How Your Life Can Influence Multiple Generations - Andrew Selley (San Clemente)

So I actually feel like I had this really killer heading and now that I'm looking at it in this moment, almost don't like it. I thought a lot about it and it's just, I don't know, the title is I'll just put it out there and explain why I don't like it. Suddenly, how your life can influence multiple generations. And maybe the reason I did like it when I wrote it, I thought it was quite clever. But just in this moment, again, man, it's not about us, not about your life. It's about that the nations will see Jesus, that the nations will see the beauty of the church, the bride of Christ. So it's really not about you and me, it's all about him. But I do believe that with that in place that God uses people to bring glory to nations. In the Old Testament, God says, I wanted to move. I looked for a man, but there was none. I wanted to move in my people, but no one heard what I wanted to do. No one responded. And then we see people like Isaiah coming and saying, well, I'm hearing you one man. I'm hearing you here am here am I pick me. And God takes him and uses him so powerfully to bring a nation to repentance, actually to bring parts of the nation to repentance. The nation eventually kills him. The people of God killed him. He was cut into pieces by the people of God because I didn't want to hear the message that God was giving them through him. Seems to be the pattern so often of when God moves, how his people respond. Even the Son of God was crucified by the people of God. Anyway, God is on the move. And I want us to understand something theologically. I want us to understand something that's very important if we're going to be a part of what God is doing, because I believe that when God moves. Speaker 2 He looks for. Speaker 1 People to go with him, but the Bible tells us that that we must what does it say the scripture? I'm off my notes now. Where he he says, my servant must be where I am. My servant must be where I am. In other words, as servants and as sons, we follow the Father. We follow where our Master, our Lord goes. We must be where he is. He doesn't. Speaker 2 He, I mean, he leaves us where we're drifting to find us, but ultimately he wants us to move with him. He doesn't chase after us. Do you get that? If you're drifting, he loves you. So he'll he'll try and find. Speaker 1 You. But ultimately he's looking for you to follow him. Come follow me, he said. And they left everything to follow him. And he's the same Jesus today as he was in the Bible. And so there's some things that he would want to do in US. And again, I'm probably rambling prophetically more than I'm preaching right now, but. Speaker 2 There's some things that I think we need to learn in the Scriptures, in the ways of God so that we can align with what He's doing and be a part of what He's doing. Because I want to be a part of what He's doing. I want to be where my master is. I want to follow him. I want to be in a community that's listening and going. Speaker 1 Off the way he's leading us, I want to follow his lead. I don't I can't lead this. I'm just some guy with a funny accent. If this thing's built on my ability and my skill, then it's not built by Jesus. So here's the here's the thing we need to learn. The Principle of Reproduction: Each According to Its Kind Everything reproduces according to its. Speaker 2 Kind. In other words, God needs a prototype. Speaker 1 Before he can do anything, he needs somebody or a group of people that would become what he wants the rest of the world to become like. And that was the point of Israel. You will be, he said to Israel, a light to the nations. You're going to be a prototype of what my Kingdom looks like. And God is still looking for people. Speaker 2 Who hear him, obey him by the power of grace and the Holy Spirit and become a prototype that the nations can run to the light. Jesus said, you know, here's the light of the world. And then he said you. Speaker 1 Oh, the light of the world. Speaker 2 As we become a reflection of him. And so there's something that God is doing. And so, and the principle that we're going to look at is, is something that goes right through God's dealing with creation. It's like a law that he put into creation. And it's it really comes we see it all over. But one of the early places in Genesis, chapter one, verse 11 to 12. So we're going to look at some other things, Scripture and some other things, and then look at how that applies to us. Speaker 1 God's creating. He's putting things into order. He's building his well, He's building everything visible and invisible here. And he says let the earth sprout vegetation. In other words, up until this point there's nothing. And he's created the OR, he's made the world and now he's making life plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit in it, which is their seed. And then he says this, each according to its kind. Speaker 2 In other words. Speaker 1 I'm going to make an apple tree and it'll bear fruit and it's seed will produce according to its kind. Apples. You're not going to grow a pear tree from an apple tree. The each will reproduce according to its kind. This is a principle that he puts into the fabric of his creation. Plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit. Speaker 2 In which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And so there is a principle that God puts into creation. I'm going to do something and I need a kind. And once I've got that kind, that kind will reproduce according to its kind. If you got that. And so whenever God moves, he knew he moves with a prototype, He moves with somebody or something that will become the