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The Revelation Knowledge in Christ (Part 2) · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. So today we'll continue from where
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we started from on Sunday. We have the revelational
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knowledge in Christ. And I gave just an introduction,
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starting from Timothy. And from there, we checked
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the Greek words and all of that. And we saw that
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the entire scripture has to be taken together,
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right? We saw that the entire scripture has to
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be taken together. The entire scripture has a
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theme, has a message. points to a person, right?
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And in the light of interpretations of the scriptures,
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we will pay attention to that much more as we
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go through the writings. So as we go through
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the letters, as we go through the phrases of
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the scripture, as we go through things that even
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they are documented as God says the Lord, okay?
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When we go through things that they are even
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documented as thus says the Lord, right? We must
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examine them in the light of the entire scripture,
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right? The entire scripture. We must investigate
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them, examine that they are consistent. We said
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the revelation of Christ is consistent, right?
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Across the scripture. And we pointed out to...
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A number of, I think, two scriptures that we
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examined, which we are going to examine today,
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and I will add three more scriptures to it, is
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how people heard, right? When they read the letters,
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when they read the phrases, some statements from
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the Old Testament, they heard, and why they heard.
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So we read 1 Corinthians 15, 3 -4. Please, can
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you go there? 1 Corinthians 15, 3 -4. We didn't
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say much on that. on Sunday. It says, So I delivered
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first to you, first of all, that which I also
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received, that Christ died for our sins according
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to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and
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that He rose again the third day according to
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the Scriptures, and that He was seen by sephars
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and then by the twelve. So we explain, the explanation
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here is that When Paul would check the scriptures,
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he would see that the scriptures taken together
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testify of the death of Christ and the resurrection
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of Christ. So, the scriptures testify of the
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death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ.
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Now, this is before the manifestation on earth.
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Okay? This is before the manifestation. The scriptures
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already testified of the death of Christ and
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the resurrection that would follow. Now, we now
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have some people who read the scriptures and
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we said, when they read the scriptures, okay,
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when they read the scriptures, they heard, right?
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They heard because they did not read it in the
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manner at which Paul read it and is able to...
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Say what he said in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3
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to 4. So again, they did not read it in a manner,
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in the manner at which Paul read it. The same
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scriptures, right? They did not read it in the
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same manner. So they could not see, right, in
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that direction. But not just because they did
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not read it. There are reasons why people actually
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heard when they read the scriptures, right? There
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are reasons why people actually heard. when they
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read the scriptures. So when we go to that Matthew
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22 verse 29, let's go to Matthew 22 verse 29.
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So Jesus said unto them, you are mistaken not
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knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.
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Now the context of this or why they heard was
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not just because they went to read the scripture
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and they saw one line and they used the line.
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No, it was not just because they mistakenly read
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the scripture. It was because their intention
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of, first of all, was wrong. Okay? So that's
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the first thing that can make you err when you
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are checking the scriptures. If your intention
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is to look for what would justify what is in
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your mind, you will err. So I want to check the
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scripture to discover how to make money. That
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is what is in my mind. Then if I go towards the
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scripture, I would err. Okay? If my intention,
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right, is, okay, I pick up the scripture and
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I want to use the scripture to support, you know,
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my educational attainment and all of that, then
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I have the tendency, a very high tendency to
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err. You know why? Because everything you see,
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you would drag it into what you want it to fit
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in. So you will be finding scriptures that will
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be saying something else. but you will be putting
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it in the context of what is in your heart. So
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what is the context of this? They were looking
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for a way to say resurrection was not possible,
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right? So they had an intention in their hearts.
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So the way to approach the scripture or the proper
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way they would have approached the scripture
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is to go into the scripture to say, let us see
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scriptures that points to resurrection, okay?
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Let us see scriptures that point to it. Then
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examine those scriptures layer by layer. But
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what did they do? They came up with an assumption.
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So assumptions also can make you err in the scriptures
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too. Assumptions. So you want to paint a scenario.
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Like what if this and this and this? What if
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this and this and this? So assumptions and painting
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scenarios might make you err. Right? Because
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sometimes the Bible does not cover some of our
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assumptions in full. In fact, it does not cover
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most of our assumptions, right? Somebody was
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this and the person did this and the person did
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this. Now you want to fuse the Bible into that.
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So assumptions can make you err, right? So we
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stick to the scriptures. When you make assumptions,
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you would fall into error. Why? Because you are
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trying to explain something that the Bible might
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not have touched upon. Okay. And so we see, first
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of all, intention of the heart can make someone
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err from the scriptures. Second, creating assumptions
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and scenarios, right? So we stick to the Bible
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illustrations. We stick to the Bible story. We
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stick to the Bible narratives and avoid many
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assumptions and ifs. All right. For John 9, verse
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3, right? John 9, verse 3. Can we go there? Why
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did they err? Neither did this man noise, but
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that the work of God should be revealed in him.
