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Priorities Reveal Passion | Andrew Selley | Living Stones — Transcript

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0:00On Wednesday night,
0:01you heard we took over a coffee shop,
0:04Stir Coffee, and um
0:06just had a time of worship, which is
0:08really amazing to do that outside of
0:10these four walls, just worshipping in a
0:12public place, and seeing people walking
0:14past and like, "What is going on?"
0:16People were joined in. Uh we had a a guy
0:19that leads a church from San Diego who
0:21was here on on kind of a sabbatical,
0:23found us, and joined the worship, and it
0:25was just a beautiful, incredible time in
0:27the presence of the Lord.
0:29And one of the moments when you're
0:30worshipping,
0:32um the Lord just kind of downloaded this
0:34that I'm preaching um
0:36today, and it lines up actually, I mean,
0:38this is not planned. We we don't
0:41strategize about picking songs that are
0:43going to be always, you know, what God's
0:45doing. Uh I don't think anyone knew what
0:47I was going to be sharing, even Em's
0:49didn't know what I was sharing,
0:50probably. But um
0:52uh the the title of the preach is this,
0:54and it lines up so with where we just
0:56landed.
0:57Priorities reveal passion.
1:01Priorities reveal passion. And what I'm
1:05effectively saying here is that what we
1:07live for, what we burn for, what we
1:10prioritize,
1:12shows us what we really love.
1:16And I want to dig into this concept. I
1:17want us to look at it. I want it to
1:19grapple with us as we grapple with it.
1:21Uh and that if there is anything in us
1:23that is not fully devoted to Jesus,
1:27that we would see it, and we'd respond,
1:30and we would make him the priority of
1:32our lives. And so, maybe to just dive
1:35into this. So, one of the great
1:37questions I often ask myself and people
1:40that I'm shepherding or discipling is,
1:42"What is your life priority?"
1:45I mean, what do you want on your
1:46tombstone?
1:48Your lives.
1:50What would you want to have been said
1:52about you?
1:53Or even as you prioritize your year or
1:56your your week? What is the thing that
1:59is the thing that is the highest
2:01priority? What is the thing that you
2:05you kind of going to try and orientate
2:06your entire week around because that
2:09tells you very much what we actually
2:11serving. It tells us what is important
2:13to us. And I I I understand we have to
2:16go to school, we have to go to work, and
2:18so in some ways we stuck in the ground
2:19of an 8:00 to 5:00 and there's nothing
2:21we can do about that for most of us.
2:24But then beyond that, when I'm outside
2:26of that, what is my priority?
2:30What consumes me?
2:32Um is it is it your career? Because
2:34again
2:35you can quite quickly make your career
2:38an idolatrous thing if it becomes a
2:40thing that you live for. You're not
2:42called to live for your career.
2:44You called to live for him or or maybe
2:46uh your hobbies. Uh I remember as a
2:48younger man, I fell in love with
2:50surfing. Uh the first time I climbed on
2:52a surfboard, I was 10 years old. And the
2:54bug bit me so hard
2:57I thought the rest of my life this is
2:59all I want to do.
3:00My dream would have been right now if I
3:03was unsaved, I'd be on a yacht sailing
3:05around Indonesia and the Maldives,
3:08probably taking guys on tours, finding
3:10waves that no one else can find, and
3:12surfing every single day of my life. I
3:14would have been happy
3:16to the day I died. That was my life
3:18purpose.
3:20And I orientated my life around it. It
3:22was very much like my clothes, my my
3:26everything was orientated around it
3:27because that thing became my first love.
3:31And obviously when I became a Christian,
3:32that created a problem.
3:34So it wasn't long and the Lord began to
3:36say, "Hey, you love something more than
3:37me." And I was like, "What do you mean,
3:38Lord?"
3:40And I remember when he asked me to give
3:42it up.
3:43Yeah, it was like asking me to die.
3:46I was in worship one day and I heard the
3:48Lord just say to me,
3:50"I want you to stop surfing."
3:51And I was like, what?
3:54Like, what?
3:56But God, it's
3:57like who I am.
3:59And that's the point.
4:02Your God is surfing. Even though you
4:04singing about me on Sundays and even
4:06though you are trying to serve me, your
4:08life priority
4:10is the next wave.
4:12You orientate your world around it.
4:14And it's idolatrous.
4:16And for a number of a long period of
4:18time
4:19I had to lay that down.
4:21>> [sighs]
4:21>> Um and and I I could tell you some funny
4:24stories.
4:25I'll tell you Okay, can I tell you a
4:26story quickly? Funny story. I I
4:28shouldn't cuz my preach is going long
4:30with anyway.
4:31So, the Lord is speaking to me about
4:33this and I don't want to lay it down.
4:35Cuz it's like it's my whole life. And a
4:36friend of mine is actually in our church
4:38in South Africa
4:40has the same experience with the Lord.
4:42And so, we talking and like we both
4:44saying God telling me to lay down
4:45surfing, but I'm really struggling. It's
4:46like
4:48And uh we went to a prophetic conference
4:50and there was a a guy there who we
4:51didn't know who's prophesying and he
4:52calls my friend out. I was there at the
4:55conference. He calls my friend out and
4:56says this, "The Lord says I'm wrestling
4:59with you in an area. There's an area in
5:00your life of idolatry that you love
5:02something more than me." And I'm like,
5:04"I know exactly what that is cuz we've
5:05been talking about it, surfing." And the
5:07Lord says to you today,
5:10"that I'm going to teach you to lay it
5:11down.
5:12You will stare the jaws of death in the
5:14face twi-
5:16twice.
5:19And then you'll learn
5:21to lay down your idol." Now, the jaws of
5:23death,
5:25I'm like, "Hm?"
5:27A few days later, he's surfing with some
5:29friends of mine.
5:31And a 5-m great white shark
5:35uh in Port Elizabeth.
5:37Okay, so it's 5 m. That's about 6 yd,
5:40huh?
5:4115 ft.
5:43It's a big great white shark.
5:45He's sitting on his board and he sees
5:46this massive thing coming towards him
5:48and he thinks, "What is this thing? It's
5:49so wide." And it knocks his board out
5:52from under him. He puts his arm out to
5:54try and stop it and it opens its mouth
5:56and chomps onto his arm. His arm is in
5:58its mouth. Lifts him up out of the
5:59water. My friends are all there in the
6:01water with him. They see this. He's
6:02trying to hit it with his other arm.
