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The dictionary definition of a disciple is a student who follows somebody and learns

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from them, like an apprentice. And we are disciples of Jesus. If we have accepted him

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into our lives, if we have confessed our sins, been baptized, and been forgiven of

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our sins, we're saved. But that doesn't necessarily mean we're disciples. There are many people

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that come into the church, and they're in the church and they believe they're saved,

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but they know nothing more than that. They don't know there is anything more than that.

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And even in this place, and I'm not saying all of you guys, but even in this place, people

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can come in and they're saved, and they love the service, but they're not necessarily disciples

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because they haven't chosen to follow Jesus and to follow his spirit. And mostly that's

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because of ignorance. Not because they don't want to, but it's ignorance. But I believe

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here we are disciples. And I want to look at how Jesus made disciples, first of all.

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Because when he went through the temptation in the wilderness, and then he started his

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ministry, and he went out, and it's like he just wandered off somewhere and saw somebody

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and said, come and follow me. And Andrew, I think, was the first one, because Andrew

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hadn't caught any fish. Jesus told him to let the net down. And he was overwhelmed.

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And he realized, who are you? Who are you? How could you do this? And he followed Jesus,

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and he was the first. But Jesus just went out, and I believe God led him to the right

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ones to choose. Now, we only hear about 12 disciples. But if you think about it, there

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must have been a lot more than that, that he gathered on the way. And Jesus was a rabbi.

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Rabbis had disciples that was normal in that time and in that culture. Rabbis had disciples

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because Jesus was raised in the temple. He went to all the services and continued to

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go. And so he still went and taught even when he was entering his ministry, until the Pharisees

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got so mad at him that things changed. But the disciples, now, it says that they left,

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for some of them, they left their nets and followed him. But when he was crucified, they

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actually went back to their nets, which tells me, okay, there must have been still there,

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they just weren't fishing. So, the disciples followed him. They did life together. They

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watched what he did. He taught them, but these were all Jewish people who knew the law. He

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taught them, but mainly what he taught was character. He taught parables to the people

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and then explained them to the disciples. And they learned by watching him. He didn't teach

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them how to do something and then say, go and do it. No, they watched him doing it. They learned

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from watching him. They were there. And during their travels, other people joined them and they

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went to different places. And throughout his ministry, Jesus also spent time alone with Father

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God and talked to him and shared with him what was going on. He heard from God. He only did what his

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father said. He only said what his father was saying and only did what his father was doing.

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So, all that time, he spent that time with the Father. And there was a point when he chose 12

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disciples. And even that, I've never thought about it before, but even that says he had a lot of

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people to choose from. There weren't just 12. He chose 12. He went out overnight and prayed and

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picked.

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the 12 that were needed to raise up and be, they were constant companions. And he trained them.

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And then there was a point when he sent them out. And it says in Luke 9, 1 to 5,

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one day Jesus called together his 12 disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out

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all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the kingdom of

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God and to heal the sick. Take nothing for your journey, he instructed them. Don't take a walking

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stick, a traveler's bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the

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same house until you leave the town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake the dust off your

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feet as you leave to show that you've abandoned those people to their fate.

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Now the disciples went around the villages doing what they'd learned from Jesus.

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And this is when they were called apostles. This is the first apostles.

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Now he didn't tell them to do everything. He told them to heal the sick.

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And when they came back, they were so excited to the fact that they did what they did and it worked.

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And sometime later, Jesus sent out 72 more disciples. So can you imagine all the people?

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I mean, he had meetings of 3,000 and 5,000 people. So out of them, there came believers

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who became disciples. And so he sent out 72 more disciples. And this time he sent them in pairs to

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all the towns he would be going to. And they were instructed to heal the sick and tell people the

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kingdom of God was near. And you think of the first circuit preachers. And they went from village to

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village, town to town. This is what the disciples did. They were getting the people ready for when

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Jesus came. They were preparing the ground, if you like, and gathering the crowds. And so when they,

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72, returned, Jesus, in Luke 10, 18, said this. Yes, he told them, I saw Satan fall from heaven

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like lightning. Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk

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among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don't rejoice because evil

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spirits obey you. Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. And when Jesus went to the

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cross before he went, he blew on them and released the Holy Spirit. And he told them to go and wait

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in Jerusalem of 40 days. And during that time, in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, it says, Jesus came

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and told his disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore,

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go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and

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the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.