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So why did they err? Because there is a cultural
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understanding or common understanding. There
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is a popular opinion about sin. So there is a
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popular opinion. If you go back to verse 2, please.
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So they asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man
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or his parent, that he was born blind? So it
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means that... It's a common thing. So popular
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opinions, right, can make you hear from Scripture.
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Something that, it might even be something that
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they've taught for ages, right, that this is
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it. But you have never examined. Sincerely, most
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of us, we fall into that category that there
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are many things that have been said, have been
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taught, but you have never examined that subject
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matter in the Bible. You have never examined.
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And I put it, I mean, I'm encouraging you today
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that as you go, when something, someone says
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something and it sounds like something that you
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cannot put a scripture to, right? Write it down
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and go and examine if truly those things are
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so. Even up until recently that people, you know,
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social media and all of that, people started
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making maybe some commentaries or skits or all
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of that, right? Things like people help those
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who help themselves. You know, we're popular
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saying holiness is next to godliness and all
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those things. They are saying that they've read
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the scriptures and they just came up with those
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things. Okay. So you cannot really find them
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verbatim in the Bible. Neither can you find some
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of them as ideas in the Bible. So we have to
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pay. attention to those things. So, popular things,
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things that are common, and it might even be
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things that are, you know, doctrinally, uh, doctrinally
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practiced, people's practice. For example, let
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me put one, water baptism, right? Water baptism
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is something that almost every Christian, you
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know, uh, what I say, most churches do to today,
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right? Most churches really do. But when we pay
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attention to that, to go study, we might have
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a different understanding. We might have a more
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clearer understanding. Another thing we talk
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about is what we call Holy Communion. People
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conduct that and we don't hold anything against
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anybody. But the point is, if you examine the
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Scripture and the context, you might find a difference.
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So, you might get into such kind of things. So,
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it means that you should always check for yourself
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what Scripture is saying. what scripture is saying.
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Now let's go to another one. Luke 9, verse 55.
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Luke 9, verse 55. But he turned and rebuked them.
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Go to verse, just like verse 53. Let's see from
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verse 53. But they did not receive him because
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his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
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And when the disciples, James and John, right,
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saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to
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command fire to come down from heaven and consume
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them? just as Elijah did, but he turned and rebuked
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them and said, you do not know what manner of
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spirits ye are of. You do not know what manner
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of spirits ye are of. So, truly, did they read
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Elijah's story? Yes. Did they see the illustrations
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of Elijah? Did this happen in the Elijah story,
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calling down fire? Yes. They read it, they saw
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it, they held on to it, right? And at the point
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where they felt, it is necessary to apply this
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thing here. They chipped it in, right? They chipped
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that in and Jesus said, no. So what is making
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them hell here is mainly, he said, they do not
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know what manner of spirits they are of. It means
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that if you read across the scriptures, right,
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you will understand the spirit by which the scripture
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is written and you would know whose you are.
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So it means that they cannot stop at that story,
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right? In Kings, you cannot stop there. In that
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event, you must check across the scriptures to
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see if that is the spirit by which the scripture
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has been written. Okay, so you check if the scripture
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has been written in, let's put it this way, in
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that light. But they did not, rather they held
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it as a tool, right? And one day, You know, they
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used it. Now, one of the private scriptures that
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we or people do use, I don't know about these
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days, but I know people use Psalms a lot, right?
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So you put Psalm in your pocket. In fact, at
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some point, it was given to us as, they had to
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summarize it in a small Bible, what the Gideon's
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Bible, right? And New Testament and Psalms, and
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it was combined. I don't know why they choose
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Psalms. Psalms and Proverbs, right? New Testament,
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Psalms, and Proverbs, and it was given to us.
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It was like a quick means to move. So Psalms
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was there, and it's one of those scriptures that
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people use quickly. You just quote it, right?
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If anything happens, if you're in danger, there's
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some for it. If you need protection, there's
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some for it. So people really don't read the
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Bible, right? Rather, they just pick those bullets
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of points. But in picking those, you might not
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understand. right? The entire message of Christ,
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right? The entire scripture. You might not understand.
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That is why you might see, right? Someone pointing,
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you know, David talking about his enemies, which
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in the story of David, he had physical enemies,
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right? He had physical. Now, if you stop there,
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you will not understand the entire context of
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the Bible, right? Because you will pick David's
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enemy and you also will look for your neighbor
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and say, well, my neighbor is the real enemy
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and my neighbor needs to, you know, to die in
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that sense. So, not picking, Right. But checking
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across, you have that verse, but check across
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the scriptures. Now, John 8, verse 5. So this
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one is because they did not read across the scripture.
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They did not check in what spirit was the scriptures
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written. In the spirit of Christ, the scripture
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was written. That is it. Scripture was written
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in the spirit of Christ. So they are of Christ.
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They are of Christ. They are not of Elijah. They
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are of Christ. I mean, in the context of what
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Elijah did. Right. So they are of Christ. Now,
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John 8, verse 5. Let's go to John 8, verse 5.
