Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / Standing Fast in the Faith (Part 6)

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Standing Fast in the Faith (Part 6) · 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. in the faith, standing fast in the
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faith, and we took time to explain or talk about
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what doctrine is, what doctrine is, and how the
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false doctrine is able to distort the actual
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truth, the actual sound truth of God's Word.
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And we see these warnings go out time and time
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again in God's Word, and we stopped at Jesus'
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instructions to his disciples to beware of the
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doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
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I want us to pick it up from there. I want us
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to pick it up from there as we continue. And
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if it wasn't important, the instruction would
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have not been given. If the instruction wasn't
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important, it wouldn't have been given. And he
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had warned the disciples, he had stated, that
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is in Matthew 22, he had warned and stated, and
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even though they misunderstood, at first because
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he said the will of the leaven of the Pharisees.
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And that got them confused because they were
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like leaven and leaven is yeast. And we know
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that in the process of bread making, when you
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put yeast in something, it causes a fermentation
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process that results in the rising of things.
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And thinking about it is a false rise, right?
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It's just air. His air and he says beware of
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it and then it's it took them a while and then
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we see in 33 we see them get into To to note
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what it was. They was talking about the doctrine
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of the Pharisees. Praise God, but just we visited
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we we said that the Sadducees are and the teaching
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that is that most what they hold onto, the teaching
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that they hold onto, and I think in Matthew 22,
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verse 23, that's from the message, it says that
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this party, it denied the possibility of resurrection.
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That quote from the message, it says that this
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party, they deny the possibility of resurrection,
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and we know that there's a doctrine of resurrection,
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and we had looked at how you can't be, you can't
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be, a believer and deny, that is like one of
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the core doctrines of Christianity. That's one
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of the doctrines of Christ. In fact, Christ himself
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had resurrected as proof of the fact that what
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they are holding onto is invalid, is an error.
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And they come and I repeated to us that the way
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they approach the questioning, the way they approach
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the questioning, and you want to not just Here,
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people ask questions. When they ask questions,
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they're coming from a place. And sometimes, in
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their own case, there's that sense of, oh, want
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to mock this whole idea, want to mock the idea
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of you saying, and then you now create a story
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around it to just make the idea look stupid in
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a sense, make the idea look stupid in a sense.
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Because once you structure it like that, one
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woman, seven brothers, And then at the end, who's
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she married to? You are missing the point. And
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that's what he brought to your attention. You
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are deceived, right? You are deceived. You are
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mistaken. You are mistaken. So they did all of
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that to place it. But Jesus Christ brings their
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attention in answering their question. He brings
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them to the real issue, right? He brings them
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to the real issue. And he still uses the same,
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he still uses Moses. Because they came to him
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with Moses, right? He came to him with what Moses
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had instructed and then he goes back and then
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he reorders it. He reorders it because you notice
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that the mindset they come with is a worldly
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mindset. The mindset that they approach their
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questions is a worldly mindset and it's flawed.
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And you see that they are trying to place the
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whole thing on like... the whole idea of marriage
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that is of this world. And then they come and
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then they say, okay, what the whole thing is
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around is not around continuing the family line.
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And even after now, it will not be about continuing
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family line. The family line that you're saying,
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okay, because in a bid to want to preserve the
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family line, that is why they were having that
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engagement. And we know that that family line
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idea will not be something that we'll be talking
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about after now. Because after the resurrection,
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it's not about you preserving your family line.
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There's a family that we're part of, praise God.
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That's why when we talk about family, family,
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yes, we have our family, which we do appreciate,
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but we know that we're into this family now,
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right? There's a family that we're part of that
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shipens not our own culture now. There's a family
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culture that we now have that shipens the way
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we think. And there's a... There's a way we operate
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in the family. There's a way we do things in
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the family, which would be very different. Some
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of our families, they are godly, right? They
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are godly, so they adopt the way we do things
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here. And the families that we have around the
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world, most of the times, if the culture is worldly,
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if it's worldly, the culture will be worldly,
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praise God. But if it's godly, because the culture
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we're in is a culture that is anchored and shaped
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by God. and what God's will is for us. So he
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brings them back to that. He realigns them. He
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brings the attention to what is. And he uses
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Moses. He says, Moses showed that the dead will
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rise because by implication, he says God of Abraham,
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right? God of Isaac, God of Jacob. He is not
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the God of the dead or the God of the living.
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For to him, all are alive. For to him, that's
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invested too. For to him, all are alive. So you
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will not be speaking of this individual if they
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were not, in a sense, because of him, because
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he brings, he presents the same thing, makes
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it clear to them that look, what you are denying
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is undeniable, right? What you're trying to deny
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is undeniable. What you're trying to deny is
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undeniable. Jesus makes it absolutely clear to
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them. He makes his absolutely clear to them,
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because not only will he resurrect, right? Not
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only will he resurrect, because his work is majorly
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anchored on him being raised from the dead. And
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then in Luke's account of the same conversation,
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Luke's account of the same conversation, in Luke
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20 verse 36, what he adds to what Matthew's account
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is, it says, And adding that, those who rise
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can no longer die. Those who rise can no longer
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die, for they are like angels. They are God's
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children, since they are children of the resurrection.
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Since they are children of the resurrection.
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So those that are raised can no longer die. He
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says, and he compares them to angels, kind of
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similar to what Matthew, very similar to what
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Matthew says, but at that moment they can no
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longer die. He says, they are God's children,
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praise God. Now he brings them to the actual
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family that is most important, not the family
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line that they're trying to, because they're
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trying to preserve it, they start passing it
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down. brings them to the family line that's important
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because by virtue of us believing in what Christ
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has done, we are part of a family. There's no
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complicated process around it. There's no complicated
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process around it. So he brings them back in
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place, brings them back in order. And that's
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how, when we see an error, we want to know where
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the error is stemming from, right? And then because
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you are very clear as to what you believe in,
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you are able to address it. Praise God. And there's
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a big problem when you don't even know what you
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believe in. Somebody just presents something
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to you. You'll just fall afloat. Because you
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know that for every error, there's the consequences.
