In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the need for believers to separate themselves from the worldly standards and values. He criticizes the church for becoming more focused on entertainment and merchandise, rather than preaching the word of God. The preacher urges the audience to live a life of apostolic poverty and to be considered the least of men without reputation. He also highlights the opposition believers will face in a hostile world, particularly in the realm of religion, but assures them that God will be with them.

As I'm feeling it physically, I want to pray. Lord, I plead your blood upon our heads, upon this door and upon this house, upon myself in particular, that the enemy who would seek in any way to oppose communication would be repelled by the blood upon the door, and that your word would suffer no loss, for we are asking more than instruction. We are asking a word that will constitute an event of a foundational kind, though it comes only to these few souls in this room, it would be a word that endures and affects all the future. So grant grace for that communication out of the jealousy of your own heart, for the church of this city and of this nation. Redeem this time as only you can, as the high priest and the apostle of our confession. As the high priest and the apostle of our confession. We thank you and give you praise. In Jesus' name. Amen. I think I'll just begin from the end of that prayer. You don't have to turn to this. It's just one verse out of chapter 3 of Hebrews. You only have to look at one verse. The letter of Hebrews chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 1. Participants of the heavenly calling. For the apostles and the high priest of our confession. Jesus Christ. It's for the want of this consideration that we are suffering. Even the language of this verse sounds to us archaic and remote. Holy brethren. Heavenly calling. You would almost be embarrassed by references like that. They are so out of keeping with the present tenor of our modern mentality. Even as Christians. So we need to consider. That's why he says that. If we are to be holy brethren and to recognize that we have a heavenly calling. Because even the word heaven is not in our consciousness. It sounds like an irrelevant reference. But we are asked to consider it. Because our task as holy brethren is to bring heaven into Bulgaria. Another mode of reality. A means of being. A whole value system. Which is completely in opposition to the world. In every point in particular. That's why those who have subscribed to it. And have sought to make it known have suffered the severest opposition. Because the powers of the air know whom to fear. They themselves say Jesus we know and Paul we know. But who are you? There is nothing more important than that they should know us. And fear us. Because we represent something that threatens what they are. They are the gods of this present world. And they jerk and manipulate entire nations. In fact not the least of the things that constitute an apostolic mindset. Not the least of the things that makes of it. To which I have devoted an entire chapter in this book. Is the principalities and the powers of the air. To which the church knows hardly anything. If we have any awareness at all then we know something about it. That is usually at the level of personal demon possession and the liberation of the soul. But nobody understands the meaning of a hierarchical structure which occupies the entire world and affects every nation. And like to conceal themselves and yet they operate profoundly in society and in the world. We must not dismiss them as some kind of vague phantom spirit. Paul says of them in 1 Corinthians if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Paul identifies the root of the destruction of Jesus. Jewish instigation Jewish instigation provocation Roman enablement crucifixion is the Roman form of execution But if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. They were able to affect the death of Jesus because of their spirit influence in the heavenlies to affect men in the earth so as to fulfill their will. How else shall we understand Nazism and the annihilation of 6 million Jews to the very last day of the war that has stupefied military historians the Germans never relented in the machinery of annihilation to the very last day of the war they were still seeing the systematic annihilation of Jews when by every reckoning they should have been employing their material and manpower for their own final defense this is not to be understood politically sociologically this is a demonic phenomenon not just influencing the nation but taking full possession and turning the most liberal cultured civilization in the world into an engine of destruction for world Jewry and almost the world itself exhibiting the distinctive character of the powers of darkness the kind that is visited by Jesus ourself violence threat destruction devastation chaos this is the distinctive nature of the devil and the fallen angels with him and they are the gods of this world the church will never be the church in any significant apostolic sense until it takes this realm of reality into its deepest consideration and begins to see the world as a system operated by these powers that the love of the world is enmity with the father there is so much more that I could say in Ephesians chapter 