WEBVTT 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:20.699 My first time here. Rachel's part of the family, 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.859 so I feel part of the family. And it's been quite 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:28.399 a revelation driving across farmland and thinking, 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.239 what on earth can you find here? And then suddenly 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:33.920 you arrive here and hundreds of people in the 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.299 middle of nowhere. So it's just amazing. But 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:40.179 some churches you go to and you wonder if God 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:43.880 even knows about it. But hey, God seems to really 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:47.130 like you. And it's been a real privilege to be 00:00:47.130 --> 00:00:50.429 here. And I not only feel part of the family, 00:00:50.450 --> 00:00:53.289 I just feel excited that something is stirring. 00:00:53.570 --> 00:00:55.289 There's faith here. There's an excitement in 00:00:55.289 --> 00:00:59.409 God. And it's very important as we push through. 00:00:59.729 --> 00:01:02.829 We're in a crossroads in the nations at the moment. 00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:07.090 I'm very briefly, for those of you who don't 00:01:07.090 --> 00:01:10.590 know me, I'm a fluffy sheep pastor. I look after 00:01:10.590 --> 00:01:13.739 lots of fluffy sheep. back in my church. And 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:16.840 I made a commitment not to travel. We've always 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:20.620 traveled together. And you know what it's like. 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.079 You get a pastor who comes along and then he's 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:24.459 always traveling. I just made a commitment and 00:01:24.459 --> 00:01:26.200 said, guys, I'm not going to travel for three 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:28.239 years. I'm going to let Rachel travel. But I 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.719 snuck out this week. And I just thought, I really 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:33.780 want to see what Rachel's doing over here. And 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:35.920 Rachel Ritchie is with us. She's an intern with 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.560 us. And she's been fantastic. She's born to preach. 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:43.420 She's a great preacher. And it's been a real 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.819 privilege watching her grow and to spread her 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:49.659 wings. But you need to know we are in a crisis 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:52.019 situation in the nation in England. You need 00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:55.340 to pray for us. I know in the Second World War 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.239 we just screamed across the pond and said, come 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.359 on guys, you need to fight with this battle for 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.519 Europe. We're going to scream the same again. 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:06.359 We need you to come across and help the battle 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:08.939 for Europe. This is a critical, critical spiritual 00:02:08.939 --> 00:02:11.960 battle for Europe. Because there's revival spreading 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:14.419 all around different parts of the world. But 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:17.379 fortress Europe, the enemy has sort of come thinking 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:20.460 we're going to hold on. Last stand, we're going 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:23.199 to hold on here. But he's got a big mistake. 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:26.719 He's made a big mistake. And we really do want 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.400 to challenge you. Just take that battle seriously. 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.960 Pray for us because there's a special time coming 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.300 that those nations are going to open up to God. 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:38.229 So thank you. Thank you for... Welcoming. Can 00:02:38.229 --> 00:02:40.370 we pray for Rachel as she starts? Let's stretch 00:02:40.370 --> 00:02:43.090 our hands out to Rachel. Father, we want to thank 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:46.229 you for Rachel. Thank you that she carries your 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:48.349 word. She carries your glory. She carries the 00:02:48.349 --> 00:02:51.590 gift of God. And so, Father, we pray for a full 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:54.810 release of that word into this church. Lord, 00:02:54.870 --> 00:02:57.270 with life, with health, with wholeness, with 00:02:57.270 --> 00:03:00.949 revelation. Lord, come this morning and speak 00:03:00.949 --> 00:03:03.110 to every single one of us right where we're at. 00:03:03.449 --> 00:03:08.750 In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Well, as always, 00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:12.069 it's been a real delight to be with you. And 00:03:12.069 --> 00:03:14.530 we've been on a journey. We set our heart on 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:18.270 a pilgrimage to pursue the presence of God. And 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:20.610 that was the title of our ladies' conference 00:03:20.610 --> 00:03:24.580 in pursuit, passionate pursuit. of his presence, 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.939 and I started the opening evening, and if you 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:30.500 want to get the CDs, it's not too sort of pink 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.979 and girly, and I don't think you'll be embarrassed 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.180 if you listen to it as a man, but we started 00:03:36.180 --> 00:03:39.159 the opening night of just looking at that private 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:42.439 and public place of releasing the presence of 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:45.120 God, and how I believe God is calling us into 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.840 the intimate place where we get to know the face 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.439 of our Father, but then he's turning us around 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.680 and releasing us into the powerful place where 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.500 we do the works of Jesus and there's that sense 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:01.599 of how do we which pursuit of which presence 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.039 and I have of course all of us want that intimate 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.819 place where we know the face of the one who loves 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:11.719 us but I also want to know the power of the one 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.699 who heals, raises the dead, delivers the tormented 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:17.759 and there's a passionate pursuit for the presence 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.879 of power. as well as the presence of intimacy, 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:23.420 and we looked at that. And then in the morning, 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:29.139 I did an exegesis, really, a line -by -line exposition 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:31.139 of the scripture of the woman with an issue of 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.420 blood. And I called it, I Want My Life Back. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:37.819 And how many times the enemy just comes, and 00:04:37.819 --> 00:04:40.899 it's like we feel our life is flowing away. And 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.240 the process, really, the journey God takes us 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.980 on to touch Jesus and see. And have that cry 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:49.720 of the woman, I've got my life back. And something's 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:51.740 happening in me. And then there were amazing 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:54.079 workshops. And Gordon then did the afternoon 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.680 session for the women. On really overcoming fear 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:59.720 and torment. And shared his story about how God 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.220 brought him through a mental breakdown. And brought 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.970 him to a place to be bold. and strong and how 00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:09.290 God deals with you and even the issues of life 00:05:09.290 --> 00:05:12.269 can actually be the formation of God and out 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:14.870 of that desert place something can stand up that's 00:05:14.870 --> 00:05:17.610 bold and alive and able to break through and 00:05:17.610 --> 00:05:20.389 shared very vulnerably on how we must deal with 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:22.850 the fear issues if we're ever going to be a people 00:05:22.850 --> 00:05:25.449 that know that we're loved and overcome and then 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:28.410 finally in the final session I did a session 00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:31.709 on those different journeys pathways of pursuit 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:35.589 the pathway holiness, the pathway of intercession, 00:05:35.750 --> 00:05:39.310 the pathway through trials to glory and the pathway 00:05:39.310 --> 00:05:42.889 of life and how God sets our feet on a journey. 