6:05Somehow the shark had bitten something
6:07literally probably minutes or hours
6:09before it had bitten him. And so the
6:10when great whites are breaking teeth,
6:12and what happened it had bitten
6:13something and it broken teeth right
6:15where his arm went in its mouth. And so
6:18when he when it it literally chomped
6:19through this and this but it didn't take
6:21It should have taken his arm off. Grace
6:23of God.
6:27Up down under pulls him under water. He
6:29thinks he's going to drown. Lets him go.
6:31He swims to the surface but now it's
6:33it's hit one of his arteries. So he's
6:34just blood pumping out of him.
6:37When all our Everyone else bails.
6:38They're all Christians. They They got to
6:40the beach as fast as they could. One of
6:41my friends who is a is a Christian too.
6:44I don't know what he was thinking but he
6:45paddled over to try and help this guy.
6:47And he gets smacked by the shark's tail.
6:49He gets nearly concussed.
6:51And then they both now kind of reeling.
6:54One guy is semi-concussed. The other guy
6:55is pumping out of his artery. And they
6:57start paddling for the beach as fast as
6:58they can. All my other friends are on
7:00the beach praying for them. Like, "Lord
7:02Jesus, have mercy. Like, save them." And
7:04they watch this fin pop up out of the
7:06water behind them as they paddling for
7:07the beach. And it starts gunning towards
7:10them. Eventually they see the water
7:11coming off the thing's back and it
7:12lunges for them as they catch a wave.
7:15And they watch it bite and it bites my
7:17friend's leash seven cent or what's that
7:20about? Three three inches behind his
7:22foot. It bites through his He actually
7:24saw the leash. We could see the the the
7:25teeth go in. Dunk. And they cut through.
7:27You can see the little serrations on the
7:28side of the teeth. He surges out of its
7:30mouth, gets to the beach and and lives.
7:36Needless to say, he gave up surfing
7:37instantly.
7:43And I still paddle out a few times, but
7:45every time I sat at the back, I was
7:47like,
7:48"Turn it in.
7:49TURN IT
7:50>> [laughter]
7:52[gasps]
7:53>> AND EVENTUALLY I COULDN'T TAKE IT AND I
7:54LAID IT DOWN. I'm like, "Okay, Lord, I
7:55can't do this. I'm If I die, imagine if
7:58I die surfing, I'm living in rebellion
8:00to God. Like, I don't want to die like
8:01that." And I was like, "Okay, I laid it
8:03and I laid it down." And for many months
8:05I laid it down, but it was my life
8:07priority and the Lord didn't want to
8:09share that. He wanted that gone.
8:12Thankfully, years later he said I could
8:13pick it up again, but it was never my
8:15life. It's something I do for fun now,
8:17but it wasn't my identity.
8:20What is our priority? You know, maybe
8:21your kids. I think moms, you know, we
8:22desperately want kids and then very
8:24quickly our children become our life
8:26identity.
8:27We live our whole world around them. All
8:29of these things become idolatrous.
8:33They reveal really what we love.
8:37And they actually reveal to us if we
8:38really love God.
8:40Because if God isn't your priority,
8:44then something has taken his place.
8:48And before I was full-time serving the
8:50Lord Jesus,
8:51I realized
8:52I needed him to be my life priority. The
8:55Bible tells me that my life is not my
8:57own.
8:58I was bought at a price.
9:00So, my life is his and my purpose and my
9:03zeal is for him. And so, the Bible shows
9:07us very clearly that what we zealous or
9:09devoted to reveals our God. And so, I I
9:12believe it's possible for us to come to
9:13church like I did saying, "Jesus, you're
9:15my everything."
9:17But it's not true.
9:19He's our something.
9:21But he won't settle for that. He wants
9:23to be our everything, the center of our
9:25being.
9:27And so, as we look at history and we
9:29look at, you know, God's people through
9:31history, those that have served him,
9:33those that have walked with him, there
9:34is this common denominator that you see
9:37of those who have walked with God and it
9:38really for me is encapsulated in Psalm
9:4169:6
9:42where King David is speaking and he it's
9:45said of him that zeal for your the God's
9:48house has consumed
9:51me. In other words, there is something
9:54of a zeal for God and for God's house.
9:58And this is something that defines God's
10:00people through the ages. And the
10:02background to this is quite profound and
10:04it's a common again quite a common
10:06theme.
10:07David is actually living quite a blessed
10:09life. He's king of Israel. He's got
10:11pretty much his heart's desire. And uh
10:15he's living in his palace.
10:18God has blessed him. And at one point he
10:20looks to see that that the temple of God
10:24and the temple of God is actually in
10:25tatters. It's not in a good space. And
10:28he starts to ask himself the question,
10:31"How come I'm living blessed
10:33but God's house is struggling?"
10:37God's house isn't what it should be. And
10:39so it says this in 2 Samuel 7:2,
10:42"See now, I dwell in a house of cedar."
10:45This is David speaking to Nathan the
10:47prophet. "But the ark of God lives in a
10:50tent.
10:51How is it that I'm living in a house but
10:54God's house doesn't have a house? He's
10:57living in a tent. There's something
10:59wrong with this picture." And so David
11:01in his love for God starts to realize
11:03that actually the most important thing
11:05is God's house. That zeal for God's
11:07house is what defines those who love
11:10God. And so it makes it it he makes it
11:12his priority to want to build God's
11:15house. And amazingly, and this is a
11:16beautiful picture, it's off my notes,
11:18but amazingly he says, "I want to build
11:21God a house." And and say and actually
11:23Nathan says to him, "You're not going to
11:25build him a house." And you would have
11:27thought David would have thought, "Okay,
11:28great. I'm off the hook. It's It's
11:30generation's problem." But he's so
11:32zealous for God's house that even though
11:34he will never actually build the house,
11:36he starts to pull into his resources,
11:39pull into everything that he has, and
11:41put it aside cuz he thinks even if I'm
11:43not going to build the house, I'm going
11:45to provide everything that I can for
11:47God's house to be built. Even if even if
11:49Solomon, who is his son, will be the one
11:51who who becomes the builder. Solomon
11:53will get the glory, BUT IT DOESN'T
11:54MATTER WHO GETS the glory for David. All
11:57that matters is that God gets a house.
