1 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:06,840 You've tuned in to a mega church. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,600 We are people hungry to encounter God through worship 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,040 and His Word being witnesses to the world around us. 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,080 We pray this teaching blesses you and trust God will reveal 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:16,600 Himself to you in a new way today. 6 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,760 And if you need prayer for healing or breakthrough what to 7 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,960 find out more about Omega, get to our website or Facebook page 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:34,000 through the links below. And so we are living in a time 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:40,600 where we need to dig in a little deeper to raise our vision the 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,360 the Scripture finished then on the sentence with you, Lord is 11 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:51,080 unfailing Love and power belongs to God. 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,600 And so we need an increase in power and we need with it an 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,000 increase in love because you have the power. 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,120 With no love, it's harsh or dominating. 15 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,880 We need to see the vision of how we can have the power and the 16 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,080 love combined. I want to look at that scripture 17 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,320 we've just read a little bit, and I think it's an actual 5 18 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:21,720 sections. It's written by King David, and 19 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,960 it's probably not that. He's told me, written at a time 20 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:33,000 when he was in hiding, his son Epsilon was looking for him to 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,800 kill him, the son to kill the father. 22 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,760 The son had stolen the King's, if you like, power to reign the 23 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:45,040 Kingdom of David. And so David was a refugee 24 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,800 looking for somewhere to have refuge. 25 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,080 And so David's crying out. But before he does that, he 26 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:58,400 makes a declaration. I believe that this is a, a 27 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,520 weapon that we need to understand. 28 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:06,240 We need to declare everyday who is our source and where is our 29 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,919 refuge? And so he makes a declaration. 30 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,880 Truly, my soul finds rest in God. 31 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,800 My salvation comes from him. Here's my rock and my salvation, 32 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,600 my fortress. I will never be shaken. 33 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,760 But look at the circumstances. He's hiding in rocks and in the 34 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:26,440 desert. People are after him to kill 35 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,320 him. How can he say that? 36 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,800 In the natural his world has never been worse, but in the 37 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,480 supernatural he's declaring what's going to happen. 38 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,560 And it did happen because he was restored to his Kingdom. 39 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,240 But in the moment it seemed hopeless. 40 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:47,840 But that's no problem for God, eh? 41 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,360 Our God is a miracle working God. 42 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,080 And then he speaks a little bit about how threatened he feels 43 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,120 and unsafe his situation is. So he owns his feelings. 44 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,280 He, if you like, unloads on to God what's going on. 45 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,880 Then he goes on to say, yes, my soul will find rest in God. 46 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,080 My hope comes from him. Here's my rock and my salvation, 47 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,040 my fortress. He amplifies that. 48 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,480 That is where his identity is on his own. 49 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,120 It's too hard with God and the word is fortress that comes 50 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,080 through. He is protected and he talks 51 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:31,440 about other people who who are getting ahead or making progress 52 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,560 or those people who who are nice to your face and stab you in the 53 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,080 back when they're away. Those situations. 54 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,320 He acknowledges that life sometimes is really harsh and it 55 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,720 may seem other people are getting an advantage, but not to 56 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,800 focus on it. It's temporary. 57 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,000 They will not last. They will not stand. 58 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,280 I do remember hearing something about a man who's a multi 59 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,080 millionaire who's just died recently, I won't name him. 60 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,600 And a reporter went to his house and he had a mansion and one of 61 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,720 his comments was what a beautiful house and garden you 62 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,400 have here. And he said his name. 63 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,200 And the man says, really? I just look around and see 64 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:22,280 weeds. He had wealth, he had status, he 65 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,840 had success, but he wasn't happy. 66 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,960 He had no peace. It's interesting that my son's 67 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,040 actually met him and talked to him and he was a pretty angry 68 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,760 man. His money did not bring him 69 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,840 peace. It did not bring him, if you 70 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:43,760 like, success in his heart. But then David goes on to say 71 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,240 one thing. I've spoken so one thing God has 72 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,520 spoken and power and love comes through. 73 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:57,560 So the power of God will overcome evil, and the love of 74 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,640 God will overcome all hate and rejection. 75 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:07,080 And so he's again declaring at the end of his Psalm, like it 76 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:13,240 was at the start, that his trust is in the Lord, and his success 77 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,880 or his peace comes from God only, not from his own strength. 