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Now, Moses, in the law, commanded us that such
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should be stoned. But what do you say? Right?
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So, it's like, you want to put... Let me put
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it this way. I don't want to say two prophets
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against themselves. But you want to put... In
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a way, we can use that because... probably because
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Moses also said the Lord will send a prophet,
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right? Let me use that scripture to be my guide.
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Now, it's like putting two messengers of God
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against themselves, right? So Moses said this,
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but you said you are of God. What do you say?
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So contradict Moses, and then let's see how these
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people will accept you. Do you get it? So if
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he contradicts Moses here, right, and he's not
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able to explain it, then... It means that the
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people will be against him because they held
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Moses in a very high esteem, right? They held
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Moses. And you see that they keep using Moses
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very well. So here you see that their intention
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also was wrong. They wanted to catch him. So
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you want to cause a conflict. So you want to
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pick up a scripture to cause conflicts, right?
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That is what we see here. Not just to catch him
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now, but to put him against the scripture. So
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you want to put Christ. in whose spirit the scripture
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was written, against the scripture. So, when
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people try to do that, they want to put you against
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the scripture, they want to put two people against
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themselves, they can say, this person said this,
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what do you say? You know? I can say, Chris said
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this, right? And I'll come and meet maybe Sister
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Christy. I say, Christy, what do you say? Right?
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So, Christy said salvation is eternal. Christy
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said it's not eternal. Right? And both of them...
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they face themselves in a heated debate, right?
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So, if that's the intention of putting out scriptures,
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it means that you also, you will not learn. It
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will be very difficult for you to learn. You
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will not be able, right, to learn. Matthew 19,
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verse 7, similar in this context. Matthew 19,
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verse 7. So, people use scriptures to cause conflict.
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There are many scriptures actually. They said
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to him, why then did Moses give us a certificate
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of divorce and to put us away? Again, the same
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pattern. Why then did Moses say this? Do you
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want to say against Moses? Do you want to speak
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against Moses? Do you want to speak against Moses?
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So people would err because they have an intention
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to put people against themselves. See many other
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examples, Matthew 5 and Matthew 4, Jesus' temptation,
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rather. We will find those scriptures pointing
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to intentions, right? And they pointed the scriptures
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were used. The scriptures were used. So it means
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that we need to pay attention to ourselves, right?
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We need to pay attention to ourselves. When you
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invoke a scripture, let me use that word right,
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when you invoke a scripture, what is the intention
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of your invoking the scriptures? And does it
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align with the spirit by which the scripture
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is written? Okay, does it align with the spirit
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by which the scripture is written when we invoke
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a scripture? Okay, good. So that way we'll be
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able to see how people miss the scripture. Now,
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one thing that we said is that the scriptures
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are read together. So now the solution is to
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read it together. Read it together, check across
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all the scriptures and you would find it. Let's
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see Philip in Acts chapter 8, verse 27 to 35.
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Let's see what Philip did. And what Philip did
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would actually give us a direction. Paul did
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similar thing, but Philip's own was much more,
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I wouldn't say it's easier, right? I wouldn't
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say it's easier. And it's going to help us for
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evangelism. Okay. It's going to help us for evangelism
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when we come to what Philip did now and what
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Paul did. So let's go. 27 to 35. And so he arose
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and went and behold, a man of Utopia, a union
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of great authority under Candace, Candace, the
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queen of Utopians, who had charge of all her
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treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship.
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So he must have heard the scriptures and about
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scriptures and was returning and sitting in his
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chariot. He was reading. Isaiah the prophet.
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Then the Spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake
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his chariots. So Philip ran to him and heard
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him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you
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understand what you are reading? Now, one of
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the ways by which you can also evangelize is
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in the statements of people, right? In the statement
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of people. Somebody just comes to you and said,
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oh. I know Jesus, or you just meet somebody and
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they say, I know Jesus is a prophet. Or they
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are just discussing about, you know, I know Jesus,
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or they are reading something. In their statements,
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right, or in what they are doing, you can begin
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from there, right, to teach. It's very, you know,
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it's a very common style, right? From what the
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person said, from what the person is teaching,
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from there you can now give light. Because this
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is what... Philip did. So do you understand what
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you are reading? So do you, what do you mean?
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Do you understand what Jesus being the son of
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God means? Maybe that's the new one we would
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be, you know, when we go for evangelism, we'll
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add to it. Because some people, when you meet
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them quickly, they'll say, I believe in this
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death, burial, resurrection. I believe in this.
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I believe in that. And blah, blah, blah, blah,
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blah. Right? And truly they do. They do. But
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sometimes there is need for depth. Okay? There
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is really need for depth. Because to get to some
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point, you need to answer questions like, what
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does the son of God? What does resurrection mean?
