Thank you.
You don't often see me without Ruth.
We are going to make...
Wait a minute, I've got to switch this
thing on.
Can you do that for me?
We're going to make a proclamation taken from
Psalm 71.
I think it begins at verse 9.
The New King James Version.
But at Ruth's request, we've slightly changed some
of the words.
Because David said, now that I'm old and
grey-headed.
And Ruth says you're not grey-headed.
He's not old either.
So we just changed a little bit there.
But the last verse is David's vision.
And it's our vision too.
And I trust it's yours.
I can't remember how we start now.
But I will hope continually and will praise
you yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of your righteousness and
your salvation all the day.
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the
Lord God.
I will make mention of your righteousness, of
yours only.
O God, you have taught me from my
youth.
And to this day I declare your wondrous
works.
Now also, when I become old and grey
-headed.
O God, do not forsake me.
Until I declare your strength to this generation.
Your power to everyone who is to come.
Amen.
Now there's a couple here that I don't
know named Stuart.
Who have done something very wonderful.
They've adopted a little baby.
And because I was preaching about that yesterday.
They've asked that I will pray over the
baby.
So if you will, wherever you are, bring
the baby immediately at the close of this
service down to the front.
It will be my privilege to pray over
him.
You will recall that yesterday I spoke about
two serious errors of the church.
Which must be corrected, I believe, before we
can fulfill the theme of this conference.
Which is to come into the fullness of
God's purpose.
The error that I spoke about yesterday afternoon
was that the cross has been displaced from
the center.
And I spoke about three main effects of
the cross.
First of all, it's the only basis of
God's provision for us.
We have no other basis on which we
can come to God but the cross.
Secondly, it's the basis of Satan's total defeat.
Through the cross Jesus has administered to Satan
a total, eternal, irreversible defeat.
And if we ever get engaged in spiritual
warfare on any other basis but the victory
that Jesus has won, we will be in
trouble.
And then I spoke about the third, this
is what I dealt with yesterday afternoon, the
third aspect of the cross.
Which to my way of thinking is largely
ignored today.
To the great loss of the church and
to the great detriment of the ministry, the
work of the cross in me.
I spoke about the problem of the Galatian
church.
They had been bewitched and as a result
the cross had been obscured.
Paul said to them, who has bewitched you
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed,
crucified among them.
Wherever the cross is obscured, witchcraft is at
work.
And then I also pointed out to you
that in Galatians we have the remedy.
A five fold deliverance.
Now I used to be a trainer of
teachers.
And one of the principles in teaching is
nothing has been taught until something has been
learned.
So I did a lot of talking but
I don't know whether anything was learned.
So we're going to check.
How many of you were here yesterday afternoon?
All right I'm going to check you now.
I want somebody to tell me what was
the first deliverance from?
Tell me.
This present evil age.
The second was from the law.
That's right, there's some real students here.
The third was from self.
Okay.
The fourth was from the flesh.
And the fifth was from the world.
All right, something has been learned.
Praise God for that.
Now I want to deal briefly this morning
with what I believe to be the second
serious error.
I think I did mention it.
That Christ has been displaced from his headship
over the church.
And I believe these two errors between them
account for almost all the major problems in
the church today.
It will not take me I hope too
long to bring this message.
And I believe it's very suited to the
communion.
Because I trust at the end we'll be
able in this communion.
To acknowledge Jesus once more.
As what he is.
The head over all things.
To the church.
Which is his body.
I want to read a few passages from
the writings of Paul about this theme of
the headship of Christ.
Very briefly.
Ephesians chapter 1.
Verses 22 and 23.
I'm putting in the names.
God put all things under Christ's feet.
And gave him to be head over all
things to the church.
Which is his body.
So God has given.
Not imposed.
Please note.
But given Jesus.
As head over all things to the church.
Not over some things.
But over all things.
The church has only one head.
At the close of this age prophecy depicts
a number of.
Abnormal creatures emerging on the scene of history
with many heads.
I think any creature with many heads.
Is something that Satan has brought forth.
I don't believe God ever intended any creature
to have more than one head.
Certainly.
The church has only one head.
And he is head over all things.
To the church.
Which is his body.
There's a difference you see because.
The scripture says God put all things under
his feet.
But he is the head over all things
to his body.
We're not under his feet.
We are joined to the head.