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If you believe something, there are the consequences
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of your belief. And if you just blindly say,
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OK, for the sake of peace, for the sake of peace,
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let's just agree. For the sake of peace, let's
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agree. But by agreeing, you have agreed to all
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the terms and conditions. Most of the times,
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we don't agree. We don't go through terms and
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conditions just for the stress, just the stress
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of having to read the lengthy and the way they
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make it very bulky. So you just accept, accept,
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accept. But there's a consequence for you accepting
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everything. Like those you're accepting, you're
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open. They say, OK, because you have accepted
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this now, we'll collect this percent of your,
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you have accepted. You have agreed to it because
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you have accepted and they didn't force you to
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it. They assume that you should have read and
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you are aware of all the details, all the nuances
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before you. you click Accept. So the same thing
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happens with Arrow. If you don't assess it properly,
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you will be accepting and accepting everything
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in the mix. Because once you have accepted, you're
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coming back with, oh, no, I didn't know that
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it entails this and this. That's why people maliciously
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put certain segments. Make it very small so that
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you can read it. Make it small so that you can't
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necessarily see it or pay attention to it. And
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then you go from there. And note that I want
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to take us to something else that Something else
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in the in the in the false letter to the church
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in current as in the second Corinthians where
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he brings the attention to something very important
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about where he talks about Forgiven right where
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it talks about forgiving and I am going there
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because he says something that's very important,
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right? You see something very important now read
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it from the NLT in second Corinthians 2 verse
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11 I want us to see it. This is in in the NLT
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says so that Satan will not outsmart us, for
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we are familiar with his evil schemes. We are
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familiar with his evil schemes. So there's a
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familiarity with the way a person operates that
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makes you spot when there's error, right? There's
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a familiarity with the way the person operates
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that makes you, because if you are smarter than
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the person that is trying to outsmart you, you
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are at an advantage, right? Because you can be
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able to spot with different ways they are trying
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to outsmart you. I was explaining sometime, I
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think I was explaining to, you know, just by
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observation, you can see how people are trying
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to be smart, right? You go into the market, the
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way they position things is very strategic. It's
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business, by the way. It's not, they're not trying
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to, there's a psychology behind it and they understand
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that and you don't understand it, you just flow
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with it. The goal is to sell to you something
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and the ultimate goal is that they are selling
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something that they want people to buy. And then
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you walk into the market, and you are about existing
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in the market. It took me a while to understand,
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because on this island, just being around an
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island, you might not necessarily make sense
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of what is going on. The way they position things
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in the market is very strategic. Even when companies
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come to place their product, the way they position
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their own product as against those other companies
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that don't come to position their product, very
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strategic. They put yours at the back, put theirs
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in front, because they are there to arrange it
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for themselves. right? Such a way that there's
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accessibility. The moment you can easily reach
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for that thing, it's easy for you to buy it,
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right? And then when you're exiting, notice,
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how many of us have noticed where they place
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the suites when you're exiting? It's not where
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adults can easily reach. For most good amount
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of market, they put it at that level where, when
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the parent is going to pay for it, the child
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will be fiddling, because the child will be there
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with the parent, right? So it's very, it's at
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the site level of the child. And once the child
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picks it, you know, You know, if your child has
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had like two, three sweets prior to coming to
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the market, and then the child now wants to have
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extra sweets, and then you now, it's a queue.
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You know how that thing can be embarrassing where
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you're trying to pick your child and get them
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through the counter, and then there's a very
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nice person behind us. You don't know the problem.
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We'll pay for it. It's not that you don't have
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the money to pay. You know that this child has
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had several other suites before now. So having
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that extra, so the smart thing parents will do
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is just take it and keep it for them for later.
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If the person insists that they do pay for that
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particular thing. But you see that everything
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around us is somewhat designed to get people
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to engage with certain things. So the more you're
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conscious of it, the more you'll be able to find
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ways to navigate it. So if there's a challenge
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and you don't know it's a challenge, you will
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fall prey to it every time. Praise God. And the
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challenge that Apostle Paul is trying to address
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in this place is that thing of where you have
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an issue letting go. Because forgiveness, unforgiveness
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is an issue, right? Forgiveness is not something
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that people very easily do, right? People very
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easily do. Understanding, and Apostle Paul is
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trying to address it here. And I want us to start
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from 8 to 11. Let's read from 8 to 11. We will
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do it in the New Kingdom, sorry. Let's go back
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to 18 James, from 8 to 11. It says, therefore
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I affirm, it says, I urge you, sorry, therefore
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I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. That
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is the person that has offended, because it's
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the church now that's addressing the issue of
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this person to him. To this end, as I also wrote,
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that I might put you to the test, whether you,
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whether you are obedient in all things, right?
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In 10, he says, now whom you forgive, whom you
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forgive anything, I also forgive, for if indeed
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I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that
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one for his sake, for your sake, in the presence
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of Christ. He says, he now says, least Satan
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take advantage of us. for we are not ignorant
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of his devices." So he's trying to encourage
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them to reaffirm their love to that particular
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individual, to reaffirm their love to that particular
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individual in verse 6 and 7. We see that in verse
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6 of the same chapter. He says, this punishment
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which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient
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for such a man. That's the individual. It means
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that this individual has suffered enough from
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from the from yes yes probably has been afflicted
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enough this seven now says so that on the contrary
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you ought rather to forgive and comfort him least
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perhaps such one will be swallowed up with too
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much sorrow so he's encouraging them to forgive
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and comfort so that they don't lose a brother
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right so they don't lose a brother the end goal
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is for the individual to be restored in other
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words he says let's let's let's forgive this
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person right Let's forgive this person and you
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can get a sense that it's a situation that happened
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in the church that they're addressing and then
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he's bringing the attention to the fact like,
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let's reaffirm our love for this person, right?
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Let's reaffirm our love for this person because
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we don't want to lose him in trying to reprimand
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him, right? We don't want to lose him in trying
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to reprimand him and he now concludes with saying,
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right? At least Satan takes advantage us for
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we are not ignorant of his devices means that
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we are aware of the ways the devil want us to
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but because broken relationship is what you're
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trying to fix here the broken relationship is
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what you're trying to see how you can restore
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the Brother so I use that force to help to help
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us understand that the enemy has ways Right the
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enemy has ways that he can cross an offense cross
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division make you go away from the core tenets
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of the doctrine of Christ, make you go away from
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all of that. And we know that if you don't desire
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sound, what is sound? You fall for what is false,
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right? You don't desire what is sound, you fall
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for what is false. And even the understanding
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of what is false will help you, right? Because
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once you know what is sound, understanding what
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is false will help you to easily deal with it.