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How can he resurrect? Is it possible? So the
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next scripture said, do you understand what you
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are reading? From what he was reading, the conversation
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erupted. And he said, how can I, unless someone
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guides me? Now, if you get a good person who
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is humble, they can tell you this. But if you
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get someone who is not, they can further explain
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and tell you more. Then you can be able to correct
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that. And he answered, and he asked Philip to
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come up and sit with him. The place in the scripture
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which he read was this. He was led as a sheep
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to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his sharer,
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he silenced. So he opened not his mouth. In his
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humiliation, his justice was taken away, and
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who will declare his generation? For his life
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is taken from the earth. So the eunuch answered
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Philip and asked, and said, I ask you, of whom
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does the prophet say this, of himself or of some
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other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning
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at the scripture, preached to him. Beginning
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at the scripture means that from Isaiah, he would
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start, he would take it a step backwards to Exodus,
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even Genesis, and take it a step forward to Malachi.
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This is what it would mean because it said, beginning
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at the scripture, some translation said, he began
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from the scripture to teach him about Christ.
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So it definitely means that in Philip's teaching,
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there is a cutting across of the scriptures that
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he had to do to explain this, to explain that
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it was Christ that he was talking about and the
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prophet wasn't talking about himself, right?
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He was talking about Christ. So, because in there,
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You will not find the word Christ, right? You
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might find the idea of a Messiah, right? But
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the promise might not even be in that chapter.
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So to read where it was said, where it was promised,
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where it was instructed, to whom it was given,
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which is to, I mean, to Abraham, right? We had
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many, the promise granted, given to him. He had
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to go back to Genesis to begin to teach. So let's
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go to, I think Galatians can help us, right?
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Galatians can help us. Galatians 3 verse 8, right?
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Galatians 3 verse 8. So Philip practiced teaching
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from a particular scripture to every other scriptures,
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right? Galatians 3 verse 8. And so the scripture
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foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles
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by faith, right? Preach the gospel to Abraham
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before and saying in you, all the nations, right?
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shall be blessed, right? He preached the gospel.
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So in saying that, the gospel is in that, right?
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In saying that, that is the gospel. In you, all
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the nations shall be blessed. And we've taught
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this and we've said, well, this is not Jews alone,
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but all the earth, right, will be blessed because
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of Christ that would come through the line of
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Abraham. So all the earth will be blessed. So
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here now, connecting it to Isaiah. So Isaiah
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would go and start from where this was said in
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Genesis and begin to teach that God has promised.
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And this is the suffering of the Messiah in Isaiah.
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So Isaiah would talk about the suffering. Genesis
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would have talked about the promise. Exodus would
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have given a picture and all of that. So we see
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this in this pattern. We see this particular
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pattern that the scriptures. are being read together.
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Good. So let's go through 2 Corinthians 4 verse
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6. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6. The scripture that
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we know. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6. Therefore it
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is the God who commanded light to shine out of
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darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give
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the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
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in the face of Christ. For it is God. who hath
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commanded light. Now, why are we bringing the
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scripture? We're bringing the scripture to explain
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that when they say mystery, okay, it's not the
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types and shadows alone. So most of the time,
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when people who pay attention to the Bible, when
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they say mystery, people quickly go, oh, mystery.
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It is in that thing that Moses was doing. It
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was in that thing that it became a mystery. Not
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exactly. Okay? It is not exactly. Do you get
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what I mean? So when they say mystery, people
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want to go to the types and shadows, right? The
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types and shadows means the oracles of God that
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were given to Israel, the pattern of worship,
26:22
the tabernacle and all of that. And you want
26:25
to interpret that as mystery. While yes, they
26:29
are in a way, mystery, right? In a way, mystery,
26:33
right? It is not the only thing that is mystery,
26:37
right? What is mystery, which we're going to
26:39
see, needs something to be concealed, right?
26:42
Something to be put in place and codified in
26:47
a way that you need to decode it. That is what
26:51
it means, right? We're going to come to that.
26:53
So it means that something is concealed and it
26:56
needs explanation. So something that is concealed
27:01
that needs... We're going to come to the Greek
27:03
word, but for now, what I want us to pick is
27:06
that it is not only the types and shadows. It
27:08
is not only the tabernacle, the building. You
27:11
know, it is not only the holies of holies, right?
27:13
It is not only the shewbread. It is not only
27:15
the ark of God that is seen as codified. Okay?
27:23
When we talk about the ministry of God, it's
27:25
not only these things, right, that are codified,
27:27
but from Genesis 1. The communication in Genesis
27:32
is already codified. Do we get it? So it's not
27:37
just Exodus, right? You know, that we begin to
27:40
see things that we cannot, I mean, it's not so
27:43
direct pointing to Christ. So from Genesis 1,
27:45
we would see that in chapter 1, God said, let
27:48
there be light. And here he's saying that it
27:51
is God who commanded light. So it means that
27:53
he's explaining Genesis 1 and he's bringing out
27:58
the revelation in Genesis 1. that has been coded
28:02
in Genesis 1 that if you read it, you might not
28:05
know that this is what is taking place there.
