The Path to Unity
Source URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_bpWbj_K-w
Video ID: t_bpWbj_K-w
YouTube upload date: 2024-08-18
Video duration: 01:41:04
Transcription: Faster-Whisper small.en (automatic; timestamped)
Note: Automatic transcription; review against the audio before quotation or publication.

[00:00:03] Lord, that's our prayer right now that we pray you will send your glory.
[00:02:57] Lord, your presence, your power, your anointing among your people.
[00:03:01] Lord, that's what we need.
[00:03:03] We need your anointing.
[00:03:04] We need your presence.
[00:03:06] We need your glory.
[00:03:07] We need your strength.
[00:03:09] Or we need the power to be witnesses.
[00:03:11] We need you to confirm your word with signs following.
[00:03:14] We pray for the anointing on the preaching or what we do here.
[00:03:19] What our students will do in their evangelism.
[00:03:23] Lord, everything that we do, Lord, we pray for the anointing of your spirit,
[00:03:28] the leading of your spirit and the power of your Holy Spirit.
[00:03:33] And we pray this right now in the name of Jesus.
[00:03:37] Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.
[00:03:39] You may be seen this morning.
[00:03:41] We welcome everyone to Fire and Grace Church.
[00:03:45] Got a lot of people out today sick or traveling.
[00:03:49] Yes. OK, Sandra says she has a word to share.
[00:04:01] The Lord says I am the same yesterday, today and forevermore,
[00:04:06] and I will never leave you.
[00:04:07] I'll always be with you.
[00:04:10] So to seek me while you can.
[00:04:13] And that if you can't find me, I'm in my word.
[00:04:16] My word is me. Amen. Amen.
[00:04:22] Receive that. Amen.
[00:04:25] Everybody take your Bibles out and turn with me to Psalm 133.
[00:04:36] Didn't plan on starting with this, but that last song just kind of motivated me here
[00:04:41] because we talk about the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
[00:04:46] the power of the Holy Spirit, a lot of the need for that in our lives,
[00:04:51] in our church.
[00:04:57] You know, let me just say this.
[00:04:58] I think most people know after our church has been here,
[00:05:02] now we're going on 16 years, got a little bit of a track record, right?
[00:05:09] I've been doing this now for 37 years, got a little bit of a track record.
[00:05:14] OK, I think people know that when it comes to church,
[00:05:19] and I hear this from people all over the country, different parts of the world,
[00:05:24] they say, you know, your church is like the church is supposed to be in a sense.
[00:05:30] You're at least what you preach and teach.
[00:05:33] A lot of people don't get to attend here,
[00:05:35] so they don't know what it's like to actually be here week to week.
[00:05:38] A lot of people are really shocked when they find out how small our church is
[00:05:41] that had been watching out there because, you know,
[00:05:44] we'll have eight to ten thousand people watch the sermon every week.
[00:05:48] And so they just think, you know, it's a big church.
[00:05:52] No, we're not a big church.
[00:05:52] And there's a reason why we're not a big church,
[00:05:55] because the battles that this church faces to do what we do,
[00:06:01] to preach what I preach, to teach what I teach,
[00:06:08] is the battle like I cannot even put into words
[00:06:14] to try to maintain unity, order, respect of authority.
[00:06:22] We can talk about that a little bit today.
[00:06:26] To do things biblically.
[00:06:27] You know, I saw a meme on Facebook this morning.
[00:06:31] I've been up since about 1 30, but I saw a meme
[00:06:35] and it was like, what that goofy guy from the office mean?
[00:06:38] Well, you know, one of those.
[00:06:42] But it said there that biblical Christianity is unpopular,
[00:06:49] and popular Christianity is unbiblical.
[00:06:52] And I was like, yep, bingo.
[00:06:54] See, what's really unpopular, and it's unpopular with a lot of Christians,
[00:06:59] is when you get down into the nitty gritty of the Bible,
[00:07:02] what the Bible says about things that most of us want to avoid.
[00:07:07] We want to avoid, or that we've been to so many churches in America
[00:07:12] that are so watered down, and we got accustomed to that.
[00:07:17] So then you come to a church like this and start hearing stuff
[00:07:21] that you didn't hear for years and years and years,
[00:07:23] or in a way you've never heard it.
[00:07:26] It really kind of shocks the spiritual system.
[00:07:32] But that's okay, because our battle,
[00:07:36] our battle is to be a biblical church, okay?
[00:07:43] And that means sound doctrine from Genesis to Revelation on things.
[00:07:48] Now, I know there are people out there that hate my guts,
[00:07:52] and they go to different denominations and things.
[00:07:54] I'm talking about Christians who cannot stand me
[00:07:56] because they are into false doctrines, whatever it may be.
[00:07:59] It always saved Calvinism, pre-Trib rapture beliefs,
[00:08:06] Preterism, I mean, there's all kinds of errors out there
[00:08:10] that I deal with.
[00:08:11] But I think most people know, and most people who have followed me
[00:08:17] or followed the ministry for a long time now,
[00:08:19] know that doctrinally, if I'm going to make a point,
[00:08:23] I'm going to kind of cover it thoroughly, whatever it may be.
[00:08:28] Creation, deliverance, spiritual warfare, healing, miracles,
[00:08:35] and try to give the balanced side of those things.
[00:08:39] I don't think anybody can really charge me
[00:08:40] with false doctrine, teaching false doctrine,
[00:08:43] and be correct in that accusation, all right?
[00:08:46] So that's the first thing.
[00:08:47] Second thing is, there's no one that can charge me
[00:08:50] with immorality, because I'm not living it.
[00:08:53] And there's no one that can charge me with misuse of funds,
[00:08:58] because I live in a 100-year-old house that keeps needing repairs,
[00:09:00] and I drive a 12-year-old truck.
[00:09:04] So I'm not getting rich off of doing this, all right?
[00:09:10] So I'm not misusing money.
[00:09:12] So when it comes to that, then here's the thing,
[00:09:16] and this is what we've got to remember.
[00:09:18] And this we need to remember not just about leadership
[00:09:20] but about each other.
[00:09:22] Be very careful when you decide to criticize or attack,
[00:09:28] because a lot of times, these things are like minor issues
[00:09:32] that if you let continue, they're going to blow up
[00:09:35] into big issues.
[00:09:37] And I'm going to explain what I'm talking about.
[00:09:39] But let's read this.
[00:09:40] This is Psalm 133.
[00:09:42] We want the anointing.
[00:09:44] We want the glory of God.
[00:09:46] We want the power of the Holy Spirit to move.
[00:09:51] And this is one of the songs of David here.
[00:09:54] And he said, behold, how good and how pleasant
[00:09:56] it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
[00:09:59] It is like the precious ointment upon the head that
[00:10:02] ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard,
[00:10:04] and went down to the skirts of his garments,
[00:10:07] as the dew of Herman and as the dew that descended
[00:10:11] upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord
[00:10:14] commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.
[00:10:17] So in the context of talking about unity,
[00:10:22] how wonderful he is for brethren to dwell together
[00:10:24] in unity, he says that is part of what
[00:10:27] brings the anointing and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
[00:10:31] But notice he could have just said,
[00:10:33] I just pour my spirit out if you're in unity.
[00:10:35] No.
[00:10:36] He actually said it's like the anointing that came upon Aaron.
[00:10:39] Why did he bring up Aaron?
[00:10:41] Because Aaron was one of his delegated authorities.
[00:10:45] Moses was a delegated authority.
[00:10:47] Aaron was a delegated authority.
[00:10:50] And he's letting us know that the anointing comes down
[00:10:55] from the Lord.
[00:10:57] Because today's really a message about leadership.
[00:11:00] Then upon his leadership, delegated authority.
[00:11:03] And then to what?
[00:11:05] Down to the rest of the body.
[00:11:08] Because Aaron also represents the high priest.
[00:11:10] Jesus is the high priest, so it represents his body.
[00:11:15] Now, there's misnomers about unity in the body of Christ.
[00:11:20] Because there's a lot of people that think that unity
[00:11:22] means that we can disagree about a bunch of stuff
[00:11:28] and be in unity.
[00:11:30] That's not a definition of unity.
[00:11:33] Let me just give you that.
[00:11:34] That's a little tidbit of wisdom, right?
[00:11:39] In fact, in Amos 3.3, let's put that up.
[00:11:43] God asked Israel this when Israel was in,
[00:11:46] they had their idolatry going on, all their compromise
[00:11:49] and issues.
[00:11:50] And the prophet Amos, God speaking through him,
[00:11:53] says, this, can two walk together
[00:11:55] except they be agreed?
[00:11:59] What is the obvious answer to that question?
[00:12:02] No.
[00:12:05] Now, let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 10.
[00:12:28] This is one of those things that I've
[00:12:30] been preaching for a long time that's not popular.
[00:12:35] Because let me just go and tell you,
[00:12:38] there's a phrase that I hate more than any, I think.
[00:12:41] It's in the top five of phrases that I hate.
[00:12:44] Let's just agree to disagree.
[00:12:49] I'm about sick of hearing that.
[00:12:52] Because that basically says, you know what?
[00:12:53] I don't care what the Bible's in.
[00:12:55] This is, too, when you're talking about,
[00:12:56] here's what scripture says.
[00:12:57] I don't really care about that.
[00:12:58] I don't agree with that.
[00:13:00] You're not disagreeing with me if I'm telling you
[00:13:02] what the Bible says about something, right?
[00:13:06] Now, here's what the apostle Paul said
[00:13:10] would deal with division.
[00:13:14] He says, now I beseech you, brethren,
[00:13:16] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
[00:13:18] that you all speak the same thing.
[00:13:19] Somebody said, somebody say this with me.
[00:13:22] Speak the same thing.
[00:13:25] That there be no divisions among you,
[00:13:28] that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind
[00:13:32] and in the same judgment.
[00:13:35] For it hath been declared unto me, my brethren,
[00:13:37] by them which are of the house of Chloe,
[00:13:39] that there are contentions among you.
[00:13:42] Now, I love that the house of Chloe was tattletales.
[00:13:47] But God seems to be okay with that.
[00:13:50] And guess what?
[00:13:51] I get tattletales too.
[00:13:53] People come to me and they just tattle.
[00:13:56] And it's good because if there's a problem going on,
[00:13:58] I need to know about it.
[00:14:00] Sometimes I find out way too late
[00:14:03] that there's been a problem and nobody told me
[00:14:08] and it would have been better had they told me sooner
[00:14:10] so I could deal with the problem sooner, all right?
[00:14:14] But here this, now granted,
[00:14:17] will we ever have perfect unity in a church?
[00:14:21] No.
[00:14:22] But is that not the Bible, the goal of what the Bible says?
[00:14:26] The goal is to speak the same things,
[00:14:29] have the same mind, have the same judgment, okay?
[00:14:33] That is vitally important.
[00:14:36] Now, this is why church-wise,
[00:14:43] you know, we have a statement of faith
[00:14:46] where we put out what we believe from the scriptures
[00:14:49] on the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.
[00:14:53] From the Bible being the infallible,
[00:14:55] inspired word of God, to Jesus being God in the flesh,
[00:14:59] to the triune nature of God,
[00:15:02] AKA the Trinity,
[00:15:05] to the baptism, the Holy Spirit,
[00:15:07] evidence of speaking in other tongues.
[00:15:09] I mean, we'll get down to the list.
[00:15:10] Repentance, baptism.
[00:15:13] I mean, we put it all out there.
[00:15:15] Salvation through Jesus alone,
[00:15:17] through faith in his blood, his death on the cross,
[00:15:20] his resurrection, that's the way you are saved.
[00:15:24] Turning from sin, becoming a disciple.
[00:15:26] I mean, we put it all out there, okay?
[00:15:31] And, you know, I don't give you
[00:15:34] 20-minute sermonettes for Christianettes, right?
[00:15:37] I try to give you the word,
[00:15:39] try to go through it systematically, all right?
[00:15:42] Now, again, our goal should be,
[00:15:47] if we're part of a church, to the best of our ability.
[00:15:49] If we can't agree with the foundational doctrines,
[00:15:53] then guess what?
[00:15:54] You shouldn't be here.
[00:15:57] And the part two of that, too,
[00:15:59] if you can't handle spiritual authority
[00:16:02] and actually submitting to leadership,
[00:16:06] and if you can't submit to the leadership of the church,
[00:16:09] then you shouldn't be in it.
[00:16:11] You hear me?
[00:16:12] This is just the way it is.