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:45.589 And often they're not always comfortable. We 00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:48.310 set our heart on a pilgrimage, but God breaks 00:05:48.310 --> 00:05:51.410 it through. And as we pursue him, we will find 00:05:51.410 --> 00:05:55.529 him. Seekers are finders. Then we did, we had 00:05:55.529 --> 00:05:58.529 the privilege of speaking on marriage and Gordon 00:05:58.529 --> 00:06:00.730 really took Ephesians five, looking at the role 00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:04.480 of the man to be. like our bridegroom and the 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.139 one who lays his life down and what it really 00:06:07.139 --> 00:06:10.600 means to be one who lays your life down. And 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.459 he looked at five pillars of the intimate friend, 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.300 the servant leader, the proclaiming prophet, 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:20.100 the reconciling priest, and the defending warrior. 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.819 And those aspects of Jesus that we are called 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:26.759 to mirror as men. And then I picked up some things 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:30.339 about the women briefly and an overview of why 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:33.259 it's so important we stake. the ground with legitimate 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:37.319 authentic marriage and then last night we started 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:40.399 a series open up the gates of which this is the 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.680 last one because I believe in 2008 God is saying 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:49.089 come on it's time to open up the gates And there 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:52.029 are gateways. There's a gateway to the nations. 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:54.610 And dear Gordon, last night spoken, as Pastor 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:57.589 Brad's already said, on really how we open that 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.629 gateway to the nations. And as we look into the 00:07:00.629 --> 00:07:03.230 Islamic world, North Africa, Middle East, and 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:06.689 Soviet Central Asia sort of area, and look at 00:07:06.689 --> 00:07:09.389 the grip that's there with Islam, it's so easy 00:07:09.389 --> 00:07:12.189 to think, well, let's just back off and go around 00:07:12.189 --> 00:07:14.970 it. But I believe right there God is putting 00:07:14.970 --> 00:07:18.129 his dunamis, his dynamite of the Holy Spirit, 00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:22.639 spirit to actually open wide that gateway. And 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.339 if you go to Isaiah 45 verse 2, I love that verse 00:07:26.339 --> 00:07:29.699 that God is going to give us these gates. Isaiah 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:34.740 45 verse 2. And this is what the Lord says to 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:37.899 his anointed, to Cyrus by whose right hand I 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:40.720 take hold of, to subdue nations before him, to 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.779 strip kings of their armor, to open doors. So 00:07:44.779 --> 00:07:48.660 that gates will not be shut. I really believe 00:07:48.660 --> 00:07:51.879 Islam thinks, oh, we've shut some gates. Christianity's 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:54.600 not going to get in here. But how many know God's 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:56.839 got the last laugh? You know, those gates are 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:59.800 not going to be shut. And then it goes on. I 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:02.439 will go before you. I will level down the mountains. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.600 I will break down those gates of bronze and cut 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.279 through those bars of iron. I will give you, 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:13.120 the church, those treasures of darkness, riches. 00:08:13.290 --> 00:08:17.350 stored in secret places. And I just want to say 00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:22.329 that God at this time is delighting at ransacking 00:08:22.329 --> 00:08:25.709 the devil's treasure trove and presenting them 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.970 for the kingdom of God. All through the Muslim 00:08:28.970 --> 00:08:32.210 world, God is breaking through those gates of 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:35.450 iron and bronze and he's going into those dark 00:08:35.450 --> 00:08:38.649 places and unpacking the devil's treasure trove 00:08:38.649 --> 00:08:41.289 and treasures are being released for the glory 00:08:41.289 --> 00:08:44.330 of God. Many of you remember last year I was 00:08:44.330 --> 00:08:47.110 here with Helen Aza. Do you remember? And she 00:08:47.110 --> 00:08:49.169 is still my associate. She's back in England. 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:53.149 And she's 50 % Egyptian and 50 % English. And 00:08:53.149 --> 00:08:56.110 during this year, God has just been opening more 00:08:56.110 --> 00:08:58.370 and more doors for us. Those of you who were 00:08:58.370 --> 00:09:00.509 at the ladies' conference, literally before I 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:03.950 arrived here, my books have just been translated 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:07.470 into Arabic. And so we showed the Arabic cover 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:10.769 and the Arabic translation. And it was just quite 00:09:10.769 --> 00:09:12.600 amazing. don't know if we've got them on the 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.059 screen but what an amazing thing because the 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:17.720 Arabic church began to say we want tools and 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:20.559 we want this book in Arabic and so right now 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.059 in fact the American church mainly has paid for 00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:26.320 this it cost eleven thousand dollars isn't that 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.200 amazing to produce five thousand books of each 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.759 book to translate it all and do it all I think 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:33.860 pretty well all of it's coming except the last 00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:36.679 it's a little bit you can't quite see it there 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.620 you go if it goes down And they've taken the 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:41.899 ancient door with heaven breaking through the 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:44.120 door. Isn't that amazing? When you actually see 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:47.139 the cover, it's quite dramatic. And that's supernatural 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.480 communication. And Rachel Hickson written in 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:55.120 Arabic. At least so they tell me. But they want 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.039 that too. And I thought, my, if that church learns 00:09:58.039 --> 00:09:59.879 to pray. They reckon there's about a million 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:04.159 underground Christians, especially women, who 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.720 want to be trained. So I'll be working with Helen 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:09.879 Aza. She's... committed to stay on with me, and 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:12.080 she's then going to break through those gates, 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:14.080 and we're going to release her one -third of 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.279 her time to set training schools through Egypt 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.179 to train up an army of ordinary people. We're 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:22.039 literally going to have a mobile training school 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:24.639 of 30 people who we're going to train. We're 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.240 writing the materials now, and as we train those 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.500 30, we're then going to give each of those 30 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:33.240 20 manuals so that when they go back, they train 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.299 20. Do you get what I'm saying? And so they do 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.059 that for three months. Then at the end of three 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:41.139 months, we'll go back there. We'll train them 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:44.000 for another two weeks on the next module unit. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:47.120 And we'll train those 30 who will then take 20 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:50.019 manuals each back to their places and train. 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:53.110 And by doing that over two... We will go for 00:10:53.110 --> 00:10:55.090 two weeks and we'll have two teams. So we will 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:58.309 train 60 every two weeks. Week A, we train team 00:10:58.309 --> 00:11:02.590 A. Week B, train me. 30 in each, give them 20 00:11:02.590 --> 00:11:04.990 each. You can do the maths, send them back. And 00:11:04.990 --> 00:11:07.470 we'll be doing that every three months over the 00:11:07.470 --> 00:11:10.710 next three years to do a mobile school of theology, 00:11:10.950 --> 00:11:14.169 specifically for women. Because that's what the 00:11:14.169 --> 00:11:16.370 pastors have asked us to do. They said, we have 00:11:16.370 --> 00:11:19.470 never done anything for women in the Arabic world. 