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And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

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Now, this was given to the 12 and they were to teach everybody what they had learned.

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So, during the first 40 days, the disciples met together to pray about replacing Judas.

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And it had to be somebody who had seen Jesus after his resurrection so that they would be a witness to

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the fact that Jesus was alive. After Pentecost, and they chose Matthias, just so you know that,

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they chose Matthias. They were now 12 apostles again. After Pentecost, they were changed to

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people. The fire of God came down and put a fire within them that burned. And just like the first

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song, put a fire in, for the sake of the world, burn like a fire in me. That fire came down on

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the disciples, burning like a fire.

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and they were changed. Now if anybody, I have a brother who is on the fence, and I have

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never said this to him, and I thought I should tell him this. Those disciples were people

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that hid, really, when Jesus was crucified. They didn't want to be known that they were

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with him. Some of them were afraid, but they basically hid. They didn't understand. Now

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at Pentecost, now they were all of a sudden willing to risk their lives and die for what

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they believed. Now that's people who really did see him rise. There is no doubt that if

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that hadn't happened, they would not have had the courage to do what they did. And for

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anybody that's an unbeliever, this has to have been true. What would have changed them?

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But that truth, and then the Holy Spirit coming on them. And there were thousands of people

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came to Jesus during his ministry, but when the believers were together to choose a new

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apostle, there was only 120 of them. Now it doesn't tell you how many were there when

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the fire came down, but let's presume that probably not a lot more than that. So out

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of all those thousands of people, 120 or so were disciples. And it's the same here.

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It's the same in the church today. There are a lot of believers in Jesus, and let's face

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it, the Pharisees and the Sadducees believed, they just didn't believe that Jesus was the

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right one. They didn't know him. They believed in all of the scriptures, but they didn't

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know God. And so this is where we're at today. There are many people who believe and who

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will confess that he's the Lord, but they're not disciples, they don't know him. And we

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are here because we have chosen to follow him. But even then, when it gets hard, many

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believers left Jesus when he talked about his body and his blood. And he said to the

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other disciples, are you going to leave me too? And Peter said, Lord, where would we

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go? There is nowhere else to go. And it's the same with us. Where would we go if we

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didn't follow Jesus? There is nowhere else. Life doesn't exist without Jesus, because

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we know him. Every one of us is called for a certain purpose. And he wanted me to tell

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you this, that you have to know that you are valuable, every one of you, and that includes

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people on Zoom, every one of you is important. You are valuable. You are loved and accepted.

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And you are needed in the kingdom of God. Every single person here has a call and has

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a purpose. You have to get that settled in your mind, that you have a purpose in this

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world today. This is not just about living your life. This is about living your life

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for the kingdom of God. This is about being who God called you to be and doing what he

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called you to do. And Matthew 22, 1 to 10, tells us this. Jesus spoke this parable. The

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kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding

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feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were

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invited, but they all refused to come. So he sent another servant to tell them the feast

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has been prepared, the bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is

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ready. Come to the banquet. But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their

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own way. One to his farm, one to his business. Others seized his messages and insulted them

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and killed them. The king was furious and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers

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and burn their town. And he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready, and the guests I

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invited aren't worthy of the honour. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.

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and so the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was

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filled with guests. Now one of them was not wearing the right clothes, and so the king told them,

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take him out. He wasn't wearing the clothes of salvation, so he was taken out.

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Every one of the original ones made excuses, and we have the king living in us to establish the

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kingdom of God within us and to enable us to establish the kingdom in the world, but we have

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to be willing to allow him to do that, and there's times when with Jesus he's leading us to come

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somewhere and we are saying, no, I don't want to do that, and making excuses. I'm too busy.

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I've got other people rely on me. If I do that, my spouse and my family are going to be upset.

