The Retreat 2021 - A Journey Of Discovery...Becoming More Like Jesus - Dick Dungan

This series of teachings is recorded live from The Retreat by AeroNova 2021. To find out more about how to attend the annual Retreat visit theretreat.aeronova.org. 
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​Out of his exstensive life experience walking with God, Dick Dungan reflects on his spiritual journey and relationship with God, exploring how to experience great spiritual growth.

Full transcript generated by ai (please excuse errors):





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​Brother Dick Duncan needs no introduction here. But maybe those who are listening. But just like I said, last night, you've been a spiritual father to so many of us. So many leaders, pastors, overseers in Asia, and restricted countries and non restricted countries, with it's, it's hard to probably for you to inventory, how many leaders that you have spoken into their lives and been an apostolic father to them. And so I asked dick, like, Okay, so we're going to let you know about next year's retreat today, so you can get the good deal on the sign up. But I asked him just come and speak every year, and he's like, What do you want me to speak on, it doesn't matter, just come and share out of the reservoir, we, you know, there's a point in life, where what ends up happening, and I find this even with people who are not in the, in the third trimester of their lives, even people earlier, many times have accumulated all this depth in history and God, and they don't really realize how much they have until they start giving. And then it's like, Whoa, I didn't know I had this Whoa. And they get excited because they see how much they have. And they also see how much Jesus meets them on those roads with His power, His glory, His anointing. And we're like the 70, you know, coming back to Jesus going, Lord, you know, even the demons, we have authority and this and that, and it's just we come back to him going, Lord, I can't believe this. Most of us have huge reservoirs in our lives. Please, don't bury that reservoir, no pun intended. Don't bury that aquifer. Like a talent like that guy in the Bible that Jesus talks about. Just get out and give what you have. And you will be amazed how many wells will come from those aquifers that you have. And brother, we're going to ask you this morning, when you come. Just share from your heart. If you feel like you run out of stuff, it's really easy. Just open it up for questions and answers. And nothing is off limits. nothing's off limits. I found that with students, especially at the university is like, I'll just say ask anything you want. And it's amazing how many times we see that in our schools of spiritual leadership, you, you think people are really going to ask some questions about what you're teaching. And then they start asking questions that are like, Whoa, I didn't see that one coming. And there's all these different questions that come. So, brother, we're just going to ask you to share what you will before we do. I'm going to ask Lucy to come up and share a dream that she just had. And this is important, I think, for for before we listen to our brother and receive from him. While Dad dream was actually while back and we were going several, several people from our spiritual family. We're going to dig Dungan in Mary's house. And I remember that in the dream you we arrived, and unlike the stone gun in Mary's house, and I was so excited, I'm like, How did I get here? You know, I just couldn't believe that. I'm here and I knew that we were there to receive from him. So I was just so excited. And I'm like, we could have this time alone with him. And as we are inside his house, then he said, The guy said to pastor rod is like come we need to go outside actually, this is what I want to show you. And when we go outside, there's these fields, and just they were just so many fields. And I saw the one of the fields on the right had a lot of wheat grown then the next field was like that dark soil and the dark soil that he was ready has been worked already the soil and and then next to them. It was this huge tractors. I mean tractors are pretty big, but I just saw that they were so big, but they were color green. I remember it was color green, and I was like wow, this huge tractors, and he said to pasture rod. This is what it's all about. I I need to teach you about this, I need to teach you about fields, I need to teach you about what you use to tell the ground, I need to teach you the things. And I tell you that I didn't quite understood what he was saying. And I'm like, so we're coming here to learn about land, and work in the farm. And, but all of us were crying because that's what Duncan does. We all cry when he talks. I'm already crying. And he's not even here. But in my dream, I knew that I like I had this is the impression that I had in my dream, like, I thought I was gonna go to just hear him teaching, you know, in all of this, but when we got there, his I know, it's not what you think it is. This is what it's all about. And I just felt like there was just very profound message that the Laura, I'm not going to say what I think it is, he's going to leave that to the Lord, the interpretation of that. But I just felt that he was great significance that he was almost like shifting our mind is not about learning this. It's about learning this the fields. And he was pointing to those fields that I was seeing in the big green tractor still, were there. Maybe you can tell us what a green tractor is, is the John Deere. We got lots of them there for sure. So yeah, in fact, we have a Dr. Patel, the doctor that did my surgery for the prostate cancer that I had. And figure out how to get this open to where I can actually work with it. And still function. Anyway. This, he's from India, and one of our brothers from our church, ended up inviting them to go out to the farm to his farm a few miles away. And it's a he's an amazing guy. This guy, he's surrounded with guys like Dr. Jim Burgess and other doctor friends of ours. And, and anyway, he, he goes out to the farm with Larry and Larry takes him over to a neighbor that has one of these massive John Deere, you know, these 24 Roll planters, you know, and it's all computerized. So he takes him and puts him up in that. And he works this field, you know, all computerized, and the farmer in there with him is doing nothing. Yeah, he's just in this large, huge tractor, doing the work. And Dr. Fidel was just overly fascinated by it, he just couldn't believe it. So some of our friends that he's talked to, he's just said, Oh, that was amazing to go out and see this big green tractor. And it is interesting. Lucy and Brad have never been to our home. But our backyard is a cornfield one year, and a Beanfield the next year. So every year or