3 which we will not turn to now from verse 10 Paul who is the steward of the mysteries of God which is the distinct privilege and calling of an apostle that's why we so desperately need their function because if it doesn't come from them it doesn't come they are the guardians of the holiest mysteries of God and we have suffered for the want of their impartation but Paul even says in Ephesians the apostles and the prophets by the very foundation of the church which unto him be glory forever until the end of time this is a typical apostolic statement that the issue for an apostle is not the success of the church or the benefits that accrue to its members or blessing but it's an instrument for the glory of God forever this is Paul's profound jealousy that exceeds and eclipses even his love for his own nation Israel and even that of the church as profound as these two instrumentalities are as profound as these two things are Israel and the church they are not a thing in themselves but a means to a great way to end the glory of God forever this issue of glory Paul has lost to our contemporary church we may include it in our hymns and songs but we don't in fact believe it anticipate it seek it or jealous for it so if you want to become an apostolic entity which is God's jealousy for you you must have at the very foundation of your being your corporate life a jealousy for the glory of God forever only that will enable you to be the fools for Christ's sake that apostolic reality requires and when you come to this alone when you come to this consciousness in a willful choice the purpose for our being is God's glory in our time and in our location whatever it takes and the remarkable thing is this that the church that you would think is the means to that end is in its present configuration the greatest opponent and will be the greatest cause of opposition to you because the principalities and the powers of the air occupy institutions in society government culture education religion and when our faith has lost its apostolic character and has become in effect an institution those powers are present to exert their influence and to play upon them for ambition for style and low and so they will rise up in the greatest opposition to that which threatens that institution which is the issue of apostolic reality when the powers of the air over this locality who recognize that you have come to this kind of concentration you will experience their opposition for the same reason for which they knew Jesus and Paul they will now know you because to commit yourself to this is an ultimate and total consecration that cannot be performed by religious well-meaning intention the essential feature or character of an apostle of which Paul is the personification of which Paul himself is the personification of which, Paul himself is the personification of apostasy is that his life is not his own when he says to live for me as Christ I am crucified and hidden with Christ the God this is not a religious rhetoric a certain biblical This is eminently the man of the Resurrection, who has counted all things as done, that he might win Christ, and know him, that he might serve him in the power of the Resurrection. Dear, dear children, we have to go beyond the mere approval of the truth, of the doctrine, and live in that life. That is what the issue of God's glory will require, and it requires an ultimate consecration, because it is a heavenly calling, and everything on earth will oppose it. This is ultimate gospel heroism, and it is not the issue of individual virtue or self-sacrifice. It is the Church as the Church, the corporate body of Christ, which is an organism and not an institution. And as we know about organisms, they are messy and bloody. That's why men prefer institutions. That could be organized and structured, but it requires performance. But the body of Christ as the Church is a mystery of an organic kind, that is connected to the head, every joint supplying, and the life is derived from the head, God, Christ Himself. And until we come to that formulation, in truth, these powers have no obligation to recognize it. We can make the bravest statements about our intentions, but they see right through those professions. They've got to see in us what they saw in Paul. And Paul says in chapter 3 of Ephesians, to come back to that, that God has desired that His wisdom, His many-sided, complex wisdom, should be demonstrated to the principalities and powers of the air, through the Church. And that this is the eternal purpose of God, in Christ Jesus. What a mouthful. We need an entire night just to examine this. What is the wisdom of God? And that God thinks it's so important, that He has created everything, the whole cosmos, and the Earth, and its revolutions, and its seasons. That through the Church, the manifold and complex wisdom of God, might not just be acknowledged by the Church. It will not just be acknowledged, or spoken about as an interesting subject, but be demonstrated. Because it can only be demonstrated corporately, through a quality of life and relationships, that is of a heavenly kind. And it is different from the wisdom of the world, in all of its values. This is our heavenly calling. So you see, we need a consciousness, a mindset, of an apostolic kind. The word apostolic actually means, sent. The root of the Greek word, apostolos. And so we see in Acts