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.399 And they said, we just are asking you. Come help 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.799 us train our women because we believe that they're 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.940 a secret army of what God wants to do. Come on, 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:30.860 we're going to open those gates in Jesus' name. 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:35.200 I'll just tell you one story. Did you tell the 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:39.299 story of Saudi? No, you didn't tell it. But this 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:42.779 story was given to me when I was in Egypt and 00:11:42.779 --> 00:11:45.220 they were just talking about what God is doing 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:47.879 underground. Now, Saudi Arabia would still be 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:51.200 one of the most closed and difficult. And there 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:54.960 was a young girl who'd finished all her training. 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:57.519 She had been over in the West because still the 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:01.039 elite. A Middle Eastern family sends their children 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:05.679 to either Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, because 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:08.220 they pay for the scholarships. And even their 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:10.299 girls, they will educate them and send them. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:13.860 And this young girl had been sent over to Britain, 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:16.820 and she had done law. And while she'd been there, 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:19.580 she had found Jesus and got born again. She began 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:21.399 to read the Bible, got filled with the Spirit, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.799 but she couldn't tell her family. She had to 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:27.289 keep it quiet. But it was now time for her to 00:12:27.289 --> 00:12:29.929 go home for the long holidays. And she'd taken 00:12:29.929 --> 00:12:31.809 the Bible with her. And as she arrived at her 00:12:31.809 --> 00:12:34.070 home, all the servants had picked up her stuff. 00:12:34.210 --> 00:12:36.169 And she was a bit terrified because you don't 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:38.990 really have private space because there are servant 00:12:38.990 --> 00:12:41.009 people in your house, in your space, in your 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:43.450 room. They make your bed. They do your rooms. 00:12:43.549 --> 00:12:46.149 And she was just beginning to pray. So she kept 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:49.889 her Bible on her person and said, God, show me 00:12:49.889 --> 00:12:52.929 where I can hide my Bible. I want my Bible. I 00:12:52.929 --> 00:12:56.669 don't want to lose it. took a huge personal risk 00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.750 even taking it into the house. And as she prayed, 00:12:59.850 --> 00:13:03.389 she felt God speak to her and say, at 11 o 'clock, 00:13:03.470 --> 00:13:05.950 you're to go up the back attic stairs and you're 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:09.090 to go to this high loft room. And as you go into 00:13:09.090 --> 00:13:11.669 the room, you'll see a trunk, which is positioned 00:13:11.669 --> 00:13:14.230 in this area of the attic. And you're to lift 00:13:14.230 --> 00:13:17.809 the left -hand side of the carpet over the trunk 00:13:17.809 --> 00:13:20.889 and hide the Bible under there and leave it. 00:13:20.970 --> 00:13:23.389 So at about 11 o 'clock, she got up, went up 00:13:23.389 --> 00:13:25.750 these back attic stairs. And as she's putting 00:13:25.750 --> 00:13:28.279 the Bible under this area of the carpet, She 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.580 hears someone on the stairs opening the door. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:36.240 She then hides into the end of the attic. And 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.220 she sees this shape come up, walk over to the 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:43.299 trunk where she's just put her Bible. But this 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:45.620 person went to the right -hand side of the trunk, 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:48.120 lifted back the carpet, pulled out the Word of 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:51.159 God and knelt down, began to pray. She went up 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.480 because she couldn't see who it was. She then 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.220 realized it was her mother. Her mother had become 00:13:56.220 --> 00:13:59.259 a believer two years older and they discovered 00:13:59.259 --> 00:14:02.559 each other up in the attic as her daughter went 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:05.320 and flipped her side of the rug and showed her 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:14.220 Bible. Isn't that an amazing story? I want to 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:17.740 tell you that we are living in phenomenal days. 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:24.220 And the devil holds the checkmate. Heaven holds 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:27.799 the checkmate. Devil might have sounded check, 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:33.759 but heaven holds checkmate. And we've got to 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:38.360 see it. So say with me, 2008. We opened the gate 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:44.500 for the king of glory to come in. And then in 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:47.159 the first service, I did three other gates, which 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:49.580 I'm just going to skip on quickly. They will 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:51.919 have been recorded if you want them to fill that. 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:55.759 And then I'm going to do gates, three more gates 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:00.679 now. But then I believe in 2008, God wants to 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.840 open the gate of hope. And we looked at Hosea 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.299 chapter 2, verses 14 and 15, and how God loves 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:11.019 to take the place of trouble and open a gate 00:15:11.019 --> 00:15:14.220 of hope. I believe one of the reasons the church 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:17.019 needs to stand up and walk out is because he's 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:21.019 made us gatekeepers of hope. And one of the things 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:24.240 the enemy wants to do is put such hopelessness 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.919 in people. He wants to put it in the church. 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:29.440 That's why when Pastor Brad made that article, 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.220 come on, how many of you are facing impossibility? 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:35.159 You feel that sense of hopelessness when you 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:38.059 walk out. In the house it feels good, but in 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:41.450 life it feels bad. And you see the enemy... loves 00:15:41.450 --> 00:15:45.730 to pickpocket our hope. But Hebrews 11 verse 00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:49.029 1 says, now faith is the substance of things 00:15:49.029 --> 00:15:53.850 hoped for. And so the enemy hijacks our hope 00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:57.350 and then our faith gets depleted. But we know 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:02.110 without faith, it is impossible to please God. 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:05.950 So we need faith and hope. And 1 Corinthians 00:16:05.950 --> 00:16:11.120 13 verse 13 says, these three remain. Which three? 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:16.919 Faith, hope, and love. And so this is the season 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:21.179 to open the door of hope. And God wants to take 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:23.720 us from the valley of trouble through the door 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.480 of hope and make sure that hope is not depleted 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:31.360 but completed and multiplied. Because my Bible 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.299 says his hope does not disappoint us. Romans 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:37.580 5 verse 5. And this hope does not disappoint 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:40.139 you because the love of God has been shed abroad 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.720 in your hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:16:43.870 --> 00:16:46.730 I think it's Hebrews 6, about verse 19, it says, 00:16:46.830 --> 00:16:49.909 and his hope is an anchor for my soul, secure 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:54.450 and firm. You see, there's a security when our 00:16:54.450 --> 00:16:58.789 hope is God -triggered, God -inspired. That expectancy, 00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:03.909 that longing, isn't just a pipe dream, but it 00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:07.930 is real. And God has put hope in each one of 00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:11.410 us, and that hope is reliable hope. It's not 00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:15.450 fantasy. And so God wants the church to be those 00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:18.230 with a message of secure hope. That as we step 00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:23.289 out, we have hope, keys of hope, to open the 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:26.069 gates for many lives. And that where they're 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:28.269 being overwhelmed with weariness, depression, 00:17:28.609 --> 00:17:32.269 and disappointment, God opens a gate of hope 00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:36.240 in Jesus' name. Amen. Gate for the nation, gate 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:39.900 of hope. Number three gate is the gate to heaven. 