every day, we wake up to a beautiful field, you know. So, before I get started, I want to first of all say, Nicole, thank you so much for sharing what you did the other night. God used it to speak to my heart, and just challenged me to to recalibrate my skeleton schedule a little bit to get in the secret place more often. So I was challenged by your word. And Nancy, wherever you are. Again, I just am so grateful for the word you brought. And that word is very close to my heart. And as I share what I sense the Lord has given me to share I think you will recognize why it did touch my heart. And then rod wherever you are. And there we are right back there. I just want to say thank you brother for deeply humbled by what you did last night. Thank you. Wow. There's a as usual, I had a laugh when you said something have I run out of things to say. I leaned over to Mary and said, Have you ever known that to happen? You know, when you've been walking with the Lord for a while, you know, just there's a lot in the reservoir and the hardest decision sometimes it's trying to discern, you know, what is it for those that you might be I'm sharing with and you know the thing that fascinates me, many things fascinate me about God. But one of the things is, is that my Lord can talk to a group with 60 or 70 people, or 1000 people or 2000 people at the same time about different things with no confusion. You know that. That's an amazing God when you think about it, because he knows the heart of every man, woman, and child. And he loves to speak to our hearts. There's a sports writer back in Nebraska. I'm glad Grady wore a Husker shirt today. I was thinking about it, but I thought no, one's enough. But you know, the season starts today. And and we have our own idols back there, just like you do respective areas. But there was a sports writer back there in Nebraska that I really have enjoyed following. And I can't even remember his name. Exactly. I see it. But I think it's Sean Sippel, or Seipel, or something like that. But he opens his messages or his little. Here's a little summary of observations. And he says, there are things that I know. And there are things that I think I know. Have you ever been in a place where you thought you knew more than you really did? Well, that was me back early in our journey with the Lord saved in 1976 out of alcohol and delivered and stories too long to try to share with you and still get to lunch at noon. I've got 22 minutes to 12 right now. I swear I'm glad it's only 11 Because I'm still on Nebraska. But but that was me, I got saved, and I grew fast. I mean, I was hungry for God, I couldn't get enough of God. And and before you know it, I'm in a situation where David, my brother here, and we've been friends for a long time, we were involved in a church plan in 1980. And wasn't long before I ended up on staff and left the business world, the corporate world and, and I did grow fast. And I did think I learned some things quickly. But sometimes we can think we know a lot more than we really do. And so in the midst of all of that we did grow as a church and and I ended up going on staff. And bottom line was is in December of 1984. Because of issues that were in my life and my heart not that other issues didn't exist. But issues that were in my life. I got up on a Sunday morning as one of the staff pastors and one of the elders and I walked out at the lead to my wife, Mary and our three children, I said, we need to go, I keep in mind, this is in the middle of a worship service. And I got out into my wife and said, We need to go. And we walked out the door of the church. And 90 people followed me out not because I asked him to but because they were carrying the same spirit I will ask and it wasn't a good spirit. And there's a lot to that story. I won't share it all with you. But the Lord took me on a journey of discovery. And that's kind of my life now. And if there is a legacy or a life message, I think I would title it journey of discovery. And I can remember setting with our worship leader because we started a new church and setting with our worship leader and his one on one night and a younger couple chronologically, but they had actually discipled us because they'd been walking with the Lord a long time. And so they had discipled us in the nation. We're sitting having coffee one night at this little truck Haven place. And all of a sudden this lady looks over at me and she said Dick, you're so unapproachable and she broke down and started weeping. And inside I said me watashi certainly not not me. I didn't say that outside you understand? Got things calmed down and got in the car. Our worship leader was driving and and in the front seat with his wife in front seat with him and Mary was in the backseat with me and as we were driving home as our brother was driving This home, I leaned over to Mary, My Bride, that fresh is Brian, I would tell you, I'm a blessed man. And I leaned over to Mary. And I said, Honey, is it true that I'm unapproachable? She said, Yes, honey, sometimes you are. Over the next several months, actually three years the Lord took me to the desert. I remember one day, just stomp my foot on my face in the carpet. Remember, it's a journey of discovery. And so anything I'm sharing with you, I want you to know, I'm not trying to impose anything on anybody. That's not my art. But all of us have a journey of discovery, you know. And there are things that God wants us to discover. And so anyway, I'm on my face, in the carpet and crying out to the Lord. And out of my mouth comes these words. Lord, either fix me or kill me. Because I don't want to live like this anymore. And I heard that still small, soft, gentle voice. And I heard the Lord say, Son, I'm going to pour you out like a drink offering. And when I get done, there'll be nothing left. But me. And I and my naivety said, Lord, that sounds like it'll hurt a lot. I did. And I heard that still, small voice said, Son, it'll kill you. And that's the journey that I started on, and start seeing things through a different set of lens than I'd ever seen before. And there's a lot of things I could share with you tonight. Or today, I'm kind of afraid I'm not going to get through everything. If I have time it down. Maybe I'll share the things that are more recent, because the Lord's really been speaking to me more recently, about what we're potentially facing what we're facing, because in the late 80s, I was going to prayer one morning, and as I got out of the car and close the door, heard the Lord say, persecution. I said, what Lord, persecution? I said, I don't understand, Lord, I heard the Spirit of God say, that's the answer to your prayer. I said, I don't understand. He said, you've been praying. John 17. You've been praying Psalm 133, for unity in the body. And he said, that's the answer to your prayer. Persecution