[00:16:15] And one of two things is gonna happen
[00:16:17] is that either you're going to submit
[00:16:20] to the doctrinal positions of the church,
[00:16:24] the leadership of the church,
[00:16:26] and to those two things,
[00:16:28] to the authority of the authorities within the church,
[00:16:31] or you're going to rebel.
[00:16:32] Now, if you rebel, that means you start,
[00:16:36] usually rebellion starts with the mouth, talking, all right?
[00:16:42] And then, of course, it goes from that
[00:16:48] to actually more talking and more spreading around,
[00:16:54] and then it just gets poison, okay?
[00:16:57] It just becomes poison.
[00:16:58] Now, I just had to deal with something this week.
[00:17:01] It's no, most of you, everybody knows,
[00:17:03] I think we sent out the text about it.
[00:17:06] I tried to give as little information as possible
[00:17:09] in dealing with that situation
[00:17:10] because I'm not trying to hurt anybody,
[00:17:13] and I'm not trying to put everybody's stuff out there.
[00:17:16] But as I dealt with this person,
[00:17:19] this particular family that I told,
[00:17:22] it was time for them to move on from our church,
[00:17:25] I'm finding out more and more situations
[00:17:28] where I had strictly told her
[00:17:31] because she came here with a bunch of new age,
[00:17:33] divination, alternative healing techniques,
[00:17:38] and ideas, and things of that nature,
[00:17:39] which I told her from the beginning,
[00:17:41] if you come here and try to teach that,
[00:17:43] there's going to be a problem.
[00:17:46] And I actually told them not to move here,
[00:17:51] and actually told her the first time we had dinner together
[00:17:55] that I sent the spirit of witchcraft on her.
[00:17:58] Now, I'm not saying she's a Satan worshiper,
[00:18:00] but when you're into new age, divination,
[00:18:05] techniques, different alternative healing techniques
[00:18:09] and things of that nature,
[00:18:11] you have opened the door to demons
[00:18:13] and it's a spirit of witchcraft there.
[00:18:14] The spirit's a divination there, okay?
[00:18:18] Now, honestly, I'm gonna be honest with you,
[00:18:20] I was probably far too patient
[00:18:25] because what I found out was this person
[00:18:27] was going behind my back and laying hands on people
[00:18:30] and praying for people and trying to help people
[00:18:33] with her alternative medical practices and techniques
[00:18:40] and would say sometimes to the people,
[00:18:42] I know Pastor Dean doesn't want me doing this,
[00:18:44] but now I'm gonna tell you what that is.
[00:18:50] I don't care how you slice it, dice it, don't like it.
[00:18:55] That is rebellion.
[00:18:59] It is rebellion to the spiritual authority
[00:19:02] and to the doctrinal positions of this church
[00:19:04] on those type of things.
[00:19:07] And what does the Bible say?
[00:19:08] Rebellion is as what?
[00:19:11] Spirit of witchcraft.
[00:19:13] And there are people literally
[00:19:16] that because she was into that stuff
[00:19:18] and would never truly let go of it,
[00:19:20] I'm gonna tell some of you
[00:19:22] that went and had your blood divination test
[00:19:26] or hands laid on you or you let them pray for you
[00:19:31] or even ate food that came from there.
[00:19:36] We've already had serious, massive deliverance
[00:19:41] over that person laying hands on people.
[00:19:50] It happened at Skyfall and under strict,
[00:19:55] Skyfall, we have very strict policy.
[00:19:59] No one lays hands on anybody, no one prays for anybody
[00:20:03] unless they have the prayer team badge
[00:20:05] and we change the color of it every year
[00:20:07] and this past year it was orange.
[00:20:08] And if you didn't have that orange badge,
[00:20:10] I don't care if you're a member of Fire and Grace Church,
[00:20:12] if you don't have that orange badge on you,
[00:20:14] you don't lay hands on anybody,
[00:20:16] you don't pray for anybody
[00:20:17] because we're trying to protect people
[00:20:19] from people that slip in and witches that slip in
[00:20:23] and people that we don't know, all right?
[00:20:28] And so the person that I had to deal with this week,
[00:20:32] right before Cheetra got up to speak at Skyfall last year,
[00:20:36] went over and said, I know Pastor Dean,
[00:20:38] I know I'm not supposed to do this,
[00:20:41] but lay your hands on her and pray for her anyway.
[00:20:43] And Cheetra said, when she prayed over that,
[00:20:45] I'm gonna let her share in a minute what happened
[00:20:48] when she went through deliverance.
[00:20:49] But here's my point, and let me say this too
[00:20:53] before I get into this any deeper,
[00:20:55] just because somebody comes here
[00:20:58] and I let somebody come here for a while,
[00:21:01] does not mean I trust them or you should trust them.
[00:21:04] You need to discern the situation for yourself.
[00:21:08] You need to be careful about who you let lay hands on you.
[00:21:13] All right?
[00:21:15] And tell you the truth, I'm gonna be honest,
[00:21:19] sometimes because I have had to deal with this crap,
[00:21:22] this kind of crap, really for 37 years,
[00:21:25] I am tired of it, but it's part of the job.
[00:21:29] It's kind of like how some people don't like
[00:21:31] taking out the trash, some people don't like
[00:21:33] doing the dishes.
[00:21:34] I am absolutely worn out and weary with it.
[00:21:39] But I know it's gonna happen again, all right?
[00:21:46] So I'm saying all that to say that
[00:21:51] it's important for you to understand
[00:21:54] this spirit of rebellion,
[00:21:56] because I know there's a lot of churches.
[00:21:57] America, America is, we were founded upon a rebellion, right?
[00:22:04] I believe justified because England and King George,
[00:22:09] they were tyrants and they were massacring people
[00:22:11] and just killing people and just doing
[00:22:13] whatever they wanted to do.
[00:22:14] And I believe there's a point where you do
[00:22:16] stand up against evil leadership.
[00:22:20] The evil, like when the government mandates
[00:22:22] the mark of the beast, we're to stand up
[00:22:24] and resist that, we're not to submit.
[00:22:27] But other than that, other than that,
[00:22:29] we are supposed to be people who understand
[00:22:32] spiritual authority, whether it be in the church,
[00:22:34] in school, in government, family.
[00:22:38] We're supposed to understand spiritual authority,
[00:22:40] respect it and obey it or else we will find ourselves
[00:22:47] in rebellion and once we enter that rebellion,
[00:22:51] a spirit of witchcraft comes upon us
[00:22:53] and we can be deceived in all kind of different manners.
[00:22:58] All right, now we're gonna put up,
[00:23:00] Kelsey, go ahead and put up, I'm pulling out,
[00:23:06] this is the leadership class in the School of Ministry,
[00:23:10] this is actually class number one
[00:23:14] in the leadership class that,
[00:23:17] this one's not even public, I don't think,
[00:23:18] but this is not, again, this is not
[00:23:20] that I haven't taught on this stuff before,
[00:23:22] but I want you to, I wanna go through some of this
[00:23:24] because the slides are already here.
[00:23:26] But let's look at this, we're gonna go to the next slide.
[00:23:31] Now here's what leadership means,
[00:23:33] the action of leading a group of people or organization,
[00:23:36] the state or position of being a leader,
[00:23:40] a leader is supposed to what?
[00:23:42] You have guidance, direction, authority, control,
[00:23:45] management, supervision, so on down the line.
[00:23:50] A lot of people don't like the word control,
[00:23:53] always controlling if you have leadership, no.
[00:23:56] There's a measure of, always a measure of control
[00:23:59] within leadership, that's the whole point of having it, right?
[00:24:04] I don't care if you're the father of the house,
[00:24:06] there is some control, like,
[00:24:08] you're not gonna do certain things in my house,
[00:24:10] oh, he's controlling, well, I'm sorry,
[00:24:12] you're not smoking marijuana and you're not having sex
[00:24:14] with, you know, fornication in my house, right?
[00:24:18] Oh, that's mean, that's control, well, I'm sorry,
[00:24:20] that's just the way it is.
[00:24:21] Leadership has to deal with those kind of issues
[00:24:24] and say, this is the limits and this is where it's gonna stop
[00:24:31] and I know some people have a hard time with me,
[00:24:34] just dealing with me because I am not a little pushover,
[00:24:41] I'm not a little Ahab leader, never have been,
[00:24:44] never will be, I am going to be a real leader
[00:24:51] and a real leader, there will be a level of,
[00:24:55] this is the line and we're not going there
[00:25:00] and this is just what it has to be
[00:25:01] and the other side of that, just like a father
[00:25:03] has to protect his house and, you know,
[00:25:06] the teachers and the administration
[00:25:08] have to protect the school and so on down the line,
[00:25:09] there are things I have to do to protect the rest of you
[00:25:12] that aren't pleasant sometimes.
[00:25:15] I have to deal with people who will not change their ways
[00:25:23] and they start spreading it.
[00:25:25] I'm gonna tell you right now,
[00:25:26] rebellion to authority is a little cancer
[00:25:31] that kind of spreads and it's sown like a little
[00:25:36] and it causes strife and it causes division
[00:25:39] and everything else.
[00:25:44] We'll go to the next one here.
[00:25:48] So let's look at this, this is 1 Corinthians 12, 28
[00:25:53] and then Ephesians 4, 11, everybody ought to know this
[00:25:55] but God's church has ordered to it the true church.
[00:26:01] Now I know, look, I thought about this,
[00:26:03] I was thinking about this the last couple of days
[00:26:05] and I was thinking about how there's a lot of things
[00:26:07] that call themselves churches out there.
[00:26:10] I would like to call some of them, not really churches
[00:26:13] but gatherings of Christians, fellowships, right?
[00:26:18] They're just basically Christians getting together
[00:26:22] instead of the church being
[00:26:24] what the church is supposed to be, right?
[00:26:28] And that's why, look, we've had in the world,
[00:26:31] the church of Jesus Christ has been so subpar,
[00:26:35] we have been so anemic and so weak
[00:26:40] that when you dare try to do things the way the book says,
[00:26:43] people think you are strange, controlling, you're a cult.
[00:26:48] I mean, we've been called all kinds of names
[00:26:50] simply because we try to follow what this is
[00:26:53] and let me just tell you what the book says.
[00:26:56] The church of Jesus Christ has never been a democracy.
[00:27:01] It's not a democracy.
[00:27:03] Now, America's not a democracy for that point
[00:27:06] but the church is not a democracy.
[00:27:09] It's not majority rule.
[00:27:10] It's not, y'all vote.
[00:27:13] Now, there are churches like that
[00:27:15] that their church government,
[00:27:16] Presbyterians, some Baptists, whatever,
[00:27:19] they vote and they can vote the pastor right out the door,
[00:27:24] right, and they do it all the time
[00:27:27] or they have a demon board, I mean deacon board
[00:27:33] and a lot of them are Freemasons
[00:27:35] and adulterers and everything else
[00:27:37] and they let them rule the church
[00:27:40] because they got a lot of money and what happens?
[00:27:44] Pastor starts talking about some of that stuff
[00:27:47] they don't wanna hear and they take a vote
[00:27:50] and he's out the door, right?
[00:27:52] That is never how the church is supposed to be
[00:27:55] and that's why this church is not that
[00:27:57] but then folks, because we're not that,
[00:28:00] because you don't get to vote the pastor out,
[00:28:04] you're controlling, you're a cult, you're this
[00:28:06] and it's amazing in this world
[00:28:08] that if anybody is actually a true leader,
[00:28:10] a strong leader, you're a cult leader all of a sudden, right?
[00:28:16] No matter how many times I tell y'all,
[00:28:18] you got, you are free to vote with your feet.
[00:28:24] You don't have to be here.
[00:28:25] I don't, have I been to anybody's house
[00:28:28] with a gun to your head saying
[00:28:29] you must come to Fire and Grace Church?
[00:28:31] No, I have people trying to move here
[00:28:36] from other states that they don't do it,
[00:28:40] not the move of a cult leader.
[00:28:44] I want you to pray fast, hear from the Holy Spirit, okay?
[00:28:49] That's what I want for your life.
[00:28:51] I don't wanna control your life.
[00:28:52] I don't wanna know all the minutia of your life.
[00:28:54] I really don't, I've got enough of my own, right?
[00:28:59] But if I'm gonna try to do this
[00:29:02] the way God said to do it in his word,
[00:29:05] then this is it right here.