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help you to easily deal with it. And that's why
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you continue to answer. Because the enemy is
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not, he's not, he's always improving, right?
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He's always trying to make the, max the deception,
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make it very difficult for you to spot what is
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an error. And you want to always be on your toes,
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to be able to see the schemes of his schemes
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and be able to make, understand and walk around
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it and ensure that you are not, you are a lot,
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praise God, and ensure that you are a lot. So
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in 1 Peter 5, 8 to 9, it says, be sober, be vigilant.
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That word there, we're familiar with it from
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Sunday, that being vigilant means to be watchful,
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to watch. It's the same word as in 1 Corinthians
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16, 13, the same word there. They say because.
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The reason why you are sober is because your
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adversary, the devil walks. about like a roaring
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lion. Emphasis on like a roaring lion. Seeking
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whom he may devour. Seeking whom he may devour.
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Resist him. Resist him. The Greek word there
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is to stand against that. It's to oppose. It's
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to stand against that or it's to oppose. Stand
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against what exactly it is and how do you stand?
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It says steadfast in the faith, right? Steadfast
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in the faith. Knowing that the same sufferings
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are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
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Knowing that it's not like it's the same. The
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methods, the strategies he'll be employing is
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the same. Praise God. Methods and strategy he'll
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be employing is the same. So the adversary, which
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is one very important thing that I want you to
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notice, he says, he didn't say, be sober, be
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vigilant, because your adversary your brother
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and your sister in Christ. Did he word it like
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that? Was that what was stated? Because sometimes
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we fail to understand who the true enemy is,
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right? Because the fact that the enemy is walking
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through a brother and a sister, it can be misleading.
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Praise God. It can be misleading. Because you
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want to be able to spot, because the person you
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can see is your brother and your sister, right?
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And you just feel like they're trying to just
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get underneath your skin. They're trying to find
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ways. to test your love work, to see if you are
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genuinely a believer. Praise God. To see if you're
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genuinely a believer. But not that we are encouraged
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to understand that the adversary is the enemy,
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as the devil. The person that is your brother
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and your sister is not the devil. That person
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that has done you wrong was empowered by somebody.
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Praise God. Was empowered by somebody. So when
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you want to retaliate, When you want to retaliate,
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understand that helps you to calm down, right?
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When you feel like, OK, I want to retaliate,
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it helps you to calm down. Even though the person
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before you is really, because the enemy is very
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strategic in how he makes you miss the point.
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He makes you miss the point, because now your
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focus is on the, because when somebody does something
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to you and you understand the person is not a
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believer, you know, it changes the way you, because
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this person doesn't believe what you believe
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in. So why am I angry? Praise God. It helps you
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just examine the reasons why you shouldn't even
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be so bothered about a person's action. In fact,
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most of the times, why you're greatly bothered
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is especially when the person says, I'm a believer,
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you feel like this person has just betrayed.
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Has just betrayed and many times that is what
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gets us and we need to spot what, why are you
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offended, right? Why are you, like if you come
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down to truly why you're offended, it helps you
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build up from there, right? Because sometimes
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we can't even, you know there's times when you're
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offended, but you don't even know the reason
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why you're offended. You just feel like, and
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you cannot, you are just, you want to exercise
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on the premise of the offense, but you want to
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take a step back and say, why am I really offended?
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Is what my actions or the actions I'm about to
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take. commensurate to the offense. Praise God.
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So when he uses the word lion, lion has a strategy
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of attack. The lion doesn't attack the focused.
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It doesn't attack the strongest. The lion attacks
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the one that is isolated, right? The one that
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is not amongst the pack. He observes. The lion
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doesn't just pursue. I think if you watch wildlife,
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you see that the animals are very, there are
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certain animals that just hunger and make them
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just hunt around, but the lion is very strategic
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in how he hunts. The lion is very strategic in
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how he hunts. Their focus, they look for those
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that are weak, they look for those that are careless,
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right? Animals that are careless. You're with
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your pack, you decide to just wander and wander
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away, and you're wandering away to your own...
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Because the lion now spots that, rather than
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me go against this whole group, there's one available
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dinner or breakfast. Praise God. There's an available
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dinner or breakfast. And he uses that to paint
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a picture to us. And the strategy of the enemy
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is the same. It's easy to attack somebody that
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is isolated. Right? And many times we don't even
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know this with even relationships. When people
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want to mess, they drag you out. They will make
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you fight with all the people that truly care
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for you. Praise God. They will make you fight
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with all of them. They will say, this person
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doesn't mean you well. These are the reasons
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why they don't mean you well. You will say, yes,
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I see the reasons why they don't mean you well.
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But you don't understand that all of a sudden
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they don't mean you well. There's a change. So
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you want to. Be aware that the enemy walks the
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same exact way and the enemy uses the same, people
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that do it use the same tactic of the enemy,
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the same tactic. So what it really means is that
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you have to examine yourself. When I'm in difficult
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situations, what are my first line of action?
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Do I isolate myself from the believer? Wrong
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move. Do I decide that, okay, those times are
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the times I don't attend church meetings because
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I'm trying to do a personal examination of myself?
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I don't want to be distracted. I want to just
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focus on the Lord and myself. Praise God. Does
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that sound like a very good strategy? Or your
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strategy is making you even more. of a lunch
24:28
and a dinner. Very good. Notice that I don't
24:34
use breakfast, because it's early. Most people
24:37
come in the mornings. So you can give the lion
24:40
a run when it's morning, because the energy,
24:43
you are still up on your energy. And sometimes,
24:48
which is one of the strategies the enemy employs,
24:51
he makes you feel that, oh, why am I the only
24:53
one that is always attacked? Why am I the only
24:56
one that is always prone to all, you just feel
24:59
like, am I the only one that is, why should I
25:02
be the only one that is going through suffering,
25:03
right? Why should I be the only one that's going
25:05
through hardships? Why should I be the only one
25:07
that's going through difficulty? But you fail
25:09
to understand that those things are part of what
25:14
happens to people that are alive, right? Those
25:16
things are part of what happens to people that
25:18
are alive. The only people that have the best
25:19
time of their life are people that are just laying
25:22
down, sleeping and nothing. They don't care about
25:24
anything. Nothing bothers them. They're not functioning
25:26
systems. They're just there. But for you that
25:29
is alive, you'll be prone to those things, right?
