Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E94 | Everyday Eurasia | Annemarie Snijders

Transcript

S1-E94 | Everyday Eurasia | Annemarie Snijders · Eurasia Region Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week on the Everyday Eurasia podcast, we are joined
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  by the Northern Europe field. Each day we hear stories and
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  devotionals from across the field, offering a glimpse into
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  the life and ministry of the church in this part of the
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  region. Anna Marie Snyders is part of a
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  Dutch Arabic church plant in Utrecht in the Netherlands.
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  In the church there are people from the Netherlands, Syria,
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  Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. Quite a few people are from a
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  Muslim background and some live in nearby refugee centers.
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  Several people have come to faith in Jesus.
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  It is a beautiful experience to come together with people from
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  different cultural backgrounds and experience how Jesus is
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  working among us. In an area somewhere in Asia,
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  there were an awful lot of monkeys, and the monkeys were
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  very naughty. They tried to steal food from
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  people. They even came into houses and
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  sometimes took away valuable items.
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  The government had to think of a plan, but the problem was that
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  monkeys were very fast. But they came up with an ID.
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  They took a number of jars with a small opening, and inside the
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  jar they put a large banana. The monkeys smelled the banana
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  and in order to get them, they put their claw inside the jar.
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  But because the opening was small, they couldn't get the
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  banana out. But they didn't want to let it
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  go either, and they got stuck. Now, in a way, we all have our
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  bananas. It can be our health, It can be
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  our family, especially our children.
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  It can be our work. It can even be our position in
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  the church. And our focus can be so strong
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  on the banana that we get stuck and are no longer free.
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  So the question is, how can we get rid of our bananas?
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  And I would like to read with you from John chapter 12 from
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  verse 23 onward. And it says Jesus replied, the
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  hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.
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  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grade of weed falls to the
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  ground and dies, it remains a single seat, but if it dies, it
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  produces many seats. Anyone who loves their life will
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  lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will
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  keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow
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  me, and where I am, my servant also will be.
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  My father will honour the one who serves me.
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  Jesus lived in an Agricultural Society.
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  People were very familiar with grains of wheat, and when you
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  keep a grain of wheat in a dry place and, for example, put it
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  in your living room, it can be safe and secure for years.
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  Nothing will happen to it, but it will remain like it is.
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  And Jesus says in order to be fruitful, the grain of wheat has
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  to fall in the cold ground and die.
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  That was true for his own life. The only way for Jesus to be
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  glorified was the way of the cross.
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  It was the only way to become fruitful for Jesus and make it
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  possible for us that the relationship with God the Father
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  would be restored. So let's go back to the
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  question, what are our bananas? We all have them because they
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  are the things that the world considers important.
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  But if we want to be part of the Kingdom of God, if we really
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  want to be fruitful, we need to follow Jesus so that where he
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  is, we will also be. And we need to follow Jesus in
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  the pattern of dying to ourselves, to our bananas, and
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  being raised to life with Jesus so that our lives can be truly
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  fruitful. Shall we pray together?
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  Lord, we thank you for your work.
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  We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you were willing to give up your
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  own ambition and to follow the way of the cross so that He made
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  it possible for us that our relationship with Godfather
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  could be restored. And Lord, you know that our
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  longing is to be fruitful and that there will be fruit that
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  remains. And as we approach Eastern, we
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  pray that you will help us to see and recognise bananas in our
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  life so that we can let go of them and can be truly free.
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  Free to serve You, free to be where you are, free to
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  experience the honor that the Father wants to grant us in
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  Jesus name, Amen. Thank you for listening to the
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  Everyday Eurasia podcast Inspiring Faith for Everyday.
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  For more Everyday stories, subscribe on this podcast
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  channel, follow our socials, Facebook and Instagram, or our
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  newsletter snapshots. For our newsletter and further
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  information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
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  eurasiaregion.org.