28:08
So it therefore means that in Genesis as well,
28:11
there are codified languages that points to the
28:16
gospel. There is also a codified language that
28:20
points to the gospel. So in our reading or in
28:24
our saying we are seeking revelation, we would
28:27
not start from Exodus alone, but we'll start
28:29
from where? Genesis. Just like he said, God preached
28:33
to Abraham, right? He preached to Abraham knowing
28:37
fully well that he would be, he preached to him
28:41
saying that his hairs, right? The whole earth
28:45
will be blessed through his seed. The whole earth
28:48
will be blessed. So not only in the Old Testament
28:52
text or in Exodus do we find that. Now, the next
28:58
question that we want to answer this evening
29:00
is to see, if there are means by which God, other
29:06
means by which God is revealed, right? Apart
29:09
from the scriptures, in quotes, other means by
29:12
which, you know, looks as if God is revealed
29:14
or God is known. Maybe we can use the word known,
29:18
right? Than revelation. So it separates us from
29:21
what we mean by revelation. Because what we mean
29:25
by revelation is the encoding, the decoding of
29:29
the entire scripture for our understanding. and
29:34
which impacts our daily living. So the opening
29:38
up, explaining of entire scriptures that brings
29:41
understanding to us and it impacts our living.
29:44
So let's see, are there other ways by which people
29:46
know, you know, people can, God points himself
29:50
to people or tries to reveal himself to people.
29:54
So let's see a few of them, right? Let's see
29:57
a few of them, which we're going to come back
29:59
to one of the major ones. Let's open to Matthew.
30:03
Matthew 2, verse 1 to 2. Right. Matthew 2, verse
30:07
1 to 2. Okay. Let us write the scriptures down.
30:14
Then we'll pick them one by one. Matthew 2, verse
30:17
1 to 2. Matthew 27, verse 54. Acts 10. Acts 10.
30:30
Matthew 2, verse 1 to 2. Matthew 24, verse 54.
30:38
Acts 10. Acts chapter 10. Then... Acts 17, 22
30:46
to 31. Acts 17, 22 to 31. So now what happened
30:59
in Matthew 2, verse 1? It says, Now after Jesus
31:05
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
31:07
Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east
31:11
came to Jerusalem, and many women who followed
31:17
Jesus from Galilee. Sorry. Followed a child.
31:25
Saying, where is he who has been born king of
31:28
the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east
31:32
and we have come to worship. When Herod the king
31:36
heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem
31:41
with him. So why would Herod be troubled? Because
31:44
a new king has been born. And some folks called
31:48
wise men. have informed him, right? I mean, the
31:53
information is now out that we have seen a star
31:56
that points. So go back to verse 2, please. Can
32:02
you go back to verse 2? Right, so where is he
32:05
who is born King of Jews? For we have seen a
32:08
star in the east and have come to worship. Now,
32:13
this is only pointing to one thing, right? Or
32:18
might be pointing to one thing. We cannot say
32:20
this is like you know, the revelation of God.
32:23
We cannot call this revelation, right? Because
32:26
it does not explain entire Christ. In fact, his
32:30
star, what do they mean by star? It means that
32:32
these people are actually following stars and
32:36
paying attention to stars and they have meaning
32:39
to stars. Okay? They are paying attention to
32:43
stars. They have meaning to stars. They see a
32:45
star. And in that, Let me put it how we used
32:51
to put it. Something said a king has been born,
32:54
okay? In that's what they are doing, in what
32:58
they are doing, something said a king has been
33:00
born and they followed it. So in their reading,
33:04
right? In their reading, something pointed to
33:08
what God will do. Something signaled what God
33:11
will do. And the only thing that can signal what
33:14
God will do will be God using what they are studying,
33:18
using what they are paying attention to. to point
33:22
to what is happening and what he wants to do.
33:26
So he said, for we have seen his star. So it
33:28
means that they followed the star. And if you
33:30
read the story, they followed the star until
33:33
they got to, did the star mislead them? No, it
33:36
did not take them, it took them to where Jesus
33:37
was. So that could not have been mistaken, right?
33:46
That could not have, how would they have known?
33:48
Even Herod did not know. His magicians and all
33:51
of those people, they don't, they didn't know.
33:53
It was these guys that got the info. They got
33:57
the update and they moved. And in Herod's palace,
34:00
you know, if it was, let me put it this way,
34:02
if it was Nebuchadnezzar, he could have slain
34:03
them, that you guys are sleeping and there's
34:06
a coup that is about to take place and an external
34:11
security officer is coming to tell you about
34:14
the coup, right? That is sneaking on duty. but
34:18
it's not their fault, right? Something had to
34:20
reveal it. Even this one, they were just observing
34:22
stars. And in that observation, a communication
34:25
was made. And we believe that that is God also,
34:29
you know, pointing Christ to them. Now, observe
34:32
that these people, these wise men, were also
34:36
instructed by the angel, an angel, not to pass
34:40
on a particular way because of Herod's intention.
