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Q & A -- Joshua Generation
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Like! Share! Subscribe! You've sent in your juiciest Bible questions! 1) Do Christians have to follow the OT food restrictions? 2) In the OT, Jesus says to stone adulterers. In the NT, He stops an adulteress from being stoned. Why? 3) Do women need to wear head coverings? 4) How do I pray? 5) What are the fruit of Holy Spirit? 6) What are the gifts of Holy Spirit? 7) Footholds VS Strongholds Let's discuss them. Let's go!!! Also, if you would like a copy of the Discipleship Bible studies, reach out to me and we'll make it happen! The content used in this video is intended for educational and informational purposes only. All rights to the images, music, clips, and other materials used belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership over any third-party content used. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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Transcript
Joshua Generation Q&A Session
00:00:03
Speaker
All right, so for our first ever Joshua Generation Q&A,
00:00:11
Speaker
the questions that you submitted are as follows.
00:00:17
Speaker
One, do Christians have to follow the Old Testament food restrictions?
Old Testament Food Restrictions
00:00:24
Speaker
Leviticus has a very bad name among Christians. Personally, I love it. I think it's an incredibly interesting book.
00:00:30
Speaker
But... If you're a foodie, like I am, you might not like certain chapters of it, where it says you can't eat this, you can't eat this, you can't eat this, you can't eat this. And people sometimes misunderstand why not.
00:00:45
Speaker
And then the next logical question is, well, can I do it today?
Capital Punishment in the Bible
00:00:52
Speaker
Then number two, in the Old Testament, and because Jesus is the God Moses spoke to on Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai, which we looked at in discipleship a couple Wednesdays ago, Jesus says to stone adulterers, there are some capital punishment sins. Adultery is one of them.
00:01:13
Speaker
Where sexual sin was national sin and had to be purged amongst the people. This was in... The wilderness, Moses had just led the Hebrew slaves out slavery. In the wilderness, Jesus told them they had to be completely different from every other nation on earth.
00:01:34
Speaker
And that meant being zealous for holiness and hating sin. Now we should still have those mentalities today. But in the New Testament, there's a moment where an adulteress is about to be stoned to death by the Pharisees and Jesus stops from happening.
00:01:51
Speaker
So why the flip? Why was he pro capital punishment? And then suddenly it was a no, no.
Head Coverings for Women
00:02:01
Speaker
Do women need to wear head coverings? This is an interesting one where there are some Christians who would say absolutely 100% women have to wear hats or scarves or whatever.
00:02:15
Speaker
um Not so many decades ago in Ireland, this is quite normal. I even know, let's see, maybe 30 years ago. There's a church in England that I used to go to about 30 years ago.
00:02:32
Speaker
And one of their, um may have been one of the first times that they ever were going to a woman preach, if not the first time. and a lot of the women in the church really were not happy at the idea of a woman with a microphone or a woman on the stage and and and they really kicked up a fuss they thought all the women should just you know wear hats and sit demurely in the pews and when they realized that this was happening think
00:03:02
Speaker
80% of the church left the congregation. um So it's something that, yeah, people take very, very seriously. So let's have a look.
Understanding Prayer Methods
00:03:13
Speaker
Number four, the question, how do I pray? a super special, awesome, amazing question.
00:03:20
Speaker
It's something people might think they know the answer to, but the actual answer is a lot richer than they often imagine.
00:03:30
Speaker
Number five is a question, what are the fruits of Holy Spirit versus what are the gifts of Holy Spirit?
Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit
00:03:38
Speaker
Sometimes I hear believers use those words interchangeably. They're not the same thing.
00:03:44
Speaker
And then number seven is on the difference between giving the enemy a foothold and the enemy having stronghold in your soul.
00:03:56
Speaker
So seven super questions. And again, if you think of more questions, we will not have time to go through them because I'm looking at 68 PowerPoints in front of me right now. Well, not PowerPoints, PowerPoint slides. But do write them down and we'll come to them another day.
00:04:15
Speaker
After each question... is answered. I'll pause for a moment and see if you have any follow-ups on that particular topic, okay? Don't start asking, you know, something random like, this Bible passage says this, and this one says this. Are they the same? are the day If you have a follow-up question on the actual topic, that's fine.
Levitical Food Laws and Jesus' Teachings
00:04:40
Speaker
All right. Food restrictions. In the book of Leviticus, chapter 11, verses 1 to 47. And Leviticus is the third book in the Bible.
00:04:53
Speaker
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. This was set after the Hebrews left slavery in Egypt. The Lord tells them that they're not allowed to eat camels, or the hyrax, rabbits,
00:05:11
Speaker
Pigs, and any creature that moves along the ground on its belly or walks on all fours or many feet, yada, yada, yada. The Lord says that these animals are unclean.
00:05:25
Speaker
Now, sometimes people hear the word unclean and they get bit confused. Unclean can mean it's morally wrong to do something. Or it can mean it is ritually wrong to do something.
00:05:40
Speaker
in terms of, and in the Old Testament, there were lots of rituals and feast days and procedures that were applicable to some people or applicable to other people or applicable to all people in the nation of Israel.
00:06:00
Speaker
This was about ritual, uncleanliness. It didn't mean that eating a rabbit actually meant that you were like, you know the worst human being in the world, per se.
00:06:11
Speaker
But it was about ritually unclean. And what the Lord really wanted was his people to look different to everybody else.
00:06:22
Speaker
To look different from the Egyptians. To look different to the Amorites. The Ammonites. The Girgashites.
00:06:34
Speaker
the Philistines, the Amalekites, all the enemies that we look at every week who are trying to kill God's people in the Old Testament. He wanted his people to be different from them in very unique ways, that just by looking at them in the external, you'd know, okay, these are different people. These are God's people.
00:06:55
Speaker
By looking at what they eat, what they say, what they don't say, how they communicate, how they worship the Lord, how they don't worship the Lord, you would say, okay, there's something uniquely different about this one.
00:07:07
Speaker
Now that is true for us today as well. We just don't have the same requirements and procedures as they had the Old Testament. So this was the basis for the question.
00:07:18
Speaker
In Leviticus, they were told, don't eat pigs. So there were no pork chops seat in your dinner table.
00:07:25
Speaker
There are Christians today who would still subscribe to that. There are Christians today who would not eat um pork chops. They wouldn't eat white pudding. They wouldn't eat black pudding.
00:07:38
Speaker
They would actually see it as sin. They would see it as something grotesque, as something horrid, as something awful, as something that meant you're a bad person, you're a sinner.
00:07:51
Speaker
But that is not the case. Because in Mark 7, 19,
00:07:58
Speaker
during Jesus' earthly ministry of almost 2,000 years later. Well, that's a bit of stretch. 1,300, 400 years later or so.
00:08:11
Speaker
He specifically said, he was teaching a group of people, and he said, since it does not reach into his heart, but only his digestive tract, and so passes on into place designed to receive waste,
00:08:26
Speaker
Thus he was making and declaring all foods ceremonially clean. That is abolishing the ceremonial distinctions of the Levitical law. So in Mark 7, 19, Jesus basically says, it is not food that's unclean.
00:08:49
Speaker
It's the issue of the human heart. The whole food restriction rule. was to be a picture of being set apart, being holy unto God.
00:09:04
Speaker
Don't eat this, that way people will know that you believe in one true God. What happened was people stopped eating that food, but they did not believe in one true God.
00:09:18
Speaker
That's how you have the Pharisees. They can quote the Old Testament, but they can't even recognize Jesus, God with skin on, and he's standing in front of them. What happened was they took the rule, the law, they made it cultural, they made it tradition, but they had no actual relationship with the Lord.
00:09:37
Speaker
So what Jesus saying is that distinction was to be a picture that you were set apart for God, but actually the food itself is not inherently wrong and itself.
00:09:51
Speaker
But at this point, he said, no, all the food's clean. It's fine. That was true for a time. But now you can eat whatever you want. It's all good. and And then what happens immediately afterwards in Mark 7, 24 to Mark 8, 10, is he then began speaking to people who are non-Jewish.
00:10:17
Speaker
The Jews were his main focus. He came to feed the large sheep of Israel. But after this, then he came to a Syro-Phenician woman and helped her with a child who was demon-possessed.
00:10:32
Speaker
But then he went to Tyre, <unk> to to Dalmanuta. He went to some non-Jewish, more Gentile areas.
00:10:45
Speaker
So when he abolished the food law rule, when he removed that, when he wiped that from the record, when he retconned this, that's when he began to reach out to some of the Gentiles.
00:10:59
Speaker
So were the food laws legit for a time? Yes. They were to be a picture that you were a different kind of people, not the same as everybody else.
00:11:10
Speaker
That there was something uniquely different about you that set you apart from everyone. But then Jesus, when he's on the earth, then said, OK, I'm doing away with that because now I don't want any distinctions. I want everybody in my family.
00:11:29
Speaker
And then he began a ah limited Gentile outreach on the earth. All right. Any specific questions on the food restrictions or is that OK for everybody now?
00:11:53
Speaker
Yeah, no difficulties. and a minute
00:12:02
Speaker
Alright.
Capital Offenses from Old to New Testament
00:12:03
Speaker
Capital offenses. I think, to be honest, this is probably where people stop liking the Virgo Leviticus if they had even enjoyed it before. And because people do not like just how much God hates evil.
00:12:18
Speaker
Alright, so in Leviticus chapter 20, verses versus one to twenty seven He goes into and capital punishment. Child sacrifice was a capital offense.
00:12:35
Speaker
For those who committed child sacrifice,
00:12:39
Speaker
God had no wanted no part of that whatsoever in his nation. That was a big no-no. You got the chop.
00:12:49
Speaker
Cursing one's parents. Now, this doesn't just mean, you know, you you have a wobble, you have a bad day, and you say something a little bit naughty. We're talking about people, like, you know, actually speaking death and destruction over their parents, speaking the enemy's report, speaking the devil's opinion over them.
00:13:09
Speaker
And in the Ten Commandments, honoring your parents is one of the Ten Commandments that actually carries a blessing attached to it. That if you honor your mother and your father, you will have long life. God will bless you.
00:13:25
Speaker
So therefore, the opposite is true by law of attraction. If actually you're cursing your parents, you can expect the curse to rebound or attach to you.
00:13:37
Speaker
Adultery. Sexual sin. creates national sin. We looked at that last week, how issues start with one bloodline, or with well one couple, it actually introduces death and destruction into bloodlines, if what they're doing is sinful to begin with. a And in this case, when someone who adulterated, both people and were in a very, very dangerous situation.
00:14:07
Speaker
the Sexual deviancy. Having sex with your parents spouse. Why would you? Well, having sex with your child's spouse. Homosexual acts.
00:14:19
Speaker
Marrying a parent and a child at the same time. That is just nuts to me. Who would think of doing that? Trying to commit bestiality or committing bestiality and incest and occultist.
00:14:33
Speaker
As you can see here,
00:14:39
Speaker
This is not, or at least should not, be normal behavior to begin with. I mean, occultism, witchcraft, child sacrifice, biggest example of witchcraft there is.
00:14:50
Speaker
am Cursed in one's parents, all this, bestiality. All the nations surrounding God's people were doing this.
00:15:02
Speaker
And the Lord said, N-O spells no. You will have nothing to do with them. You will have no part with them. You are to be a completely and utterly different and unique group of people.
00:15:16
Speaker
You are not to be the same.
00:15:22
Speaker
Now, regarding the adultery, Leviticus chapter 20, verse 10 says that both people involved in adultery were to receive capital punishment, but no specific means of this punishment were actually were mentioned.
00:15:40
Speaker
In Deuteronomy 22, 22 to it says, if a man and woman had an affair, and this woman was betrothed to another man, she was engaged, she someone else's fiance, both were to receive capital punishment by stoning. This is very, very serious. The Lord absolutely hated this kind of carry-on, but kind of not them.
00:16:07
Speaker
Today, people are so soap opera obsessed that, well, you know, if there's always an excuse. You know, someone's just looking to be loved and blah, bla blah, blah, blah. God despises this.
00:16:18
Speaker
But while people don't really like the idea of this, the reality is this was a nation who had been in bondage for probably about a century.
00:16:31
Speaker
They were released from slavery and still had a slave mentality. Because you can take slaves out of Egypt. Taking Egypt out of the slaves is a lot harder.
00:16:46
Speaker
But what the Lord was doing in Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy was nation building. They had to be a strong, secure nation with a zero tolerance policy for sin. It did not mean everyone ever sinned, got the death penalty. No.
00:17:04
Speaker
The ones on the screen, the important ones, the ones, But it's about that being intolerant to sin. Sin should actually cause a stench in your nostrils.
00:17:15
Speaker
When you see sin, you should actually go... You shouldn't like the look of it. What's happened today is actually people have... They're so used to sin in their own lives and lives of others, in TV, in movies, in music, that actually...
00:17:33
Speaker
people have such a watered down opinion of sin. Like think of when the Beatles first came back from, do you call this, India, and everything, all of a sudden, all their music and their appearance got very Hindi, got very mystical.
00:17:47
Speaker
And even some of their songs earlier and the whole drugs thing. There were Christians who were like no literally having you mass dumps and and and and burnings of everything Beatles oriented. They just wanted no part of it in their house.
00:18:01
Speaker
Now look at today. Where actually Christians will sit down and watch Netflix for, you know, five, six hours a day, watching people get their heads blown off, watching people getting assassinated, and watching people committing lewd sex acts, you know, with their trousers down, every body part on display, and don't bat an eyelid.
00:18:22
Speaker
People's tolerance for sin is very high. Their acceptance for sin is very high. Their acceptance and complicity, let's be honest, is very high.
00:18:34
Speaker
Or in Ireland, you know, um we had a JM Singh wrote the playboy of the Western world. think it was performed in the Abbey Theatre the first time. And there's one line in it, which is just very provocative and sexual, shall we say.
00:18:51
Speaker
People stormed that theatre and protested. They were outraged. You know we can't have this filth and this smut in our institutions. And now not only would that not happen,
00:19:04
Speaker
But if a Christian were to speak out against smut, other Christians would be tended to shut up because they themselves are watching it or doing it. So in Leviticus, you're looking at slaves becoming a nation.
00:19:17
Speaker
They had to be strong. They had to be hardline. They had to be intolerant towards evil. So that's why the Lord is so strong about it and so stern about it.
00:19:28
Speaker
But then the question is, Okay, but there is a time in the New Testament where Jesus actually stops a woman from being stoned to death.
Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
00:19:37
Speaker
and So why did that happen? Why was he okay with it at one point and then fast forward and he's not? Great question.
00:19:45
Speaker
So if you have a Bible, look at John chapter 8, verse 1 to 11. John chapter 8, verse 1 to 11.
00:19:57
Speaker
It says this.
00:20:00
Speaker
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn, he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
00:20:12
Speaker
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, Teacher, sir this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Pause for 10 seconds.
00:20:58
Speaker
All right, so the teachers of the law. Brandon. it's Brandon. A woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, teacher.
00:21:12
Speaker
They didn't really believe the teacher. They absolutely hated the man. They just pretended to be polite. This woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law of Moses, not realizing that Jesus was God and Jesus gave that law to Moses.
00:21:28
Speaker
In law of Moses, it's commanded that we stone such women. What do you say? They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
00:21:41
Speaker
But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, they were pestering him, trying to wear him down, he straightened up and said to them, If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
00:22:00
Speaker
Again, he stooped down and wrote to the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time. The older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
00:22:17
Speaker
Jesus straightened up and asked her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, sir, she said. Then neither do I condemn, you Jesus declared.
00:22:32
Speaker
Go now and leave your life of sin. All right, we've got a couple of things to look at here.
00:22:41
Speaker
In the law that Jesus gave Mount Sinai to Moses all the way back in the third book of the Bible, okay, so a lot of time in history passes between Jesus giving that law and this event.
00:23:00
Speaker
He said, that for those who were caught in adultery, there was a death penalty. He did not specify what that was.
00:23:13
Speaker
It's only if it was a man sleeping with someone else's fiance, then the penalty was the death penalty by stoning.
00:23:24
Speaker
Here, there is no reason to believe she is anyone's fiance because we're not told it. So that would suggest that the Pharisees don't actually care about holiness.