25:32
And the fact that you are in a family, going
25:36
back to the whole idea of being a family, you
25:38
are secured, right? Because not everybody will
25:41
not be going through suffering at the same time.
25:43
Yeah, there are times where it happens, right?
25:45
But not everybody feels it the same way. Praise
25:48
God. So there's always going to be that person
25:50
that will help you through it. Praise God. And
25:52
that's why When we encourage us time and time
25:55
again, don't just say, okay, have close cycle
25:59
of friends in the church that you can run to,
26:03
right? That you can run to, that you can encourage
26:06
yourselves, that you can grow together, that
26:08
you can strengthen yourself, that you are very,
26:10
very vulnerable with. Praise God. You're very
26:14
vulnerable. It's very important because it helps
26:16
you. It helps you stand. It helps you stand.
26:22
And we'll talk more about that because we'll
26:24
see it in Scripture. The time that Peter and
26:27
John had that situation, he had people they went
26:29
to. They went to pray together. When Paul was
26:36
with Silas in the prison, he had Silas. When
26:41
we'll get to see... their Babylonian names. They
26:51
had themselves, right? They had themselves. When
26:54
Daniel had the, he came back to them. In Daniel
26:58
2, he came back to them. He came back to them.
27:02
So you want to understand that difficult seasons,
27:05
you shouldn't conclude when you have difficult
27:07
seasons. You shouldn't conclude that the Lord
27:08
has left you to sort yourself out. Don't conclude
27:12
that the Lord has left you to sort yourself out
27:14
because Difficult season the moment you open
27:16
your mouth and start talking about difficulties
27:17
You hear more other difficult situation has happened
27:20
to other people, right? So it's a major lie from
27:23
the enemy That makes you feel like the Lord has
27:26
left you to your own like just sort yourself
27:28
out But scripture time and time and again reminds
27:32
us that he will never leave us. Right? He has
27:35
that is not the way he operates. He doesn't say
27:39
Leave yourself, you know, today I was talking
27:41
to my students, I say, sometimes the way I look
27:43
at some people in the exam hall, it looks like
27:45
the moment they pick up, like the question paper
27:47
is dropped on the table, and then they look at
27:49
the question paper, the other part of themselves
27:52
will tell them, see you at home. It's like, that's
27:56
basically what it is to them, like, because they
27:59
will allow fear, make the most of them, and then
28:02
they will just feel like, I can't do this. After
28:03
you have studied, Like, you know, say, I can't
28:06
do this. And then it's like, see you at home,
28:07
please. Just handle it by yourself. And it's
28:10
the part that studied with them that leaves them.
28:14
So I was encouraging them. I said, when that
28:17
part of yourself wants to leave, just tell them,
28:19
please, we can't do this. I can't do this alone.
28:21
We have to do this together. Let's sit down and
28:24
ensure that we do the exams together. And for
28:25
some people, they feel it's like that. When there's
28:28
a difficult situation, ah. God now lives with
28:31
them. God is scared of this situation, too scared
28:33
that he abandons you in the line of fire. I want
28:38
you to reorient your understanding about God.
28:42
When God promises to never leave you no for sake,
28:44
what he means is that. He's not going to leave
28:47
you no for sake. So even in the fire, praise
28:51
God, he's there with you. Even in the fire, he's
28:55
there with you. And he didn't just even leave
28:57
you for... He places family, he places, he gives
29:00
you his word, right? He gave you family. He gave
29:04
you the church, the church family. He gave you
29:06
the church family. He gave you his word. He gave
29:08
you himself. Praise God. And I want that to be
29:12
a very strong encouragement to you that no matter,
29:15
no matter what you're going through, don't ever
29:18
get yourself or catch yourself thinking that
29:21
you are alone on the matter. And by the way,
29:24
note that you can think that you're alone on
29:25
the matter. But the actual fact or the actual
29:27
reality is that you're not alone. Praise God.
29:29
And that should be what you should reinforce
29:33
in your mind. That's what you should reinforce.
29:35
It can feel like you're alone, right? The situation
29:38
can make you feel like you're not alone, but
29:41
you are guaranteed. Your rest assured that the
29:45
fact that you have, even if you can't, God's
29:48
word is not making sense to you at that point
29:49
in time. God's people around you should make
29:52
sense to you at that point in time. so you don't
29:53
isolate yourself from them, praise God. In Psalms
29:56
55 -22, Psalms 55 -22, it says, give your burdens,
30:04
give your burdens, NLT, I'm using the NLT, say,
30:07
give your burdens, and that burdens is whatever
30:10
life throws at you, whatever life throws at you,
30:13
to the Lord, and he will take care of you, praise
30:16
God. It says, he will take care of you, and he
30:19
has been doing this for a while. He took care
30:21
of David. He took care of all the people. He
30:23
has been taking care of them. So he has experience.
30:25
So don't think that you are new. Like your own
30:27
case is very unique to you. God is struggling.
30:30
He's finding ways to take care of you. He doesn't
30:32
even know how to take care of you because your
30:34
situation is so complicated that God's mind just
30:37
gets blown away. That's not what he says. Praise
30:41
God. He says he will take care of you. He says
30:43
he will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
30:46
Praise God. Jude says he's able to keep us from
30:49
stumbling. He's able to preserve us. He says
30:53
all of those things to reinforce. And then the
30:55
New King James says, cast your burdens on the
30:57
Lord, and he shall sustain you. He shall never
31:00
permit the righteous to be moved. Praise God.
31:03
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
31:07
And note that in the earlier verses, the earlier
31:10
verse of 1 Peter, that's basically where he had
31:15
mentioned that. that has taken it from the Psalms.