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:44.200 And if you turn to Genesis 28 verse 16, I just 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.640 preached it this morning, so check me out. But 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:49.559 Genesis 28 verse 16, we see the story there of 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:53.920 Jacob. And Jacob is a representative of a seeker 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.579 generation. If you want more, let's get the tape 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:59.599 this morning. But you see, Jacob was asleep and 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:02.339 the seeker in him had gone to sleep. And it says 00:18:02.339 --> 00:18:06.390 this here. And Jacob woke up from his sleep and 00:18:06.390 --> 00:18:12.750 he was not aware that God, surely God is in this 00:18:12.750 --> 00:18:16.289 place, it says, but I was not aware of it. And 00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:18.470 so many of us go through that process. Surely 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:21.869 God is in this place, but my awareness of God 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:26.150 has decreased. And God wants to open that up. 00:18:26.309 --> 00:18:28.990 And it goes on to say, and so I grew afraid. 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:32.940 But how awesome is this place? This is none other 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:36.579 than the house of God. This is a gateway to heaven. 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.960 And I want to say right here in Harrisburg, you 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:42.039 can have seasons when you're very God aware. 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.359 You can have seasons when you become very God 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.869 aware. unaware. But we need to open that gateway 00:18:48.869 --> 00:18:52.450 of heaven, that seeking hungry atmosphere of 00:18:52.450 --> 00:18:55.809 our heart that just seeks his presence. It keeps 00:18:55.809 --> 00:18:59.130 the right awareness. Surely God is in this place. 00:18:59.349 --> 00:19:02.569 It's very easy to get overwhelmed and get distracted 00:19:02.569 --> 00:19:06.910 and fall to sleep and become sleepy in your expectancy. 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:11.319 But Jacob woke up. And then he had a right awareness. 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:15.000 And God wants to open an awareness of heaven 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.920 over your life. Don't let the enemy lull you 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.059 to sleep and then tell you God's disappeared. 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:23.859 God didn't disappear. Your awareness of him disappeared. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:27.779 And God wants to open heaven over your life today. 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:31.460 He wants to open that gate in 2008 so you are 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:33.980 aware of the goodness of God and heaven over 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:36.660 you. We all go through seasons when the cloud 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:39.940 comes in and obscures the truth. vision it didn't 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:42.920 mean the mountains went away they just got obscured 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:48.400 the third gate we want to open the gate of glory 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.819 in the land and we read this in Ezekiel 43 verses 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:57.400 1 and 2 and it says and the man came and positioned 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.720 me at the east gate and I shared how that picture 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:06.259 of the east gate is a picture of the the division 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:10.220 between the church and the community again and 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:12.599 again between the temple porch and the marketplace 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:17.279 that east gate is the divider and the water of 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.319 God comes from the throne under the east gate 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.240 into the land you find that all the way through 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.920 Ezekiel 47 you track the east gate through scripture 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:30.470 and you'll find it's always that junction And 00:20:30.470 --> 00:20:33.069 it says, and the man bought me. And sometimes 00:20:33.069 --> 00:20:36.210 we need God to bring us to a new community awareness. 00:20:36.589 --> 00:20:39.470 We need him to take us from the intimate place 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:42.009 of the altar and stand us at the east gate and 00:20:42.009 --> 00:20:45.509 say, take responsibility. That's your land. What 00:20:45.509 --> 00:20:48.740 are you going to do? And then we have to release 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.400 the water of his word. We have to begin to speak 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.480 his word into the situation and watch what it 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.579 does. And it says then, and so I opened the east 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:01.500 gate and the land was radiant with his glory. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.140 I want to see that gate open. I want to see the 00:21:06.140 --> 00:21:08.779 gateways into our communities becoming radiant 00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:11.420 with the presence and the glory of God. I want 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:15.099 to see people being God -aware and God -presence 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:18.680 -aware rather than a cultic power and, you know, 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:22.059 even secular power. People are more aware of 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:23.980 the presence of the devil than they are of God. 00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:28.710 I always remember a young friend of David's, 00:21:28.710 --> 00:21:31.329 my son, coming into our home when he was about 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:33.930 17. And he just said, take me somewhere where 00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:36.950 I can sense the presence of God. People want 00:21:36.950 --> 00:21:40.490 to know what the glory feels like. And so he's 00:21:40.490 --> 00:21:43.009 calling us, come on, stand at the east gate. 00:21:44.109 --> 00:21:46.950 Let the water of the word be released like the 00:21:46.950 --> 00:21:50.170 roar of waters. And let the land begin to shimmer, 00:21:50.329 --> 00:21:54.390 radiate, gleam, glisten, literally. With the 00:21:54.390 --> 00:21:58.670 glory of God. So now the three last gates. Let's 00:21:58.670 --> 00:22:02.009 see if I can do them quickly. But the number 00:22:02.009 --> 00:22:06.619 five gate. As I believe in this season, 2008, 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:11.119 God wants to open the gate of inheritance or 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:14.460 the gate of legacy. And in many ways we've echoed 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:17.559 this cry all the way through the worship. This 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:20.500 is the gate where the King of Glory walks in 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.759 and ancient doors have to make way for the King 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:28.549 of Glory. And this is Psalm 24 verse 7. So lift 00:22:28.549 --> 00:22:31.569 up your heads, O ye gates. Be lifted up, you 00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:34.529 ancient doors, that the King of glory may come 00:22:34.529 --> 00:22:38.569 in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong 00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:41.970 and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up 00:22:41.970 --> 00:22:45.289 your heads, O ye gates. Lift them up, you ancient 00:22:45.289 --> 00:22:49.269 doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who 00:22:49.269 --> 00:22:52.450 is he, this King of glory? The Lord almighty. 00:22:52.690 --> 00:22:58.970 He is the King of glory. And so in 2008, I just 00:22:58.970 --> 00:23:02.529 believe God is wanting to open gates. And it 00:23:02.529 --> 00:23:05.910 says, be lifted up, O you gates. Be lifted up, 00:23:05.910 --> 00:23:10.470 you ancient doors. And God really began to speak 00:23:10.470 --> 00:23:13.630 to me when I was just meditating on gates and 00:23:13.630 --> 00:23:16.849 doorways. And he said, Rachel, so often in the 00:23:16.849 --> 00:23:20.009 church, you only think about the gateways that 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:22.789 go forward. But sometimes you need to go back 00:23:22.789 --> 00:23:26.930 to open the ancient gates of legacy and inheritance 00:23:26.930 --> 00:23:32.170 to release a full generational blessing to propel 00:23:32.170 --> 00:23:35.369 you into all that God has for you. So lift up 00:23:35.369 --> 00:23:38.009 your heads, O ye gates. Be lifted up, you ancient 00:23:38.009 --> 00:23:42.269 doors. Release all the legacy, for the King of 00:23:42.269 --> 00:23:46.849 glory wants to come in. And so often, as we open 00:23:46.849 --> 00:23:49.309 up those gateways, it isn't just, oh, let's find 00:23:49.309 --> 00:23:52.450 a nice key. They open nicely. It isn't like, 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:55.289 oh, wow, God wants to do this, so it's just happening 00:23:55.289 --> 00:23:58.750 easy. What is the picture of the God that opens 00:23:58.750 --> 00:24:02.119 these gateways? It's the God of war. We have 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:05.420 to wrestle for our destiny. We have to wrestle 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:08.680 and fight out every inch of the way. Just like 00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:13.880 the early Israelite nation. How many know God 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:17.019 broke open the gate and got them out of their 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.940 prison house in Egypt. He crossed them over the 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:22.519 Red Sea. They battled through the wilderness. 