Let God Arise - Part 3

Are you glad to belong to Jesus? Well, that's about three of us. Are you glad to belong to Jesus? It's sort of a joy and a sadness, isn't it, that we're coming to our last night, and yet I do believe that God wants to speak to us and God wants to minister to us so that we go out with the joy of the Lord in our hearts, fresh vision, new understanding and the anointing of God. And we're delighted to have had Jackie and her team with us. I know that many of you have been blessed and encouraged and challenged, and I know that we've begun to see what God will do with people who will make themselves available to Him. And I know that for me, as I've particularly looked at the brothers, I thought, surely, is the testimony really true? I mean, I know that they're not lying, in the sense that God has done such a wonderful work, and I know that you've been challenged and you've been inspired by what the Holy Spirit has done in theirs and many, many other young people in Hong Kong as God has moved by His Spirit. And we're thrilled and challenged by that. And I know that one of the stories was that one of those young men who had been a heroin addict was able to give his testimony to members of Parliament of how Jesus had saved him. Who could have believed that God would do and work in such a way? But that's the kind of God we have. I want to ask Jackie if you'll come forward, please, and we're going to pray together, and then I want you to welcome her and the team. Come on, Jackie. Father, we thank you that we recognize again that it isn't by power, and nor is it by might, but it's always by your Spirit. And we look to you tonight that there will be the moving of your Spirit yet again, the fresh breath of your Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear and willing and ready obedient hearts and wills to do that which pleases you, to move in obedience to you. We thank you for your servant, Jackie, and all that you have blessed her and prospered her in doing and the fruit that you've given to her for her labour. And yet we are aware that there are many, many more and this is but the beginning. We ask now, Lord Jesus, that your anointing may rest upon her, that you will bless her and strengthen her, encourage her, and feed her even as she shares the bread of life with us and grant that Jesus, his name shall be exalted and his power shall be released. This we ask in that name and for his honour and for his glory. Amen. Welcome Jackie and the team and make them feel at home. Let's say thank you to them too. So we have one minute of praising God with great joy. Another moment we know strongly the power of his Spirit with us. And another moment we hear screams, the screams of unborn children and the screams of the mothers who grieve their death or their murder. How can all this be at the same time? As we were singing and as we were worshipping, I had a picture and the picture is seen in Revelation and it's a picture of the saints. There are thousands of them praising God and they're worshipping and they're bowing down before the throne and on the throne there's a slaughtered lamb. He's Jesus. And that's why all these things come together. It's why there is an answer for those who scream and hurt and feel in guilt. It's why there is an answer because he who knew no sin, he who was perfect, he who knows everything that we've ever done in secret or said out loud, he loved us so very much that he laid his life down on the cross and died a bloody death as an animal. He was a slaughtered lamb. We preach the cross and now Chogyin has the outstanding half of a message in tongues which came earlier which you may not have heard. He has the interpretation. I am the God that you all, each one, have been looking for. I have power because I was the one who died and rose on the third day. Today salvation is upon you. So open the door of your heart wide and let the power of my cross reign. For did I not say that I was not willing that any should perish? So today I call you and I choose you and I choose you as crops that are ready to harvest. And I want you to come as a tender crop in humanity. So I come, I come with an arm of strength to gather in this tender crop because I am a good farmer. And I will cause this that I harvest to become precious as those that I will use. I will cause you to be vessels that will be used and I will put my strength in you. And I will cause my perfume to be spread through this vessel. I've already chosen you, ready to gather from the harvest. This is what I want you to preach. Let everyone know. There was no grave, grave enough to ground me, to mound me. I broke the balm then slit the shroud wound round me that bound me. There was no death, dead enough to dull me, to cull me. I snapped the snake and waned his wall to lull me, to null me. There was no cross, cross enough to nill me, to still me. I hung as gold that bled and bloomed, arose that rose and prized the tomb. Away from Satan's willful doom, there was no cross, death, grave or room to hold me. So for your cross, dear Lord Jesus, we thank you. For your willing death, we bless you. For you who suffered in agony and shame. For you who bled like a slain lamb. We thank you and we receive all that you did on our behalf. For we know you are the one that we're looking for. We bless you. I'll tell you about a miracle that happened because of the cross. It's the most unusual one I've heard of yet. I told you a couple of nights ago about the gang leader of the walled city and how he came