first of its kind. I've got to burn a doodle dog. I didn't know they existed until I came to California. Everyone's got doodles in California, some kind of doodle. And she's a kind of a dog. She's a bit of a hybrid, a mix of a Bernese mountain dog and a poodle. She's the daftest dog I've ever had. She's the cutest one as well. But she is a kind and she RIP she if she reproduces, she'll reproduce according to her kind. You're not going to get a Chihuahua popping out. You're going to get but you know that Bernard Doodles weren't around until I don't even know when actually, I think probably the last 70 or so years or maybe less. I haven't even seen them in Africa. I think they get eaten by lions where I come from. Each according to their kind and a kind here, actually both in plants in, in, in everything is there's, there's genetic or DNA, which is really a genetic instruction that God has spoken into his creation. So genetic instruction of cells. In some ways it's like a blueprint, like like you're the product of DNA that came down a strand of your parents. Your mom had blue eyes or whatever. And and so some of those things you inherited as DNA. It was something that came down a very simplifying this, but this is really how it works like a recipe. And so, you know, eye color, height, skin color with you fast or strong or even emotional, all those things come down through your genetics, your DNA. And, and so it's interesting, you know, moving to America, we have to now get into the American Medical system. Speaker 1 Which is like nuts. It's the one area that where I come from in Africa beats America, I think. And I know I've got doctors here that are going to hate me for this, but there's some it's so much simpler than but and better than it. And it's just seems like to work smooth and it's a whole lot cheaper than it is here. For some reason was really good medicine. It's so expensive here. Speaker 2 But one of the questions asked as I sat down with my new Doctor in America was is there any history of cancer in your family? Why is he asking me that? Speaker 1 Because doctors know DNA and corrupted DNA, that's what cancer is. It's corrupted DNA. Somewhere along the way, the photocopy of the photocopy of the photocopy got twisted. And so one of my ancestors did have actually, my mom nearly died from cancer. She was on her deathbed and God by a miracle on her deathbed the day the doctor said say goodbye, she's dying today, did a miracle and she was healed. But cancer nearly got her. And so, yeah, there's a there's a genetic disposition that I'm in danger of just genetics. I mean, I'm not talking about I'm going to get elected off this by everyone in Word of faith. Don't speak dead of your life. I'm not Speaking of my life. Speaker 2 Yeah, the power of. Speaker 1 Life and the tongue and all that stuff. It's just. Speaker 2 It's just genetic. Yes, my mom had cancer and so I know that medically Jesus can do anything. And I know that that might never happen for me, but there is a danger that I have more than maybe somebody else of that type of thing because my genes somewhere got corrupted. Am I right to viral? Speaker 1 She's a doctor. Speaker 2 Yeah, and so we inherit strengths and weaknesses. We inherit good and bad for my parents. I know we don't like to think that when we're young and growing up, but the older you get, the more you're going like, Oh my goodness, just like them. And you know, this principle of a kind reproducing according to the kind is, is actually, I mean, breeders even know this. And this is a great illustration from for us of how. Speaker 1 Much people put money behind just potential DNA strands put up the picture of green monkey for me green monkey that that that that is green monkey that was his name he's a racehorse so let me tell you about him because it's fascinating when you look at creation and how God. Speaker 2 Speaks something into being and how today even the horse racing world bows to the word of God. He was bought for $16,000,000 before he'd. Speaker 1 Ever run a race? Speaker 2 Somebody put 16, I mean, in my whole life, even if our banks, I don't think I'm going to end up with $16,000,000 and somebody paid that for him and he'd never run a race just because of potential. And the potential was this. They looked at his DNA strand. Green monkey his. Speaker 1 Grandfather was a horse called Storm Cat. Speaker 2 And Stormcat was world famous. He won the Young American Stakes race. He fathered 32 winners of Grade 1 stakes races, 99 graded stake race winners, 166 winners worldwide with earnings of a 1000 million Rand. Just to breed with his grandfather, just to breed. Your mayor with that stallion was $5,000,000 just to breed and he was under 24 hour armed guard because people wanted his seed so badly. What are they? Speaker 1 Paying for DNA potential greatness is in the genes. His father. Speaker 2 Called Forestry won seven of the 11 races that he raced, setting a new stakes record, shattering the 28 year old record before that. Speaker 1 People are willing to pay for DNA. It's that valuable. Put huge amounts of investment and time into the potential that that DNA strand has. And this is because God said each will reproduce according to its kind. A great stallion that's fast, or very likely give birth to a great stallion that's fast, because DNA is passed down generation to generation. Born Again: Receiving Christ's New Spiritual DNA And this principle in creation is not just for physical things, it's for spiritual things too. DNA, spiritual DNA, is passed down to us. We were born, the Bible says, into this world with ultimately the strain of Adam in US, weren't we? Speaker 2 And so like. Speaker 1 Our Father, we