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:26.319 But even when you read Joshua chapter 1, now 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:30.759 the season was inheritance. They said, go, here's 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:34.259 your land. Walk into a land full of milk and 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:38.319 honey. Was it easy? No. They battled every inch 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:41.099 to take their inheritance and legacy. They had 00:24:41.099 --> 00:24:44.119 to open the gate of their ancient promises. They 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.799 have to open the gateway of their legacy, their 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:50.480 history, their generational flow. And to step 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.460 into their destiny, they had to open the gate 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:55.579 of their legacy. Do you get what I'm saying? 00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:00.900 And I believe in 2008, God is wanting to open 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:04.920 gates of history to release your destiny. It 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.359 isn't that we go back and live there forever. 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:10.579 But all through scripture, there's almost this 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:14.140 contradiction. There's certain scriptures. You 00:25:14.140 --> 00:25:17.059 can go to Philippines, chapter 3. It says, you 00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:20.279 know, forget the former things. Don't go back. 00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:26.539 Let go. Do not hold to the past, but take hold 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:28.759 of the new. And so you think, oh, well, God keeps 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:31.240 telling me, don't go back. You know, Isaiah 43, 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:34.279 18, you know, do forget the former things, don't 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:36.859 dwell on the past. See, a new thing springs up, 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:38.900 do you not perceive it? So you think, I've just 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:41.039 got to forget about the past and press into the 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:43.559 new. Then there's another whole lot of scriptures, 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:46.720 Deuteronomy 6. Come on, meditate on yesterday, 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:52.440 build an altar, remember the former things. Ecclesiastes. 00:25:53.219 --> 00:25:55.279 Don't forget the former thing. And you think, 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.519 well, God, can you make your mind up? One minute 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:59.759 you're saying forget, don't look back, don't 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.700 hold press in. The next minute you're saying 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:05.710 meditate on it, think about it. But this is the 00:26:05.710 --> 00:26:09.230 key. I believe that God is asking us to understand 00:26:09.230 --> 00:26:12.230 our legacy and our inheritance and our destiny. 00:26:12.309 --> 00:26:16.089 But he's asking us to forget the failure and 00:26:16.089 --> 00:26:19.069 the negativity of yesterday. But we've got to 00:26:19.069 --> 00:26:22.349 remember the inheritance of yesterday to get 00:26:22.349 --> 00:26:25.950 what I'm saying. You see, I believe in every 00:26:25.950 --> 00:26:29.960 single one of us is generational seed. And so 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.980 often when we look at our generations, we only 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:35.980 look back three or four. We look back to our 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:38.640 grandparents and maybe our great -grandparents 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.079 and maybe we look back and what we see is not 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:45.440 very pretty. And often we look back to deal with 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:49.190 the negative stuff. We get rid of maybe if there's 00:26:49.190 --> 00:26:51.890 been alcoholism or maybe there's been sexual 00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:54.150 impurity. And we look back and we think, oh, 00:26:54.269 --> 00:26:56.529 there's some nasty skeletons in the cupboard. 00:26:56.630 --> 00:26:59.630 Let's just cleanse them and get rid of them and 00:26:59.630 --> 00:27:02.430 then I can walk free. But many times we don't 00:27:02.430 --> 00:27:08.109 go digging for the treasure troves. But God is 00:27:08.109 --> 00:27:10.150 saying, come on, lift up your heads or your gates 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:13.170 be lifted up. Lift up those ancient doors that 00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:18.089 the king of glory may come in. Now, my Bible 00:27:18.089 --> 00:27:23.029 says that the negative generational flow operates 00:27:23.029 --> 00:27:25.710 to three and four generations. Do you agree with 00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:28.490 me? But what does it say about the positive? 00:27:28.670 --> 00:27:32.349 But his love lasts for how long? A thousand generations. 00:27:33.930 --> 00:27:36.390 Hello, do you get what I'm saying? So you see, 00:27:36.410 --> 00:27:39.329 there are legacies in your generational flow 00:27:39.329 --> 00:27:42.109 that go far beyond your great granddad, that 00:27:42.109 --> 00:27:44.930 you can begin to open up right down your family 00:27:44.930 --> 00:27:47.490 line for yourself individually, for yourself 00:27:47.490 --> 00:27:50.130 corporately, for this city, for this region. 00:27:50.269 --> 00:27:52.369 There might have been some negative choices, 00:27:52.430 --> 00:27:55.670 but I bet there's some seed in this ground that 00:27:55.670 --> 00:27:59.410 has powerful legacy, inheritance seed, more than 00:27:59.410 --> 00:28:01.549 your grass seed that goes all around the world. 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:04.730 There is righteous seed. hear that goes back 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:09.930 quite a few generations, that we need to open 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:13.910 up and then walk on and warfare for those promises. 00:28:15.190 --> 00:28:18.670 Just out of interest, how many of you here, as 00:28:18.670 --> 00:28:21.769 far as you're aware, are maybe the first in your 00:28:21.769 --> 00:28:24.089 generation to turn to God? Could you just stand? 00:28:25.150 --> 00:28:27.609 You will be what I call turning generations. 00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:31.069 You've made a stand to choose Jesus. And you 00:28:31.069 --> 00:28:33.710 haven't come, as far as you know, from a Christian 00:28:33.710 --> 00:28:35.970 home, Christian family, Christian viewpoint. 00:28:36.150 --> 00:28:41.049 You are the first turning seed. You're very precious. 00:28:41.089 --> 00:28:44.710 You made a stand in your generation. But as far 00:28:44.710 --> 00:28:47.430 as you know, people behind you didn't. I want 00:28:47.430 --> 00:28:49.849 to say, you might have looked back to your grandfathers 00:28:49.849 --> 00:28:51.630 and thought, what's that? But I bet somewhere 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:55.390 in your family line, there is an ancient door 00:28:55.390 --> 00:28:58.529 and a gate that's calling. Come on, open up the 00:28:58.529 --> 00:29:01.450 gates. Open up the gates. And I want to say to 00:29:01.450 --> 00:29:04.289 each one of you, did you realize you are a gatekeeper? 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:08.220 And a gate opener. You have opened a generational 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:12.200 gate of blessing for your family line. Because 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:14.819 as for you and your household, you're opening 00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:19.039 a new gateway of blessing, a new legacy, a new 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:23.180 inheritance. And how many of you would say it's 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:27.180 been tough? Well, you see, lift up those gates. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.619 Let the king of warfare come in because you're 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:32.240 going to have to fight every inch of the land. 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:34.480 Just like the Israelites, when they wanted their 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:39.759 promised land, the devil hates initiators, hates 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:43.839 the firstborn seed. He hated Jesus, the firstborn 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:46.819 seed that made a way for every one of us. He 00:29:46.819 --> 00:29:49.819 hates you. Because you're turning at not only 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.940 your life, because he understands legacy. He 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:55.640 knows it's not just about you. It's about who 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:58.319 you are, what you carry in you. It's about your 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.200 kids that come from you and the grandchildren 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:02.240 and great -grandchildren. You're opening a whole 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.279 river that he hates. So he's going to fight you. 