will come. And it will bring unity. And that was before ever went to China, and saw how persecution in China, I bought unity in the body of Christ. So I'm not gonna go there right now. I want to go there, but I'm not. Does anybody else want to learn to dance? The way we did earlier? I mean, I didn't see many of you joining me there. I thought maybe I was a little out of place for a minute. But thanks for the Liberty. I just so enjoy the worship team. And the freedom and the Spirit of the Lord has. So I'm gonna bounce right into. I've asked Jim and Laurie, if they would, I've got a little skeleton outline. And I know you're on your computers, and you're taking notes and all that. But I thought it'd be helpful to have a little outline because I'm going to have to move quickly. This is something that I've literally taught around the world where the Lord started me on this journey of discovery. And so one of the things I was praying about as a, I'd say, one, we got about 25 of those handouts. So maybe one per couple until everybody gets covered if you want one, okay? It's just a skeleton and then you can fill in whatever you want to fill in as we go. I lost that thought where I was, but it will come back if it's important, I guess. Thank you, Lord. As you get that handout, once you turn with me to the second Peter one and I'm going to read a scripture to you that the church that David and I was involved in, in planning in 1980. A found this text that I'm about to share with you, as a foundational text, it was a group of people that wanted to be 24/7 disciples, we had a, we had a clear mandate from the Lord that we didn't want to just be Christians that were going to church on Sunday and living your life the way you wanted to live it. But instead, we had a commitment to raising up disciples that were going to be 24/7 Christians. You know, they wanted to be Christians all day, 24 or seven days a week. And so we started and this became a foundational text. And I don't have the time tonight or today to, to go into the depths of how we got there. But it was a significant text for me to lay a foundation in my own personal life. But as we grew as a church, I started recognizing that there was something missing, that we needed to understand. And it was during this time, after the separation where we had left the church. And I was in that season, where the Lord of the desert where the Lord didn't seem to think it was too important for anybody to come into my life, except for three prophetic individuals that did not know each other and all told me the same thing. You know, it's kind of like, Ooh, that was kind of painful, you know, but I think it was the beginning of that process of pouring me out. And by the way, I want you to know, he's still doing that. He hasn't stopped. He's still doing it. Just four or five years ago, when we didn't have a pastor I, I was sure that I could step in even with the Ministry we're doing with rejoice ministries and handing the baton to Grady and him taking more leadership and our team growing. And I thought, well, I could take some time and just be the interim pastor. And so I presented that to our elders and, and they turned me down. And I went home after that meeting, feeling like wow, I sat at my desk. And I said, Lord, I don't understand what's this sick feeling I have in my gut. What's a sick feeling? You said, Ron, you still have an unhealthy need to be needed. He didn't say I shouldn't have a need to be needed. He said I had an unhealthy need to be needed. I still needed recognition somehow. I just broke down obviously in a weapon before the Lord, Lord, I want you to take an axe to the root of that I don't want that my life, you know. And he's in the process of doing that every once awhile keeps up and it's gonna count like to be needed. Thankfully, we walked with, I want to read this text and then we're gonna move through this skeleton that you have. I'm gonna have to skip some stuff, but but we'll do the best we can. Okay. That's okay. Okay. Starting in the first verse, to keep it in context, it's second Peter one says, Simon, Peter, a servant and unpossible of Jesus Christ, to those who have attained a faith, of equal standing with ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. May Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God, and of our Lord Jesus, or of Jesus, our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him, who has called us to His own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature. I mean, this is so pregnant with Revelation. having escaped the corruption from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires, some translations say lust. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue. And virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self control and self control was steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly kindness, or brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. A powerful text You know that was a foundation of this new church that started and it had a huge impact on my life. And I don't have time to do diagrams, I didn't bring a PowerPoint or anything for which I usually use in figuring this. But believe it or not, I'm an old, old softball player. So Mary made me hang up my cleats when I was 55. You know, I mean, I love the game, I was never big enough to play football. I was 13th Man on a 12 man roster on the basketball team. It gives you some idea how good I was in basketball. But as a young boy, I had an uncle that was coaching Little League and, and, and I could take grounders by the hour. You know, just hit me the ball, do it again. You know. And so I develop my skills. And I love the game. And and our family loves the game. We're big baseball fans. So. So anyway, in this journey of this text, we saw a baseball gram, if you can diagram if you can envision a baseball field, and then we superimpose these eight characteristics over the top of that. So I'm just trying to help you envision Can you can you get the picture. So the first one would be faith, that's first base. You got to have faith to get on, you got to have faith to get on base to where you can score, say. So I'm going to start there reading that text. And then I'm going to this is what the Lord showed me during that time in the desert. He showed me that Peter, the apostle, Peter understood some things, that it's not easy for us to comprehend. At some time, Peter walked with Jesus, Peter experienced the fire in his life of rejection, rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, he was the one that lopped off an error, you know? Well, I was kind of good at that one time, you know, because I was sure I was, knew more than I knew. You know. It's amazing what the corporate world can do to you, if you don't look at it, through the right set of lenses. So I want you to bear with me, as