[00:29:06] He says God has set some in the church,
[00:29:07] first apostles, secondarily prophets,
[00:29:11] thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
[00:29:12] then gifts of healing,
[00:29:13] helps governments, diversities of tongues.
[00:29:16] Now when he says he set some of the church first,
[00:29:19] that means in rank, position, all right?
[00:29:24] Now granted, most of the church world
[00:29:26] has no concept of the five-fold ministry.
[00:29:29] Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers,
[00:29:31] they have no concept, no understanding of it
[00:29:33] because they were never taught it.
[00:29:35] They went to churches and the only really thing
[00:29:37] they ever heard of was either a pastor,
[00:29:39] maybe they heard of an evangelist,
[00:29:42] and then maybe they acknowledged
[00:29:44] somebody has a teaching gift.
[00:29:46] Usually though, they leave out the whole thing,
[00:29:48] apostles and prophets.
[00:29:50] But here's what Ephesians four says,
[00:29:52] and he gave some, speaking of Jesus,
[00:29:54] giving gifts to the church.
[00:29:56] Somebody say, pastor, Dean's a gift.
[00:29:59] He gave some apostles, some prophets,
[00:30:03] some evangelists, some pastors and teachers
[00:30:05] for the perfecting or the maturing of the saints,
[00:30:08] for the work of the ministry,
[00:30:10] for the edifying or building up of the body of Christ
[00:30:13] till we all come into this, what?
[00:30:17] Oh, my job is to get everybody into this,
[00:30:21] to grow up, to mature, to get into what?
[00:30:24] Unity, what is biblical unity?
[00:30:26] We all speak the same thing,
[00:30:28] have the same mind and judgment, right?
[00:30:32] We can't walk together unless we're agreed.
[00:30:34] We can't be, so, but this is the job
[00:30:36] of the five-fold ministry.
[00:30:38] And then he says, till we all come
[00:30:39] into the unity of the faith
[00:30:41] and of the knowledge of the Son of God
[00:30:43] unto a perfect or mature Christian,
[00:30:47] unto the measure, the stature, the fullness of Christ.
[00:30:50] Why?
[00:30:52] Lowness, it's a colon here.
[00:30:53] He says, that we henceforth be no more children
[00:30:57] tossed to and fro and carried about
[00:30:59] with every wind of doctrine
[00:31:00] by the slight of men in cunning craftiness,
[00:31:03] whereby they lie in wait to deceive,
[00:31:05] meaning the people that slip in
[00:31:08] to teach you other things,
[00:31:10] to lay hands on you, to blah, blah, blah,
[00:31:12] whatever it may be.
[00:31:15] But this right here, I know that there's other churches
[00:31:18] in the world, they don't understand this,
[00:31:21] they don't operate this way, but we do.
[00:31:26] All right?
[00:31:28] And I love, one of my old pastors back in the day
[00:31:30] used to say this, he said, I make people nervous
[00:31:32] because they didn't hire me and they can't fire me.
[00:31:37] Right?
[00:31:38] And what is that?
[00:31:39] What is that right there?
[00:31:40] When you didn't hire me and you can't fire me,
[00:31:44] then guess what?
[00:31:45] That means I'm free to say whatever I need to say.
[00:31:49] I'm free to teach whatever I need to teach
[00:31:52] without the threat of being fired.
[00:31:56] Oh, and I've been fired before from a church
[00:31:57] that had that kind of government.
[00:31:59] They fired me.
[00:32:00] Why?
[00:32:01] Because I confronted their problems.
[00:32:04] You're fired.
[00:32:06] Best thing that ever happened to me, thank you.
[00:32:08] I get to leave Washington DC and go back to Alabama.
[00:32:10] That was a great day in America right there.
[00:32:13] All right?
[00:32:16] Now, this right here is the war.
[00:32:20] I almost wore my tactical vest today.
[00:32:24] It has my sheepdog patch on it.
[00:32:30] And I thought about bringing one of my ARs
[00:32:31] just as an illustration, but my wife said,
[00:32:33] that might be a little extreme.
[00:32:37] But you need to understand something
[00:32:39] about spiritual authority.
[00:32:40] The church, we've got to lose the mindset, okay?
[00:32:44] That the church is like a little social church.
[00:32:50] Counseling, family counseling meeting.
[00:32:53] That ain't it, okay?
[00:32:56] I've heard people say the church is a hospital.
[00:32:58] No, it's not.
[00:33:02] What the church is, is the military base.
[00:33:06] This is what, I've said this before,
[00:33:08] but I've got to get it in you.
[00:33:14] And that's why I've got this whole thing about,
[00:33:17] some of you are gonna have to toughen up a little bit
[00:33:20] because this is not, we're not a social club.
[00:33:23] Do you know that the church of Laodicea,
[00:33:25] when you look that word up,
[00:33:27] it means they were a church that was a social club, all right?
[00:33:32] We're not a social club, okay?
[00:33:34] Now, I love it when y'all love each other
[00:33:36] and fellowship and talk and all that.
[00:33:38] That's all icing on the cake.
[00:33:43] It's not the cake, okay?
[00:33:46] Because we're a military operation
[00:33:48] and we are under attack, okay?
[00:33:52] And a military operation,
[00:33:54] any time you have military, you have leaders,
[00:33:58] you have officers, you have commanders,
[00:34:01] and it's broken down.
[00:34:04] And let me tell you what, in the midst of battle,
[00:34:09] there's no arguing.
[00:34:13] There's no arguing with your superior,
[00:34:15] Air Force, right here, right?
[00:34:16] What would happen if you argue with an order?
[00:34:19] Ooh, yeah, you don't get to, that's right.
[00:34:25] There's no arguing to be going on.
[00:34:30] There's orders and orders that you'd be obeyed.
[00:34:33] Got a quote from Sun Tzu here in a minute
[00:34:35] that's very interesting, but once we,
[00:34:39] if we would get it down in our minds
[00:34:42] that we are a military operation here
[00:34:46] and that I need you doing your job,
[00:34:50] you think about it in a, whether it's a platoon,
[00:34:53] whether it's a battalion or a division or a company,
[00:34:56] whatever size, if they, everyone does not do their job
[00:35:02] and stay in their rank,
[00:35:06] which means that they purposefully stay in unity,
[00:35:10] how do they stay in unity?
[00:35:11] They stay in unity by not lifting themselves up
[00:35:14] into something they're not and they, by following orders.
[00:35:21] And if we don't do that, guess what happens?
[00:35:24] We're not in unity.
[00:35:26] I wanna show you something.
[00:35:27] This is, I think that's 1 Corinthians,
[00:35:33] I'm not 1 Corinthians, but 1 Chronicles 12.
[00:35:36] I wanna go back to that.
[00:35:38] Yeah, I did a lot of reading
[00:35:41] between two o'clock this morning and,
[00:35:47] and I'm not gonna read all of this.
[00:35:49] You can read the entire chapter 12,
[00:35:52] but this is after Saul has died
[00:35:54] and the nation is starting to come together
[00:35:56] to make David the king.
[00:35:59] And he already had mighty men,
[00:36:01] but then the people began to come to him from all over.
[00:36:05] Now he was, you know, when David first became king,
[00:36:07] he did not become king over all of Israel
[00:36:09] like he was supposed to be.
[00:36:10] He was king only in Hebron for a while.
[00:36:13] There was still a little rebellion
[00:36:15] and still some Saul followers.
[00:36:18] And they kind of held onto part of the country.
[00:36:22] So it was kind of divided for a while, for seven years.
[00:36:24] And then the country was fully unified under David.
[00:36:28] But this was the beginning of the children of Israel
[00:36:32] from all different tribes,
[00:36:33] even some from the tribe of Benjamin came.
[00:36:36] And what's interesting, you go over, I wanna read this,
[00:36:39] go down to verse, we'll just go down to verse 32,
[00:36:42] because I'm not gonna read the whole thing.
[00:36:43] That's your homework.
[00:36:44] You can go read the whole chapter.
[00:36:46] He says, of the children of Issachar,
[00:36:48] which were men that had understanding of the times,
[00:36:51] to know what Israel ought to do,
[00:36:53] the heads of them were 200
[00:36:54] and all their brethren were at their commandment.
[00:36:57] Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle expert in war
[00:37:02] with all instruments of war, 50,000, which could keep rank.
[00:37:07] Somebody say which could keep rank
[00:37:11] and were not of double heart.
[00:37:13] Do you see that?
[00:37:17] It kind of repeats this.
[00:37:18] If you go down to verse 38, after he talks about all these,
[00:37:21] he says, all these men of war that could keep rank
[00:37:26] came with a perfect heart to Hebron
[00:37:28] to make David king over all Israel.
[00:37:30] And all the rest also of Israel were of one heart
[00:37:33] to make David king.
[00:37:35] Now, I was reading that and I thought, keep in rank.
[00:37:41] What does that mean?
[00:37:46] Keep in rank means knowing exactly who you are
[00:37:50] and where you are and what you're supposed to be doing.
[00:37:54] If you're not the pastor, do not worry about my job.
[00:38:02] I'm gonna do my job.
[00:38:03] May do it in ways you don't like.
[00:38:07] I don't care.
[00:38:08] It's not your job.
[00:38:10] It's my job.
[00:38:11] It's my responsibility.
[00:38:13] Now, because God called me to do this when I was 19,
[00:38:17] appeared to me in a vision, called me to the ministry,
[00:38:20] to the fivefold ministry,
[00:38:21] confirmed that through other apostles and prophets
[00:38:24] that have faithful ministries of 50 and 60 years.
[00:38:29] I'm not somebody that called myself into this.
[00:38:32] I'm not somebody that decided to go to seminary
[00:38:34] and this would be kind of a good job to have.
[00:38:37] See, I'm one of those guys that God sent, okay?
[00:38:42] So God gave me the authority that I have.
[00:38:46] God gave me the position that I have.
[00:38:48] He gave me the gifts and the anointing that I have,
[00:38:50] the abilities that I have.
[00:38:52] So what I'm saying is that I know what I'm doing
[00:38:56] and after 37 years,
[00:38:58] I can just go ahead and tell you right now,
[00:39:00] in this spiritual warfare that we're in,
[00:39:03] I am an expert in war.
[00:39:07] And there are things about spiritual warfare,
[00:39:10] we don't have every little detail written in here,
[00:39:13] in the book.
[00:39:14] There's things that you just have to go through
[00:39:16] and find out by experience sometimes, all right?
[00:39:21] So let me say this,
[00:39:22] when I say something about a certain situation,
[00:39:30] trust me about one thing,
[00:39:33] that either I know what's in here
[00:39:35] or I have seen it with my own eyes multiple times
[00:39:40] in the midst of battle.
[00:39:43] I have dealt with witches at every level,
[00:39:46] Satanists at every level,
[00:39:48] New Agers at every level,
[00:39:50] demon-possessed people at every level,
[00:39:54] infiltrators of every kind,
[00:39:57] from Jesuits to government agents,
[00:39:59] to Satanists, to witches, to New Agers,
[00:40:02] to multiple pronged attacks coming at the church
[00:40:05] at multiple times.
[00:40:09] CIA operatives releasing COVID on me to kill me
[00:40:16] and say, oh, Pastor, are you crazy?
[00:40:17] Oh, no, no, no.
[00:40:19] See, because I walk sometimes in the word of knowledge
[00:40:21] when I walk up to somebody,
[00:40:23] if God wants me to know everything about you,
[00:40:27] I can walk up to you, shake your hand,
[00:40:30] and the Lord showed me a movie of your life
[00:40:32] and what you're doing.
[00:40:33] Now, I don't control that,
[00:40:35] but when he does it, I know,
[00:40:38] and I don't have to explain it to you.
[00:40:43] I don't have to apologize for it.
[00:40:46] I don't have to soften the blows.
[00:40:50] I just deal with the problem.
[00:40:54] Because let me just go in and tell you
[00:40:55] that this war that we're in,
[00:40:58] it's not just spiritual,
[00:41:00] because it ends up affecting your life.
[00:41:03] I mean, it can be life and death.
[00:41:05] It can be sickness and health.
[00:41:09] It can be your kid getting saved
[00:41:12] or your kid going off and committing suicide.
[00:41:14] It's that type of war we're dealing with.
[00:41:19] So I'm not gonna apologize
[00:41:22] that I take this pretty seriously.
[00:41:25] So I've told people, it's like,
[00:41:28] when I say stuff, I'm not just wasting my breath, right?
[00:41:36] When I say, don't lay hands on people at Skyfall,
[00:41:40] you best not be laying hands on people.