had a propensity to do what? To sin. It was in our DNA. We in some ways couldn't really do what God wanted us to because our DNA spiritually now is corrupted by Adam's strain. But the Bible says if any man is in Christ, he is born again. The. Speaker 2 Old is gone. And so when you become a Christian, if you genuinely are a Christian, you have had a spiritual new birth, which means you have a new DNA spiritually inside of you. Your physical DNA might not catch up until you die, and then everything gets made exactly the way it's supposed to be. Then you'll be like him, with no sickness and no death. He'll be back restored to where he was supposed to be. But for now your spirit has been made alive where it was dead. And so you've actually got the seed of Christ in you if you're born again. And so the Bible tells us God making new DNA now. Romans 829 For God knew his people in advance. In other words, he knew who who he was going to be able to save, and he chose them to become like his Son so that his son would be the first born among many brothers. In other words, Jesus was going to be the prototype, the first born and from him and through him and in him a generation would come that would actually have a new spiritual DNA. And so when you got born again, you know you got born again because you went from loving sin to hating it in the moment you started. Speaker 1 Longing for righteousness. Why? Because spiritually you were made alive. God's Christ's seed came into you. Speaker 2 And so you begin to become like his. Speaker 1 Son, Christianity isn't. I lifted my hand and now I'm going to heaven. Christianity is. I'm becoming like my my Lord, my Savior, Jesus, He's working in me. It's his. Speaker 2 Power in me. It's his DNA. I can't boast because I was. Speaker 1 Dying, but he did. Speaker 2 Something by the power of His spirit, I was born again. So I have this new DNA. How Bad Training and Food Damage Spiritual DNA But do you know that DNA in itself isn't enough? Speaker 1 For you to fulfill the potential of what is supposed to happen in you. Speaker 2 In other words, because you get this new birth doesn't guarantee that you're going to walk in the fullness of the DNA, that you will come to the fullness of what Christ is calling you to be or to look like. And it's the same in the natural. You know, horses obviously spend a lot of money for DNA. Actually, funny enough, green monkey never really attained greatness. He had all the DNA. Speaker 1 But somehow they couldn't untap into it. I'll give you an example of a horse that had great DNA and actually damaged that DNA. Put up the the picture for Saichi Pegasus. A beautiful horse, isn't it? I mean, you want to pay money just because they look so good. He, he was an incredible horse and, and, and was winning races, a Kentucky Derby winner, but through bad training habits, overtraining and demands being placed on him that were too high, he damaged himself. He got injured and he never fully recovered and never actually came into the greatness of what his DNA had in him. He had the potential for greatness, but that got damaged. Do you know that we can do that too, as spiritual sons of God? We can damage the DNA strain of what Christ has put in US. And you think of some examples in the Scripture. Oh foolish Galatians, you started in Christ. Why are you trying to perfect us in in the flesh? You've been bewitched. You've you've, you've damaged the life of Christ. You you began in the spirit, but you ended in the flesh. In other words, what cross seed came into you to do was somehow damaged and you've not you've you've actually and he actually speaks about you might be cut off from him if you and another thing that can damage our our potential is just bad training or bad food. Bad food can kill you like bad exercise can kill you. You know that in the natural hair. In other words, I remember when I was at school, I wasn't going to tell this, but when I was at school I was, I was like in, in in Africa. It wasn't like California where they want everyone to feel special. In Africa, they let you know if you weren't special and I wasn't special. I was in the kind of like in our class, they graded you based on how well you did at school. And the A class were like all the Super intelligent, good looking, and then the B class with like the sort of almost there. And the C Class were like in middle. And then the D class were like, yeah, go to somewhere to do. And then the E and the F class with A like, OK, you're the losers. I remember when I was in grade 8, most of my friends were like 29 years old in the same standard as me. Speaker 2 And I'm kidding because they failed so many times, but there was a sense that we were, we were the kind of like. Speaker 1 And, and my, I rubbed my headmaster, who was a friend of the family, called me in one day with my parents and said, I know you're DN. I know you're, I know your IQ said your IQ is higher than mine and I'm a headmaster. But he said you're wasting your life because you haven't found what's grabbed your heart. And so I was in the worst of the worst. I was falling asleep in class, I was getting hot. We used to get hidings and those I've got hidings like almost daily because I was doing something wrong. I hadn't found I wasn't unlocking. It was only when I came to Christ that I found I found who I laughed more than anything. And somehow all that stuff that dead DNI came to laugh and I'm not sure because I'm great. I, I think that's, it's just something was unlocked when I found him and well, he found me. And so there is a sense that likewise you can have spiritual DNA, the DNA of the Son of God in you and you can frustrate that DNA. You can. You can. Speaker 2 Feed