to know Jesus. We'd been praying for him for about 15 years. And when he became a Christian, he was only out of prison for a couple of weeks before his own brother was arrested. He was his real brother and he was arrested with 11 others for murder which happened at a funeral parlor. There'd been a fight outside the funeral parlor and 12 of them had been arrested. I was away at the time and by the time I got back, our people had been to visit those 12 and 6 of them had come to believe in Jesus. They went up for preliminary trial. Eight of them by this time had believed. Eight of them were released and there were four still in custody. And one of them was Gogo's brother. His name was Ali and he was very frightened because he hadn't done it. But he'd been identified from a photograph. He was not allowed bail. And I used to go visit him and the others. And the other three came to believe in Jesus. And he wouldn't. Let us pray with him. Because actually at the time that the murder had taken place, he was quoting Buddhist scriptures. He was a sort of spare time trainee monk. And he was doing this inside the funeral parlor. But nobody would listen to his testimony and he'd been identified. And he was really afraid. And I used to visit him very often. And I said to him, don't worry. Don't worry. It's okay. Because there are people all over the world praying for you. They're praying in South Africa and New Zealand and Australia and England and America and Canada. So it's alright. Because this is a very unfair world. And it's true that there are injustices. But there is one above all who sees what's going on. And he knows. And we're talking to him about you. And every Wednesday, there are people in all those countries fasting and praying for you in Jesus' name. So he said, thank you very much. And I went on visiting him. And then a couple of months before his trial, I said, can I pray for you? And he said, yes, I'd like to accept Jesus. So great. I prayed with him. And he received the Holy Spirit through the glass. And he seemed very happy about all this. And he wasn't afraid anymore. And he knew that Jesus had given him life. And they still have the death penalty in Hong Kong. Whether he was executed or not, he knew where he was going. And then came the trial. And they didn't even hear the defense. They threw the case out immediately. And he was set free. So we went out to tea. And I went out to tea time with him. And I said, Ali, I'm really curious to know. Why did you suddenly believe? He said, well, it's very strange. He said, one day the prison governor came to the jail. And he walked past my cell with two warders. And when they walked past my cell, he turned back and he said, what have you got in your cell? And I said, nothing. And the warders searched the cell. And he said, what's that smell coming out of your cell? And they used the word in Chinese for sweet smell. And he said, I can't smell it. There's nothing there. So the prison governor moved on. And the warders moved on. And later on, my friend spoke to the two warders and said, what did he mean? What did he mean, so sweet? That smell from my cell. And the two warders said, yeah, can't you smell it? It's really fragrant in your cell. So Ali went back and he sat down in his cell. And he couldn't smell a thing. And then suddenly he thought, oh, it's Wednesday. And he believed in Jesus. You see, people who haven't read the Bible get it more clearly than those who have. The part I just referred to from Revelation, that part about the lamb that was slain, is referring to the sweet smell that there is, the incense in heaven, which comes from the prayers of the saints. He'd never read it, but he knew what it was. See, this is how the spirit of God works, not through man's intelligence. But through the spirit. Spiritual things are spiritually understood, and he knew what it meant, and he believed in Jesus. And he still tells that story. He's the only one I ever heard who was converted through a smell. But in God's mercy, he uses every way through his Holy Spirit. Who could say who did it? I didn't do it. Nobody could claim the credit for that. We could just wonder at the way in which God in his mercy reveals himself to man. And that man was a frightened man, you see. And my preaching Jesus wasn't going to do it. But because his heart was hungry for God, because he was crying and frightened and called out, God heard his prayer and answered him. We want to know the power of the Holy Spirit. Some people here prayed to receive this yesterday. And I believe that it's the minimum starting point for Christians. I don't think it's anywhere we land up. I think it's where we start. When we come to know Jesus, we receive the power of his Holy Spirit to minister. You want to know the power of his Spirit? Well, last night, I believe that God told me that some people would prophesy for the first time. And somebody gave me a prophecy this afternoon. It's his first prophecy. It's not here, so I'm reading it for him. He saw a picture, and I'm reading it as if I'm him. I could hear the traffic on the main road, and as I was listening to the continuous noise of the traffic, I could hear an aircraft approaching. And as it came closer, the noise of the aircraft became so great that the traffic on the main road couldn't be heard, almost as if it had stopped. And as the aircraft flew away into the distance, the noise of the traffic on the road started again. As all this was happening, the Lord said what it meant. The noise of the traffic