00:23:36
Speaker
They just want to be cruel and mean.
00:23:40
Speaker
Secondly, was the punishment in Leviticus for one person or for two?
00:23:46
Speaker
It was for both. Here, they only bring one person to Jesus, the woman. So this is not so much...
00:23:59
Speaker
about wanting holiness and righteousness. This is about hating women. This about wanting to keep women down. This is wanting to bludgeon women.
00:24:11
Speaker
So one, they're mixed and matching punishments. And secondly, this is just a culture that treats women incredibly badly. And then secondly, these Pharisees and teachers, the ones who are actually paid to teach the Bible,
00:24:30
Speaker
They refer to as the law of Moses because they're trying to trap Jesus, not realizing that Jesus is God himself. So this is not coming from a heart that's humble. It's not coming from a real place. It's not coming from real faith.
00:24:45
Speaker
It's coming from a place of trying to trap Jesus. try and make him say something so they can turn crowds against him. And they have a patsy, basically. They want the woman to take the fall and they want to sacrifice her take down Jesus.
00:25:01
Speaker
So nothing that happens here is about justice. Nothing that happens here is about holiness. Nothing here is about righteousness. This is just about hating Jesus and hating women. And we see that even in the Beatitudes when Jesus said, you know, if a man looks at a woman, you know, he shouldn <unk> extreme you should, he should cluck out his eye rather than looking at her with lust and adultery in his heart.
00:25:24
Speaker
In that culture, people would always have blamed women for being, oh, well, she's just a seductress, well, she's a harlot, she's a sloth, well, she's looking for sex. So what did Jesus do?
00:25:36
Speaker
He put the onus on the man. He had a a cultural shift, a perspective shift because he knew that in that culture, women were seen as responsible for everything that went wrong in the world.
00:25:50
Speaker
And I think what's really beautiful actually is he never asks her her name. He never says, what's your name? Kira. Hi, Kira, nice to meet you. When he talks to her, he says, woman.
00:26:04
Speaker
And in the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve were called Adam and Eve, they were called a man And the woman. So he looks at this woman.
00:26:16
Speaker
And he calls her basically Eve. In the Garden of Eden. He says spotless. Clean. Holy. Forgiven.
00:26:27
Speaker
Mine. Created with the purpose. When he says woman. That's what he's like what he's saying here. And he says. I'm not going to condemn you. Because all these guys are sinners. But they just get away with it. Because they're on the payroll.
00:26:42
Speaker
Oh, these guys are evil. They just get away with it because they're wearing fancy robes you can't afford. so actually he was calling out their hypocrisy. And he said, listen, i'm not going to condemn you.
00:26:53
Speaker
But he says, go now and leave your life of sin. So he still has a zero tolerance policy for sin. But what the Pharisees, the teachers the law did, was they sucked the love of God out of everything.
00:27:10
Speaker
and they just try to use and abuse the legal system and the law to abuse people that they didn't like.
00:27:23
Speaker
All right. Any questions on that one? are that all clear? So he was sort of, we could think that he was using her as an example for women in general, Lothman was talking about her. that Exactly, because in that system you had the Pharisees,
00:27:40
Speaker
were let's say seen as the arbiters of the word of God. We're the ones who can see everything and the words. We're the ones know everything. But yet they would manipulate it against their enemies. if feel they didn't like They would add cultural tradition to the word of God. So let's say but what so something people say in Ireland, something like... and
00:28:10
Speaker
Let's see. I think it was one of the top of the top my head. Let's make the expression, ah, sure, there's always something. That's kind of like, you know, if it rains, people think it's the worst thing in the world.
00:28:22
Speaker
They would get like a cultural norther expression and regard that as an equal par with the word of God. So then people are like, oh, so what's God's actual opinion? Or they would attack people in their own city, and remember, like the Roman Empire has invaded, has taken over the country, and the religious people, who are supposed to have the answers and do some soul healing, are actually beaten down the people as well.
00:28:52
Speaker
So they've been attacked by international invaders, and they've attacked by their own religious establishment, who hate each other, but will work together towards achieving more power, and removing Jesus ultimately on the cross.
00:29:05
Speaker
um But very, very anti-women. a and were willing to trample on anyone to get more power. And ultimately when they crucified Jesus, I would actually say that they knew he was legit, or at least if they didn't believe he was God, they knew he was sent from God.
00:29:26
Speaker
But ultimately They would rather have evil people running around who would not call out their sin than a holy man who would. So the attack of Jesus was very jealousy and envy based.
00:29:41
Speaker
But yeah, a society very, very anti-women in as far back as Genesis 1. God gave equal billing and equal standing to men and women.
00:29:53
Speaker
But the Pharisees, because they were the ones who could read, they're the ones who are on the payroll, teaching with their job, they would pick what they wanted, twist what they wanted, they wanted, and to get power over people.
00:30:09
Speaker
Yeah, no worries.
00:30:17
Speaker
Steve Bautista, All right, Steve saw your message there in the chat box, are able to see the slides now. Steve Bautista, No, Brandon no not yet. Steve Bautista, think. Steve Bautista, laptop I think I had that issue before, and you did something and changed for me. Steve Bautista, yeah let's try again.
00:30:43
Speaker
I have an old laptop so it's probably an issue here or something you know um you see it now yeah I can see it now Brendan yeah okay great yeah happy days alright guys thank you no problem alright so the next question that came in is another great one and it's how do I pray
00:31:11
Speaker
yep this is the number four
00:31:18
Speaker
Okay, so 1 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1, so this is in the New Testament, talks about different ways that we can pray to God.
Types of Prayer in Christianity
00:31:31
Speaker
And it gives four different words. Now, there are lots of different ways, but yeah it goes into four here.
00:31:38
Speaker
And it says, I urge you then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving, be made for everyone.
00:31:52
Speaker
So let's look at prayers first. The word prayer in Greek means personal communication with God and communal communication God.
00:32:04
Speaker
Praying to the Lord, just yourself, individually, and praying corporately, praying as a group. And there are different You i say different protocols when it's one-on-one with the Lord, when there are people around.
00:32:20
Speaker
Oh, yeah, there are things I pray with Jesus when it's just me that I would not be called dancing if anyone else were in here in distance. And that's okay, it's just the two of us. Then when there are other people around, obviously, you know, you have a different conversation, you know, with your sibling than you perhaps have, you know, with your next-door neighbor.
00:32:39
Speaker
It's the same with for prayer. Um... There's a certain level of transparency you might go into when it's just you and the Lord. And then there's a a certain level of transparency that you'll go into when it's you, the Lord, and 10 other people.
00:32:56
Speaker
And prayer more generally means an exchange of wishes. Not wishes as in he's a genie, you only go to him when you want to rub the lamp. But you can tell him, God, I need a new job.
00:33:12
Speaker
Lord, finances, help. Lord, I want to get married. God, I want a bigger house than this.
00:33:23
Speaker
God, my car is driving me crazy. i pray for a new one. And there's no point not telling him on these things because he already knows how you
00:33:37
Speaker
feel. 1 Timothy 2.1 also mentions petitions. Well, what is a petition? A petition is a heartfelt begging. A rising out of deep personal needs, a sense of lack or want.
00:33:53
Speaker
Some people think it's almost undignified to speak to God in such a way. They're like, you know, oh, just be happy with what you have. it is what it is. say love It's not going to change.
00:34:05
Speaker
Nonsense. God knows what keeps you up at night. God knows what consumes your head from the sun up till sundown. It should be him, but if it's something that's more prevalent, just cry out to him.
00:34:21
Speaker
Heartfelt begging, no. Nor God. I'd really like this if you have time, if you have enough money and resource. I hate we were nice to use, but if you don't, it's okay. Nonsense.
00:34:32
Speaker
From the bottom of your belt, let your heart's cry ring out.
00:34:42
Speaker
It also translates in English as earnest, fervent, please. Think of please and please, please, please, please. please please please That kind of begging.
00:34:55
Speaker
it's It's okay to get emotional when you pray. When we look at the psalms that David wrote and sang, and he's singing about being gang stalked, being harassed.
00:35:06
Speaker
These people are right to get him. These people are betraying him. These people don't like him. So-and-so said such-and-such.
00:35:14
Speaker
So often people read the Bible because it's a holy book. They go he parted the heavens and came down. Dark clouds
00:35:28
Speaker
were under his feet. numbers God gave us emotions for a rebound. Okay, not every person needs to see you at your most emotional and constant. Not every person has a responsibility to deal with your emotions.
00:35:42
Speaker
God can handle them. God can handle them, and he wants you to be real. Your relationship with God should be the most real, authentic, vibrant, face-to-face, no-holds-barred, unrestricted relationship in your life.
00:36:01
Speaker
At every stage of your life.
00:36:06
Speaker
It also translates in English as urgent desires. There are moments when something just happens and you just go into, oh my goodness, I can't believe this.
00:36:17
Speaker
Maybe you're driving your car and you see a car crash. maybe you're driving your car and you see a car crash or you're walking along the road and you see black smoke coming out of a window, and you're like, oh my goodness, there's fire in there.
00:36:30
Speaker
That urgent desire for people's well-being and divine rescue and physical rescue, okay? It's okay to have emotion when you pray.
00:36:41
Speaker
Just give God your all. He can take it.
00:36:52
Speaker
1 Timothy 2, 1 also mentions intercession. Intercession means an earnest appeal or supplication to God, often for the needs of others.
00:37:05
Speaker
If the only person you're praying for, from one end of the day to the next, is yourself, something's wrong. If all your prayers are, God, I thank you for the birds. thank you for the sky. it's not really a blue sky today. It's actually cloudy and it's been in seven days.
00:37:23
Speaker
But Lord God, you know, I thank you, know, for, you know, for clocks. We can tell the time. What great invention. It's wonderful. I thank you, you know, yada, yada. That kind of thing. It's all wishy-washy.
00:37:35
Speaker
That's not intercession. If all your prayers are, God, please help me with this issue and that relationship and that person, and please help me when I do this, and I want to do this well, and that... You might be in intercession, but there's not much of a an inter, in turn not much of an integration.
00:37:54
Speaker
Intercession is when you bring other people before the Lord. And you get out of your own headspace. And there's a blessing attached to that. There is. The Bible says that those who refresh others, and there's no better way to refresh someone than what prayer, will themselves be refreshed.
00:38:13
Speaker
We're part of a body, part of a body politic, the body of Christ, different parts, we're together as one. This is where it bugs me when people say, have a personal relationship with Jesus.
00:38:27
Speaker
Well, you should, by all means. But if having a personal relationship with Jesus means you don't have a communal relationship with him, there's a problem. If having a personal relationship with God means you're never among his people, there's a problem.
00:38:46
Speaker
If having a personal relationship with God means you're never in a position where his people can challenge you or call things out, there's no stretch, you can't pour into them, there's a problem.
00:38:58
Speaker
We are a part of one body, have part to play, and we should be building each other up. and prayer is a phenomenal way of doing that. The family, church family, that prays together, stays together.
00:39:12
Speaker
It means standing in the gap for others through prayer. There are times when the strongest believers are just lying on the floor and they can't get up. And that's when the rest of us have to stand up.
00:39:25
Speaker
Stand in the gap. get down the ground with them, and be there in the process get them back up on their feet again.
00:39:35
Speaker
And to intercede literally means to act as a mediator, advocating on behalf of others to a higher authority. And there is no higher authority than Jesus.
00:39:46
Speaker
Okay, this is why every Sunday I'll say, all right, guys, any prayer requests, and we'll pray together, that's intercession. We're not praying for Random zigzaggy crap that actually means nothing. it's just hollow, just empty. It's just puffing air, puffing smoke.
00:40:05
Speaker
It's not just praying for ourselves. We pray for each other because we're commanded to.
00:40:16
Speaker
And then Ralston mentioned in this group before, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving literally translates in English as giving thanks for God's grace.
00:40:30
Speaker
Unmerited favor. Undeserved favor. The breath in your lungs.
00:40:39
Speaker
How your body works. Even doing so much more than you could possibly ever imagine. Understand.
00:40:48
Speaker
The people in your life who are blessing to you. The fact that we all have clothes. We all have a roof over our heads. We all live in and the 21st century. Yes, it's got problems. It's got evil, wicked problems.
00:41:07
Speaker
But in terms of technological advancement, running water, toilets, electricity, there's never been a better time to be alive. i mean, just that having the gratitude to stop and say, thanks.
00:41:23
Speaker
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you, Holy Spirit. a As I shared before, just a few weeks ago, someone prayed protection over me and I thought was a bit mad.
00:41:37
Speaker
couple hours later, Jeep ran into me. Well, let me tell you, I was thanking the Lord Jesus like I'd never thanked him before. and You have those moments of just that overwhelming well of thanks just comes right and out of you, that should be a heart posture every day.
00:41:57
Speaker
And to be honest with you, if you start your prayer, if you start your day with thanks, every time you pray, if you Jesus, thank you, it actually builds up your faith for what you start asking for, whether it's for yourself or for others.
00:42:15
Speaker
Because you start think, okay, God, look what you've already brought me through. Of course, you're gonna take me further. Look what you've taken me through. Of course, you're gonna bless me and you're not gonna abandon me at the last second, at the last hurdle.
00:42:37
Speaker
All right, then John 14, 14.
Power of Prayer in Jesus' Name
00:42:44
Speaker
If you want to, there's one with the biscuits. John 14, 14. Jesus says this at the last supper. You want to put them biscuits and talk? Yeah, so even for yourself, if you want to on the biscuits already, just to make your, it's easier on your fingers, just like the one that's already filled. In John 14, 14, at the last supper, Jesus says, if anyone asks anything in my name i will do it so within his will and it's in his name because there's power in the name of jesus i remember growing up and depending which church i went to things were either prayed in the name father the son and the holy spirit or just the name of jesus and to their discredit
00:43:39
Speaker
absolutely none of them ever for 15 years told me why just seemed like christianity it just seemed like was the holy thing to do and and then eventually i was 15 i was reading i was reading them john and this just jumped out at me in such a thank you uh penny dropping moment.
00:44:05
Speaker
And I was like, oh, okay. This is Jesus literally commanding you that there's power in his name. And I was like, you're beseeching God. like if you're trying to get into a nightclub or a movie or something. And was like, oh, know what? I'm with Jesus.
00:44:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, you know Jesus? He's already paid my tickets. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grace, yeah. can get a number his name. That's what this is like. you're appealing under his name. And if you're praying accordance with his will, and you believe it, and you don't give up, you'll reap a harvest.
00:44:44
Speaker
Then we have Psalm 133, 1 to And this is why we come together on Wednesdays, together on sundays Because unity is command.
00:45:01
Speaker
And unity is where the blessing is. Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren, brothers and sisters, to dwell together in unity.
00:45:18
Speaker
It is like the precious oil upon the head. And Deirdre mentioned anointing oil earlier. Running down on the beard, the beard of the Aaron, that was Moses' brother, the priest.
00:45:30
Speaker
Running down the edge of his garments. It's like the Jew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion where David would build his his castle or his palace.
00:45:42
Speaker
Sorry, the temple. and got The resources of the temple for Solomon. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
00:45:53
Speaker
or So when God's people come together in unity, and you can be together in disunity. You can come together. like I know if people go to church. I don't know why they go to the church they go to. Because all they do is put their spitting feathers on the inside. And then they're effing and blinding on their way there. And then believe it. And God, did you hear what he said this week?
00:46:15
Speaker
Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. But when there is unity, when God's people actually love each other, they're of one accord. They're in agreement with each other.
00:46:26
Speaker
They're all willing to get on board the Holy Spirit flow.
00:46:31
Speaker
The Lord pours out blessings of unity. And he blesses you because he knows it's not easy. It's not easy to be in unity with the people who live under the same roof as you.
00:46:43
Speaker
Heck, it's not even easy to be at unity with yourself sometimes. but one course it is. Of it is.
00:46:52
Speaker
it's Definitely hard when you've got people of different ages, different backgrounds, different cultures, different walks of life, different levels of faith, different points of journey with Jesus, and they expect to live in unity.
00:47:05
Speaker
God won. Almost impossible. But if people are willing to do it for Jesus, he pours out blessings, even everlasting.