78 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,000 I want to share something briefly because you can read it 79 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,040 the other way. You reward everyone according to 80 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,240 what they have done. And you can look at that and 81 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,520 think, well, you know, we've done some bad things, so we're 82 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:37,040 going to get our due reward. No, for the good you have done, 83 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:39,960 you will have an eternal reward in heaven. 84 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,560 Don't look at the negative for the things that you've done to 85 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,880 help other people. You will be rewarded. 86 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,440 You may not be rewarded in this life, but you may. 87 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:55,200 But you certainly will have the warm embrace from your Heavenly 88 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,280 Father when you get there, eh? There is something waiting. 89 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,760 The reward is being stacked up, a credit to your account. 90 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,920 Do not discount it. Is that exciting? 91 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:11,880 I thought it might be great. I want us to share this verse 92 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,800 together. And again, as David did, we are 93 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,560 making a declaration. We are speaking out loud into 94 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:24,040 the spiritual realm where our help comes from together. 95 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,640 It's from Psalm 9, verses 9 and 10. 96 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:32,440 We'll say it together. The Lord is a shelter for the 97 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,520 oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 98 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:41,640 Those who know your name trust in you for you. 99 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:46,600 O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you. 100 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:48,560 Are you people who are searching for God? 101 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:50,840 Am I talking to the right people? 102 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,040 Yes, you are the people who are searching for God. 103 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,720 In the reading that Owen read, what is the theme or the 104 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,640 buzzwords that kept coming up? People, what did you hear 105 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:05,000 repeated in that Psalm? I know we haven't got it on the 106 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,680 screen, so you can't read it. What? 107 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,800 Do you remember, Owen? What was for you? 108 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:11,760 Trust in God. Yep. 109 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:17,440 Keep going. Refuge. 110 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:23,520 Give that man a chocolate. What else? 111 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:27,920 Hope. Yes. 112 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,440 Waiting. Waiting. 113 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:32,000 Yes. Expectation. 114 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,720 There's expectation there, yeah. So there's a lot of imagery in 115 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:47,440 Scripture, like a fortress. And so we have this defensive 116 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,200 thing that cannot be penetrated, but we sometimes feel under 117 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,960 threat from the world. But actually we have a fortress. 118 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:02,440 In the first song, it's said about our Lord being a high 119 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,360 tower. Do you remember that? 120 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,240 That line? And it was a place of security 121 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,440 where we cannot be, if you like, attacked or brought down. 122 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,360 So the next slide. But every time I nod, it's to 123 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,160 turn the slide over. Yeah. 124 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,360 So where do we go? And trouble looms. 125 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:31,920 What is our default position? What do we instantly go to, to, 126 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,480 if you like, comfort ourselves or to sort it out? 127 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,559 Do we go to the word of God and act on what it says, even though 128 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,960 it may not make sense to our natural minds? 129 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,080 Or do we sort it out ourselves, use our intellect, and make 130 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,600 something happen? There's a reminder in Amos 37. 131 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,640 The Lord will give us prophetic leading. 132 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,160 And so there will be answers in multiple ways for every problem 133 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:05,840 that we will have. Now I ask someone if they heard 134 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:11,200 of Pella and Masara, and the person who I won't name, said it 135 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,960 sounded like a menu for a Mexican restaurant. 136 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:19,640 Pella Masara. But there is a person in the 137 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,720 room who has been to Masada, so you can talk to David afterwards 138 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:25,280 about that because I have not been there. 139 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,360 And so it's a very good comparison because they're both 140 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,800 ruins now. There was a city called Pella 141 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,400 which is on the left, and that's the temple that's left. 142 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,400 You can go and see the temple in Pella or you can go to this very 143 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:51,240 tall fortress called Masada. And so, yeah, that is the 144 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,960 options we have. And so Pella is interesting was 145 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,560 actually over the Jordan River, what we call Jordan today. 146 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:05,160 And it was a it became a city of refuge for the new Christian 147 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:11,440 Church that that followed Jesus. And so I won't read it, but we 148 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,880 have this information from Jesus, from Jewish historical 149 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,560 books and Diaries. So these are the events not in 150 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:22,200 Scripture specifically, but are recorded. 151 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,360 And so when these people who were in Pella came back to 152 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,720 Jerusalem, they were on fire for God and they could do miraculous 153 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,760 signs. And God had taken them out of a 154 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,960 situation that they could have been in, protected them in a 155 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:45,640 refuge, and had equipped them to come back and minister to the 156 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:51,880 people. And So what had happened was it 157 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,640 was foretold by Jesus that the city of Jerusalem would be 158 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:02,920 destroyed. And so in 66AD an Angel spoke to 159 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,680 the people, the believing church in Jerusalem. 