on the road is the world pursuing its own ends. And the noise of the aircraft is a wave of revival which is approaching your shore. The shores of your land and the shores of your hearts. At the moment, it's a rumble in the distance, but when it breaks, it will be like the noise of the aircraft last night, extinguishing all else in its path. Two things can happen at this time in your lives. You can either be prepared for more revival, for which you're asking, or you can be caught unawares and be left behind. If you seek my face, I will be faithful to you, and you will be transfigured. And when my wave of revival does break on your shores, the world will see my Son in you and your actions, and will accept me. If you seek to change your hearts, I will open the eyes of your hearts and you'll know my spirit of wisdom and knowledge, and the world will see my Son and myself through you. If you're prepared, it will be like the noise of the aircraft. The world will see my power through my children, and my spirit will stop the world in their own desires, and they will desire what they see in my children. Only prepare yourselves now, for you do not know when I'm sending revival. If you're not prepared, my wave of revival will continue on like the aircraft. And the world will not know what's happened, and you will be left behind. So we talked about this on the first night, looking forward to revival. And I believe we learnt that we can, in God's mercy, play a part in this, but that the privilege kills us. Yesterday, we saw that God has arranged a part for each one of us. And in order to play our part, we ask for changed hearts. We ask for the anointing and the power of the Spirit to come upon us. And then, we do whatever comes to hand. And I want to continue on with some of the stories that we've been looking at in Samuel. So if you have a Bible, please turn. We're in 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel chapter 12. Remember, we have Saul, whose heart has been changed by the Lord. And we have Saul, who's had a part to play, arranged by God. It wasn't his own merit. The anointing came upon him. The power of the Spirit came upon him. He prophesied, and then he did what there was to do. He was just looking after oxen. And at the right time, he led an army to battle and saved the nation. This is what the power of the Spirit is for. It's for the saving of a nation. But this is a sad story, really, from now onwards, because although Saul was a good king for a while, and we know that he came to kingship through humility and shown self-control, he did not walk in it. And as we're praying and talking about revival, and as a number of us here have understood what it is to have changed hearts, and to pray and receive the power of the Spirit, we must remember this is what Saul had. And even into the miraculous, he prophesied, spoke words from God, but he did not walk in the Lord. He did not go on as he had started, and he was given a warning at the end of chapter 12. But be sure, in verse 24, to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. Consider what great things He has done for you. That's the one way to keep walking ahead, of course. It's the one way for all of us, is what Scripture says. If we stop being fruitful or kind, it's probably because we've forgotten how Jesus loved us and saved us. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away. Here's Samuel speaking to the people. The king and the people will be swept away, despite the fact that they've been rescued by God, if they do not continue in the ways of the Lord. Saul did not walk in the Spirit, because he did not walk in the cross. And I believe it's the same thing. Walking in the Spirit and walking in the cross are inseparable. For this is what happens in chapter 13. In self-will, he did something that he shouldn't have done. He thought it was a good idea, and he made an offering which he should not have done. And so Scripture says then, in verse 14, The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people. Because Saul acted in self-will. His will was not crucified. In humility, he was chosen. He knew he was God's choice. He knew it wasn't because he deserved anything. He'd hidden, don't you remember, with the donkeys. And in his mercy, God put him in a place which only God could put him, and he got proud. And he acted in self-will. His own will had not been crucified. He was really enjoying the position. And he does it again. In chapter 15. In chapter 15, Saul grieved the Lord. Why did he grieve the Lord this time? Well, he won a victory over his enemies, and in this victory he was told to destroy everything. Everything. Everything. He didn't. He was a little afraid of some of the people, and he kept some of the things he was supposed to destroy. Like the best lambs, and the best calves, and the best sheep and cattle. Everything that was good, in fact, he kept and destroyed the other. And so Samuel comes to talk to him, and he says, you haven't carried out the Lord's instructions. And Saul says, oh yes I have. But you see, his sins started bleating. Samuel said, what then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle? Scripture says, be sure your sins will find you out. Well, they may moo and bleat. That's what Scripture says. If we don't reveal them ourselves and ask the Lord to forgive them, they'll be shattered from the housetop someday. We won't like that. This time they mooed and bleated. Ah, Samuel said, although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel, and he sent you on a mission. Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord? So those of us who've come to new birth in Jesus, those of us who know that it's only his grace that he's poured out his Spirit upon us and given us work to do, and let us be in the joy of his kingdom, why should we become proud? Why should we start building monuments to ourselves and founding dynasties? Samuel was told that Saul had even raised a monument in his own honor, and he should have known that the whole thing was God's victory, yet Saul raised a monument in his own honor. And Samuel said, does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Because Saul tried to make an excuse and say that the animals were just for sacrificing. Of course, it wasn't true. But anyway, he was supposed to have obeyed the Lord's command, which was to destroy those things. And he's told that rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the sin of idolatry. These are very strong words. It was because he disobeyed. That was the first sin man ever did. It wasn't eating apples. It was disobeying the Lord. Even after these blessings, the power of the Spirit, these miracles, this elevation to kingship, he disobeys. And he loses his kingship. And he says, oh please, oh please, oh please, Samuel, you are my tame prophet, at least bless me. Catches on to the edge of his robe and it tore. Samuel said, the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you and has given it to one of your neighbors, one who is better than you. He who is the glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind. And Saul says, oh please, anyway, honor me. He's still after face. Poor man. So quick. So quick. In humility he's found and saved. He's honored by the Lord and it goes to his head. He wants honor before his people. Even now, when he has sinned like this, he should have been flat on his face in front of the Lord and he wants to be honored before his people. And Saul worshiped the Lord and Samuel stays around to give him some kind of blessing, but he's lost the kingship. But you see, even though Saul has said sorry and worshiped the Lord, he isn't sorry. That's why the kingship was taken away from him. Because we see that throughout the rest of Saul's history, he runs after and persecutes he who is from God. Because that man chosen was David. And I believe the Lord knew that his heart was not truly repentant and he could have been forgiven. Of course he could be forgiven. Look at the one who was going to follow him, David. David did some terrible things. Some terrible things. I always remember going to visit a man in prison several years ago. And he was willing to believe in Jesus. Because his friend in the prison had been so changed and had actually got off heroin in prison through believing in Jesus. And somebody else had cast out a demon in the middle of the night when he was being strangled in the cell. I mean, it was wonderful. So he was all ready to believe. But he said to me before we prayed, he said, what hope have I got? And I had to think really hard. I mean, you have to be careful when you're talking to people who are on trial for murder. What hope have you got? And I said, well, you know there are two people in Scripture that God used above all others and they were both murderers. One was David and one was Paul. It's in the New Testament. And they had both killed men. And yet they were forgiven. And that's why Paul said he was chosen to preach the gospel. Because he demonstrated the gospel, you see. He was an example of the unfair grace of God. His life force as well as his preaching. So I said, there's hope for you. And he was so pleased to know that even one who was on trial for murder could have hope. When he was sentenced to death the next day. They didn't kill him. He was young enough to be given 20 years instead. And he led one after another after another after another to Jesus in prison. Because he knew what it meant to have someone die for him. And forgive him. Put all his sins upon him. Yes, Saul could have been forgiven. Yes, David later, even as a king, making such a terrible mistake as to grab a woman who was not his. When the Lord said he could have had anything, anything that he wanted. He took what was not his and killed the woman's husband. To avoid the shame of the baby. He murdered someone and yet he was forgiven. And yet he was used again as a king, even. Extraordinary, isn't it? That's God's grace. It was because he put his heart right with God. He truly repented. And was truly and completely forgiven. Even so much as far as his son being the one that was to be the forefather of Jesus. Amazing, isn't it? God's forgiveness and grace. So Saul here, having been chosen by God, anointed by him. Prophesying in his name and having a part to play. Saul, even, I think could have been forgiven but was not truly repentant. He was just sorry he lost face in front of his people. He did not walk with the Lord. He did not walk in the Spirit. He did not walk in the cross. And I have to say, people, that for those of us here who have begun to experience miracles. And there have been some over the last few days. We've seen people healed. For those of us these days that understand that God in his mercy is pouring out his Spirit on common men and women. Like you and me. That he wants to do miracles through us so that the world can see his love. If we truly want to understand his power. If you want and if we in Hong Kong and anywhere else want to see more of the power of God's