God Is Shaking What Can Be Shaken

Good morning. You know, I'm thankful for a few things. You know, I've been to a lot of places and a lot of services. I've listened to a lot of messages in my life. And I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit still speaks even in this place. Because you can have scriptures and you can have knowledge, but if you don't have the anointing, then it's like you're building without mortar. You know, in Babylon, they came to build a tower onto heaven and they were working with pavement for bricks and slime for mortar. They started building some tower up onto heaven and it looked like they were getting somewhere, but they never were able to finish because God brought confusion on the whole thing. But we need to build with solid material. We need to build with good, good material. And, you know, I'm thankful for the anointing. It's the anointing that is going to impact the hearts. It's going to break the yokes, right? It's going to release the bondages in people's lives. And that's what we need. We don't need more knowledge. We need the anointing. We need the Holy Spirit. And if we don't receive that baptism or the anointing of the Spirit, then we're never going to make the impact that God intended. I think of Paris Redead who was sharing about a man at a gas station who went there. He was looking to fill up his car with the highest octane. God said he wasn't ready. He says, because you're still in the driver's seat. He said the man had built a large church. He had built a wonderful Sunday school program. But now he said, I'm lacking something in my life. I need the Holy Spirit. We can accomplish a lot of things like they did in the Tower of Babel. They built the tower unto heaven. A lot of things men can do without the power of the Holy Spirit. Just go to town and look at the high rises and the buildings and all that. Look at the infrastructure that we're able to put together without the Holy Spirit. But that is not what commends us to God and God's not impressed with any of it. God is impressed with is a man who is humble, who is contrite and who trembles at his word. On this one, he says, I'll look. And that's the one who gets the Holy Spirit, not the one who thinks himself to be something, but the one who humbles himself and acknowledges that he's nothing that he's able to exalt. The one who says, I have need and he asks for the Holy Spirit. It says, which of you has a son and he wants an egg and he's going to give him a snake or a scorpion or a spider or something or a fish. It says, we being having a sinful nature that we have to put off, if we being evil, know how to give good things to our children, how much will the Holy Spirit, God give the Holy Spirit to everyone who asks. A lot of us don't ask because we don't need. You know, David says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Shall not want because he's tapped into the Lord. You know, there's a church today, even in Abbotsford, even in the Fraser Valley. They, maybe they say, I shall not want. Maybe they say I'm rich and creased in goods. Maybe we say that and have need of nothing, but are really filled with the Holy Spirit are really walking in the newness of life. Are we doing it better than the next guy? And so we're good. And so now we can move beyond that, get on to building our tower under heaven, making a name for ourselves. You might be able to dot every I and cross every T and be devoid of the Holy Spirit. You might be able to make perfect bricks from slime and asphalt. That's what God's looking for. He's looking for living stones rejected by men, but chosen by God so that he can shape us and make us into a tabernacle unto himself. You know, when we came out of Israel and he said, command the children of Israel to bring for me one from every tribe stones that no man has put his tool on and build an altar unto me. God wants us as we are. Come as you are. Come to Jesus as you are. He's not looking for you to shape up and get in line and fit in into a mold. He wants you to come as you are and be honest about where you're at so that he can make you a new creation so that he can build you into something beautiful so that you can become a tabernacle of God in the spirit. I was reading this passage here a minute ago. It says, see that you do not refuse him who speaks Hebrews 1225. For if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, how much more shall we as believers not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then in Sinai when he was revealing himself to the children of Israel there, then shook the earth. But now he has promised yet once more. There's a promise for us guys. Yet once more. He's not just going to shake the earth, but he's going to shake the heavens. Are you ready for him to come into your home, to come into your family, to come into your job, to come into your relationships with your children, to come into your friendships or your close brothers in the church and have him shake not just earthly things but heavenly things yet once more. To remove those things that can be shaken so that you can be built up into a spiritual house, something that he can use for his glory, not something that man can use to glory