160 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:10,720 Get out now before the Roman army comes and sacks the city. 161 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,880 And so they left their homes and everything about their life to 162 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,840 go to this place called Pella, because it was for them a city 163 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,480 of refuge. And so when the people were 164 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,880 murdered by the Romans and taken captive and slave, the city was 165 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,800 destroyed. They, the remnant was protected. 166 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,840 That's what God does. He protects the remnant. 167 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,400 Are we the remnant? Yes, we are. 168 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:44,560 That's the pattern that God does. 169 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:50,520 He takes us out of danger. And so they were told to flee, 170 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:57,280 and they did. And they then came back to 171 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:03,960 safety once the danger was over. And you compare that to Masada. 172 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,960 And Masada was built by King Herod a few years before Jesus 173 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,800 was born. And he had it as a fortress, a 174 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,800 place you could retreat to because it was impregnable, if 175 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:17,280 that's the word. In other words, you can't 176 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,120 capture it. It's on a hill, like a very big 177 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,320 hill. And so they had all the food and 178 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,600 water fortifications. You could not get there. 179 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:32,560 It was a safe place. It was the, if you like, the 180 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:38,000 king of the times idea that he could protect himself without 181 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,320 God. And so he built this fortress on 182 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,920 top of this hill, which was actually in Israel. 183 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,240 There's lots of pictures of it, probably better than that 184 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,720 picture that you see now. But there was lots of buildings 185 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,920 and fortifications ready to be used. 186 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,400 And it was a safe place in the natural wells. 187 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:02,600 See that They dug into the ground, Yep. 188 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,360 They had their own wells, own water, Yep. 189 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,040 So they were able to live there for a long time and be 190 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:15,840 self-contained. And so 960, I would call them 191 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,200 Zealots. I'm not sure what they were, but 192 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:24,920 these were the people who went to Masada in 74AD and they went 193 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,120 there to protect themselves from the Romans. 194 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:36,040 And so the Romans laid siege to it, which lasted maybe up to 195 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:41,440 seven months, I'm not sure. And so the Romans built a ramp 196 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:46,280 which cost them a lot of men probably to climb and to invade 197 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,200 the fortress, which they eventually did. 198 00:13:59,630 --> 00:14:02,510 So on the picture you can see a a structure that's been built 199 00:14:03,070 --> 00:14:05,990 that the Roman Jews. But this is the sad part. 200 00:14:07,630 --> 00:14:12,670 There were 960 people who were in the natural fighting the 201 00:14:12,670 --> 00:14:16,470 Romans and who were resistant to the Roman rule. 202 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:22,440 When the Romans entered the fortress of Masala, they'd all 203 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:28,080 committed suicide. They'd killed themselves because 204 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,640 they were not going to be captured by the Romans. 205 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,000 They were not going to be tortured, treated as slaves. 206 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,760 And to defeat the Romans, they, they killed themselves and the 207 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,000 Romans walked into this slaughter field. 208 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:51,920 Now if you compare Palla to Masada, one listened to God, 209 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,160 followed the warning and was covenanted, covenanted 210 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:02,480 themselves to the spirit of life and they had victory. 211 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,200 The other side used their own ideas and strength and they 212 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,080 coveted themselves with the spirit of death. 213 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:20,280 When we do it our way, maybe it is prophetic for the future. 214 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:25,360 Absolutely. So one was a true refuge where 215 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:31,640 they were protected, they were sheltered, they were safe, and 216 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,720 the other was a man made refuge that crumbled. 217 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,400 Do we run to Palla or Masada for our refuge? 218 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,880 Do we run to God or do we try and understand everything, make 219 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,840 it happen? Before this time there were six 220 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,600 cities in Israel that were called cities of refuge. 221 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,320 Now you may notice in the Crebbleton on the Main Street 222 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,160 there is a crossing. Not a pedestrian crossing, but 223 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,120 it's got a bit of an island and there's 2 orange or bright 224 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,920 coloured bars that are set in the the crossing and you can 225 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:11,760 cross half the road. Wait there. 226 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,120 And the cars buzz past you both ways, and then you can cross the 227 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,880 second-half. You know that. 228 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,280 You know what I'm talking about. You're looking at me vacant. 229 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:22,360 No one's seen it. I've used it. 230 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,720 Sorry. There was one other roundabout. 231 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,840 And there's also. Yeah, one up by, I think the 232 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,720 cafe. Yeah. 233 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:32,960 By the bridge. Thank you. 234 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:38,040 Now, I loosely call that a city of refuge because you get 235 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,960 protected from the cars who are going to run you over. 236 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,840 But is it a place of security? Not at all. 237 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,160 I've seen a few of those bars broken, destroyed. 