Spirit. There's only one way. It's through death. And you never, never, never will find one without the other. Never. There was no resurrection without death. And all we preach is Christ crucified. And that's what we heard just now. We were talking about the message for Brentwood is the cross. I have nothing else to say to you except the cross. It is the answer for all men. It is the hope for all men and it is the power of salvation. We want the power of the Holy Spirit but it is the Holy Spirit who brought a dead Jesus to life. Jesus chose death. The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. And the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father. Now we, as people who have been praying about the power of the Holy Spirit and doing the works of God, we understand authority. It's probably one of the lessons we did in our new Walk in the Spirit course. We have authority. We have authority to do the works of Jesus. We also have authority to die. The same as Jesus. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Saul didn't. He loved the power and not the cross. And I'm amazed that every time I look through Scripture, every time it's there, every time, and men wanted to avoid the death bit. And Jesus was always bringing it up. So we sang, I Believe in Jesus. Who do you say I am? Jesus asks Peter and the disciples. And he says, I believe you're the Christ. And then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. They didn't want to hear it. Oh no, we like the other message better. We like the one that you are the Lord who come to save us and rescue our nation and all things are well. Why are you talking about death, says Peter? We don't like that. Jesus turned and looked at his disciples. Out of my sight, Satan, he said, rebuking Peter. That's not nice. I mean, he's just had this glorious moment of being commended, because the Spirit of God told him that Jesus was the Messiah, and now he's being rebuked to Satan the next moment, yes. Because he didn't understand what the Christ meant. The power of Christ to save me and to give me eternal life, to heal my life, and to give me joy so I can sing, praise the Lord, so I can worship in heaven with the angels. That is mine, because he died. And he invites me to share it. It says in that same chapter, where he's saying, we preach Christ crucified, that there were two groups of people who wanted another way. 1 Corinthians 1:22. The Jews demand miraculous signs and the Greeks look for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. It's a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. The cross is the power and the wisdom. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. That's why it's a hopeful message for all of us. It's a hopeful message for all of us who feel sinful, weak, inadequate, hopeless, and trembling. Because Jesus Christ was crucified in weakness, and yet he lives by Christ's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you. It's a message for weak people. He calls weak people to himself and he says, I'll change you through the cross. But live in weakness. Live remembering the cross. And then you will know my power. Let's have a look at the Jews and the Greeks. Here are the Jews who wanted to know all about signs, and it's very strange. They wanted to know about signs because Jesus was always doing them. He healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath and they didn't even see it. They were just arguing about whether he did it on the right day. The Pharisees plotted how they might kill Jesus. And then they came to him, not long afterwards, and said, could you do some tricks, teacher? We want to see a miraculous sign from you. They could have been watching, but they missed. You see, those people in the world who are only looking for miraculous signs, they'll miss them. They'll miss the revival wave. Or it'll kill them. Because, you see, if they're not going to believe in Jesus, they won't see the miracles. The miracles will never convince anyone on their own. Not on their own. As part of the life of the Lord Jesus they will. Because the power comes from the cross. So Jesus answered those people that asked him to do tricks. He said, you're wicked and adulterous. You ask for a miraculous sign, but none will be given you except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Now you know about Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights. And that is the sign by which the whole world would be judged. That's the only sign all men will be judged by. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died? And rose again. That's the sign all men will have to decide upon. And then Jesus fed the 5,000. Then he fed the 4,000. And then guess what? The Jews come again. And they demanded a sign from him again. And he'd done all these things. You see, they weren't watching. And he repeats the same story. He says, I'm not going to give you a sign except that of the prophet Jonah. Those who are looking just for signs will miss Jesus. Those who are looking for the Savior, whether they know it or not, they will recognize him. They did all the time. That's why the religious people missed him. And the sinners and the sick and the hopeless and the weak ran after him. Because they recognized who he was. They knew he was the one who had come to save them. What about the Greeks? Three times tonight, I've heard people mention this. There were some Greeks that came and said, Sir, we would like to see Jesus. And what does Jesus go on to say? I tell you the truth. Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and it dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces seed. I mean, that seems to me extremely rude. Here are some people seeking wisdom, wanting to see Jesus. And what does he do? He talks about death again. He always seems to be doing it. They want to laud the Messiah and he talks about suffering. They want to see the miracles and he talks about death and resurrection. They want to talk with this Jesus who is wisdom. They want to see him and he talks about dying. Well, I'm sorry, but that's my message. If we want to see the power of our Lord Jesus Christ released in this land, we must live the cross. There is no shortcut. And the cross is not just when we come to Jesus, on the day in which we ask him to forgive our sins for the first time. The cross is daily. I deny myself because I choose to do his will. And it cost Jesus. It cost him when he agonized in the garden. It cost him when he sweated blood. It cost him because he could have done it another way, yes. He was offered the temptation even when he began his ministry. Jump off a tower, do a few tricks and you could get all kinds of people marching behind you. But no, he did not take that temptation to show off his power. He got it. He sure could have used it. Of course he could. He was the son of God. He could have turned bread from stones. Sure he could have. But he chose obedience to his father. And his father's will was death from the beginning. And so when he is told to avoid Jerusalem, because Herod the fox is waiting to kill him, this is what he says. Go tell that fox, I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. In any case I must keep going today and tomorrow. That's what he says. On the third day I will reach my goal. What's he talking about? He's talking about dying. And what's he doing on the way to death? Well, he's doing what I hope we started to learn yesterday. He's doing what there is to hand. Today I will drive out demons, and I will heal people and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. Anyway, he says, I must keep going today and tomorrow. I must heal the sick and cast out demons. This, people, is what we're supposed to be doing. We're heading for death, which means we're giving up our own ideas, we're giving up our own plans, we may give up our own comfort, we give up our rights to our own time, we give up our rights to those things we call our own property. Do you know that there are people all over the world who work ten times as hard as people in Britain and get the equivalent of about two pounds a week? Do you know that? Why should they have so little and we have so much? Why? It isn't fair, it truly isn't fair. And what makes us think that the wage packets we've got are ours? It's amazing. I earned this, I'll give God a little bit. No, they're not ours at all. Why should we have all that and those people have nothing? We didn't earn any of it. We were allowed to have it from God, so we could give it all away. Yes, it's an unjust world, and we have been treated most unjustly of all. For we have grown up in a place full of the blessing of God which other generations won for us. That is injustice. You and I live free in this country because other people died for the gospel. We have the benefits of doctors, we have the benefits of work and of wages and of houses, and we think they are our rights. And there are people all over the world who have nothing of this. They live in poverty, in starvation. They never even heard about Jesus or love or forgiveness once. And we think that what we have is our right, and we might give a little away. No, we are free. We are free to die to possessing them. We really are. And we can say, right Lord, I understand that everything I have from you is merely what you have entrusted to me. And now I'm going to pray, and pray with others, about how I can spend it on you. Because you gave it to me, everything, in the first place. We die to what we think is ours, or even what we think we've earned. And at the same time, I will drive out demons today, and I will heal the sick. Anyway, I must keep going. This is what we do. This is our daily walking with Jesus. We heal the sick every day. We drive out demons. We do what there is to hand. This is the way Christians are supposed to live. We don't feather our own nests and build our own fences and say, this is my kingdom. We give up our rights for the sake of Him. Who gave up everything for us. So we have the privilege to lay down our lives, as Jesus did. And so Paul said, in that lovely scripture, he said, I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. We want to know the power of the Spirit. Practice dying. Saul didn't. He didn't walk in the cross. He didn't walk in the Spirit. And he was going to lose his kingdom. Now here, in God's mercy, because he loved his people, he was going to raise up another deliverer. And so he comes to Samuel, in case you're muddled, we're back in Samuel, chapter 16. And he says, Samuel, how long are you going to mourn for Saul since I've rejected him as king over Israel? I think this is quite tough, because Samuel obviously loved Saul. And he didn't want him to be king in the first place, because he knew this wasn't the best way. But once God had said, this is my choice, Samuel was loyal. And he was very upset about what was happening. And he mourned, and God said, fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I have chosen one of Jesse's sons to be king. I'm looking for