in. This is a promise we have that if we ask according to his will he hears us and we ask him and we invite the Holy Spirit to come into our life, we are asking him to shake everything that can be shaken so that that which is unshakable will remain. Because that's the only thing that matters to God that when he gathers the wheat into the garner he shifts all the chaff. I remember listening to Brother Warnock. Many of you don't know him. George Warnock. I went to visit him at his home and I went to visit him when he was in a care home before the end of his life. I went with some brothers. Brother Sean was there, other brothers, a couple brothers, and I felt the Holy Spirit lay it on my heart to go see him. But originally when we went, his wife had recently passed. He was a man who had written books, never charged for any of his books, put them freely online. You can find them. Spiritual meat. I'm not saying he was perfect but he had a heart for God. And when we went to go visit him he didn't know we were coming. He didn't know we were there. We had made arrangements with his daughter because he's living in this basement. And we went into there and I peeked in the window because you can tell a lot about a guy when what he's doing when nobody's watching. I wasn't planning to spy. I just, we walked down some steps and we peeked to see if he was there and we saw him there and he had a tape recorder playing on an old cassette deck. Some of you don't even know what that is. And he had a tambourine on his knee and he was in his 90s, his early 90s, and he was there and I could hear the song playing or when the saints go marching in and his face was radiant like an angel. And he was singing by himself with the Lord how I want to be in that number. He wanted to be in that number when the saints go marching in. Man, I tell you, I was so convicted. I said, man, when I'm 91, will I be like that? Well, I'd be just sitting there surfing the TV screen, flipping the channels or I'll be on my phone reading the next news article. What's going on with the coronavirus? We have to finish the race. We want to finish well. He'd gone through a lot of hard things in his life and I've gone through a lot of hard things, but that hard things of themselves doesn't purify you. It's when you humble yourself and you look to him and you're radiant. Because he wants to sift everything. And Brother George, in one of his books, he likened the passage where it says, and the kingdom is like a man who sowed seed in his field. The seed being the word of God. And then it came up first the blade and then the ear and then the full corn in the ear. And Brother George, he shared in one of his books and he said, you know, it's so exciting when we see the green blade come up and we see the corn in the field and it's green and it's alive and the stock and it's getting all the water, the former rain and the latter rain is there and wow. And he likened that to some of our church meetings. He likened it to some of our church meetings where the gifts of the spirit are moving and the stock is that conduit by which the brothers are able to exercise those gifts to bring nourishment to the corn in the ear. And he says he's given some to be prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, gifts of helps, miracles, signs, different things for the church, for the edification of the body, for the building up of the church. But he said at the end of it all, then the corn begins to turn brown and everything begins to wither, the field withers, the grain turns golden, no longer green and he comes to thrash everything. He's only coming for the wheat. He's only coming for the corn and all those things that were once green and once alive and once exciting in the church, it all is being passed away as chaff. It's all being taken away where prophecy ceases, where tongues cease, where the gifts cease. And the only thing that matters is what's left, the grain in the garner. And he says, now I'm going to show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with tongues of men and angels yet have not loved the fruit of the spirit, the gifts are great. It nourishes the church, it builds us up, we need them. But there's a time coming when it's all going to pass away and all he's going to be looking for is, is there any fruit in the earth to gather the wheat into the garner. He's going to shake everything that can be shaken. He's going to cut everything down and only that which is of Christ will last. That which is the flesh will be burnt. Even those things that were gifts given from God, those things will vanish away. But Christ will not vanish away and neither will the fruit that comes through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Brother Sherd, he saw in his life that he had accepted Christ. He would say, give mental assent in his head that he was saved. But the fruit of his life was that he wasn't. I could say the same. His name shall be called Jesus because he will save his people from their sins, not in their sins. He'll accept you as you are, but you have to follow Christ. And as you follow Christ, he's able to shake and remove all that offense. Are you willing to count that cost? Brother Sherd from Luke 