Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:08] Today I want to talk about one of the, I think most important. I don't know, may not one of the most important, but just I think an important principle throughout Scripture. One of the foundations for Kingdom Movement for our house.
[00:00:21] We are built on a place where we believe that every single member is a minister. That everyone, that. That God wants to activate every single member in the body of Christ to be active. Amen. I'm going to start with a verse. It's at the very end of my notes if you want to follow along. And notes, I never, never really get through all of them. But you can tap the disc right in front of you. You can also go on our website under the media tab. But I want to read a verse here that I. That I end my notes with. It's Ephesians chapter 4, verse 16.
[00:00:48] Ephesians, chapter 4 is a chapter that's really foundational for Kingdom Movement. God gave this to us kind of as a foundation and revelation around which to build. And so I wanted to speak from an idea there, but it's especially verses 1 to 16 are very significant for the formation, foundation and the direction really of Kingdom Movement. Check that out. We'll probably do a lot more talks around that. But verse 16, it says this. The whole body being fitted and held together. But why? By what every joint supplies?
[00:01:19] Somebody say every joint supplies.
[00:01:23] All right. By what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes growth of the body for the building up of itself. In love, can I tell you that God is into the body growing. God wants us to grow up into all things, but part of the body growing up into the fullness of Christ, part of us seeing the bride come into fullness and maturity, part of that is every joint supplies. At Kingdom Movement, can I tell you that we are going to make it uncomfortable for Christians to be comfortable as spectators? We want Christians to be participators, not spectators. We want to make it uncomfortable every week by asking, hey, how many this week? You were on mission, you preached the gospel, you saw someone get saved. You gave a prophetic word you loved on somebody, you told someone about the love of Jesus. How many got to do that this week? But see a show of hands.
[00:02:17] All right, are our numbers growing or increasing? Lord help us. You gave us this vision.
[00:02:26] Every member, a minister, every joint supply, you know, for me as a runner, I know that all my joints have to be supplying for me to accomplish my goal. You know, one of my goals a long time ago was very kind of illegal, was to run A marathon in under three hours, That's a pretty extravagant goal. And I wanted to do it this April, but one of my joints stopped supplying. Like back here. I have a tendon that since November, I have not been able to get it to.
[00:02:55] What do you call it, to cooperate with me. And so I have not been able to run, like, long miles. I've been rehabbing it, stretching it, strength training it, easing it in biking, all the stuff that I don't want to do so I could get back into. And I just start increasing my mileage and. And it's telling me, like, body slow down. And so I've been listening to it. It's been good. It's been kind of four months of frustration. But the thing is, I started to realize this, that even one joint that's not supplying, it messes up the whole plan. So I'm not on track for my sub 3 marathon. I don't know if I'm gonna ever do that again. Who knows? I mean, my body turned 40, you know, a couple years ago, or I guess a year ago. And so it's like the time is ticking. And that's okay if I never run a marathon under three hours, and that's going to be okay. My point is not even about running or marathons. My point is this.
[00:03:42] There's more to life. Amen. There's more to life. And I can tell you I might not run that marathon, or I might, who knows, you know, don't hold out on it. But the point is, I've learned this, that God wants every member active in the body of Christ. And so today I want to talk to you about partnering with God.
[00:03:58] Talk to you about partnering with God.
[00:04:01] My main kind of point that I'll say probably a few times today, is that God, in his sovereignty, has chosen to limit his activity on the Earth to partnership with mankind.
[00:04:14] That God, he is sovereign. He can do whatever he wants. He is almighty. He is God almighty. But on the Earth, he has chosen to limit his activity to partnership with man. Can I tell you that God is inviting all of us, Kingdom, movement, all of the body of Christ into participation and not into spectatorship. Can I tell you, today, after the Seahawks win, we. We're all that are saved, are gonna feel like, yes, we won. We did it. You know, some people especially, like, they know all the names of the football players. They know the stats. They followed all their games. They know who they beat by who. They know everything, how they compare with the other team, how they're gonna slot around. They know all that stuff. And they feel like today they have won an entire season, that they've been working so hard this season to track their hawks, and now they're finally gonna see the reward of their hard work and they're gonna feel like they got a dub. They. But can I tell you, those spectators had nothing to do with that dub that's gonna happen today.
[00:05:08] Nothing.
