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Standing Fast in the Faith (Part 3) · 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 our rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. I want us to be expectant. I really
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want us to pay attention. We're going to continue
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with our teaching. We're going to be continuing
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our teaching. This will be the taught part of
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it. Standing fast in the faith. Standing fast
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in the faith. And I sense the relevance of this
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at this point in time because a lot of things
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have happened. A lot of things are happening.
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And every believer has to know what they are
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holding on to, or who they are holding on to.
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And not just know who they are holding on to,
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but why. And hold fast. And hold fast to God.
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Praise God. In the previous teaching, I think
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we started the teaching on paying attention,
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right? Paying attention. And you don't just pay
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attention, you pay faithful attention to every
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word or every teaching. And just to remind those
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of us, or if this is your first time in church,
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or if this is your first time joining us, the
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team of this year's Greater Works, and if we
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are going to work in greater, we have to pay
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attention. We have to pay not just passive attention,
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but close and active attention to God's Word.
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As we continued in the teaching, I think I took
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us to the text in John 14 verse 12. I think in
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the second part of the teaching, I walked us
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through the uniqueness of John's Gospel. phrase
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most assuredly was used several times and in
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those several times there was a communication
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that has been made and it highlights and focused
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on learning, like wanting to understand what
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the meaning is. And we established that trust
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in God always leads us to action. It always leads
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us to action. It always leads us to action. And
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I just want us to go to our text in I want to
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remind us as believers that our faith is not
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a blind faith. Our faith in God is not a blind
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faith. There's a basis for our faith in God.
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You have people that can't or just believe blindly.
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They feel that your belief in God has no basis.
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There's no basis for your belief in God. And
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in case you don't know what blind faith is, blind
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faith is believing in something without any reason
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or evidence. You are believing in something without
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any reason or evidence. You don't know why you
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believe what you believe in. It's almost like
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a passive ignorance. You know, but you don't
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know. Kind of situation. And the cure for that
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is knowledge. The cure for blind ignorance is
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knowledge. And I will go back to that aspect
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of what's paying attention. Because if you don't
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pay attention, you will still be ignorant. Praise
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God. It was tough that you are in the circle
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of, you are in a place where they are teaching
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you and you're supposed to be learning, but you're
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still ignorant. I think it's better you're not
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even here than you are here. And this is me calling
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attention to the fact that you can be here and
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you're not taking notes. You're just watching.
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It means that you really don't understand or
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you do not know why you're here or you just showed
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up as a routine. Praise God. I want us to understand
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that our faith in God, you don't want to come
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into that space where you are going through the
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motions and you don't even know why. And if you
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go out there and evangelize regularly, you will
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notice that you will meet with a believer and
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the believer cannot articulate their belief in
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God, why they believe in God. And you'll be wondering
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to yourself, do these persons actually know why
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they do so? And it's sad enough that you are
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in a space where this is being brought to you
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over and over again and you still can't articulate
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it. It means that you are guilty of not paying
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attention, praise God. Because every time we
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come here, we bring us to that place where we
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understand. And some people get this idea of
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faith in God being blind from certain aspects
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of the Word of God or certain areas of the Word
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of God, which is you misinterpreting or mis -
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misrepresenting the text in a sense. Because
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when you look at Hebrews, I think what we read
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as a church, we had gone through the book of
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Hebrews. And in Hebrews 11, it looks like it's
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not sin, right? The idea of not sin, it not being
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sin. So people can take this notion that you're
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anchoring your faith to something that you can't
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see or someone you can't see or you have not
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seen. How is that valid? Or in fact, we don't
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see it. doesn't write it off. Your mobile phones
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are the tools, the physical tools that help you
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collect the signals of whether you're using a
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took cell or a Telosim. You don't see the network.
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You only can tell that the network is available
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because you have the hardware that is able to
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interact with the network that is flying around.
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The same thing goes for the air we breathe. We
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don't necessarily have seen or understand or
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even say hi to it, but we know that it's there
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and it's responsible for our living. Praise God!
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So, the fact that you don't see it doesn't mean
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it's not there. Praise God! And I want you to
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be encouraged that your faith is anchored on
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something solid. Your faith is anchored on someone
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solid. Praise God! And even if you cannot explain
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it, you know, I just explained something that
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some people have not even paid attention to.
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You just probably realize it now. That is your
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phone that helps you tell whether there's a network
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or not. You don't see the network to know that
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the network is available. The same way, if you
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cannot explain your faith, it doesn't mean that
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it can't be explained. Praise God. The fuck because
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you cannot explain your faith doesn't mean that
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your faith cannot be explained. What it only
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means is that you need to learn, right? It only
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just brings your attention to the need for learning,
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the need for knowledge, the need for understanding.