There's a great difference.
And then in Ephesians 4.
Speaking about.
The culmination of the church.
And I'm going to start in the middle
of a sentence.
Verse 14.
That we should no longer be children.
Tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine.
By the trickery of men.
In the cunning craftiness by which they lie
in wait to deceive.
And I think that was really the burden
that our brother had.
And it's a very valid burden.
There are people who are lying in wait
to deceive us.
They're not there by accident.
They're waiting for us.
And I'm afraid that there are many people
who are being deceived.
What is the remedy?
The remedy is the next verse.
But speaking the truth in love.
We may grow up in all things into
him who is the head Christ.
Notice again, all things.
He is the head over all things.
And the purpose of God is that we
may grow up into him as our head.
In all things.
There's nothing left out of his headship.
And the safe path.
The middle road which Bob was talking about.
That is growing up into him.
In all things.
Growing up under his headship.
And then in Colossians.
Paul returns to this theme of the headship
of Christ.
And there's one very beautiful passage here.
In Colossians 1.
Beginning in verse 15.
And here Paul tells us seven things about
Jesus.
It's a glorious revelation.
You see, Colossians I think was written to
protect God's people from cults.
And if you really want to be safe
from cults.
You need to know Colossians.
Inside and out.
And once you've really understood the revelation of
Jesus in Colossians.
You can't believe that he's just a guru.
Or a kind of offshoot of Buddha.
It's totally incompatible with this revelation.
And what interests me is there are five
facts about him in his eternal nature.
And two facts about his redemptive work.
So there's seven all together.
Let's see if we can follow them.
Beginning in verse 15.
I'll try and use my fingers.
First of all for the five and then
we go to the two.
Number one, he is the image of the
invisible God.
You know why God doesn't permit us to
make any images?
Because he has his own image.
And we can't improve on that.
Number two, he's the first born over all
creation.
And notice he's not created, he's born.
And he's over all creation.
Number three is the whole of verse 16.
By him all things were created.
Or the Greek says in him all things
were created.
He is the one in whom all creation
took place.
The next one, the fourth.
He is before all things.
Not he was before all things.
But he is.
Continually, eternally, existent before all things.
The fifth one, in him all things consist.
He holds all things together.
Those are the five eternal facts about Jesus.
And then we get two that are about
his redemptive work.
He is the head of the body, the
church.
That's the first fact.
He's the head of the body, the church.
Second, he's the beginning.
The first born from the dead.
That in all things he may have the
first place.
So he's the head and he's the first
born.
And this always blesses me.
Because the resurrection is compared to a birth.
And in a natural human birth.
The first part of the body to emerge
is the head.
And when the head emerges you know the
body is going to follow.
And so the resurrection of Jesus is the
head.
Is the guarantee of our resurrection as his
body.
Now, I always enjoy these statements that are
so systematic.
I just want you to compare.
It's really got nothing to do with my
message.
But it's too good for you to miss
it.
If you go to the beginning of Hebrews.
You find seven statements there.
Five are about the eternal nature of Jesus.
And the last two are about his redemptive
work.
I don't think myself that Hebrews was written
by Paul.
So here we have two independent sources of
this revelation.
Hebrews 1 going to verse 2.
God has in these last days spoken to
us by his son.
But the Greek says in a son.
The word his isn't there.
You see God has spoken through prophets.
But now we get something new.
God speaks in his son.
And then he describes the son.
Excuse me.
First of all, verse 2.
He's the heir of all things.
Hebrews is a forward looking epistle.
It's theme is perfection, completeness.
So rather looking back.
It looks ahead.
He's the heir of all things.
The one in whom all things are going
to find their fulfillment.
Second, through him or in him also.
God made the world.
All right.
Number 2.
Number 3.
He's the brightness of the father's glory.
The Greek word means.
Raying forth.
He's the one in whom the father's glory.
Shines forth in its rays.
Number 4.
He's the express image of the father's person
or nature.
Or underlying substance.
The same word is used of the imprint
of a seal ring in wax.
So he's the perfect representation of the father.
Jesus said he who has seen me has
seen the father.
And number 5.
He upholds all things by the word of
his power.
Shall we go through that again for a
moment.
Number 1.
He's the heir of all things.
Number 2.
Through him God made all things.
Made the world.
Number 3.