[00:41:44] Because I'm not joking about this.
[00:41:50] Because there's purpose behind all of these things.
[00:41:54] We had a situation a few years ago
[00:41:56] when the ministry school first started,
[00:41:58] and there was a person that started causing problems
[00:42:01] within the school of ministry,
[00:42:02] because the first class, we had some students here
[00:42:08] and started causing problems.
[00:42:09] And I told the guy, I said,
[00:42:12] he just wanted to keep arguing
[00:42:13] about a certain incident that happened.
[00:42:15] And I said, not another word about it, or you're gone.
[00:42:23] And I said, do you understand what I'm saying?
[00:42:25] I don't wanna hear a peep, nothing.
[00:42:28] And I better not find out
[00:42:29] that you went and talked to anybody else about it.
[00:42:32] It's over, or you are walking back to Texas, son.
[00:42:39] Guess what he did?
[00:42:40] Left that phone conversation,
[00:42:43] came up here to the church, and Kevin was here,
[00:42:46] and ran his mouth for an hour to Kevin.
[00:42:49] Of course, Kevin was like the house of Cloy and told me.
[00:42:57] And guess what?
[00:43:00] Texas boy went back to Texas.
[00:43:04] Oh, and he turned on me and makes videos
[00:43:06] against me and everything else, but guess what?
[00:43:08] I don't care.
[00:43:12] Rebellion was in his heart,
[00:43:16] and he thought he was the expert on deliverance,
[00:43:19] and he hadn't even been right with God the full year or so.
[00:43:22] Just let go of the marijuana pipe not too long ago.
[00:43:25] I mean, he told me.
[00:43:27] And I'm sitting here going, stop with this nonsense.
[00:43:34] But it actually also, because he kept running his mouth,
[00:43:37] it caused division, and it caused problems.
[00:43:43] But see, if we understood authority,
[00:43:49] spiritual authority, then we wouldn't enter these situations.
[00:43:53] It would be, and this is one of the problems,
[00:43:56] and I want to say before we go any further on this,
[00:44:00] our students are required to read a book,
[00:44:03] and if you haven't read it, I encourage you to get it.
[00:44:07] You can actually find a free PDF out there.
[00:44:09] I mean, it's been around so long,
[00:44:11] but it's called Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee,
[00:44:14] the Chinese apostle.
[00:44:16] I actually spent most of the early morning hours
[00:44:20] rereading the book today,
[00:44:21] because it's that vitally important.
[00:44:24] It's the one class that you cannot go any further
[00:44:27] in our school, you must take it.
[00:44:31] And vitally important book.
[00:44:36] The teaching that he did on the subject of authority
[00:44:40] throughout the scriptures is really unparalleled.
[00:44:44] It's just, you don't need to rewrite this book right here.
[00:44:48] Well, I'm saying, it was that well done.
[00:44:51] Now, let's go to a quote from him.
[00:44:55] I think it's right after this.
[00:44:56] This is from the book here.
[00:44:58] He says, God sets in the church authority
[00:45:00] such as the elders who rule well,
[00:45:03] those who labor in preaching and teaching,
[00:45:05] they are the ones whom everyone should obey.
[00:45:08] The younger ones in age must also learn
[00:45:10] to be subject to the older ones.
[00:45:12] The apostle exhorted the Corinthian believers
[00:45:14] to honor especially men like Stephanists,
[00:45:17] Stephanosists or whatever,
[00:45:19] whose family was the first converts in a cave.
[00:45:23] Why did he say the first?
[00:45:24] Why did he say honor them?
[00:45:25] Why did he say, listen to them?
[00:45:27] Because they were the what?
[00:45:29] The elders, the first ones that came in.
[00:45:32] I cannot stress to you how important it is
[00:45:38] to find true, godly elders
[00:45:42] that you can submit to and actually obey
[00:45:48] because if you don't, if you don't,
[00:45:52] because there's a lot of Lone Ranger cowboys out here
[00:45:55] and cowgirls and I understand,
[00:46:02] look, I understand the problem out there
[00:46:04] that there's not a lot of churches anymore
[00:46:08] that are trying to do it biblically.
[00:46:10] So I understand it's hard to find sometimes,
[00:46:13] but let me tell you, it was kind of hard for me for a while
[00:46:16] when I was a young man to find elders
[00:46:20] that I could fully trust.
[00:46:26] And when I did though, it's been good
[00:46:29] because even though me and like, let's just say Gene May,
[00:46:34] everybody knows Gene May was a true apostle and prophet
[00:46:38] in my life early on.
[00:46:40] And that we have had times
[00:46:42] where we don't talk to each other for a long time,
[00:46:44] not because we're ill or anything,
[00:46:46] it was just going about our lives,
[00:46:47] but then there's times we talk about things.
[00:46:49] But over the years, I've been able
[00:46:50] to get his counsel on things
[00:46:52] and we had him at Skyfall 2020.
[00:46:54] I mean, he's getting up in age now.
[00:46:57] But, and he and I don't agree on everything, okay?
[00:47:01] Every little detail, the big things we do.
[00:47:04] And you know what?
[00:47:05] I have never not one time tried to argue with him
[00:47:11] over something that I disagree with him about.
[00:47:16] You know why?
[00:47:18] Because I respect him as an elder
[00:47:20] and as a spiritual authority.
[00:47:22] And let me just go in and tell you right now,
[00:47:25] it is not your job to voice your opinion about everything.
[00:47:32] I don't.
[00:47:35] Lord, y'all better be glad I don't.
[00:47:39] How many things I could say that I don't say, all right?
[00:47:44] But let me just go and tell you right now,
[00:47:46] you can be in a situation, listen to me,
[00:47:49] you can be in a situation and you can, you know,
[00:47:53] an elder or a pastor or an apostle or a prophet
[00:47:55] can say something that you don't exactly agree with
[00:47:58] or maybe you don't fully understand
[00:48:00] or maybe you hadn't studied it or you don't know
[00:48:01] or you think you know
[00:48:03] and you think you gotta say something right now.
[00:48:05] No, you don't.
[00:48:07] No, you don't.
[00:48:10] Unless it's some massive doctrinal error.
[00:48:16] And I made some people mad a few years ago
[00:48:18] when I said, your opinions don't matter.
[00:48:23] It's more about, let me tell you what it's more about.
[00:48:25] It's more about the attitude of your heart.
[00:48:28] Can it be quiet?
[00:48:30] Can it be humble?
[00:48:33] If you find yourself always having to voice
[00:48:35] your opinion on something, you got a pride issue.
[00:48:40] You got a self-control issue.
[00:48:43] And as Christians, one of the things is that what,
[00:48:45] even if a fool keeps his mouth shut,
[00:48:47] he's considered wise, right?
[00:48:51] And this is what, look, Miriam and Aaron,
[00:48:55] what did they do?
[00:48:57] They decided, you know, God talks to us.
[00:49:00] And you know, Moses, he married that Ethiopian kushite woman.
[00:49:03] He, you know, what's he think he's doing?
[00:49:06] You know, we're more holy.
[00:49:07] We're just as holy as him.
[00:49:10] And the Lord said, hey, the Lord came in that said,
[00:49:12] hey, you three come out here for a minute,
[00:49:15] the woodshed time.
[00:49:18] And the Lord took him out and said,
[00:49:19] you know what, Miriam and Aaron,
[00:49:21] yeah, I speak to you and your dreams and your visions.
[00:49:25] He said, I speak to Moses face to face.
[00:49:30] And actually he said, Moses gets to see my form.
[00:49:34] And since y'all are not afraid to speak against Moses,
[00:49:40] smack leprosy upon you.
[00:49:44] And then Aaron, now the reason God didn't smite Aaron
[00:49:47] and only hit Miriam with it,
[00:49:49] it was not because God hates women,
[00:49:52] but Aaron was the high priest.
[00:49:54] And if God would have smitten him with leprosy,
[00:49:56] he would have been unclean
[00:49:57] and it would have disrupted everything.
[00:50:02] But it wasn't that the high priest couldn't drop dead,
[00:50:04] but God was having mercy.
[00:50:06] And so when Miriam gets hit with leprosy,
[00:50:08] they cry out, oh God, you know,
[00:50:10] because leprosy you just consume away until you die.
[00:50:13] Stuff starts rotting off, falling off until you die
[00:50:16] and there's no cure for it.
[00:50:19] And they were like, oh God, don't let this happen.
[00:50:21] He said, the Lord said, well, you know what,
[00:50:24] she's gonna have it for seven days
[00:50:26] and have to stay outside the camp.
[00:50:28] What was the big sin?
[00:50:30] All they did was open their mouth
[00:50:34] against God's delegated authority.
[00:50:35] It wasn't that Moses was perfect or sinless or anything.
[00:50:38] You're not gonna have a perfect leader,
[00:50:40] but if you got one that God has called and picked
[00:50:43] and appointed, you best be careful
[00:50:47] how you handle the situation.
[00:50:50] I'm telling you this for your own good
[00:50:55] because I'm fine.
[00:50:56] I will deal with you.
[00:50:58] I'll deal with you either in here
[00:50:59] or I'll send you out there.
[00:51:01] I'll deal with it.
[00:51:03] But if it stays in your heart,
[00:51:06] that rebellion, that attitude, that unsubmissiveness,
[00:51:09] that lack of humility to be able to say, I will obey.
[00:51:13] And let me just tell you right now,
[00:51:14] your submission to authority is not tested
[00:51:17] until you disagree.
[00:51:20] That's when it's tested.
[00:51:22] If you agree and everything's hunky-dory
[00:51:24] and you're fine with doing whatever,
[00:51:26] is that a test?
[00:51:28] No.
[00:51:29] It's when you're standing there going,
[00:51:31] I don't wanna do it.
[00:51:38] You know, we've had these issues arises like my wife
[00:51:41] and I'm just gonna say this again.
[00:51:44] I know it's not popular in the world.
[00:51:46] I deal with it in the leadership section
[00:51:48] of the School of Ministry about women in ministry.
[00:51:52] The women being silent in the church
[00:51:54] is taken out of its context
[00:51:56] because it's about wives being submitted to their husbands.
[00:51:59] Not that women can't be ministers in the church
[00:52:02] and can't teach and preach
[00:52:03] because he said, you all may prophesy.
[00:52:05] One by one, well, that's women, right?
[00:52:08] We know there were women ministers,
[00:52:10] deacons, Phoebe, and so on down the line.
[00:52:13] But let me just go on and say this.
[00:52:14] My wife is not only because she's my wife,
[00:52:18] but God called her, she was saved,
[00:52:20] filled with the Holy Spirit at six years old.
[00:52:22] God raised her up in the ministry
[00:52:24] before we ever came together.
[00:52:27] So it's not just because she's my wife,
[00:52:29] but I wanna tell you right now,
[00:52:31] there's no one like Paul said about Timothy.
[00:52:35] Paul said, I got nobody that's like-minded,
[00:52:37] he said, except Timothy right here.
[00:52:40] I wanna tell you, if I got anybody that's like-minded,
[00:52:44] that woman right there,
[00:52:47] we are peanut butter and jelly.
[00:52:51] We are peas and carrots, y'all understand?
[00:52:57] But let me, peas and ochre, yes, that's right.
[00:53:00] I'm an ochre.
[00:53:06] But what I wanna say this is that she is an elder,
[00:53:10] a pastor, and if I'm not around,
[00:53:14] she represents me, period.
[00:53:18] Now we've had elders and elders are gone now.
[00:53:22] We plan on getting back to ordaining some elders
[00:53:26] and some people I need to talk to.
[00:53:27] And I've talked to some that have,
[00:53:29] don't wanna step into that,
[00:53:30] because I can't do that, all right?
[00:53:35] But what I'm saying is right now, she is an elder.
[00:53:38] And Kelsey, even though she is hired by the church
[00:53:44] to run the media, to run the ministry school,
[00:53:48] and that she's on staff and she gets paid,
[00:53:49] but she is still our delegated authority.
[00:53:52] If it's not me and my wife, then it's Kelsey.
[00:53:56] And Kelsey, I would say, operates in what we would call
[00:54:01] like a deacon, like one of those, like Phoebe,
[00:54:04] like she is a servant.
[00:54:06] She would do this for us if she didn't get paid.
[00:54:10] She might have to do something else,
[00:54:11] but she would do, because she likes us, right?
[00:54:16] But I've had to let people know,
[00:54:18] I mean, we've had students, I'm like, she represents me.