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.160 Do you understand? And that's why you're turning 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:14.799 generation. So, Father, right now, don't sit 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:17.960 down yet. Right now, in Jesus' name, and if they're 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:21.279 standing with you, we pray for an awesome authority 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.720 to come upon these turning generations, that 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:28.299 you will give them a new tenacity to break through, 00:30:28.420 --> 00:30:31.359 not only for them, but for their kids and their 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:36.039 grandkids. And we turn generations. We open gates 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:39.140 for the kingdom of God, for the king of glory. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:42.019 is coming into your family line. The king of 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:44.900 glory is going to walk right through your family 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:47.859 line. You've opened a gate and now the king of 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.779 glory is going to come in. Who is this king of 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:54.859 glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. This is the 00:30:54.859 --> 00:30:57.599 king of glory. Be lifted up, you ancient gates, 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.460 whatever your family names are. Come on, you're 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.960 going to make way for the king of glory to come 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:06.359 in this generation, in this family line. Write 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:09.779 down sons, daughters. Mothers, children, write 00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:12.819 down the family line. Make way because the king 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:17.640 of glory is coming in. In Jesus' name. In Jesus' 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:22.480 name. And everyone say, amen. But for those of 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:27.140 you who have come from a family line, maybe we 00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:29.559 don't even realize. I'm just going to tell you 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:34.980 a story. I'm telling stories. But this totally 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:38.789 blew my mind. I am Rachel Hickson today because 00:31:38.789 --> 00:31:41.630 I've been married to this man for nearly 27, 00:31:41.630 --> 00:31:54.170 28 years. 27 and a bit now. And I changed my 00:31:54.170 --> 00:31:57.809 name. But before I was married, I was Rachel 00:31:57.809 --> 00:32:01.309 Vincent. Or, if you say it in French, Vincent. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:04.940 And I just thought, well, I'm Rachel Vincent. 00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:07.619 We were on holiday in France, in the south of 00:32:07.619 --> 00:32:11.000 France, in the Cévennes area. It was very hot. 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.759 We were tired. We needed a drink and a bit of 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:15.880 shade. And so Gordon is much more sort of museum 00:32:15.880 --> 00:32:18.799 orientated than I am, especially when the museum 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:20.539 is in a foreign language and you don't speak 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:22.920 it. I mean, that doesn't particularly excite 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:26.859 me. But Gordon speaks French. So we decided to 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:31.180 go into this tiny little museum. The Museum of 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:33.099 the Desert. I mean, it doesn't exactly sound 00:32:33.099 --> 00:32:35.920 exciting. But we went in there. And as we walked 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:38.200 in there, I was fascinated because this was the 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:44.660 museum of the Huguenots. And all there was all 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:47.220 their stuff. It was in French. But the fascinating 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:50.440 thing is everywhere was this Vincent family. 00:32:50.839 --> 00:32:54.400 Vincent, Vincent, Vincent. And it awakened my 00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:57.829 curiosity. And the founding sort of mom and dad 00:32:57.829 --> 00:33:01.910 from the 1680s to the 1730s were a couple called 00:33:01.910 --> 00:33:06.890 Samuel and Sarah Vincent. And this couple carried 00:33:06.890 --> 00:33:11.750 a fire to see the next generation break through 00:33:11.750 --> 00:33:14.329 and carry really signs and wonders and miracles 00:33:14.329 --> 00:33:16.829 and carry the prophetic. And they were known 00:33:16.829 --> 00:33:19.190 as the prophetic family of the Cervant area. 00:33:19.430 --> 00:33:21.470 And they said, and written in the French was, 00:33:21.569 --> 00:33:25.160 it was particularly carried upon the woman. And 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:28.019 Sarah Vincent was an extraordinary prophetic 00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:31.859 revelatory woman who carried a heart cry for 00:33:31.859 --> 00:33:35.480 the next generation. She began to pray over the 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:38.680 children in this area and there was a young boy 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:42.339 called Thomas Vincent who was the nephew of Sarah 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:44.680 Vincent who she particularly took in and trained 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:48.339 amongst the others. And the Spirit of God so 00:33:48.339 --> 00:33:52.380 fell upon these Huguenots that the Catholic traditional 00:33:52.380 --> 00:33:56.190 church absolutely hated them, because God began 00:33:56.190 --> 00:33:59.190 to give them, in their own French dialect, the 00:33:59.190 --> 00:34:02.529 direct translation of the Bible. Now, at that 00:34:02.529 --> 00:34:05.430 time, the Bible had not been translated. It was 00:34:05.430 --> 00:34:08.769 still in Latin, High Latin, and these were illiterate 00:34:08.769 --> 00:34:11.429 farming people in the Cévennes area of France. 00:34:11.750 --> 00:34:15.230 But by revelation, prophetic revelation, they 00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:18.730 began to recite scripture in local French dialect, 00:34:18.929 --> 00:34:21.650 and children as long as three years old were 00:34:21.650 --> 00:34:25.519 found singing. and skipping in the fields, reciting 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:30.940 scripture by heart. This so incensed the Catholic 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:33.480 priests that they began to gather them up and 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:36.599 they began to literally burn at the stakes the 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:39.639 men and women and persecute them. And that was 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:43.280 the Huguenot persecution. They began to fled 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:48.160 to about four different areas, to London. to 00:34:48.160 --> 00:34:51.460 Holland, Belgium, and Germany. And from that 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:54.579 place, they actually began to infiltrate Kanzensador 00:34:54.579 --> 00:34:58.159 for the Moravian revival. And then many Moravians 00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:01.400 left in boats and came to east coast of America. 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:05.619 So you've got them coming in the 1770s, 80s, 00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:09.909 landing here. You also had them beginning to 00:35:09.909 --> 00:35:13.510 infiltrate London and a famous lane called Fetters 00:35:13.510 --> 00:35:16.309 Lane, where a young man called John Mesley went 00:35:16.309 --> 00:35:19.130 and visited the Fetters Lane, where the Huguenots 00:35:19.130 --> 00:35:21.869 had gotten with the Holy Spirit glory crowd, 00:35:22.010 --> 00:35:25.690 and his heart was strangely warmed. And it all 00:35:25.690 --> 00:35:29.190 began from this little road. Now, many of you 00:35:29.190 --> 00:35:31.949 know that I've had a real heart for London. Do 00:35:31.949 --> 00:35:34.210 you remember that? And when I came back from 00:35:34.210 --> 00:35:37.369 India to London, God gave me such a clear picture 00:35:37.369 --> 00:35:40.090 that he wanted to touch London with the glory 00:35:40.090 --> 00:35:44.250 and the fire of God. And when I wrote out the 00:35:44.250 --> 00:35:48.329 London prayer vision back in 1995, I used this 00:35:48.329 --> 00:35:50.989 imagery that just as there had been the great 00:35:50.989 --> 00:35:55.210 fire of London in the 1770s, And it had burnt 00:35:55.210 --> 00:35:58.730 London but saved the city by dealing with the 00:35:58.730 --> 00:36:01.530 plague that the rats had carried in the sewers. 00:36:01.909 --> 00:36:04.809 So I believe that a new day of glory was going 00:36:04.809 --> 00:36:07.250 to come. And the fire of God was going to descend 00:36:07.250 --> 00:36:10.150 upon London. And this time it would be a spiritual 00:36:10.150 --> 00:36:12.750 fire. But it would burn out the sin that had 00:36:12.750 --> 00:36:15.690 hidden in the roots of the city. And God would 00:36:15.690 --> 00:36:18.949 extract it. And how many of you think, well we 00:36:18.949 --> 00:36:22.880 think we're original. Well after this. I began 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:25.380 to research the Vincents. And I discovered that 00:36:25.380 --> 00:36:29.019 this son, this nephew, Thomas Vincent, escaped 00:36:29.019 --> 00:36:31.539 on a boat with another part of the family. And 00:36:31.539 --> 00:36:34.599 he was sent to London. And during the Great Fire 00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:37.219 of London, he prophesied over the city of London. 00:36:37.380 --> 00:36:39.260 The prophecy is called the Holy Wrath of God. 