58:36.110
but I stopped and I prayed a very short prayer.

00:58:36.190 --> 00:58:41.210
I said, Lord, heal that person. Very short. And

00:58:41.210 --> 00:58:44.829
I started going about the other things I was

00:58:44.829 --> 00:58:47.050
doing and I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit

00:58:47.050 --> 00:58:50.849
really loud and clear. And he said, do you actually

00:58:50.849 --> 00:58:53.380
believe I'm gonna heal this person? Or are you

00:58:53.380 --> 00:58:57.559
just praying that? And it was anytime God asks

00:58:57.559 --> 00:58:59.619
you a question like that, you usually know the

00:58:59.619 --> 00:59:03.960
answer right away. And I realized, man, I just,

00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:09.039
I was just trying to check a box, honestly, just

00:59:09.039 --> 00:59:13.159
trying to say, yeah, I prayed, be blessed. But

00:59:13.159 --> 00:59:16.400
there was no faith that God was actually gonna

00:59:16.400 --> 00:59:19.900
do something when I prayed. And I had to take

00:59:19.900 --> 00:59:23.670
a minute. I repented and I just said, Lord, what

00:59:23.670 --> 00:59:27.050
do you wanna do? And he reminded me, I am the

00:59:27.050 --> 00:59:29.690
God who heals. I am the God of the miraculous,

00:59:29.730 --> 00:59:33.610
the God who brings impossibilities into your

00:59:33.610 --> 00:59:35.670
now. And he reminded me of those things. And

00:59:35.670 --> 00:59:39.429
I prayed really the same prayer, but from a very

00:59:39.429 --> 00:59:42.369
different place. It was a place of faith. And

00:59:42.369 --> 00:59:44.610
not two minutes went by. I never responded to

00:59:44.610 --> 00:59:47.170
the message. Two minutes later, the same person

00:59:47.170 --> 00:59:50.070
messaged me, said, this is the craziest thing.

00:59:50.639 --> 00:59:53.179
I just got out of bed and I felt like warm oil

00:59:53.179 --> 00:59:56.119
going down my back and I have no more pain. So

00:59:56.119 --> 00:59:59.300
halfway across the world, God showed up. Why?

00:59:59.480 --> 01:00:02.800
Because there was a recognition of authority

01:00:02.800 --> 01:00:07.719
and there was a stepping out of faith that actually

01:00:07.719 --> 01:00:10.780
caused breakthrough and miraculous to break forth.

01:00:11.659 --> 01:00:16.320
So I just wanna encourage us today. Guys, authority

01:00:16.320 --> 01:00:20.519
is a gift. That if you believe in Jesus, you've

01:00:20.519 --> 01:00:24.659
aligned your life with him and his word. There's

01:00:24.659 --> 01:00:28.800
authority that he wants you to walk in. And if

01:00:28.800 --> 01:00:32.280
there's authority, the supernatural power of

01:00:32.280 --> 01:00:35.840
God is right alongside, ready to bring about

01:00:35.840 --> 01:00:39.719
the miraculous to help us overcome impossible

01:00:39.719 --> 01:00:42.920
situations that we're facing. You know, and as

01:00:42.920 --> 01:00:46.420
a church, we are currently in the middle of a

01:00:46.420 --> 01:00:50.219
test. Even just with this riverbank issue. This

01:00:50.219 --> 01:00:52.619
isn't just a test for Pastor Brad and Jenny or

01:00:52.619 --> 01:00:55.139
the eldership or the leadership. This is a test

01:00:55.139 --> 01:00:58.599
for each and every one of us. And I firmly believe

01:00:58.599 --> 01:01:03.500
it is a test of faith. Will we believe God for

01:01:03.500 --> 01:01:06.559
what he's going to do? Not just in our mind,

01:01:06.579 --> 01:01:09.900
but will we actually partner with him and step

01:01:09.900 --> 01:01:14.000
into something that a conviction that maybe we

01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:17.469
haven't seen manifest in the natural. And that

01:01:17.469 --> 01:01:22.309
is my encouragement to us today is to recognize

01:01:22.309 --> 01:01:26.650
what God has given us, but also recognize that

01:01:26.650 --> 01:01:30.809
he has more. He has more for us to walk into

01:01:30.809 --> 01:01:34.590
this year. The riverbanks one piece, but I know

01:01:34.590 --> 01:01:36.510
each and every one of you have circumstances

01:01:36.510 --> 01:01:40.210
in your life that you are believing for breakthrough

01:01:40.210 --> 01:01:42.809
this year in. And I believe God is gonna bring

01:01:42.809 --> 01:01:47.099
that as we partner in faith. Amen. Okay. If you

01:01:47.099 --> 01:01:48.820
wanna just close your eyes, I'm just gonna pray.