00:47:25
Speaker
All right, like in Chronicles 7.14. I think this is one, if you learn nothing else today, this is one to take notes of for your nation. If my people, it always starts with God's people.
00:47:43
Speaker
If my people who are called by my name, and we know the name of God, it's Jesus, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face And turn from their wicked ways.
00:47:58
Speaker
Then I will hear from heaven. And I will forgive their sin. And I will heal their land. The nations are in crisis right now. The nations are in uproar.
00:48:11
Speaker
The nations are falling apart. and Politicians are doing a heck of a lot of it. And they're only getting away with it. Because so many of the citizenry are culpable and complicit in their own destruction.
00:48:27
Speaker
But God says, if my people it always start with his people, will humble themselves.
00:48:39
Speaker
That's a good place to start. If God's people are arrogant, proud, they think their way is the best way, God's will is not going to be done in their life.
00:48:52
Speaker
That's why I started the prayer this morning. i didn't even have this verse in my mind. But I said, God, we dethrone ourselves from the throne of our hearts. We decenter ourselves and we put Jesus back in the throne.
00:49:06
Speaker
Recognizing that he is the God of gods. He's the Lord of lords. He is lost.
00:49:14
Speaker
And they pray. That's why we're looking at prayer right now. And they seek his face. A lot of Christians don't really want to seek out God's. They have a level of understanding that they're happy with.
00:49:29
Speaker
But actually, the vastness of God is so phenomenal. I used to say as a teenager that I knew the Bible back to anyone else in my life. I'll be honest with you.
00:49:39
Speaker
I probably did, or at least I knew um a lot more than other people did. But what i learned in the Word of God last year eclipsed how well I knew him in 2024.
00:49:56
Speaker
What will have learned about the Word of God by the end of this year will make my relationship with Jesus in 2025 look like nothing by comparison.
00:50:07
Speaker
Because we're called to constantly seek his face, to knock the door so he opens it, to look so that we find, and to ask him That's what we're doing in a Q&A.
00:50:23
Speaker
It's okay to have questions, but ask him. I used to read the Bible and there were things I was like, okay, so it says this here.
00:50:33
Speaker
the next person says this. Well, they are not the same thing. But I never asked because i was afraid, what if there's a contradiction? Or what if this leader doesn't have the answers? They feel embarrassed.
00:50:47
Speaker
And, know, answering ah an eight-year-old Or I'd read something somewhere and say, okay, that is not the same as it says somewhere else. So, God, what happened there?
00:51:01
Speaker
and Or rather, that should have been my response. But I was afraid to ask questions. But actually asked him, say, Holy Spirit? That made no sense to me whatsoever.
00:51:12
Speaker
What the heck would that have
00:51:15
Speaker
And then he'll answer. He'll answer you through his voice. He'll give you lightbulb moment. He'll put you in a certain circumstance and it'll just make sense.
00:51:26
Speaker
Turning from their wicked ways. Jesus protected that woman caught in adultery from those evil men who just were out for a woman's blood and thought that they would get away with it because they wore robes and funny hats.
00:51:41
Speaker
But actually, what he said to her. Go and sin no more. Stop it. Get some help. And then I'll hear from heaven. I'll forgive their sin. They were forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Amen.
00:51:56
Speaker
And I will heal their land. That literally means I'll restore them agriculturally. Their land will grow crops, vegetation, new life.
00:52:08
Speaker
and He'll literally touch the land. And um you'll see revival. You'll see blossom. You'll see ball blooms.
00:52:17
Speaker
but all starts with God's people.
00:52:24
Speaker
Another prayer we all have to get very, very quick at saying is in Matthew 18, 18 to 20.
00:52:35
Speaker
People are not going to like you.
00:52:39
Speaker
There are people who don't like me because I'm a man. I don't know what I do to offend them, but that's their reason. There are people don't like me because I'm a Christian and I will point out things that in their life they did not want point out.
00:52:53
Speaker
I might say it in the abstract and they choose to take it personally. There are people who I've met before who didn't like me because I was Irish. Thy nation has never gone colonizing anyone else or creating empires. I don't know why the word Ireland and Irish upset people, but it did.
00:53:14
Speaker
There are people who didn't like me because of my opinion on something or other. Doesn't matter. You're going to count if people aren't going like you. I'm going to speak wickedness over you.
00:53:27
Speaker
And when that happens, you need to get very fast and efficient at binding. Jesus said, truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will bind in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
00:53:46
Speaker
Bind means imprison. Take prisoner. Put in chains. Fasten. Tie. Declare to be prohibited or unlawful.
00:54:01
Speaker
So when someone says, you have a face only a mother i could love, which is polite for you're ugly. I bind that the name of Jesus. I'm fearfully and wonderfully made.
00:54:14
Speaker
That's you're putting handcuffs on those words and you're not letting them in. When someone says, you are so screwed, I'm going to destroy you.
00:54:27
Speaker
While they're speaking a prophecy of destruction and death over you, I bind those words. I don't let them in. That's not happening. That's not my portion. They're prohibited. Those words are forbidden.
00:54:38
Speaker
I render them of no effect.
00:54:42
Speaker
And whatever you loose on earth will loose in heaven. Loose means let go. Release something that had been held back. Unbind so it's no longer held back.
00:54:55
Speaker
So perhaps the enemy bound something that was good for you. Put handcuffs on something that was good for you. Maybe it's finances.
00:55:08
Speaker
And you say, God, I loose my finances from the enemy's grip. I declare that those finances will flow freely. Maybe it's your home.
00:55:21
Speaker
And you say, Lord, the enemy has his hooks in that property. And I say, let go. Release what's been held back. Unbind it's no longer held back.
00:55:33
Speaker
Enemy, get your talons and your grip off my property. Maybe it's a person in your life. and the enemy is having field day because they are just so lost right now.
00:55:46
Speaker
And you say, God, I loose your goodness. I release your goodness over them. I loose revelation over them, and I loose them from the enemy's grip.
00:55:56
Speaker
And again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth, this is where unity comes in, i agree with anything they ask for, will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
00:56:08
Speaker
For where two or three gather in my name, including on Zoom and in the room, there I am with them. You know Jesus is literally in whatever room you're in right now on account of you visiting this house or loving on this morning.
00:56:25
Speaker
That Jesus is actually right there in our midst, sitting on the couch or the bed or the chair beside you.
00:56:39
Speaker
All right, Romans 8, 26. It's another way we pray. Likewise, Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought.
00:56:51
Speaker
Because let's be honest, sometimes there are so many needs in life, you don't know where to begin. Sometimes might be having a quiet day and you're not looking at all the world news and what's going on in the world and you just you're just a bit clueless.
00:57:05
Speaker
But Holy Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Sometimes you'll get a pang in your stomach. Just a feeling.
00:57:16
Speaker
And a feel like the feeling has words. That's Holy Spirit in you, praying and prompting you to pray. I had one such encounter I was in...
00:57:30
Speaker
Boca Manor in wicklet Wicklow Mountain. Gorgeous county in Ireland. And I think I was going to do archery and then a leap of faith where your clamp is like 100 meter structure, whatever it is, you jump off. um Or I was about to, one or the other.
00:57:50
Speaker
And next thing I got this on the inside and a name came to me. She'd been one of my friends at university. But I haven't spoken to her in and months.
00:58:02
Speaker
And just thought, oh,
00:58:06
Speaker
What was happening there? So just prayed for her. I don't think I text her because there was no cell network at the time, or at least not my phone. But then when I got back home again, i reached out and said, hey, i was praying for you a couple days ago. Are you all right?
00:58:20
Speaker
And she said, Brandon, I was in an absolutely horrific situation, a terrible time, but everything's OK now. Everything got resolved the day that I prayed.
00:58:33
Speaker
So you're gonna have those moments when you someone will you'll get a picture of someone in your head randomly, or you'll get this feeling, this turn in your stomach, but it's not a bad thing. It's a good turn in your stomach. It's a good turn in.
00:58:47
Speaker
That is Holy Spirit telling you to pray.
00:58:56
Speaker
Okay, then just another few of these. 1 Corinthians 14, 13-17 says... Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. So this is when Holy Spirit gives you a language you do not know.
00:59:15
Speaker
It could be a human language. It could be an energetic language. But you open your mouth and something comes out that's not your first language. i know I was at youth conference. I was hosting it few years back. Actually in a vocal manner at the same place as last example.
00:59:32
Speaker
And there was a Brazilian girl there. Now, I don't think she spoke a word of English. i think she just spoke Portuguese. And one of my aunts went over to pray for her.
00:59:43
Speaker
And next time my aunt opens her mouth and something came out her mouth that was not English. And next thing the girl in a broken English goes, you know you speak Portuguese?
00:59:55
Speaker
My aunt said, ah no love, English only. But you pray. Portuguese. So basically because my aunt was praying for this Brazilian girl, God just put Portuguese in my aunt's mouth and it came fluently in prayer.
01:00:15
Speaker
That is a the normal thing. a could even be an angelic language that God gets you to pray for because angels have different languages too. um But it says here, just for instructional purposes, is if you're going to pray,
01:00:31
Speaker
in a tongue, corporately. You ask for the interpretation that tongue, because otherwise you could be coming out with anything and no one actually knows what you've said. And I think it's very dangerous to say amen to something when you didn't actually understand what was being said in the first place.
01:00:49
Speaker
So you're going to pray in a tongue, it's best to do it individually and privately. you're going to it corporately, ask in advance that God actually tells you what it means. That way it behooves everybody.
01:01:04
Speaker
Alright, 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Pray continually. Some translations say pray without ceasing. It literally means in Greek, pray like you have a hacking cough.
01:01:21
Speaker
When you get a tickle in your throat you
01:01:25
Speaker
and you can't hold it in that's how God wants you to pray. Again again again again throughout your day. The first person you talk to in the morning should be God.
01:01:40
Speaker
When you've got a quiet moment in your day, should be praying to God. When someone absolutely wrecks your head, pray to God.
01:01:52
Speaker
When you get a message on WhatsApp and you think, Jake or Tyler, I'm blind to this, pray to God. When everything is going well, pray to God.
01:02:03
Speaker
When you're going for a lovely nature walk, Pray to God when you're on the toilet or in the shower. The best time is to pray to God. The only time of the day you're guaranteed a bit of peace quiet.
01:02:19
Speaker
Here's a big one. James 1, 6 to 8. Now this James was Jesus' younger brother. This would have been a natural child of Mary and Joseph.
01:02:32
Speaker
But when you ask... You must believe and not doubt. Now this guy, James, he shoots straight, doesn't it? Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
01:02:50
Speaker
That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. It doesn't mean God won't do it, but that person should readjust their expectations. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
01:03:04
Speaker
And I'll be honest with you, if someone has an unstable, shaky prayer life, it is reflected in their personality, it's reflected in what they do, it's reflected in what they don't do. Because God is the God of gods, the keny King kings, the Lord lords, the all-sufficient one, the one who is able.
01:03:22
Speaker
So when you're praying to him, God, I'm in an impossible situation, you are the God of the impossible, woohoo, amazing, recipe for success. If you say, God, I'm in an impossible situation, you're the of impossible.
01:03:39
Speaker
But all you actually do is look at the negative and there's no faith and there's just fear.
01:03:47
Speaker
James is saying, under the impression of Holy Spirit, you need to readjust your expectations. You need to pray and thank God in advance for what he's going to do.
01:04:00
Speaker
Thank God for what he's doing that you can't see. Thank God for how he's frustrating your enemies in ways you will not know until you're in heaven. Thank God for the victory you're fighting from and that you're going to see may it manifest in your life.
01:04:23
Speaker
And then Jude, who was Jesus' younger brother, he was also a biological son of Mary Joseph,
01:04:32
Speaker
It says in chapter 1, verse 20, But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in Holy Spirit.
01:04:47
Speaker
What does that mean Pray in Holy Spirit means pray by means of Holy Spirit, with the help of Holy Spirit, in the sphere of Holy Spirit, and in connection to Holy Spirit.
01:05:01
Speaker
Let Holy Spirit give you your prayer list for the day. Let Holy Spirit tell you, oh, pray for this. Oh, bear that person. Oh, pray for this. Oh, pray for this. It might come in a picture.
01:05:15
Speaker
it might come in a dream. might come in a word you keep seeing everywhere. Maybe you keep saying the same time on the clock, you know, 1.20, and then you read every book in the Bible, chapter 1, verse 20, and you're like, oh my goodness, there's a pattern in here.
01:05:33
Speaker
Wherever for tazzy to pray, that's your agenda. That's your yeah number one course of action for the day.
01:05:42
Speaker
And then Matthew 17, 21. But this is Jesus talking. But this kind of demon does not go out, except by prayer and fasting.
01:05:54
Speaker
There are certain things in your life that are not going to shift. Unless you pray and fast. Fast does not mean you starve yourself. Fast doesn't mean you give up something for Lent.
01:06:08
Speaker
Fasting is you're actually weakening the body to make the spirit stronger. You're actually foregoing food. And if you have medical health requirements, you know, be wise, is obviously.
01:06:19
Speaker
But you might say, God, I'm not going eat anything for 12 hours because I would spend probably three hours of my day being food oriented between cooking and cleaning and eating. I'm going to spend those three hours God actually praying.
01:06:36
Speaker
I'm going to carve out 12 hours today. a bank holiday weekend. Do it tomorrow. And just read your words. Get to know you more. Ask you questions. Tell you about my day Pray for this person. Pray that person. Pray that ministry. Pray for this need. Intercede here.
01:06:52
Speaker
Make your plea there. Your urgent pleas. And fast. And I'm telling there's such a difference. Especially if it's a big thing you need shifting in your life. And you know that the enemy's involved. You know there are demons involved. Not just human stupidity. You know there are actually demons there.
01:07:10
Speaker
To fast and pray is such a powerful combination, and it's one that I cannot recommend enough.
01:07:21
Speaker
All right. I know there was a lot in that, but, you know, how do I pray? As you can see there are lots of ways to pray, and it's likely by the way.
01:07:33
Speaker
Are there any follow-up questions on prayer? Or have I pretty much exhausted that topic? Yeah. a Have you got examples? Like maybe tell examples there from your life. Maybe fasted and something broke, you know, in your life. That that that is good, you know. oh maybe Laura or Mark or anyone in your surrounding, you know. There's all these witnessing, you know, life sort like strengthens that.
01:08:04
Speaker
journal on this Yeah, okay. So... I'm not breaking confidences here by saying I do lots of deliverances. i And we were talking about this yesterday.
01:08:17
Speaker
It seems like the just about everyone who's reaching out for deliverances at the moment has come from a background in Reiki.
01:08:30
Speaker
a people that I had done deliverances on before, and I come in saying, oh yeah, I actually did that before. I'm like, you didn't mention this two years ago? yeah um People who I had never met before were looking for deliverances, Reiki.
01:08:47
Speaker
did not know what that was. I'll be honest, up until not very months ago, I just thought Reiki was a massage. I didn't know anything about it. And I began to look into it, and I said, oh Oh, right.
01:09:03
Speaker
I'd heard were like chakras things before. I didn't know what they were. I thought a chakra was like round bladed weapon from Japan. I didn't know anything about this. So I did a bit of research and said, okay, geez, that's right. I need to know what I'm up against here.
01:09:21
Speaker
And when I began to see chakras are a demonic portal that people open up in their bodies, mostly unwittingly. Most of them don't know what what they're actually doing. um I do deliverance to some people and they're like, i feel the demon going. I feel coming back.
01:09:34
Speaker
And I was like, oh, that makes sense. I can spend four hours casting things out and by the end of it, the people are more demonized than the world can begin with. So then I was like, okay, what actually is the nature of each chakra?
01:09:48
Speaker
why does he What is the stronghold that each chakra is connected with? And then I said, right, okay, now I'm better informed to deal with this. So now I have to fast and pray before they have to do things. Because normally in a deliverance, things just holding on to a human. It shouldn't take too much time to get rid of them.
01:10:08
Speaker
When something's attached to a stronghold, they need to be prayed up and fastened. And I need be prayed up and fastened. And I have to say, speed and acceleration at which this happens is phenomenal.