12:02And there's such a lesson for us in
12:03that, you know. We do we do things
12:05sometimes wanting a little taste of the
12:06glory, quite naturally.
12:10But actually the heart of this is it's
12:12about his glory.
12:14And if I'm never seen, doesn't matter to
12:16me. All that matters is that his house
12:19is being built.
12:22And this would be a normal, you know,
12:25zeal for God's house is kind of a normal
12:27thing for someone who loves God.
12:29And and maybe to explain it, I was
12:31thinking of an illustration as I was
12:33preparing this.
12:34I imagine a husband who said he loves
12:36his wife. This is my one sitting over
12:38here. How many years? 30
12:4033 years.
12:42Married.
12:44If I say I love her,
12:47I can say it as much as I want to.
12:49But love is revealed by
12:52devotion. It's revealed by priority. And
12:54to give you an illustration, just we
12:56went through a season, she has kidney
12:58failure. She's now had a transplant, but
13:01her kidneys failed at one point totally.
13:03Like there was nothing left. She was
13:06down at 2% of one kidney, the other was
13:07gone. So she's dying.
13:10And um
13:11what doctors at that time were doing, we
13:14didn't
13:15Long story short, bottom line is she's
13:17living on dialysis, which means every
13:19second day of her life
13:21she goes to a hospital.
13:23They stuck this initially this port in
13:25and basically went down straight into
13:27her heart.
13:28And uh they they pull her blood out of
13:30her, take it through a machine, clean
13:33it, and then put the blood blood back
13:34into her.
13:35And it's a super traumatic process for
13:38anyone who goes through it. Uh your body
13:39goes into a form of shock every time. Uh
13:42and so, you know, she walks out of
13:44dialysis. First she in dialysis she
13:46nearly dies a few times because she got
13:48clots and I mean a clot from there to
13:49there, you're gone.
13:51Uh she bled out a few times nearly with
13:53a you know, I just it was wild. But
13:55every second day of her life, she's
13:58sitting on a machine for how many hours?
14:005 hours.
14:02Sits on a machine as the blood gets
14:04taken and then put back. And then
14:07she comes home after 5 hours of being on
14:09a machine and her energy is at like one
14:11out of 10. She has got nothing left
14:14inside of her.
14:16And so she comes home and she's weak and
14:17sick.
14:19And then her next day she's sort of a
14:20bit stronger. She wakes up feeling kind
14:22of a little bit better.
14:24And we have one semi-good day.
14:26And then the next day
14:28she's back in that cycle. And for 2
14:30years
14:31we were in that cycle. And I say we
14:34because I I
14:36could have done this.
14:38This sucks.
14:40We can't go away.
14:41I I get oxygen. My soul breathes by
14:44getting away.
14:46We could not go away for a weekend for 2
14:47years.
14:48We didn't have a weekend.
14:50She's literally survival mode. So I
14:52don't have a wife for 2 years.
14:55And I could have just done this. Hey
14:56babes, I'm going to go and
15:00But if I did those things, it would have
15:02shown that I actually didn't love her.
15:05And me walking with her through that
15:08process and being in prison with her cuz
15:09it was a prison
15:11actually revealed love.
15:16And this is the same with God.
15:19This is what David's on about.
15:21God, how is it that your house is in
15:23tatters?
15:24How is it that
15:26it's not getting the glory that it
15:28should get? Because you my priority,
15:31what you love is my priority.
15:33And so David makes the house of God his
15:37priority.
15:39And I And I got this little saying, it's
15:40one of mine. Love always notices the
15:42condition of what belongs to the one it
15:44loves.
15:47What's important to the person I love
15:49becomes important to me.
15:51And so here's the thing.
15:53Our devotion here, our our practical
15:55priority, reveals our passion. It
15:57reveals our love.
15:59And so one of the questions that someone
16:02that loves God is going to be asking is,
16:05Lord, what state is your house in right
16:07now in the United States?
16:09What state is your house in right here?
16:12Because people come to see your glory.
16:15And what do they see when they walk in
16:17here?
16:18What do they experience
16:20when they walk in here? The priority of
16:22someone that really loves Jesus cannot
16:24be anything but the love of his church.
16:28It's like when Paul the Apostle was
16:30persecuting Christians and chasing them
16:32town to town, we read in the book of
16:34Acts how he he gets stopped by the Lord.
16:37We all know the story, the blinding
16:38light. He falls off the the donkey that
16:40he's on and the Lord says, "Saul, Saul,
16:43why are you persecuting me?"
16:45And he says, "Lord,
16:47who are you that I'm persecuting?"
16:49You see, by
16:50loving or hurting the church, you hurt
16:54the Lord. By persecuting the church, you
16:57perse-
16:58perse- you persecute the Lord. By loving
17:01and then the converse, by loving the
17:03Lord,
17:04you love
17:06the Lord's
17:07house.
17:11So the question for someone who loves
17:12Jesus is, how is our church doing and
17:14what are we doing to make it more
17:16beautiful for him?
17:17How are the people around me doing? How
17:19are they breaking through? How is God's
17:21mission doing about discipling nations?
17:23Because Jesus said to us, "You here not
17:25to live in America and live the good
17:27life."
17:28Your priority as a Christian is my
17:30house, not your house. So, actually your
17:32priority is make disciples of
17:35nations. This is the great commission.
17:37This is what anyone who loves Jesus
17:39thinks, "This is my priority, nations."
17:41And so again, you look at a conference
17:43and you think is it just a conference
17:44for us? It's not. For us, it's a time of
17:47equipping and training nations as they
17:49come from around the world to be trained
17:51and equipped and we form bridges with
17:53nations that we can go into to go and
17:56effectively make disciples and build
17:59healthy churches.
18:00You know, it's interesting we had two
18:01South Africans ministering today.
18:04Clint came from one of our churches in
18:06South Africa
18:08and and us. Why are we here?
18:10Because California is cool?
18:15Uh California's hard ground.