He's the brightness of the shining forth of
the father's glory.
Number 4.
He's the express image of the father's underlying
substance.
And number 5.
He upholds all things by the word of
his power.
And now we have the two redemptive aspects.
Number 6.
When he had by himself purged or purified
our sins.
Number 6.
Number 7.
He sat down at the right hand of
the majesty on high.
I'm so impressed by the divine inspiration of
scripture.
Neither the writer of Hebrews nor Paul were
writing a theological treatise.
They were just writing letters.
And yet the structure is absolutely, totally logical
and perfect.
Before I became a preacher I was, you
could say, a professor of logic.
And when I came to know Jesus and
study the Bible, the thing that impressed me
more than anything else was the perfect logic
of the Bible.
Don't let anybody scare you into believing you're
intellectually inferior if you believe the Bible.
It's the most perfect piece of logic that's
ever confronted the human race.
And in a certain sense the most perfect
representation is the epistles of the Romans.
All right, going on in Colossians now.
You may have forgotten we were there, but
we were.
Colossians chapter 2.
This is the theme of the headship of
Jesus.
Colossians 2 verses 18 and 19.
And again this is very much in line
with the warning that our brother gave us.
Let no one defraud you of your reward,
taking delight in false humility and worship of
angels, intruding into those things which he has
not seen or which he has seen.
Because other versions say he's somebody who's relying
on his own private visions.
Vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.
Now what's the source of his problem?
Stated in the next verse.
Not holding fast to the head from whom
all the body, nourished and knit together by
joints and ligaments, grows with the increase which
is from God.
Not properly connected to the head.
And when you cease to be properly connected
to the head you will go into error.
There's only one way to stay in the
truth and that is to be properly connected
to Jesus.
And every member of the body has a
divine right for direct access to the head.
Don't rely on some other relationship.
Don't rely on your relationship to a pastor.
Husbands don't rely on the fact that your
wife is a believer.
Or vice versa.
Every true believer has to have a direct
relationship with the head.
We've spoken here about problems that some of
us have been through.
I was talking to some brothers yesterday and
I said this is a conference of those
who have escaped.
I think those of us who have escaped
would agree that really in a sense the
root problem was people got detached from their
personal relationship to Jesus as head.
And you just cannot afford to let that
happen.
So you see how important this theme of
headship is.
Now I want to speak about the implications
of Jesus being head over all things to
the church.
And I want to take a couple of
other passages where Paul speaks about headship.
So that we can get an understanding of
what headship implies in scripture.
The first is in Ephesians 5 verses 23
and 24.
Now this is good advice for all husbands.
And I don't want to minimize that.
But it also contains a picture of the
relationship of headship.
For the husband is head of the wife
as also Christ is head of the church.
And he is the savior of the body.
So Christ is the head of the church
and in a parallel way the husband is
the head of the wife.
Relax wives, I'm not going to be teaching
on that.
But it's still true whether I teach it
or not.
Verse 24.
Therefore just as the church is subject to
Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in everything.
So the relationship of headship on the other
end implies a relationship of subjection.
The wife, believe it or not, is subject
to her husband.
And the church is subject to Jesus as
head.
And it says in everything.
You'll notice all these passages that we've read
all emphasize in all things.
In everything.
There's nothing left out.
And then in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
Paul again returns to this theme of headship.
And in verse 3 he gives a very
comprehensive statement.
But I want you to know that the
head of every man or every husband.
And in Greek as in many other languages.
The same word means man and husband or
woman and wife.
So you find there are variations in the
translation.
Because we don't have anything that exactly corresponds.
Verse 3.
I want you to know that the head
of every man or husband is Christ.
The head of woman or wife is man
or husband.
And the head of Christ is God.
If you string that out in the right
way beginning at the top.
You have a descending chain of authority.
God the father is the head of Christ.
Christ is the head of the husband.
The husband is the head of his wife.
So that divine authority which starts in heaven
in eternity.
Descends into the home.
And where that authority is overthrown the home
will break up.
How many of you realize that's true?
You see God has certain principles.
Like the law of gravity.
Which we are all familiar with.
We talk about breaking God's laws.
We don't break God's laws.
We can't.
You can say I don't believe in gravity
and jump out of a 10th floor window.
But gravity still gets you.
And you can say I don't believe in
this system of authority.
I'll set it aside but it will get
you.
