0:01 [Music] I don't know who built this building but the person who built this building built it with 0:17 every door and window and light with a purpose the door was not placed on the ceiling the windows were not placed on the floors every single thing that was in this building was placed with a specific purpose and for us too when we see God 0:40 building his church it says in Matthew 16 turn with me to Matthew 16 just as much as this architect and Builder built this building with a purpose God who builds the church it 0:58 says here in verse 18 Matthew 16:18 I say I also say to you that you are Peter and upon this church I will build my church and it says I will build my church the church that God is building 1:17 if a human Constructor could construct things with with everything with a purpose and a place how much more God when he is building his church has every single person that he's brought here with a purpose and a plan and so if you're here as a part of 1:39 this church here God has not if if that window had a purpose so much more does God has a purpose for you being in this church and as he calls different people into that church what is his purpose for bringing each one of us 1:57 here when Jesus was here on this Earth people were able to see what God was like through the life of Jesus today after Jesus ascended into heaven turn with me to Psalm 50 Psalm 2:14 50 verse 2 Psalm 50: 2 out of Zion and Zion was all was a picture of the church out of the church the Perfection of beauty God has Shone forth God's glory 2:33 today shines through the church and if you see all this light inside all these lights are on and you have these windows the more clear the windows are the more the light will shine through and people can see it if 2:51 we put Shades over all of those windows over there nobody's going to see the light inside and so God is calling each one of us us like that playing our part if we're like that window each one of us to be transparent so that the Light of 3:08 Christ can be seen through the church and so God has a very important purpose for each one that he's called here yesterday I was driving and as I was driving there was this sound that can be beep beep beep as soon as I heard it I just put 3:28 the brakes on it cup flew and I just stopped right in front of the car that was in front of me and I was like oh I'm so thankful I got that warning because if I didn't get that warning I would have surely crashed into the car in front of 3:46 me there's other things on my car dashboard like it says uh low air someone's not wearing a seat belt all of those things those are important as well but there's some things that are even more important when you're going to 4:02 crash into somebody else be and you're on alert after I heard that for the rest of my drive I was constantly even more alert because of that warning and when you see what Jesus was 4:21 alerting people about what was Jesus very very strong what was his strongest warnings that he gave if you go to Luke 9 there's some warnings he gives which were not 4:37 that strong if you go to Luke 9 for example Luke 9:49 John answered and said Master we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us verse 50 but Jesus said to himo not 4:57 hinder him for he who is not against you is for you it's a warning but it's not a severe warning there's other times like in Mark chapter 14 uh verse 5:19 5 Mark 14:5 for this perfume might have been sold for over 300 dinar and the money given to the poor and they were scolding her verse 6 but Jesus said her said let her alone why do you bother her she has done a good deed to 5:36 me yes he corrected them but it was a light correction I think the most severe correction that Jesus has ever given to anyone is found in Matthew 16 this was like beep beep warning if you don't take heed to this 5:56 warning something serious is going to happen we can read from Luke 16: 21 from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he may must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes 6:15 and be killed and raised up on the third day 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying God forbid it Lord this shall never happen to you be be beep and this is what he said but he turned 6:35 and said to Peter get behind me Satan you are a stumbling block to me this is not a mild rebuke this is a serious rebuke for you are setting your mind on God not on God's interest but on man's 6:52 interest you're not setting your mind on God's interest but man's interest this was something that Jesus Took seriously this was a serious warning he didn't mildly say Peter this is not a good thing why don't you change 7:09 your mindset he used probably one of the most severe words to correct Peter because Jesus considered it a serious thing we may not see it but Jesus felt it that 7:28 way and and I say Lord if you take seeking my own interest as a serious thing then I want to take that warning seriously you chose your words carefully you don't say things without carefulness and if you took such care and severity 7:46 and sharing these words then you saw some danger that was coming ahead if Peter continued to seek his own and he goes on to say in verse 24 then Jesus said to his disciples if 8:03 anyone wishes to come after me if anyone wants to be a part of this church that I'm building and wants to follow after me it's not open to everybody not everybody can come if you want to come this is the conditions I'm laying out 8:20 for you to come and follow me