31:21
David is the one that is saying this. And David
31:23
knows this for himself, praise God. David, as
31:26
someone who has gone to battle, someone who has
31:29
faced difficult situations, he knows this for
31:32
a fact. And when he says cast your burden, he
31:36
doesn't say you should, you know, sometimes you
31:38
can put it there and pick it back. You can put
31:42
it there and you feel like, oh no, no, no, it's
31:43
my problem, it's my problem, we take it back
31:45
again. That is in the 1 Peter 5 verse 7. It says,
31:49
Casting all your care upon the Lord, because
31:51
he cares for you. Casting all your care upon
31:56
the Lord, for he cares for you. That's where
31:58
the pita picks from the psalmist, picks from
32:03
David. The casting of the care, because he cares
32:05
for you. Because he cares for you. And I want
32:09
us to quickly see Daniel and his friends. I want
32:11
us to quickly see Daniel and his friends. When
32:15
Daniel was faced with the situation, and all
32:19
of us, technically, everybody was faced with
32:21
that situation, in Daniel 2 verse 1, New King
32:24
James, Daniel 2 verse 1, it says, now in the
32:26
second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar
32:29
had dreams, had dreams. And his spirit was so
32:35
troubled that his sleep left him. So he had a
32:39
dream, and he was so troubled. And I want you
32:41
to mark. The key word here is that he slept,
32:46
had a dream, he woke up, he couldn't sleep. Right?
32:49
Slept, had a dream, woke up, and couldn't sleep.
32:50
He said, then the king gave a command to all
32:52
his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, Chaldeans,
32:58
to tell the king his dreams. So I think I was
33:02
thinking about it one time. I said, it's interesting
33:05
how these kings surround themselves with all
33:10
these calibers of people. I guess, different
33:12
kinds of people, they surround themselves with
33:14
all of these persons because they don't want
33:16
to make a wrong move, right? They want to be
33:18
very, and for us, we are the ones that choose
33:23
to surround ourselves by ourselves when you're
33:25
faced with a talentless situation. But these
33:28
people, and if you want to, a king is someone
33:31
that you should observe, especially if a king
33:32
knows what he's doing, right? If a king knows
33:34
what he's doing, it's someone that should see
33:36
the way he operates, the way he does things,
33:37
and we see that this man, even though he doesn't
33:40
know God, right? But he puts himself around people,
33:43
at least he has people around him. You have Daniel
33:46
that knows God, so that if there's a problem,
33:50
but you have people around, you leave those people
33:52
and then you go to the people that don't know
33:54
God. What do I do about this situation? And what
33:58
do you expect them to tell you? Godly things,
34:02
godly steps to take, like they say, don't worry,
34:04
I know you fear God. So I will teach you how
34:06
to, they will teach you what the word of God
34:09
says concerning your particular. Situation is
34:11
that is that what usually happens? No, they will
34:14
give you the wrong thing or the best ways to
34:18
They would suggest to you the ways to get yourself
34:20
arrested ways to get yourself killed ways to
34:23
get yourself into more trouble than you started
34:24
with because when you assess yourself from when
34:27
you took the advice to win You can tell there's
34:30
a big difference and the difference is not a
34:31
good difference Praise God. So he surrounds himself.
34:35
He gets these people to want he sees so that
34:38
they can be so that they should so they came
34:40
Stood before the king and then he goes on and
34:42
on. I wanted to jump to 16 So we understood that
34:46
the king now says oh if you cannot get this done
34:48
You guys are gonna be killed like why do I have
34:51
you if you can't solve my problem, right? So
34:53
he threatens them and says, okay, you guys are
34:55
gonna be killed if you know so in 16 now it gets
34:58
to Daniel gets word of it of this and then he
35:00
says Daniel went in and asked the king to give
35:04
him time I was thinking to give him time that
35:06
he might tell the king the interpretation So
35:10
now Daniel is now having to, because the king
35:12
did not want to tell them what the dream was,
35:14
because anybody can cook up anything, and say
35:17
that's the, since you have told us the dream.
35:19
So the person is able to tell him, because he
35:21
wants to trust that you're not making up stuff,
35:23
because anybody, because you know that you're
35:25
gonna die, because you know that death is the
35:28
ultimate, you will have to make up something,
35:30
just so that you live to see another day, right?
35:33
But we see that Daniel now comes, and then in
35:35
17, so Daniel went into, went, to his house and
35:40
made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael,
35:44
and Hazariah, his companions. He made the decision
35:47
known to his companions. So it means that he
35:50
didn't just go by himself. He went to his companions,
35:54
his friends, right? He went to his friends, made
35:57
known to them, and in 18 it says that they might
36:01
seek the mercies from the God of heaven. concerning
36:08
this secret, so that Daniel and his companions
36:11
might not perish with the rest of the wise men
36:14
of Babylon. So Daniel and his companions will
36:16
not perish alongside. Meaning that in him being
36:20
able to, it's not like the rest are gonna die,
36:22
they're gonna be saved. All those other men too
36:25
will be saved as well. So that Daniel and his
36:29
companions might not perish alongside them. So
36:30
in 19, now it says, Then the secret was revealed
36:35
to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed
36:40
the God of heaven. So Daniel blessed the God
36:42
of heaven. So we see that Daniel and his friends
36:45
would have gathered. His friends would have come
36:50
together and they start saying, hey, what are
36:51
we going to do now? Hey, now that the king is
36:54
going to remove our heads, what are we going
36:56
to do? It was not a party of friends. They were
36:59
now warring themselves together, right? Let's
37:02
hold their hands and be crying. What they did
37:05
was that they sought the help of God, right?
37:08
And know that for God to be the one you go to
37:11
when you have a problem, it says a lot about
37:14
the way you solve or the way you deal with it.
37:18
And then someone says, when you are faced with
37:21
a situation, do you run to the phone or run to
37:22
the throne? So is your first line of action going
37:28
to God or trying to find a way to fix it yourself?
37:32
So we see that this man understood that this
37:35
particular thing, we cannot solve it. Praise
37:38
God. And that's the first thing you want to understand
37:41
when you're faced with a difficult situation.
37:43
Because sometimes you're faced with a difficult
37:45
situation, you cannot solve it. You are trying
37:47
to solve it by yourself. And it's a dangerous
37:51
place to be because it can get worse. Because
37:55
the moment you now come and find the people that
37:56
will help you, we will just be telling you if
37:59
you had contacted us earlier. it would have been
38:02
a lot easier, praise God. So you want to, and
38:06
I believe that even when you're going to a difficult
38:08
situation, you pray about it, I am very sure
38:11
that the Holy Spirit will highlight individuals
38:15
that you should go and talk about your situation.