18:17I thought when I came here I might not
18:18survive it actually cuz the kind of
18:20Christianity we speak about doesn't fit
18:21here.
18:23Doesn't fit here.
18:25It's not wanted here.
18:27But I think it's a Christianity that
18:28Jesus wants here.
18:30So, we were like,
18:32"Okay, if I die there, I die there."
18:35We want to go We want to be obedient.
18:36And here's the thing. I said to him, he
18:38doesn't know I'm saying this. I said to
18:40him, "Clint,
18:42have you got a job? You got income?" No.
18:44I said, "Clint, if you're in trouble,
18:47I'll bring you onto full-time staff cuz
18:48I think he serves unbelievably well."
18:52"If you're in trouble,
18:53I can say that without him biting."
18:56Do you know he hasn't come to me and
18:56said, "Andrew, I need to come onto
18:57full-time staff." which is the longing
18:59of most of us who love Jesus. Do you
19:00know why he hasn't done it?
19:02Because it's not about Clint, it's about
19:04God's house. And if Clint can get a job,
19:07he doesn't want to be a burden on God's
19:09house.
19:11This Am I right?
19:14This is the priority of those who love
19:16the house of God. It's not about my
19:18ministry. It's not about my comfort.
19:20It's about the house of the Lord.
19:23And I hope that right here in the United
19:25States, we see a generation that will
19:27rise up that will live exactly that way.
19:31The people Canadians that are here,
19:33why are they here?
19:35Left Canada to come to the USA.
19:38They didn't come to escape a bad
19:40politician.
19:44Why are they here?
19:47Did you work
19:48last night?
19:50So, he worked last night right through
19:52the night.
19:5312 hours.
19:5512 hours. You work 12 hours.
19:58And he's here. Why?
20:01You work through the night. I mean,
20:02think about this. How's he feeling right
20:03now? I mean, I can guarantee his brain
20:05is like
20:07Why? I'm using these illustrations of
20:10people who are devoted to God's house.
20:15And this is beautiful response that God
20:16gives David. And I think it's something
20:18that I've seen lived out in my own life
20:20and in the life of those that have lived
20:22this way. And it's something that I wish
20:23all of us would experience. Because when
20:26we make it all about God, I could touch
20:28others here. When we make it all about
20:30God, God does something with us.
20:33And so, David says like, "God, I want to
20:35build God's house. I want How is it that
20:37my house is doing so well and God's
20:39house is in tatters?" In fact, I could
20:41go through the
20:42I mean, I'm literally I'm looking at
20:43people who have sacrificed everything.
20:44How How long are you here for?
20:47Two months. Are you getting Are you
20:48getting paid to come here?
20:51She's moved up for two months. What's
20:53she doing?
20:54Serving the church.
20:56Are we paying her? No.
21:02What is it What What is that?
21:05It's zeal for God's house.
21:09And so God says, "David, you want to
21:11build me a house."
21:13And this is what the Lord says in 1
21:14Chronicles 17 verse 10.
21:16"David, you want to build me a house?"
21:19God says this,
21:21"The Lord will build you
21:24a house."
21:25You see, God does this. If the Lord The
21:27Lord says this,
21:29"When you make it about me,
21:31I'll actually make it about you."
21:34When you make it about me,
21:37I will make it about you. I declare to
21:39you that the Lord will build you
21:43a house. And we know that house carries
21:45all the way through Jesus. Jesus is a
21:47son of that house. Our salvation comes
21:50through that house, the house of David.
21:54And God blesses him. Now, there's a
21:56principle here. Uh we're not prosperity
21:58gospel people.
22:01In other words, God God owes us nothing.
22:04You can't make him bless you.
22:07And what what I do won't necessarily
22:08force him to bless me. But that said,
22:11God loves people who love him.
22:14And he responds to people. And so when
22:17his kingdom becomes our priority, he
22:19takes responsibility for our needs. And
22:22here's the thing. How many of you know
22:24it's quite hard to live in the USA,
22:25especially California? It's like It's
22:27like the most expensive I think
22:30Switzerland's worse. I We've got
22:31churches there and I go there and I
22:32think they're a bit more expensive. But
22:33this is probably
22:35I mean, here in New York it's probably
22:37about as bad as it gets financially.
22:40Challenging, isn't it?
22:44I I can try to work this thing out for
22:46myself and worry about myself and how am
22:48I going to get by, or I can keep my
22:50priority about his house. And if I make
22:52it about him, he promises this in
22:54Matthew 6:33. Listen to this. "Seek
22:57first the kingdom of God."
23:00In other words, your priority should
23:03the kingdom of God, and your priority
23:05should be the righteousness of God.
23:08And all of these things What are all of
23:10these things in the context?
23:12Everything we need
23:14God will
23:16provide. It's the same thing that
23:17happens to David. God, I want to build
23:19you a house, and God says, You want to
23:21build me a house?
23:23I'm actually going to bless your house.
23:29This is the principle of the kingdom of
23:31God. It's a way that it works. I was
23:32looking at JP and Diane, just a couple.
23:35Great to see them. I've poured their
23:36life out for the house of God. Many here
23:39today because of them.
23:42And they have made it about God, and God
23:44has made it about
23:46them.
23:48It's It's a principle that I wish every
23:50one of us would experience. To see God
23:52fighting my battles. To see God taking
23:54care of me. To see that I don't have to
23:56worry because I made it about him. And
23:57so God The God of the universe is making
23:59it about me.
24:01And I don't care that he makes it about
24:02me. I'm not doing it because I want it
24:03about me. I just know that he takes care
24:06of his own.
24:09And so one of the lessons we learn is
24:11this priority is is such a beautiful
24:12thing, and it's something we see in
24:14those who actually walk with God. But
24:16then we also see the converse, too. And
24:18I I It's such a beautiful picture as I
24:20was just diving into this in the book of
24:21Haggai, which is one of the books in the
24:23Old Testament.
24:25Um it is a a book that has so many
24:27lessons for us in the New Testament.
24:30And the background to the book of
24:31Haggai. Haggai is written I can tell you
24:33the day that this was written. It's
24:34quite cool that this is written
24:36on the 29th of August, 520 BC.