if anyone wishes to come and after me he must deny himself no more doing what you want to do being self-willed stubborn if you want to follow me that's 8:40 fine but you cannot be self-willed self stubborn self-willed and then say I'm also going to follow Jesus not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter in but who's going to enter in those who do the will of my 8:58 father those who Den denied their will and those who are going to do my will those are the ones who are going to enter in take up their cross and follow me and so Jesus he took this very very 9:14 seriously this matter of living for oneself and I say Lord I don't want to live for myself you took this as a serious warning that you share with me I want to take it seriously and there was a man and there's it's wonderful when God paints a 9:31 picture for us in in in his word and if you turn with me to Judges 7 this is the time when Gideon was going to go to battle against an army you can turn with me to Judges 9:50 chapter 7 and so the enemies the midianites and amalekites and all the those people who were gathering together were 135,000 10:07 people and 135,000 people approximately to see how much that is you you probably know that Stadium we have in Denver called Mile High Stadium that seats about 70,000 people inside that Stadium you take that stadium and then build 10:24 another Stadium right beside it have another more that's 135 5,000 people and that's the number of people that were coming against Israel 135,000 of them and Israel had 3 32,000 people you 10:43 have 135,000 and then you have 32,000 people if you want to go to a battle with 135,000 people and you only have 32,000 people do you need more people or do you need less people you need more people you need more 11:01 people to fight a bigger Army but listen to this judges 7:2 the Lord said to Gideon the people who are with you the 32,000 people are too many for me to give Midian into their 11:21 hands and you're thinking Lord there's 35,000 Lord we need more people not less people but he said to you do need less people and why do we need less people he's saying for Israel would become 11:39 boastful saying my own power has delivered me today why does God not want us to be self-willed and stubborn self self-willed and stubborn because if we achieve anything and out of our 11:56 self-will and our own strength what's going to happen we're going to be boastful and God says no I'm not going to let you boast that by your own power that you overcame we're going to take away we're going to make 12:14 less so that you're going to trust in me and so he says the first condition again he's he's telling us the conditions to become a part of Gideon's Army just like he said the conditions of following me and being a part of my 12:28 church these are the conditions what's the first one verse three now therefore come and Proclaim in the hearing of the people whoever is afraid and trembling let him report and depart from here if you're afraid when you see the Canaanites and 12:48 all of the other ites you see the midianites you see all of these things coming and for some of us today we might be like that as well we see our flesh rising up against us we see sin rising up against us all these things that 13:02 we've been bound for years rising up against us and you're thinking how can I ever overcome these sins that have enslaved me for year after year bitterness anger and I know I've seen in myself and in 13:21 others how certain sins have enslaved people for years anger bitterness ESS jealousy anxiety for years holding a grudge against someone for years and God is saying do you believe 13:42 that this big army of lust and flesh and sin can be overcome do you have faith and 22,000 say no just like the children of Israel no you can't give us the land of Canaan 14:00 they're too far too big for us we're going to leave and 10,000 are left 10,000 people who had faith that God could do something against such a great Against All Odds God's With God all things are 14:19 possible he who sides with God will always win I say Lord I want to be among that number who's not afraid of sin self and all those things that may come against me I don't want to be afraid but because why because God 14:38 you're with me so after after the 22,000 leave they're left with 10,000 and God saying that there's still 15:00 too much because even if you won with 10 10,000 people you're still going to get puffed up so I have to break you further I have to dwindle you further down so that there won't be any Shadow of Doubt if anything good came out of this it 15:18 wasn't because of you it was because of God when you overcome sin when you overcome your selfishness and pride you will realize Lord I know for sure this was not because of me but because of you and your Holy Spirit doing a work in my life 15:37 and through me to you be all the glory that will be the testimony at the end of everything that God will receive the glory because you've known so much that there is no way that you could overcome in your own strength and your own 15:54 power therefore so verse four the Lord said to Gideon the the people are still too many bring them down to the water and I will test them so this one was not God telling them something this was God watching them in secret seeing what they do in 16:12 home when they are privately there what's their interest in life are they setting their interest in man I mean in man's interest their own interest or in God's interest what what