chapter 13, the first apostolic act. The Holy Spirit speaking into a particular congregation, not to Ruslan, but Antioch. Not to a totally Jewish congregation, but to a mixed, diverse congregation, which we can even identify by the text itself. One of the believers is called Niger, which means black. He was evidently an African. Paul and Barnabas were Hebrews. Others were from a Roman descent, or from Cyprus, or from the Mediterranean islands. But when they were found worshipping the Lord together, this is the exact language of the text. The Holy Ghost said, separate unto me, Saul and Barnabas, for the work unto whom I have called them. So when they had fasted and prayed, they, the congregation, multinational, multi-ethnic, laid hands on these two men and sent them forth. This is the first sending. And it says, so they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost went. That God equates the laying on of the hands of men and women, as being the sending of the Holy Ghost. God equates the laying on of the hands of men and women, as being the sending of the Holy Ghost. They were being sent into a world of violence. Of Balkan tensions and conflict. Because something had been established at Antioch. Of a transcendent and a heavenly kind. By which men were able to rise above their national, ethnic and racial origins. They had become holy brethren. With a heavenly calling. But really brethren. Because they were worshipping the Lord together. It was more than singing the chorus. They had reached a reality of another kind. That was beyond what the world and the earth knows. It's another wisdom. Think of the depth of the enmity between Jew and Gentile. Black and white. Look at your own history. That has been marred with conflict and ethnic cleansing. With Bosnia and Serbia. The hatred. By people who are of the same ethnic origin. God sent these men into that kind of world. To save them out of it. Out of death. And to communicate another wisdom. Another mode of living. Another reality of a heavenly kind. Which they had obtained in their life in the church at Antioch. It would be wonderful if there were an Antioch here. And God does not tell us how it was obtained. But I can suggest to you. Now that we are in our 28th year in community. Living together on the same property. In daily relationships. Going from house to house daily breaking bread. That this kind of church is a suffering. Before it's a glory. I could keep you up all night with stories. Of shocking revelations. Of the truth of the condition of the most impressive spiritual saints. Who maintained their spirituality. So long as their Christianity was Sunday services. But when it came to intensive daily relationships with saints. All the frictions. The tensions. The conflicts. About the condition of others. And of ourselves. But it's in that kind of context. That the reality of another kingdom is established. If you are willing for the suffering of it. And the terrible disillusionment. Disappointment. Even betrayal. With other saints. And the revelation of our own failure. Disappointment in ourselves. Brings us into a depth of reality. By which heavenly things are formed. That can be sad. Moses was a sad man. A deliverer of his people. After an extensive preparation by God. A remarkable picture of a man who thought he was Israel's appointed deliverer. Acting out of his own energy. And understanding. To kill an Egyptian. And to flee. And God keeps him in the wilderness. Because he has kept us. For forty years. Forty is the number of trials. Then. The encounter with the God of the burning bush. Who says in verse ten of chapter three of Exodus. Three. Verse ten. Come now therefore. And I will send you. You don't send yourself. I will send you. Not because of your evaluation of the needs of the people of Israel. But their distress and cry has come up to me. And now I will send you. Not out of your initiative but out of mine. But Moses says who am I that I should go. And this is an apostolic requirement. Paul says food is sufficient for these people. A remarkable paradox. Ultimate calling. And an ultimate sense of personal inadequacy. And an ultimate sense of personal inadequacy. And this. I can almost say that. In preparation of the need for salvation for some people. For which purpose is the pharaoh? Pharaoh is the symbol of the devil. The power of darkness. The need. This is at the heart of the enemy's territory. And God's answer is certainly I will be with you. And that's his answer to us also. The fool who says. Who is sufficient for these things. Christ is my sufficiency. I can do all things through him. Through him I move and live and have my days. So I'm giving you a sketch. A very inadequate. Very shallow. Of some of the essential elements. That constitute ascending. Which constituted in the 19th century. That we are all. For ourselves. And what is the result of that ascending? It says in the book of Acts. These are they that turn the world upside down. For apostolic. Apostolic seeing. Being totally bankrupt. Its values are patently false. Its reality is a pseudo reality. False reality. Its church is an entertainment. Its people are victims. Of merchandise. It's spitting out their lives. Without any awareness of eternity. That the world lives. In the father of lies. The whole world is set in the father of lies. And needs to be turned upside down. Not only by what we say. By what