[00:05:10] They're cheering, they're paying money to maybe watch games, paying money for TV subscriptions, paying all this money researching, wasting their time reading articles, hoping that they're gonna do good. And now it all culminates and they think they won, but actually they've just been spectating instead of participating. Can I tell you, often in life, that's how we are in church. We. We come to church, we cheer on the people that are doing the work. We, we. We fund the evangelists that are going out there doing crusades, doing outreaches. We cheer for the people that go on missions trips, we bring them up here, we fund their stuff and we're like, yay, we're winning.
[00:05:45] When actually we've just been sitting.
[00:05:47] But actually the Lord wants us all to be winning. Amen. Now, I'm not saying that if you, if you just partner financially that you're not doing something, because that's actually something we're all called to do as well. So we wanna have our skin in the game, our money in the game, our time in the game, in this game called life and ministry in the kingdom of God. Right? We wanna have all of that. But can I tell you that sometimes we as a church, we stop and we spectate. And then we celebrate those people that are saying yes, doing the hard things, laying down their life, taking the criticism, being loud about their faith. And we're like, yay, say it. Go, go, go. Charlie Kirk. But then we, when it's our turn, are kind of quiet because there's a lot of pushback, there's a lot of persecution. There's a price to pay. You might lose some friends, people might start blowing you up, people might start counseling you online. Cause it's easier to spectate than participate. But can I tell you, God wants every member active in the body of Christ.
[00:06:44] That God, in his sovereignty, has chosen to limit his activity on the earth to partnership with you and I. That there are certain things that God does not get his will on because we have abdicated our voice, our authority, our presence, our yes to God. So I want to challenge us today, church, that we are going to be a kingdom movement. Not that cheers on the ministers that are on the platform, but we're going to be a place where every member participates. Every member opens up their home to disciple people. Every member opens up their wallet, their car, their life, their time, their schedule to reach people for Jesus. Amen. That's the kind of community that we're going to be. I want you to take a look at this thought and concept in the Bible. It might be a bold statement to say that God in his sovereignty has limited himself. But can I tell you, it's actually.
[00:07:35] It's not a statement on God's inability. It's not a statement on God's weakness. It's not a statement on God's limitation. But God has chosen this self limitation because he's a loving rat, relational father. It's not weakness or inability, but love just simply refuses to control.
[00:07:53] Love simply refuses to control people.
[00:07:56] So even though God has a will for this world, can I tell you that God's will will happen on this world as we say? Yes.
[00:08:03] This is a strong encouragement and statement. Let's look at it theologically, biblically, in the context of Scripture. Amen. So let's go to point number one here. God's original design on this earth is delegated authority. You look from the very beginning. We're going to go to chapter one in Genesis, a couple famous passages. Genesis chapter one, verse 26. And then verse 28, 26 says this. God said, let us make mankind in our image according to our likeness and let them rule.
[00:08:34] God said, community. God, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, they're there in community.
[00:08:39] Let us make man like us and let them rule. Why? Because if they're going to be like us, then rulership is a part of us. So they're going to have this. We're going to give them a domain to be rulers in. Because. Because. Because man is called to be, to be rulers in this world. Right? So that's how God designed it. Look at verse 28. God blessed them. And God said to them, so this is God's commission to mankind. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over all the things that we're supposed to rule over. Rule. Amen. So God's commission from the beginning. God says, I am the God of all creation. He's the. He's the inventor, he's the creator. And he says, I'm going to create man. I'm going to create family and my image and my likeness. No other created thing is like God in that sense, except for man. And He Says, because man is like me in that way, carries my image, they're also going to be like me in this way, that they're going to rule and have dominion on the earth. Right. So very important principle there. Let's look at Psalms 115. Let's see it again.
[00:09:41] Psalms 115, verse 16.
[00:09:44] The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth he has given to the sons of mankind.
[00:09:53] Heaven is God's domain. The earth is the place where God's sons have their domain, to rule and reign, to be his sons, to produce his will in the earth. Can I tell you, God wants things for the earth, but he's chosen in his sovereignty to limit that activity to children, to sons and daughters. They're going to carry his image, his name and his will in the earth. God repeatedly chooses this pattern of partnership. It's interesting there. We'll go back to Genesis. Genesis, chapter 2, verse 15. It says that the Lord took man and he put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and tend it.