24:42The actual day that what we are going to
24:44read just now was written. Haggai gets a
24:45download. He tells us exactly the day in
24:48the Bible. If you put it into our
24:50calendar, that's the day that he got
24:51that.
24:5229th of August, 520 BC. And the
24:54background to this book
24:56is Israel
24:58and Judah, Judah in this case, have been
25:00taken into captivity in 586
25:03by
25:05the Assyrian-Babylonian Empire.
25:07They've been taken as slaves. And the
25:10city that they come from, I don't want
25:11you to imagine this.
25:12They lived let's say in Jerusalem, the
25:14city they lived in had been sacked by
25:17the Babylonians. What When I mean
25:18sacked, I mean the temple had been torn
25:20to the ground, the walls around the city
25:23had been torn to the ground, and every
25:25single house in that city had been torn
25:28to the ground and burned that there was
25:30nothing left. And so for 70, 7 0 years,
25:35they were in captivity as a nation.
25:37Their their country was in pieces. They
25:39had lost everything because of rebellion
25:41to God.
25:42And finally God says to them, "I can I'm
25:45taking you back." There's repentance and
25:47he says, "I'm letting you go back." And
25:48and and they come back, and when they
25:50come back to their city, it's like a
25:52nuclear bomb landed on San Clemente.
25:55It's like there is nothing.
25:57There is nothing. There is no building.
25:59There is no house. There is nothing.
26:01Everything for 70 years it's just been
26:04absolutely demolished and destroyed.
26:07And so when you come back like that from
26:09sl- from being in slavery effectively,
26:11you got to understand you're thinking
26:12about what?
26:14What's your priority?
26:16Man, I need a roof over my head.
26:19I need to I need to get work. I need to
26:21try and plow the fields cuz we're going
26:22to die. Like we have nothing. We come
26:25from slavery for 70 years. We have
26:27nothing. And so you got to understand
26:29people are really concerned about their
26:30needs. Would you would you would you not
26:32feel the same?
26:34I mean they'll be like, "Lord, we've
26:36come from slavery. Like for goodness
26:38sake, we've got nothing. Like we
26:40we've got to rebuild our houses. We've
26:41got to rebuild the city. We have no
26:43walls. We have no defense. We're in
26:45we're very vulnerable right now, God."
26:47And these are the people of God. But
26:49amazingly, the first thing they do, the
26:51first thing they do, is they build an
26:53altar.
26:55A place that they can sacrifice to God.
26:58And even the few animals that they have,
27:01they start to offer to him as a
27:03sacrifice. Which is amazing devotion,
27:05actually. They've got so little and
27:08they're giving what they have to him.
27:10But Haggai arises up soon after this and
27:13he begins to speak after they've Cuz
27:15what's happened is they started really
27:16well, but then they needed houses and so
27:19they started building their houses and
27:21farming their fields and growing their
27:22crops and trying to just make a living,
27:25trying to make it work. And so the whole
27:27book of Haggai is rebuking them
27:31because they started really well, but
27:34they got sidetracked on the way. And so
27:38what effectively happens is they've
27:40forgotten the fact that they might have
27:41built an altar for God and they have
27:44sacrificed animals and they are
27:45worshipping,
27:47but they haven't rebuilt the temple.
27:50They haven't actually made sure that
27:53everything is the way God wants it to
27:55be. And I need you to realize this, they
27:57were worshipping.
27:59They were offering animals on that
28:01altar. And God says this in Haggai 1:2.
28:04Listen to the language of God.
28:06"Thus says the Lord of hosts." This is
28:08God speaking to them. "These people say
28:11the time has not yet come to rebuild the
28:14house of the Lord." This is the gist of
28:18this whole message.
28:21And and and there's a few quite pointed
28:23things in how God speaks here. The first
28:25thing is he says,
28:27"These people," not my people.
28:32That's not by accident.
28:34He he normally speaks of them as my
28:36people. Even when they're rebellious, he
28:37calls them my people.
28:39But now he says, "These people."
28:42It's almost as though he's like, "I
28:43don't even know if they're mine."
28:47And then
28:50the time we not we can't prioritize but
28:53God says our house is a mess. How can we
28:55worry about God's house?
28:58And so
28:59and then he says in Haggai 1:4, is it a
29:01time for yourselves to dwell in your
29:03paneled houses
29:05while this house lies in ruins?
29:09What he's effectively saying to them is
29:10this.
29:12You started well but your priorities got
29:14sidetracked. You made it about your
29:16comfort. You made it about you and you
29:19forgot it was about me.
29:21And so instead of worrying about my
29:23house
29:25you're living in the comfort of your own
29:26houses. You're living for what's nice
29:28for you and you've forgotten that I'm
29:31the Lord God amongst you.
29:34You're supposed to make it about me.
29:36Does this make sense?
29:39You see our actions reveal our
29:40priorities.
29:42You can start really well
29:44and you can get sidetracked. And I would
29:45say this,
29:46they were worshipping.
29:48They were offering sacrifices. They were
29:50doing religious things.
29:54But their priority wasn't his house. And
29:57I wonder how much of California
29:59God loves worship events.
30:02Loves religious things.
30:04But life priority is not the house of
30:07God.
30:09We float around wherever the glory cloud
30:11is.
30:13We go wherever the best teacher is. We
30:15We We hunting around but the priority is
30:17selfish. It's not actually about the
30:19house of God. It's about our own
30:21betterment, our own comfort, our own
30:23edification.
30:25And this is idolatry.
30:27Because it's not about us, it's about
30:29the house of the Lord.
30:31Does this make sense?
30:33I just like a silence. I don't know if
30:34it's cuz it's not going in or because
30:36people are not liking what's going in. I
30:38I don't know which it is, yeah.
30:41>> [laughter]
30:44>> You must remember this. The Bible tells
30:45us that these things were written down
30:46to teach us.
30:48So that we can learn from them. I want
30:49to learn from these guys. I want to keep
30:51it about him
30:52and not make it about me.
30:55So our priorities reveal what really
30:56matters. Jesus said this very clearly in
30:58in Matthew 6:21. Now listen to this. For
31:01where your treasure is, there your heart
31:04also will be. In other words,
31:08what I love is where what I
31:11is where my devotion goes.
31:15So what do you love?