it badly. And if you feed it badly, even if you've got the genetic makeup to run 100 yards in 10 seconds, you're going to struggle if you weighing twice the weight you should because you didn't care for the DNA that that God gave you. Does that make sense? And I mean the Corinthians, I mean that these are people that are born again full of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they've got so much of the Holy Spirit, they've gone a little bit mental and they need to get pulled back. They've gone a little bit over the top. But Paul writes them in one Corinthians 31 and he says, but brothers, I couldn't address you as spiritual people. Now, these are spiritual people. These are sons and they're brothers. They're sons and daughters. They, they made to be like the Big Brother Jesus. Brothers, these are not heathen, these are Christians. I couldn't address you as spiritual people, you know, What do you mean? They're born again? They're born of the Spirit. They're led by God. But rather I'm going to address you as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. In other words, these Christians, he said by now you should be teachers by now you should have grown up by now. The potential, the DNA, the spiritual DNA that God put in you should be bearing fruit for the nations. But instead you still need me to come to you weekly and give you milk. You like you're like a child that never grew up. Something went wrong. And I wonder when the Lord looks at the church and our generation, how he must feel exactly that we've got more Internet than just. Speaker 1 Yet actually we worldly, I just. Speaker 2 Got to go look at the. Speaker 1 Internet, I almost want to burn the Internet. It's just the amount of junk that Christians are doing to Christians and they're. So here's the thing. You can have all the potential and all the things that Christ wants to do in and through your life and you could damage that. You could believe a false doctrine like the Galatians and that can actually crush the seed in you, kill the potential in you that you never come into that. And so Paul writes like this. Remember what did Paul say? I run my race to win the bus. I beat my body that I might gain the prize that I can come and and share in Christ nature that I can. I wonder yeah, I'll feel like I've got to stick to my notes. I'm not going long. I'm already gone too long. Speaker 2 So. Speaker 1 I mean, here's some key thoughts in terms of you finding your potential. And it's not about, again, it's not about you finding your potential, but it is about you being faithful to what Christ Jesus has put in you. A lot of guys are like, you know, just all about you and it's so wrong. It's about him, but about me being all that I'm called to be for Him. Following Leaders Who Imitate Christ's DNA So here's one of the key things, and this is like we're allergic to this stuff. Like this stuff is like I get guys going on YouTube against me for this stuff, but it's in the Bible. The leaders you follow will argue be one of the most influential keys to your potential. In other words, the leaders that you place your life under spiritually will be massively influential in how much potential you have of coming into the fullness of that potential. And think of that in the natural, a horse like green monkey, without training, without good training, without good diet, without all the things that he needs, what chance does he have of becoming what he's called to become? It's no different in the Kingdom of God. And so the Bible speaks like this and it's interesting. People say, I just want to follow Jesus. And I'm like, you need to just follow Jesus. Ultimately, everyone's going to follow Jesus in the Kingdom. He's 7 must be where he is. But you see, leaders are are things that God gives us to shape us and form us. And so in one Thessalonians 167, remember Jesus said or the scripture says each will reproduce according to its kind. This is why I don't think Bible schools are a good idea because Bible Bible schools tickle your head and think, make you think you know something, but they don't make you to become a man that looks like Christ. They just fill your head with knowledge and then let you loose on the church and that's not Christ, no one. Anyway. Here's here's what we read in the scriptures. 1 Thessalonians, Paul writing you became imitators of us. Now put that into this generation, Paul saying we set up, we made ourselves an example for you to follow, so you became imitators of us again, I'm following Jesus. I'm not going to imitate. Speaker 2 You no, no, no, you're missing it. There's a new DNA strand and how God will work is he'll work through men that he raises up as leaders and the point of being a leader is not that I can just sit and go well, I can come on people now I'm a leader. The point is that actually what Christ has worked in the leaders will flow down through DNA into their spiritual children and the language of Scripture is I Paul says I became like a father to you. So you became imitators of us and always of the Lord. In other words, I want you to see this picture. Maybe Mark come stand here with me. Mark is Jesus for the moment and it looks like he's got the beard and all that stuff. So if you could just stand here. This is if this is imagine Jesus here. This is a prototype. This is the one that everyone's got to become like he's the first born of any OK, here's the example. But he's more than that. He's the seed, he's the life, He's the then he comes into guys like Paul and Christ starts to live his life by the new birth in Paul. And so Paul starts to grow up out of his anger. Speaker 1 Issues and he's I'm going to kill as Christians to to actually becoming