[00:10:31] So here, God creates the Garden of Eden, but he doesn't make a system to maintain it himself.
[00:10:39] He's not maintaining it. He's not cultivating it. He if so, if it goes to garbage, that's not on God. He's the Creator. And then he became the divine delegator of delegated authority. And so it's up to Adam to tend it, to keep it, and to make sure it's maintained. Right. So God works in partnership with man. It's his world, but he's given it to us to steward. Amen. Take a Look at this. Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 20. We're gonna look at a few verses. I want you to get this. I want you to know that I'm not making a statement that is amiss of Scripture in the heart of God's revelation. I want you to see this pattern all throughout Scripture. It's all through the narrative of Scripture. I'm doing just a few snippets here, but 2 Corinthians 5, I'm looking at the Old Testament, looking at the New Testament, it says this. Therefore, we are the ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.
[00:11:28] So we're the ambassadors. If God's gonna appeal to the brokenness in this world, if God's gonna appeal to the sin, to the brokenness, to the stuff that he wants, change, he makes the appeal through us. The lost are gonna hear God's voice because we say, yes, and there are lost people that may not hear God's voice like they should if we don't say yes. Yes, creation speaks of God, but God wants someone more than creation to speak. Like he says, I can make the rocks cry out, but that's not his choice. He wants the sons to cry out. So if sons and daughters don't cry out, we've abdicated our responsibility. There are some people that will not hear properly like they should. The gospel of Jesus Christ and. And that's on us, you guys. That's not on the Lord.
[00:12:11] There's the lies that we often believe that we'll address here in a minute in the notes. But we often. These lies, they keep us bound in comfortable, lackadaisical.
[00:12:23] God is in control of everything Christianity. Like, you know, if God's will, he's gonna take care of it. You know, if I don't do anything, then it's fine. He's gonna find someone else. Like, God's always gonna get his way and God's always going to get his will. Let's just go there to the lies real quick. Some of the lies we believe, we're right at the end of the notes there, the lies we believe that if it's God's will, he'll find a way to do it anyway. Like, yeah, like, I know I'm supposed to play a part, but it's not that important. If it's God's will, he's going to do it. That's a lie that the church believes that keeps us inactive, dormant, passive and powerless. Christianity, instead of feeling the tension of God, like, there are things that you want to happen on this earth and I am the agent of those things. We say God's in control.
[00:13:12] No, a better explanation is God's in charge.
[00:13:16] God's in charge, but he's not controlling the things that happen because he's given the earth to the sons of men.
[00:13:23] So when we see, when we see disaster, when we see abuse, when we see all this stuff on the earth, none of that is God's will, right? That stuff, that's like evil. That's against God's will and God's heart. There are some things that we know are God's will. There's a lot of things that are happening that are not God's will. And that is not because God has been like, you know what? I'm not really gonna jump into the earth and make a difference. It's because he's given this responsibility to us as sons and daughters. Amen.
[00:13:48] So God. So these are lies that we believe that keep us inactive. Like, does he really need me? You know, if I say no, he'll just use somebody else. I mean, people have said that their whole life. Like, if I say no, he'll just use somebody else. Well, I wonder what God said through Mordecai to Esther. Hey, Esther, God has put you in this position for such a time as this. And if you don't say something, guess what would have happened if Esther wouldn't have spoke up? There would not have been another Esther in that lifetime.
[00:14:17] The people would have been annihilated. That was the edict. That was the verdict. That's what was happening. That's what was going down the pipeline.
[00:14:25] But she didn't abdicate her voice.
[00:14:28] She went to the king knowing it could cost her her life without permission, without invitation, shows up in the king's quarter petitioning for her people. I'm telling you what, that story would have gone differently had a person not stood up and said, I am here for such a time as this. I'm gonna do something. Can God use someone else to redeem Israel later on a couple generations? Sure, God can always take a track that we've messed up and redirect course. But how many people have to die? How many people have to suffer? I'm telling you what, for us to say that God's gonna do whatever he wants to do, no matter what, is really to look at scripture and say, everything that's ever happened bad, God's the author of. Essentially, that's what we have to say. If we say God's in control of it, this is exactly how we want it to happen. Nothing happens without his control or his will or without his approval, you know. And so we, as Christians, sometimes, theologically, we agree to theology that actually deactivates us from responsibility. And actually God's called us to be, to be active, to partner with him on the earth. That God in his divinity, in his beauty, in his sovereignty, he says, the earth I've given to the sons of men, the activity that's going to happen on the earth. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you. I will guide you every step of the way. But I'm looking for a man, I'm looking for a woman. I'm looking for someone that will say yes, that will pay the price, that's willing to go through rejection, that's willing to go through pain, that's willing to go through whatever it takes to say, God, I want your will on the earth. I will make your will happen. Because I'm a son and I'm going to step into my place of authority. That's what God's actually looking for.