[00:54:24] If she sends you an email or a text or tries to call you
[00:54:28] and you don't answer her, I get offended,
[00:54:33] because I see it as disrespectful.
[00:54:37] And then I have to get involved.
[00:54:39] I just told the students on the Monday,
[00:54:42] last Monday night orientation, coming in,
[00:54:44] one of my pet peeves, if my wife reaches out to you
[00:54:49] or Kelsey and you don't answer a text or an email
[00:54:53] or a phone call, I'm gonna hear about it
[00:54:58] and my blood pressure's gonna start rising.
[00:55:04] But see, that's the way God feels
[00:55:05] about his delegated authority.
[00:55:06] When he delegates authority to somebody
[00:55:08] and you attack it or disobey it or offend it,
[00:55:15] it is doing it to him.
[00:55:17] That's the way he looks at it.
[00:55:19] Watchman, he goes on to talk about this in the book,
[00:55:23] but I wanna show you this.
[00:55:24] Let's just go to the next one.
[00:55:26] We'll go to some of the other quotes
[00:55:27] from this book in a second,
[00:55:28] but let's read the scriptures on this.
[00:55:32] Here's the scriptures.
[00:55:33] Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder,
[00:55:36] yea, all of you be subject one to another.
[00:55:38] Now what that means about being subject,
[00:55:39] not that we do away with order,
[00:55:41] but we're willing to listen.
[00:55:42] Look, I'm willing to listen to you.
[00:55:44] What does he say there in Timothy?
[00:55:47] Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father,
[00:55:49] meaning you better come with a humble attitude to talk.
[00:55:57] Not to correct, not to rebuke.
[00:56:01] You are not here to correct me,
[00:56:03] to rebuke me, or to teach me.
[00:56:06] You understand?
[00:56:07] If that's what you think you're going to do,
[00:56:10] you best be finding another church, all right?
[00:56:14] But I'm open to talk about things,
[00:56:16] but if I perceive that it's with an attitude,
[00:56:22] it is probably not gonna go well, all right?
[00:56:26] And that's what this is talking about.
[00:56:29] Be clothed with humility.
[00:56:30] What is humility?
[00:56:31] Humility is always putting yourself lower
[00:56:36] than in your own estimation.
[00:56:40] We all have this own estimation
[00:56:42] of what we are, who we are.
[00:56:44] It's that whole thing about when you go,
[00:56:46] like Jesus said, when you go to a feast,
[00:56:48] don't go take the chief seats.
[00:56:50] He said, go to the back row,
[00:56:52] and if they call you up to where the place of honor,
[00:56:56] then you receive honor.
[00:56:57] But if they have to be told to go back and sit down,
[00:57:00] then you get dishonored.
[00:57:02] You get humbled and you get embarrassed a little bit, right?
[00:57:05] And that's what we do.
[00:57:07] We may deserve to be in the honorable seats,
[00:57:11] but then, but you go, but I'm not sitting up there.
[00:57:15] You know what I'm saying?
[00:57:17] I'm gonna go sit in the back.
[00:57:18] I can't tell you how many campaign events
[00:57:21] where I'm supposed to be the speaker,
[00:57:23] like the chief speaker.
[00:57:24] You know where I went to go sit down?
[00:57:25] Back row.
[00:57:26] Wait till they call me up front.
[00:57:28] Not up there looking like a peacock, like a turkey.
[00:57:32] Who, look at me.
[00:57:35] And everybody, you know what?
[00:57:36] Everybody can smell that attitude anyway.
[00:57:42] But we need some of them politicians, man.
[00:57:43] It was like a TV camera.
[00:57:46] You know, they're running to get in front of it.
[00:57:49] And I'm just like, if they wanna interview me,
[00:57:51] they'll interview me.
[00:57:52] I'm not running after the TV camera, right?
[00:57:57] And part of that, again, is being at peace
[00:58:01] and confident with who you are
[00:58:02] and letting God exalt you and not exalting yourself, right?
[00:58:08] And if we can do that,
[00:58:10] and part of that, again, is respecting authority.
[00:58:13] And if you can do that,
[00:58:15] that's part of that humbling process.
[00:58:19] But let's go to the next one.
[00:58:20] These verses, man, people don't like to hear this.
[00:58:23] Let's go on to the next one.
[00:58:26] And talk about knowledge, we'll create pride.
[00:58:28] And I've talked about that before.
[00:58:30] Let's go to the next one.
[00:58:31] All right, this is, yeah, this is the quote right here.
[00:58:33] Now, the Art of War, great old, old book
[00:58:38] by some Chinese general.
[00:58:40] Many people read this for different reasons,
[00:58:42] but it's about the strategy of all warfare.
[00:58:47] And within this, he says,
[00:58:50] equally guilty are those who advance against orders
[00:58:53] and those who retreat against orders.
[00:58:56] He said, Tu Mu tells a story in connection with Wu Chi,
[00:58:59] or whatever his name is,
[00:59:01] when he was fighting against the Qian State,
[00:59:03] he said, before the battle had begun,
[00:59:05] one of his soldiers, a man matchless, daring,
[00:59:08] sallied forth by himself,
[00:59:10] captured two heads from the enemy
[00:59:12] and returned to camp.
[00:59:13] Wu Chi had the man instantly executed,
[00:59:15] whereupon an officer ventured to
[00:59:18] demonstrate, say, this man was a good soldier
[00:59:22] and not not to been beheaded.
[00:59:23] And Wu Chi replied, I fully believe he was a good soldier,
[00:59:26] but I had him beheaded because he acted without orders.
[00:59:32] See, this is the way a military is.
[00:59:36] Now, granted, we have our orders.
[00:59:38] We have orders in this book.
[00:59:40] But there are things not in this book.
[00:59:43] There's nowhere where it says,
[00:59:45] hey, you, jackleg, don't lay hands on people.
[00:59:49] There's no jackleg in here.
[00:59:50] But if I said, you see, what I'm saying,
[00:59:52] I have to say, hey, jackleg, don't lay hands on people.
[00:59:56] Right?
[00:59:59] Well, guess what?
[01:00:01] That is an order.
[01:00:03] And if it's not respected and obeyed,
[01:00:06] we gonna have a problem.
[01:00:08] Now let's keep going.
[01:00:12] Yeah, well, that's it.
[01:00:13] Now I'm looking for the one back up to,
[01:00:15] well, Hebrews, and I quoted this a few,
[01:00:18] Hebrews 10, 17, let's go to that.
[01:00:23] Yeah, that's, I mean, that's good.
[01:00:24] That's about two, you know, there's the old saying,
[01:00:28] you can't lead where you won't go
[01:00:31] and you can't teach what you don't know.
[01:00:33] Anything, too, that I teach you,
[01:00:36] anything that I tell you to do,
[01:00:38] fast, pray, witness, preach, go to the street,
[01:00:42] talk to your, anything that I preach and teach,
[01:00:45] I've done it or will do it.
[01:00:47] I have no, I don't teach what I don't know
[01:00:50] and I don't teach what I haven't done
[01:00:53] or what I haven't experienced.
[01:00:54] I don't believe you should do that.
[01:00:55] Hebrews 13, 17 was obey them that have the rule over you.
[01:00:59] Now see, this makes so many Christians cringe.
[01:01:03] It makes them cringe, but it says obey them
[01:01:05] that have the rule over you and submit yourselves
[01:01:07] for they watch for your souls
[01:01:09] as they that must give an account
[01:01:10] that they may do it with joy and not with grief
[01:01:13] for that is unprofitable for you.
[01:01:16] So let me tell you, just this one situation
[01:01:21] that I just had to deal with,
[01:01:24] it has been a year of me having to think about it,
[01:01:30] pray about it, ask God for wisdom,
[01:01:33] how to approach it, how to deal with it,
[01:01:35] blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[01:01:38] It's caused me a lot of grief that I didn't need.
[01:01:45] Had somebody just obeyed from the beginning,
[01:01:50] we wouldn't have this problem.
[01:01:53] And this is what, again, you start talking like this,
[01:01:56] is this Bible, let me say, is this Bible?
[01:01:59] So when he says obey, those that have the rule over,
[01:02:02] that means somebody's got the rule over you
[01:02:03] when it comes to Christianity,
[01:02:04] to church, government, and organization, right?
[01:02:09] Unless you're gonna roam the streets.
[01:02:15] So this is not, they expected this.
[01:02:18] And you know what's interesting is that Eastern,
[01:02:21] Middle Eastern people and your Asian culture,
[01:02:26] they get this.
[01:02:28] I mean, even now, the Asian culture
[01:02:31] understands you respect elders.
[01:02:34] You respect those that are in authority.
[01:02:37] And far more than, say, Americans do.
[01:02:41] Or, you know, the West, we'll just say.
[01:02:44] But this is a principle, this is a biblical principle.
[01:02:50] And, you know, there's been times I've had to tell people,
[01:02:55] and this is something I try to, you know,
[01:02:56] this is something I tell my children sometimes.
[01:02:59] Over the years, I've told my children.
[01:03:03] When I tell you something,
[01:03:04] your job as my child is to obey it.
[01:03:07] You don't have to understand why.
[01:03:11] You don't have to know, even if I'm stern with you,
[01:03:14] you don't have to know why I'm stern.
[01:03:16] You don't have to know, you don't have to know why
[01:03:18] you just obey.
[01:03:21] And this is the way the Lord wants us to be.
[01:03:23] It's like too many times we got, why?
[01:03:26] There's a lot of little kids, why, why, why?
[01:03:29] You know, here's another, parents, you understand this,
[01:03:34] because parents are not, what, you're busy, right?
[01:03:37] Y'all know that y'all raised some kids.
[01:03:39] You're busy.
[01:03:40] You just need them to go do what they're supposed to do,
[01:03:43] right?
[01:03:44] Get out of my hair, right?
[01:03:48] Go do what you're supposed to do so I can do this, right?
[01:03:51] Man, why, why, why, why?
[01:03:55] Oh, and let me tell you something about men,
[01:03:59] women and children.
[01:04:02] If a man who understands his authority says,
[01:04:08] I need you to do this, okay?
[01:04:12] And you keep questioning, or you complain,
[01:04:16] or you don't go do it.
[01:04:18] Let me tell you what that equates to him,
[01:04:20] is you don't respect him and you don't love him, period.
[01:04:27] Talk is cheap.
[01:04:31] And it's just five after 12, so we got a little while.
[01:04:35] But talk is cheap.
[01:04:37] This is why God said, you love me?
[01:04:39] What?
[01:04:40] Obey me.
[01:04:42] This is what's deep in the heart of a man.
[01:04:44] If you respect me and you love me,
[01:04:46] then you would respect the words
[01:04:48] that come out of my mouth.
[01:04:48] I wouldn't have to repeat myself.
[01:04:50] I wouldn't have to fuss.
[01:04:51] I wouldn't have to scream.
[01:04:52] I wouldn't have to get mad.
[01:04:55] Just respect what I say.
[01:04:59] And this is the way God is,
[01:05:00] and this is the way authorities are.
[01:05:02] Teachers, look, I've taught high schoolers
[01:05:05] and junior high schoolers.
[01:05:06] I've taught classes of students.
[01:05:08] I'm like, just do what I just told you to do
[01:05:11] and quit running your mouth, right?
[01:05:16] There's a reason you're doing what you need to do.
[01:05:18] You're gonna learn what you need to learn.
[01:05:19] If you do it the way I tell you to do it, quit.
[01:05:22] Now, I gotta do this, I don't wanna do this.
[01:05:28] But the same goes in church, see?
[01:05:30] Think about this, how much,
[01:05:34] you whine and complain enough on a job,
[01:05:37] about the job you're told to do,
[01:05:39] and let me tell you what words you're gonna hear.
[01:05:42] You're fired, right?
[01:05:46] And what do we do?
[01:05:47] Here's what's amazing.
[01:05:48] To make sure we don't get fired and keep a paycheck,
[01:05:51] what do we do?
[01:05:52] We keep that mouth shut, don't we?
[01:05:55] Mm, right?
[01:05:58] Even with things that might be needed to be said
[01:06:02] or corrected or fixed, but you're not the boss
[01:06:05] and it's not your job to fix it.
[01:06:08] Keep your mouth, what?
[01:06:10] And people do that for a paycheck,
[01:06:12] but they can come into church and just say whatever they want.
[01:06:15] What's a free country?
[01:06:17] I can do whatever I want, I can say, really?
[01:06:19] Well, there's consequences.