You won't break the system.
The system will break you.
It's never changed.
I must be careful I'll get into that
and I won't get out.
Besides which.
I don't know whether you ever saw this
little cartoon in some Christian magazine.
I saw it years ago.
It was a picture of a railway station.
And the apostle Paul was just arriving by
train and it was in Corinth.
And the women's libbers were there to meet
him.
And they had banners that said Paul is
a male chauvinist pig and things like that.
But the little thing at the bottom was
Paul's comment.
He said I see you got my letter.
So enough of that.
Now I want to talk about what a
head does.
And I'm no doctor.
I'm a nursing orderly class two if you
want to know what my medical qualifications are.
But I'm a little bit rusty because I
finished all that in 1946.
I suggest to you there are four functions
of a head.
In the human body.
In the spiritual realm.
Number one the head receives input from every
member.
And every member has a right to communicate
directly with the head.
Number two the head makes decisions.
Number three the head initiates action.
Sets things in motion.
And incidentally the decisions the head makes should
be in the interest of the whole body.
Let me say you're hanging on by your
fingers from a tenth floor window.
And there's a man coming with one of
these long ladders to rescue you.
And your fingers are saying to your head
I just can't stand this pain any longer.
I want to let go.
And the head says I'm not making that
decision.
Because if you let go we all go.
You see.
So the head makes decisions in the interest
of the whole body.
Not in just in answer to an appeal
from one particular member.
Alright.
The fourth thing the head does I believe
is give ongoing direction.
If there's one key word it's the word
initiate.
I believe all initiative should come from the
head.
Now Paul said God the father is the
head of Jesus.
Turning it the other way Jesus is in
subjection to the father as his head.
Let's look briefly at the relationship between Jesus
and the father.
And I believe we'll see a perfect pattern
of headship.
And I want to suggest to you that
Jesus never took the initiative.
It's a most striking fact.
I'll only look at two or three passages
but you can read the whole account of
his life.
Never once did he take the initiative out
of the hand of the father.
Let's look in John 5, 19.
Very verse 19 will do.
Then Jesus answered and said to them most
assuredly I say to you.
The son can do nothing of himself or
from himself.
But what he sees the father do for
whatever the father does.
The son also does in the same manner.
But the son never does anything from himself.
He never initiates anything.
He only receives the direction, the pattern of
the father and follows that.
And then in verse 30 of the same
chapter.
Jesus says I can of myself or from
myself do nothing.
Nothing.
As I hear from the father I judge.
And my judgment is righteous.
Because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the father who sent
me.
So Jesus said I never make a judgment
of myself.
I never sum up a situation or respond
to a person from myself.
I always wait to find the father's attitude.
How many of you would agree we get
into a lot of trouble by making hasty
decisions.
And I'm one of them.
My own nature is here's a problem I'll
tell you what to do.
And it's taken me many many years to
get somewhere near the point where I don't
react that way.
Bob was talking about reactions.
And here is one typical reaction.
Somebody comes and says brother Prince I need
prayer I've got arthritis.
I say that's a demon.
But I haven't heard from God.
I may do that person great harm it
may not be a demon.
It may be something quite different.
If I just stay quiet for a few
moments God would tell me.
She needs to forgive her husband.
Or her parents or whatever.
Because of my background I'm used to making
decisions by reason.
Now God's decisions are never unreasonable.
Never.
But they're on a higher level than our
reason can achieve by itself.
So if you want to make right decisions
follow the pattern of Jesus.
Don't ever make a decision from yourself.
Always wait.
And if you're rightly connected with the head
he'll give you his decision.
And then one more passage in John 14
verse 10.
Jesus speaking to his disciples.
Do you not believe that I am in
the Father and the Father in me?
The words that I speak to you I
do not speak on my own authority.
This version says why it fools around with
that I don't know.
Because it's the same phrase from myself.
I do not speak the words from myself.
They don't proceed from me.
I am not the initiator.
But the Father who dwells in me does
his work.
If you analyze that Jesus says every word
I speak comes from the Father.
Everything I do is the Father dwelling in
me doing it.
So you cannot find a single place anywhere
that Jesus took the initiative.
That's the meaning of being under headship.
Personally I believe this can revolutionize your life,
your church and the church.
If we could bet back to giving Jesus
his headship.