we move through this because I want to better take the time for the sake of the let's go to Matthew five, the Beatitudes I know, we're all familiar with it. So I feel like in so many ways, I'm preaching to the choir here. But what the Lord showed me during that desert time that he took me to, to the Beatitudes. And one day, as I was spending time with him, and of course, I had focused so much on this baseball diagram on adding to my faith virtue into my virtue, knowledge into my knowledge, self control, and etc. Okay, I've done that to become a part of my brain and part of my inner being part of my FiVER, I really believed it. What the Lord has shown me is you can't do that in your own strength. He was giving you this admonition. But there was something within the the the environment and the culture, let me say the culture that we were operating in, during those early years as a church that there was a lot of our own strength that was involved in trying to make it happen. Have you ever noticed in your journey that there's a little of your own strength trying to make it? Well, I see three or four heads that have nodded at least. Really, I mean, it's true. So, so the Lord took me here, and I just want to read it because this is the context and then we're going to move through it and hopefully, hopefully, the Holy Spirit will speak what he wants to speak to us. See in the crowds, he went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Lesser are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Bless it are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bless it are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account? Rejoice and be glad for your Lord is great and heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. What the Lord showed me is that Peter understood the connection between the Sermon on the Mount at the beginning of his journey with Jesus. And at the end of his life, when he's writing this second epistle, in between, he had an opportunity for a journey of discovery. And so do we. So do we. So if you have the hand out there, I want to just walk you through the parallel and then add some things along the way that potentially will help you trusting the Holy Spirit to speak into our hearts. So you see on that outline, on the one side of the cross, and by the way, you know, the kingdom of God, you know, flows through relationships. Vertically first, horizontally, second, what's that? That's across the kingdom of God will not flow horizontally only if it's not flowing vertically. The kingdom of God means to rule, rain and dominion of God in our lives. The rule, rain and dominion. So it starts out here, it says in your your little skeleton outline, it says, Second Peter one, verses five through seven. So we're going to focus in we're going to love the word, the theme of the observatory. So let's imagine that we're kind of in a big observatory right now. And we're going to zero in up close and personal with these three verses, along with the Beatitudes, to unfold and get a clearer picture of what God might be saying to us as we walk out this journey of faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm gonna go quickly through the first two or three, because I really think that as we get into the substance of it, this is where much of the Body of Christ gets hung up today. And that's what I want to focus on for the sake of time, faith, and add to your faith, what is faith, faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen, without faith, it's impossible to please God. There's Hebrews 11, one, Hebrews 11 Six, we all know that Romans 1017 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, as the word of God penetrates our soul. So we all know that one of the things the Lord showed me is that the key to true faith is blessing to the poor in spirit. Until a person comes to the place of, of recognizing their need, and there are pulper. That without Christ, without a relationship with a very living God that created us in His image, there is no true faith. I mean, we may pray a prayer. I prayed a prayer when I was in junior high now to use for Christ meeting. And I'm, I regret to say it didn't mean flipped to me. It didn't change my life. But it made the leader happy. And, um, please understand, I'm not being critical. I'm just trying to be honest, that true faith. Saving faith only comes when we recognize how desperate we are, how poor we are, that we're pulper. And without that, we're spiritually bankrupt without it. So we need that, but we're gonna move on quickly. Okay, add your faith virtue. Wow, you touched on this, we touched on this for holiness. Nancy did such a great job in that. So grateful for that. So add to your faith, virtue, and other other translations will say goodness or moral excellence. I have a little definition that I kind of made up. It's the power that comes when we give in, give up, surrender to the one who is greater than ourself. And I read that again. virtue to me became the power that comes when we give in, we give up. We surrender. I surrender to the one who is was much greater than me. That's virtually in the key to getting there. I believe. Peter understood because of his walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. He understood what it meant from the Sermon on the Mount. yours before that where it said blessed are those who mourn. Bless it are those who mourn. What the Lord showed me that and just the reality of grieving, mourning, over the depravity of my own heart. Not beating myself up. I'm not a navel gazer, and I don't look for what's wrong with me. I have found the Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of putting tapping me on the shoulder and said, this does not look like me. But he's never been me about the head, neck or shoulders. You know, you just spoken softly to me. But when we mourn when we grieve when we literally and we could go there, James for eight through 10 talks about wailing over our sin. Have You Ever Have you ever been in a place where you just were broken before God and say, God, I'm a mess. I can't do this without you. Deliver me from myself. Get to that place. That's the key. That's the key to virtue in our life. That's the key to power to live the Christian life. That opens the door for that. Add to your faith virtue to your virtue knowledge. It's a couple of words there. Couple of Greek words there in that text. One is a good Gnosis and the others epic Gnosis and I'm not real good on my Greek, so forgive my pronunciation for those who are. That's why I hang out with Grady. I mean, he's the scholar in our group, and you can fix me if I say something stupid, okay. So I'm okay with it. i That's why you gotta live in relationship with people that are smarter than you in certain areas of your life. You know, we just haven't got it figured out. You know, these