[01:06:20] Yeah, you can go to work and say whatever you want,
[01:06:22] but there could be consequences, right?
[01:06:26] I learned that one of my first jobs,
[01:06:28] I was working at Food World Grocery Store.
[01:06:32] I was the do everything guy, right?
[01:06:35] Bad groceries, unload the truck, stock the shells.
[01:06:38] I did everything in the grocery store.
[01:06:40] Cashier, I did it all.
[01:06:42] Well, one of my friends worked there.
[01:06:45] We were in high school, a bunch of idiots.
[01:06:48] And he got into this thing where basically
[01:06:53] it was a battle between him and another cashier
[01:06:55] and some money went missing.
[01:06:57] And he was saying it was her, she was saying it's him.
[01:07:00] And I wasn't even supposed to be in it.
[01:07:04] And I said something.
[01:07:06] And the manager of the store walked over to me
[01:07:09] and said, you're fired.
[01:07:11] He fired me, because I opened my mouth.
[01:07:19] And I was like, and let me tell you,
[01:07:21] I don't care how much of a smart aleck kid
[01:07:24] you think you are, it kind of stings to get fired.
[01:07:29] When you did something wrong,
[01:07:30] I mean like when you just get, ugh, he's right.
[01:07:33] What the heck was I doing?
[01:07:35] Why did I get in that drama?
[01:07:36] Why did I say anything?
[01:07:40] Because I didn't respect, see, I was 16,
[01:07:43] not saved, drinking and partying, all that.
[01:07:45] I didn't respect authority.
[01:07:48] And I found out, right?
[01:07:52] And I kind of needed that job.
[01:07:54] Bye-bye, you're out.
[01:07:57] Had to explain to my mom why I got fired.
[01:08:01] That was more humiliation.
[01:08:05] This is, this is a serious issue.
[01:08:10] And remember, if you have a true five-fold minister,
[01:08:14] apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher,
[01:08:16] if you have that, they are doing,
[01:08:20] if they're truly following Jesus,
[01:08:22] now I know not all of them are,
[01:08:23] but if they're truly following Jesus,
[01:08:25] you have one that's sincere,
[01:08:27] that's trying to obey the Lord and do what's right.
[01:08:29] They are, what they're doing is trying to look out for you.
[01:08:32] They're trying to teach you what you need to know.
[01:08:34] They're trying to protect you from the wolves.
[01:08:36] They're trying to protect you from people
[01:08:37] that are gonna hurt you and all kinds of stuff.
[01:08:40] So there's a point where you have to decide,
[01:08:43] do I trust this leadership or I don't?
[01:08:47] If you do, then trust it until proven otherwise.
[01:08:54] But if you can't, then you gotta go find leadership
[01:08:59] that you can trust.
[01:09:00] Because let me just go on and tell you this.
[01:09:02] Everyone needs leadership in your life.
[01:09:08] Everyone needs it.
[01:09:12] We're not supposed to be.
[01:09:14] This is just the way God said it.
[01:09:15] And I had people all the time tell me,
[01:09:17] I'm not doing this and I'm not doing that.
[01:09:19] I'm my own person, just me and the Holy Spirit.
[01:09:22] I'm like, well, wait a minute.
[01:09:23] Do you obey the speed limit?
[01:09:27] Do you have a driver's license?
[01:09:31] Oh, you do, huh?
[01:09:32] So you're submitting to that,
[01:09:34] but you don't wanna hear from a preacher,
[01:09:37] a pastor, a church.
[01:09:40] Oh, but you'll see, you'll submit the things
[01:09:42] because of the benefit, right?
[01:09:49] And that's okay.
[01:09:50] There's things I believe the Bible says
[01:09:52] that we're to submit to government
[01:09:54] until the government goes completely evil
[01:09:57] and tells us to do things contrary to the scriptures.
[01:10:00] And then we get to a point
[01:10:00] where we must obey God rather than men.
[01:10:02] And that's what I'm saying.
[01:10:03] If ever leadership, whether it be in church,
[01:10:07] school, government, everything,
[01:10:08] if it becomes evil and it's trying to lead you into evil
[01:10:12] and into deception and error and immorality,
[01:10:16] then yes, you are to say no to that leadership
[01:10:19] and move away from it or resist it openly.
[01:10:24] I agree.
[01:10:26] But over petty things, over little opinions
[01:10:29] or disagreements about little things, no.
[01:10:33] We are to be a people that are respectful
[01:10:37] and humble and submissive,
[01:10:39] especially when it comes to authority.
[01:10:41] I wanna show you this.
[01:10:42] Put up the, this the first two, watch movie.
[01:10:45] We'll put up the first one, just the one and two.
[01:10:48] This is in the beginning of the book
[01:10:51] and he makes this point and it's always stuck with me.
[01:10:54] It's a God's throne is established on authority.
[01:10:56] And he says here, the acts of God issue from his throne
[01:10:59] and his throne is established on his authority.
[01:11:01] All things are created through God's authority
[01:11:04] and all physical laws of the universe
[01:11:06] are maintained by his authority.
[01:11:07] Hence the Bible expresses it as holding all things
[01:11:10] by the word of his power.
[01:11:11] Now the word power in Greek
[01:11:14] can be either dunamis or exutia, right?
[01:11:17] Exutia means authority.
[01:11:19] Dunamis is power.
[01:11:22] I'll give you the example of that.
[01:11:22] The policeman's badge is exutia.
[01:11:25] That represents he has the authority delegated to him
[01:11:29] to act in a certain way to enforce the law.
[01:11:32] The gun he carries on his side is the dunamis.
[01:11:36] It is the power to back up the authority
[01:11:39] if it's resisted to a point where it has to be dealt with.
[01:11:44] And this is what he's saying.
[01:11:45] God says he holds all thing by the power of his authority
[01:11:48] for God's authority represents God himself.
[01:11:50] Whereas his power stands only for his act.
[01:11:53] Do you understand that, what he's saying?
[01:11:55] His power is what he does.
[01:11:57] His authority is part of his nature, who he is.
[01:12:02] So when you sin against his nature,
[01:12:06] you're sinning against him.
[01:12:08] See, we forget that Lucifer's fall,
[01:12:11] Lucifer, Satan's rebellion was about authority.
[01:12:15] It wasn't about the lust of the flesh.
[01:12:19] It wasn't about some vice.
[01:12:23] He wanted authority that was not his.
[01:12:28] And that's what he goes on to say.
[01:12:29] He says, sin against power is more easily forgiven
[01:12:33] than sin against authority.
[01:12:35] Because the latter is a sin against God himself.
[01:12:38] God alone is authority in all things.
[01:12:41] All authorities of the earth are instituted by God.
[01:12:44] Authority is a tremendous thing in the universe.
[01:12:46] Nothing overshadows it.
[01:12:47] It is therefore imperative for us who desire to serve God
[01:12:50] to know the authority of God.
[01:12:52] Now let's go to the next one.
[01:12:54] He says, in serving God, we must not violate authorities.
[01:12:58] Because to do so is the principle of Satan.
[01:13:02] He said, how can we preach Christ
[01:13:04] according to Satan's principle?
[01:13:07] He says, yet it is possible in our work
[01:13:10] to stand with Christ in doctrine
[01:13:12] while at the same time stand with Satan in principle.
[01:13:15] Let's just pause on that for a second.
[01:13:17] You may have all your doctrine correct,
[01:13:21] but if you can't submit to a delegated authority,
[01:13:25] you are operating in the spirit of Satan.
[01:13:29] You understand?
[01:13:30] This is why rebellion, so you can be correct,
[01:13:34] but be in rebellion to authority.
[01:13:37] You understand, right?
[01:13:42] For instance, I don't like to drive 55.
[01:13:46] I'm like Sammy Hagar, right?
[01:13:48] Y'all don't even know what that is, right?
[01:13:54] But guess what?
[01:13:56] I fudged a little bit, like my wife from Atlanta.
[01:13:59] Fudged a little bit.
[01:14:03] But let me tell you what happens
[01:14:04] when you see that state trooper down the road piece.
[01:14:08] You slow down to 55, don't you?
[01:14:11] Uh-huh.
[01:14:12] The law, the authority.
[01:14:15] Mm, it's tightened up, right?
[01:14:20] It's all about this.
[01:14:21] It's all about recognizing.
[01:14:22] That's what we feel, right?
[01:14:24] When you see that state trooper and you're going,
[01:14:26] you know, you're going 75 and a 55
[01:14:28] and you see the state trooper,
[01:14:30] what do you do?
[01:14:32] Right?
[01:14:36] That's because you're clashing with authority, all right?
[01:14:41] But I love this.
[01:14:41] He said, it is possible in our work
[01:14:43] to stand with Christ in doctrine
[01:14:45] while at the same time stand with Satan in principle.
[01:14:48] How very wicked for us to assume
[01:14:50] that we are doing the work of the Lord.
[01:14:52] Please take note that Satan is not afraid
[01:14:55] of our preaching the word of Christ
[01:14:56] yet how very much he is in fear of us
[01:14:59] being subject to the authority of Christ.
[01:15:02] Never should we who serve God
[01:15:04] serve according to the principle of Satan.
[01:15:06] Whenever the principle according to Christ
[01:15:09] is operating, that of Satan fades away.
[01:15:11] Satan is the usurper today.
[01:15:13] He will be cast down at the time
[01:15:15] of the end of the book of Revelation.
[01:15:16] If we would truly serve God,
[01:15:18] we must completely be completely purified
[01:15:21] from the principle of Satan.
[01:15:23] And that is rebellion.
[01:15:24] Now granted, our first submission is to Jesus,
[01:15:30] to the word of God.
[01:15:32] But then God delegates authorities
[01:15:34] and they are to be respected.
[01:15:35] Remember what he said to the disciples?
[01:15:37] He said, those who hear you are hearing me, right?
[01:15:43] Those who reject you are rejecting me.
[01:15:45] God always has representatives.
[01:15:50] Like, look, we have ambassadors
[01:15:52] in other countries everywhere.
[01:15:54] Let me tell you, if I'm president of the United States
[01:15:57] and I get a phone call from an ambassador in wherever,
[01:16:02] I won't hurt a country's feelings.
[01:16:07] And they tell me, the president of this country
[01:16:12] and his people are mistreating me,
[01:16:14] they're abusing me, they're attacking our embassy.
[01:16:18] Guess what that is?
[01:16:19] That's not just an attack on that person.
[01:16:22] That is an attack upon me.
[01:16:24] It is an attack upon the country
[01:16:26] because they represent me.
[01:16:28] See, that's what was so bad about years ago,
[01:16:30] the Benghazi thing.
[01:16:32] It's because they were getting attacked
[01:16:34] and oh, Hillary just let everybody die
[01:16:37] because they wanted to cover up their crimes.
[01:16:40] No, if you love them and you look to go,
[01:16:45] they represent me, if I'd have been president
[01:16:48] and I got a call from the Benghazi embassy,
[01:16:51] guess what would have happened?
[01:16:54] It would have been unleashed it upon Libya.
[01:16:57] I would have rescued them
[01:16:59] and I would have destroyed that attack.
[01:17:03] I don't care if I had to send an entire fleet.
[01:17:07] You understand, why?
[01:17:08] Because it was an attack not just on that embassy
[01:17:11] and that ambassador, but upon me as president,
[01:17:14] upon my country.
[01:17:16] And this is the way it is with the Lord.
[01:17:18] It is very serious that we respect
[01:17:20] his delegated authorities as well as his authority.
[01:17:23] There's a lot of people that all respect the Lord,
[01:17:24] but I don't want anybody over me.
[01:17:27] Well, I'm sorry, but that's not the way the church works.
[01:17:32] It's not the way the kingdom works.
[01:17:35] Now, let's, I will skip that.
[01:17:40] I think I sent you a bunch of them,
[01:17:42] but we'll just skip that because it's getting late.
[01:17:48] Now, Cheetra, if you wanna come up,
[01:17:52] I'm gonna let her share this.
[01:17:54] This is how we know, sometimes we overlook things.
[01:18:00] And like I shared over the past,
[01:18:01] sometimes I should deal with things
[01:18:03] that I don't deal with.
[01:18:05] This person that I had to deal with,
[01:18:07] anybody that's been here at church long enough,
[01:18:08] you know who I'm talking about,
[01:18:09] so I'm not naming names
[01:18:13] because I've dealt with that problem now.
[01:18:16] But I want you to realize this is what happened
[01:18:19] when this person laid hands on Cheetra at Skyfall
[01:18:23] with saying she knew she wasn't supposed to, right?