01:10:25
Speaker
Or even, I won't say exactly who it is if this person wants to introduce themselves, they can. But someone on this chat made the first time we ever met in a ministerial capacity.
01:10:36
Speaker
We'd met before, but in a ministerial capacity was at a prayer and fasting event that I threw. And by that stage, we'd only fasted for a few hours. But the incredible breakthrough and release that God did was just monumental and phenomenal.
01:10:50
Speaker
So, yeah, I can think of a number of examples in my life where I've seen how praying fasting absolutely works. And it's not that you're... You're not starving the body in penance.
01:11:02
Speaker
That's what I want to make very clear to everyone. You're not starving the body because you're a bad person. It's that you're starving the body because it looks nice or sounds religious. It's... You make an agreement with OBS, whether it's for a few hours, a day, two days, 40, whatever.
01:11:20
Speaker
and But it's about the body gets weaker and it needs to rely on Holy Spirit, on God's strength. And you find you become far more spiritually aware far more spiritually tuned in, far more spiritually observant, and you'll grow in greater authority over the enemy because, let's be honest, so much of what we actually do in life is just distraction.
01:11:51
Speaker
So for a lot of people, they'll fast from food. Some might, if playing video games or watching TV takes up seven hours a day, they might fast from TV for...
01:12:02
Speaker
a day, a week, a month. And it's not, I'm not going to do this, so I'm going to have longer time sleeping in bed. It's, I'm not going to do this, so I have more time in the Word, more time in worship, more time in prayer.
01:12:19
Speaker
It's not replacing distraction for distraction. It's replacing distraction or something that is just typical or part of your day for increased intimacy with the Lord.
01:12:31
Speaker
Yeah. What are going say? Yeah. No, you know you said about the prayer and... but doubting God. and Yeah. my My concern about that is, right, when I'm praying and I want things to work out a certain way, and yet I don't know that it will. Okay. So it's not that I'm doubting God.
01:12:58
Speaker
But it's pray trying to pray and let go that whatever happens if his his is his way for my entire good. So who I don't know sometimes when I'm praying with intention, but this is what I want at the end of this. And I thank God. not It's like, sometimes with that, I feel I'm trying to force my way. But of course it is because it's what I want. But yeah, at the same time,
01:13:29
Speaker
You know, when then you say to yourself, well, if it doesn't work out this way, maybe what if it doesn't work that way? And then the doubt sets it. And so it's getting the happy medium for praying for something that you really want, for an outcome you really want, but still at the same time having to trust if it doesn't. Yeah.
01:13:50
Speaker
That's goals well. yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that that that that that's that's that's great. um And it's different in, let's see, what James is talking about in that passage is more like, him oh God, please save my mother. She's dying or whatever.
01:14:10
Speaker
and And then every conversation you have, she doesn't have long nights. Oh, she was a great woman, but no, no, the clock's ticking, all time's up.
01:14:21
Speaker
You're speaking of two sides of your mouth. Right, okay, yes. That's different, let's say, from what the example you're given. well your What you're talking about here is actually a shown in a big Daniel chapter 3.
01:14:35
Speaker
It says in the days of the Babylonian Empire, where they took over, they invaded Israel, they killed almost everybody. They took a few prisoners and back to Babylon as slaves.
01:14:48
Speaker
And the emperor of Babylon was called Nebuchadnezzar. Long name. And he built this massive of idol to himself. And he told the whole of Babylon, bow down and worship this.
01:15:02
Speaker
Or I'm going to throw you in the fiery furnace. And for those of you don't know, this Daniel chapter 3. And this is a chapter that we are living in on the world stage today.
01:15:16
Speaker
So pay attention to this.
01:15:19
Speaker
There were some teenagers who resisted. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. going to read verse 16. They refused to bow down to the sculpture.
01:15:32
Speaker
um So you might say this is reminiscent alber a certain vaccination that came out five years ago. um And they were repudiated. They were vilified. They were seen as the worst people in the world because they would not bow down to what the government said.
01:15:49
Speaker
and they were taken before the king.
01:15:53
Speaker
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, a wicked evil man, but they're treating him with respect. We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
01:16:06
Speaker
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the god we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
01:16:18
Speaker
But even if he does not, we want you to know, king, that we will not serve your gods or work the image of gold you have set up.
01:16:31
Speaker
And then Nebuchadnezzar threw a hissy fit, and he demanded it be heated seven times hotter. What is the difference between a fiery furnace and a fiery furnace seven times hotter?
01:16:43
Speaker
Nothing. It's still fire. The only difference is... The men who had to shovel the coal and make a hotter, the fire was so powerful it actually destroyed the men who were upsetting the fire making it hotter and hot hot hotter and hotter.
01:16:57
Speaker
They did get thrown into the fiery furnace. They did. And it looked like it was totally and utterly over. It looked dead. Like a deadly situation. And then verse 24, then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors,
01:17:17
Speaker
Weren't there three men thrown into the fire? They replied, certainly, O King. Yeah, you know, Shadrach, Meshachabar, and you talk about ni go, that's three.
01:17:28
Speaker
He said, look, I see four men walking around the fire, unbound and on the ground, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. Hmm, who could that be?
01:17:41
Speaker
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Brave man, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God. Come out, come out.
01:17:52
Speaker
And they came out without a singe on their clothes or the smoke the smell of smoke on their bodies. oh quote
01:18:01
Speaker
I've just turned those you online off my TV. Give me a second.
01:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, they are. So what happened here is... They applied the pressure. They applied the heat. And Jesus himself left heaven, because he is God will die, came into the fire, protected them, and out they came.
01:18:29
Speaker
But what i love about their prayer is their prayer is not one of fear. It is one of faith. God can save us, and he will save us, and even if he doesn't, if he chooses not we're good with him.
01:18:42
Speaker
We're not going to back down. We're okay. God and his sovereignty. He's still absolutely good. And that is the faith that you need to have in your situation.
01:18:58
Speaker
I think if you were to read Daniel 3 in full, Even every day this week, i think you'd get a lot out of it. Even when Nebuchadnezzar says, look at those men, unbound and unharmed. I believe that that's a word for you.
01:19:12
Speaker
Unbound and unharmed. If you have to write that on a post-it note and stick in your bedroom mirror or write it on your forearm, unbound and unharmed, and roll up your sleeves every hour on the hour and read it, that's what i believe is a word for you.
01:19:27
Speaker
I also believe that is what we are going through right now in the nations. And every time you resist evil governments, what does the enemy do? Well, they have another plan.
01:19:39
Speaker
Well, they have another attack. this's They say we're going to come after people who are obsessed with someone who murdered a teacher. Then we're going to after the farmers. Then if come after these people. we'll come after the anti-vaxxers. we'll come after these ones and these ones.
01:19:53
Speaker
All of their doing is making it hot and hot and hot. So they're heating up that furnace. But, and you can take this to the bank, people. The people shoveling the coal into that furnace are going to get themselves torched.
01:20:10
Speaker
And even though it looks like we're in the fires of a communist revolution right now, where where where they are attacking the rest of us, I want you to know that There is another in the fire. We played that song earlier. There's another in the fire. comes from Daniel chapter 3. There's another in the fire.
01:20:34
Speaker
He was right there with us. And we, if we do not bow the knee to evil, are going to emerge from this unharmed and unbound.
01:20:46
Speaker
We're going emerge from this without the smell of smoke. Off our clothes. Off our clothes. without singes off our hair or our robes. But it's about not bowing the knee to wickedness, not giving evil an inch.
01:21:03
Speaker
Amen. Amen, amen.
01:21:10
Speaker
Amen, amen. Amen. When you were saying that, I just had so many attacks and I thought, promised, if he'd dig the the pit for the other person, you'll fall into it.
01:21:26
Speaker
Maybe not, it's not word by word, but exactly that's what it is. i thought, people so courageously do evil, and i thought, and you think you will get away?
01:21:38
Speaker
i thought, you don't know, my God. You might wait, wait for it patiently, very, very long, but then it will be whack. This is it, judgment will hit. Because then that's thanks to God. Because if if he won't release judgment, they will get worse and worse.
01:21:54
Speaker
And I could see that around me. You know, thought, are you crazy? Yeah. Two or three years, you know, he used to come to the pub. He doesn't come anymore. Yes, I don't come anymore.
01:22:07
Speaker
but Absolutely. they God is very patient because it is his will that all be saved. But there is a line they cannot cross.
01:22:21
Speaker
And yeah a number of them are a lot closer to that line than they think. They think they're reaching a finishing line as of their own creation. They're actually reaching a finishing line God's patience with them.
01:22:34
Speaker
And we are going to see justice on this earth. and And it might very well get worse before it gets better. You know, these men were thrown into the fire.
01:22:47
Speaker
But it was, put it this way, the ones who heated and lit the fire were not the ones who walked out that story alive.
01:22:59
Speaker
They were the ones who got thrown into the fire but held on to God. and So God is cooking up a prophetic word in me for political leaders, which I will give when it's fully pledged. I'm not going to share it today, half-cocked.
01:23:15
Speaker
But i there's a harsh word brewing towards very particular people on the political world stage, even the nations represented here on this call right now.
01:23:27
Speaker
But and if we stand firm, we hold fast to God or about the Father's business, we're going to have a laugh laugh. and the plans they have to take us out to wash God's church, destroy the working class, to destroy capitalism, to destroy conservatism, to destroy the manifest destiny of the nations.
01:23:52
Speaker
It's not going to happen. and But one of the keys is if God's people humble themselves, pray, seek his face, turn from their wicked ways.
01:24:07
Speaker
It all starts with God's people being brave a man and and resisting wickedness. Amen. And this is one of the ways that we can do that. One of the questions was, there what are the fruits of Holy Spirit?
01:24:29
Speaker
Okay, let's start with the fruit of the flesh.
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
01:24:34
Speaker
Galatians, and the New Testament, Chapter 5, 19 to 21 gives a very indicting picture on human nature. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious.
01:24:50
Speaker
Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits and rage.
01:25:04
Speaker
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like.
01:25:13
Speaker
That describes a life without God in it. And I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. And kingdom of God has multiple meanings the Bible. Here it specifically relates to heaven.
01:25:31
Speaker
But then the Apostle Paul, who describes people like this, says in verses 22 to 23, that a life surrendered to the Lord produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
01:26:00
Speaker
I'm going to break these down for you because these words get so overused that sometimes it seems like they're quite devoid of meaning.
01:26:11
Speaker
But the word love and the Greek means is the Greek word agape. Agape translates as God's love for humanity.
01:26:25
Speaker
A sacrificial, unconditional love.
01:26:29
Speaker
Love which centers in moral preference. It likes what's good, it hates what's evil. Love based upon will and mental attitude. It's not a feeling, it's a decision.
01:26:45
Speaker
Agape is the highest form of love. You have friendship love, you got family love, you have, well, I don't want you to die and go to hell, I suppose, love. Agape love as over all those.
01:26:58
Speaker
You have, you know I love ice cream. I love the of the Rings. It's not based on emotions or feelings. It's an act of the will characterized the commitment of others' well-being.
01:27:13
Speaker
And the primary focus is on self-plussness. Loving others before yourself. Caring for their needs, even above your own.
01:27:25
Speaker
That is the love that God has for all people. That is the love that God wants his children to grow in. And think of fruits, okay? It starts with seed, and it grows bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger until like an apple and you can plug it from a tree, it's fully ripe.
01:27:44
Speaker
You're not going have this all at once automatically. But you grow in it. The point where you will happily sacrifice your needs, your urges, your drives, your surges for the well-being of others.
01:28:00
Speaker
Can I just ask you, then, what about self-love? and Like, years ago, you would have been called to love or to craft yourself as self. But I think that if you don't start with loving yourself, yeah and mind you should have been looking after, you have nothing to give to others. You can't give what you don't have.
01:28:20
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So, therefore, isn't that a fine line of
01:28:26
Speaker
you know, what you're reading out there and, you know, to love others, you know, of putting people before yourself. But yet, you have to start with yourself.
01:28:37
Speaker
Yes and no. You start with God. Yes. you know Yeah, because Jesus says, because you're you're you're half right. Jesus said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, first and foremost.
01:28:55
Speaker
And then love others as you love yourself. So in the reverse order, you love God, who is love himself. Because he is the well that never runs dry, then yes, you love yourself in view of his love yet filled up.
01:29:12
Speaker
And then from that place, you can love others. So you love God first, because he is the one who is love. Then there's self-love, where you get filled up to overflowing.
01:29:25
Speaker
You love others from the overflow. But the love, when you think of me what is perfect love, it's that when Jesus on the earth, as God in flesh, totally perfect, totally holy, and everyone around him was a sinner.
01:29:42
Speaker
Even the people who were righteous, Mary, Joseph, the other Mary and Martha, the sisters, Lazarus, the trip the three friends the three siblings were his friends.
01:29:55
Speaker
11 the 12 apostles will omit Judas Iscariot. Even though there was righteousness to be found, none of them were perfect in themselves. And while they were still sinners, Jesus gave his life for all of them.
01:30:07
Speaker
While we were still sinners, he gave his life for us. So it's a about you love God first because he's loved himself. Then there's the self-love where you get filled up.
01:30:19
Speaker
You love this from the overflow. But that kind of love is a selfless love. You love people because God loves them. Don't love them because that person is actually rich and you're hoping they're going get your money.
01:30:36
Speaker
Don't love them because you have no friends, they have 10 friends, and you think, oh wow, if I become friends with them, I'm going get popular. Don't love them with selfish ambition. Don't love them with, them what can I get from them?
01:30:50
Speaker
Um... I know starting to sound like a cliche. It's the only example I ever have for anything. But when I've been Australia and I saw, let's say, someone getting, i won women getting attacked by those men, I had nothing to gain.
01:31:06
Speaker
by getting involved in protecting those women. And I'll be honest, they probably didn't actually deserve it in terms of a morality perspective, because I think they were probably as high and drunk as the guys were.
01:31:19
Speaker
And some of them were agitating the men as well, just to explain notice. But it was, you know, the strong versus the weak, you know, you you defend the weak. um I got no phone numbers at this interaction. I got no financial reward. All I got were glasses, a frame of glass that came back broken.
01:31:37
Speaker
And a bruising stitch on a black eye. and But it was selfless love because I was getting nothing from them. I expected nothing from them.
01:31:48
Speaker
I just loved them and protected them because it was the right thing to do. It's like and going out of your way to help people and you know that they can't pay you back. You know that they have nothing to offer, and they have nothing to give, but you choose to love them anyway.
01:32:05
Speaker
It's like when you see that there's a charity, let's say the daffodil people, and it's raising the wind towards cancer and you give 10, 20, 50 quid worth
01:32:16
Speaker
You're not expecting anything back of major significance. I give you daffodil at the height of it. But it's because you see there's someone in need and you overflow of love towards them.
01:32:28
Speaker
So it's not selfless love as in don't care about yourself. It's selfless love as in you have nothing to gain from it. Okay. okay Yeah. But it's is a good question. It's an important distinction. Because there are people who would...
01:32:43
Speaker
love themselves into the ground, gri grind themselves into the dirt. And then you're like, well, why do that? he Because it was the right thing to do. It's like, was it?
01:32:55
Speaker
You know, you gave all your money away, you know, uselessly or carelessly or recklessly. Well, I'm a Christian.
Unconditional Love of God
01:33:01
Speaker
No, you were just stupid. So, yeah, that it's... Yeah, there has to be... That's when it's like a religious obligation.
01:33:08
Speaker
they They think that they're compelled or forced into it. But actually, this is a measured love. It's it's an act of the will. it's starting to bless people with no expectation of her return.
01:33:21
Speaker
Of course, when God loves us and he's died for us, his hope was that we would choose him. But he also died for everybody who will never choose him. He also hung on that cross for people who just use his name as a cuss word.
01:33:38
Speaker
He also died on the cross for people who literally arrest, torture, and murder Christians, which happens in more countries around the earth than you could possibly imagine.
01:33:50
Speaker
um Yeah, i okay, great, awesome.
01:33:57
Speaker
All right then, another one is Joy. And a lot of people just think joy means happy. But joy translates as delight.
01:34:09
Speaker
ah deep A abiding sense of gladness that's rooted in spiritual realities rather than external circumstances.