are they doing at home privately each one of us has a private 16:30 life hidden from everybody else that no one knows and this was a private test therefore it shall be that he whom I say to you this is the one shall go with you he shall go with you but 16:50 everyone of whom I say to you this one shall not go with you he shall not go verse five so he brought the people down to the river to the water and the Lord said to Gideon you shall separate everyone who laps the water with his 17:06 tongue as a dog laps as well as everyone who kneels down to drink so this is going to be the test no one else is going to know and who's putting this T Test it's not Gideon God is placing this test for every single person and they don't realize it they're 17:27 going in and some people are in there they're putting their face and kneeling down and putting their head inside the water kind of like some of us the Love of Money putting our head fully in the water kneeling down and saying water 17:46 you're the most important to me kneel down love of pleasure Love of Money it says in the last days these are the things that people are going to love themselves love money love pleasure have a form of godliness and yet still think 18:01 that they can follow Jesus and these people also came and it was thing they were doing what they their nature naturally would have done any day anytime they went to the water what did they do they always went and dipped their head inside that water the 18:18 Waters of this world they dipped themselves there's a beautiful verse in First Corinthians 7 we all use things in this world we need to get from place to place we might have a vehicle we might have a home to stay in but how are we treating all these 18:36 things that we have if you turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 7 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 30 and those who weep as though they did not weep and those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice and listen to this 18:55 those who buy as though did not possess they bought it they used it but they didn't hold on to it they didn't hold on to it tightly if God gave them something God had it and used it but that wasn't their life their life wasn't 19:15 drowning in the things of this world and it goes on in verse 31 it says and those who used the world as though they did not make full of full use of it they made use of the world but not full use of 19:33 it this toothpaste or somebody made full use of it they squeezed out the last bit of it with toothpaste it's okay it's good that you don't waste your toothpaste and you take it all out but when it comes to using this 19:52 world yes we use it but we don't make full use of it we take it and have a little if we use it what we need but we don't squeeze everything we can out of this world we don't dip our heads in the waters and say we want to 20:08 get everything we can squeeze out everything we can and 9,700 people dipped their nailed down and put their head in the water that day and God said no I'm sorry go back home it was God deciding who would be on 20:29 the Army and who would not be it wasn't Gideon it says here verse 7 judges 7:7 the Lord said to Gideon I will deliver you with 300 men who led the water and give the midianites into your hands so let all 20:48 the other people go each man to his home so the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets in their hand and G Gideon sent all the other men each to his tent but retain the 10 the 300 men in the camp of Midian was below 21:07 them in the valley 300 people against 135,000 people 300 people 300 people is approximately the number of people who come for our conferences so that's 300 21:26 people compared to 100 35,000 people but God realizes that sometimes we can have fears how are we going to go with 300 people and fight against this 135,000 how can I ever overcome these 21:45 sins that I've been in held in bondage to and caged up for years and years God understands and I love what God does turn with me to judges 7:9 judges 7:9 now the same night it came 22:03 about that the Lord said to him arise and go down to the camp for I have given it to your hands verse 10 but if you are afraid to go down go with your servant down to the camp verse 11 and you will hear what they say and afterwards your 22:20 hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp there's something happening there in the camp that you don't know Gideon I know that you're looking at your 300 men and wondering how this can all happen but I want you to go down and 22:36 hear what's going on this Mighty Army of 135,000 men listen to what's going to happen what's what they're talking about so he went down with the servant down verse 11 to The Outpost of the army that was in the camp verse 12 now the 22:55 midianites and the amalekites and all in the valley as numerous as the Locust and their camels were without number as numerous as the sand on the seashore 13 when Gideon came Behold a man was relating a dream his friend to 23:15 his friend and he said behold I had a dream a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian and it came to the tent and struck it so that the tent so that it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent lay 23:34 flat so this is the dream one friend is telling to the other and saying this is what I had this is the dream I had I saw this loaf of bread coming and rolling down and fell and hit my tent and my tent went upside down and this is the interpretation