14, it says you have to sit down and count the cost, whether you have what it takes to finish. You know what? Sometimes a guy gets hungry and he says, you know what, I'm going to quickly go through the drive-thru at A&W and get myself a burger. Or you know what? There's Wendy's. I prefer Wendy's today. I'm going to go to Wendy's and we're going to get ourselves a chili. Something. Because we're hungry. You know what? We're the hungry and thirst for righteousness. He said we'll be filled. And you know what? There's no fast food and there's no quick fix. It says draw near to God and he will draw near to you. I remember a time, brother, you heard, some of you heard brother Sean share testimony. I remember a time brother Sean, after he had been shot, he found himself in a group home. I don't know if he really wanted to be there. But an opportunity came for him to get out of there and to move into the basement of brother Anders. And the Holy Spirit began speaking to a number of us that the time was right for him. You know what? He got an opportunity to get a job. You know what? How many times I've helped guys, I've picked them up and hauled them all over the place to make life easy for them. And you know what? They never were able to take root. I said with brother Sean, I'm not picking that guy up. I said to the guys, I said, listen, Tim, you got a bike, you give him a bike. We'll see how much he wants to change. And we gave that man a bike from Clearbrook. That guy drove 14k or 12k to work and from work and he started picking up cigarette butts in the landscape and clean up garbage. There's not to say anything about brother Sean, but we want a quick fix. We want a fast food. We want it right now. And God wants to test us to see whether we really want to serve Christ or not, or whether we're just serving Christ for what's in it for us. This easy believe-ism. If we add Jesus to the package, then we're going to really be able to do something for God. And God wants to see whether we really want him to do something for us. When God met David in the field, he saw him in the field and he was taking care of some sheep and his brother said, hey, who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? You know what? I had a family member say that to me one time. Say, you know, you're wasting your time having that little home fellowship, just wasting your time with those few sheep there. When you have a purpose and a call of God in your life, I said, no. Jesus invested his life in 12 men. And you know what? I'm not greater than him. If God calls me to disciple one person, I want to be willing because I learned my lesson. We had rented the Tradex Center where you could fit 5,000. We were going to have repentance revival meetings. We're inviting evangelists from all over the place. There's nothing wrong with having repentance revival meetings. I'm all for that. But the Holy Spirit said, come out from among that and be separate. And I was involved in organizing that with a family member and I ended up not even going to that meeting because you know what? The Holy Spirit says, you want to be something. You want to become a somebody. And I thought, no, no, I want to do it for the Lord. And you know what? We don't even know the own motives and intents of our heart, that there's pride there, that there's ego there that wants to be fed, that wants to be recognized. God is not interested in us expanding our egos and our pride. God is interested in us becoming humble. On this one I'll look. The one who is humble, who is contrite, and who trembles when the Word of God is preached. That's the one he looks upon. He dwells in the high and the lofty place and with the one who is humble. Humble yourself then under the mighty hand of God so that he can exalt us. What does that look like to be exalted? It means to walk in the love of God. It means to walk in the anointing of God. It means to fulfill the purpose and call of God in your life. Whatever that looks like. Now this yet once more, verse 27, indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken. I gotta say, we're not perfected yet. There's things in our life that need to be shaken. Some of us get crippled by fear. Others of us struggle with anxiety. Some of us are concerned about what men think. With the honor and praises of men. Some of us still have vices in our life that we've not surrendered to the Lord. But God wants us to be conformed into the image of Jesus. And so he's not going to stop working in your life until you become like Christ. And on this side of heaven it's an ongoing. Not that I've attained, Paul says, but I press on. Continue to look to him and be saved. Therefore, since we have received the kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Some versions say awe. For our God is a consuming fire. And we know that when he comes, he's looking for faith on the earth. And he's going to consume everything. He's going to burn it all to the ground. And only that's of Christ will last. You know, recently we've had this plague in the earth. You know, and initially I was crippled by fear. And finally, the Lord helped me to overcome that. And I realized that I got up. Why are you discouraged? Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God. And praise God is able to overcome that. You know what, sometimes it comes and goes. But you know what? The main purpose is that if I'm walking in the will of God, I don't have to fear. Because my days are written down and so are yours. And all our days are fashion. What's most important is that we live right and holy and pure before him. Because we all have to give an answer and account of the things that we've done when we see him on that day. Whether the things we've done are good or bad. And recently, we had this flood come into the valley here. And the destruction is unbelievable. And I was pondering these things. And I thought about these things. And I considered it. And brother shared it. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. And so poverty will come upon you in your need like an armed man. I say, Lord, what happened here to the Bible Belt? What's happened to us here? Why? Why does it seem as though judgment has begun at the house of God? Why does it seem as if it began with us first? What will be the end of the rest of Canada? And of the nations, the ungodly nations, who have forgotten God, who have taken Jesus out of the church, who've taken Jesus out of the schools, who have promoted homosexual agendas, and have taught conversion therapies? And I say, Lord, where is the voice? Where are the preachers? And I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. And he said, I had a dream actually. And in my dream, I ended up in prison for it. It was strange. It was quite a number of months ago now. And I woke up, I was scared. I said, Lord, not me. Who am I? I'm just some guy preaching in the basement, going to treatment center, helping some guys when I can. But you know what? If the Lord calls you, he calls the whosoever wills. And he calls them things that are not as though they are. Who was Paul? He was one soul. And he sent him to stand before kings and governors. And I said, Lord, I want to be willing. I don't want to be a coward. If you need to shake some more things out of my life, I didn't even know it were there. Have thine own way. All of a sudden, on Friday, I got a text from my daughter. She works at the city. She says, the Prime Minister Trudeau, he's going to be coming. And something in my spirit began to rise up. And I said, Lord, as it has for such a time as this, as it for such a time as this, I want to be willing. I don't know what I'm going to say, Lord, but I want to go. And you know, I got in my vehicle, and I went with a brother, and we went down there. And there was really nobody there. Nobody knew he was there. There were some city workers there, and they had a meeting planned. And I didn't even know if I would see him when I was there praying. You know, the main point thing is, I found that I spent probably three hours praying for that man. When I've never, in all of, I can say I've prayed for the leaders. I prayed that you would have mercy on them. I prayed that they would repent. I prayed these different things. But I've never invested the time. And now I'm sitting there, and the Secret Service is all around me, wondering what I'm doing there with my Bible in my hand, my case. And the police dogs are there, and they're sniffing everything. And I said, well, surely something's happening here. You know, we're just sitting there on a picnic table there right by the door. And I said, Lord, I don't know what I'm going to say, but I need you to speak. And I want you to know that I'm willing. I want to count the cost. I don't want to be a coward. You know, and he came in some other door, and he was there, and I've seen him. And I said, Lord, I don't know what it's going to look like, but I don't want to speak of my own resources. Because it doesn't seem to me as global warning. It seems as an act of God. And I wanted to ask him, why do you think this has happened in the Bible Belt? And as a nation, we need a call to national repentance, but it has to begin in the Fraser Valley. We need to call on the name of the Lord. We need to ask the Lord to have mercy on us. We need to repent and turn back to the Lord. We need to pray. If my people who are called by my name, this Fraser Valley, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their lukewarm ways. I'll hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land. This isn't global warning. This is an act of God. Even the insurance companies know what it's called, but we don't know what it's called. Canada needs to repent. Our government needs to repent. We as pastors need to repent. We need to call on the name of the Lord and treat his mercy. The times of refreshing would come from the Lord, that his spirit would return to our churches, that his name would be lifted up. We would stop building programs and stop joining ourselves with all these other government programs and trying to get funding and resources that we would look to him and be saved. He said, yet once more, I'm going to shake not only the earth, but the heavens. That that which is unshakable may remain. There was a brief moment where he came out and all of a sudden he was there and they were whisking him away. And I felt as though I'd missed my opportunity and all I