01:34:20
Speaker
You could be flat broke and it's about eight days until your next payday. And you can still have joy. You can have a power outage that lasts 96 hours and still have joy.
01:34:43
Speaker
Characterized by a sense of inner peace and contentment that transcends worldly trouble. No matter what's happening in the natural, matter what's happening in your life.
01:34:54
Speaker
you can still have that deep, deep sense of God is good and he's got me.
01:35:02
Speaker
It's independent of external conditions, no matter what's happening on the outside. Know you know God is good, you know he's absolutely good, you know he's got you and you'll be okay.
01:35:17
Speaker
Deeply connected to the hope and assurance found in Jesus Christ, his resurrection, the promise of eternal life. No matter what happens, everything in secondary. Everything measured by the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
01:35:32
Speaker
The awareness of God's grace and favor. Grace recognized. You know you're recipient of his grace. He's got you. You're good.
01:35:44
Speaker
Joy literally translates in the Greek as rejoice because of grace, or to have joy because of grace. It's a happiness, a delight, a fervor, a zeal for life, built and rooted and grounded on knowing that you are good with God. Okay, this is working yesterday. That's been on. Is that for you or not your other A new one.
01:36:10
Speaker
don't know what that faith is. Yeah, let's do the battery. and If I need to turn on another laptop a little bit. Another few minutes.
01:36:23
Speaker
All
Spiritual Joy and Peace
01:36:24
Speaker
right, then. Another one is peace.
01:36:28
Speaker
Peace literally means to join, to tie together into a whole. It's when something joins properly, there's wholeness.
01:36:42
Speaker
And when all the essential parts are joined together and you have prosperity, harmony, security and welfare in your soul. A lot of people say that they just want some peace and quiet.
01:36:56
Speaker
Well, they actually mean it is they want to deal with no fuss, no foul, no drama. But the peace of God means no matter what happens, your spirit is tied to God's spirit. It's inseparable.
01:37:08
Speaker
You cannot separate them. You can't tear them apart. And you know he's got you. You know you're secure. Your welfare is assured. And again, this is a fruit of Holy Spirit. This takes time to develop.
01:37:24
Speaker
But my goodness, it is a game changer. I spent most of my life, and between being a child and teenager, living in this constant state of fear, panic, and stress.
01:37:39
Speaker
thinking that the sky was always falling down around me. And listen, lot of times things were going wrong, but I had no peace. I was always twitchy, you know, foot always tapping, had to do something.
01:37:52
Speaker
I would never take a moment to sit down, just breathe, relax, chill out um My mind was always buzzing a hundred miles per hour in lots of directions.
01:38:04
Speaker
that eventually I realized, okay, I'm probably gonna be like, you know, a 16, 17 year old who has a panic attack and just dies or a heart attack or something. And to finally just rest and say, God's good.
01:38:19
Speaker
He's got me. He's brought me this far. He will bring me wherever I need to go. I'm all right. The world's not ending. Everything's fine. It was ah game changer.
01:38:33
Speaker
and Otherwise, you're moved by circumstances. You're moved by people's words, by people's abuse, by challenges. And by their moods. And by 100%.
01:38:43
Speaker
Absolutely. And especially when they know how they want you to respond. But them one of the best ways to restrain the enemy is to say, no God's got me.
01:38:55
Speaker
I'm fine. a great connection I believe it is. Because they took diner from the dining room earlier. and Yeah, listen, if I... Is it charging there or what? Disappear, I'm just going to plug in the other one. 25%, I'll give another couple of minutes, then I'll switch to their laptop.
01:39:25
Speaker
All right, another one the fruits of Holy Spirit is patience. Now again, a lot of people just say patience. Be patient, just wait a minute, hang on. That's a very small scale idea what patience is.
01:39:42
Speaker
When patience is translated from Greek to English, it means the quality of enduring, especially in the face of provocation or difficulty.
01:39:55
Speaker
Can you endure and trust God? Specifically, In the moment when people and demons are coming against you.
01:40:08
Speaker
In the moment of the squeeze, what comes up?
01:40:15
Speaker
The emphasis is on self-restraint when faced with offenses or challenges.
01:40:25
Speaker
It's the character of God, kind the fruit of Holy Spirit that you grow in the character of God, God's personality. and the expected behavior of believers, highlighting the virtue of enduring trials and showing mercy.
01:40:43
Speaker
You don't respond to everything with your fists.
01:40:48
Speaker
It's about promoting a lifestyle of forgiveness rather than revenge or, hear me now, immediate justice. I love justice. I love when wicked people get what they deserve.
01:41:03
Speaker
But if your instinctive reaction every time someone offends you is, oh, I'm going to call the guards on this person. Oh, I'm going to call the bin company and say they haven't paid for theirs last three months. sir Petty nonsense.
01:41:19
Speaker
Okay? No.
01:41:22
Speaker
It's a long passion. Long-suffering forbearance.
01:41:30
Speaker
There is a time for anger. There is a time for righteous anger. There's a time to get ticked off. But if you live in a state where you get angry and offended every second of the day over something, that's not okay.
01:41:45
Speaker
This avoids the premature use of force and retribution that rises out of improper anger, which is a personal reaction. This is not when you're angry because God's angry. This is when you get angry because you got triggered.
01:42:04
Speaker
It's divinely regulated patience. God hates evil, but he's patient with the people to give them time to turn things around.
01:42:15
Speaker
And even those wicked evil politicians you know, drug dealers, drug lords, God will speak to them as well. He'll speak to them in dreams and tell them, stop, cut it out, turn from your wicked ways. He will put people in their path to tell them to turn the tide out of his patience.
01:42:39
Speaker
If God because he got angry and responded in his anger every second of the day, and we know he would be no human being bad.
01:42:47
Speaker
It's to embrace steadfastness, being a steady Eddie and staying power. And not being short-tempered, but being long-tempered.
01:42:59
Speaker
Not living in a place of, I have to respond to absolutely everything. But actually, calmness.
Patience and Kindness in Faith
01:43:08
Speaker
Having a reasoned mind, having a reasoned and attitude to everything that happens.
01:43:19
Speaker
Kindness. Flowing the world definitely needs a lot more of.
01:43:26
Speaker
Kindness translates as being gentle with people, gentleness, uprightness. Loving kindness.
01:43:35
Speaker
Steadfast love. Not just this, you know, oh, I've got a spurt of passion here, I want a passion there. Continued. Consistent.
01:43:48
Speaker
Covenantal loyalty. a covenant is a vow or a bond that does not break.
01:43:57
Speaker
Are there people in your world where you're in that covenant of loyalty, no matter what happens, through thick and thin, good and bad, I'm with you.
01:44:08
Speaker
It's a moral goodness and integrity that's expressed through acts of benevolence towards others.
01:44:17
Speaker
It's usable. It's well fit for use. It does what it needs to. It does exactly what it says in the tin. It's serviceable. It's an action. You can see it.
01:44:30
Speaker
It meets real needs. Sometimes someone says, I'm going through a really hard time. Praying is amazing. But there are times people don't actually just need your prayers. They actually need to help.
01:44:41
Speaker
yeah And divine kindness is So Holy Spirit produced goodness in which the needs of someone are actually met.
01:44:56
Speaker
Then there's a fruit, goodness.
01:45:01
Speaker
This is intrinsic goodness, as especially as a personal quality, which stress on the kindly side of goodness. So there is righteous goodness, you know, what's good versus what's evil.
01:45:14
Speaker
And then there's just that personal goodness towards all people. It's pleasant, it's agreeable, it's beneficial, it's helpful. and It shows the uprightness in your heart and your love for people.
01:45:29
Speaker
You're not just going to be doing good things because it seems good and holy, but actually it supports people. It is restorative.
01:45:39
Speaker
It's spiritual and moral excellence, a virtue. And it shows the goodness of God, which has been extended to us. His goodness fills us up, and then we pour out to others as well, from a full cup. Now
01:45:58
Speaker
and there's faithfulness.
01:46:03
Speaker
Faithfulness is confidence in the Lord. Fidelity. being reliant. It starts with us being faithful, while having faith in God, first and foremost, trust in him. And because of the trust we have in him, we become like him.
01:46:22
Speaker
So people can have a confidence in us. We're people of integrity. We're people who are reliant on him and reliable when other people need us.
01:46:36
Speaker
There's a trustworthiness there.
01:46:40
Speaker
When God tells you to do something, you do it. When you tell other people you'll do something, you'll do it.
01:46:48
Speaker
And then gentleness. A lot of people look down on words like gentleness. They're kind of like, you know, that's just saying be like you're yeah you're a sap. People are going to walk all over you. But this is actually a gentle strength.
01:47:02
Speaker
It doesn't mean you're a weakling. It doesn't mean people walk all over you. Because I used to feel like the child. I let people walk all over me. So was like, The fruit of the Holy Spirit gentle. Nonsense. I became a doormat.
01:47:14
Speaker
It's a gentle strength. It's not weakness. It's power under control. It reflects submission to God and consideration to others.
01:47:26
Speaker
I was a karate kid, for instance. I have black belt and everything. and And I got bullied as a child. Could I have knocked any one of them out with a single punch? Absolutely.
01:47:41
Speaker
Could I have winded them with a kick? Well, the shortest kid there was, so I probably would have, hey, kicked them in the ball sack. I couldn't have kicked too high, but I wouldve i would have left a bruise.
01:47:52
Speaker
But the reality is there were moments when I was say, you know what? I could, but I won't.
01:48:02
Speaker
God would not want me in this situation to start physically damaging, you know, other 10 year olds. yes ah So i struggled with this as a child, I really did, between being well walked all over and then knowing that I could actually defend myself and win, but choosing not to.
01:48:28
Speaker
And it's a gentle force. that begins the Lord's inspiration and finishes by his direction and empowerment. It's power with reserve. You're not a weakling.
01:48:39
Speaker
You are strong and mighty in the Lord. But you know when and when not to use that against other people.
01:48:50
Speaker
All right. know there's a lot in that one. They're the fruits of Holy Spirit. But as you go on with the Lord, these are the characteristics that you're going to grow in and exhibit more and more and more.
01:49:01
Speaker
we're going to look at the gifts and then we'll look at footholds versus strongholds. That will probably be a short one. Are there any questions at the moment on the fruit of Holy Spirit or that I'll locate?
01:49:17
Speaker
yeah All right.
01:49:23
Speaker
Another thought there. go charging rendy It is now, yeah, thankfully.
01:49:33
Speaker
Yeah, when it's orange, we're in the dangerous zone. When it's green, we're okay. ah
01:49:41
Speaker
All right, so the other question was on the difference between the fruits of Holy Spirit and the gifts of Holy Spirit. So the fruits are the characteristics of God that you grow in. patience on that Precisely.
01:49:55
Speaker
The gifts are supernatural talents that God equips you with in order to do his work. He has gifts for all the kids. um If you don't know what yours are, that he tells you.
01:50:11
Speaker
If you don't think you have any, pray and he will give them to you. If you have some and you're not using them, pray that he gives you the opportunity to do so.
01:50:25
Speaker
So in 1 Corinthians 12, 4-6, it said there are different kinds of gifts, but they're all given to believers by the same Holy Spirit.
01:50:38
Speaker
There are different ways to serve, but they all come from the same Lord. There are different ways Holy Spirit works, but the same God is working all these things and all his people.
01:50:51
Speaker
In total, the Bible mentions 20 such gifts.
01:50:57
Speaker
1 Corinthians 12, 11, all the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit, and he gives gifts to each person just as he decides. It's Holy Spirit's decision.
01:51:11
Speaker
And 1 Corinthians 12, 27, you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it. You all have a part to play, and it's all different. If you are a back hair,
01:51:23
Speaker
you have a different function than a cell in an eyeball. If you are a toenail, you have a very different function than a tongue. If you are ear cartilage, your function is very different from a kidney cell.
01:51:41
Speaker
But when all the parts come together, that's when God can do something really beautiful and powerful on the earth.
01:51:49
Speaker
So Ephesians 4, 11 to 12 starts off the fivefold ministry. These are the five gifts that are in terms operation, leaders in the church.
01:52:03
Speaker
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, which are pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work and ministry for building up the body of Christ.
01:52:18
Speaker
So these five are the ones which, on an organizational level, run a church. So the first one, i use the hand, is the thumb.
01:52:30
Speaker
The thumb starts here and goes down to the base of your wrist. It's your longest finger. This one is the apostle.
01:52:40
Speaker
Then you have the prophet, your index finger, who point the way. Or they point out evil things governments do. They say, cop yourself on. God knows who did. he hates it.
01:52:51
Speaker
They encourage you. They say, you go in that direction.
01:52:55
Speaker
The evangelist is your middle thinker. They connect heaven to the earth.
01:53:02
Speaker
Then you have the pastors who are married to the church. They look after God's people as best they can. And then you have the teachers who clean out the spiritual earwax. They're the piggy makers.
01:53:16
Speaker
the ones who tell you when your theology is crap and you need to realign with what God says.
Fivefold Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
01:53:27
Speaker
Now I'm going to through the gift. There are 20 of them. So I'm going go through pretty quickly. Okay. I did a teaching on this last year on YouTube, which I'll put in the group chat afterwards if you want to hear about something in more detailed. But of the apostles refer to one who is sent by God.
01:53:43
Speaker
They specifically would teach, prophesy, and work miracles as well.
01:53:55
Speaker
Prophets are ones who hear from God. That can be they hear his voice. That can be a seer gift. dreams, visions, and they become spokesmen and spokeswomen for God.
01:54:15
Speaker
The evangelists are the bearers of good news. And they especially love going to the lost, to unbelievers, to bring them into the presence of Jesus.
01:54:28
Speaker
And they're typically very creative people. um For instance, in Ireland, and there's a a big red bus where they have like lots of games and activities on the inside and puppet shows.
01:54:40
Speaker
There's a Lego bus where the whole bus has like a Lego theme and they introduce... they They simplify the Word of God for kids. um When I was at university, my friends and I would do a question for a cookie.
01:54:54
Speaker
The students love free food. Well, it wasn't free or not, it was free for them. We would set up a table... And we'd have, you know, cookies and cakes and biscuits and basically anything that we could get in Tesco for under, you know, 59 cents.
01:55:10
Speaker
good And people would come to the table and we would say, kind of like this, ask us a question about Jesus, the Bible, faith. Now, compared to now, I knew nothing back then, but I put all the B's and E's of Christianity, you know?
01:55:25
Speaker
And they'd ask us a question, would give them an answer, and then they would take a cookie. So it's very
01:55:35
Speaker
Then there's the guy, John Edwards, who kind travels between England and Ireland, and he was rescued from the Lord from a life of drug abuse.
01:55:47
Speaker
So now he has this massive syringe that he drives around in. He hops out, he tells people that and the Lord rescued him from a life of crime that going nowhere, and he can do the same for them.
01:56:01
Speaker
That same guy got buried in alive and did a live stream from his coffin a few years ago. Right? He's it's wild, but he's brilliant. you go very wrong It absolutely can.
01:56:15
Speaker
in his case, thankfully, went very, very right. um Other guys, you know, will have a carry across and they'll just go you know for a walk from one end of a country to another and just have conversations about Jesus.
01:56:28
Speaker
and Food festivals are another big one, especially around Christmas time, Easter time, St. Patrick's Day.
01:56:36
Speaker
There are people I know and they might set up a table and they'll have pictures of Jesus playing basketball with the devil, Jesus going ice skating, Jesus playing soccer, Jesus scoring a goal or in Gaelic or getting a point, whatever it is.
01:56:54
Speaker
And they'll just say to people come to their table, When do you think of Jesus, what do you think of? How do these resonate with you? and Beach evangelism is a major one.
01:57:06
Speaker
and Some have gospel tracts where they have ah little cards or it would optic illusions or whatever, or fake money with messages inscribed in the back. Some, it's their their clothes or their wristbands is a big one.
01:57:21
Speaker
remember growing up, the WWJD, What Would Jesus Do was a major one. and I went evangelizing Drogheda a couple years ago with some friends. It was early spring and they just carried around bags of flower seeds and said, it's a great conversation starter.
01:57:40
Speaker
So evangelists are very creative people.