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And when you are learning, you are learning with
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the end goal of understanding. We don't learn
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with the end goal, with the plan of being ignorant.
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We learn with the end goal that we can be able
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to understand. And how we know you understand
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is in your ability to explain. Praise God! The
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way we know that you understand something is
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when we ask you, you are able to explain what
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you understand. And as I said, what we have in
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God, we are not scared to be scrutinized. Praise
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God! When you are not sure, you are scared of
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scrutiny. Many people, when they ask you, you
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are scared because you don't know. Anybody that
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understands or knows why they believe what they
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believe, they are not scared. In fact, the Bible
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has been scrutinized more than any book in the
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world. And it is not still afraid of scrutiny
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because it's solid. Right? The other people that
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don't like... Because once you... You don't even
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need to go too far. In the first chapter, you
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have already diagnosed the problem. But the Bible
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has gone through so much scrutiny... to get to
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arrive at this point where we can see for a fact
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that we know what we believe and we run with
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it. Praise God! And Scripture tells us that faith
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comes by in Romans 10 verse 17, that faith comes
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by hearing. And the NLT will say that is hearing
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the good news about Christ. That means our faith
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is anchored on what we hear and what we hear
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about the One who our faith is anchored on. Praise
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God! And it tells us that there's evidence to
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what our faith is, even though we cannot see,
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even though you have not met Jesus in person,
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or you know that you have met Him. Praise God!
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You have had an encounter with Him. And if you
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want to further argue the fact that, oh, this
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faith I think is still blind. And I'm saying
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this to help someone because I sense that there
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are people that are struggling with their faith.
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They have been brought into it. because they
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had no choice and they are just here because
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they still have no choice. They have to report
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to the person that brought them here, in a sense.
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But I want you to know that you have to come
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to a place where you understand and know why
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and you can be able to explain it. Remember,
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last time we were teaching, I told you that the
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reason why Apostle Paul could defend his faith
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is because he knew the encounter he had with
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God was undeniable. And you could see it anywhere,
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even if they call them crazy. There's also crazy
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faith. Crazy faith, you cannot see it, but you
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know it is there. And they will call you crazy.
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Abramos will be classified in that, because you
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are going somewhere you don't know. There are
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many instances where you believe... is something
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solid. There's an evidence for what you believe
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in and in spite of the circumstance and the situation,
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you still will go on believing. Praise God. You
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still will go on believing and that is where
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as what knowing, that's what understanding helps
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us to do. That it might not seem like it, but
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you are willing to hold on because the one who
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holds you will never let you go. Praise God.
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The one who is holding you will never let you
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go. And you'd be wondering to yourself that,
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oh, Look at Jesus and His disciples. How many
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of you, when you read your Bible, there's a lot
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of explaining that was happening. In fact, the
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Bible doesn't give us all the explanation. But
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there was a lot of explaining that He had done
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and the Jews are not that easy to come to. Luke
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24 verse 27, it says, and beginning at Moses
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and all the prophets, He expanded. He, Jesus
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Christ, expanded to them as those coming with
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Him from the mouth, to them in all the scriptures,
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the things concerning Himself, that is, Himself,
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Christ. 45. It goes to 45. 45. 45 says, "...and
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He opened their understanding..." This is when
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Jesus Christ had gone to... He was with the disciples
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now. But all the disciples say, they open their
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understanding that they might comprehend the
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scripture. You can't be explaining when you don't
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have evidence. I don't know about you, but there's
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no explaining when there's no evidence, right?
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Even if some people now can't explain without
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evidence, but you have to. And the length of
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explanation will tell that you have a lot more
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evidence than, right? Because it's just a matter
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of time. You will see holes in your explanation,
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right? Because the longer the person talks, the
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more lies you pick if the person is lying, if
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the evidence is false. I want us to go to Acts
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17. Well, St. Jesus will see. What's the Paul?
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Acts 17 verse 2 to 4. Yeah, 2. Then Paul, as
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his custom was, went into them and for three
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sabbaths reasoned. with them from the scriptures
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three explaining and demonstrating that christ
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had to suffer and rise again from the dead and
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saying this jesus whom i preach to you is the
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christ for the last verse and some of them were
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persuaded and a great multitude of devout greeks
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and a few of the leading women joined Paul and
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Silas. I want you to give me an NLT. Give me
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an NLT. NLT makes it clear enough for us. Yeah.
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So, as I told you, Ella, some of the Jews who
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listened were persuaded. Remember, I told you
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that the Jews are not easy to convince. So, some
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of them were the ones that were... And they noticed
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that they listened, right? They had to have listened
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to have been persuaded. Because if the person
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you're talking to is not listening to you, You're
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not having a conversation or you're not communicating.