238 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,720 So it's a temporary thing that man's created to provide a 239 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,760 little bit of refuge. But in these ancient times, 240 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,200 these six cities were places that you could go to say, for 241 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,160 example, you accidentally killed someone. 242 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,240 We would call it manslaughter today. 243 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,480 And the family were so upset of the dead person, they were going 244 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,079 to extract revenge. So you could go to one of these 245 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,119 six cities. And the cities were obligated to 246 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:25,440 keep you safe from a from the family who would come and seek 247 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,480 to take your life. And so these were nominated 248 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:34,680 places you could go to for the legal system to work properly. 249 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,000 But they didn't protect them from the Romans, eh? 250 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,280 The Romans feel like took over all the laws of the land. 251 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:50,960 But actually a city of refuge is really an example of Jesus where 252 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:56,200 you can go to this refuge and the people can't touch you. 253 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,720 You're safe. Do you get the picture? 254 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:05,480 You go somewhere and you have the peace that you need that's 255 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:12,080 there. So Pella became a city of refuge 256 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,120 for the Christian believers of the day. 257 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,480 I this might be old news to everybody, but I want to just 258 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,080 reinforce where we're coming from. 259 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,720 So a covenant is a generational spiritual contract. 260 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,600 A biblical covenant is fundamentally a divine and human 261 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:36,800 agreement established by God's authority, ratified by a 262 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,880 sacrifice, usually a blood sacrifice. 263 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,520 There there are 4 main sacrifices. 264 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:47,360 The main one was blood supported by promises and obligations on 265 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:52,240 both sides, and it's designed to display God's steadfast 266 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:57,320 faithfulness forever. So God's promises are forever 267 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,160 Any any questions on the covenant, It's a lot more 268 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:07,440 permanent than an agreement, and it's a cost, if you like, of 269 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:13,280 both sides to engage. But let's talk about a cleft. 270 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,280 I'm not talking about a cleft pallet. 271 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,600 That's different. A cleft is a space or an opening 272 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:26,960 made by a split or a crack. And it's often used to describe 273 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,960 a gap in a rock that could be used as a hiding place. 274 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:37,080 A lot of Old Testament heroes had to hide in the cleft of a 275 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,280 rock. Elijah did. 276 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,920 Moses did. Simpson did. 277 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,520 Many times David had to hide in the cleft of a rock to protect 278 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:54,600 himself from being found. So it's a place of hiding. 279 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,600 You hide in the cleft of the rock because when you're hiding. 280 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:08,520 It's like you're invisible and a refuge often used in the context 281 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,120 of some danger or sun. In New Zealand, we have an 282 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:17,560 organization called Woman's Refuge where people can go to be 283 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:23,720 safe and it's a place and it may even be a cleft where you go 284 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,680 aside to find comfort, shelter and protection. 285 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,560 So just remember those definitions as we go through 286 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:46,000 this morning. So I have a question, are we in 287 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:52,680 covenant with Jesus today or are we just acquainted with Jesus? 288 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,440 And I think we need to check the level of intimacy that we 289 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,640 actually do have with Jesus because I suspect we're all 290 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,680 living below our full potential here. 291 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,280 And you can answer that question, are we in covenant by 292 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,600 looking at where we go to instinctively when trouble 293 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:19,480 happens, what's our go to resource to comfort ourselves to 294 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,640 solve the problem? And often what we do, we do a 295 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:27,960 trade with Jesus. If you'll do this, then I might 296 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,960 serve you. I remember talking to hearing a 297 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:38,080 man speak who was a Bishop and at one point he was a nominal 298 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:44,200 believer and he was in World War 2 and he was in a tank and they 299 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,200 were going into the Battle of El Alamein or something like that. 300 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:57,080 And he made a deal with God. He says if you'll spare my life 301 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,600 then I will do something in ministry for you. 302 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,360 And he survived the battle and now he says look at me, I'm a 303 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,440 jolly Bishop. I never expected that. 304 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,520 So God took him at his word and the condition was he spared his 305 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,280 life. But there was a if you're like a 306 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,520 trade off that he had to serve in ministry and he was kind of 307 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,040 shocked how it all ended up. But we do that. 308 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,800 If you do this, I'll do that. I don't think that's what God's 309 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,160 wanting us to do today. I think he wants us to be 310 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,920 unconditional. True. 311 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,680 There was a man called Thomas Akimpas, and I just got to check 312 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:44,440 my dates here. 10 centuries ago, a man who lived 10 centuries ago 313 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,920 wrote this. He had a revelation or an 314 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:53,000 inspiration that we have our true refuge when we go to the 315 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,200 wounds of Jesus, the wounds of Jesus of the cross. 