John Wimber came to Britain a few years
ago with a message.
I wasn't present but it was reported to
me.
He said this is the message of Jesus.
I want my church back.
I think that's perfectly right.
We have taken the Jesus church away from
him.
And he says now I want it back.
You've been fooling around with it long enough.
You've made a mess.
Give me back my position and I'll put
things in order.
Let me just give you some statements.
My thesis is this.
That God only completes what he begins.
If he doesn't begin something you can't expect
him to complete it.
I'll give you three scriptures.
First of all Revelation 21 verse 6.
He, that's the Lord, said to me.
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end.
You know Alpha and Omega the first and
the last letter of the Greek alphabet.
I am the A and the Z.
I am the beginning and the end.
But if he's not the A he won't
be the Z.
If he's not the beginning he won't be
the end.
He's not committed to end anything that he
doesn't begin.
And then in Hebrews 12 verse 2.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith.
The alternative reading in this Bible is the
originator and perfecter of our faith.
You cannot separate them.
What he originates he will perfect.
But if he doesn't originate it don't expect
him to perfect it.
And then in Philippians chapter 1 verse 6.
Being confident of this very thing.
That he who has begun a good work
in you will complete it until the day
of Jesus Christ.
What can you be confident on?
That if he began it he will complete
it.
But if he didn't begin it don't try
to persuade him to complete it.
Ruth and I pray that regularly for our
ministry.
Because our ministry has taken a course we
never planned and we never anticipated.
It just took off.
But we're happy because we know we didn't
initiate it.
So we can say to God being confident.
That because you began it you'll complete it.
I mean I have total confidence in God.
I have to say at the moment concerning
that.
Provided we don't mess it up.
Provided we don't take the initiative out of
his hands and start to do something clever
ourselves.
We've done some clever things.
On the advice of clever people.
And they were disasters.
Financially we were going down the tube at
about $25,000 a month.
On good advice.
Then we did something silly.
We decided to stop selling things and start
giving them away.
On whose advice?
God's advice.
After that the whole thing changed.
I am, I honestly can say I am
frightened.
Of starting anything of myself.
I'm not sure I'm always successful but my
sincere aim is to let God initiate everything.
Because I really have confidence.
If he initiates it he'll see it through.
Now let's make that a little bit personal.
And I'm not going to embarrass anybody.
I'm not going to ask anybody to put
their hand up.
I just want to ask you some questions.
And I want you to think about it.
How much has God really initiated?
First of all in your individual life.
Are you doing things that God initiated?
See that's exactly what Bob was saying last
night.
Don't let somebody tell you what to do.
Unless they have authority to do that.
Find out what God has for you to
do.
And God is really, he's original.
He never does the same thing exactly twice.
They tell me that no two snowflakes are
ever alike.
God never makes anyone a carbon copy of
somebody else.
Don't model yourself on your favorite creature or
whoever it may be.
Let God initiate.
So I want to ask you that question
again.
Stop and think for a moment.
Think over the things you're involved in in
the moment.
Did God really initiate them?
Or are you just doing things out of
habit?
Or because somebody told you to?
Or because everybody else does it that way?
All right.
Secondly.
How much has God really initiated in your
home?
Husbands?
How much has God initiated?
How much that goes on in your home
is the result of God's initiative?
You've probably heard the story about the man
who said when my wife and I got
married 22 years ago we agreed that I
would make the major decisions and she would
make the minor decisions.
Up till now we've never had any major
decisions.
But now most important of all this is
where I'm really going how much has God
initiated in the church at this time?
How much that the church is doing is
really the result of God's initiative.
In your own church, wherever you come from.
But beyond that in the whole church of
Jesus Christ in the United States.
Is God taking the initiative?
Or are we doing something else?
Let me just suggest a few common hindrances.
First of all habit.
Just we always do things because we've always
done it that way.
Years ago I was a student at Eaton
College which you know is that sort of
snobbish ritzy boarding school just the other side
of the Thames from Windsor Castle.
And I mean a stranger arrived.
An American.
This was before World War II.
People didn't cross the Atlantic so freely in
those days.
I mean Americans, I mean I just met
one or two in my life.
And he said, can you imagine it?
He said, say why do the students roll
their pants?
Well I mean to say we don't call
trousers pants, you understand?
Pants are the things we wear under our
trousers.