34:47
But rather, they should follow another way and
34:49
they did not return to Herod. Okay? So, that
34:54
is also revealing that I have plans for this
34:56
child. And you will not follow this way to let
34:59
Herod kill him. You would follow this other way.
35:02
And did they obey? Yes, they did. They obeyed
35:06
the star. They followed the star. Right? They
35:08
obeyed the instruction of the angel. Right? Are
35:13
we together? But this is not still... the revelation
35:16
we are talking about, right? So in circumstances,
35:20
God can, I mean, God intervened and communicated
35:24
this. He used this for them to know what is happening.
35:29
Now, we see that this is actually not the full
35:31
revelation. Let's go to 27 verse 54. I'll come
35:35
back to say what I want to say, right? Let's
35:37
read all the scriptures first. So when the centurion
35:39
and those who were with him who were guiding
35:41
Jesus saw the earthquake, And the things that
35:45
happened, they feared greatly, saying, truly,
35:50
this was the Son of God. Okay? So when the centurion
35:55
saw the earthquake, wow, this is earthquake,
35:58
right? One person is dying and the whole earth
36:03
is shaking. So no, this has to be the Son of
36:09
God. Now, this is different from Matthew 16.
36:11
Both of them are Son of God, Son of God. But
36:14
this is different from Matthew 16. Just across
36:16
the scripture, just put Matthew 16, which is
36:18
Peter's revelation, right? What Peter perceived
36:22
by the scripture is not something fell on Peter.
36:25
The revelation Peter had is not this. This one,
36:28
he looked at what has happened, right? And said,
36:33
truly, this was the son of God. So when the centurion
36:36
saw and those with him who were guided Jesus,
36:39
they saw the earthquake, right? Of course, this
36:42
is after. There are other events that took place
36:45
around this that made him say, well, this has
36:47
to be the Son of God. And Matthew 16, you will
36:51
see what Jesus told to Peter, verse 17. Matthew
36:55
16, verse 17. And Jesus answered and said unto
36:58
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar -Jonah. Okay,
37:02
so we can start from 16, sorry. 16, 16. And Simon
37:05
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,
37:07
the Son of the living God. Similar statement,
37:10
right? Similar statement, son of the living God.
37:13
This has to be the son of God. But see what Jesus
37:17
said. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
37:21
art thou, Simon Bar -Jonah, for flesh and blood
37:24
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father
37:28
which is in heaven. Right? My Father which is
37:33
in heaven. So, it's not like something fell on
37:36
Peter, right? For Peter to know. It therefore
37:39
means that, no, let's further read because the
37:43
part that says, who do men say I am? I think
37:46
we need to read that version. Is he in Luke,
37:48
right? Which account is that? Can you find that
37:52
account for me? Can you find that account for
37:56
me? He said, who do men say I am? This is parallel
37:58
to this scripture. And he began to say, some
38:02
say, okay, say Matthew 13. Okay, okay, same steps.
38:07
Okay, so we can just take it backward, right?
38:09
We can just take it backward. Now from verse
38:10
13. Thank you, sir. And when Jesus came into
38:13
the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
38:15
disciples, who do you mean to say I am? Okay?
38:18
Who do you mean to say I am? Now, let's see where
38:20
they are picking their information from. They're
38:23
not picking their information. They did not say
38:24
it's Shango or Amadia. They did not say that.
38:27
They look at the scripture to tell who Jesus
38:31
was. Right? They looked at the scripture and...
38:34
They said, some say thou art John the Baptist.
38:38
Okay, so they look at their environment. They
38:40
kill John, right? They did not do the math where
38:43
these two persons were born in the same period.
38:46
So they didn't do their math where they believe
38:48
in incarnation and this is John, so it's probably
38:50
just John the Baptist, something like that. Oh,
38:53
some say Elias. Elias, who did miracle again?
38:56
I'm surprised that, okay, some of them say Jemias
39:00
and one of them said... or one of the prophets.
39:03
I'm surprised that they didn't say Moses actually,
39:06
right? I was looking forward to them saying Moses.
39:09
Why? Because after all of the prophets in Israel,
39:16
Moses stands, he has a class. Let me just put
39:18
it that way, right? Moses has a class. Because
39:21
of his writings, because of his labor, because
39:24
of what God communicated through him, right?
39:27
I always believed that. They said it's Elias,
39:30
it's Jeremias, it's John the Baptist or one of
39:32
the prophets. So it means that they are reading
39:34
from the scriptures to pick who Jesus was, right?
39:39
Yeah, this is also another way by which we can
39:42
say that the earth, although they checked through
39:45
the scriptures, right? They did not see it in
39:48
the light of the Messiah, right? I think I missed
39:51
the scriptures when I was putting that earth
39:53
in scripture. It was part of them that they read
39:55
through the scriptures and they were picking
39:57
Elijah, excuse me. Jeremiah and all of them.