we in fact are. Radically separated from that world. And not living by its standards or its values. Preferring even apostolic poverty. And being considered the least of men. And the offshower of the world. And without reputation. Because reputation. And recognition. And the theme. Is the wisdom of this world. That manipulates and jerks. And the end of that way is death. So in the Philippines. At a ministers conference. I said to my brown skinned brothers. All of whom have come out of poverty. Very real poverty. And now we're enjoying a certain dignity. As ministers. That can put food on the table. And have a decent suit of clothing. And a career of vocation. And I said what would you choose. The esteem and favor of men. Recognition. And promotion. In a religious system. Or to be known and to be feared by the powers of darkness. You can't have it both ways. Who of you will stand. Before God. That you should be recognized by the powers of darkness and feared. What it will mean. Is that you have to forsake. Any concern to be recognized and to be promoted. To be esteemed by men. I'm not doing this moment justice. I'm not doing this. I'm not describing this as I ought to. There was a tension in the air. You could cut with a knife. There was a moment of truth. Of ultimate choice. That men were free to make for or against. Who didn't want to go back to poverty. They would have to face that risk. If they forfeited the values of this world. If they gave up. And chose to be feared by the powers of darkness. And some of them stood up with trembling. And something was happening overhead in the air. And in heaven. That would be significant for all that nation. That's the issue of the cross. Maybe just to take a few minutes. And first Thessalonians. And catch a little sketch of Paul. Who himself is such a separated man. And that's why he could come to pagans. And set them free. Not just a religious option. But an exchange of kingdoms. Because he says in chapter 1 of verse 5. Our gospel came unto you. Not in word only. But also in power and in the Holy Ghost. Chapter 1 verse 5. Because you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. I want you to think on this. The gospel came to them in the power of the Holy Spirit. To set them free from idols. And to serve the living God. And to wait for his son who would come from heaven. And save them from the day of his wrath. I'm actually quoting the text here. Who even thinks like that today? Who even speaks like that today? What modern Christian is thinking about the day of wrath? From what he has been saved. Paul communicated this to pagans. Who had no biblical foundation. In so powerful a way. That the issue of the Lord's coming. And of judgment in the world. And salvation from that judgment. Was made cogent and real. That is apostolic preaching. That takes apostolic power. That's communicating another reality. Totally invisible. And yet made real to the hearers. In such a way. As to embrace a message. That will make them an object of opposition. From their own kinsmen. For they are not continuing in those traditions. And have adopted the God of the Hebrews. The God of Jacob and the God of Israel. And will live differently. And their very living will be an indictment by those who remain pagan. This is a radical turning. And was accomplished by the hearing of a message preached. In a particular apostolic power and authority. Because Paul says you know what manner of men we were among you. Which is to say that the issue. Of true preaching. And anointing. Charisma. Is also the issue of character. You know what manner of men we were among you. Paul could say that boldly. Knowing he was not going to be contradicted. For your sake. Not for my sake. For any benefit that I would receive. For your sake. Paul himself was another kind of man. He was not only the speaker of the message. He was the message. For an apostle is the thing in himself. And an apostolic church. An apostolic body. Is the thing in itself. That's why he's a sent one. He represents the one who sent him. That's why Jesus could say if they receive you they receive me. And if they receive me they receive him who sent me. They receive in the ultimate reality of God. Because the sent one is the representative of that God. And lives by his life. Serves his purposes. Is without regard to himself. You know what manner of man I was. And that's why the gospel came to you in Paul. That you should turn from idols to serve the living God. And to wait for his son from heaven. Whom he raised from the dead. Even Jesus. Who delivered us from the wrath to come. Paul is profoundly eschatological. The wrath to come. That you might be found worthy in the day of the Lord's appearing. Many references to the end of the age. The coming of the Lord. The conclusion of history and time. This is eschatological. In the Greek word eschaton. The Lord's coming. This consciousness. This consciousness. Is entirely lost to the church today. It has no anticipation of the end. That's why one Sunday is like another. Because we are not moving consciously toward a conclusion. Consummation. Of a cosmic kind. That glorifies God forever. By which the crucified and the despised one returns as king of glory. To rule from the appointed place of God. The holy hill of Zion. Where God says I have to set my son. On the holy hill of Zion. And given him the nations for his inheritance. Well