a man after my own heart. And in his mercy, God is doing that here. All over England and all over the world. Except for us it's rather better, because in those days, before the time of Jesus, there was usually only about one at a time that was specially anointed by God for the saving of a nation. And then you get that lovely promise in Joel, that in the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Not just a few special men in the Old Testament, who are specially raised up for the saving of a nation, but ordinary people like you and me get to be in it. With the same power of the spirit and anointing, which those great men received. And that's because God wants his people to hear the good news of salvation. He wants them saved. So here he is, going to anoint David. Now, I want to mention just very, very briefly, part of Samuel's problem. Eli had had a couple of sons who went bad. Samuel had a couple of sons, guess what, they went bad. And yet, he wanted Saul's reign to continue. It's very easy for us to do this with men. I don't want to comment too much more about this. It should be, that if a son follows his father, that son should learn from his father. It should be, this should be a wonderful training model. But in all those cases, the sons did not have hearts after God. And that is why their dynasties could not continue. Even Samuel's could not continue. God is going to raise up his own people. We men, we do it a different way. We very quickly raise up dynasties. Here is our new church, and here is how we're going to do it. We're going to appoint this and this and this. I'm having men after my heart. You can appoint who you like, but I'm looking for men after my heart. Those will be the ones who are used by him, and those will be the ones who men recognize as having the authority of Christ. So here, Samuel comes to anoint who? Well, he comes to Jesse's family, and they come one by one. And here we are in verse 7 of chapter 16. The Lord says to Samuel, after he's looked at Eliab, thinking, well, he's a nice, tall, good-looking man. Surely he's the Lord's anointed. The Lord says, no. Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. Now why? Why should Samuel thought Eliab was the one? Well, because yesterday we studied, when he saw lovely, tall, good-looking Jonathan, oh, there's no one like him. So he sees Eliab. Oh, that has to be it. We're very quickly religious, aren't we? That's religious. God did it like that last time, so this is how we're going to do it again. That's what kills our churches. And the Lord says, no, no, no, no. Hang on, Samuel. Hang on. Not the right one. Man looks at the outward appearance, but Lord looks at the heart, and you know the story. He goes through all the sons. Finally, there don't seem to be any sons left, and there's still not the king chosen. Are these all the sons you have, he asks Jesse. Well, they're still the youngest, Jesse answered, but he's looking after the sheep, the one who wasn't even invited in to the anointing ceremony. Well sent for him, said Samuel. We won't sit down till he arrives. So he sent and had him brought in, and he was ruddy with a fine appearance and handsome features. And then the Lord said, rise and anoint him. He's the one. This is very good news for some of us here. It's okay if they leave you in the kitchen doing the washing up while they're having the really important meeting and everybody's getting blessed. It's fine. It's fine. You won't miss the blessing by being out there with the teacups. Because the Lord knows, and he's very likely to say, you're the one. You are the one. I was looking for you. I planned to anoint you. I chose you. Oh, I know nobody else noticed you. I know you have no voice in your family. I know you have no voice in your church. But you say, I've seen your heart. I love your heart. I'm going to anoint you and use you. I know they don't think you're much. But I've seen your heart. I'm going to use you. So Samuel took the horn of oil and he anointed David in the presence of his brothers. And from that day, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. And David, as we know, did extraordinary things. David did extraordinary miracles. He won over Goliath very soon. And then he had to spend a large part of his life hiding, running away and living in a cave. Why? Because God, in his mercy, was teaching David to walk in the cross. God, in his mercy, was teaching David to walk in obedience. God, in his mercy, was teaching David to walk in his spirit. He had a wonderful moment of glory as a young man. I mean, fancy, being the one that gets the giant. I mean, nobody else even dared be around when he was talking. And the little one, with a stone anointed by God, slays the champion. Yeah, we can do that, you and I. Us little ones that got left outside. The ones that were not noticed or regarded or even needed or invited to the revival meeting. We got picked anyway. And we, in the power of the Spirit, we could do miracles, yeah. I told you about the girl from South Africa yesterday who, as soon as she came to know Jesus, we told her, just put your hand on somebody there and start praying for them. And the blind person saw. Well, I mean, she's hooked forever. She said, you know, you just let them pray for people as soon as they're saved, they'll get hooked. Because they see God doing it. And she knew. It wasn't because she was a mature Christian. She knew it was God's grace. David knew that. He gets Goliath in one. And then he has to spend a rather large part of