01:57:46
Speaker
Then you get to the pastors. The Bible gives lots of name for pastors. They're all the same thing. There is no hierarchy. But I kind of like the first two, pastor, shepherd.
01:57:57
Speaker
And then there are different names, too. It's all the same job, effectively.
01:58:03
Speaker
This is to be a feeder. Your job is to feed people the word of God. I've been in churches before where the pastor was on the stage and conveniently just after the tithes and offerings, after he'd gotten paid a salary, then said, it is not my job to feed you. And I was like...
01:58:22
Speaker
If you're a pastor, feeding people is your job. um It also involves being a protector. When you see that your people are in danger, you move.
01:58:36
Speaker
You do something. You don't just let them drive off a cliff.
01:58:41
Speaker
Like a shepherd, you tend to their needs. You lead them. You care for your flock. and You guide people. And there is also a managing and directing and capacity to it as well.
01:58:58
Speaker
And then teaching means being in the Greek, Twinglish, means being a master in your field. An instructor. Someone who focuses on godly instruction and you impart doctrinal knowledge.
01:59:14
Speaker
It doesn't matter what your denomination says. It doesn't matter what the person who talks to you the Bible says. It doesn't matter what's common or typical or groovy or meets the YouTube algorithm.
01:59:28
Speaker
You teach the word God and you do it without compromise.
01:59:37
Speaker
So those five are called the five-fold ministry. If these five work together at the top, of a congregation or ministry, you're gonna have a very healthy, organized church.
01:59:53
Speaker
The problem is, they don't.
01:59:59
Speaker
A lot of teachers are so strict on the word that they do not like prophets, because prophets will start seeing things that you can't always substantiate
02:00:12
Speaker
overly, obviously, from the Bible. um And then the prophets think the teacher is too stuffy. The teachers think the pastors are wild. Evangelists tend to say, let's go reach the last. And no one else does it, so they're off by themselves.
02:00:28
Speaker
And then, you know, pastors will try to look after people, but they'll tone down the word of God to make people feel safe and secure and teachers get fed up. Again, it's not easy.
02:00:39
Speaker
But God wants its people to live in unity regardless. And if you do, That's where the blessing comes, even life forevermore. God knows it's hard for people get together.
02:00:50
Speaker
He knows it's not easy, but it's the job.
02:00:57
Speaker
Okay. There are 20 gifts. Some of them are particularly miraculous. You cannot do them in of yourself. They're just a God thing.
02:01:10
Speaker
That includes the gift of the apostle. They are miracle workers. Speaking in languages you've never learned before? Miracle.
02:01:21
Speaker
Interpreting a dream or a language in of yourself? You can't. You need Holy Spirit to do it. Then there is a gift of miracles.
02:01:33
Speaker
And then there's a gift of supernatural healing. Where you put your hand on someone and boom, wounds that were dried up are opened.
02:01:44
Speaker
Someone was very, very deeply and agonized in emotional pain, and so it's broken off them. They're your miraculous gifts.
02:01:56
Speaker
Then there are enabling gifts. This is the gift faith, where you have the supernatural faith for the impossible.
02:02:08
Speaker
Discernment. If you don't have discernment, pray for this gift. It is one of the best things you could ever possibly have. This is when you can sit in the presence of someone talking at you for four hours, and you know what's true, and you know when they're lying through their teeth.
02:02:27
Speaker
This is when you feel a vibration in the room, and you know if an angel has just come in or if it's a demon. I know one pastor friend of mine who was she's about to lead a prayer meeting at 7 o'clock n p.m.
02:02:46
Speaker
And at 6 p.m., she was the only one in the building. She opened up, went to the bathroom, and she got this dread. This feeling of someone with nefarious intentions has just stepped into the building.
02:03:02
Speaker
So from the bathroom, she crawled into another room to look through a window to see into the auditorium, church auditorium. And she saw a man standing at her keyboard. And then he looked over and kind of saw her. He was coming towards the bathroom.
02:03:18
Speaker
She was like, crap. So she ran to the bathroom, hid in one stalls. He followed her in, couldn't see her, and just began playing with the lights. On, off, on, off, on, off, on, off.
02:03:32
Speaker
Waited. Went back in the auditorium and got playing with the good keyboard. She calls someone. Come over here. Quickly. I need you. Help. Her friend visits it. Another woman.
02:03:44
Speaker
The man goes, are you alone? And she goes, no. He's in the loo. And the pastor came out and gradually more and more people came along.
02:03:54
Speaker
ah At 9, 9.30 p.m., someone said, I've seen a photograph of that guy. He looks familiar. He was in prison for a rape, and he's just been released. But Holy Spirit in her said, red alert, red alert, red alert, red alert, discernment.
02:04:11
Speaker
So she knew just by looking at him, you're going be trusted. When God gives you a gift of discernment, you will probably in the short term feel incredibly judgmental. You'll feel like you don't like anyone. You'll feel like you're just judging everyone 100%.
02:04:28
Speaker
It's normal. It's because you are picking up on something in them that is not of God. And other people, you'll say, okay, I can trust this person.
02:04:41
Speaker
With other opportunities that come, say, oh, that's a God opportunity. Other opportunities, you'll say that sounds so good, but I can't. Other times, everyone says, yes, yes, yes, yes yes just you will say no.
02:04:55
Speaker
I don't know why, but no. I had that reaction towards Taylor Swift. I know people are like, oh, Tay-Tay, I'm a Swifty, Swifty for life.
02:05:06
Speaker
There was something about that woman I just could not get my head around, but I was like, God, I can't even look at her face. And then, was it last year or two years ago?
02:05:17
Speaker
you had that big concert where she came out dressed as a witch, had that occult ceremony on stage, and thousands of people were leaving saying that they went into a trance during the concert, paid thousands of euros for a ticket, and could not remember what happened during the event.
02:05:33
Speaker
Right? Discernment. It's a game-changer. It's a lifesaver.
02:05:40
Speaker
Then you'll have a gift of knowledge where God just gives you A word of something and you're not going to know why you know it or how you know it. Holy Spirit just tells you.
02:05:52
Speaker
Or a word of wisdom. Knowledge is what you know. Wisdom is telling people how to apply what you know.
02:06:02
Speaker
And then there are team gifts. We get to work together with others. Evangelism is big part of it. Prophecy. Prophecy is miraculous, but you don't you don't just prophesy in the wind. either you You share the prophecy with other people.
02:06:18
Speaker
Teaching. And the gift of encouragement. It's not one people pray for, but my goodness, we need more encouragers in the world. People who actually put courage into you.
02:06:31
Speaker
Shepherding. you know, pastoring. Gifts of serving. People who will just scrub toilets for Jesus. because they love him so much. And then they'll clean, you know, floorboards for Jesus just because he's amazing.
02:06:47
Speaker
They'll feed poor people and the sick and homeless just because. Mercy showing. We should all show mercy, but some people have a supernatural ability to do it with excellence.
02:07:03
Speaker
It comes naturally to them, supernaturally, naturally. A gift of supernatural giving People who just give of their money, their time, their resource on another level.
02:07:15
Speaker
Gifts of administration, who can actually organize things for Jesus, big events. Gifts of helping and gifts of leadership. They're the 20 gifts of Holy Spirit that you want to see active in his church.
02:07:30
Speaker
And if you don't know your gift or you don't have one, pray. If you do have gifts, Pray that he gives you opportunity to use them. and The more his fruit are eminent in your life and obvious in your life, the likelier he is to give you the gift.
02:07:50
Speaker
Because otherwise you'd have an ego trip and all goes to your head. And if you do already have gifts, you want some more from the list, just ask him.
02:08:01
Speaker
God wants his church equipped even more than you do.
02:08:07
Speaker
And the last question that was introduced, this will be quite a short answer, will be the difference in strongholds and footholds. Are there any questions at the moment on the gift of Holy Spirit? Or are they all okay now?
02:08:24
Speaker
I suppose you just need to come through then and sort of really be honest with yourself and see what you really feel you have inside, what you feel you can offer.
02:08:35
Speaker
Sometimes when you have a gift, you actually don't see it as a gift. I don't mean it in a bad way, but sometimes we do things about automatically and we don't know, but it's just like, and we're blessed that it it is actually a gift that some other might be able to do it in just a willing way or whatever. yeah So, and possibly we're using gifts every day of the week.
02:08:57
Speaker
I don't want to actually realise. But also, I think you could really look at fruits and the gifts and see where we really enhance and use what we have more. challenge yourself to use, you know, because maybe we all get into a bit of a comfort zone. Yeah, massively.
02:09:17
Speaker
And then there are people who see their gift as a curse. I know people who gifts of giving and gifts of service. And people were then like, oh, could you give to this? Could you please serve me in this capacity?
02:09:32
Speaker
And I'm not talking people trying to leech them and suck them dry like vampires. I'm talking like godly thing, godly appointments. And they took it as an offense that they were being asked to stretch, that they were being asked to do something for someone else other than themselves.
02:09:52
Speaker
Um... There are times when people will see the gift on you or in your life and you won't even see it. And sometimes people don't get, if they're really selfish, they get offended when someone tries to call it out of them.
02:10:06
Speaker
um But that's why it's it what makes it such a great question is the question is on the difference between the fruits and the gifts. Because the more the fruit of the Holy Spirit is active in your life, the less self will be attached the gifts.
02:10:25
Speaker
The less ego, the less bitterness, um the less personal ambition. um And I've seen a lot of people who were incredibly gifted, but they stopped working in Holy Spirit fruit.
02:10:45
Speaker
And the gift took over. And suddenly they've tried to make themselves a celebrity rather than Jesus. And if their destiny has not gone particularly well since then, shall we say.
02:10:57
Speaker
Brendan, I know when I shared this with you before, so I don't mind sharing it in the group. I know before I became a Christian that I always used to get messages and things that happen. And I'd say, oh, I got that in the message like three or four months ago. Hmm.
02:11:17
Speaker
And when I became a Christian and turned my life over to God, I realized that I had to get a gift from the Holy Spirit. yeah he He spoke to me. And I'm very grateful for that gift. Sometimes it's, as you said earlier on, it's unnerving. You're told things that you don't want to be told. Yes.
02:11:38
Speaker
and And then also when I was water baptized first in the church, which will remain nameless. a turn yeah I am was blessed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues.
02:11:57
Speaker
Yeah. Which I would not. You know, I know the gift of tongues like I could be speaking now and the Holy Spirit could come and I could start talking in tongues. And I asked the Holy Spirit not to do that to me when ah I'm on a group chat with people that don't understand the gift of tongues and that might think you're crazy.
02:12:22
Speaker
i am Like at the last revival now, the Holy Spirit couldn't shut me up talking in tongues, which was amazing. Yeah. yeah But then I'm so grateful for the discernment gifts that I have. Like and I would have the gift of giving as well the gift of and of tongues, the gift of caring, the gift of and praying with people. Mm-hmm.
02:12:53
Speaker
and and I'm now getting the gift of praying out loud which I'm so grateful for yeah you're going no trying to strain the area Deirdre absolutely amen andmen yeah brilliant thank you for that amen that's so so true and as you're faithful with little well the bible actually says very little God knows you can be faithful with very much so as you own your zone in one area that lends itself to expansion and another And like I've had a teaching gift since I was seven or eight years old.
02:13:27
Speaker
i remember the very first thing I ever understood by divine revelation. It's actually what I'm teaching on on Wednesdays now, the Bible show. Jesus Christ. is God seen and God revealed in the Old Testament. God showed me thatsh that without any person helping me when I was seven or eight.
02:13:45
Speaker
I was terrified of even giving advice to it because i thought, oh, that might be very cheeky. and Other teachers might not like it. No one else around me ever said it.
02:13:58
Speaker
I thought, what if they call me a heretic when I kind of know that I'm right? So I kept it. to myself. But then, you know, I went, at 15, I kind of began teaching the Bible to children. and Did it two or three times, then my name was mysteriously removed from the roster, never did it again.
02:14:19
Speaker
and then when was at university, then God began to open the door for me again start doing teenagers and then children, then young adults.
02:14:30
Speaker
and then TSNL, and now Josh Regeneration, and OMS Ministries. And I just see how being faithful in one area, just how God's opened those doors since then, with one other university, I was
02:14:53
Speaker
a chronic... illegal streamer i am of TV shows and movies. A lot of people say, that's barely a sin.
02:15:04
Speaker
You do not know how many TV shows and movies I was watching in a given week. I must have spent 40, 50 hours just watching TV and movies. and illegally downloaded all that just because i was like, well, you know, rich people made them um but, you know, someone else put them up on online so, you know, I'm not sinning by watching it. People who put them there can make this thing.
02:15:31
Speaker
I'm just benefiting from an unfortunate coincidence. The lies you tell yourself, the swings and roundabouts, the mental gymnastics, And what happened ultimately was God spoke to me one day. i kind of wish he'd done it sooner, but whatever.
02:15:49
Speaker
And he just said, Brendan, because I was not a published author back then. A couple anthologies, but that was it. And he said, Brendan, would you like to be an author?
02:16:00
Speaker
And I said, yes, sir. And he said, you want people to buy your books? I said, yes, sir. you make money? Yes, sir.
02:16:11
Speaker
And said, how would you feel if someone told you, ah I loved your book? And you responded, would you like me to sign it for you? And so that's how inner Brendan sounds. they said, no no, I didn't buy it. I read it online for free.
02:16:31
Speaker
I said, God, would be livid. I would say, you're not a real fan. And God said, aren't you doing the same to every other movie and TV show industry in the world? i was like, hypocrisy.
02:16:46
Speaker
So I said, yeah, okay, God, I see where you're coming from. so I said, go, go, to cold turkey. I'm going to stop the illegal streaming. Because I'm not talking Netflix, I'm on Prime. I'm talking like, you click on the link and you have like, you know, 67 virus pop-ups you're trying to avoid while you're watching through this crap.
02:17:04
Speaker
And one year later, I was out of worship at night and someone who did not know me walked up to me and they just said, now I just begun to see things in the spirit realm.
02:17:18
Speaker
And I was like, God, is this you? Am I going crazy? And someone who did not know me just walked up and said, Brendan, you gave up something for Jesus. Involving your eyes, what you're looking at.
02:17:33
Speaker
You gave up something for Jesus. And now is gifting you with two gifts. The gift of the seer, the gift of dreams and visions, and the gift of their interpretation.
02:17:46
Speaker
He is rewarding you for surrendering your eyes to him. And I was like,
02:17:52
Speaker
And I just said, to gosh, if I'd never actually started down that road in the first place, have doing this three or four
Footholds vs. Strongholds
02:17:58
Speaker
years earlier. but But faithful at little. Some people would be like, you know, right, you call that a sin, they'll get yourself a real problem.
02:18:07
Speaker
But you know what? It was someone that was eating into a lot of my time. And as someone who has created intellectual properties, and I now realized, okay, there actually was no excuse for me stealing off other people's.
02:18:21
Speaker
um All right. So the final question that was submitted was the difference between a foothold and a stronghold. You don't want to have either of them, but one of them is a lot worse.
02:18:38
Speaker
Ephesians 4, 27 says, do not give the devil a foothold. 2 Corinthians 10, 4-5 says,
02:18:51
Speaker
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have the divine power to demolish strongholds.
02:19:03
Speaker
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against an elder God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, okay? So,
02:19:18
Speaker
We have arguments, pretensions, thoughts. These are the strongholds.
02:19:29
Speaker
So a foothold is how the demon gets in.
02:19:35
Speaker
A stronghold is how the demon stays in.
02:19:41
Speaker
A foothold is when it's looking for a place.
02:19:46
Speaker
The stronghold is when you have given it place.
02:19:53
Speaker
So a foothold. The door or the access point. This can be habitual willful sin. and So let's say if someone a mouth-like failure,
02:20:11
Speaker
And all they ever do is, you know, speak curses over themselves. No, ah F me. It's like, I'm like, no, thank you. I will not. Nor will any demon open me the radius. In Jesus name, a amen. Or if someone is, let's say, has a short temper and they respond to everything with their fists or their feet.
02:20:33
Speaker
Trauma. A major one.
02:20:38
Speaker
Ancestry. Things that got in through your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents.