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They joined Paul and Silas along with the many
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God -fearing Greek men and a few of their prominent
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women. So, we see that a lot of the Jews, a lot
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of the Greeks believed and they came, they believed
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and they happened to. The teaching hall was being
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communicated, but you see that the Jews... What
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it means is that you have to have evidence to
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be able to convince. You have to know what you're
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talking about to be able to convince. You have
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to keep at it. You have to keep communicating
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and keep talking and keep encouraging and keep
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showing them from scriptures. Keep communicating.
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It doesn't stop. You keep at it because the Word
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of God, you're sowing seeds of that Word and
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it's able to yield that increase. And I said
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to ourselves, and I repeat myself again, there's
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a basis for our faith in God. There's a basis
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for our faith in God. There's a basis for our
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faith in God. I want us to look at John 20 -31.
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John 20 -31. John 20 -31. Not the NLT, the New
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King James. Thank you. It says, but this were
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written that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you
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may have life in His name. and that believing
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you may have life in His name. Notice that in
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the earlier verses, you will notice that Thomas
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said that he will not believe until he sees.
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When he saw, Jesus Christ asked him to put his
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hands up, and because he saw, he believed. Then
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Jesus Christ says, Blessed are you who believe
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without seeing. And I want us to go to Matthew.
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I want us to see more, you know, when you don't
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have, if the evidence is real, right, when you
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have a false, when you see falsification of an
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evidence, let me read it the way I wrote it.
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It says, if there's some, if there is, if there
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wasn't any evidence, there wouldn't be any falsification
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of the evidence. So if you, if the evidence,
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if there wasn't a, If there wasn't truth, there
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wouldn't be a lie, right? About something. If
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there wasn't truth about something, there wouldn't
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be a lie. I want us to see something. I want
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us to examine, take our time and examine this.
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In Matthew 28, 11 to 15. Matthew 28, 11 to 15.
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Matthew 28, 11 to 15. Yes, let's use the NLT.
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Let's use the NLT. Matthew 28, 11 to 15. See,
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as the women, we are... Jesus Christ has resurrected.
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Some of the men went into the city and told the
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leading priest what had happened. Please pay
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close attention. A meeting with the elders was
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called and they decided to give the soldiers
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a large bribe. They told the soldiers, you must
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say, Jesus' disciples came during the night while
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the soldiers were sleeping. stole his body. If
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the governor hears about this, we will stand
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for you so you won't get in trouble. So the guards
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accepted the bribe and said what they were told
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to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews
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and they still tell it today. Notice something.
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The first point we want to look at is the fact
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that what is the need for the elders and the
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leading priest? There's something that has to
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be needed for them because there has to be something
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that will result or amount in a covenant. And
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then the first question I want us to ask ourselves
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is, because you want to use what we have to make
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a case, right? And the question is, If the soldiers,
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because they were told to, if the soldiers were
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asleep, how would they have known who stole the
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body? Right? Because the thing is that they were
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told to say, and I will take us to what actually
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happened, but they were told to say that they
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were asleep. Because if you have, and by the
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way, these are Roman soldiers that if you have
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seen movies of they are armed, they are armed.
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So you are dealing with a bunch of armed soldiers
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as against a bunch of fishermen, people that
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are untrained against trained. Then if you add
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education to it, anyhow. But you have some bunch
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of untrained people against trained. And I don't
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know which one for me is embarrassing. It's the
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fact that you are a soldier sleeping on duty.
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And I don't know which one is more embarrassing
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to admit. When I was thinking about you, there
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was a situation that happened when I was meant
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to talk to security and I felt it was evening,
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so the man was tired. The man was sleeping, but
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I don't know how to wake him without making him
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know that he was sleeping. So, I had to make
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sounds because it's embarrassing because you
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are not meant to be sleeping at your post. And
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you knowing that the person that is coming to
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check on you finds there's a bit of embarrassment
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about it. So, you can imagine the amount of embarrassment
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the soldiers were willing to take, right? To
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not say the truth. And if you think about it,
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they were incentivized because I'm giving you
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money to lie and then I'm going to protect you
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again to lie. So, I can only imagine the interview.
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If it's in this day and age, I'm guessing maybe
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one of the soldiers will do a YouTube video communicating
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the actual thing that happened because he has
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collected the money. He probably will be arrested
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afterwards. But that's the thought that comes
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to mind. I'm saying this for us to know the extent
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to which people will lie to cover up the truth.