40:00
But they did not see what was Moses' communication.
40:04
What was Elijah's communication? What was Jeremiah's
40:08
communication? Do they align? Did they talk about
40:11
themselves as the Messiah? Right? So, they mentioned
40:18
this. And then, excuse me. And then Peter said,
40:21
you are the Messiah. Now, this Peter's revelation
40:25
is... pointing to the fact that Peter also read
40:30
the scriptures like these other people, right?
40:34
But in the communication of Moses, when Peter
40:37
would read, or in the communication of Elijah,
40:40
or in the communication of Jeremiah, when Peter
40:43
would read it, he would not see Jesus as Elijah,
40:46
but he would see Jesus as the one that is being
40:49
talked about, which is the Messiah. So it's not
40:54
something spooky. Revelation is not something...
40:57
jump on you revelation is not from nowhere you
41:00
know it's actually talking about paying attention
41:03
right just the way they looked at the scripture
41:05
they start the scripture and saying christ so
41:08
he said you are the christ right the son of the
41:11
living god so it's different from what centurion
41:14
saw centurion saw right centurion saw now he
41:19
might have heard he might have read okay Don't
41:23
forget, he might have heard, he might have read.
41:25
So reading and hearing, right, does not mean
41:29
that you will see. You must until you see that
41:31
this is Christ, then the revelation is there.
41:34
So he might have heard, but what happened? He
41:36
saw the physical things, the earthquake and the
41:39
events. And therefore he said, this must truly
41:42
be the son of God, right? This must truly be
41:45
the son. There's someone else that gave an illustration.
41:49
Is he Agabus, one of the prophets? one of the
41:53
prophets, I don't think it's Agabus, I'll check
41:55
and I'll tell us. He was talking about the fact
41:57
that if this is of God, it will stand. If it's
42:01
not of God, it will fail. So it's also based
42:04
on empirical evidence. Okay? It's based on empirical
42:08
evidence that says, well, if it is based on what
42:12
we have observed, right? If it is of God, it
42:15
will stand. But if it's not of God, you know,
42:17
it will just, like every other person has come
42:20
and called himself. As someone, it will pass.
42:24
So we see that this revelation is also not the
42:27
revelation we are talking about. I put Acts 10,
42:33
right? I put Acts 10 there. That's a long story,
42:38
but we would go to, let's go to Acts 27 first,
42:43
right? Maybe on Sunday we'll come to Acts 10.
42:47
Let's go to Acts 27 or 17, sorry. Acts 17, right?
42:53
Let's go to Acts 17. Can you go to Acts 17, please?
42:57
17 from 22. So what we are pointing out is that
43:02
there are ways by which people can say they saw
43:06
something and they believe it's God. Okay? They
43:12
believe it's God, right? We've seen religion
43:14
that said an angel appeared to them. We've seen
43:17
religion that said they saw a stone speak. We've
43:19
seen religion with many things, right? In the
43:22
course... So let's read this. Now, then Paul
43:26
stood in the midst of Iopagus and said, What
43:32
does that mean? What does that mean? They are
43:43
men that are seeking worship. They are men that
43:45
worship. They worship something. You believe
43:48
that there is a God. That's where it starts from.
43:51
So these men, first of all, Believe that there
43:55
is a God. That man cannot just be. Man must serve
43:59
something. Right? That man must serve something.
44:04
You know, these people point to the desire in
44:07
every man to be dependent on, let me call it,
44:12
a superpower. Right? There's a desire in every
44:15
man to be dependent on a deity. So he says, you
44:18
are religious. I see that you have practices.
44:22
You believe that there are practices you should
44:24
do to access a deity. Right next. For as I was
44:30
passing through and considering the objects of
44:33
your worship, I even found an altar with this
44:37
inscription to the unknown God. Therefore, the
44:42
one whom you worship without knowing him, I proclaim
44:47
to you. Now, you know, I don't know how Paul
44:51
did this. But I would say that was very intelligent,
44:55
right? Because in their communication, he caught
45:00
them in their communication and communicated
45:03
God to them. So first, they are religious, right?
45:08
Second, can you go to verse 22? Okay, so they
45:12
have an object of worship. Yes, God stated it.
45:15
They have an object of worship, right? They are
45:17
religious. They have an object of worship. Also,
45:25
they have philosophical ideas that they cannot
45:29
comprehend the deity. Okay? They have an idea
45:34
that this deity, we cannot comprehend this deity.
45:38
We know it exists. We know the deity is somewhere,
45:41
but we cannot phantom this deity. Verse 24. So
45:52
Paul said, Him I am here to proclaim to you.
45:54
God who made the world and everything in it.
45:58
Since he is the Lord of heaven and earth, does
46:01
not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is
46:05
he worshipped with men's hands, as though he
46:09
needed anything, since he gives to all life,
46:15
bread, and all things. Now, you can stop there.