02:20:47
Speaker
Behaviour. It's just normal. This is just who I am. Things that you just do. Involvement in witchcraft or the occult. and The occult is the system of witchcraft which runs the world. Witchcraft are the things on personal level.
02:21:06
Speaker
Rejection. Rejection from family, from friends, from lovers. Abuse. Physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, mental.
02:21:22
Speaker
Institutional.
02:21:25
Speaker
Growing up in a broken home. No said.
02:21:30
Speaker
Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness becomes a stronghold very easily. But even if for a moment you're like, well, I will not forgive that person. Dangerous.
02:21:42
Speaker
Jesus has forgiven you for everything. you have no right to withhold forgiveness from anyone else. You don't have to let them back into your life. Okay, you can, let's say this is your life, this their life.
02:21:56
Speaker
Forgiveness of that bridge. They might stay on their side of the river. But you still have to forgive. When you've been forgiven from everything, you have no rights, have bits and bits in your heart.
02:22:08
Speaker
Abortion, and a major one. Absolutely major. Abortion today is what child sacrifice was in the days of the Old Testament.
02:22:20
Speaker
And New Testament, to be honest with you. Um... It's the same argument. They would sacrifice children back then, you oh, we give the god Malek this child, so now give us grains, we have food to eat.
02:22:34
Speaker
Today it's my body, and my choice, so I have enough money to live life I want to live. It's the thing.
02:22:40
Speaker
Porn, massive. Absolutely massive. With that, not only you get demons in you, you get human souls as well. Drugs, they're called gateway drugs for reason, they're gateways to demonic realms.
02:22:56
Speaker
Drunkenness, because any mind that is empty is a mind the enemy can get into. That's why the Bible says to meditate in the word of God night and day nothing else.
02:23:07
Speaker
Stealing, which is what effectively I've been doing. Inner vows. I will never forgive you.
02:23:17
Speaker
I will never be loved. It'll be a cold day in hell before i ever forgive.
02:23:24
Speaker
Lying, when you're speaking the opposite of God's word. Cursed words. And illicit sex as well. There are more. They're the main footholds.
02:23:37
Speaker
That's when you open a door and the enemy can get in.
02:23:42
Speaker
A stronghold is when you come into agreement with the foothold. You come into agreement with the enemy's reports. You come into agreement with what the enemy speaks over your life to the point where you no longer believe God's opinion.
02:24:05
Speaker
You say God is a liar no and the devil is the one who knows best.
02:24:12
Speaker
A stronghold literally translates in English as a fortress or a prison built in your mind or your emotions. It's a place of arrest, of detention, of captivity and incarceration.
02:24:29
Speaker
It's a place where you are stuck and you're kept from moving forward. And people have, some have won some have dozens of strongholds built in their hearts. And when I say it's a building, it's a building.
02:24:45
Speaker
Let's say this is a foothold and the enemy says,
02:24:51
Speaker
And no one loves you.
02:24:55
Speaker
And then your mother says, and no one will ever like you. You're rap you're a piece of dirt nothing. And your best friend at school who you loved more than anyone else port betrays you one day and says, I hope you die.
02:25:13
Speaker
And then you say, yeah, I'm worthless. No one loves me. I'll never be loved by anybody. find Compound is the word. And then you get married and then that person betrays you within like, you know a week of your wedding day.
02:25:31
Speaker
And then says, sure, sure, I wouldn't. I say, you're a piece of crap. I just married you for the money or whatever. And all of a sudden you have a skyscraper in your heart, in your mind, in your will.
02:25:47
Speaker
And it is a building. Okay, there's a reason the Greek is fortress or stronghold prison. It is a building that the demons apply the bricks. You add the wet cement with your belief and demons literally live in inside of them.
02:26:03
Speaker
There are people who literally have thousands and thousands and thousands of demons in each stronghold and some have multiple strongholds so they've thousands and thousands demons because they've chosen to believe the lie of the end.
02:26:21
Speaker
Here are just some examples. We'll go with porn. It's a massive one, especially for men. Women too, especially for men.
02:26:34
Speaker
Jesus is very clear. If you look at a woman or a man lustfully, you've committed adultery in your heart. So what happens is you've made the decision to look at someone, and I'm not saying you go, hey, good looking.
02:26:51
Speaker
Beauty is great, we should live in a world that's beautiful. If people deliberately dress and it's not beautiful, they need to get their heads examined. We should all look our best. But this is when you're actually going to have your way to lust for someone, like you're claiming them as like, you know your own property. it's It's disgusting, it's vile, you're showing the person no dignity whatsoever.
02:27:13
Speaker
What happens then? well that was the foothold. But then you you watch it again, and again, and again, and again. And each time you're adding brick, brick, brick, brick. brick brick brick brick brick Well, eventually that person is going to be unable to have intimacy with real people.
02:27:31
Speaker
The only intimacy they'll be able to have is if you're in pixelated form and you can't talk back. Or if they pick up a phone and call the hotline number at 11.30pm, the person who's reading the script. They're to struggle with lust.
02:27:46
Speaker
They're going to start having perverse desires. I don't have the exact figures in front of me, but apparently if you go on the dark side of the internet, if you were to see how popular rape fantasies are for men, and especially for women, it would turn your stomach.
02:28:05
Speaker
When people do not value other people on a basic biological personage level, it gets nasty. And then people then walk around with all these issues in their heart and strongholds because they're complicit with it.
02:28:23
Speaker
The initial exposure may not have even been their fault. Sometimes you're online and something just pops up on the screen. Not your fault. Maybe have a question and you're kind just Googling something like, you know, like this war in the playground, what does that mean?
02:28:39
Speaker
And something appears on your screen. Or you're at a friend's house and someone puts a magazine on your knee. The exposure not always your fault. It's foothold. That's the enemy opening the door.
02:28:51
Speaker
The stronghold is when you become an active, willful participant, and it becomes rooted and grounded and and cemented in your mind, your heart.
02:29:02
Speaker
Let's go rejection. Let's start rejection from parents, a major one that just destroys lives from the formative years.
02:29:12
Speaker
What happens is They're rejected from their parents. Let's assume it's 250 out of 365 days a year. assume it goes on for 18 years. That's a very big number.
02:29:25
Speaker
Let's assume it happens on the playground with friends. It happens when they go to college. happens when they get a job from all their bosses, from their colleagues. And this person just sees themselves as Mr. or Mrs. Rejected.
02:29:37
Speaker
There's a stamp on their forehead saying, please reject me, sooner rather than later. And no matter where they go, people dislike them.
02:29:48
Speaker
The consequence is a stronghold where they'll be unable to trust God. They'll apply what their father did to father with a capital F. They'll assume if their earthly father hates them, father God must as well.
02:30:02
Speaker
They cannot trust leaders. If anyone who's a boss or a pastor or a leader of sports club says something they even largely don't like, they blow a gasket.
02:30:18
Speaker
a They're unable to trust their friends. They might want friends, but there's no real deep intimacy. They play the hokey pokey. You have one foot in, you have one foot out, you have one foot in and you shake it all about because they're waiting in advance to get pushed out of this or other friend group.
02:30:38
Speaker
And you end up rejecting people before they can reject you. Because it gives you that little power trip. ha I'm the one control here before they can throw you to the curb.
02:30:50
Speaker
And maybe they were never going to, but you think it's inevitable. People with self-esteem issues. They fall into the trap where they start to have comparison with other people.
02:31:06
Speaker
You can never measure up to them, so you hate yourself. i mean, I had this as child. I was told from a very young age that I was fat and ugly and my smile was ugly and whatever else. and my People made comments on my eyes.
02:31:19
Speaker
So i grew up with this real sense of hating, looking at myself in the mirror, until eventually I just had to look in the mirror one day. Well, I didn't look mirror, I looked at my reflection of my phone, I don't have a camera on phone.
02:31:34
Speaker
And I just began to read every single Bible verse on who God says I am. And then I had to make a decision, was God a liar, or had I believed a lie?
02:31:45
Speaker
um But really, getting to hate myself, hated my body, hated how I looked. And then that I was comparing myself with a version of myself in my head. He had more friends than I had.
02:31:57
Speaker
He had more money than I had. He had more popularity than I had. He had a super cool life that I didn't have. He had a family friends I never had. And I could never compare with him.
02:32:09
Speaker
So I hated myself more. i looked at everyone else and the grass was always greener than wherever I was on a given day. You end up beating yourself up inwardly.
02:32:22
Speaker
And then what can ultimately happen is because in your heart, you're beating yourself up all the time, you can also develop autoimmune issues.
02:32:34
Speaker
which is when your body is eating and destroying and devouring itself. For anyone autoimmune issue, it is almost certainly rooted and grounded in self-esteem, self-hatred issue.
02:32:56
Speaker
If someone has a stronghold of control,
02:33:01
Speaker
You're gonna see it in their strategy or lack thereof, how they try to get control over other people. It'll impact their passivity.
02:33:14
Speaker
They will have a secret life that no one else can know about. There's the external life where they're trying to control everyone around them, but in their own life, and you'll see that things are probably falling apart.
02:33:28
Speaker
And they will live a life where they're always striving for more because they're so obsessed with how people see them in the external.
02:33:39
Speaker
If it's the occult or witchcraft, someone opens the door to the occult. the Ouija boards.
02:33:45
Speaker
Tarot cards readings. Miss, I'll get tea leaves, yeah. Mystic Meg. When I was a child, her face creeped me out. I kind of liked Reed again, ha, that's not true, ha, that's not true, ha, that's not true.
02:34:01
Speaker
But I'm telling you, her face, between that and Michael Jackson, I didn't know which was scarier. No offense to MJ. What will happen is they'll end up experiencing the presence of other beings that they've brought into their lives.
02:34:16
Speaker
They will start to have demonic dreams. They will live in torment and they'll be crippled by fear. Open a door to the wild and the rats are going to come in.
02:34:31
Speaker
If someone has an issue or a stronghold of abandonment, they will live in a constant state of fear of not being protected and have a constant in the sense of betrayal.
02:34:45
Speaker
And because they live in that, they will experience that. Job 3.25 says, the thing I feared has happened, the thing I dreaded has come upon me.
02:34:58
Speaker
If someone's issue, their stronghold is built on self, they're going to feel worthless. They're going to feel stupid. They're feel ugly and they will come to hate themselves and hate others for not giving them the reaction and validation that they think that they deserve and that they crave.
02:35:18
Speaker
And if someone has a stronghold of fear, they will live in a constant state of fear of premature death. Fear of being left rejected and abandoned, waking up one day and find that they're all alone in the world.
02:35:35
Speaker
A fear of being held down there So there's no point standing up. You're going to be brought down anyway. There's no point stepping out. The door is going to be shut. There's no point applying for this. No one's going to respond.
02:35:48
Speaker
There's no point speaking out. Who's going bother listening to you? And then they live in a constant state of panic. How do you deal with a stronghold?
02:36:02
Speaker
Some people come to me like, oh, Brendan, please pray for me for deliverance. I have a stronghold. think it's Praying against strongholds isn't gonna do all that much. You have to demolish the argument.
02:36:16
Speaker
All the things the enemy has told you that you've chosen to believe, you need to take our wrecking ball to them. All the things that you have chosen to participate in, you stop.
02:36:31
Speaker
You own your zone. You have to make daily, minute-by-minute decisions And each time you do, that's taking a wrecking ball to those bricks until the thing collapses.
02:36:46
Speaker
It requires healing pain, exposure, godly counsel, prayer, decision-making, and not giving the enemy an inch, and not backing down until it comes down.
02:37:01
Speaker
lot of Christians don't want to do that. They actually are happy to knock down a level or two of the fortress until it's, well, manageable as per their reckoning, but they don't actually want to get to the root and the foundation of the stronghold.
02:37:21
Speaker
In any building, the higher up it is, skyscraper for instance, the lower down they had to dig for the roots and the foundations of the structure.
02:37:34
Speaker
If you want to take those strongholds, it is spelled W-O-R-K. I want you to start the journey. You have to see it through to conversation.
02:37:49
Speaker
But it's well worth it.
02:37:53
Speaker
All right. I know there was a lot in that. um Seven great questions. Seven detailed questions. Are there any comments or queries or questions on anything that I've shared today? Because I know there was a lot of detail there.
02:38:11
Speaker
Or your head's all full.
02:38:17
Speaker
I think You give fantastic answers. I can give you very detailed. For me now, I'd have to go back over that. 100%. And write notes. yeah That's how I learn and think, but that's just me. And then I might come back to what a question. Yeah, absolutely absolutely. For me to get the most out of that.
02:38:36
Speaker
i would have to write down each question go through your answers i can and then see how i can apply it to my life yeah one under the add the application right yeah and the i's made back but boom stuff bens major thank you so much thank you very a lot of work thank you thank you brendan
02:38:55
Speaker
can you hear me perfectly Yeah, coco m yeah know that was amazing. It really was. But just one question. and From a social perspective, like you sleep with somebody out of wedlock, and you take in everybody that they'd have slept with as well. Isn't that right?
02:39:15
Speaker
Potentially. in the natural. um You know, they say, you know, what if you sleep with someone, you sleep with everyone they've ever slept with because of the DNA that they left behind that region.
02:39:28
Speaker
What can happen is the Bible says that two, although in today's culture it's not only always two, sometimes there are more, but let's say two, two become one. Okay, yes, that's true in a biological, physiological sense, but it's also a mingling of souls, where an imprint of soul parts, a layer of your soul goes into that person, a layer of their soul goes into you, and what can also happen is...
02:39:59
Speaker
if they've slept with other people before, other soul parts attached to them, things like souls, like, you know, like they're holding on to each other, like, you know string of magnets or something, or magnetic balls, can i also enter into you.
02:40:15
Speaker
And also, demons can also enter in as well. If their soul parts, let's say, had trauma, had wounds, had scars caused by sin or abuse, whatever, and demons are holding on to that,
02:40:29
Speaker
They can also enter into you. So not every issue that you're dealing with is always an issue for which you are responsible. Sometimes, like, ah in and of yourself.
02:40:40
Speaker
Sometimes you end up dealing with issues that were brought in by somebody else. and Like, I remember doing a delivery to the guy once, and he was a teenager, he wasn't having sex with anybody.
02:40:52
Speaker
But he... think it was me. I'm gonna say... Asian. was going to Chinese. Asian. And his father, when he was maybe one week old, took the boy into a temple. i I can't pronounce the name of it, but I looked up online.
02:41:17
Speaker
Let's just say from the iconography and the statues outside this temple, this is not a building you want to set foot inside. Unless you're burning into the ground. um But there was a monk in that temple bowl who was a real old.
02:41:31
Speaker
And the father handed... wait Sometimes I wonder how people think any of this is okay. Handed one week old baby over to the monk.
02:41:42
Speaker
And the monk performed a ritual. well And breathed into the baby. Now, I met this baby when he a teenager. Grossly deformed. I mean...
02:41:55
Speaker
Imagine this lower part of your jaw over here. and The demons in his hands and feet. Think of like, you know, you might have a poltergeist. You know, a person dies and they're all violent. It's not really true.
02:42:11
Speaker
But that was the only word I could think of because they were smacking him. They would routinely try to kill him throughout the day. His mother and aunt, once you brought him that event, they were absolutely at the end of their tether pulling hair their head.
02:42:24
Speaker
It was just heartbreaking to watch what was known as the Nizer Deliverance on him. But, effectively what happened was the monk breathed the demons and himself into the boy.
02:42:45
Speaker
And when I kind of looked into that temple in particular, Part of the breathing ritual is that the monk was trying to breathe even layers of his own soul into the boy for like immortality purposes.
02:43:00
Speaker
So when he reached inevitable end and croaked, he would live on in the boy as kind of like, iha ha I'm still a alive, I'm still here. This ain't nonsense. When I say it's nonsense on some level, there was a transference, most definitely.
02:43:16
Speaker
um and It can happen through witchcraft. It can happen through illicit sex, is sex inside marriage between one man and one woman, which, yes, needs specifying in this day and age when people think a free-for-all, one man, one woman, for one life.
02:43:34
Speaker
um And it's,
02:43:40
Speaker
yeah, it's very, very real. He is, I hope he's got the help since then. But by that stage, he was struggling on the issue that he was not responsible for.