of 23:52 the dream verse 14 his friend replied this is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of joash a man of Israel God has given midianite Midian and all the camp into his hand so these enemies who they were afraid of were 24:11 actually so afraid of Gideon because they realized that God was on Gideon's side and so you see these people I've had nightmares in my life and I'm sure some of you may have as well but I've never had a nightmare of a loaf of bread coming and hitting me 24:30 I I just never had it but God was able to put these nightmares in the camp of the enemy so much so that they were so scared that Gideon was going to overcome them all their strength of these 135,000 people was 24:49 scared because God gave them nightmares of what he was going to do to them through the small band of God's people today also the church is not built with mult all these big strong and mighty men it's profound with these people who passed the 25:08 test of not seeking their own not being afraid but having faith that God was going to do something in their lives the small band of people whom the enemy was afraid of and so you see that how God uses 25:31 circumstances and situations to make the enemy afraid you see that God all throughout the ages you know with hmon trying to kill the children of Israel and God working behind the scenes while morai 25:49 slept hmon was working hard at building a Gallows that would destroy himself all throughout God takes care of his children and work works against the enemy in Supernatural ways today also God's on our side he's taking care of 26:06 all the things and even when we're asleep like it says he gives to his beloved even in their sleep and I say Lord work on my behalf even as I'm sleeping Lord work on my behalf Lord I have faith that you care about me that 26:22 you do want me to live a life free from sin and selfishness and Pride I believe that's your will for me but what how does how do they get the 26:39 victory the 300 people that God calls together how do they win the victory that day they have a trumpet in one hand and do you know what they have in in the other hand they have a clay pot a picture a clay picture and and they have a and and they they they 27:08 have a a torch inside this clay lamp and do you know what God asked these 300 men to do that would fight the armies of 135,000 how they didn't even have a sword in their hand they had a trumpet and they had 27:26 a a clay pot 300 people with clay pots going to defeat an enemy of 135,000 people God's ways are definitely not our ways whether in the days of Gideon or today as 27:44 well turn with me again to judges it says here verse 15 and Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation that this barley loaf was going to defeat uh was a representation of him and his army defeating 28:03 midianites and this is what happened he bowed down and worshiped God the moment he saw the interpretation of je this man who was afraid is now full of Courage because he saw what God was going to do and I asked the Lord Lord you do that for me as well 28:21 and you can ask the Lord too Lord show me Lord show me the things that I can't see distress strengthen my faith show me the defeat of the enemy that I can't see Lord show me what you're doing in the camp of the enemy making them 28:38 afraid so that I can have faith Lord to overcome these Giants and so it goes on to say here verse 16 he goes and tells the other people as well the 300 people God's going to give the camp into your hands verse 16 he divided the three men into three 28:56 companies and put the trumpets and empty pictures into their hands and all of them with torches inside the pictures and he said to them look at me and do likewise just like Jesus said follow me just like I denied 29:14 myself and did the father's will you also follow me and Gideon here was like a picture of Jesus who says I'm running this race I'm walking there follow me and he says you do just like I do I'm going to take this picture and I'm going 29:34 to break it and it says here verse 17 he said look at me and do likewise and behold when I come to the outskirts of the camp do as I do Verse 18 when all I and all of those with me blow the trumpet then you blow the trumpets and all of the 29:52 camp shall sa for the Lord and for Gideon verse 19 and Gideon and a hundred men with who were with them came to the outsources of the camp at the beginning of the middle of the watch and when they had just posted the watch they began to 30:08 BL blow the trumpets and what did they do next they smashed the pictures which were in their hands and when the three companies blew their trumpets and broke the P pictures they held the Torches in their left hands and the trumpets in 30:25 their right hands for blowing and cried out a sword for the Lord and for Gideon verse 21 each stood in his place around the camp and all the Army ran crying out as they fled this 135,000 people are 30:43 fleeing at the noise of the trumpets and the breaking of the pictures and you see how God defeated them not with swords and Spears but with broken vessels that he was man able to manage 31:02 to get 300 men that he could break and with these broken 300 men he could defeat an army of 135,000 and it's the same way today when God's doing a work in our church as 31:19 well he's going to break break us each one of us each each of these pieces breaking them how does he break us in our daily life how does he do 31:38 this when we say no just like Jesus