[00:16:05] I want you to be challenged by this thought and I want you to go do your own investigation. If this is true, it's time for us church to rise up.
[00:16:14] It's time for us to arise and build.
[00:16:17] It's time for us to do that. Not just cheer the people that are in the game, but to actually do that ourselves. Amen.
[00:16:23] Let's take a look at a couple more passages here.
[00:16:27] I think one of the biggest evidences of this is the incarnation of Jesus. And my point number three, Jesus didn't bypass humanity to get his will. Cause God wanted to restore the damage done by sin and our free will. And what does God do? He doesn't from heaven say, you know what? I'm going to do something. No, actually, because God gave the earth to men, guess what God does?
[00:16:47] Becomes a man.
[00:16:50] To right the wrongs that man's done, God becomes a man. The incarnation is the very is. Is is one of the greatest testaments to this principle that God says, on the earth, I'm going to honor man's will.
[00:17:08] My will is that all men would be saved. But on the earth, I'm a loving father, I'm relational. I'm not going to control.
[00:17:15] My will is that all men would be saved. Do all men get saved? Does God get his will or does man get his will?
[00:17:22] I'm telling you, man gets his will. Our goal as sons and daughters is to yield to his will and make his will happen on the earth. I find it very interesting that Jesus, when he was living on the earth, he intentionally was going through life fulfilling prophecies over and over again. He says, hey, Jesus, why did you do that? I did this to fulfill what was written. Think about this.
[00:17:43] Jesus, from a child is reading scripture about himself and he's like, I know what God's will is. Guess what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go put it on the schedule and go do it.
[00:17:53] Jesus didn't accidentally do God's will.
[00:17:56] He read about it. He's communing with the Father and. And Jesus is intentionally fulfilling prophecy, every single one of them. So think about the human will of Jesus Christ on the earth. To say, I'm gonna yield to my Father and I'm gonna do his will on the earth. That's exactly the example that he's left for us. We're supposed to go discover the will of God and actually make it happen on the earth. We're supposed to go get those words, those revelations, those prophetic things and, and then say, I'm gonna go fulfill it. Oftentimes people are saying like, well, if it's God, let's just wait and see. I'm gonna do nothing. If it happens, it's God. If it doesn't happen, it's not God. No. No wonder. Nothing God ever said happens in our life because we're waiting for God to force it, control it and make it happen. And yet God, in his sovereignty, has chosen to limit his activity on the earth to partnership with men.
[00:18:49] Whoo.
[00:18:51] Praise God.
[00:18:53] God sent Jesus to the earth to accomplish his will. And Jesus says this in John 20, verse 21, as the Father has sent me, I also send you.
[00:19:04] I've been sent. I achieved. I did everything my father said. And I think it's John 19. Jesus is praying and he says, father, everyone, you gave me everything you've assigned to me. I haven't lost one.
[00:19:17] Wow. I mean, there was a lot of lost people in Jesus generation.
[00:19:20] There was a lot of sick people still. I mean, Jesus goes to the pool of Bethesda and there's people there for 40 years plus one person gets healed. And Jesus says, I didn't miss one thing you gave me to do.
[00:19:32] And yet there was sick people still, Demon possessed people still, Unsaved people still. But he did everything his father told him to accomplish. He fulfilled the will of God. Can I tell you if every one of us as sons and daughters did do that? Because there was one Jesus and that man Jesus made a difference. He made a difference in 12 people's lives and they made a difference.