had opportunity to say is, God bless you. And he turned around, he looked at me and he said, thank you. And he pounded his chest. And I felt as though somehow I'd failed the Lord. I felt as though somehow I'd missed an opportunity. But you know what? The Bible says we're to bless our enemies. And we're to pray for those who persecute us and spitefully use us. And we're to pray for the governing authorities, that perhaps God will grant them repentance and give us opportunity to live in peace, that we might serve the Lord with our families, that we could serve him with reverence and godly fear, because it's God who's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It's Jesus Christ who sits forever as priest according to the order of Melchizedek, an unchangeable priesthood. And we need to come to a place where he becomes our all in all. So we're no longer living for ourselves, but for Christ. No longer living for the flesh, but we're living in the Spirit. If we live in the Spirit, then we're also to be keeping step with the things of the Spirit. We're to walk in the Spirit, and we're supposed to fulfill the purpose and call of God for our life. Not building a tower for ourselves and to heaven to make a name, but building the house of God, being willing to disciple one for the audience of one. I've shared this before. I was in Alberta, and I was all zealous, and we had rented the Tradex, and it cost us five grand in those days, and there was going to be a meeting there, and repentance meeting and all that. In those days, I lacked discernment. There were people coming that today would never invite or be part of, but I lacked discernment. And there was a man who was a preacher, who used to preach, and now he was a trucker in Alberta that I ran into, and he came and he met with me. I didn't know anything about him, but he was a pastor, and he'd been relieved of his duties, and now he was trucking. And he came, and we had breakfast together, and I remember where I was. I was sitting on the floor in this room in this hotel, and I was telling him that I was going to do great things for God, and he said, God doesn't want you to do great things for him. God wants to do great things for you. He says, it's not about the thousands, Randy Cron, it's about the one. He said, he raised his voice, the Holy Spirit came on him, and he says, until you understand that, you're not going to do anything for God. At the time, I was just trembling, because I thought, what does he know? And later on, I realized it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him, that unless I had a burden for one, I would never have a burden for more. You have to have a burden for the lost. It doesn't matter who it is. Jesus would have come for one. He would have come for you. He would have come for me. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, and it's the love of God that leads us to repentance, the kindness of the Lord. When he should have destroyed me, and he should have destroyed you, he chose not to, because it just pleased him to take a firebrand, pluck it from the coals, and say, zero live. Behold, what manner of God, love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God. And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know when he is manifested, we shall be like him. We will be his hands and feet, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in Jesus purifies himself, just as he is pure. We need a church without spot or wrinkle to rise up and say, Jesus, help us to fulfill the purpose and call of God, to be his hands and feet. You know, I got a text that there's a church in the valley here, and Samaritan's Purse coming in there. They have plans to go and help in this flood-torn area. You know, the government sent some army people, and that's great. But you know what? God is sending his people, and that's better. Because you know what? People are going to see Jesus through that. And that's where God will do his work. He has wounded, but he will bandage. He has torn us, but he'll heal us. And he's going to come to us, maybe in the form of rain, spring rain, and bring times of refreshing with him. And then as a church, we'll be able to say one day, this is my hope and my prayer. It was good that we were afflicted as a people, as a community. It is good that we were afflicted, because before we were afflicted, we went astray. But now we're looking to the Lord, and we need to be saved. Have mercy on us, O God, according to your love and kindness. Blot out my transgressions, my sin as ever before you. Against thee are they only, have I sinned and done evil in thy sight, O God. Have mercy on me. Extend your compassions and your mercy toward us, that your mercies fail not, for they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, O God. It reaches unto the heavens, your mercy and your compassions fail not. Lord, that we would call upon thee in the day of trouble, and you would answer us, and you would help us, and you would deliver us in a time of famine and drought, a time of pestilence and flood, that we entreat your favor, that you would send your spirit and revive us, O God. Revive your people. We thank you that you always hear us in Jesus' name. Amen.