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:41.480 You can find it online. If you put Thomas Vincent 00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:44.260 in, in the Huguenots, you can find it. And part 00:36:44.260 --> 00:36:46.880 of the essence of what he prophesied that day 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:51.059 was, today London burns with a great fire. It 00:36:51.059 --> 00:36:54.019 will save the city from the plague that has stolen 00:36:54.019 --> 00:36:56.900 so many lives. But this is not the true fire 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:00.360 of London. In many years from now, another fire 00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:03.380 will hit this city. And the glory of God will 00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:05.900 be seen in the city of London. And London will 00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:08.519 be saved from her sin. And London will again 00:37:08.519 --> 00:37:11.460 turn to be a city that loves God. I thought, 00:37:11.480 --> 00:37:13.960 how does God do that? We've traced it and we 00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:24.639 are related. Open up the ancient norms. The reason 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:27.179 I'm sharing this is, you see, I believe sometimes 00:37:27.179 --> 00:37:30.300 we think we have weird, outrageous passions and 00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:33.860 dreams. You see, I'm not a London girl. I grew 00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:36.400 up in India. I'm a mish kid and a preacher's 00:37:36.400 --> 00:37:38.679 kid. I've never lived in London, really. Never 00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:41.139 born in London. We had a business in London for 00:37:41.139 --> 00:37:44.420 a while. But I couldn't understand this triggering 00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:47.639 passion for London. Even today, you can see him 00:37:47.639 --> 00:37:50.260 telling that. It breaks my heart. I carry an 00:37:50.260 --> 00:37:52.760 intercession for London. I can't explain that. 00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:55.179 I don't know what that's about. But I began to 00:37:55.179 --> 00:37:58.000 discover it as I opened my ancient doors. I began 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:01.039 to discover I've got destiny seed in me from 00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:03.860 way back, which gives me an authority into the 00:38:03.860 --> 00:38:06.559 city of London. And there's something on me that 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:09.139 I couldn't even understand. And it isn't in my 00:38:09.139 --> 00:38:11.199 mom. And it's not in my grandmother. But it's 00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:14.260 back in my seed, 200 and something years old. 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:17.889 But God's seed is incorruptible seed. And his 00:38:17.889 --> 00:38:20.949 destiny seed never dies. And there's seed in 00:38:20.949 --> 00:38:26.369 some of you that has never made sense. But lift 00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:29.710 up your heads, O ye gates. Be lifted up, you 00:38:29.710 --> 00:38:32.570 ancient doors. Because the king of glory is going 00:38:32.570 --> 00:38:35.730 to come in. And every inheritance and every destiny 00:38:35.730 --> 00:38:38.889 seed will be birthed and break through. Because 00:38:38.889 --> 00:38:43.030 the Lord is mighty. And he's mighty in battle. 00:38:45.329 --> 00:38:50.940 Amen. The final, I've got two more gates. One's 00:38:50.940 --> 00:38:57.380 very quick. But the next one's six. The sixth 00:38:57.380 --> 00:39:01.400 gate is understanding the gates, the open and 00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:04.900 shut gates. Understanding the open and shut gates. 00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:11.539 And this was another revelation to me. And you 00:39:11.539 --> 00:39:14.300 find this scripture in Revelation 3, verse 7. 00:39:16.059 --> 00:39:19.440 Revelation 3 verse 7. And you see, as we step 00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:22.719 into the season, 2008, the season to open the 00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:26.519 gates, we need to understand gates that are shut, 00:39:26.739 --> 00:39:30.219 gates that are open, what they mean, and how 00:39:30.219 --> 00:39:33.219 to live in those seasons. And to the angel of 00:39:33.219 --> 00:39:36.059 the church of Philadelphia write, these are the 00:39:36.059 --> 00:39:39.179 words of him who is holy and true, who holds 00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:45.349 the keys of David. What he shuts, Ron, no one 00:39:45.349 --> 00:39:54.809 can open. But what he opens, no one can shut. 00:39:54.909 --> 00:39:59.829 Do you understand? What he opens, no one can 00:39:59.829 --> 00:40:05.550 shut. What he shuts, no one can open. You see, 00:40:05.590 --> 00:40:08.150 most of us in the Christian life, we have this 00:40:08.150 --> 00:40:10.510 theology, and I'm not sure where we get it from. 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:13.980 That if it's an open door, it's God. If it's 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:18.699 a shut door, it's the devil. Do you agree? And 00:40:18.699 --> 00:40:21.480 so as soon as there's a shut door, we pray, we 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:24.519 fast, we kick, we scream, we headbang, we think. 00:40:24.639 --> 00:40:28.539 We go crazy because if it's a shut door, it automatically 00:40:28.539 --> 00:40:32.340 has to be the devil. If it's an open door, it 00:40:32.340 --> 00:40:36.119 automatically has to be God. I just want to say 00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:38.559 that I had such a revelation that that's not 00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.940 necessarily true. And I believe this is such 00:40:41.940 --> 00:40:45.460 a critical season where we need to begin to discern. 00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:48.719 Yes, of course, there are hindrances. Yes, of 00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:50.940 course, there are wrestles. Yes, of course, there 00:40:50.940 --> 00:40:54.199 are obstacles where the devil resists and we 00:40:54.199 --> 00:40:57.219 need to fight through. But we need the discernment 00:40:57.219 --> 00:40:59.539 to know whether this is a season of resistance 00:40:59.539 --> 00:41:02.760 or we're fighting God. How many know there's 00:41:02.760 --> 00:41:08.929 a big difference? And so you see. This is what 00:41:08.929 --> 00:41:12.110 the word of the Lord says to you. What he opens, 00:41:12.110 --> 00:41:17.269 Rhonda, no one can shut. Isn't that comforting? 00:41:18.530 --> 00:41:21.030 No one can shut it. But Rhonda, what he shuts, 00:41:21.309 --> 00:41:24.190 no one, not even you, with all your prayer, all 00:41:24.190 --> 00:41:28.050 your intercession, can open. What he shuts, no 00:41:28.050 --> 00:41:32.230 one, not even us, can open. And so I began to 00:41:32.230 --> 00:41:34.550 think about this. I began to think, well, what? 00:41:35.099 --> 00:41:37.880 What is that about? What are the shut doors about? 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:41.099 Well, let's keep on reading. He said, for I know 00:41:41.099 --> 00:41:44.380 your deeds. Now see, I have placed before you 00:41:44.380 --> 00:41:48.860 an open door. So what I have opened, no one can 00:41:48.860 --> 00:41:51.800 shut. What I've shut, no one can open. I know 00:41:51.800 --> 00:41:55.119 your deeds, but now see, I've placed before you 00:41:55.119 --> 00:41:59.039 an open door. And I know you have little strength, 00:41:59.059 --> 00:42:01.139 yet you've kept my word and not denied my name. 00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:04.159 Let me give you an illustration which maybe will 00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:06.679 explain this. And I believe this is going to 00:42:06.679 --> 00:42:09.659 be a revelation for many of you. I believe in 00:42:09.659 --> 00:42:12.780 our Christian life, we go through seasons of 00:42:12.780 --> 00:42:16.699 shut and open doors. And every shut door is not 00:42:16.699 --> 00:42:19.760 just the enemy's strategy against us. It's actually 00:42:19.760 --> 00:42:25.500 what I've termed the holding zone of God. He 00:42:25.500 --> 00:42:29.840 leads you. And it's like the prophets talk about, 00:42:29.980 --> 00:42:33.420 well, God's deceived me. You really felt that 00:42:33.420 --> 00:42:35.619 the Holy Spirit leads you by word of knowledge, 00:42:35.659 --> 00:42:38.119 prophetic word. You end up at this door, you 00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:41.599 cry, you pray, you kick, you scream. And you 00:42:41.599 --> 00:42:43.800 suddenly think, but this door's resisting me. 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:46.599 Let me illustrate. When we were in Watford, we 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:49.059 were the senior pastors of a group of four churches. 00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:52.179 We knew God began to speak to us. It was time 00:42:52.179 --> 00:42:55.780 to release those churches and move on. And so 00:42:55.780 --> 00:42:58.920 we began to pray about where to go. At that time, 00:42:58.960 --> 00:43:03.079 God... open, many different words and opportunities 00:43:03.079 --> 00:43:06.400 for us about Peterborough, which is a city about 00:43:06.400 --> 00:43:09.780 150 miles north of us. We were very connected 00:43:09.780 --> 00:43:12.300 with the senior pastors there. They really wanted 00:43:12.300 --> 00:43:15.079 us to come in and help them. It's a perfect fit. 00:43:15.219 --> 00:43:17.719 I know them really well. In fact, I still minister 00:43:17.719 --> 00:43:20.579 in their church ever so frequently. Seven years 00:43:20.579 --> 00:43:22.880 ago, I gave a prophetic word to them, go buy 00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:26.320 land. It's time to buy a field. They did. And 00:43:26.320 --> 00:43:29.809 today they've built an awesome sanctuary. many 00:43:29.809 --> 00:43:32.449 stories to tell how God just confirmed and used 00:43:32.449 --> 00:43:35.550 me prophetically so accurately beyond my ability 00:43:35.550 --> 00:43:38.789 to know anything and so God was opening the door 00:43:38.789 --> 00:43:41.630 so for two years we went up there we attended 00:43:41.630 --> 00:43:43.710 all their team leadership meetings we went on 00:43:43.710 --> 00:43:47.170 their away days we looked at 48 houses in that 00:43:47.170 --> 00:43:50.329 area would our house sell no and it was not a 00:43:50.329 --> 00:43:53.110 difficult time to sell and our house was a very 00:43:53.110 --> 00:43:58.260 eligible We could not shift anything. Nothing 00:43:58.260 --> 00:44:01.340 moved. Yet it just seemed to go up to Peterborough. 