38:17
I'm very sure, because you are in a family, right?
38:20
You're in a family. So these men prayed together
38:24
and then it was revealed to them. And note something.
38:31
situation is enough to deny them sleep. Do you
38:34
understand me? It's enough because if somebody
38:39
says they're going to kill you if you don't do
38:40
something and you know that what they're asking
38:42
you to do is impossible. I don't know about you.
38:45
Sleep will not be on the list of things that
38:47
you will do even after you're afraid. Because
38:50
if you're afraid and then the solution doesn't
38:52
come in that very place of prayer, you say, God,
38:55
I'm finished. Praise God. Because you just get
39:01
into panic mode, and everything just spirals
39:03
down from there. But we see that Daniel was able
39:09
to at least go to bed. Praise God. He was able
39:15
to go to bed, and he was in his sleep. Right?
39:20
He was in his sleep, because it says night vision.
39:22
I don't know when you say it. And other instances
39:25
in the book of Daniel Way makes reference to
39:26
that. But we understand that that was. That was
39:28
him having to rest, and then that happens. So
39:31
one key thing you can see from here is the fact
39:36
that no matter what it is you're going through,
39:38
sleep helps you to actually... Praise God. It's
39:47
very straightforward, very simple. If you don't
39:52
sleep, you probably will not even see the way
39:54
out. Praise God. The door can be in front of
39:59
you, you say, I'm locked up because you have
40:03
not slept. Praise God. So if you know that there's
40:08
a time to sleep, that's just so because sometimes
40:10
the cause of the problem is that you're sleeping
40:12
too much. Praise God. So we see that the dream
40:17
was made known to them and it just communicates
40:19
their trust. Going to bed, even when you have
40:22
a difficulty, it just communicates your trust
40:24
in God. You know, we say, cast your care. Once
40:26
you have casted it on him, you can sleep. Because
40:30
now it's not on you, it's on him. And you trust
40:33
that when you wake up tomorrow morning, it will
40:35
be a lot better. Praise God. And we see that
40:38
that was the case for them, because in a place
40:43
of rest, the revelation was able to be made known
40:48
to them. And then he comes, and then he presents
40:50
it to the king. I want to just go back to because
40:52
I I just did that so that we can come back on
40:56
it. So I want to go to James now and show us
40:58
something. James 1, 2 to 4. James 1, 2 to 4.
41:03
And I want to read it from the NLT, please. It
41:06
says, dear brothers and sisters, when troubles
41:10
of any kind come your way. When troubles of any
41:14
kind come your way. It says, when troubles of
41:16
any kind come your way. Consider it an opportunity.
41:23
for great joy consider it an opportunity for
41:27
great joy what does that mean in a sense means
41:29
that your attitude towards trouble should be
41:36
oh this is another opportunity for god to deliver
41:40
me right this is an opportunity for god to do
41:43
it's not when you now face trouble you say oh
41:46
god i'm finished you call god and then you see
41:48
you are finished praise god We see that you want
41:53
to consider it an opportunity for great joy because
41:55
it's going to end in great joy, right? It looks
41:58
like it's difficult, but it's going to end in
42:00
great joy. And the interesting thing about that,
42:03
speaking about the fact that you're standing
42:04
in faith, the interesting thing about that in
42:07
this sense now, the interesting about that is
42:09
that what you're experiencing does not make sense
42:16
with what you're thinking about, right? Because
42:19
what you're experiencing is trouble. You will
42:22
say a person is weird or you say a person is
42:24
crazy when they are going through difficulty
42:26
and they are looking forward to what God is going
42:29
to do in that situation. Praise God. They're
42:32
looking forward to what God is going to do in
42:33
that situation. And three now gives us something
42:35
very important. It says, for you know that when
42:38
your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance
42:41
to grow. Praise God. When your faith is tested,
42:47
your endurance, but we are in a world where Any
42:50
form of testing, we don't want tests. We don't
42:53
want challenges. Just give us the end. Just give
42:58
us the end. The end is joy, right? The end is
43:01
rejoicing. Just skip, let's skip all of that.
43:04
That part of suffering, delete, delete, delete,
43:06
suffering, delete, delete, delete. I wish it
43:08
was that way, where you have your life like a
43:11
movie script. You just cut out that part of suffering.
43:13
Just be cutting them out. Many people, they will
43:15
cut. Life is not like that. Because it tells
43:24
you that when, it did not say if, right? It says
43:27
when troubles of any kind come your way, consider
43:31
it an opportunity for joy. How many of us are
43:34
willing to see, you know, that is some, like
43:38
you have to deconstruct a lot of things to be
43:41
able to see suffering or see challenges and say,
43:45
God, I can't wait for what you're going to do
43:47
in this situation. And I guarantee you that it
43:53
will make the whole journey worth a while. Because
43:57
now you're going through every step of it, looking
44:00
for how God is going to deliver you. Not how
44:04
you're going to die in the process. Praise God.
44:09
Not how you're going to die in the process. It's
44:11
for you know. In fact, if the... Difficulty doesn't
44:14
do anything to you. It's an opportunity for you
44:18
to grow. The next time you see the same kind
44:21
of a thing, you'll be like, I've seen this before.
44:25
I've faced it before. And I used to tell people,
44:27
I say, if somebody has faced something before,
44:29
you don't have to. And he faced it, and he did
44:33
a good job of how he navigated his way around
44:35
it. You don't now have to now say, let me do
44:38
it my own style. You don't have to rework it.
44:42
because this person has already gone through
44:44
it so that you don't have to cry too much, suffer
44:47
too much to be able to find your way out of it.
44:49
All the bruises and all the, you know, he has
44:51
collected it all for you so that now you will,
44:55
praise God, so someone has gone through it so
44:57
you are able to even endure it and go through
44:59
it a lot. The phone now says, so let it grow,
45:05
so let it grow. When your endurance is fully
45:09
developed, you will be perfect and complete,
45:12
needing nothing. So the challenge now is to let
45:15
that, like, you want to grow, you want to let
45:18
it grow. So it says, for when you know that your
45:22
fate is tested, when your fate is tested, your
45:26
endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow,
45:29
right? Let your endurance through the situation
45:31
grows. And people that have been through difficult
45:34
situations, people that have seen difficult situations,
45:38
always have a stamina and a stability to them.