316 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:03,240 So you can read that if you want, but we'll go to the next 317 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,840 slide. And so I want to share quite a 318 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:13,560 bit on this picture here, which is the spear piercing the side 319 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,240 of Jesus. I don't find this core very 320 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:17,920 interesting. It's kind of it's going to trip 321 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:23,360 me up. And so we know about the 322 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:27,000 crucifixion because we talk about it every Easter season, do 323 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,560 we not? I want to share. 324 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:35,560 There's a whole lot more going on in that crucifixion time than 325 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,440 we actually ever look at or have time to go into. 326 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:44,800 There's probably a mini sermon series on what took place in the 327 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,280 crucifixion. And it's spiritual, It's it's 328 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:58,080 barbaric, it's unjust, but there's a spiritual warfare 329 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:03,040 battle taking place that we are not taught about, that there are 330 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,160 things happening behind the scenes in the heavenly realm 331 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:13,480 that are huge for us today. But it's also a time of extreme 332 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,880 unconditional love poured out by Jesus. 333 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:23,320 And so the the act of sacrifice that took place by Jesus. 334 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,680 And I believe there was a supernatural shift that took 335 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,200 place when the spear hit his side. 336 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,480 What I'm sharing this morning may be a revelation to you. 337 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,640 You may not actually understand it, or you may not respond well 338 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:46,440 to it, but I suggest that you meditate on it because, like I 339 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,360 said, the revelation that we've had up till now was OK for the 340 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,360 times. We're living in different times. 341 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:59,320 We need all the power of God that is available to us, and so 342 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,680 we need to understand where that comes from. 343 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,760 You will remember the scripture that says that two things poured 344 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,280 out from the side of Jesus when the spear went into his, into 345 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,240 his body. What were those two things, 346 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,360 people? Blood and water. 347 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,760 What happens when a baby is born in the natural blood? 348 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,720 Same thing, Blood and water, Absolutely. 349 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,920 So my question is, what was born on the cross? 350 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,720 Yeah. So there was something happened 351 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,440 at that moment. We have people who say they are 352 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,920 Christian and they say they are Christian because they are born 353 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,440 again. If you heard that phrase, born 354 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,960 again. And so then we add the phrase, 355 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,920 Well, I've given my heart to Jesus, and they have. 356 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,680 And so that is like an understandable thing, but I want 357 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,480 to add that something else was born at that time as well, not 358 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:18,480 just the fact that of the church arriving, because I believe 359 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:24,440 Jesus wants us to receive his heart as well. 360 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,560 So we give our heart to Jesus, but at the other half of the 361 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,520 covenant, he's giving his heart to us. 362 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,840 That's different, isn't it? Two sides of a covenant. 363 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:42,800 We've only done one side because what happened when the spear 364 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:48,680 went into his side, it must have gone through his lungs into the 365 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:55,400 now I have a word for this pericardium fluid that had 366 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,440 accumulated around his heart because he wasn't breathing 367 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,040 properly. It wasn't, if you like being 368 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,880 cleared, I've got medical people in the room, maybe. 369 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,280 And so there was a release of the fluid around the heart that 370 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,000 has accumulated. That's the water. 371 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,720 So his heart was exposed to the world through the channel of the 372 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,680 spear. His heart was open for us to 373 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:30,400 access in the physical. His heart physically was exposed 374 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:36,760 by the spear. Now spiritually, he's also 375 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:42,280 saying today, right now, I'm cutting a new covenant with you 376 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,520 and I'm ratifying it and sealing it with my own blood. 377 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,680 Covenant needed a sacrifice. Jesus himself provided the 378 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,640 sacrifice and cut the covenant with us. 379 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:05,120 And so with that covenant, we now have authority and abilities 380 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,920 that we've never used as the church until this time. 381 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,600 And it's like his wound can be a type of a cleft. 382 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:21,080 Remember, a cleft was a sorry, it's a hiding place. 383 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:28,040 Yeah, a split. And So what that means is we can 384 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:33,640 hide in the wounds of Jesus and we'll never be found by the 385 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,560 enemy. We do not need to fear anything 386 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,640 or anybody because we have been promised a covenant relationship 387 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:47,920 with Jesus. Did you know that so 388 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,480 spiritually, Jesus offered us his heart. 