his life running away, being called terrible names and by the man and his son whom he loved being hunted down because he was learning to walk in the cross, because he was learning to walk in the Spirit, because he was learning to walk in obedience. And people, this is Jesus' offer to us. We lay down our lives. We will see the power of the Holy Spirit move in this land. But we have to lay down our lives all the time, just as we get comfortable. It's off again. Jesus himself had nowhere to lay his head, even. And surely he deserved all things. But he had nowhere to lay down his head because his purpose was to die. Eternally, of course, he was going to be with his father. That's why he could endure the dying. And that's why we can if we know the joy set before us. The dying really won't be hard. In fact, I have to tell you that it's a whole lot harder not dying. If you, and I don't do what the Lord says. It's extremely uncomfortable. Jonah tried it. He got sicked up by a whale. It's really much smarter to do what God says. Even if it kills us. And that's just what Samuel said to the Lord when he was told to anoint David. Oh, again? Oh, he said he'll kill me. Saul will kill me if I anoint David. Yeah. My will, says the Lord. Not yours. So I just want to finish now by reading again from 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 23. We preach Christ crucified. Now think, brothers. Think of what you were when you were called. Verse 26. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. And what a strange plan he had for saving the world. Who? Who would think of a plan like that? Who would think that to save the world you'd have your own son killed? What a weak plan. For Jesus died in weakness. Yeah. They said he couldn't even carry his own cross at the end. Oh, what a shame. Was that a victory march? Well, it's going to turn into one. For the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. In our fellowship in Hong Kong, I look around sometimes on Sundays and I shall be back there next Sunday, thank God. And I look around and I think to myself, oh God, we've got so few normal people in our church. I mean, they're all ex-drug addicts and prostitutes and street sleepers and hardly any of them have been to school. We haven't got what the world looks for in a church. And this is how most people do it. Oh, I say, do you know that man who's the head of that bank? I think he's really interested in the Lord. And if we could win him to Jesus, he could be so influential. Oh, that man plays the piano so well. If he only became a Christian, how God could use him. Rubbish. God doesn't need the banker or that musician. He doesn't need them at all. The clever people are going to be in the minority. And you know about the queen who used to say thank God for the M. Thank God it doesn't say not any wise, not any influential, not any of noble birth. It just says not many. So, if there are any of us here who feel a bit clever or have got some influence or come from good families, thank God we just get in. But we are going to be in the minority because God chose the others. We're going to be very surprised. We're talking about revival. We're talking about the incoming of the harvest now to be very sure where this harvest is being gathered. It's amongst the poor of the world. And if you want to be in it, get amongst the poor otherwise you're going to miss it. This is for certain, for absolute certain. The majority of those who are going into the kingdom of heaven for that last banquet are the poor, the maimed, the blind, the prostitutes, the sinners, and those whom the world has despised. That's where they preach the gospel. That's where the harvest is. God can do it without us. But in his mercy he allows us to be in it. So, as God has chosen us, and I know there are some people here who don't feel wise or good family or a good report or influential. That's alright. God calls you and he chooses you because in his mercy he wants him to shine through you. You see, he'll shine through you probably better than the banker. Probably better because you have less to recommend you to start with. So when you shine everyone will know it's him. That's why. So no man should boast. He chose us foolish ones so the world could see what he's done in us. And that's why I brought my brothers here so I'd like them to come up now. And Diana and Ruth, that's why we've come amongst you because something's happened in the charismatic world in the last 20 years which is going backwards. Just over 20 years ago ordinary men and women discovered that God sent the power of his spirit upon ordinary men and women to do the works of God. It was a wonderful discovery but you know what happened after that? People started to put those people on platforms and say you pray for the sick, you do the prophecies and so on. And instead of ordinary men and women doing the job they looked at a new super brand of super apostles. Well we want to give it back to you. And that's why I always travel and I won't travel without my ordinary brothers and sisters whom God has anointed to show his glory. We have nothing to recommend us except his cross, his love and his forgiveness and his power shining through us. So we're going to sing to you. Open your eyes. And you can join in if you like. Pins can back us if you like. Like this. All of you who are in this afternoon session you're supposed to be praying for words of knowledge now. Okay? Okay we're going to pause for a minute. Sorry I threw them. It's in your book. 63? 135.