a man of love and we see this and eventually Paul when you look at him, you start to see more and more and more of him. Why? Because Paul is growing up to be like Mike and actually Mark is living his life technically through Paul and the more Paul yields and grows and matures, the more you see less and less of Paul and more and more of Jesus. And so Paul can then say we made ourselves. He said this in another place. An example for you to follow. What's his is he saying? Speaker 2 Look at me. Speaker 1 No, this is an I can't boast, but he can say look at what Christ is doing. He's he started something. He's redeeming men from all nations and every tribe and every tongue. And he started with the first born, and now that first born has worked his seed, his DNA into me. Speaker 2 And I'm growing up, I'm I'm developing, I'm faithful to that seed. And so now actually imitate me as I'm telling him, as he pull, there's something that's not reflecting him. What do you do? I ain't imitating that. I don't want that side of you. I want and and and. Speaker 1 Good leaders, there's no perfect leader, but good leaders become a better and a better reflection of him. And so their actions, because they've matured, because they've grown up, because they've dealt with the issues and their attitudes and all those things, ideally perfectly, but getting there, you learn from them about him. Does that make sense? Thank you. Speaker 2 So this is a key thing. So Paul knew that his life was very important, how he lived. It wasn't just what he taught. It was we lived in such a way that you could follow us. So if follow us, imitate us as we imitate or follow the Lord, for you welcome the message in the midst of suffering. Speaker 1 To the joy. Speaker 2 Given by the Holy Spirit. And so here's the thing. Technically, then, the prototype, the way God's going to do this is this. Speaker 1 He's going to raise up leaders and he's going to say I want you look at them because Jesus right now you can't see properly. You can read about him but and imitate them as you see them imitating him. Let the DNA strand from him flow down through them into you. Speaker 2 So Paul would say this, I want you to grow up to be like. Speaker 1 Me. Speaker 2 And it's not arrogance because he knows, He tells us in all the other places of Scripture. Look, I, it's, you know, I'm just a man. He knows these things, but he knows that there's a way that God's going to build a church. Bob Mumford is a teacher. Years ago, I think he was actually from California. He's and he said this, if I come to you and I tell you I've got measles, but I've actually got mumps, what do you catch from me? The problem in the church today is we just want to hear, just teach me about. But actually, you catch who I am, not what I say. You catch what I am, not what I say. And so the need for godly leaders who will come through the life of the church properly, who won't yourself appoint. And God appeared to me. So now I'm a leader, no? Speaker 1 You've got to be seen. People have to see you there. And the qualifications for leadership. I'll go look at them. And Timothy and Tartus. How's he loving his wife? How his kids? How's he with? Fine. How's he with? Speaker 2 When he's under pressure, what does he do? What are those things telling us? Speaker 1 Whether he's actually reflecting Christ or himself. Because if he's not reflecting Christ, you'll see it in his marriage to his wife. You'll see that manifesting in his kids. Because each reproduces according to its kind. So the leaders you join are going to reproduce after themselves. Sophie was who you follow. And please, you need to follow somebody. It's a biblical model. Thessalonians: A Model Church vs. Modern Church Critique All right. And then here's another thing. It's not just leaders that become the model. Church has become the model. Carry on with that verse. But then last, when we head up the Thessalonians, suppose we met ourselves, you know, and imitate us as we imitate Christ. And then he goes on in verse 7. Because they did that well, even though it was really difficult for them to do that in spite of suffering. So the result of you cop following and imitating us as we imitate him is so you the church became. Speaker 1 A model product up to all the believers in Macedonia and Akai. Your faith in God, he says, become known everywhere, all over the world. So here's the thing. Good leaders reproduce. Speaker 2 Good followers who themselves rise up, who actually become a working DNA strand, a model that breaks something open into a community. And so you hang out with the those that are in that community and they are. And I love the picture of a model. What does a model do? You know, a friend of ours, he's one of our elders in South Africa, used to work for Calvin Klein. And he said this, we decided two years before you bought it what you were going to buy. We sat down and dreamed it up. What fashion are we going to bring in? And then they would design it and then they would sell it. And do you know how they did it? Beautiful people walking on stage, flicking their little hips. And every person looked at them and said. Speaker 1 How it looked like that to you? Speaker 2 Maybe those clothes are going to help me look a little bit more like that. And so you go and buy Calvin Klein jeans and you wear them a certain way. And, and so fashions come and go, and they're making money on you as you do it. The, the, the, it's the same principle. It's the same. So, yeah, Paul says of this church, you've become a model like everyone in the world is looking at you and going, Oh my goodness, we want to be just like you. Now again, people are oh, pride. OK, if you get pride when you've