31:17What are you What are you living a week
31:18around? What are you living a life
31:19around? In Matthew 15:8-9,
31:22Jesus says, "These people honor me with
31:24their lips.
31:25We love you, Jesus. You're so amazing.
31:28Thank you for your goodness. But their
31:29hearts are far from me," he says.
31:32"They worship me in vain."
31:34And so here's again, he's actually
31:35saying their worship is not actually
31:37pleasing to him, New Testament, because
31:40their heart priority isn't right.
31:43And so God speaks to Haggai. In Haggai
31:451:5-8, God starts to speak to his people
31:48and he's trying to reason with them.
31:49He's trying to help them understand that
31:51what they're doing isn't wise. It's not
31:54It's not going to give them the blessing
31:55that they want. And so he says this.
31:57"Now therefore says the Lord of hosts,
31:59consider your ways." And I love this
32:01about God. Like, come on, think. You're
32:02not thinking this through, is what he
32:04says to them. "You have sown much,
32:07but you've actually harvested little.
32:09I mean, you've worked really hard to get
32:11the blessing, but have you noticed it
32:13hasn't come to you?
32:15You eat, but you never have enough. You
32:18drink, but never have your fill. You
32:20clothe yourselves, but no one is warm.
32:23And he earns wages that are so to put
32:25them into a bag with holes. It feels
32:27like I'm just never getting through. It
32:29feels like I'm never getting my
32:30breakthrough. It feels like I just can't
32:32seem to get my head out of this hole."
32:36"Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider
32:38your ways. Go up to the hill
32:40and bring wood and build my house that I
32:43may take pleasure in it and that I may
32:45be glorified, says the Lord. He says,
32:47"Your priorities are wrong.
32:49If you make it about my house,
32:51you'll find I provide.
32:54I reward.
32:56I bless.
32:57But if you make it about your house,
33:00you're never going to have what you
33:01want."
33:02It's that classic scripture where Jesus
33:04said, "If you want to find your life,
33:05what must you do?"
33:07Lose it. But if you try and find your
33:08life, you're going to lose it. It's this
33:11classic concept that is right through
33:13the Bible. And so, these guys are kind
33:15of working and wondering, "When am I
33:16going to get my breakthrough?" He's
33:17like, "If you make it about my house,
33:19I'll give you the breakthrough."
33:23It's like a father teaching priorities
33:24to a child. It's like literally that.
33:26It's like what a dad does. When your
33:27child starts doing things well, what do
33:28you do?
33:30You reward them. And when a child is
33:31naughty, do you reward them?
33:35No. So, do you think God would not do
33:37the same? Like, when you when when we're
33:39getting it wrong, what do you think
33:40he'll do? Well, he disciplines whom he
33:43loves. Why? Because we are sons. So, the
33:45Father wants to teach us his ways. He
33:47wants to teach us to walk like Jesus.
33:49And how did Jesus walk?
33:52Zeal for our Father's house CONSUMED ME.
33:55And so, he's trying to make us like our
33:57big brother Jesus.
34:00And I I was thinking last week, I think
34:01was it Father's Day last week?
34:04It was so cool. Michelle is not here. I
34:05don't know where she is today. Does
34:07England. Oh, yes.
34:10She's in England.
34:12It was so cool. We had four people up
34:13here that were sharing uh fathers and
34:15then she was a daughter of a father. And
34:17she kept saying something in the
34:19interview, which was so illuminating.
34:21I watched my father make it all about
34:24God's house.
34:25I grew up in that.
34:27And so, for me, it's all about God's
34:29house.
34:30Do Do you know one of the challenges we
34:31face in California
34:34is especially when you have kids, man,
34:36we can make it all about what are the
34:38pressures of parents with kids? What
34:40What do we What can we make it about?
34:42Sport?
34:46Them?
34:48Oh, you realize that if we make it about
34:50them, we teach my daughter tree.
34:53We teach them it's it's it's it's It
34:55needs to be said, it's not about you at
34:57all. It's about him.
35:00But if we make it about them, we teach
35:02them to be idolaters.
35:04They grow up with a selfish thing of the
35:05world revolves around me because my
35:07folks revolve around me. And I want to
35:09say as a parent, you do not revolve
35:10around your child. You teach your child
35:12to revolve around God, even if it costs,
35:15even if it's sacrificial. You teach them
35:17that he is God and he's worthy of their
35:19life. And if you live that way and teach
35:21them that thing, they grow up to have an
35:23understanding of Well, he's God and he's
35:25worthy of my life versus it's all about
35:27me.
35:29Jesus,
35:31and all this is for me, for my glory and
35:34my fame. It's not about you.
35:39As if you should do things as if I
35:41should do things your way.
35:43I alone am God.
35:46And you surrender
35:48to my ways.
35:52That is Christianity in our culture.
35:58We need to repent as a people
36:01and make it about him.
36:03I remember just you know, talking about
36:05God's house,
36:07what what what would the price be to
36:09make it about and keep it about God's
36:10house? And again, I don't want to boast,
36:12but we we we do our lives are
36:15we we we can only take you where we've
36:17gone.
36:18As as leaders, we can only bring you
36:19into what we've lived in. So, these are
36:21not boasts. These are just like follow
36:23me as I follow Christ. That's what I'm
36:26trying to do here. But I remember when
36:27we were going to plant our church in
36:29South Africa and there's a lot of new
36:30folk who haven't heard some of this.
36:3310 days before we went
36:35two weeks before we went, my wife got an
36:37obstruction.
36:39And at that time she still had 20% of
36:42one kidney as before it all failed.
36:44And so
36:45and so what happened was a bit longer
36:47was a bit of a fight. Yeah, a month
36:48before we got an obstruction in her
36:51basically your
36:52kidney has got this this little pipe
36:54that goes into your bladder. She doesn't
36:56have a bladder she has a bag.
36:59But that pipe got blocked inside of her.
37:01And so they were doing operation after
37:03operation. This is a month before we
37:04going to go and trying to unblock this
37:06pipe. And no matter what they do her
37:08body's rejecting it and she's getting
37:10sicker and sicker. I remember once at
37:11one point she starts getting infection
37:14her lungs started to fill with urine.
37:18And so effectively she starts to drown
37:21in her own urine.