45:42
They are not easily moved when they stay steadfast
45:46
and immovable. Because regardless of what is
45:48
happening, they are doing the Lord's work. Regardless
45:51
of whatever difficulties they are facing, one
45:53
thing is constant. The work of the Lord will
45:55
continue to move forward. Because in doing that
45:58
work, every other thing that you feel like is
46:00
a problem, you're giving it the attention it
46:03
requires, by the way. You're not just ignoring
46:05
it. Because there's one other thing to ignore
46:06
the problem and act like it's not there. You
46:08
understand? Because Daniel did not say, OK, Nebuchadnezzar,
46:12
OK, don't worry. We'll just ignore what you have
46:15
said. Let's just sleep. No. They prayed about
46:18
it, right? They trusted that God was going to
46:20
deliver on the other end. And indeed so. Praise
46:22
God. So I want us to see that. And let's go back
46:26
and then look at a couple of issues, dangers
46:29
that Apostle Paul was trying to address. And
46:31
it will help us to be able to sift through. the
46:37
major issue or the what he kept on talking about,
46:39
and it's all, it comes down to the doctrine,
46:42
right? It comes down to standing fast on the
46:43
truth that you receive, because if you understand
46:45
the truth that you receive, every other thing
46:47
will arrange itself. The first thing which we
46:49
see in 1 Corinthians 1, 10 to 12, is that issue
46:53
around division, right? Now it's showing around
46:56
people saying I'm from this person, I'm from
46:58
that person, I'm from that person, I'm from this
47:00
person. So it's just divided loyalties. Where
47:04
one individual is just factions, this person,
47:07
it just messes up the beauty of the family. The
47:12
beauty of the family is so that everything works,
47:15
we work together. There's unity. There's unity,
47:18
there's one vision, there's no two visions. Praise
47:20
God. In 1 Corinthians 1, 10 to 12, it says, Now
47:25
I plead with you, brethren, by the name of the
47:31
Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same
47:35
thing, right? Speak the same thing, not two things,
47:40
and that there be no divisions among you. And
47:43
speaking the same thing will mean that you're
47:45
all Muhammad. It says, but that you are perfectly
47:50
joined together in the same mind and in the same
47:54
judgment. It says, for it, 11 says, for it has
47:57
been declared, it has been declared to me concerning
48:00
you, my brethren, by those of close household.
48:06
contentment amongst you. Now, I see this, that
48:10
each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos,
48:16
or I'm of Cephas, that's Peter, or I'm of Christ.
48:20
Right, or I'm of Christ. Then 13, now says, is
48:23
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? You
48:27
know, he's trying to, like you know, sometimes
48:29
these questions help you to recalibrate. It helps
48:32
you to understand that, what are we even fighting
48:35
for? or why are we even doing all of this? We
48:39
should come together, right? We should come together.
48:42
And it says, was Paul crucified for you or were
48:45
you baptized in the name of Paul? So Paul is
48:48
using himself here because he wants you to understand
48:50
and look, there's no need for all of this. Let's
48:52
see what just, don't allow the devil make us
48:54
lose sight of the unity that we have in Christ,
48:58
right? Don't allow the devil makes us lose sight
49:01
of the unity that we have in Christ. So we see
49:04
also in first, Corinthians 3 verse 1 to 4. That's
49:08
Corinthians 3 verse 1 to 4. There's also an issue
49:12
where he addresses it slightly different. He
49:14
says, and I, brethren, could not speak to you
49:17
as spiritual people, but as carnal, but as to
49:23
carnal, as to babes in Christ. I have fed you
49:27
with milk, not with solid food, for until now
49:30
you were not able to receive it, and even now
49:33
you are still not able. Three now says, for you
49:36
are still carnal, for where there are envy, strife,
49:42
and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
49:47
behaving like mere men? For when one says, I
49:53
am of Paul and I am of Apollos, are you not carnal?
49:58
So we see that the carnal here now is you're
50:02
not You're not walking in flow, like you are
50:06
in Christ. We are doing something that is contradictory.
50:09
That's why he says, was it Paul that was crucified
50:13
for you? So you understand that the focus is
50:16
Christ, not any of this sort of person. And you
50:19
being God is like, you're not walking in the
50:21
Spirit, like in the truth that you have received.
50:24
Praise God. You're not walking in the truth that
50:26
you have received. So he's kind of bringing the
50:28
attention to the fact that the focus is in what
50:31
Christ has done. And we understand that even
50:33
Christ encouraged, in fact in this type of prayers,
50:37
he prays for them in 17, is that they are one.
50:41
He's not about the divisions. No progress happens,
50:46
no good and solid progress happens when they
50:48
are fractions. In fact, energies will be divided.
50:52
The energy that you use to walk in one straight
50:54
line, the other person will say, no, no, no,
50:56
no, I can't walk, how can I be walking with this
50:58
person? I don't like the way he operates. And
51:02
then the energy now that we'll put in doing one
51:04
thing, this other person will be doing his own
51:06
thing, the other person will be doing his own
51:07
thing, it will take us a long time to make progress.
51:10
Praise God. And that's why he brings the attention.
51:14
In 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14, he also says, but
51:16
the natural man does not receive the things of,
51:18
and that's to contrast the fact that you understand
51:22
that you are not now, you're not a mare. You
51:26
have the spirit of God, meaning that you are
51:29
able to, See, you're able to read God's word.
51:31
In fact, God's word is what has the authority.
51:34
You live your life on the basis of what is the
51:37
instruction. You live your life on understanding
51:39
of what the authority has placed around you.
51:41
You understand the importance of all of these
51:43
things. So you don't live your life anyhow. He
51:46
says, does not receive the things of his spirit
51:48
because they are foolishness to him, nor can
51:51
they know it because they are spiritually discerned.
51:53
Meaning that you know that, OK, this is God's
51:58
will. This is what we need to do in Christ Jesus.
52:00
A person that is not, it's like when a person
52:02
shows up here and he doesn't understand what
52:03
is going on here, he will be doing something
52:05
different from what we're doing, because he doesn't
52:07
understand how things operate in this particular
52:09
environment, but we are beyond that. And in 2
52:13
Corinthians 10, 3 to 5, 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to
52:17
5, I read it from the NLT, 3 to 5, it says, we
52:20
are humans, but we don't wage war as humans do.