got that, you're no longer a good model. But that said, you can look like that and not have pride because Christ was that needn't have pride. We very quick talk. Oh, they say they're the model. Well, Paul said somebody was a model. In other words, some churches, honestly, if Paul was around, he would say that church sucks. Don't look like that. Don't be like the Galatians. They've lost, they've lost touch with Christ. I know they're saying Jesus, we love you. Thank you for your I mean, he's like, he's not with you. You're not looking like him at all. You've gone back to Judaism. You're calling yourself Christians, but there's nothing of Christ being formed in you. You you're living in the flesh. Corinthians, you should look like Jesus by now, but you're still like little worldly inferences, divisions and slaughter and gossip and factions. You're not looking like him. And we need to be honest, every church when it comes to the gauge of Scripture, How healthy is it? How healthy are we? That's a question we all do. Well, he loves us. Yeah, he loves everyone. He even loves the world. That's why he died for them. It doesn't mean he's happy with how you're living. So we need to. It's like, whoa, Lord, God is looking for a, can I say this? I think the DNA strand of the church today in my generation sucks. I think it sucks, The Bible says. The Bible says in the end times, the generation of ours who will lose love, the loss of love will be no love anymore. It'll be all about themselves. They'll gather teachers to tell them what the itchy is. Want to hear a great number of teachers? It says self sin, it's selfish. They'll rise up like Quran in their rebellion. Who does Moses think he is trying to tell us what to do? Aren't we all prophets of God? And these are warnings of an end time generation, a rebellious generation. No one will lead me, just me and Jesus. I'm like you, nothing like. Speaker 1 Jesus, as you say that. Speaker 2 A corrupted generation. Leaders who are unaccountable you create platforms and profiles and a thrust into the lime that I mean you watch Facebook and Instagram. It's just everyone trying to create a platform people following in their thousands. I'm amazed this just I'm gobsmacked at this generation. Some generally you just got to look pretty and just stand there looking at the camera like this gang and say something which which because your face it's it's it's must be profound because you're so beautiful. Like something about us or something about this or something about that or and like 200,000 likes and like they got a following and I'm like, you don't know who that. Speaker 1 Person is you don't know how they love you don't know the system is so messed up. The Church: God's Vehicle for National Transformation So here's the thing, I I believe the way God will change this nation, and this nation needs change. It's through the vehicle of the church. It's through the vehicle of the church. It's how the Kingdom of God breaks in. And to do that, we have to be honest with the state of the church, and we have to not just criticize, because that's so easy to do Criticize it. Speaker 2 Yeah, I remember years ago. I'm, I'm, I know I'm going along, but I'm just feeling like I'm on something and I don't want to run off it. Speaker 1 Quickly. Speaker 2 So if you used to an hour, I'm sorry, but I can't, I would say what kind of. Speaker 1 Christian, are you? Speaker 2 Did you think you can? Speaker 1 Give God an hour. Anyway, that's another question. Speaker 2 A friend of mine once told me he he was in a meeting where a guy pulled a mannequin up and dressed as a bride. She was standing in the front. Speaker 1 And he felt this was something God gave him and he said, you know, it's beautiful mannequin with this beautiful bridal dress. And he, he came up and said, this is the picture of the bride of Christ. This is what she's supposed to be. I said that we, the church do this. And he came and began to tear her dress prevail began to tear her just like, what about this? What about that? Oh, she's and eventually this man who was standing with this shredded dress said that's what this generation does. Speaker 2 She tears down, she's slanders, she gossips, she's trying to find fault. But the answer isn't to fault. The answer is to become what's right, to become what's right, to become the kind of model that. And again, the day you become proud, you've missed. OK, we've now got another conversation to have, but we've got to become the kind of church that we read about in the Bible. We can't have the Southern California. This is a sleepy little holiday town on the beachfront, and we've got an hour. And we love that church because we just love that preacher. He's so good. He's so good. And the worst. That's just amazing. I'm trying my best to get a Californian accent. Yeah, my daughter does it. Well, we can't be that. We can't. We read our Bibles and it's. It should wreck us. You look at how they loved, how they knew, how they cared, how they devoted themselves. They devoted themselves. They devoted them so God's wanting to interrupt our DNA and and and in some ways a well, God take that back God, God's put. Speaker 1 DNA in us, but we're not walking in the potential of it. And to get there we need leaders are worthy being followed that will live their lives in such a way that the Saints can say I'm following you, you follow Christ. Paul said that Timothy set an example for the believers in speech and life in love. Speaker 2 And in doctrine, why is it that the modern church is all about just doctrine, just I just want the word of God and I'm like, hang on, Paul said in speech, in life, in love and in doctrine. You see, I can teach you that it's