[00:19:53] He touched the crowds, but he was limited in what he could do. Why does he say it's better that I go? Because one Jesus on the earth is pretty awesome. But what if we all are possessed by the spirit of Jesus in a good way, right? What if we all take our authority? Can I tell you that's why it's better that Jesus goes? Because now he keep. We're not limited by time and space. Now every member a minister the priesthood of all believers. We're all kings and priests to our God. Amen. So it's way too slow for us to champion the people that are Christ. Like they're doing ministry. Hey, good job, Jesus. Invite the crowds. I'll fund it. I'll support it. I'll open up my home. Go Jesus. Yay. Do it. Do the healing. Yay, Jesus, we love you. Do it again.
[00:20:38] I'm sure there was a lot of people like that in Jesus Day. They were just trying to make room for him to minister. But Jesus is like, that's not the strategy to take a few anointed people and give them room to minister to the world. That is not the strategy. For 2000 years, since Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected, the church has been going about it that way, cheering on everyone in the pulpit. Every evangelist, prophet, past pastor, teacher, you know, gay go fivefold guy. You're anointed by God. Do your thing, save the lost.
[00:21:11] Cheering them on, thinking that we're winning, and actually look at the world.
[00:21:15] We should be further along.
[00:21:17] It says about the 12 disciples that they flipped the world upside down in their few short years of ministry.
[00:21:25] The world should be flipped upside down if we're doing what Jesus told us to do. Do you see what I'm saying? I want to build some tension theologically for us so that we no longer are okay with comfortable Christianity cheering on someone else, only participating with our attendance on a weekend and our tip. Good job, you guys. Kind of, you know, the sound was good today. Let's give you a tip.
[00:21:51] Help us, Lord.
[00:21:54] I'm not trying to come at you, but I'm trying to come at us.
[00:22:00] Are you guys okay?
[00:22:03] In the first service, I was very. I was a lot more gentle. Go watch that one.
[00:22:09] It's true. They're telling you from the front row, God is looking for a partner.
[00:22:15] I want to look at two passages, and I'm going to close with these two passages.
[00:22:19] Isaiah, chapter six, verse eight.
[00:22:27] Isaiah is hanging out with the Lord. He's in the presence of God. God's called Isaiah. And all of a sudden, God allows Isaiah to hear a conversation that's happening in heaven.
[00:22:38] And Isaiah all of a sudden becomes aware of what heaven is saying.
[00:22:41] Can I tell you that there are times when God makes you aware of what heaven is saying? What are you going to do about it?
[00:22:47] Isaiah becomes aware of what heaven is saying. And he says, then I heard a voice, the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send?
[00:22:56] Who will go for us?
[00:22:58] He starts to hear the cry of heaven. The cry of heaven is like, man, Israel's in a disaster, man. They're in captivity. They're in bondage, they're in sin. They're in slavery. They're in idolatry. They. They don't want us. God's. God's grieving the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Look, and he's saying. And Isaiah gets to catch the ear of Heaven, man, there's a problem. And God is saying, who, who's gonna go and fix it?
[00:23:25] We're like God, you fix it. But God is like on the earth, man. Who's gonna fix this? Cause this is not my will or my heart.
[00:23:34] And Isaiah hears the voice of God and he says, here I am, God, send me, I'll go for you. I hear your heart. This is not your will. This is not what you want for this people.
[00:23:51] I'll help your will happen on the earth. And God was looking for a man that would say, I will go for you. I will speak for you. I'm going to be unpopular in my generation. I'm going to be hated and rejected. I'm going to do these crazy things. I mean, read about Isaiah's life. You do not want Isaiah's life. But he said, God, I don't care if they kill me. I hear your heart, I'll go for you.
[00:24:14] I hear the burden of heaven, and I'm going to do something about it.
[00:24:18] Look at God's cry. Very similar cry in Ezekiel, chapter 22. I'm going to read verse 31st and I'll give you some context to this chapter. But Ezekiel chapter 22, verse 30, God is saying, again, I searched for a man among, among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before me for that land so that I would not destroy it.
[00:24:42] But I found no one.