Well what was the answer?
I mean in those days everybody had turn
ups for their trousers.
Why did the students roll their pants?
The answer is because the students always had
rolled their pants.
Why do you need any other reason?
In England if it's not been going on
for two hundred years it's an upstart.
It's like the United States.
Alright pass that by.
But frankly a habit is not a bad
thing.
If we didn't do some things by habit
I mean our minds would just...
I don't think when I turn on the
ignition key in the car I do it
by habit.
The movements that I make with the gear
shift and all that, they're all habit.
And it's a good habit provided you start
right.
Some people started with bad habits and they
never checked them.
But a lot of things we do by
habit we shouldn't be doing.
Habit enshrined in the church is called tradition.
And I think you'll agree that one of
the things Jesus had the most trouble with
was tradition.
Now I'm not saying all traditions are bad.
But we need to check.
The fact that we've been doing it that
way for the past fifty years is not
a good reason for going on doing it.
Let's check and see what the results have
been.
And then another serious problem is fear.
Fear of man.
Fear of the unfamiliar.
Well we've always done it this way.
I wouldn't know how to do it another
way.
Fear of being dependent.
If we move out of this I've got
no rules to go by.
I'll have to depend on God.
What a crisis.
Frankly we don't like to be dependent.
Most of us.
And then I'd just like to close with
this thought.
I think I've mentioned.
I don't know why but when I start
to think about Kenya my mind always goes
back there.
Because it was a very important and valuable
part of my life.
And I loved the people of Kenya.
And I'm proud of Kenya.
I don't have time to tell you.
But in 1960 a group of us met
and prayed for the future of Kenya.
And we prayed a prayer that is still
being answered today.
Kenya is different from almost every other new
nation on the African continent.
And I am so proud to think that
that came out of prayer prayed in 1960.
If you want the story it's in a
book of mine called Shaving History Through Prayer
and Fasting.
I received a letter from a student.
The one that had the vision that told
us what Satan was trying to do to
Kenya.
Just about one year ago sweetheart wasn't it?
And he enclosed newspaper cuttings from the secular
newspapers.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Kenya's statehood.
And every paper said God has been good
to Kenya.
That's an answer to prayer.
See don't ever give up on a situation.
If you find the mind of God you
can change that situation by your prayers.
Anyhow when I was there we were training
teachers for intermediate and primary schools.
And one of the things they had to
teach was the Bible.
And our aim was that they wouldn't just
teach a story.
But they teach a story with a spiritual
application.
So we would give them specimen lessons.
This is the story.
This is the application.
Incidentally this is just by the way.
But later on one of our students was
teaching the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
And he had the spiritual application written on
the blackboard.
And as I walked in I thought well
he's got the right idea but he doesn't
know how to express it.
Because he said lice can kill.
Anyhow I was teaching the story of Samuel
sending Saul to destroy the Amalekites.
You know he didn't finish the job off.
He spared Agag the king and the best
of the sheep and the oxen.
And then he said to Saul, to Samuel.
Blessed be the Lord your God.
I've obeyed the word of the Lord.
And Samuel said well if you've obeyed the
word of the Lord.
What is that lowing of the oxen and
bleating of the sheep that I hear?
Dead oxen and dead sheep don't bleat.
Some people come to you like that.
And they said I've done everything God says.
But you can hear the sheep and the
oxen.
So anyhow Samuel said God's going to take
the kingdom away from you etc.
Now I was teaching this story.
And I had the spiritual lesson in my
mind.
And so I got up at a certain
point with the chalk in my hand.
And I said now I'll tell you the
spiritual application.
And as I walked to the blackboard.
God said to me I'll tell you the
spiritual application of this story.
And by the time I got to the
blackboard I had it.
It was very simple.
Incomplete obedience is disobedience.
You realize that?
You can do 90% of what God
tells you to do.
And say I've obeyed God.
And God says no you're disobedient.
Incomplete obedience is disobedience.
So how about you?
Where are you at?
God has spoken to you.
How much have you done?
Are there still some sheep and some oxen
making a noise in the background?
One thing I've observed.
Is that we've been talking a lot about
witchcraft.
And I've been forced to study witchcraft.
And we're not going to go into the
whole thing.
But one of the things that witchcraft does
is play with you.
It's like here you are.
You're a man of God.