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There's going to be conflict. I want to keep the peace.

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I'm afraid I can't do that. It wouldn't work. I'm afraid I'm not good enough.

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I'm not who you think I am. I can't do that. Too old. Too young. Too busy. Too unhealthy.

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There's all sorts of excuses we make, and we are disciples, and Jesus is training us to go

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into the world to make disciples of other people, and there are people that never enter into their

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calling because they are not willing to step in where God tells them to go.

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Now, we heard Phyllis a couple of weeks ago talking about how God led her to different places,

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different times, different training to bring her to the place where she is an intercessor. She's

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called to be an intercessor, and she stepped into it, and she followed the leading of the Spirit,

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and I know even now she's also... God's put her on the street sometimes to reach people,

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so she's bringing the kingdom of God outside, not just within her, but to other people.

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I would say for myself, I realized looking back, I was called when I was 13 years old.

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I never went to church, never heard about church from my parents, but in school,

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we had religious instruction, and when I was about 13, we were asked to paint a poster for a

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Christmas nativity play, and it was called Come and Behold Him, and I just felt inside me I had to

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paint a picture of an angel with a long trumpet, Come and Behold Him,

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and it was like even then, I know the feeling I have now, even then, there was that feeling

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of wanting to shout to people, Come and see Jesus. I didn't know him. I knew what we taught in school,

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but that was my call, but that was it, and it's only as I've got to the last few years that I've

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looked back on that and realized that God put something inside me at that time of who I am

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and who I'm called to be. I'm called to be a voice for God. I'm called to be prophetic. I'm called to

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tell people about Jesus, to teach, all those things. In school, soon after that, I had to

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stand up and say a poem in Yorkshire, only I didn't have a Yorkshire accent, and I was standing up

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there for 15 minutes while she tried to get me to say it in a Yorkshire accent because the whole

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point was that when it was written, it was written so that the words had short A's like bad and mad,

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even though I can't say it. In my accent, I say bad and mad, and she would not accept that until

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I was crying, and then she stopped, but because of that, my mother got me elocution lessons where

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they tried to make all the other children talk like me, completely wasted our money,

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robbed my brother of his violin lessons. You know, it's like when you're called to do something,

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the enemy will come to steal it. He will try to put

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swayed you that that's not who you are, that's not what you're meant to do. And when I was a child

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in isolation hospital, I ended up not being able to communicate, not speaking. I was very shy.

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I didn't talk to people. They all thought I was smart because I didn't say anything.

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And so all of these things can contribute to you. When God calls you to do something,

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you have to recognize that the very thing that you think you can't do may be what he's calling

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you to do. And in my first church, I went into the Anglican church in a spirit-filled group,

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and I would say basically not very much we learned in the sermon was

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on board with the Bible. And eventually I actually left the church when we were told that everybody

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goes to heaven. And when I asked, well, why do we have Jesus then? Well, it just like makes life

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easier. That was the answer. And so that's when I left. But throughout my years in my last church

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and this one, God has led me in different places, mainly in intercession, going to different

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seminars, learning about intercession, going to the National House of Prayer in Ottawa,

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weeks courses on praying, etc., leading prayer groups, all of that. And I was actually also a

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worship leader for a short time too. All these things were God leading me into things that really

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had nothing to do with speaking, but it was all part of my training. And so when God calls you

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to do something and you think, well, that's not what I'm called to do. This doesn't fit.

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You know what? Just be obedient. Don't turn it down. If you have a desire to do something,

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no matter what it is, do it because God has a reason for leading you in that way.

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And when God called me to go to California to school, I was 69 years old.

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And I totally, totally dismissed it and rejected it. I had two people tell me you should go.

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One was from Britain. One was from Newfoundland. They weren't from the church. And I totally

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dismissed it. And it took a year before God gave me a dream in which eventually, eventually,

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I prayed about it. And he told me I hadn't been willing to pay the price to go to the nations.

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And I was totally dumbfounded. I thought, what do you mean I haven't been willing to pay the price?

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And the price was basically leaving my home and going away for two years.