[01:18:28] Had I seen it, we would have had a problem then.
[01:18:31] Had Cheetra told me earlier, would have dealt with it then.
[01:18:35] And see, this is another thing.
[01:18:36] Don't be afraid to be the house of Chloe, tattled.
[01:18:41] And she did this twice to Cheetra at Skyfall,
[01:18:44] this person did, who had this spirit of divination
[01:18:47] upon them from their stuff.
[01:18:50] I'm gonna let her tell.
[01:18:55] So thank you, Pastor Dean.
[01:18:57] I should, we should not have been here today.
[01:19:00] Craig and I actually came to the church and returned
[01:19:02] because we were both feeling very sick.
[01:19:05] We actually went back and I texted Pastor Nancy,
[01:19:08] I cannot come today because we are sick.
[01:19:11] She called me, then we decided to come
[01:19:13] and now I realize I'm not as sick as I thought I was.
[01:19:15] So I'm glad I'm here.
[01:19:18] But before, so in Skyfall, I was here all the time.
[01:19:23] So Pastor Dean had specifically told only people
[01:19:25] with bad should be praying.
[01:19:27] And I knew that.
[01:19:29] So on the day, just before I had a talk
[01:19:33] and just before that, I was very nervous.
[01:19:35] Usually I don't get nervous, but I was nervous.
[01:19:38] And this person, we were sitting just behind Pastor Dean.
[01:19:44] In the front row was Pastor Dean, I was just behind him.
[01:19:47] So she just laid hands on me and said,
[01:19:49] I know we are not supposed to pray,
[01:19:51] but I know you are nervous.
[01:19:53] We are coming from the same church,
[01:19:55] so it should be okay and just laid hands and prayed.
[01:19:57] And the thing is, I'm not telling it's their fault,
[01:20:00] it's my fault.
[01:20:01] So for me, when I came last year,
[01:20:03] I came and told it later, much later,
[01:20:06] in October or something, I told them.
[01:20:09] I was more worried about me because I realized
[01:20:12] if I have a transferred spirit,
[01:20:15] unless I go and repent,
[01:20:18] I cannot make getting out of those spirits.
[01:20:21] And I am not, I failed spiritual warfare last year
[01:20:25] and I was telling Craig,
[01:20:26] this is the only course I have ever failed in my life.
[01:20:30] So spiritual warfare was not something I ever understood,
[01:20:33] and I had to take it again this past spring to graduate.
[01:20:37] So I always struggled because from India,
[01:20:39] I have heard a lot about spiritual warfare,
[01:20:42] but I always thought it's a myth
[01:20:45] and superstitions.
[01:20:46] So when, and then later that evening,
[01:20:49] I was, the same person came to me and told,
[01:20:53] she saw a witch laying hands on me, touching me.
[01:20:56] I didn't, by the way.
[01:20:57] And because of that, she will pray for me.
[01:21:00] And she just prayed for the witch.
[01:21:02] And I, and even told me that after that,
[01:21:05] she went and talked to Pastor Dean
[01:21:06] and told that this witch is touching me
[01:21:09] and Pastor Dean has asked to just make sure
[01:21:12] that always watch me or something like that.
[01:21:14] And we did talk about that person also.
[01:21:17] And so for me, that was it.
[01:21:20] I later, I was supposed to write a letter of recommendation
[01:21:24] for this person for the ministry school.
[01:21:26] I had some other reasons that I was always
[01:21:29] kind of talking to them, but at the same time,
[01:21:31] I loved spiritual authority course,
[01:21:34] the first course that Pastor Dean was talking about.
[01:21:37] I'm a very rebellious person.
[01:21:39] Everyone who knows me knows that, some are laughing.
[01:21:42] I'm very rebellious from childhood, like two years,
[01:21:44] three years, I'm rebellious.
[01:21:46] So for me, that course kind of changed me.
[01:21:50] So sometimes I even used to get angry with Kelsey,
[01:21:52] but because of spiritual authority,
[01:21:54] I suddenly realized I should not be.
[01:21:56] And that helped me so much.
[01:21:57] And that's the first time in my life
[01:21:59] I learned to submit to three people.
[01:22:02] And now, of course, to my husband little by little.
[01:22:04] But the thing is,
[01:22:05] so yeah, I'm working on it.
[01:22:14] So, but the, so later, so I talked about some other thing.
[01:22:20] And Pastor Nancy was kind enough.
[01:22:22] I said, I believe that if this person takes the course
[01:22:26] and learns spiritual authority, she might fully change.
[01:22:29] So that was my thing.
[01:22:31] But at that point, I never thought,
[01:22:33] I had never even thought about this laying hands.
[01:22:36] I forgot about it.
[01:22:37] It was other things I talked about.
[01:22:39] Then October or something, I called Pastor,
[01:22:41] like something we were discussing
[01:22:42] and I told this happened.
[01:22:44] And then Pastor Dean called and like,
[01:22:46] why did he not tell me?
[01:22:47] I'm like, I'm so sorry.
[01:22:49] I didn't think like that because we are from the same church.
[01:22:52] But I knew in my heart, it was wrong what I did.
[01:22:55] And it was not about the person.
[01:22:57] For me, it was about me.
[01:22:58] Like I knew what I did was wrong.
[01:23:00] It was, you know, it's about me.
[01:23:02] I'm not a child.
[01:23:03] So I should have said no.
[01:23:05] So that was my issue.
[01:23:06] And we talked about it.
[01:23:08] And after that, you see that person was here till now.
[01:23:10] So it is last October.
[01:23:13] And last Saturday, I was talking to Craig.
[01:23:17] Craig is all about deliverance.
[01:23:18] And now I'm learning more and more about it.
[01:23:20] And we have been praying too.
[01:23:22] So Pastor Nancy texted me because I told her something
[01:23:24] about a blue light a couple of weeks back.
[01:23:27] And she asked me, have you, like,
[01:23:30] do you have someone laid hands on you?
[01:23:32] Do you know about Kundalini?
[01:23:33] And Kundalini is not a spirit I ever liked.
[01:23:36] Because in India, my cousins and all
[01:23:38] used to do yoga and many spiritual things
[01:23:41] to make it activate.
[01:23:43] And I never was interested in it.
[01:23:45] And Pastor Dean did pray about that in my deliverance.
[01:23:47] And nothing happened.
[01:23:49] But that day when Pastor Nancy asked Craig,
[01:23:51] and I just, for simply, he just put hands on me
[01:23:55] and started paying for Kundalini.
[01:23:57] And he said, I went like a snake for a second,
[01:23:59] like 10 seconds or something.
[01:24:00] And I have no remembrance.
[01:24:01] And then I ran to the, and puked.
[01:24:03] And then again, that happened Saturday, yesterday morning.
[01:24:07] We were sitting.
[01:24:08] And I just was explaining to Craig
[01:24:10] because I texted Pastor Nancy in the morning.
[01:24:13] Like, I know Pastor Dean didn't mention my name in the text.
[01:24:17] But I am very worried about this church,
[01:24:19] people walking out of the church because of what happened.
[01:24:23] So I really wanted unity.
[01:24:24] So I said, you can name me.
[01:24:26] I don't mind talking.
[01:24:27] I was talking, telling about the Wednesday group.
[01:24:29] I just wanted to tell the close members who come to church,
[01:24:33] this was a real incident.
[01:24:34] And I was responsible.
[01:24:36] So I just wanted to tell that.
[01:24:38] So then I just wanted to explain to Craig
[01:24:42] that I knew Wednesday I might have to talk.
[01:24:44] So I said, Craig, like this happened that day.
[01:24:46] And when the witch part happened,
[01:24:48] the second time she prayed, when she laid hands on me,
[01:24:51] I said, oh, my hand even feels numb and kind of tingly.
[01:24:55] And he suddenly was like, you felt numb and tingly
[01:24:57] when she laid hands and prayed.
[01:24:59] And he started praying over me again.
[01:25:01] And I really puked when he said,
[01:25:03] initially he was just praying in tongue.
[01:25:05] I'm just sitting there like nothing happening,
[01:25:07] a little cuff here and there.
[01:25:09] When he said the spirit of divination,
[01:25:11] I just, and now I'm even, yeah,
[01:25:14] transfer spirit of divination.
[01:25:16] And I just went out, I puked, and I'm like,
[01:25:19] okay, something lifted off me.
[01:25:21] And I know this is because of the rebellion too.
[01:25:24] So, yeah.
[01:25:27] And see, this is why we say,
[01:25:28] and she didn't tell the part,
[01:25:29] she said it was some huge black blob.
[01:25:32] Now I've seen this happen before.
[01:25:34] This is why we tell y'all these kind of things.
[01:25:37] Somebody, you let a person lay hands on you
[01:25:40] that you're not supposed to let lay hands on you
[01:25:42] and they can transfer anything.
[01:25:43] And sometimes even slip around and do it behind your back.
[01:25:46] Okay.
[01:25:47] And this is why too, you've got to pay attention
[01:25:49] and the Lord reveal things.
[01:25:51] It's just like, cause she started praying,
[01:25:54] and she was praying with my wife one day
[01:25:56] and started talking about,
[01:25:57] when she was praying, she'd see a blue light.
[01:25:58] Well, I know from dealing with New Agers and witches
[01:26:02] and people coming out of Hinduism and all that stuff,
[01:26:05] that the blue light, blue flame, whatever,
[01:26:07] that's part of the Kundalini
[01:26:09] and those divination spirits that you pick up from that.
[01:26:12] So when she said that, we're like, okay.
[01:26:14] Now she'd already been through deliverance.
[01:26:15] So something happened from her deliverance, right?
[01:26:19] Her initial deliverance.
[01:26:20] And so it was the laying on of hands
[01:26:23] of this person who has a spirit of divination
[01:26:26] upon them from the stuff that they do.
[01:26:28] And let me just go ahead and tell y'all right now.
[01:26:29] And see, I said this early on,
[01:26:31] and I'm just going to be very straightforward.
[01:26:34] When I heard about the little blood analysis stuff,
[01:26:37] like taking a little, some of your blood and using that
[01:26:40] to find out, figure out what's wrong with you
[01:26:41] by looking at how it looks, I said, that's divination.
[01:26:44] I said it from the get-go, right?
[01:26:47] I told her, don't be doing that in this church.
[01:26:50] I said, if you do these things,
[01:26:51] we're going to have a problem.
[01:26:52] I said this from the beginning,
[01:26:53] we're going to have a problem, right?
[01:26:57] So start swearing, I'm not going to do these things.
[01:27:00] And guess what?
[01:27:01] I found out it was going on behind my back anyway.
[01:27:04] So what is that?
[01:27:06] That is rebellion and divination
[01:27:10] and laying on of hands to transfer things.
[01:27:14] Now, with Chitra's situation,
[01:27:18] that devil has worked real hard to try to kill her
[01:27:21] because she has quite the testimony.
[01:27:24] So what I'm saying is,
[01:27:25] is that this thing could make her seriously sick
[01:27:28] and have some serious spiritual and physical problems.
[01:27:32] This is why we've warned you guys about,
[01:27:34] I've got the whole series out there,
[01:27:37] a cursed objects in your house,
[01:27:39] the transference of spirits by just who you hang around.
[01:27:42] You know, the Bible is very clear about
[01:27:44] if you just hang around the wrong people,
[01:27:46] it will affect you, all right?
[01:27:48] This is why sometimes there's relationships
[01:27:50] you have to cut off.
[01:27:53] And again, it's about being spirit-led.
[01:27:57] It's about, again, being a person of prayer
[01:28:00] and fasting and being in the Word.
[01:28:02] But also, if you will listen to people who are,
[01:28:06] the Bible says in the multitude of counselors,
[01:28:08] what, there is safety with good advice, make your war.
[01:28:12] So the Lord's gonna use others to help protect you
[01:28:16] or bring to your attention some of these things
[01:28:18] and you have to be willing to listen.
[01:28:22] And that's what I'm talking about.
[01:28:24] It's like, okay, the blue light thing.
[01:28:25] A lot of people don't know that.
[01:28:27] And what's funny is after that happened,
[01:28:30] with the blue light situation,
[01:28:32] and then we realize, you know, it's a spirit of divination,
[01:28:34] then we figure out where we know where it came from,
[01:28:36] who it came from.
[01:28:38] I get a message in Facebook Messenger
[01:28:40] from a lady says, hey, what about this blue light?