You're called to serve the Lord.
And you're really full of zeal.
But there's an invisible leash attached to you.
Held by witchcraft.
And witchcraft says go ahead.
Go on.
Get busy.
Preach.
Do this.
Do that.
But when you get a certain distance.
The leash is jerked.
And you're back.
You see witchcraft really doesn't object to you
doing quite a lot.
Provided you don't do the thing that really
matters.
So how many of you this morning.
Have got a leash attached to you.
An invisible leash.
And you really know what God is directing
you to do.
And you've started off.
And you've been busy.
And you've been active.
But whenever you get to the point of
really breaking loose.
And being totally committed to God.
That invisible leash is jerked.
And you're frustrated.
Is that right?
I'm going to close now.
I want to leave Bob plenty of time
for the rest of the.
But I just would like to help you.
One of the things God said to me.
I'll say it very briefly.
I've been traveling across Canada for a whole
year preaching.
And at the end God said to me.
I didn't call you to deliver religious lectures.
Whenever you preach on anything practical.
I always want you to give my people
an opportunity to respond practically.
And I've always tried to do that.
So I could just sit down and say.
Well I've presented what I believe to be
God's message.
But I want to deal with the people
who have that invisible leash.
And you particularly men.
But not necessarily only men.
You are struggling.
Let me give you a little.
Just one experience and I'll close.
It's an illustration.
When I finished in Kenya after five years.
With my first wife Lydia.
We went back to Denmark.
Which was her native country.
And we were there over Christmas.
And those of you, if any of you
know the Danes.
When the Danes celebrate Christmas.
They take it seriously.
Not from a spiritual point of view.
But from the point of view of eating.
There is nothing left out.
And we've been staying with Lydia's sister.
Who ran a guest house, a hotel.
And so just after Christmas.
I don't know whether it was before or
after the New Year.
I felt I got to break loose and
touch God again.
So I went out on the top of
a cliff.
Overlooking what the Danes called the West Sea.
And the British called the North Sea.
It was a very windy day.
But it was not raining.
I could see the sea, maybe a hundred
feet below.
And there was nothing there but seagulls.
And I got into touch with the Lord.
And he began to speak to me.
Not audibly, but very specifically.
And he said, Now you are this and
this and this.
You are the principal of a college.
You've done this and you've done that.
He kind of cataloged my achievements.
If you could call them that.
And then he said, And you are the
member of a denomination.
And you have a pension scheme.
And then he said, Are you satisfied?
Or do you want to go further?
And I was shocked.
Because I was quite convinced there was no
further to go.
I mean I spoke in tongues.
I prayed for the sick.
So what more was there?
But when God said that.
I knew there must be something more.
So I thought it over.
And I said, Give me time.
I'm not ready with my answer.
I need to think this over.
Because I saw God was in earnest.
So about three days later.
I got back on the same clifftop.
And got in touch with God.
I said, God I'm ready with my answer.
And I said, I'm not satisfied.
And when I said I'm not satisfied.
I realized for the first time.
How dissatisfied I really was.
You see many ministers are dissatisfied.
But they try to convince themselves.
This is all there is.
This is the way it's always been done.
This is the way the denomination does it.
So that's it.
But inwardly they're deeply dissatisfied.
And probably unless God brings them to the
moment of truth.
They won't even recognize it.
So I said no I'm not satisfied.
And then I always blush to think what
I said next.
I said if there is anything further.
I want to go further.
And God had an immediate answer.
Very practical.
He said well there are two conditions.
First of all all progress in the Christian
life is by faith.
If you're not willing to go forward in
faith.
You cannot go forward.
Secondly he said.
If you are to fulfill the ministry that
I have for you.
And this was 29 years ago.
If you are to fulfill the ministry that
I have for you.
You will need a strong healthy body.
And you're putting on too much weight.
You better see to that.
I'm so glad for that.
Because I think those of you here in
the healing meeting the other night.
Will realize it takes a strong healthy body.
And I had no vision of what was
lying ahead at that time.
I just have to say that decision.
If there is anything further.
I want to go further.
Opened a whole new vista to my life.
Wasn't long after that before I got involved
with demons.
And I had a special postgraduate course in
demons.
I don't think that would have ever come.
I could have stayed on that level.
Finished off.
I had my pension scheme.
I could have retired age 65.
Now I'm 75.