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And when I finally realized that I wasn't too old, and in my heart agreed with that decision,

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there was such a joy rose up in me, even though I would have to leave all my grandchildren.

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That bothered me, but there was such a joy, such a sense of freedom. And when we step in

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to what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do, there is a joy that is there. It may be something

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ridiculous. At one point, I worked in a tea room. And I had it in my heart to apply. And there was

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a joy I had working, washing dishes, and occasionally making meals. There was such a joy

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in that place. Because I was where the Holy Spirit was leading me. And so many times we're

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not willing. And there have been times when I have not done things. I know, many years ago,

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I was feeling, after my husband passed, three times people said to me, you should go and

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join the truck that goes out to feed the homeless. And after three people mentioning,

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I said, God, if that's really you, send somebody else to tell me. Well, it didn't happen,

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and I never did it. And I've always been sorry, because I have a heart for the homeless.

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And that was an opportunity. I believe it would really have helped me.

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But I didn't do it. I didn't follow that.

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So, we have to be willing to surrender our own will, to surrender our own agenda, our own

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feelings, our own emotions, our own desires to do what God wants. Because initially,

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you think, but if I do that, I'll have to give up all this other stuff.

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But when you realise how much God loves you, and how much he wants to bless us,

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how much he wants to enable us to be all that he called us to be, he's put a treasure within us.

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And only when we go where he's leading us and do what he's calling us to do,

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will that treasure be released, and we'll be operating at our full potential.

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And when you're in that place where you're operating and what he's called you to do,

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there is something within you that absolutely knows you are where you're meant to be,

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you're doing what you're called to do, and you feel so alive and so enthusiastic.

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There is nothing like it. And many times, we dismiss thoughts and we think that can't be God

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when he's actually putting it within us, and he's actually speaking. And we all make those

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mistakes. It's part of our training. It's something that happens. But it's when we

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choose not to, when we choose not to do what God wants, because it's very easy to sit at home

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and think, I just want to live a comfortable life. I want to live with my family. I want to just do

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what I want to do. Being a disciple, following God is hard. And I don't want to do that.

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And there are many people that do that because they don't want the work of going through the

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character changes and going through stretching and stepping into things that are uncomfortable.

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And it has been really uncomfortable in those times when I've thought I would never make it

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because of fears. But at the same time, God put something in me that was not willing to give up,

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that was not willing to give up no matter what. And

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right now, God took me into

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doing Kingdom Messenger, being a Kingdom Messenger, and reaching out by way of the internet. Now,

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this is, I have been trying to get off of Facebook, didn't want to spend all that time

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praying that he would help me. And then he tells me, I want you to, I've put a lot of knowledge

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within you, you've learned so much, but you have to share it with the world. I want you to

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more or less look for ways to communicate what I've given you. And that's when I told Pastor Bob

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that within a week, I was signed up for a course that just happened to be there at that time.

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To learn how to be a Kingdom Messenger, in my mind, I was just learning. I wasn't actually

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going to do it. I was just learning. But within two days, we had to post a video. And when I did

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that video, it's like all of a sudden, I thought, I was made to do this. I have to do this. And now

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I'm in the process of setting up what they call a landing page, so that I can collect email

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addresses, so that I will have a group of people I can send emails out to. And I don't want to

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even think about what's next. Because very likely, it will be holding a course or doing something

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like that. And unless God tells me what and when, I'm not stepping out. But I am doing what he's

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called me to prepare for it. So in everything we do, God, you know, I spent a lot of years

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training to be a life coach, a spirit led life coach. And one thing I know that a calling is

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something it may take 30 or 40 years before you actually step into it. There is a long preparation.

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And if you remember Jesus who had the dream, and told all his family, and then got thrown down the

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well.