389 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,600 There's a saying in the world where they talk about Blood 390 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,440 Brothers. Have you heard this thing? 391 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,120 Blood Brothers. So we become, if you like, 392 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,360 inseparable. And the deal is something like 393 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:07,040 this. If anyone messes with me, then 394 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:08,960 they've got both of us to mess with. 395 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,440 Because if it affects you, it affects me. 396 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,320 I can tell you a story about our son. 397 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:20,920 We were in England and my son had his hand in a bandage in a 398 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:26,720 sling and a drunk Irishman came up to him random on the street. 399 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,120 My son was wearing a an Irish shirt with the word Guinness 400 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,880 written on it. So this Irishman recognized a 401 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:40,000 kindred spirit and he says, oh, I see you've been in a bit of a 402 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,760 wars. Ah, you can't trust the bloody 403 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,360 English. I'll tell you what he says. 404 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,720 If they give you any more crap, they've got the both of us to 405 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,920 deal with. By the way, can you lend us a 406 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,840 favour for a beer? So he was wanting Jeremy, our 407 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:03,720 son, to be a blood brother. That was very harsh environment. 408 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:10,480 But using that analogy, if someone messes with you and you 409 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:14,520 are in covenant with Jesus, who are they messing with? 410 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:22,120 So when we are in some difficult situation, are we on our own? 411 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,600 If we're in covenant with Jesus, they're messing with Jesus. 412 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:31,800 Does Jesus lose? Did Jesus lose the battle with 413 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:37,040 Satan? No, we are committed or tight 414 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,800 with our Lord and when we have that knowledge, it changes how 415 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:44,760 we see the problems that we are in. 416 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,680 They are not insurmountable because Jesus does not lose. 417 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,440 Just imagine this, you're having something that's going wrong in 418 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,200 your life and instead of complaining, instead of running 419 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:04,720 to your false refuge, you run to pray to Jesus. 420 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:09,440 And it's like He's there waiting for you and his arms are open 421 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,160 wide as a welcome. You run to Jesus, He puts his 422 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:19,280 arm around you, you feel his wounds and you tell him how you 423 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,640 feel like David did in his Psalm. 424 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:27,600 You pour your heart out, you tell him and he says, no, that's 425 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,720 not going to happen. You're safe with me, you're safe 426 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:34,520 with me and you just shift. Why? 427 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,360 Because you're not on your own and you're in your refuge. 428 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:44,560 So Jesus can be our refuge at every time that we access him by 429 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,320 talking to him and praying to him. 430 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:54,120 So with Jesus you will feel safe, sheltered, protected, 431 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,360 loved, and you know you're in your refuge because I believe 432 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,000 Jesus is the name above all names. 433 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,520 There's nothing on the earth that could happen to you that 434 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,120 has authority over the name of Jesus. 435 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:12,520 We sang about that this morning. Power in the name of Jesus. 436 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,560 So what are we scared of when we are covenanted with Jesus? 437 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,360 So what keeps us from this intimacy with Jesus? 438 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:27,720 And one of the answers is our own personal false refuges that 439 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,160 we have built up and run to. Let's look at some of those 440 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,600 things. There's a list. 441 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,760 I think there's about 500 things that could be on the list, but 442 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,400 there's some of them. The obvious one is addictions. 443 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:49,120 Sometimes it's food and drink, if I have to be honest, and 444 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,720 other people may confirm this for me. 445 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:58,840 The addiction could be going on social media to distract myself, 446 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,040 but more importantly, to find answers in my own mind, to 447 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,920 understand everything. Do you do that? 448 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,480 Something goes wrong, you want to understand. 449 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:16,040 So social media, the Internet gives us answers, but they're 450 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:21,280 never as good as God's answers. The wisdom that God has, the 451 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:26,320 foolishness of God, is still greater than the wisdom of man. 452 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,160 So there may be some things there that are on the list that 453 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,560 affect you. So where do we go when things go 454 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,480 wrong? We go to our false refuges 455 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:41,040 instead of our Saviour. And I'm suggesting it's a 456 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,360 pattern that we've set up. It's not something we 457 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,960 deliberately do, but it's our flesh crying out for comfort. 458 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,080 And so just in a moment of silence, just in your own 459 00:33:55,360 --> 00:34:01,800 prayer, ask God to reveal what it is that is your refuge that 460 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,680 you run to instead of telling Jesus. 461 00:34:29,860 --> 00:34:36,659 The problem is when we create a false refuge around us, we shut 462 00:34:36,659 --> 00:34:42,920 out God. We create a tower around us to, 463 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:49,199 if you like, keep us distant and even if you like, reduce the 464 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:51,920 intimacy that we can experience with Jesus. 465 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:54,360 We don't want to be locked in our own tower. 466 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:59,520 We want to have access to the the heavenlies at all times. 