And I haven't retired.
And I don't have a pension scheme.
I tell ministers when they're in trouble with
their board.
Listen.
I want to tell you something I've experienced.
The Lord is a lot more generous than
most church boards.
So.
What about you?
And I'm talking specifically to men.
But I'm not excluding the ladies.
But men are so slow.
You know.
Wives you can give your husbands a little
prod if necessary.
But you really are not satisfied.
The truth of the matter is.
And every time you begin to move out
into something that could really fulfill you.
That leash is jerked.
Just when you're getting to the point.
So.
This morning.
We would like to pray for you.
I say we.
I'm going to invite Bob.
Because I know his heart towards these things.
And when you've got Bob Mumford and Derrick
Prince praying for you.
What more could you ask?
Please take that off the tape.
Come on Bob.
Now men.
Be men.
That's biblical.
It says that.
You really realize you're not free.
You're not fulfilled.
You've got some leash that's attached to you.
But this morning you want to tell God.
I'm not satisfied.
I want to go further.
Would you stand up wherever you are.
Men only to start.
Look at that.
My goodness.
Isn't that something dear.
Now what we're going to do.
I didn't plan this.
And I didn't warn Bob.
We're going to come against witchcraft.
Now ladies.
If you're in that category too.
We'll give you an opportunity to stand.
But I think you should be glad.
Ladies.
That men have stood.
Because they are so difficult to get moving.
Amen.
Now.
Expect something to happen.
I mean not some manifestation.
But expect something to change in your life.
Lord Jesus Christ.
We acknowledge you to be head over all
things.
To the church which is your body.
And this morning we want to put you
back in your place as head.
Over our individual lives.
Over our families.
Over our churches.
And over the church.
And Lord you have seen these men who
responded.
Who said I'm not satisfied.
I want to go further.
But there's something binding me.
Holding me back.
Lord I believe that something in many cases
is witchcraft.
And so in the name of Jesus.
We agree together.
We take dominion over that power of witchcraft.
We rebuke it in the name of Jesus.
And we command you to release these men.
That have stood in the name of Jesus.
Your claims are cancelled by the cross.
Let these men be released.
Lord Jesus Christ stretch out your mighty hand.
And lay it upon them.
And release them.
And anoint them.
And bring them into the ministry that you
have for them.
We pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
And all the people said.
Amen.
Now begin to praise the Lord.
Thank you.
Bob if you've got a word you say.
Thank you Lord.
Thank you Jesus.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
I'm going to leave you here.
While we're still standing here.
Let me just show you a picture that
I saw.
As Derek was praying.
Witchcraft carries with it.
A kind of enchantment.
And I saw.
Even that pension scheme.
Which is a very real thing.
There's a slavery to security.
Especially in this nation.
And we're not talking about any reckless thing.
But I saw a picture of a thing
playing the flute like.
And it's coming up out of the basket.
It's an enchantment.
It's something that has a controlling factor.
The controlling factor is the enchantment.
And there is a practical lordship.
To say Jesus is Lord.
Means that he is in command.
And when that thing broke off of you.
I think it was financial.
And emotional.
Or even sexual.
Whatever.
Enchantment.
A kind of an enchantment.
That somehow paralyzes.
That courageous choice.
Or the decision.
To make that step into whatever it is.
That God is speaking to you.
Not rash.
Not something out of whack.
But very carefully.
Working through the decisions.
Remember this principle.
God deals with us.
Not what we are.
But what we want to be.
How many of you could see God dealing
with Derek.
Not by what he was.
But by what he wanted to be.
If there is anything more.
Doesn't that bless you?
Because we think well this is the ultimate.
Little did he know.
There was a global ministry.
That was to impact a nation and continents.
And here it is.
And I could believe with Derek.
That there are men and women here.
That God could raise up to effect.
Businesses and companies and churches.
And nations and cities.
That God has something in mind for you.
Beyond anything that you could conceive.
Not in frustration.
But in careful obedience.
As the Lord leads us.
Now we are going to sing just one
chorus.
David would you come.
Or whoever David is here.
Now if you need to go to the
bathroom.
Or please don't move if you don't have
to.
We're going right into this thing.
But if you need to go.
Would you just do it while we sing
one chorus.
We'll stand right in our place.
And then we're going to move right from
this.
Can we do it?