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taken into captivity. All of that was God's plan. He went through all that stuff so that

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his dream would be fulfilled and his calling was to rise up. And he got through that, not

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by doing things, but by actually resisting doing things that were wrong. He lived a righteous

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life. He did not give way to temptations. And every place he was put in, he rose to

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the top. He rose to the top and was promoted and promoted and promoted until he was in

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the position that God had showed him in the dream, where he could now be in the right

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place to help his family and to save his people. And I've always thought, when we came to Canada

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and emigrated in 67, I've always thought that God sent me here so that I would be the one

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that would reach my family. And in fact, in a lot of ways, I have. God has done that.

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And for any one of you, our family can be the ones that hold us back because we don't

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want to surrender and commit to something that might take us away from spending time

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with them. We get all these emotional feelings about what will happen to them if I'm not

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there. And we have to realize that if God's calling you into something, he will take care

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of that. He will take care of the spouse who doesn't want you to do things. He will

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make a way for you to be able to do what he's calling you to do. There is nothing that can

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stop you if you choose to step into what he's calling you to do. And so if you have thoughts

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about God wanting you to do something, don't dismiss it automatically thinking, that's

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just me. Or that's not right. It can't be God. Don't dismiss it. Take it seriously.

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Think about it. And talk to God about it before you say no. Because when we dismiss what God

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is calling you to do, it will hold you back. I would say when I didn't step into going

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to California, it probably held me back two years. And some people, it will hold back

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because they have that thing that I can't do this. Mine was that I was too old. I was

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sure I was too old. What's the point at this age doing all that training? I may not live

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much longer. What can God possibly do with me? But the fact is, if he's calling you,

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it doesn't matter what the reason is. And there is no excuse. If you do what God's leading you

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to do, he will bless you and he will bless your family. He's told me, he's made it very clear,

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he's looking after my family in Britain and my family here. And the immediate family is

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the hardest one, I think. Because we cannot witness to them. God has to reach them without

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us. I got told at one point, Mum, mind your own business. This has nothing to do with you. And I

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have learned that it was absolutely right. We cannot tell our kids what to do. We cannot try

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to steer them in the right direction. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to do it. We can't even

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decide that they're going to be Christians. We have to trust. And the prayer I've stood on is

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that I will serve and all my household will serve God. And that's enough. God is responsible for our

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families. So there's a way, if you look at your life, you can look back. And for some of you,

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you may be able to see what God's called you into. Now, it was there for me, but I didn't see it

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until the last few years. But for some people, it's very obvious right from the beginning what

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they were called into. They have a desire to do a certain thing. It won't go away. And so that's

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what they do. For others, your call may not be so obvious. It can take 30 years or more till you

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fully step into it. But at the same time,

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time, in order to step into it, you have to follow the process. You have to do what God's

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calling you to do now. And so, right now, I feel that God's put a fire in me. I believe

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he's put a fire in me. And I believe there's people here, there's people on Zoom that need

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to hear something, and I just want to... Where's Zoom? Joan, Joan, she can see me anyway. God's

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put something in me for Joan. Joan, you are called to be God's heart to people. And I

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know that Joan struggled in many areas, but you have to realize, Joan, that you are called

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to reach people that just need to know God's love. And you are a vessel for his love. That's

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your calling, to be a vessel of God's love to those people who don't know it. And, Joan,

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God chose you to do that because you are humble, and you are so unintimidating. Nobody is intimidated

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by you. Everybody looks at you as the nice, loving, kind grandma. And you can reach people

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that nobody else can reach. He's called you to do that, and you need to know that and

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accept it. Because God loves you, and he loves others, and you are the one that can do that.

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And so, and it's really early, I know, but if any one of you... I would like to pray

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for people. I would like to pray over you and release you into what you're called to

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do. I would like to just pray over you for the fire that you need to go forward. And

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I want to pray over those people in Zoom right now. Lord, I pray, I know, Lord, you

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put something in me that was not willing to ever give up. And I pray for every single

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person on Zoom today, and for the people here, Lord, that you will put something in us that

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will cause us to never give up, that no matter what, we are going to follow you, we're going

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to be who you want us to be, and we're going to do what you're calling us to do. Thank

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you, Lord. Amen. Now, I want to call you forward, because I believe that some of you may have

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things that are holding you back, that are stopping you from fully stepping in. And I

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would like to pray for you.