02:43:51
Speaker
He was just a baby. His father was complicit. The monk was complicit. The demons were the big bads. But because he was the victim of that ritual, all this has gone down.
02:44:03
Speaker
I've done de deliverance in guys before who one of them was raised by a coven of witches actually before became a Christian. and And they over perform all sorts of sex magic and things in him just... think the worst things you can do to people and that's... Yeah, that's kind what's going on. And then a lot of the issues that he's struggling with and dealing with are not things that he's responsible for.
02:44:31
Speaker
They're not things he had any say in. They're things that were done to him. So, in the same way with anyone, yeah, like, you know, if you're having sex somebody not married to or people who are whoring about...
02:44:44
Speaker
they end up getting a transfer of souls and spirit that they're not responsible for It wasn't even their there sin.
02:44:56
Speaker
It wasn't their trauma. It wasn't their wounds. But there was an open door transfer. So yeah, sex is big one. As a scripture says, doesn't it?
02:45:08
Speaker
If someone becomes like one body, Isn't it? If someone joins to the prostitute, it's like one body, you become one body. So means, like you said, just said you know it becomes the same problem. So it means the transfer of demons and all that dirt and everything. So if someone is non-Christian, he will be participating somewhere, at some point, with the traumas or the demonic.
02:45:35
Speaker
So if you lay, so you're just literally looking for troubles.
02:45:42
Speaker
Yeah, it's very, very true, because so often people focus on the natural and then just stop. I'm not saying the natural isn't important. Of course it is. But it's about realizing we are playing on a 4D chessboard.
02:45:58
Speaker
and Where you've got, okay, you're your own soul, the physical realm, the angelic realm, and the demonic realm. And everybody is looking for something and everybody's fighting for something. Everyone's itching for something.
02:46:16
Speaker
And it's never just, it never just impacts one of those levels. It's a 4D chessboard and every move has a consequence for the other levels. And it's not about living in a holy life out of fear.
Complexity of the Human Soul
02:46:35
Speaker
But it's about choosing not to live an unholy life in awareness of the severity of it. And a man I was the first time I ever saw or knowingly saw a soul part in a woman I was at a revival.
02:46:55
Speaker
And I saw another guy doing it. and He was talking to this woman. Let's say her name was Leanne. It wasn't. Let's call her Leanne. And he was like, um, hmm.
02:47:09
Speaker
Leanne, what's going on with you? And she was like, and her face began to contort in a real manly way. Oh, God. And then he just said, what's your name?
02:47:22
Speaker
George. I was thinking, hey, the demon's name is George. I said, that doesn't make sense. And then he goes, Leanne, who's George? And she said, my ex-husband.
02:47:33
Speaker
He would treat her very, very badly. And then, so guy had been delivering and said George, I evict you right now in Jesus' name.
02:47:44
Speaker
Heavenly host, take every soul part of George and every issue that he brought in and evict him, take him back to George's body. And then Leanne, from his body, back into hers.
02:48:00
Speaker
stand there my friends going, don't know what this guy sent to this crap. Well, I saw it happen before my eyes, coughing out George and then inhaling herself back in, she looked 100%. I said, that was a few years ago.
02:48:16
Speaker
was a different than someone once and I just said, that was mad. There's no way that was, written that was just for a show. So I just said, right, I just want to see if this actually works. So I did it, and the next thing, it it it worked right before my eyes in a Zoom call. And I said, what?
02:48:34
Speaker
So the Bible says the human heart, who can understand it? You cannot begin to imagine the reality and complexity of of your soul.
02:48:46
Speaker
Forget everything happening around the world. Just start from within. But, yeah, it's... in When there's a soul part in there, are there from a partners? You can have a soul attachment of people that you hate.
02:49:04
Speaker
If you spend 21 hours in a 24-hour cycle thinking about someone you hate, there's probably a soul attachment there too. and They can be in there. if you're in a marriage and ends, there can still be soul part there. You need get that out.
02:49:19
Speaker
and and issues that you're dealing with that are not even your issues, and but it's wonderful to see if you'll get set free and healed from them. and And then you just call the part of your soul that they that's in them back into your own body as well, just to get this whole and healed as possible.
02:49:38
Speaker
At some point I will do a series on the soul because it's... Oh, interesting, interesting, because I never came across that. he's just saying now witnessing that that's for okay i know that uh the right demonic entities but now you've got ah parts of our ourselves and i came across with dan duval you know when he was explaining that's manic when he's playing these things that wickedness becomes even darker you think jesus christ it's so mixed up soberly so dirty you know and it's just
02:50:12
Speaker
You think, how does it even happen in the world? But it's again, you know, freedom of choice. Yeah. And the reality, and so it can even happen, Ramis, when choice has been taken away from one of thee come one of the individuals. Oh, yeah.
02:50:29
Speaker
And relax if they're a victim of sexual abuse, it still happens. and you might you might have heard the expression, you know abused people, abused people, you know, hurt people, hurt people, and you think, i how could you be a victim of this, and then do it to others?
02:50:46
Speaker
Well, maybe there's a layer of their soul that's in you, and the demons in them then entered into you, and then decided, you know, haha, we destroyed this person's life, making them an abused victim, now let's destroy their life, and the victimiser because demons are disgusting may I ask is that the same as the soul ties or is that what they're called that's what it is because I came across there and I thought okay soul ties is something like understanding like a stronghold if you wish but it means that's a little bit different it's just par par yeah yeah I'm
02:51:32
Speaker
Since there's an interest in it i I will put a mini-series together in a few weeks time. i will do a few Sundays on the soul.
02:51:46
Speaker
Looking at soul ties, looking at soul parts. looking at soul parts and ultimately how you ah you break those ties, you break those linkages, what people and demons, when they've been established.
02:52:04
Speaker
May I ask something? Quite to the importance. May I ask something? yeah Could you like, but um maybe recommend like books? ah Oh, that topic, you know, that that would be great, you know.
02:52:20
Speaker
Yeah, get some resources together and I'll stick them up on the WhatsApp chat, okay? Because somehow, yeah, because somehow that topic, I think, is ah of paramount of importance because ah on the other hand, OHM is that deliverance service.
02:52:35
Speaker
I didn't came across myself, you know, to that one, but I believe God is preparing because, you know, when you come up with the complexity, like you said, of your own soul, and it's how hard to understand this, and that's the process, you know, then you think,
02:52:53
Speaker
I might know a little bit more that to be aware of something, have to know what it is, actually. You have to be a revelation of it.
02:53:06
Speaker
Then you can move, obviously, deeper and you can help people because you don't know what's what. and Yeah, because a lot of people can't really tell the difference between their own soul...
02:53:22
Speaker
a soul that got into them from a human or a demon. so they end up praying against the wrong thing. and then what's really sad is that lot of people just assume everything wrong in their life. That's just me.
02:53:35
Speaker
That's just who I am. This is just my life. This is just my portion.
Soul Ties and Deliverance
02:53:41
Speaker
And it's like, no, chiquitita. No, no, no, no, and no. and no that That is not you. um But they don't know the difference because it's just become normal for them.
02:53:50
Speaker
So they're being tormented on multiple fronts and multiple levels by multiple things. yeah And they're under the illusion that if it said this is them. That this is the the true them.
02:54:01
Speaker
and So now I'll put a series together on the soul and um in a few weeks time, will maybe when we finish the David series, I'll a few weeks on the soul because it's it's heavy, it's jacked up, it almost sounds science fictional, but science fiction is spiritual reality.
02:54:21
Speaker
And we'll... well We'll pull over the curtain, we'll unveil it, and we'll see it for what all really is.
02:54:31
Speaker
And that way you'll be much better equipped, each and one of you, to deal with it in your lives. and Science fiction. Well said. You when I listened to that, Duval, I thought it's science fiction. That that does first thing comes to your mind is that, is I thought, is that even possible?
02:54:52
Speaker
But do you think, that's a quick question, do you think, you know, that the ah scripture says the knowledge in the last days will increase? So is that the knowledge about, actually, about ourselves? Because we never knew that the church was so dry and empty, they couldn't give you any answers.
02:55:12
Speaker
It's a question. I would say this was knowledge that was probably progressive to people who lived in Bible times. Where the reality is, if you look in the Bible, you have a few heroes here and there.
02:55:27
Speaker
And then you have, like, you know, the nameless, faceless majority. Where most people did not believe the Bible, even while the Bible was happening and being written. Yeah. um Most people still chose to live in denial, in illusion and delusion.
02:55:44
Speaker
And the same is true today, where Most people still choose not to believe in the word of God, and even God's people are very happy with what they're told by a certain someone that they trust on a Sunday, and they don't really want anything that would challenge them, that would stretch them.
02:56:04
Speaker
So there's a lot of willful ignorance, but there always has been. um We're not responsible for everyone in the world, we are responsible for ourselves and for each other. So as long as when the word of god is released we take hold of it we let it in we put the word to work and that's what matters rather than under the micro the macro cosmic level
02:56:33
Speaker
brown table yes we will yes we will yeah guys um let's have a communion um because it's important as all of this has been as interesting The most important thing of all the da other act on d is of these books. It brought us where we are.
02:56:51
Speaker
And then we'll go in our merry way. You can get your communion elements now, guys, your bread or crackers, whatever you're going to have on the drink.
02:57:05
Speaker
No wine if you're driving later on.
02:57:23
Speaker
But make you.
02:57:26
Speaker
You have drink there? Yeah. Yeah, Grace.
02:57:59
Speaker
Jesus, I thank you for all the revelation you've poured out today, Lord. That you are the one has provided us with all this food to eat, Lord God, that's now ceremonially clean, that makes our lives a lot easier, our diet's lot more exciting.
02:58:26
Speaker
that you are the one who absolutely despises evil, but when you saw people, pretending to be religious, using that law to abuse the people they chose not to like, you said n o spelled N-O and you stood in front of her in the same way you stand in front of us.
02:58:50
Speaker
I thank you, Lord God, that you have taught us how to pray. You've given us everything that we need.
02:58:57
Speaker
so that we can
02:59:03
Speaker
call in and declare your good, perfect, pleasing will into our lives, into each other's lives, into our nation's life, into our world, and see the darkness is pushed back in real time.
02:59:22
Speaker
Lord, I thank you that we are growing in fruitfulness, Lord, and
02:59:35
Speaker
in the fruits of Holy Spirit.
02:59:38
Speaker
And the more we grow in his fruit, the more fruitful we will be.
02:59:46
Speaker
You've already given out so many gifts, God, and you're gonna give more.
02:59:56
Speaker
I thank you, Lord Jesus,
03:00:00
Speaker
that
03:00:07
Speaker
your grace surrounds us.
03:00:13
Speaker
And it is so powerful, so potent, so amazing, so mighty,
03:00:22
Speaker
that as we walk in it and rely on you, we can even tear down strongholds, Lord. that the enemy is built within us and evict them.
03:00:38
Speaker
And it's all because your body was broken put our lives back together again.
03:00:48
Speaker
and your blood was poured out to wash us clean and to make us whole, to restore us. Lord, I thank you that you are absolutely good.
03:01:03
Speaker
You are so good and your love so sacrificial and so amazing. And nowhere was it more exhibited, nowhere where exhibited more clearly than on your cross, the cross where Jesus died. And in the empty grave your rose again.
03:01:29
Speaker
Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
03:02:08
Speaker
you know that food we just told about that food it's a little bit unexpected because everyone goes oh yeah yeah i see that's clean that's not clean that's this and that but um only for um
03:02:26
Speaker
that ritual purposes that just to separate it everyone would know and never never came to that i thought before
03:02:39
Speaker
I thought always, because it's not beneficial. And that's why, you know. Because these are good, these are not good. But then he says, well, you can eat everything.
03:02:50
Speaker
Exactly, exactly. And that was his way of saying that that requirement was for a time that they were to be a unique set-apart people. But he wanted them...
03:03:03
Speaker
to bring the good news beyond their borders, beyond Israel's borders and beyond. So the food was like a picture of the people. That when only select foods were on the diet, on the protocol, that was because they were a set apart people.
03:03:20
Speaker
And so all food was now ritually clean. It's that they could branch out to other nations. And guys, just before we finish, so I just have... I could be wrong. i have one thing poking back in my head. i don't even know if I even answered one of the questions fully.
03:03:36
Speaker
One of the questions was about women. do have to wear headscarves when they pray or are head covering when they pray? I think I started answering it. i don't even know if I that said it was an important part. I'll know if i went when I watch this back.
03:03:49
Speaker
But just for a clarity for that question, if I didn't already answer it properly. Yeah. In the first century a d women had to wear head covering and culturally.
03:04:01
Speaker
It wasn't a biblical mandate, it was a cultural thing in Corinth, which is in Greece. I've been there, i actually went to where that Corinthian church was. you're going to have a church venue, it was fantastic. Just fabulous.
03:04:18
Speaker
and It was long disputed if that actually was the exact location. And then Paul writes to specific people the letter, say hi to so-and-so, bless so-and-so, give this person a kiss from me.
03:04:29
Speaker
And they actually found a tablet with all those names on the premises, so we know it was the site. But at one point, Paul says that women should cover their heads when they pray. That's not a biblical mandate. That's application for that culture.
03:04:47
Speaker
which was in that culture, married women had their hair up and would wear the covering their heads. Unmarried women, especially loose women and prostitutes, were culturally in that Greek area, forbidden from wearing their head, from wearing a head covering.
03:05:08
Speaker
and So basically what Paul was saying was, don't come to church looking like a prostitute. If you're gonna be praying, you know, dress modestly, look appropriately.
03:05:21
Speaker
It wasn't a law
Cultural Context of Head Coverings
03:05:22
Speaker
or a mandate regarding women's attire. It was specific to that particular context. Because there are churches where if a woman wasn't wearing a hat, they wouldn't let her through the door, which is just nuts. It's crazy.
03:05:37
Speaker
But what that law was, it was ah physical picture of a submitted heart. Your dress code should be a picture of your heart posture.
03:05:49
Speaker
So he's not saying that if you're a woman, you can't come to Josh's generation unless not one strand of your hair is covered. It was a cultural commentary. a Basically, you don't come looking like a slush.
03:06:03
Speaker
Look demure, look modest, dress appropriately. So I don't know if I said that at the time when I was on that question. um It just came to me run halfway through true through communion, i was thinking,
03:06:16
Speaker
but didn't I didn't know. But if I didn't answer properly then, that's my answer now. It's not that women have to wear head coverings or have their hair long. It was a cultural commentary, dress appropriately for your individual context.
03:06:31
Speaker
All right.
03:06:33
Speaker
All right, guys. Well, thank you so much for joining today. and i hope you got a lot out of that. And if... this has sparked any further questions or as you're thinking about this during the week, you're like, oh, swear this or this or this.
03:06:49
Speaker
Send it to me and a few weeks time, going to something like this again. and yeah, regarding the complexities of the soul, I'll do a little little bit later in the year on that because it's heavy, it's deep, it's vast, it is almost unknowable.
03:07:10
Speaker
But yeah, I believe with Holy Spirit guiding us, we can hack away at it and we ah we'll get there. And i do remember that Katie, that's Mandy's daughter, is getting married today. it on the WhatsApp chat. No way.
03:07:27
Speaker
Yes, right? It is. It's amazing. After all, the Lord's taken her through. So continue just to pray blessings over Katie today.
03:07:37
Speaker
And most importantly, that the bride and groom would have increased knowledge and intimacy with Jesus. Not just God, God's grace, but Jesus in particular, saviour and Lord. That's the instruction from the mother of the bride. So don't tick her off. So guys, have a beautiful rest your Sunday.
03:08:01
Speaker
Thanks so much for your time, attention, participation. Have a beautiful start, middle, and end your week. Discipleship's back on Wednesday. i think we'll be looking at...
03:08:13
Speaker
Jesus appearing to the Old Testament hero Gideon. And we'll be looking a little bit at spiritual warfare as well. The operations of the host of heaven, heaven's army, against the demonic realm.
03:08:29
Speaker
Day by day by day. will kill you then, okay? Bye, friends. Remember, God is absolutely good. Live in his goodness.
03:08:40
Speaker
Amen. he Amen.