46:18
We'll continue on Sunday from there. Now, what
46:20
is this pointing to us? It's pointing to us that
46:23
in the activities of men, okay? There might be
46:29
an encounter that seems to point to you that
46:33
there is a deity, okay? There might be an encounter
46:37
that points to you that there is a God. But until
46:43
the gospel is communicated, right, there is no
46:49
revelation of God. So I said, in the encounters
46:53
of men, in daily life of people around you, you
46:57
would have met people that would say, I think
46:58
I believe there is God. I have something in me
47:01
said there is God. Now, many people believe there
47:03
is God, right? I can believe half of the world,
47:06
more than half of the world population believe
47:08
there is God, right? I believe more than half
47:11
of the population because these atheists, they
47:12
are just a fraction of, you know, and I believe
47:16
they are daily being converted to, you know.
47:18
So more than half, we see that you are in this
47:20
religion, that religion, on this religion. So
47:22
more than half of the population agrees to the
47:24
fact that there is God. But the revelation of
47:28
God. is only in the gospel that is being preached.
47:34
That is why the unknown God here, Paul began
47:38
to tell them that, me, I have a revelation of
47:41
this God. And then let me tell you about him.
47:43
He does not live in houses. He does not live.
47:47
So Paul began to teach. By the time you get to
47:50
the end, you would have seen that he has communicated
47:53
the gospel to these people. Okay? He has communicated
47:58
the gospel. to these people. So what does this
48:01
mean? Now, you can have people who actually said
48:05
they woke up and they saw an angel and they've
48:08
never been preached to. Okay? They might just
48:12
hear a Christian. I have a very, you know, a
48:15
very number one that the only one that I always
48:17
hold on to and that one is very strong because
48:20
it's a believer that shared it with me. Now,
48:23
it's a believer in Turkey, right? She shared,
48:26
I asked her. You among all these millions of
48:28
people, how did you become a Christian? How?
48:32
How did you survive becoming a Christian in this
48:35
space where, you know, you are the only one.
48:38
You are just one of the few, right? Not the only
48:40
one, but one of the few. So she shared her testimony
48:42
with me. And I love the fact that she shared
48:45
it, not making it too spooky, you know, but making
48:50
it to get to the real point. So what happened
48:52
was that her father was sick. When her father
48:56
was sick, her father was dying, and she was just
48:59
there on the bed, trying to comfort the man.
49:02
There was no help. The man would pass, definitely.
49:05
And she said, someone walked into the room and
49:10
healed her father and gave her an instruction.
49:15
Give her an instruction to go and look for, I'm
49:18
forgetting how he described them, maybe believers
49:21
or some folks like that. So he healed the father,
49:23
gave her an instruction. This is like she had
49:25
a vision. She has never been in church. She has
49:28
never been in any space of Christian religion.
49:30
But he told her, go out and look for so -and
49:33
-so people, right? So after the father got healed,
49:36
she began to look for people around that could
49:40
explain that encounter. So while she was looking
49:43
for people, she got into a church. And it is
49:46
in that church that he explained a vision to
49:49
her. And then he preached the gospel to her.
49:54
She believed the gospel. In her believing the
49:57
gospel, she now understood the revelation, the
50:00
vision much more. So until she believed the gospel,
50:04
she could not even know what was happening to
50:06
her in that vision. It's today, sometimes when
50:09
we talk, she will say, Emmanuel, do you think,
50:10
you know, I think that person I saw was Jesus.
50:13
I've never seen that person again. Till now,
50:15
she has never seen that person again. But she
50:17
always say, you know, I believe that person was
50:18
Jesus that came to heal my father. Right? So
50:22
it means that. The gospel brings revelation.
50:26
She had to be preached to so that she can be
50:28
saved. She had to be taught the word so that
50:31
she can understand. And from there, she became
50:35
one of the major persons that evangelize within
50:39
that space of Ankara. So what am I saying? No
50:43
matter what a man says, speaks to them and all
50:46
of that, right? Even if you say the ground open
50:50
and say, I am the Lord, right? There is no revelation.
50:54
In that, until you come and bring the, I am the
50:57
Lord, with this, I am the Lord, right? Then you
51:02
can see if you have received, you know, if the
51:06
encounter was godly, the encounter was God speaking
51:08
to you and all of that. So in the activities
51:11
of men, there is always something, an inch pointing
51:17
them towards the dependency and commitment to
51:23
God. But that is not revelation. The revelation
51:26
comes when the message is taught and they can
51:30
see and they can walk in the light of what Christ
51:34
has done. Praise God. We appreciate you being
51:39
here today. We hope you carry this word with
51:42
you throughout your week. Don't forget to check
51:45
the show notes for additional insights. Stay
51:47
connected with us through our website or follow
51:50
us on social media. If you were encouraged, share
51:54
this message with someone you care about. Until
51:57
next time, stay blessed.