said no to sin I came from Heaven to Earth not to do my own will but to do the will of one who sent me and for us too when we also do that same thing break our own will do the will of the father that's how 31:58 God does his work today also in the church as well each each one of us breaking us when God tells us to go and forgive someone that we have held a bitterness towards for years and God says in a quiet still 32:16 voice go and apologize to them and you're like no I don't want to yeah then you keep your vessel intact Unbroken but Jesus is saying if you want to follow me you need to deny yourself and 32:33 do my will do the will of the father and as he breaks it all of these pieces come broken the area of forgiveness forgiving others do you get angry with people you have a bitterness against someone at 32:51 work a neighbor a relative and you don't want to apologize to them you don't want to go on and ask them for their forgiveness that's us keeping this Clay Pot intact is it going to be painful to smash the Earth and 33:10 vessel yes you and I know that when we told a lie and we have to go and set that matter right and go and apologize yes I lied about that or you took something without somebody's permission you have to go and apologize for that 33:24 when your parents ask you to clean your room or do your homework and you don't want to do it when your parents tell you to stop playing that game and come back home you're like no no Mom self-willed and stubborn what's God's calling us to 33:44 do it's calling us to be broken just like this jar being broken so that the Light of Christ will shine but it comes with painful a painful breaking but that's who God is calling to be a part of his church those who 34:01 deny themselves and carry his cross those are the ones God's calling today to be about his church those are the ones which will radiate the glory of Christ through the church it'll be a small band of those who are willing to 34:16 say yes Lord you put that warning not to live for myself Lord and I take that warning seriously that was the one thing that you rebuke Peter with the strongest of words because you saw that it was serious Lord I don't want 34:33 to temptation to be jealous of another person in the body of Christ oh they have this ministry or they do this in this body of Christ jealous and God saying no break your will say no to your will be happy be joyful for that other 34:49 brother and sister who God's using you're not in competition with them in John 21 you see that even the Apostle John 21 turn with me verse 18 John 2118 truly truly I say 35:15 to you when you were younger you used to G yourself and walk wherever you wished you got to do your own will go wherever you want but when you grow old you'll stretch forth your hand hands and someone else will G you and bring you 35:30 where you do not wish to go now he said this signif signifying what kind of death he was going to glorify God and when he had spoken to this he said to him follow me follow me and immediately what did he 35:48 say verse 21 so seeing John he said to jesuslord and what about this man what about this man's life and what does God say to 36:05 him Jesus said to Peter if I want him to remain until I come what is that to you what I do with this brother what I do with this sister what is it for you God has given you a path to follow God has given you a calling to 36:24 follow don't be a busy body in in that person's life if God has called you to be year in the body of Christ be the best year possible don't keep looking at the eye and say why am I not an eye if you keep looking at the eye and 36:40 say why I'm not an eye guess what you're not going to fulfill your calling as a year in the body of Christ because all your life you were looking at the eye and comparing yourself to the eye and you said why am I not an ey and you 36:54 forgot to fulfill the calling God placed in your life and similarly the ey in the body of Christ looking at the year why can't I he not fulfilling how can we fulfill the B the the purpose for which God has placed Us in this 37:11 body by following Jesus and not looking at the other people that God has called that brother God has placed him for a specific purpose and that's sister for a specific purpose and God wants us to work with each other and that's where you know 37:27 it's easy for us but when God calls us to work with one another again it's going to cause us when we rub against each other and that that brother has a certain preference that sister has a certain preference and God calls me to die in 37:45 that place I say Lord this is the way I want to go that's the way you went and God will use all ways if we're willing to be broken God will use all circumstances and situations every day in our workplace our 38:04 home with our neighbors with our relatives he'll use all circumstances for this one purpose to break us break us break us until finally one day comes when there's no jar the jar is broken fully and the light can shine fully without 38:23 any hindrance that's God's desire but it doesn't come easy it comes with a steady breaking of our self-will and our self- life it's not easy but Jesus is calling us this way just like Gideon's Army he called this way he didn't call 38:43 everybody I say Lord I want to be among that number Lord that you're calling Lord and I know the price that is I have to sit down and call the cost but it's a glorious thing to be a part of your church Lord the church You're Building Lord Lord and I want