37:23She's got an infection because when you
37:25got urine in your lungs you got to
37:26understand your body doesn't know what
37:27to do with it. So she's raging
37:29infections. I remember the doctors to
37:31save her life stuck a pipe about as
37:33thick as my finger without anesthetic
37:35while she was awake pushed it on her
37:37ribs and literally rammed it through her
37:40through her rib cage into her lung so
37:42that her lung would start to pour out
37:44all that I remember just
37:46urine just pouring out of her lung into
37:48this bag cuz they're trying to save her
37:49life. This is a month before we plant
37:51our church. That carries on until 10
37:53days before we plant our church. We
37:55still fighting for her life and we're
37:56about to go and plant a church.
38:00She goes into the operation the doctor
38:01says to us
38:02because of you very complicated
38:04physically this has never actually been
38:06done. We're going to try something
38:07that's never been done before.
38:09We don't know if you're going to wake up
38:11out of the operation.
38:12Best case scenario you're going to wake
38:14up in ICU.
38:15There's a very good chance you'll never
38:17come out of this operation you'll die on
38:19the operating table. Who wants to go
38:20into that operation?
38:2210 days before we plant our church.
38:25God,
38:27what are you doing?
38:28>> [clears throat]
38:29>> She goes in. It's supposed to be a three
38:32or four hour op. I think it was eight or
38:34nine hours. No one's telling me what's
38:36going on. They wouldn't let me in the
38:37I think she's died. I'm sitting in the
38:39waiting period. I'm trying to find out
38:40what's going on what what's happened. No
38:42one's telling me I think she's died.
38:44Finally, after I think about
38:47I don't know how many hours, 11 hours or
38:48something stupid. It was long. They
38:50wheel her into the ICU.
38:53Into the A miracle, normal ward is a
38:55miracle, into the normal ward. It's
38:56supposed to be best case scenario, ICU.
38:59And she survives the operation. They
39:01stitched her. They cut her from here
39:03to here. And they opened her up this
39:05way.
39:07Okay?
39:09So, she's stitched. She's got these
39:10massive stitches. I mean, you look at
39:11her, she looks like um physically, she
39:13she looks like what like
39:15like a road map. Yeah, she's got more
39:18scars and uh
39:20And uh
39:21this is not 10 days before we're going
39:22to plant our church.
39:24And one of the guys in our leadership
39:26team says to us, "I don't know if you
39:28should go because the the price of going
39:30will probably kill Emcee."
39:32Do you know what our response was?
39:34Both of our response?
39:37If Emcee dies, how do we not make it all
39:40about Jesus?
39:42How do we not make it all about God?
39:45God's house is our priority.
39:48It gets worse.
39:50We don't have money to move to this new
39:52area we're going to plant our church.
39:54The church was sending me with six
39:55months salary, but they didn't help me
39:57to move. And it cost a lot of money to
39:59move from from eight hours It's an eight
40:01hour drive. So, we end up having to pack
40:04everything ourselves. So, she comes out
40:06of the operating room, and we get a few
40:07friends coming around, and we start
40:09packing our house onto two trailers. And
40:11while she's packing, she strains, and
40:13she split she pops herself open.
40:15Literally pops herself open. It was a
40:17part of it here, but I remember I could
40:19see right into her stomach. Like, she
40:21had to hold herself closed. So, now
40:23she's packing with one hand and holding
40:25herself closed with the other hand so
40:27that we can move
40:29to Cape Town to plant a church.
40:36>> [laughter]
40:38>> We made it about him.
40:40It's always been about him.
40:42It's always been about his house.
40:45Cuz zeal for his house is what we live
40:46for.
40:48And you know what?
40:50Here we are.
40:51All these years later.
40:54Here's our daughter, miracle child.
40:56>> [applause]
41:00>> Doctors said MC would be dead every year
41:03of her life when she was young. You'd be
41:04dead within a year.
41:07She's 57.
41:10And we're still going. She got this Her
41:12theme song is "Ha, ha, ha. Ha, stay
41:15alive. STAY ALIVE."
41:17>> [laughter]
41:19>> AGAIN,
41:20I WE settled it God we might die on this
41:22journey. We settled it she might not
41:23make it.
41:25But what is that to us?
41:27What is that to us?
41:29Because it's not about us. It's about
41:31our Father's house.
41:33He's done so much for us. He's revealed
41:35his love to us. How can we make it about
41:37ourselves?
41:40Jesus was consumed
41:42with God's house. John 2:17, the
41:45disciples say they reminded what it said
41:47of Jesus, "Zeal for your house has
41:50consumed me." So, here's the thing.
41:53This is probably one of the great
41:54indicators of are you actually in Jesus?
41:57Because if Jesus is in you, living in
42:00you by faith,
42:02and he was
42:03zealous for God's house,
42:07surely his spirit's in you, you're going
42:09to feel the same.
42:12Does this make sense? In other words, if
42:15I'm in Christ, the things that he loves
42:17will become things that I love because
42:20he's in me.
42:22Here's your indicator, 1 John 2:6.
42:24Those who say they live in God
42:26should live their lives as
42:29Jesus did. Are you in Jesus, really?
42:33When God says these people are my
42:35people, which is it?
42:37Worship
42:39versus devotion.
42:41God's looking for devotion.
42:43>> [snorts]
42:44>> Paul the Apostle in Colossians 1:29, "To
42:46this end I strenuously contend with all
42:49the energy of Christ so powerfully
42:51working in me." What is that? It's
42:53exactly what I've just said. Paul the
42:54Apostle is zealous for the house of God,
42:56right? And what does Paul say to us?
42:59Imitate
43:01me as I imitate Christ. So, Paul's
43:04telling us how Christians should live.
43:06Zeal for the Father's house consumed
43:09this man. It It It was all he lived for.
43:11It was all he eventually died for it.
43:15It's seen in the early church in Acts
43:162:42, "And they devoted themselves to
43:19the apostles' teaching and to the
43:22fellowship." They were devoted to the
43:25house of God. It wasn't like, "I'm going
43:26to float around finding the next little
43:27worship worth that's cool."