467 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:03,560 And I think that's what God's saying to us this morning. 468 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:09,240 Don't lock yourself up in your own refuge of your own making, 469 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:13,840 because we have Palla and Masada. 470 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:19,520 Masada people did it their own way, Palla They did it God's 471 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,360 way, and they covenanted with life. 472 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,440 If we go a bit deeper than that, sometimes we've got to wonder 473 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:43,640 how these refuges came to be there. 474 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,760 And we have things called vows and mottos which can be 475 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,640 negative. And they actually created the 476 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:55,240 false idols which led to those false refuges. 477 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:01,360 And it gives the enemy a legal right to 1st deceive us with 478 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,640 some temporary relief. And we want relief from our 479 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:09,880 problems. But then the enemy has access to 480 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:17,280 our mind to continue to torment us and to steal her peace. 481 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:22,200 Later on, I'll give you some examples of vows people could 482 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,680 make right. No one will ever tell me what to 483 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:31,000 do again. Trust me to make a mistake. 484 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,920 God only answers other special people's prayers. 485 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:38,200 My relationships will always fail. 486 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:44,360 I always get sick and I'm not good enough for Jesus to care 487 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:48,120 about. I expect to get rejected so I'll 488 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,600 always keep my walls nice and high. 489 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:59,360 All my friends are in hell, so I got I want to go there so I can 490 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,680 party with them. That's what people think. 491 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:06,040 That's the vow or the controlling influence on their 492 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,400 life. I'll give you another example. 493 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:14,680 Say you are stressed in your life and your body is in pain 494 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:19,840 because of the stress, and you think I can go and do something 495 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:25,560 to relieve the pain in my body. And so you go into a yoga class. 496 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:33,080 Yoga is stretching, but it's from a Buddhist spirituality and 497 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:38,480 it invokes poses of worship to foreign occult gods which will 498 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:42,320 enter your life to later harass you when they have the 499 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,880 opportunity. It's very dangerous but looks 500 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,040 benign. So you go to yoga and you 501 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:52,400 relieve the stress in your body. What have you done? 502 00:37:52,640 --> 00:38:00,200 You've made yourself open to a false idol, which then replaces 503 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,360 Jesus in your life. You can't. 504 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:04,640 You can't live with both this one or the other. 505 00:38:11,330 --> 00:38:24,930 So it blocks us from again, in a moment of silence. 506 00:38:28,770 --> 00:38:33,730 I want you to release those false idols, the ones that God's 507 00:38:33,730 --> 00:38:36,450 been speaking to you about, and maybe He's been speaking to you 508 00:38:36,450 --> 00:38:42,000 about them earlier than than today and you're aware of them, 509 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,080 the patterns that you've got, the thinking that you've got. 510 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:53,040 Ask God how and when they were established to get to the source 511 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:56,080 of what it is. Because that's the thing with 512 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,320 the yoga. You went for temporary relief. 513 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:02,360 You didn't go to the source and knock out the cause because God 514 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:06,360 wants to heal your emotional hurts and your emotional wounds. 515 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,480 He doesn't want to put a bandage on it for one day. 516 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,720 And So what is that automatic thought that we go to when we're 517 00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,200 under stress? Is it to pray to Jesus? 518 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:24,360 So let's bow your heads and ask the Lord to speak to you now, to 519 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:28,240 release you from the power of those false refuges. 520 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,920 I'm praying for change to be broken. 521 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:36,600 I'm praying for healing and restoration to covenant 522 00:40:36,600 --> 00:41:35,600 relationship with Jesus Christ. It's interesting that the word 523 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:41,040 refuge is mentioned 140 times in Scripture. 524 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:48,080 The word refuge is mentioned 44 times in the Psalms. 525 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:54,560 It's a theme, it's a pattern. God wants to us to deal with our 526 00:41:54,560 --> 00:42:07,960 refuges. And there are promises all 527 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:12,200 through scripture that He will heal us and release us. 528 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:18,080 Psalm 91.9 to 10. If you make the Most High your 529 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:24,920 dwelling, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will 530 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:28,880 befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 531 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:35,880 And there's a promise of new life. 532 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:40,480 And as the soldiers pierced aside with a spear, at once 533 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:49,240 there came out blood and water. John 1934, new birth. 534 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:57,040 I don't want anyone to leave here today or anyone who's 535 00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,080 listening in the sound of my voice. 536 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:03,920 Not to finish this without knowing there are in a covenant 537 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:07,840 relationship with Jesus. We need to make some 538 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:12,400 declarations this morning to put yourself into that blood brother 539 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,440 concept where no one messes with us because they're messing with 540 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,840 Jesus as well. That's his promise. 541 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:28,120 That's our inheritance. That's our destiny. 542 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:34,240 There's a prayer on the bottom of the screen. 543 00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:36,040 I want you to read it before you say it. 544 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:37,680 I don't want you to say something. 