52:23
We use the mighty weapons, not human. not worldly
52:27
weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human
52:31
reasoning and to destroy false arguments. And
52:34
to destroy false arguments. So we destroy every
52:38
proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing
52:40
God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and
52:42
teach them to obey Christ. We capture rebellious
52:45
thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. I want
52:47
to say something that when people are acting
52:51
out of order, it means that they are, as we see
52:54
here, as I said earlier, that the enemy is behind,
52:58
is walking behind. There's a doctrine that the
53:00
enemy is running. There's an active doctrine
53:02
that's walking in that particular individual.
53:05
And what you are doing is that you're using God's
53:09
weapon, God's arsenal, which is his word, the
53:12
teaching of his word, sound doctrine, to be able
53:14
to destroy every form of human reasoning and
53:19
every false argument, contrary to what the word
53:22
of God is. And any of, any, any Anytime you entertain
53:26
anything contrary to, you are slowly yielding
53:31
to something that when you now manifest, it will
53:33
now be like you don't know what the truth is.
53:37
And nowadays we have a situation where people
53:39
don't consciously know that once you are listening
53:42
to something over and over again, you are subconsciously
53:46
programming yourself to see that as the right
53:48
way of doing things. And it happens every now
53:51
and then. You just feel like that is the normal
53:53
way. That's the right way to do things. But it's
53:56
not. It's not. And you will be forgiven of it
53:58
because you have seen it so many times to think
54:01
that, OK, everybody does it like that. But you
54:03
understand that that is not the way people should
54:05
do it. That is not the way it is done. Praise
54:07
God. And it says, we capture their rebellious
54:10
thoughts and teach them to be good. We have a
54:12
responsibility to teach people, right? We have
54:15
a responsibility to make people understand what
54:17
we believe in and teach them. It's very important
54:20
that we make people understand what we believe
54:22
in and teach them I'm trying to find a place
54:24
where we can So there are two other things that
54:28
Apostle Paul addresses and one other thing is
54:30
that them compromising to like Compromising on
54:35
what they know to not be true, right? They yield
54:39
because you see that this person is saved He
54:42
knows that okay, I shouldn't be doing this, but
54:45
they just say okay. Let's just do it anyways
54:47
Like we're in Christ, right? We're in Christ.
54:49
So we see that form of compromise that happens.
54:53
And those are what he refers to as the levels
54:56
that actually levels a little bit. Little compromises
54:58
here and there. It's what takes you off. It's
55:00
what makes you lose sight. In fact, it's what
55:03
makes people lose confidence in what you say
55:05
you believe in. Right? It makes people lose confidence.
55:09
Because what you believe in is true. But your
55:11
actions is not helping them in any way. Your
55:13
actions is not helping them. And sometimes we
55:16
undermine how that destroys your ability to proclaim
55:22
the gospel. You undermine the importance of that
55:25
because people see, they see you more than they
55:28
hear you. Praise God. They see you more than
55:31
they hear you and then you're telling them something
55:33
and then they are like, it's all, and you're
55:35
forgotten. But people don't forget. People have
55:38
seen you so many times and they've seen you taking
55:40
certain actions and you don't forget. So, and
55:43
you see in their own case, There are issues of
55:46
sexual immorality, and that has been rampant.
55:49
We see that in 1 Corinthians 5, 1 to 2, and then
55:51
6. It says that there has been reported sexual
55:54
immorality among Jews, such as not even named
55:58
among the Gentiles. That is the height of it.
56:01
And tomorrow, you want to come and tell them,
56:02
Jesus, to be difficult for you to get past that.
56:05
It says that one now takes his father's wife.
56:09
That's the height of it. He says, and you are
56:12
puffed up. So you know, you have done something
56:14
bad. It's bad enough you have done something
56:15
bad, but you are now proud about what you have
56:17
done. That's why he's addressing it. And he's
56:22
addressing it. He says, and have you not rather
56:26
mourned? And that he who has done this deed might
56:33
be taken away from among you. In 6, he says,
56:36
your glorying is not good. Do you not know that
56:40
a little leavens leaven the lump, which is the
56:42
whole idea of like, because you are glowing something
56:44
that is evil. You're glowing something that is
56:47
evil. And you want to be careful not to give,
56:52
like make that a norm. That's why when there's
56:54
a situation here, if we accept it, we are like,
57:00
that's saying it's good. Everybody should behave
57:01
like that. So you want to be able to understand
57:03
that certain things that you should not even
57:05
tolerate at all. The same thing is because it
57:08
will undermine the faith that you believe in.
57:10
You can't say you believe in this and then you
57:13
are doing this. And then you are saying something
57:16
and we are seeing something else, different from
57:18
what you are saying. So it very much undermines
57:21
that and that's why I pose to Paul this. Because
57:22
all of those things are dangerous, praise God.
57:25
All of those things are dangerous and the fact
57:27
that you are living around a culture of people
57:30
like different cultures, different people that
57:32
are still holding back because you're trying
57:34
to teach them something new. But there's something
57:36
that has been running before. Because they have
57:38
their different cultures, the different things
57:40
that they do, they hold on to different system.
57:42
Just imagine you're trying to tell them that
57:44
Christ is the end of all the sacrifice and then
57:46
you have people that say, no, no, we love this
57:48
our sacrifice so much. We still have to be doing
57:49
the sacrifice. So it will be hard because you
57:53
have to keep on standing because it will go back
57:56
to the other way. It's easy for you to flow back
57:59
because you think we miss. We miss the times
58:02
where we go into the temple and bring our goats
58:05
and we miss those times. Well, we understand
58:08
that those times are not relevant in this time
58:10
because we have something greater than those
58:12
things. Praise God. So he's trying to bring to
58:16
them. And I wanted to get to a point where we'll
58:17
talk about the whole ways that we can make those
58:20
things idols. But that will be for some of the
58:22
time to be addressed by some of the pastors.
58:24
So I want us to just open our mouths and just.
58:27
We appreciate you being here today. We hope you
58:30
carry this worry with you throughout your week.
58:33
Don't forget to check the show notes for additional
58:35
insights. Stay connected with us through our
58:38
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you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.