43:31It's a devotion to build a house of God,
43:33to build people, to be joined together
43:35as as members of a body, to love one
43:37another as he's loved us, to become part
43:39of a community that expresses the love
43:41of God, to work together as one man to
43:44disciple this region and the regions
43:46beyond. When we plant churches, we're
43:48all involved. WE'RE HERE FOR THE HOUSE
43:50OF GOD. I'm not here because I like your
43:52preaching, Andrew. I'm here because my
43:54life is committed and devoted to
43:59his house.
44:00THIS IS CHRISTIANITY 101. That's the
44:02Christianity you read about in your
44:03Bible.
44:06What we have is something else.
44:11Epaphras, one of Paul's workers,
44:13Colossians 4:13-15, this is just over
44:15and over again. For I bear him witness
44:17that he has a great zeal for you and
44:19those who are in Laodicea and those in
44:21Hierapolis. What what are we seeing over
44:23and over again? Zeal for the house,
44:27zeal for the church, zeal for the
44:30nations to see the glory of God through
44:32the vehicle of the church. We are given,
44:34we are devoted, it's all about his
44:36house.
44:38Seek ye first his kingdom and he says,
44:41"I'll look after YOUR NEEDS. I'LL BE
44:43WITH you till the end of the age. You
44:44make it about me and I'm going to walk
44:46with you right through this. You'll see
44:48miracles. You'll see signs and wonders.
44:50You'll see the hand of your great God
44:52come in and save you because I am the
44:54God, if you make it about me, I will
44:56protect you."
45:00In 1 Samuel 2:30, listen to this. "Those
45:02who honor me," he says,
45:04"I will honor."
45:06Isn't that profound?
45:08In other words, God can actually honor
45:09some of us. God can say, "You made it
45:11all about me,
45:14if you seek honor, what's he going to
45:16do?
45:18He's going to take it away from you.
45:21But if you seek his honor, what does he
45:23do?
45:25No, I'm going to honor you."
45:301 Chronicles 17:10, I love that. The
45:31Lord will build you a house. How many of
45:33you want your kids growing up serving
45:35Jesus?
45:36How many of you want to walk in in in in
45:38in something of the favor and the
45:39blessing of God? How many of you want a
45:41legacy behind you that when you die,
45:43people actually go, "This person
45:44impacted my life in such a powerful way
45:47for the glory of my God. I came to know
45:49him. I came to love him through them."
45:51How many of you when you die actually
45:52want the church to be weeping? Like you
45:53look at Dorcas who we're
45:55speaking about earlier, this woman who's
45:57just poured her life out for the church
45:58and the church weeps when she dies and
46:00begs God, "Give her back to us, God. We
46:02need him more than you do."
46:05versus you're a number in some big
46:07thing.
46:12So, here's the thing.
46:13When you make it about him,
46:17he looks after us.
46:20And he cares for us. And so, I feel like
46:22in some ways, like the Lord is kind of
46:24inviting us actually on this kind of
46:26like, "Hey,
46:28Hagar,
46:29started well.
46:32We're not done yet, are we?
46:34Do you know when you're done? Do you
46:35know that Christians don't retire? You
46:37might retire at secular work, but you
46:39never retire from serving Jesus. In
46:40fact, I would say the older you get, the
46:42more gnarly you should be serving
46:43because you're you're coming to the end.
46:46The road is you're running out of
46:47runway.
46:48You're going to stand in front of him
46:49soon, you know it. Young people don't
46:51realize it, you know it's coming. How
46:52many of you there already? I know my end
46:53is close. I'm going out in a blaze of
46:56glory. I remember we had one 90-year-old
46:58lady
46:59who's just like, "Man, I'm not slowing
47:01down for any young person. You got to
47:03keep up with me." And I remember one of
47:04our conferences in wild worship. I think
47:06she was 92 at this one. 92 years of age.
47:09We were wild praise, wild worship. We
47:12were seeing what God had done, and we
47:13were just rejoicing and dancing. At one
47:15point, she comes up on the stage at 92
47:18years of age and stage dives.
47:22And young people caught her, AND EVERY
47:24YOUNG PERSON in that church, and we know
47:25she's devoted to God. She traveled to
47:27the nations. She was in Europe with us
47:29to help save the church at 92 years old.
47:32And every young person at conference
47:33looked at Auntie Peggy, she was known
47:35all over the world, and said, "When I'm
47:3792, I'm going to be just like Auntie
47:39Peggy. I'm going out in a blaze of
47:41glory."
47:43Because for her, it was all about the
47:44Father's house. It was all about God.
47:47And so, God's inviting us on this
47:49journey and saying, "If you just If you
47:51look after my house, if you look at my
47:53house, is it where it should be? Step
47:55up.
47:56Serve. Pour your life out. Make it about
47:59his house
48:01and he will look after you.
48:03And and I'm not saying this in a selfish
48:05way. If I'm saying this in a selfish
48:06way, then God's going to sort me out.
48:10I would have stayed where the glory was.
48:12I just I don't forget the church I lead
48:13is it's now over 10,000 people.
48:17Look at this. I've been here 2 years.
48:19I could go back now.
48:22Why am I still here?
48:24This is hard work.
48:26South Africa I go baa baa black sheep if
48:28you want to accept Jesus I'll have 30
48:29people get saved cuz there's so much
48:30momentum.
48:33Yeah, I'm fighting for every inch of
48:35ground in your hearts. Every inch of
48:37ground we're fighting for.
48:39My South African accent gets in the way
48:41and people are like come on.
48:43Zeal for the house.
48:45Zeal for the father's house consumed
48:47him.
48:48God, if I die here
48:50I want to give you glory.
48:54And I believe God is trying to raise up
48:55a people who will do exactly the same
48:57and say, "If we die here, we want to
49:00give you glory." And so I want to invite
49:02you to dive in, man. Stop sitting on the
49:05outside. Stop watching. Dive in. You've
49:07got one life. Don't waste it. Don't be
49:08an oxygen thief. You know what an oxygen
49:10thief is?
49:11You're sucking good oxygen that someone
49:12else could use to save Jesus.
49:17Pour your life out, man. You've got one
49:18of it. It's running out quick.
49:21Let's make it all about him that we
49:22would be known as a people zeal for his
49:25house consumes us because he lives in
49:28us.

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