I have to stop. How much can you take? You need to understand apostolically. The whole foundational issue of the faith. Is the rule of God over his own creation. An actual kingdom come. Whose king is a descendant of David. And can rule from the throne of David. And rule forever. And affect all nations. It's the end of the influence and the power of darkness. The false rules of this world of darkness. Are completely ended. And mankind is freed. When the king takes his throne. On the holy hill of Zion. Where the nations will do everything to oppose that reality. Which has to do with the restoration of the nation of Israel. More than what is represented by today's political state. Which was at the heart of Paul's understanding. For which reason he gives three chapters to the subject in Romans. And tells the church they should not be ignorant of this mystery. What is an apostolic body? One that anticipates this mystery. And this end and this climax and conclusion. Knows that it will be bitterly opposed in seeking it and desiring it. Sees everything as pointing toward that end. Understands the issue of Israel in that climax. And is willing to be extended as a sacrifice for Israel's restoration. My subject tomorrow. And that this is part of an entire understanding. The mindset. An apostolic view. That cannot be obtained by single individuals. That requires an organic knit of life. Who consecrate themselves to these ultimate things. And that when it takes place. Not only does heaven recognize it. But the powers of darkness also. Jesus they know. And Paul they know. But who are you? Do you know what my prayer for you is? And I'm going to pray it now. Is that you should be known by the powers of darkness. Which is more than the enjoyment of your present fellowship. It's nice to enjoy what you have. A shared camaraderie. A shared fellowship. An enjoyment of worship. And choruses. And sharing of the word. That does not threaten the powers of darkness. But when you come to a willful choice and consecration. To see this apostolic reality established. In that which is authentic. And which is the meaning of the word apostolic. Authenticity. That's what they recognize. When you're willing to consecrate yourself to that. Whatever it takes. And will take much. To break the power of the influence of darkness already on your lives. Which you have gotten from your schools. Your education. The wisdom of the school. From which there needs to be a really radical recognition and separation. That you would not only acknowledge another set of values. The wisdom of God. But demonstrate it. Even by your very presence. The powers of the air will know it. And your neighbors will know it. Your city will know it. For this kind of presence cannot be ignored. But it sets captives free. To serve the living God. By turning from their idols. Because the message that will issue from you. Not only in what you speak but what you are. Is attended by the authority and the power of God. To serve as the high priest. And the apostle of instruction. He will send us. But he will be with us. In a world that is hostile and opposed to this reality. And nowhere more powerfully opposed. Than in the realm of religion. It is they that will kill us. And claim they are doing God a service. I want to pray for you. Lord. I feel your jealousy for these children. I understand better than they what this evening represents. For them it's a curiosity. A Jewish man passing through. A novel form of understanding. But for you. It's holy. It's divine dissertation. It's call. It's an ultimate call. To an ultimate reality. That the church has not known. In this city and in this nation. And must know. Before the end comes. Or even hastens that end. So I pray for these children Lord. Give them a grace to understand. And a willingness to sacrifice. Even those things that the world has made most dear. And that the church itself observes and commands. That they might be a radically separated people. And show forth another. Wisdom. Not only what they say. But what they are. We know that this will not be easy or cheap. It will be painful. Sacrificial. It's the cross. And they will bring upon their heads opposition. That they would not have needed to experience. If only they would have been satisfied with something else. At the periphery of the church. On the outside looking in. Enjoying their own fellowship. But not terrifying the powers of the air. Lord I bless them. Let tonight's sharing not just be a message but a call. And may you receive their yay and amen. Even as you did that day from those Filipino pastors. They chose to be feared by the powers of darkness. Rather than to win the esteem of men. And the powers of darkness trembled at their decision. Something was struck in the air overhead. And something was released in the heavenlies. That will have consequences. There will be another kind of man. For the sake of others. And be able to set captives free. Who wasn't even aware that they were captives. Until they see the heavenly freedom. That these children exhibit. It's a reality. An ultimate reality. Another kingdom. Whose time has come. Bless these children Lord. And let not your word fall to the ground. They will have occasion to consider and review it. And even now. On this basis of this brief sharing. They know what is being asked of them. And are able to give you a yes. Even now. That releases you.