So I thought yeah, yes; but there were people around me who kept saying: how did they do that fish thing? I'm like, I don't know how they did the fish thing, but I'm not going to lose my privilege of being overwhelmed with what they just did, at the expense of needing to know how they did it. And all night long they did stuff like that; and the people around me were like: how did they do that? I'm like who cares! Did you see? That's amazing! I think we need to be more like that with God. We see someone delivered of demons, and instead of having a theological discussion on how that happened, why can't we just go: oh, thank God they're delivered of seven demons! That is awesome!
You see someone healed miraculously, and instead of sitting around having theological discussions on how did that happen; why can't we just go: that guy was sick, and now he's made whole - that's amazing! That's amazing! Have we ever lost our privilege of being overwhelmed with God, at the expense of having to be right, and figure it all out? If He's God - anybody know what the second commandment is? The second commandment, what is it? Go ahead. Don't have idols. Is that all it says? No. It does say: don't bow down to idols, very good; but it also says: and don't make any image of Me. In other words: don't bow down to them, and don't make any image of Me. Essentially, the way the rabbis teach it is this: if you can think it up, it's not God. If you can conceive it, it's not God - it's not.
If I drew a circle on the whiteboard, and that circle represented everything that can be known about God, and I handed you a pen and I said: what percentage of the circle do you know, how much would it be? A dot? Right, can I get an amen on that? So how is it possible, that a group of people who would readily admit that all we know is a dot, would get adamant about anything? You've just admitted, all you know is a dot, and you're adamant? About what, your dot? God's infinitely bigger than your concept of Him, and if we ever lose the privilege of being overwhelmed with what He is, at the expense of being right about who He is, then that is bad - that's flames of heaven stuff - it's worthiness.
Let's ask a couple more practical questions, here we go. Are you at risk of walking out of heaven, because those people can't be there? Is there anybody, if you saw them in heaven, you would be convinced you were in hell, and you would walk away? I could tell you, when my granddad got to heaven, and saw black people at the table - he struggled. He probably thought he was in hell! He probably thought: the preacher was a liar man, he told me I'd avoid places like this. In my granddad's concept of hell and heaven - heaven's full of white people. There's like a white people section. Let's ask it this way: if heaven invaded your life today, who would you have to accept, that you now see as unacceptable? Maybe there's someone in the church that you just always have problems with, and Jesus is inviting you to go ahead and accept him now, flaws and all, because heaven - they're going to be there. You're going to have to eat a meal with them at some point, so why not now? If you're going to have to do it some day, why not now?
Here's one of John's revelations in heaven, and don't forget Domitian when I read this okay? Don't forget all that stuff I did on Domitian. Surrounding the throne were 4 and 20 other thrones, and seated on them were 4 and 20 elders. They were dressed in white, and had crows of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumbles and peals of thunder. And in front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing (a menorah). In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing - these are the seven spirits of God. Remember what the seven spirits of God are? Wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, fear of the Lord - it's the menorah. The middle candle is the servant. No anointing lights, without the heart of a servant. Wisdom, and the anointings of God, have to be tempered: wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, fear of the Lord. If you have wisdom without the fear of the Lord - you're a jerk. If you have knowledge without understanding - you're useless. If you have power without counsel - you're mean. They're tempered with the heart of a servant; and also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. So in this vision of heaven, where is Jesus? He's in the centre, and everyone is sitting around Him. So then we can say it this way, that heaven challenges this notion of God: that Jesus is at the top of a pyramid, and everyone's fighting to rank the best, so that they get the closest to Him.