[00:24:45] You hear the cry of God in this passage here that he's looking for someone. Now what's very interesting about this passage is if you look at the context of Ezekiel chapter 22 and then just look at the context of Ezekiel as a prophet at this time. This is. Ezekiel is prophesying during the 500s B.C. so if you look at 597 BC what happens is the first major Babylonian exile. And Ezekiel the prophet is taken away in this exile. So597, the people of God have been adulterous. They've been cheating on God for long, long time. And God basically gives them over to their desires and they're defeated by the enemy. They're. They're taken into Babylon, they're in exile. And Ezekiel is raised up as a prophet. He's prophesying during this time, and he's prophesying about a future time where God's warning them. Because in, in the year 586, about 11 years later, if I'm doing the math right here, Jerusalem is destroyed and the temple is totally destroyed. The land is taken captive. It's, it's totally obliterated. I mean, this is Jerusalem, the city of God. This is the temple that God had built. This is. This is the place where heaven and earth are touching. It's almost like a glimpse into the future. It's a glimpse into the past in the Garden of Eden, when heaven and earth were one. And then sin disrupts it. And God says, no, I want to give you a purpose, like heaven and earth are gonna be one again in Revelation. But for now, I'm gonna be with you in this tent of meeting, in this tabernacle, in this temple. And it got so bad that God's presence, you know, left the temple. The people are exiled, and God says, I'm gonna destroy the very place where heaven and earth are to. That's pretty big.
[00:26:26] And. And. And Ezekiel's prophesying about. He says, Chapter 22, about one to three years, scholars say, before the destruction of the temple. And look at the rebuke in Ezekiel, chapter 22. He starts with rebuking the leaders. Chapter 22, verse 6 and 7. He says, the leaders for their abuse of power, their oppression of people for financial gain. They're manipulating people for finances in a whole long list of sins. So he starts with the leaders and the rulers of Israel. Then he goes to the priests, and he says, the priests, they're violating God's instructions. They're defiling holy things. They're disregarding the Sabbath. They have no honor for God. They're not stopping, pausing and honoring God. God is no longer first, and these are the priests. Then he goes on and starts rebuking the prophets, because the prophets, even though Israel is sinning, they're giving good words to Israel. He hey, it's okay. It's not that bad. God loves you. He's a good God. He doesn't even care that much. And God is saying, my prophets are giving false visions, and they're lying in their prophetic words. They're saying, all is well, but it's not. They're giving words that aren't even mine.
[00:27:33] All is good. All is good. All is good. He's like, they're. The prophets are lying.
[00:27:39] And then the people, he starts to confront them. In verse 29, he says, the people, they're oppressing the poor. They're robbing the needy. The foreigners are coming in, but they're unjust to them. They're treating people really badly. And so the nation is a disaster. And God says, man, you guys are in exile. And I wanted to at least save Jerusalem. I wanted to save the temple But I'm going to destroy it. And then God says, but I'm looking for a man. Is there someone that's going to turn this around? Like, like Moses in Exodus, chapter 32 that we talked about earlier this year, where the people have prostrated themselves and become prostitutes and to God, and, you know, like, before this idol, they make this image and they're doing this, all this wicked stuff, lewd behavior. And God says, moses, step aside. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to start over with you.
[00:28:29] But there was a man that said, no, God, No God. This is your people.
[00:28:36] I want to stand in the gap.
[00:28:38] Don't put your anger on them. Put it on me.
[00:28:41] And God said, wow, a man.
[00:28:47] God found a man.
[00:28:50] And that man convinced God of four different things that God said he was going to do. And then he didn't go back and listen to that message.
[00:28:59] God found a man.
[00:29:04] In Ezekiel's day, he was looking for a man and he found none. So what happens? One to three years later, the city of God is destroyed and obliterated. Jerusalem, the temple is totally destroyed, comes to total ruins. This is not the will of God.
[00:29:26] But humans abdicated their authority, their voice.
[00:29:30] Who will go for us?
[00:29:34] God is so grieved with the pain, with the abuse, with the unjustness, with the stuff that's going on in our world. It is not his will.
[00:29:44] There are people that are dying of sicknesses and diseases because of sin. We have sins that have been passed on and passed on and passed on. It's affected DNA, it's affected biology, and God hates it. Jesus is on this earth delivering people of that stuff. And we think, like, oh, let's just trust God, like, whatever he wants.
[00:30:03] We know what God wants. He showed it to us in his word. He showed it to us in his life. We know what God wants.
[00:30:10] Church. What if we stayed in the tension and said, God, I'll go for you. I'll do what's uncomfortable.
[00:30:17] What if we didn't come just to spectate and cheer people on that are doing the work? What if we all did the work?
[00:30:25] You know, sometimes we want the.