coming out of your ears and I can pro. I can tell you the mystery of how many little jewels are in the crown of Christ and wow, you're with that. But it does nothing for you unless leaders live in such a way that you can catch. Speaker 1 Who they are, who they are not what they say. I need land. I've got a whole lot I'm just going to skip. Yeah. What? Can you read it? Well, look at. Speaker 3 What I'm skipping and Hebrews, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you, the word of God. It's not just teaching upfront, blow you away with good theology or good teaching because it says consider the outcome of the way of life. Consider that I remember your leaders who spoke the word and what do you have to consider? You've got to consider the outcome of the way of life, our marriage, our faith, our speech, our love. This is what gets imitated. This is what will be the DNA that gets birthed. And then you guys, your love, your speech, your action, your faith, your devotion, your devotion, your devotion for the household of God. And that will give birth to another strand and multiply and it says and then imitate their faith. And so it is a noble thing. It's a noble thing to be a leader in God's house. It's a noble and it's a sober minded thing and it's a glorious thing, but you first die, you have to die lots to your own preference, to your own love. But it's so worth it because it's produced people that is passionate for him because it's all about him. Speaker 2 So I'm going to skip half of my preach and just land but the importance of establishing good DNA. Speaker 1 I believe God wants to do something in this nation and I know that he's going to do it with or without us, but I desperately want to be a part of it. I desperately do. I know to be honest, in the big scheme of things, I'm not that important. I know I'm a son, I know I'm loved, but I'm not that important. I know that. How Persecution Spread the Early Church's DNA But I want to be one of those people that says, Jesus, I want to be a part of what you're doing. Please can I? I want to give you glory, Lord. I want to own my life, to be witness to you. Speaker 2 So. Speaker 1 When God birthed the church, and I want us to revisit this because I think we're in a Jerusalem type moment, he called to 12 apostles. He gave these guys men that he had spent years on, and he said, I want you to stay here. Why did he do that? Because he wanted Jerusalem to become something that influenced the world. And so 12 apostles stay in Jerusalem and they form a new DNA strand. They're living it. They're modeling it. I remember the Simon Peter walking to the road and a man begging, please, can I have some money? And they say we don't have money. We followers of Jesus, we're not rich, but we do have him. So what we have, we give to you. They became a reflection of that healthy DNA. And they trained a generation behind them. And so eventually people are saying this. You turned the whole city upside down. Speaker 2 Pharisees are angry at them. We've got to silence these guys. Persecution comes, slaughter comes. So expect that it's coming. It's already there, but it's coming more. I guess the devil trying to shut up. Speaker 1 What God's doing, even if he uses God's people to do it. And that's history. You just go look at church history. Every move of God is persecuted by the last move. John Wesley was persecuted by Christians when he started the Methodist movement. Martin Luther who broke from the Catholic Church was John hoist before him was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church because he wanted people to have Bibles and he wanted he just so you know, Whitfield again burned at the stake etcetera, etcetera. So the church, please understand our biggest enemy will probably be the church. And Jesus said that would happen didn't he? In the end times brother will betray who brother? Speaker 2 Our biggest And then what are they going to say about us? Oh, you, you're so full of pride. Speaker 1 If we're pride, then Jesus against us. He resists pride. What are they? Speaker 2 Going to say they're going to twist words it's just expect it come on thick it you want to be part of what God is doing expect us learn from history they did it to him it's. Speaker 1 Just this is the norm, but they they filled Jerusalem with their teaching Acts 528. And when persecution hit so bad that they had a scatter any single one of those Saints wherever they went, revival fire went with them. Why? Because their DNA was well formed and developed. There were like 1000 literally I think there they said there were about 30,000 Christians in Church of Jerusalem. And then persecution hit properly and they scattered their end for their life. And guess what? Every everywhere that any St. went, a DNA strand went, and suddenly Christianity's popping up across the Roman world, and it's popping up through Average Joes. You've got the DNA of heaven in them, having trained well. Speaker 2 And the apostles are doing catch up. They're not the guys, they're just trying to catch up with what the fire, like the fire went everywhere. We thought we were being persecuted. We thought we were being crushed, but the fire just left us and went everywhere. And so all over the world now churches are popping up. Eventually the, the literally the Western world will change because of what happened in that moment. But a new DNA strand was lit. And I want to say this, I believe this nation needs a new awakening of our DNA strand to what heaven looks like and what God in the church supposed to look like. Speaker 1 Then I don't have time. The rest of my notes that I left out with what it should look like, but I don't have time. So here's the