00:44:01.460 --> 00:44:03.519 We built relationship. We did everything for 00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:07.000 two years invested. During this time, we're kicking, 00:44:07.260 --> 00:44:09.239 we're praying, we're fasting, we're doing everything. 00:44:09.360 --> 00:44:13.500 This door, what God shuts, nobody opens. Then 00:44:13.500 --> 00:44:16.300 our son comes to us, Mom, Dad, I want to go to 00:44:16.300 --> 00:44:18.099 university. Will you help us look at Oxford? 00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:21.599 So Gordon goes with him to Oxford one Sunday 00:44:21.599 --> 00:44:23.639 because that was the open day of the college. 00:44:23.780 --> 00:44:26.000 Had a look around. They finished and wanted to 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:29.460 go to church. They walk into St. Alda's. Gordon 00:44:29.460 --> 00:44:32.880 sits down next to the senior leader's wife. She 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:34.360 turns to Gordon and says, you're going to be 00:44:34.360 --> 00:44:37.099 the next pastor here. He bursts out laughing. 00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:41.280 She bursts out crying. He said, there's no way. 00:44:41.420 --> 00:44:44.099 To cut a very long story short, within a week 00:44:44.099 --> 00:44:47.159 we're at interview. Within another 24 hours, 00:44:47.179 --> 00:44:50.480 the bishops confirmed us. We're back home. We've 00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:53.820 got the job we didn't even look for. And that 00:44:53.820 --> 00:44:56.940 next day, someone's banging on my house saying, 00:44:57.059 --> 00:44:59.059 here's a cash offer for your house, which was 00:44:59.059 --> 00:45:04.139 about $25 ,000 above the market price. My house 00:45:04.139 --> 00:45:08.280 is gone. And I go, God, what was that about? 00:45:09.389 --> 00:45:12.050 And he says, see, behold, I have placed before 00:45:12.050 --> 00:45:15.590 you a shut door that no man can open. Not even 00:45:15.590 --> 00:45:19.289 you, Rachel, but I know your deeds. But see, 00:45:19.409 --> 00:45:21.550 now I've placed before you an open door. And 00:45:21.550 --> 00:45:23.409 I said, well, what is this? Open doors, shut 00:45:23.409 --> 00:45:26.309 doors, open doors, business all about. And he 00:45:26.309 --> 00:45:28.349 said, well, it's about holding zones of faith. 00:45:28.699 --> 00:45:31.659 He said, what was happening in Oxford was not 00:45:31.659 --> 00:45:35.380 yet even ready for you, but I had to disconnect 00:45:35.380 --> 00:45:39.099 you from Watford and I had to prepare you to 00:45:39.099 --> 00:45:42.159 move you. So I put you in front of a shut door, 00:45:42.239 --> 00:45:45.519 which put you in a season of trial, of faith, 00:45:45.860 --> 00:45:49.420 of preparation, of tears. And no, that door wasn't 00:45:49.420 --> 00:45:51.480 going to open because it wasn't actually about 00:45:51.480 --> 00:45:53.880 you going through the door. It was actually about 00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:58.860 you being presented with a door. Do you understand? 00:45:59.119 --> 00:46:02.340 But now I place before you the open door. And 00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:05.239 he said, and I love it. And God says, but I know 00:46:05.239 --> 00:46:07.800 you've got little strength left. Yes, God, you 00:46:07.800 --> 00:46:12.679 finished me off with that shut door. I've got 00:46:12.679 --> 00:46:15.880 no confidence I can hear God. I've got no confidence 00:46:15.880 --> 00:46:18.840 I know what I'm doing. So I'm going to make this 00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:21.300 next open door so easy you'll kick through it. 00:46:23.719 --> 00:46:25.739 How many of you can recognize that in your life? 00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:28.260 As I'm beginning to unfold it, it's like, oh, 00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:31.500 I see. And it wasn't our intercession was bad. 00:46:31.659 --> 00:46:34.119 It wasn't even the devil closing. It was actually 00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:38.000 a timing issue. And I believe for so many of 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:40.679 us, God takes us into seasons of shut doors, 00:46:40.760 --> 00:46:44.019 which are timing issues on alignments of a whole 00:46:44.019 --> 00:46:49.030 lot of destiny, call. timelines, geographies 00:46:49.030 --> 00:46:52.110 that all have to come together. But none of it 00:46:52.110 --> 00:46:54.670 is wasted because it puts a depth and a capacity 00:46:54.670 --> 00:46:57.889 and a passion in us so that when I know you've 00:46:57.889 --> 00:47:00.550 got little strength, here's the open door and 00:47:00.550 --> 00:47:02.889 I'm going to give it to you because of two qualities. 00:47:03.349 --> 00:47:06.210 You've had consistency. You haven't denied my 00:47:06.210 --> 00:47:08.769 name. And you've had faithfulness. You've kept 00:47:08.769 --> 00:47:13.570 true to your heart. And there are many people 00:47:13.570 --> 00:47:15.860 here. And you've thought, well, what's it about? 00:47:15.960 --> 00:47:18.500 Maybe I don't pray enough. No, maybe you just 00:47:18.500 --> 00:47:20.900 need to back off headbutting that door. You can 00:47:20.900 --> 00:47:24.579 kiss your hurting toes and say it's okay. I don't 00:47:24.579 --> 00:47:27.539 have to kick this door anymore. Actually, it 00:47:27.539 --> 00:47:29.519 could be a closed door, but I'm going to stay 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:32.340 sitting at this door because I know that you've 00:47:32.340 --> 00:47:34.699 got my plans. You've got my future. You've got 00:47:34.699 --> 00:47:37.179 my hope. Yes, you've led me to this place and 00:47:37.179 --> 00:47:39.460 it's a holding zone for the purposes of God. 00:47:39.579 --> 00:47:41.840 I don't have much strength or confidence in my 00:47:41.840 --> 00:47:44.320 ability to hear, but right from this position, 00:47:44.420 --> 00:47:47.500 I know I could see the next open door and you 00:47:47.500 --> 00:47:53.000 will reveal it to me in Jesus' name. Amen. And 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:56.019 for so many of us, we need to understand this 00:47:56.019 --> 00:48:02.579 Revelation 3 season. Shut and open doors. Because 00:48:02.579 --> 00:48:04.980 it's a season of transitioning and positioning. 00:48:07.139 --> 00:48:09.320 And God will get us to the right place at the 00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:13.039 right time. Amen. And finally, the last door, 00:48:13.079 --> 00:48:16.519 which is very quick, I promise. Door 7. Revelation 00:48:16.519 --> 00:48:19.920 3 .20. Just turn on a little bit more. Behold, 00:48:20.019 --> 00:48:23.579 I stand at the door and... Knock, gateway door. 00:48:24.380 --> 00:48:27.000 And the privilege of this door is all the other 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:30.039 doors, Jesus is the gatekeeper of this door, 00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:32.579 you're the gatekeeper of. You can come and play 00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:36.079 for me if you want. And I think what an awesome 00:48:36.079 --> 00:48:39.900 privilege that God allows us to be a gatekeeper. 00:48:42.039 --> 00:48:44.699 You know, Proverbs 4 .23, above all else, guard 00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:48.480 your heart. Guard that gate to your heart and 00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:51.670 open it. And I just want to give a little bit 00:48:51.670 --> 00:48:53.949 of an eastern twist to this. It says, behold, 00:48:54.110 --> 00:48:56.449 I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens 00:48:56.449 --> 00:48:59.730 the gate, door to their heart, and invites me 00:48:59.730 --> 00:49:04.929 in and lets me sup with them. You see, it's true 00:49:04.929 --> 00:49:08.190 also in farming communities. You have the nice 00:49:08.190 --> 00:49:10.329 front room which you bring guests into that you 00:49:10.329 --> 00:49:13.079 don't know very well. You have the back kitchen 00:49:13.079 --> 00:49:16.260 room where the kitchen table is, where when you've 00:49:16.260 --> 00:49:17.800 done a hard day's work, you come in the door, 00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:19.579 you kick your boots off, and that's where life 00:49:19.579 --> 00:49:24.000 is really done, around the kitchen table. And 00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:26.559 it's the same in the East. There is this thing 00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:30.639 of, let me come in to your real world and sit 00:49:30.639 --> 00:49:34.179 at the family table and sup with you. Don't put 00:49:34.179 --> 00:49:36.559 me in the front room and give me the drinks and 00:49:36.559 --> 00:49:39.119 be polite. I want to see life in the back room. 00:49:41.320 --> 00:49:43.559 And you see, there's an invitation of relationship. 00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:46.639 This is the gate of relationship. How deep will 00:49:46.639 --> 00:49:49.840 you let God into your life? Are you still playing 00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:52.739 front room politics with God? Come in, God, sit 00:49:52.739 --> 00:49:55.019 down, this is the thing. No, he says, I don't 00:49:55.019 --> 00:49:57.719 want that. I want to open the gates right to 00:49:57.719 --> 00:50:00.559 the back room. I want to come to the supping 00:50:00.559 --> 00:50:02.659 table. Now, the supping table was the family 00:50:02.659 --> 00:50:07.539 table. It's a back room, the farmyard, where 00:50:07.539 --> 00:50:09.480 you kick, it smells a bit, it's not perfectly 00:50:09.480 --> 00:50:13.960 presented, but it's real. Life is lived in this 00:50:13.960 --> 00:50:17.679 table. He said, will you open it and let me in? 00:50:18.440 --> 00:50:28.480 So why don't we stand? If you are interested 00:50:28.480 --> 00:50:31.239 in hearing other podcasts or contacting Life 00:50:31.239 --> 00:50:35.300 Bible Church, go to www .lifebiblechurch .org 00:50:35.300 --> 00:50:39.360 or call us at 541 -995 -8282.