01:01:49.579 --> 01:01:53.000
I wanna just pray for us as a group, but I wanna

01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:56.500
give a chance to respond. You know, if there

01:01:56.500 --> 01:02:01.159
is an area of your life right now that you are

01:02:01.159 --> 01:02:06.639
facing an impossibility in the natural, whether

01:02:06.639 --> 01:02:09.679
it's a physical disease, if it's oppression,

01:02:09.980 --> 01:02:13.480
if there's things, even relationships or finances

01:02:13.480 --> 01:02:18.420
that you do not see a way out, And you recognize

01:02:18.420 --> 01:02:22.820
I need divine intervention. I need a touch from

01:02:22.820 --> 01:02:25.079
God. I want you to just stand up because I want

01:02:25.079 --> 01:02:28.480
us to just pray for you. So if that's you, I

01:02:28.480 --> 01:02:34.579
want you to just stand to your feet. I want you

01:02:34.579 --> 01:02:40.280
to just put your hands out. Father, we come to

01:02:40.280 --> 01:02:44.849
you today, Lord, as your children. Lord, and

01:02:44.849 --> 01:02:48.869
we stand in the authority that you have given

01:02:48.869 --> 01:02:55.250
your children. And Lord, right now, I speak to

01:02:55.250 --> 01:03:00.630
every impossible circumstance, every discouraging

01:03:00.630 --> 01:03:04.949
giant, Lord, that has stood in people's homes,

01:03:05.090 --> 01:03:08.269
in front of their eyes, Lord, that has actually

01:03:08.269 --> 01:03:11.309
wreaked havoc over the years, Lord, and they're

01:03:11.309 --> 01:03:15.460
recognizing we need a miracle and we need a breakthrough.

01:03:15.679 --> 01:03:19.300
Lord, I just pray right now that your kingdom

01:03:19.300 --> 01:03:21.500
would be released in this place. Lord, that even

01:03:21.500 --> 01:03:24.760
as this message, Lord, of holding fast to the

01:03:24.760 --> 01:03:27.119
authority you've given. God, I pray that there

01:03:27.119 --> 01:03:30.840
would be a grabbing a hold of authority in this

01:03:30.840 --> 01:03:34.360
place this morning. Lord, and in that same vein,

01:03:34.480 --> 01:03:38.500
by faith, we recognize your will is for your

01:03:38.500 --> 01:03:41.739
church to be overcomers, for your church to step

01:03:41.739 --> 01:03:45.300
into victory, not just once, but a lifestyle

01:03:45.300 --> 01:03:49.659
and a life change that's filled with victory.

01:03:49.800 --> 01:03:53.679
So Lord, I pray that today that every circumstance,

01:03:53.920 --> 01:03:57.559
every giant, Lord, that has raised up its face

01:03:57.559 --> 01:04:00.690
in opposition to the living God would come. crashing

01:04:00.690 --> 01:04:03.550
down right now. Lord, let your spirit begin to

01:04:03.550 --> 01:04:07.789
minister in this place. Lord, healing for every

01:04:07.789 --> 01:04:12.489
disease, freedom from oppression. Lord, a breakthrough

01:04:12.489 --> 01:04:16.869
with family. Lord, let your presence go forth

01:04:16.869 --> 01:04:20.690
and do the miraculous in this place. In Jesus'

01:04:20.769 --> 01:04:27.300
name, amen. Thank you for taking the time to

01:04:27.300 --> 01:04:30.260
listen to this week's message. We are so grateful

01:04:30.260 --> 01:04:32.880
for those who tune in each week and have given

01:04:32.880 --> 01:04:36.099
generously to this ministry. If you would like

01:04:36.099 --> 01:04:38.659
to give click the link in the episode description

01:04:38.659 --> 01:04:41.820
below. You can also help us by subscribing to

01:04:41.820 --> 01:04:43.940
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01:04:43.940 --> 01:04:47.320
and family. Lastly if you are in need of prayer

01:04:47.320 --> 01:04:53.260
send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365. We

01:04:53.260 --> 01:04:54.460
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