two words are key, one of them has to do with knowledge. One of them has to do with a head knowledge. We all want to learn. But just learning isn't enough. The Pharisees had all kinds of learning, you know, they didn't recognize God when he showed up on the scene. The other is epic. Gnosis it really means the reality of combining the knowledge with the experience in our life. Hard do we take the knowledge and walk it out to where it's experiential, and we're living it out on an experiential way? I believe Peter understood that that the key was meekness. Blessed are the meek. And we have many biblical illustrations that we can't go to now but one would be Moses, how long did Moses took a while for him to learn? And how long did Joseph learn it take to learn his lessons. We have all kinds of biblical illustrations on the journey are the process of trying to understand that unless we are meek and humble in heart, that we can't gain true knowledge in Christ. One of the side notes is and one of the things I wanted to share with you that we don't have time to share is lately the Lord Lords have me on this journey of knowing God's name. Blessed are those who know your name, oh God, for they will put their trust in you. So nine, eight, or 910 Blessed are those who know your name for they will put their trust in you. So I've been going on a journey of looking up God's names. I don't think I'm gonna get this and so I'm going to squeeze it in now. Okay, so Jehovah shallow and what's that mean? Jehovah, what? Peace, Jehovah shalom, peace. As we sit here today with 40 5060 Whatever we got here, you know, do we have peace in our heart today? Well, as I studied that, I discovered that there are 12 it first of all, that word in the Old Testament is 250 times over say hello. But it's basically descriptive in in 12, different English words that describe in Scripture, and one phrase. I liked the one phrase I like them all, but the one phrase said void of anxiety you We get anxiety. every once awhile, I get little anxiety. Right now I'm not sure my car is going to be doing what it's supposed to be doing when Mary and I tried to drive up to Steamboat Springs because my battery light comes on. But this morning I walked up and I said, Well, Lord, if you're in charge, so I guess if I need to have it fixed, well, we'll just have a fix and enjoy what we're doing here. You're still the boss. And kind of a peace just flooded over me. Really did. meekness. Another term for meekness would be God tamed. We have a young brother, that Jim and Laurie and Mary and I and Grady and sandy loam, and David to a lesser degree, but family in our church, and they have five boys. Four of them are wrestlers. And at the college level, one of them's already at the University of Nebraska, graduated there and wrestled in the big 10. And his younger brother just as a freshman there now but one of them. His name is Levi, and he's a horse whisperer. He went to Kenya with me several years ago to teach on raising the next generation and in his brothers, one brother, Caleb and some other young men and their fathers. And so Mary and I, when we leave Colorado and get done with our little quiet time, we're going to go back through Seneca, Nebraska. And he lives out there in the country. And He tames horses, and Mary, and I've been there and we watch him and he goes up to this horse, and he just talks to it never raises his voice, talks to it strokes, it puts him in a circle and ring never raises his voice. He just talks to him. You know, he walks out to that horse when he's just standing out there. And he just whispers to him, he comes up to it, or she just comes up. meekness? How sensitive? Are we to God's voice? That's the key to True Knowledge. Are we sensitive to his voice? Add to your knowledge, self control, and I'm gonna get a little. I'm gonna I'm gonna start. Medellin now. Okay, so I'm just gonna give you a little warning right now. I'm gonna medal. Okay, so blessed are those who add to their faith virtue, to the virtue knowledge to the knowledge, self self control. I love self control. Things that I learned years ago. Self control, instant obedience to the initial prompting of the Holy Spirit. Self control, instant, immediate obedience to the initial. That's what's one. The first one, self control. God wants us to add, all of us fight that battle. There are so many things pulling on us grabbing on us wanting to rob from us. The enemy does not want us to live in self control instantly. Interestingly enough, Peter is saying that you and I have to participate in this process by adding it to our life. And yeah, we go over and read Galatians or read Paul, and he says it's a fruit of the. So you've got both things. It isn't one or the other. It's an R, you know, or whatever you call it. It's both. We want to add self control to our life. One of the things that I've written down here in my notes, the power of my will, in submission to God's will, the power of my will into submission to God's will. I think Peter understood, do you suppose he lacked a little self control when he grabbed his sword out and walked off that here? I think he understood the Beatitudes that was spoken years before that to him that blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt. And when we walk in self control, adding it to our life and operating in the fruit of the Spirit, which is the last one listed in Galatians, five, self control. We operate in that it'll break the power of every addiction. Every addiction, it'll break the power of it. We walk in it but we've got to die to self. We've got to die to self. I think Peter understood that Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. I love the Psalms, the Dear paneth, after the Waterbrook soul, my soul that's after you, Lord. Sometimes I just find myself saying that to the Lord. I'm so thirsty for you. I was pretty thirsty when I got here was night, man doing doing doing getting things done trying to prepare noon to stop? A Walk in worship started praying and not just like, Oh, yes, my tank is empty. fill my tank. Fill me up, Lord. We want God more than we want to satisfy our selfish appetites. I meet with a lot of young men. God has blessed me. I love young men. I love kids. We just had our first great and grand baby here a week ago yesterday. I had a bumper sticker once said, If I didn't know children, or if I didn't own grandchildren, it was so much fun. We had I had them first. So we had 10. Grandchildren. You guys are really getting them fast. So yeah, so how much do we really hunger to just be with Him, to love him to worship Him and be refreshed by his presence. You know, I think it's a key. And where I was going with that were young men as I love young men. And men. Well, we had a father son ministry that one time we had, like 70, fathers and sons involved in it. And we take them through