thing. Leaders and Followers: Embracing the Call, Overcoming Comfort Here's the thing. To impact this nation, we need leaders who will set their lives as a model to follow firstly. In other words, we need leaders that'll say, no matter what the process, I'm going to make my life a life worthy of being followed. Speaker 2 I want to beat my body. I'm going to make it my slave. I'm going to run my race. I want to do whatever needs to be done. I'm going to live it in such a way that you could just say, hey, you want to know what how to save Jesus? Just look at me, not prideful. Just just look at me. And then we need followers that will say, oh, I will and I will follow you. I'll consider your life and I will imitate you. I'll follow you. I'm going to stop living for me. I'm going to stop living for comfort. I'm going to stop living because we've got the best. Speaker 1 Weather in the world? Speaker 2 These are things that should scare us. It's harder for the rich man. Why? Because it's so good to be rich. Why would you sacrifice? It's harder for the Californian than it is for the South Carolinian. Why? Because life is better here. Would you agree with me? I mean, this is like heaven on earth. Like a bad day is like, oh, I've got to wear a sweater. The water's warm. There's no big sharks, not this side. I know Santa Barbara, you've got a few big ones. I went up there recently. But down here we don't even have that. We like, I could like crime. What's that? Speaker 1 I come from a place where I think every second. I think it's every minute a woman is raped in the country I come from. I mean, yeah. I mean, my daughter could run in the dark. I wouldn't let her run in the light. In most places I come from. It's heaven. And that should terrify us because we're the rich man. He's got all the money to live the life that I want to live and hope that I'll die. Go to heaven and instead of making Jesus the devotion of my life and the House of God, zeal for the House of God, consume Jesus. Instead of that, I'm just going to never walk in the fullness of the DNA strand that God's put in me. So it's harder for the rich man. It's possible. We've got a few rich fact, yeah, that are deeply, deeply devoted to Jesus. Speaker 2 But I want to say this. Speaker 1 You kind of look at them and think, oh, it'd be kind of cool to have what they had. And I would say this, I think it's much harder for them than you realize. The Bible says, actually you should look at them with a bit of pity because God has given them much and it's harder for them. What does that mean for you and me in closing, God wants this nation. God wants the people of this nation. But to do that, he needs a people who will live, the model leaders that'll do it and people that'll follow it. So I'm calling you to that. I feel like I want to call you to that because I feel like we're in one of those moments where the Lord is saying I want to do something. Can you hear what I'm saying? Lord speaking here, I'm looking for, for people that will get behind me and come with me, that'll stop living selfishly and for themselves and for the weather and for the that'll that'll make it about me entirely. That like our first born, our Big Brother, zeal for the Father's house consumed him. Well, surely if his spirit lives in me, zeal for his house will also consume me. My life will be about you. Why? Because His life was about me as I've loved you so love one another. Final Exhortation: Let Zeal for God's House Consume Us And so we've got to break something here in this culture, in US, in me. And if we don't do it, this national wonder, maybe like Israel did for 400 years, maybe 40 years or 400 years in the 40 years in the wilderness until God finds a people that'll say here, Amar. And you know what's sad is if we don't follow him, we'll persecute that group when they do, because the religious always persecutes the Spirit. We'll persecute the next move of God. We either get persecuted or we persecute. It just seems to be the pattern. Oh God, have mercy on us. Oh God, do something in US. Oh God, wake us up because we like the church. It's sleeping. Teach us how to love. Teach us how to teach us how to make it about you. That zeal for your house would consume us. And I want to say to the older folk, you should be burning brighter than we are. I'm almost old now. Why? Speaker 2 Because you're going to see him soon, man. Like you're running out of runway to get this right. You don't retire in the Kingdom. You're fireman. You should. If you've got time, you should be saying, hey, I worked my butt off through my life. I've got money and time. What can I do? Because I'm going out in glory. I'm going out there. Young people look at me and saying, you know, they say young guys must come strong. I love our old guys, they say. Speaker 1 You can you and you need to come to me, but you've got to catch me first because I'm flat out for Jesus and I've got some grey hairs with me to help you on the journey. Follow me as I follow Him. Learn from me. So I want to call you to that. And I know we're different spaces. I know there's some of us that are fresh out of drugs and fresh out of this and fresh out of that. Rejoice. That's the kind of people he uses for the rich among us and the old and the wise. I want to say be careful. You might be one that he overlooks. Make sure they are rich in the Kingdom, and they are. But normally those guys get in the way of what he's doing normally. So learn from that and just be very careful. But can we give ourselves and devote ourselves that the DNA in US would be unlocked, that we'll run to the fullness of its potential? And yeah, well done, good and faithful servant. Let's close our eyes and pray.