545 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:47,540 That's not what you believe. What I'll do. 546 00:43:47,540 --> 00:43:50,500 I'll read out the first line, and if you are willing, you can 547 00:43:51,180 --> 00:43:59,880 repeat line by line. I declare that the risen, 548 00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:04,720 victorious Lord Jesus Christ is my true refuge. 549 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:15,640 I make Him my dwelling place, my true refuge. 550 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:28,040 I hide myself in the cleft of His side, and so no harm can 551 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:38,880 overtake me, no disaster will overcome me because I am reborn 552 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:44,640 through Jesus. Amen. 553 00:44:56,430 --> 00:45:00,310 I talked last time about the tassels of the prayer shawl of 554 00:45:00,310 --> 00:45:04,750 Jesus, and the woman with the issue of blood had 100% 555 00:45:04,750 --> 00:45:06,990 certainty that she would be healed. 556 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:09,880 Would we want to have that feeling? 557 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:13,920 When we pray? We know that we're being heard 558 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:16,080 and that our prayer will be answered. 559 00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:23,720 And it's like we're holding on to that prayer shore and we'll 560 00:45:23,720 --> 00:45:28,920 say this together. It's a prayer of confession to 561 00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:32,440 break off the hold of those false refuges. 562 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:40,800 I confess I have not gone to you first as my true refuge. 563 00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:49,120 Just think on that. Where do we go first? 564 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:55,800 And I now list those false refuges that I have used 565 00:45:55,800 --> 00:46:10,080 instead. I repent and say Jesus, I am 566 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:21,690 sorry for not trusting you completely and now I renounce 567 00:46:21,690 --> 00:46:29,250 all false refuges and say I no longer give them any power over 568 00:46:29,250 --> 00:46:36,370 my life. I ask that you open my eyes to 569 00:46:36,370 --> 00:46:40,400 the bad patterns that I have been using and you would release 570 00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:47,840 to me Your truth, Your grace, Your healing into my soul. 571 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:56,640 Now, I don't want to pray for that happen to you right now. 572 00:46:56,640 --> 00:47:00,760 That you would know the truth of scripture and it would set you 573 00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:05,520 free. Know the truth that will set you 574 00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:09,920 free. Jesus is waiting with open arms 575 00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:15,120 to comfort you and it's like his heartbeat and your heartbeat 576 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:24,520 beating is 1. And we think we're unworthy. 577 00:47:24,720 --> 00:47:29,000 But the grace of God covers a multitude of sins. 578 00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,440 I release the grace over you all this morning. 579 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:38,800 You would know the grace of God, the absolute unconditional love 580 00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:42,200 of a Father or a parent for a child. 581 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:46,600 You are the child. He loves you. 582 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:54,200 And I pray for healing in your soul the patterns that have been 583 00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:57,760 established, the vows, the mottos. 584 00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:03,080 Lord, you would heal all of it. You would go to those deep 585 00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:09,880 places, the inner child maybe, and just bring your gentle 586 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:18,960 healing so that we are stronger and more connected with our 587 00:48:18,960 --> 00:49:06,000 Saviour Jesus. Receive the healing in response 588 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:11,360 to your heartfelt prayer. When we pray from the depths of 589 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:20,880 our heart, God on us, He delights in you, crying out to 590 00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:29,000 Him in despair, knowing that He can restore everything, even the 591 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:32,400 years the locusts have eaten, he can restore that. 592 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:37,320 Don't live in the past, don't live and regret. 593 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:42,960 Don't have self shame coming to the surface that you're not good 594 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:45,640 enough. You are because you're under 595 00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:48,880 grace. Have a read of the last sentence 596 00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:54,680 or last prayer which says I decree, and if you agree with 597 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:58,240 it, we'll say it together. Because like King David, he 598 00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:01,400 started with a decree and he finished with a decree. 599 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:04,360 We decreed A Psalm at the start of this message. 600 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,680 We're going to make a declaration at the end of this 601 00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:12,400 message. And what we're saying, we're 602 00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:17,040 saying who we belong to. We are saying we accept the 603 00:50:17,040 --> 00:50:21,800 covenant that Jesus made at the cross. 604 00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:26,880 So you leave here knowing you're in covenant relationship with 605 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:29,640 Jesus if you choose to pray this prayer. 606 00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:35,320 And we see ourselves very differently because we're not on 607 00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:38,600 our own. We personally may not be an 608 00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:42,200 overcomer on our own strength, but with Jesus we will be. 609 00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:51,000 We become overcomers and He is our true refuge. 610 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:54,720 Every time things go badly, we go to Jesus. 611 00:50:54,720 --> 00:51:17,080 We tell Him we're OK. Are we ready to pray? 612 00:51:17,080 --> 00:51:27,880 The Declaration? I decree that I am redeemed by 613 00:51:27,880 --> 00:51:35,080 the blood of Jesus and I am in covenant relationship with Him 614 00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:42,360 alone and through Jesus. I am an overcomer and I walk 615 00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,200 fully in His truth. Amen. 616 00:51:46,160 --> 00:51:48,800 How does that feel, people, to pray something like that? 617 00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:55,280 You leave here in covenant relationship with Jesus and 618 00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:59,480 you're not going to be tossed around by the things of the 619 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:03,080 future. He has the answers, everything 620 00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:05,560 we need. We don't have to understand by 621 00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:11,320 going on Google anymore. Thanks for joining us at Omega. 622 00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:14,520 If you need prayer for healing or breakthrough, or simply to 623 00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:17,520 find out more, please head to our website or Facebook page in 624 00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:18,280 the links below.