a process, the Holy Spirit in 1996 gave me four pillars to start teaching young men pursue the Word of God as a source of your life. Choose the fear of the Lord as the foundation for godliness. Seek the wisdom of God for the sake of righteousness and justice, and walk in integrity before the Lord the church in the world. Four Pillars, said I want you to teach these young men. So we start doing that. As a result of that developing relationship with these young men, I've had many of them, call me up or send me a text message. And I got a lot of them on my, my phone, young men. They compete in sports, young ladies that compete in sports that are part of this family. And I love to send them little messages before they compete. And tell him I'm praying for him and Sam, but I'm gonna share a little thought with you. Remember, it's not about what you do. It's about who you are. Remember, it's not about what you do. It's about who you are. Give it 100% Leave it all on the field, leave it all on the mat. But it's not about what you do. It's about who you are. Because it's all about character. A lot of them would come to me and acknowledge they're fighting. I mean, there is such an onslaught slot on the minds of young men and young women today to attack the area of adjust their morality. Okay. So I've gotten a number of many times more than I can count. I can't tell you how many times I've had a young man come to my office and pour his heart out and sound bondage to pornography on. Okay, is it confess your sins, I usually tell him I said, first of all I needed to understand before you tell me anything, there's nothing that you haven't done, or thought about doing, that I haven't done or thought about doing. So you're not gonna get any judgment out of me. I mean, I'm not your judge. But God wants you to be free. If you'd be honest, and vulnerable, and leave it all on the table and leave it all out. You know, God will come and heal your heart and restore your fellowship, which is what you want. I've been on my knees with many of them. Then look them in the eye after they've poured their heart out to God. And now I'd say son, you're forgiven. Now go and sin no more. There's these things you've got to add to your life. There's a battle. There's a battle going on. We're in a war. Let's order those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. I'm going to the next. Oh, even metal a little more. Okay. You give me permission to meddle a little more. Okay. Okay, good. So, add to your faith, virtue, virtue knowledge to knowledge self control. And now to your self control perseverance or Patience, perseverance or patience and to that word there is Hoople, Monet, in the Greek Opal Monet, it means to abide under. So, as Peter is saying, because he understood issues about authority, because of his experience in being with the Lord Jesus Christ, he experienced the reality of what Jesus was Saint was saying, when he said, Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Gotta tell you a story about a young Chinese girl that was my interpreter for 15 years, became like a daughter to marry an AI. She traveled all over China. I didn't go anyplace in China. Without her she went to all kinds of took me to an underground house church training centers from the Russian border to the Kazakhstan border, to all over Central China. Over a 15 year period of time. You know, one of the first times I met her, she was I had a group with me that is smuggled a whole bunch of Bibles into China, like Latin Bibles. And it was fun to tell you that story is there. Anyway. So we're on this bus and his bus drivers really given her a bad time. And I don't know what the guy's problem was a bit. Of course, I don't speak Chinese. All I could hear was like, as a here, I could hear what he was saying. And it wasn't kind to discern that and I could hear her response. And he was just really kinda troubling her a lot. So I moved over, sat down by her in the front. I said, what's going on? And she says, Oh, pray for me. I said, What do you want me to pray for you? She said, pray for patience. Did you pray for patience? And I said, Rebecca, I'm not sure you want me to pray for patience, because the word says tribulation worketh patience and patience, proven character and proven character hope. Hope doesn't disappoint you for the love of God. It's been shattered brought in. Are you sure me and what you want me to? It looks like you're already getting the tribulation. So you probably don't need more of that. So let me suggest that we do what Jesus said and say, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. I said, let's pray for mercy for him. Well, I can't do that right now. I said, that's because your mercy tank is law. So instead, you want to judge him. The Saints that's what we do with people. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. If our mercy the next time you find yourself lacking patience, lacking perseverance, and you're frustrated, and you got this anxiety coming up, is because your mercy tank is low. Do you want God to have mercy on you? Then we need to have mercy on others. It doesn't mean you don't speak the truth in love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. You know, my friend Mary, she said yes, sometimes you're you don't listen. I'm a blessing. I really am. So Jesus modeled mercy on the cross. He was actively compassionate. What do you say? What I mean, here, what do you say? Father, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. We're doing pretty good. Add to your faith virtue, to virtue, knowledge and knowledge, self control, self control perseverance. And to your perseverance, godliness. I love this one. I love this. And add here godliness. This is a God word attitude. That which is well pleasing to God, an attitude that's well pleasing to God. I think another thing it means is to worship well and by that I don't mean necessarily get up and dance around like I did. I mean I I'm that's me. I mean, I'm my wife worships well, but her personality is different. So I would never want to impose fact, the one time I was upset because she wasn't doing some of the things that I thought she should be doing is any of you guys ever felt that way? So, so I was grumbling a little bit. And the Lord said to me, why are you trying to make marry in your image when I already made her in mind? That's painful. You know, we spent the first really 19 years of our 13 years without the Lord six years with the Lord 19 years into our marriages when he spoke that to me. And I realized that the very things that drew me to her that I was drawn to her when she was at beautiful little 19 year old brunette, both of us had darker hair than by the way. The very things that drew me to her were the things that expose my character flaws. They were the things that created anxiety in me. After we got married, they threatened my insecurity to put it another way, okay. My wife, I'm so blessed. She's living epistle of servanthood. I've learned more from my wife about servanthood than any sermon I've ever preached, or any sermon I've ever heard, because I've watched it. I've learned more about forgiveness. From my wife, she's a living epistle of forgiveness. I asked her one time, honey, you are the most forgiving person I've ever met in my life. She's very practical German. And her response to me was, well, as I've thought about it, I realized it just takes too much of my energy not to forgive. That's right. So she just made a decision early on, I'm just gonna forgive. And I was the adulterer, early in our marriage. event or store. Got so good. I'm a blessed man. See, Peter understood what it meant to add godliness to his life because Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart. For they shall see God. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. I don't. I mean, I know it means that we will someday Ghaith we will. But I believe the Lord show me time and again that bless it as a pure heart. When I'm operating an impure art. I see him in my life every day. I see him doing things in my life. I see him on my behalf. As I try to walk without pure heart. Proverbs 423 says, guard your heart with all diligence for autumn, which brings the issues of life. I love the following verses because the following verses say watch what you say. Watch what you see. And watch how you walk. Powerful verses that I've shared with my young brothers, who have come to me with issues of pornography and things like that in their life. By the way, you don't cast out the flesh. you crucify the flesh, we got three enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil, you renounced the world, you crucify the flesh, and you cast out the devil. So you got to be able to recognize which one of those and there there are three bedfellows. They love to twist themselves together. And sometimes it's hard to discern which one is having the major impact on your life. Peter understood that. You remember one of our China trips, we're really doing good on time, I think, um, we're gonna have a response time. And, and sure, I'm glad I didn't share all that other stuff I have in mind, you know, maybe next year. So we're in China with the team back in the late 90s When we started in the mid 90s. And there was a brother there by the name of Pastor Ilan pasa yawns gone now he's home with the Lord for many years. But during the persecution under Mao and all of that he spent 23 years in prison 23 years in prison, and he was never sick one day in his life 23 In those years, and one of the reasons he decided the only way he could worship freely was to take the job of cleaning the cesspool. Did you hear what I just said? He chose to take the job of cleaning the cesspool, so that everybody stay away from him. The Guardian didn't want to be around him. So he could quote Scripture and he could worship and he could just love on God 23 years. So he's out of prison by the time we're going in there. And we're taking a team in and we find a very secluded restaurant where we could get in a back room and be hidden from everything from everybody that we needed to be hidden from. And he brought his wife every time. She's about Mary's height. And she radiated the presence of God. She walked in the room, it was like there was this glow on her face. I think she prayed a little in 23 years. What do you think? Raising all five of their children by herself. They're both gone now. And I remember during our time of ministry after they shared their story and everything that we invited Mrs. Yuan to pray over our young girls, because we had a lot of girls who liked to smuggle Bibles. I don't know. Sometimes I found girls are more adventurous. And then guys guys like to do crazy things. But a lot of that ain't worth much, you know? Can I say? But the girls, they want to do some adventures and let's smuggle some Bibles. So we had a bunch of girls on the team. And we asked Mrs. Yuanda to pray over. Have you ever been around a locomotive when it just starts out real slow as the way she prayed? So she started praying and just so quiet, soft voice and just all in Chinese. Of course, I couldn't understand the things she said. But she just started out and she just gained momentum, momentum, momentum. laying hands on these girls and before you know it is like she is calling down heaven on these girls. And he isn't the Spirit of God is resting on them. They're on their knees for God, as she's laying hands on him is powerful time. Saints we know so little about persecution, the refining and fire the things I think we're going to learn. Are you ready? I don't know if I am. I'd like to be ready. I'm trying to be ready. You know, the refining fires godliness. Listen to the pure in heart. So add to your godliness. Add to your virtue, your faith, your virtue, your knowledge, your self control your godliness. Now your brother Luke countless add to your brotherly kindness. I love this one too. Yeah. We're just about to close. And then I'm going to ask our brother to come up on the keyboard again and do that. So I'm trusting that God's saying something to you today. Well, thanks I prayed. Or I calm with. Lord, I don't want to just preach. You've given me the words of life. On this journey of discovery, I want to share those words of life it's a mystery. Let me share the last two things in anima. Close with a definition of the word mystery. How many of you know the definition of a word mystery? You know, there's a lot of mysteries in the kingdom. What's the theme? You know? I don't believe it's just kings it's search about I think every one of God's children were called to be kings and priests you know I mean we are add brotherly kindness really kindness means affection, not love toward fellow believers. Just in a way to to be able to give affection love appropriate love. One of my former mentors and in some ways, rods as well. I had the privilege to spend a lot of time with with this man. His name was Bob Swanger. He's, I would say the most Christ like man I ever met. And being in his presence was like maybe this was what it was like to be with Jesus. You know? God took him home far too early for me. I only had fine to spend with him for four years. At the end of his life, he was about to be taken home. I spent time with him and you I said Barack Obama, how, how have you? still miss him? Said how have you gotten this way? Is it all deck? He said, It's been a real journey. He said, You know, I was a pastor and a Lutheran church, he said, and he said, I think I love the people. And I was trying to teach him and get him to grow. He said, But they wouldn't do what I wanted them to do. I used to get so frustrated, so upset with him, and just find this anger in my