[00:30:27] The apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor and the teacher to do everything in the body of Christ. But that's not God's. That's not God's way. God gives those anointings to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Can I tell you that I'm not a prophet by any stretch of the imagination?
[00:30:41] Had a hard time hearing God my whole entire life Started practicing that muscle. And now I, like, any person can come to me. I just, like, turn off my natural mind. My. My. My fleshly carnal thoughts, and I just tap into the. To the thoughts of God. And all of a sudden this river start to turn on. And I just say, like, I think the Lord's saying this, and this verse is coming on my mind, and this is going to happen in your life. And all of a sudden you're like, whoa, prophet of God? I'm like, no, no, not at all. I'm just a sheep. I just honored that anointing in the body of Christ. And so I can prophesy because I'm just a sheep. Because all of us are called to be apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral, able to teach. Every member is called to be a minister and make a difference. Can I tell you that your neighborhood doesn't need people in your neighborhood probably might never step foot in a church unless you go.
[00:31:29] You can invite them to church all you want, but what about us stepping into our neighborhoods, into our business places? There's people in this world. They're not going to come to church to hear your pastor articulate the gospel. You are their hope. And if you say no, I don't know if someone else is coming.
[00:31:49] You know, this past week, I was. I was at a restaurant with my family, and I was parking the car because it was super windy and rainy and whatever else, so I just dropped them off, and then I went into the parking lot and I parked the car, and then I was, like, running inside, and there was a homeless man sitting right on the sidewalk, like, right in front of the windows of this restaurant. And he said, sir, sir, excuse me, do you have some money? And I was like, no, man, I don't have any cash. I'm so sorry. And I just ran in there. But, like, you know, often I'm like, man, I don't know if, like, every single homeless person, their problem is money. There's. There's probably more there. And so, I don't know. That was like, maybe like an automatic. A little bit of a no, and maybe I should need to be rebuked for that. But it was just like, oh, man, like, with my family right now. And then I just. Something, like, caught my eye. I looked at him, and someone caught my eye, and I just felt this, like, I know I don't have any cash. That was easy. But, like, I might have some in the car. There's. I think I have a zipper bag in my. In my backpack with some Dollars in there. I was like, he's like, I just want to buy something, you know? He's like, I want to buy some groceries. And I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, but that wasn't the point. I was going to use it to actually talk to him about the Lord. And so I go into this restaurant, and my family's sitting there, and I was like.
[00:32:58] And I was just telling him, like, oh, yeah, I just passed that homeless guy. I want to actually talk to him afterwards.
[00:33:03] And then my daughter, Emmy, she's five. She's like, yeah, dad. I'm like, emmy, do you wanna. Do you wanna go talk to that man over there sitting outside and give him some money and tell him that Jesus loves him? Yeah, dad, but you're gonna come with me? Yeah. Yeah, Emmy, I do. And so we're making this plan, and I'm like, we're eating our food. I'm keeping an eye out. He's still on the sidewalk. And then, like, he's there the whole time. And we get to the end of our meal, and just for a minute, I'm just not looking. And I look, I'm like, wait, he's gone. We're, like, almost done with the meal. I'm, like, looking out in the parking lot everywhere. I'm like, no, where did he go? He couldn't have gone far. There's literally, like, a minute ago, I saw him. So I'm, like, running out there. I go to my car, and I'm like. I'm driving around, and I'm, like, anxiously looking for this guy, and he's not there. I'm like, oh, why didn't I stop when I felt that right at the moment? Why didn't I, like, leave the meal, like, run back to the car? Like, why didn't I do that?
[00:33:50] I could easily be like, well, you know, there's a lot of Christians in this world. God's going to use somebody else.
[00:33:56] That's a massive problem.
[00:33:59] That's a problem. And the Lord convicted me. And I was like, God, I'm so sorry I missed that opportunity.
[00:34:07] I should have not thought. Like, I shouldn't have had that backup plan, which was kind of good.
[00:34:13] I should have just, like, right away, like, sir, silver and gold. I don't have. Here's a few dollars.
[00:34:21] But, like, God loves you.
[00:34:25] He's got a plan for your life. And then just turn off my carnal mind and start to love on him.
[00:34:30] I should have done that.
[00:34:33] But we think, like, God's in control, someone will come. What if that man doesn't get another shot?