to 38:59 pay that price Lord I don't want to do my will I want to do the father's will so God will allow afflictions situations in our life which are perplexing persecution being struck down 39:17 misunderstood by others and you say Lord It's okay if people misunderstand me people say bad things about me that's okay Lord I'm not going to let let that hinder me from following you Lord these are all circumstances that you've 39:32 organized in my life to break me and I want to yield to it I want to yield to your Holy Spirit a couple of days ago we lost our keys and had the house keys it had the 39:50 car keys it had everything and I was thinking okay if we lose all of these things what are we going to do we have to go change the law we have to go in all these things I was going through my mind so I said you know what I can't 40:01 afford to lose these keys and it was dark already so I went and I took a little light and I was looking on this side of the sidewalk we kind of thought we lost it on the way to the PO uh post box so we walked to the post box 40:15 carefully looking on either side and then walked way back and then looked on either side looked on the street everywhere carefully because we didn't want to lose these keys came back home looked under the couches 40:33 looked beside the couch every place went to bed didn't find the keys got up the next morning went out again looked on the sidewalk and everywhere couldn't find it and then finally it was somewhere hidden behind some other things and 40:52 found it the next day and as I was thinking about that I was reminded of another person who was searching for something that they had lost turn with me to Luke chapter 15 verse 8 Luke Luke 15:8 or what woman if 41:12 she has 10 S silver coins and loses one coin does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it until until she finds it she does not give up until 41:29 she finds it and then once she finds it verse n she calls her friends and neighbors and rejoice for me for I have found the Lost coin which I have lost in the same way I tell you there is joy in the presence of 41:47 the Angels over one sinner who repent repents of what repents of one seeking his own self s willed stubborn prideful and he turns around and says I'm going to follow you Jesus from now on all these days I was 42:06 following my own way today I'm going to take a uturn and I'm going to go and follow after you that's the one whom Jesus rejoices that's the one Jesus is seeking until he finds it and today also I believe the Lord has 42:24 the same heart you might be in I don't know what situation you're in Bound By sin and discouragement and all of that self-willed Pride but God is searching for those who are willing to say Lord today 42:43 I want to take a U-turn I want to repent Lord I don't want to continue this way that I've been living all these days if you're going the wrong way what's the best time to take a uturn you're going the wrong way you're going 42:58 opposite direction what's the best time to take a uturn after an hour two hours three hours of drawing the wrong wrong direction when right away as soon as you know you're going in the wrong direction you 43:16 turn around because the longer you go in the wrong direction the longer it's going to take to get back and so today also don't put off if the Lord is touching something in your heart today if you know for sure that you're one among those 35 32,000 men who 43:35 are coming along for the ride those who have a that the world has a grip on that you're squeezing out the Earth squeezing out everything you can get out of this world be honest with the Lord saying Lord I've gone the wrong way 43:51 I'm going in the wrong direction Lord but today Lord I want to have faith faith like those three 00 men who broke those clay pots Lord that you're going to break me that I don't want to do my will ever again you'll arrange 44:06 circumstances and situations in my life to break me so that I can follow you deny myself every single day and follow you Lord I don't want to just hear a message Lord I want this to be true in my life Lord Jesus you called me Lord to 44:21 follow you Lord and I don't want to be one among the crowds Lord I want to be one among those Lord that you're using in these days to build your church through whom the the world can see your glory through this church that you're 44:35 building of people who are broken people following after you Lord so brother sister young person see if you're going the wrong direction today is the day to take that uturn not to live for yourself and for 44:53 sin but to follow after the Lord wholeheartedly I hope you will hear that same beep that I heard beep beep beep beep beep don't live for yourself take that U-turn may the Lord help us amen let's pray together heavenly 45:12 father I pray Lord I pray Lord that each one of us Lord you called us for a purpose Lord and that is for your glory to be seen in this church Lord I pray Lord just like you picked those who are willing to go this way of dying to the 45:27 themselves Lord their will and following after you to seek to do your to the seek to the do the father's will just like you did Lord I pray that that would be the testimony of each of Our Lives Lord I pray that each one of us will hear 45:41 your voice speaking to us Lord today that it's not too late today to take that uturn and follow you Lord I pray that that would be true Lord that each one of us will follow you wholeheartedly in Jesus name amen 45:58 [Music]