[01:28:44] People are talking about seeing this blue light.
[01:28:47] So I'm like, isn't that weird?
[01:28:49] And I just explained to her, we just dealt with this,
[01:28:52] a situation with this blue light,
[01:28:53] it's divination, Kundalini, new age demons,
[01:28:55] you need to cast them out.
[01:28:56] It's not, the Lord doesn't appear that way.
[01:28:59] He doesn't appear in blue light, orange light.
[01:29:01] The Lord is glorious light.
[01:29:03] I mean, he's just different.
[01:29:05] And when he manifests,
[01:29:07] you feel his presence and his power and on down the line.
[01:29:09] But if you start seeing lights and orbs and auras,
[01:29:12] and you got to open door somewhere.
[01:29:14] And this is why deliverance is such an important issue.
[01:29:19] But again, if Chitra hadn't listened to Pastor Nancy,
[01:29:23] listen to what I said, listen to her husband,
[01:29:26] she wanted to be rebellious, she still have those demons.
[01:29:30] And listen, the demons are there
[01:29:32] to cause you serious problems.
[01:29:34] They're not trying to get in just to hang out.
[01:29:38] They're getting in to have some serious,
[01:29:42] cause you some serious problems.
[01:29:44] And so this is something that again,
[01:29:46] I think if you haven't dealt
[01:29:47] with the area of deliverance thoroughly,
[01:29:50] it's something you need to deal with thoroughly.
[01:29:54] And if that person has laid hands on you,
[01:29:57] prayed for you, or you've gone
[01:29:59] to one of the blood divination,
[01:30:02] I would definitely start praying over that issue,
[01:30:06] binding the demons that came in
[01:30:08] through the laying on of hands,
[01:30:11] really a blood ritual, divination, familiar spirits,
[01:30:15] witchcraft spirit, I would be binding those demons
[01:30:19] that came in through that person
[01:30:20] and command them to leave.
[01:30:22] And they're probably watching this morning,
[01:30:23] and I don't care.
[01:30:24] This is what's been going on.
[01:30:27] And it's funny, but once I dealt with the problem
[01:30:30] and put it out there, then I had more people come
[01:30:33] and tell me, oh yeah, she's doing this behind your back.
[01:30:39] And let me just go and tell you,
[01:30:42] if you wanna see me get like the throw tables over Jesus,
[01:30:48] that Jesus, that's when I get that way.
[01:30:52] Because you know what, I can handle all kinds of stuff.
[01:30:56] I'm patient, my wife will tell you.
[01:30:58] She said, you are patient.
[01:31:00] I was patient with this situation.
[01:31:02] And again, a lot of it I didn't know
[01:31:04] was going on behind my back.
[01:31:06] But again, when I find that out,
[01:31:08] I can feel that the Lord's,
[01:31:12] his upset about this violation of authority thing
[01:31:16] and basically trying to pollute
[01:31:19] the church body behind my back.
[01:31:21] And this is, it just really, really irks me.
[01:31:26] And you wanna talk about the quick wrath
[01:31:31] coming down upon you.
[01:31:34] You can be struggling, I mean,
[01:31:37] you might be struggling with pornography.
[01:31:38] You might be struggling with lust.
[01:31:40] You might be struggling with anger.
[01:31:42] I'll be patient with you and try to help you
[01:31:44] as much as I can.
[01:31:45] But you start down the rebellion road
[01:31:47] and it's not gonna last very long.
[01:31:51] And why?
[01:31:52] See, there's a difference.
[01:31:54] Once you start sitting against authority,
[01:31:56] it's a whole different realm.
[01:31:58] And it usually starts manifesting
[01:32:01] just different little ways of disrespect.
[01:32:03] That's why I love some Hispanic and women.
[01:32:10] Because boy, let me tell you,
[01:32:11] I've seen some Hispanic mothers,
[01:32:15] children say something,
[01:32:16] back hand is coming, and I love it.
[01:32:24] Don't you ever talk to me like that.
[01:32:26] You better not ever.
[01:32:27] I remember one of our friends from Bolivia back in the day,
[01:32:32] she told a story about her mom
[01:32:34] from Bolivia, she was a teenager
[01:32:36] and her mom was talking to her about something
[01:32:38] and she's sitting in the car and she goes,
[01:32:40] whatever, to her mother.
[01:32:42] Her mother had rings on them fingers.
[01:32:48] Cross the mouth, don't you ever.
[01:32:51] And see, a lot of people, oh, that's abuse.
[01:32:53] No, it's not.
[01:32:55] That's a violation of authority and quick punishment.
[01:33:03] You understand?
[01:33:03] I mean, because we're not against spanking
[01:33:06] and we're not against punishment.
[01:33:08] Punishment is children should get a spanking.
[01:33:11] I know the world, like I say,
[01:33:12] oh, don't spank the child,
[01:33:15] but spare the rod, spoil the child, right?
[01:33:18] And let me tell you something.
[01:33:20] Our friend from Bolivia,
[01:33:22] she never did it again to her mother.
[01:33:25] He never talked back to that woman again.
[01:33:27] Not ever again, right?
[01:33:32] But see, again, it's about respect.
[01:33:34] She knew immediately the reason she got that reaction
[01:33:38] because it wasn't just words,
[01:33:41] it was an attack on authority.
[01:33:44] And mama just, something in her deal with,
[01:33:47] oh, no, you didn't.
[01:33:48] You're not doing that.
[01:33:53] And my mom was the same way.
[01:33:56] Boy, I tell you what, my mom would pick up anything
[01:33:58] she could find and deal with us.
[01:34:04] I remember mouthing off to my mom one time
[01:34:06] and she picked up my BB gun and broke it over my arm.
[01:34:10] I'm like, that woman's serious.
[01:34:12] But you know, boys tend to test their mothers.
[01:34:19] Shouldn't do it.
[01:34:21] Honor, respect, and obey those in authority
[01:34:26] and your life will be longer and more peaceable, right?
[01:34:33] All right, let's stand.
[01:34:45] Thank you, Lord.
[01:34:45] Father, we just come to you today.
[01:34:49] Father, all we wanna do as Christians
[01:34:51] is do things your way.
[01:34:54] What's your word, the way your word says to do it
[01:34:56] and the way your Holy Spirit leads us
[01:34:59] and I'd help us all to receive that,
[01:35:00] to be humble, to be submitted to your authority
[01:35:03] and your delegated authority,
[01:35:06] to understand how church is supposed to operate,
[01:35:11] how to be in unity as a church body.
[01:35:15] Because, Lord, we want your anointing
[01:35:17] and your glory to float.
[01:35:19] It's like you said, how good and pleasant it is
[01:35:21] and for brethren to dwell together in unity.
[01:35:23] It is like that oil, that anointing
[01:35:25] that comes down upon Aaron,
[01:35:29] a man you put in authority
[01:35:30] and then it flows down to everyone else
[01:35:33] and, Lord, that is the way you do things
[01:35:37] and we want your presence and we want your anointing
[01:35:39] and we wanna do things the right way
[01:35:42] and we want you to help us, Lord,
[01:35:44] to be humble and not rebellious or defiant
[01:35:47] or just stubborn, Lord, because we know, God,
[01:35:53] that that is, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft
[01:35:56] and we don't wanna be opening the door to that.
[01:36:00] So I pray you help us discern it
[01:36:02] when it starts rising up in us
[01:36:05] and that you will grant us the grace
[01:36:06] and to initiate self-control
[01:36:11] because you've called us to be a people
[01:36:13] who can control ourselves and control our mouths
[01:36:17] and our attitudes and repent
[01:36:20] before it ever comes out of our mouth.
[01:36:24] Lord, I pray you help us with that
[01:36:25] so we can be a church that is
[01:36:28] moving into the unity of the faith
[01:36:33] and I pray that for Fire and Grace Church.
[01:36:34] I pray that for other churches out there as well
[01:36:36] that are trying to do it the right way,
[01:36:38] the best they can, that there would be a group
[01:36:43] in that church that the majority would come into unity
[01:36:48] in agreement, speak the same thing,
[01:36:50] have the same mind, the same judgment,
[01:36:54] respect those in authority,
[01:36:55] even if there's little disagreements
[01:36:57] about inconsequential things
[01:37:03] and help us all, Lord, be clothed with humility
[01:37:05] and be able to receive correction.
[01:37:10] I pray that in Jesus' name.
[01:37:13] Amen, amen.
[01:37:14] All right, well, did y'all learn something today?
[01:37:20] All right, last week too.
[01:37:24] And let me just share something else
[01:37:26] with y'all real quick.
[01:37:27] You know, Pastor Troy and Pastor D are here
[01:37:29] and they are pastors and they are elders
[01:37:32] in the kingdom of God.
[01:37:33] And, you know, when something goes down in this church
[01:37:37] even though they have their church in Montgomery
[01:37:42] but they come here, but I let them know
[01:37:44] we communicate as to what's going on
[01:37:47] because some of our folks go over there
[01:37:50] and some of their folks come over here
[01:37:51] and we fellowship back and forth as two churches.
[01:37:55] And so don't ever think that we don't let them know
[01:37:59] what's going on, like you're gonna slip to Montgomery
[01:38:02] and do something.
[01:38:04] And it's been tried.
[01:38:06] It's been tried, but it didn't work.
[01:38:08] Why?
[01:38:09] Because they're in unity, right?
[01:38:11] And I respect them as elders in the church
[01:38:14] and they respect me the same way
[01:38:16] and we're not gonna play with this foolishness, you know?
[01:38:21] And so, but that's how we stay in unity.
[01:38:24] There has to be in any situation,
[01:38:26] there has to be leadership.
[01:38:28] It's just, somebody contacted me the other day
[01:38:32] and there was a question about that.
[01:38:33] I said, everything rises or falls on leadership.
[01:38:37] I mean, either you have bad leadership
[01:38:39] or good leadership or no leadership.
[01:38:42] And it's just part of the human experience
[01:38:47] that we have to learn how to find it
[01:38:49] and submit to it and be humble.
[01:38:52] And now in this Google everything age,
[01:38:55] everybody thinks they know everything
[01:38:56] or they can find it out in five seconds.
[01:38:59] And like I've said before, getting a piece of information
[01:39:03] is not the same as experience, right?
[01:39:07] All right.
[01:39:08] Well, y'all know the drill.
[01:39:10] Hugs up next before you leave, Skyfall.
[01:39:13] We have secured the Callaway Conference Center again
[01:39:18] in the Grange, Georgia.
[01:39:19] So go to SkyfallConference.org.
[01:39:22] You can begin to register.
[01:39:24] Look, hey, we're gonna have good bathrooms
[01:39:27] and in air conditioning.
[01:39:28] So that's nice.
[01:39:31] They blessed us.
[01:39:32] We paid for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
[01:39:36] And then we decided, well, we might need Thursday
[01:39:39] and she called them back.
[01:39:40] Nancy did call them back.
[01:39:42] And they gave us Thursday for like 800 bucks.
[01:39:45] And now let me tell you,
[01:39:46] it's not normally 800 bucks for a day.
[01:39:48] So we, yeah, on Thursday, we'll be setting up
[01:39:53] and then doing the hangout there from four to six
[01:39:55] instead of going somewhere else for a picnic and all.
[01:39:57] You just got to be running back and forth
[01:40:00] between that was too much.
[01:40:01] Cause it's gonna take us a little while
[01:40:03] to set up everything there.
[01:40:04] So we'll have plenty of time Thursday.
[01:40:08] Probably can do some pre-registration and stuff like that.
[01:40:11] And yes, yes, yeah.
[01:40:18] Yeah, that'll be, we're trying to figure out,
[01:40:21] I think my wife's trying to figure out how to do that.
[01:40:24] Yeah.
[01:40:25] I hope it's what I think it's gonna be.
[01:40:28] Cause that's good.
[01:40:29] It's good stuff.
[01:40:30] Hoping, praying.
[01:40:31] I'm not even gonna say it
[01:40:32] cause in case it doesn't happen.
[01:40:34] All right.
[01:40:36] But anyway, that is what I'm saying.
[01:40:38] We signed the contract.
[01:40:39] We've got the place.
[01:40:40] It's done.
[01:40:41] All right.
[01:40:42] Anybody out there that was worrying about that
[01:40:44] before registering or making your flights
[01:40:47] or your hotel plans, you can go ahead and do that now.
[01:40:51] So, all right.
[01:40:53] Well, talk some next before you leave.
[01:40:59] All right.