[00:34:41] We need to feel the responsibility as the body of Christ to take our place.
[00:34:50] Yeah, we have testimonies like Kathryn Kuhlman. She's like, God called, I think three men before me. And they all said no, but I said yes.
[00:34:59] Because in that generation, like, women in ministry was not a thing. Yet it is more now. Thank God for good teaching and back to the Bible, back to God's heart. But back then it wasn't a thing. So it's like, man, really, like four people abdicated their obedience to God.
[00:35:16] And you know, this woman's testimony is that God had to use her. It's like, it's time for us to grow our body of Christ.
[00:35:26] Oh, man.
[00:35:34] I want us to just listen to the Lord and just respond in these next 15 more minutes before we close service, What has God been inviting you into?
[00:35:52] And you felt that it was God, but then was easier to get a little more comfortable and say, yeah, I'll do that. Like, yeah, yeah, I'll do that.
[00:36:01] Where have you been like me this week? Where I was like, oh, yeah, like, I'll totally follow up with that guy.
[00:36:16] Holy Spirit, our eyes are open, our ears are open.
[00:36:23] Speak to us.
[00:36:26] Will you just tell the Lord that I want to just take two or three minutes to just listen to God as we and this service.
[00:36:33] Not an emotionalism, but just the hearing of God.
[00:36:40] Because God wants every member a minister. He wants us to be active.
[00:36:44] He wants us to open up our hearts, our homes.
[00:36:50] Will you open up your home?
[00:36:53] That's a sacrifice.
[00:36:55] Let people into your home to love on them in America, man, that's a sacrifice.
[00:37:06] I have a life group of like 23 guys, and every week I'm like, can someone open up their home? And it's like once or twice a year someone opens up their home so we can have life group there instead of my house, man.
[00:37:23] Don't mean to tell on my friends.
[00:37:28] What if we stepped into uncomfortable so that someone's life could be repaired, restored, so that marriages could be healed?
[00:37:42] Are we good with comfortable Christianity cheering on the anointed men of God and women of God, or are we going to get in the game?
[00:37:54] Holy Spirit, where are you inviting me into partnership right now?
[00:38:00] Did you ask him?
[00:38:04] Sometimes that partnership looks like prayer because you've tried to make it happen and it hasn't happened. And the Lord is asking you to pray through it, declare it.
[00:38:13] Our partnership can be prayer.
[00:38:16] Where have you stopped praying because of disappointment and he's called you to see it happen. He's called you to see it through. But you gave up.
[00:38:24] You got weary in well doing. You got weary in prayer, abdicated your responsibility. Well, God's in control. He'll take care of it.
[00:38:35] Is it obedience? Has God asked you to do something and you've been delaying it?
[00:38:40] Is it a conversation you've avoided? God's been asking you to go confront something, someone to have that conversation, to speak up. You've been discerning something and you've been delaying.
[00:38:51] Where's God asking you to partner with him?
[00:38:54] Has it been delayed obedience?
[00:38:58] If something comes to mind, I just want you to just receive it. Don't overanalyze it. Just in whatever way he's asking you to respond, just say, yes, Lord, here I am.
[00:39:11] God's not looking for perfection. He's not looking for readiness. He's not looking for you to have it together. He's just looking for, here I am, Lord.
[00:39:19] I'll say something, I'll do something.
[00:39:22] I want to do what's right. I want your will on the earth, God.
[00:39:26] I'm going to do something about it.
[00:39:31] Here we are, Lord.
[00:39:36] Make us like Isaiah. God, I want us to just. We're going to go into worship. You can sit, you can kneel, do whatever you want. But I just want us to stay in this moment. I want you to catch the burden of God's heart. What is heaven saying over your neighborhood? What's heaven saying over the address right next to your house?
[00:40:02] What's heaven saying over your workplace?
[00:40:06] What's heaven saying over the places that you shop and frequent, over your gym?
[00:40:14] Is heaven crying out, man, these people are so broken. I wish someone would go for us.
[00:40:21] Who will go for us? Will I find a man or woman that will go, that will intercede, that will hold back hell from destruction?
[00:40:34] Thank you for joining Kingdom Movement online. I pray and hope that that sermon impacted you deeply. I would love if you shared this with a few friends and family. And before you go, don't forget to subscribe. See you next week.