heart. And you said one day, I would just complain to the Lord. The Lord broke in on his conversation and said, Son, the problems are not the people, the problems you. He said, I don't understand. What do you mean? He said, Well, there's a difference between me and you. He said, You always see people through the eyes of their failure. I always see him through the eyes of their destiny. He said it broke his heart, brought him to his knees. And Rod, I really believe I had him lay hands on me that day. And I think that a portion of that impartation call me because ever since then, God's given me this capacity to see people more through the eyes of the destiny, even when they tick me off, ever be able to see him beyond their shortcomings. You know, I see I didn't bring near enough of those books called How to stop the pain. But for those of you who got them, that's a treat. And you can get online and get it how to stop the pain. It is amazing how this author takes you to the process of our default is to judge without even knowing it. But that is what God wants. God wants us to have brotherly kindness. He wants us to walk and brotherly kindness. So we see people through the father's eyes. You know, no matter what their shortcomings are, no matter what their failures are, no matter what their struggles in life are. It's his desire that we would add to your faith virtue to virtue, knowledge to your knowledge, self control yourself control, brotherly kindness, see your brother the kind I skip perseverance. It's in there. Don't forget it. Okay, to your perseverance, godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness, and then finally, add love. The word is agape. We can't do it on our own. We have to die. I have told people on occasion that you know, God brings couples together with a divine purpose of killing each other. Not in the natural, the self will of itself life. It's like, Oh, that hurts, you know. But that's part of his journey, you know, the things that used to aggravate us and separates and you know, we have we've changed Yeah, we've changed that. There's a lot of those things that I still have in me and Marianne has a couple of them left. Anyway, she's the things that used to frustrate us. Just cause us to look each other and laugh. Now we just got it for you know, we're just holding each other and saying, Yeah, I love you. I love you, too. It's a lot more fun. It really is. Okay. Paul knew this. Or Peter knew this. Peter knew it. I want to wrap up here and, brother, if you want to come up and get us started, I would like to have that. You don't have to start with that song we're doing on dancing, but I want to close with it. Because there wasn't new enough of him dancing. Let me tell you right now. Okay. Okay. So love agape conveying our Heavenly Father's attitude, and His will, towards those who are created in His image. Let me say it again. conveying our Heavenly Father's attitude and will towards those who are created in His image. Peter understood this. And he understood what Jesus was saying in the Beatitudes and said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. He understood that because he knew persecution. He knew it. We don't have time to go there, but you can make a reference to First Peter four We were setting in a hotel with a team in China. And we had some of our sisters and some brothers that had just gotten out of prison. And they came in to share with us where they were. And it was amazing how radiant they were with the presence of God. Here they'd been in prison. And I went back to my room and I was on done. And I lay down on that hard Chinese bed. I mean, tell you the beds are hard and China. Even not just the wooden beds, the callings, concrete beds are even harder. But lady down there, I just started weeping, said, Lord, I don't have a clue. I really don't have a clue what it means to know you and walk with you. I heard the Spirit of God say to me, First Peter four. I'd encourage you write down and go to it because three things happen there in first Peter four. And I'm just going to give you an overview summary. The first one is in first verse it says, when you are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, you are free set free from sin. When we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, we are set free from sin doesn't mean we don't sin, it means we're set free from the bondage of cine. Verse 13, my paraphrase when you read that, as we're filled with the joy of the Lord. So Peter understood that he's writing that to us to understand that we'd be encouraged that when we see persecution, we'll get set free from sin, the bondage of it will be filled with the joy of the Lord. And then it says, and the glory of God will rest on you. And the glory of God will rest on you. How many of us want the glory of God rests on us? We're gonna take a few minutes to worship, I honestly can't even believe we got done that fast. But my heart would be. And I'm going to pray. And just ask that the dancing Hand of God, Spirit of God would put that gentle touch on you on anything that you might have bore witness to hear. I want to encourage you to respond in a way somebody said, you haven't truly worship the Lord until you've responded to what you've heard him say. A person has not truly worshipped God until they've responded to what they've heard him say. So if you've heard God, say something today, find a place. Get on your knees where you are. will have the pastors come up and be ready to pray for you? Why don't we have one in this corner in this corner and just wherever we can kind of spread out. Wherever you think you can direct traffic, you're the boss. So Father, I thank you for this time. I thank you for the opportunity to share your word. ask that You would just continue to speak to our hearts, Lord, that You would minister as only you can. As I've been trying to share with you all, I felt like I see this in my mind's eye and I don't know where it fits exactly, but I see a sponge. I see a sponge that has been saturated. It's dry, that was dry. That's not dry now, but it's been saturated. So that's my prayer, Lord, that You would saturate us like sponges with a powerful liberating truth of your word. And we give you praise in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for joining us today. Aaron ova is raising up spiritual leaders in many nations through our spiritual enrichment events, syndicated NetCast international prayer Council network and numerous international seminary scholarships. Together, we are lighting the fires of revival, fueling prayer movements and raising up friends of Jesus in the nations. We invite you to partner with us in this extraordinary movement. You can sign up as a prayer and financial partner today by going to Aaron nola.org and clicking give. 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