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It means that if you are not critical... Notice
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that we just looked at the fact that they said
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that they were sleeping and then the disciples
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came and stole this body. So, if you are fast
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asleep, I don't know about you, except if you
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are sleeping, because the story would make sense
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if you were sleeping and they made some noise
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and then you woke up and you saw them. But you
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said you were sleeping, meaning that... you are
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sleeping and then because if you woke up from
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sleep you should be able to fight them and then
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preserve but because I don't know how that would
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even make sense but you want to just put that
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in mind and the fact that they were going to
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get into trouble and we understand that it is
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a very serious thing for them to have mount guard
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at that place and in fact it was the same elders
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that insisted that they mount guard because in
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fact they believed And they knew, even the disciples
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were not, but they believed that this man, he
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has said he will rise up on the third day. So,
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they had instructed for that to be done. And
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then, sleeping on duty was very serious because
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if it wasn't in the verse 14, they wouldn't have
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said, okay, we will protect you. When the governor,
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because in the verse 14 it says, if the governor
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hears about it, we will stand up for you. so
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you wouldn't get in trouble. Because they had
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given them the bribe and they were going to also
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get protection when this happened. In the same
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Bible, I want us to go to Acts 16 -27, just to
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clarify that what they would have faced, if they
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were not protected, would be death. So, this
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is the jailer. The background story to this was
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Paul. and Silas having praying, rejoicing in
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prison and then all of that happened. The jailer
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woke up to see the prison doors wide open. You
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can imagine you are in charge of the prison and
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then you know that the prisoners, it's not like
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they're having fun in prison. If prison opens,
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you run. But he said he assumed. that the prisoner
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works to see because his life was preserved and
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then he and his household, as we'll see in 34,
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that's clever, I want us to go to 34, his household
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and himself was now saved to 34, it says he brought
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them to his house and set a meal before them
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and he and his entire household rejoiced because
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they all believed. I want us to see 31. 31 just
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go to 31 Because they replied because the jailer
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asked that what can he do to be saved they say
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they replied believe in the Lord Jesus and You
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will be saved along with everyone in your household.
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Praise God That was what they are told him and
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he responded took him to took them home and they
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were saved So you you would have thought that
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the prison situation will be end ugly But the
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prison situation was also an opportunity for
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the gospel to be preached, for the jailer and
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his household to be saved. So, you want to always
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think of difficult situations, challenging situations,
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and this is me still going back to the theme
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of standing fast in the faith. Know that no matter
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what elements or whatever challenges will be
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thrown at you, your consciousness should be in
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the one or you should be conscious of the one
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who holds you. and stand fast in it. Paul and
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Silas were rejoicing in that prison. They didn't
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look like they were led in prayers. Prison is
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not where you would be rejoicing in. Every normal
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person, because we walk by faith, not by sight,
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rejoices in spite of. Corinthians would say that
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there's a reason why we don't give up. There's
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a reason why we never give up. So, going back
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to... Matthew, I want us to go to Matthew in
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NLT. Matthew 28, 2 -4. Matthew 28, 2 -4. I read,
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Suddenly there was an earthquake. There was an
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earthquake. There was a great earthquake. For
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an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled
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aside the stone and sat on it, his face shone
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like lightning, and his cloth was as white as
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snow. The gods shook with fear when they saw
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him, and they fell into a dead feint." The NLTC
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says they fell into a dead feint. Go back to
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4. That's what we're saying. And they fell into
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a dead feint, and the other translation was that
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they were dead men. They were dead men, and you
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can imagine. because they saw what they never
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expected in all of the times of them standing
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guard. You can now imagine which of the stories
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would be better to tell. Which of them would
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be better to tell it to me, because I don't know
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how about explaining that kind of a situation.
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Now they had explained it to the elders and the
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Pharisees, and the Pharisees and the elders said,
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look, this one will not go down well for us.
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Just take money and we'll protect you. explain
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this one because it's easier to say, you don't
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have to explain all of these things and then
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the person will not be arguing with you. So,
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where did the angel come from? How do you start
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explaining all of that? But the good thing about
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it is that they were not the only ones that were
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there. So, the fact that the chief priests and
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the elders were willing to pay a large bribe
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and protect the soldiers suggests a desire to
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cover up the truth at all costs. There's a desire
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to cover up the truth at all costs and I'm challenging
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you. We have the Word of God. You add a desire
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to know what is in it or you close it and invariably
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not know what is in the Word and deny yourself
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and walk in the ignorance we talked about. You
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have faith but it's blind. You don't even know
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what you believe in. Praise God! You want to
27:23
challenge yourself. It's not the easiest because
27:26
it takes work. to go and research, find, know
27:30
what exactly it is that your faith is all about.
27:33
Praise God. It's because you can't cover up the
27:40
truth for long, right? And I want you to think
27:44
with me the horror of the chief priests and the
27:49
Pharisees and the elders, when the disciples
27:53
now are healing people in the name of the same
27:55
person that they tried. The same person that
27:58
they tried to say that they were covering it
28:00
was a color of story for. Because if they say
28:03
they stole the body, how do you explain the fact
28:07
that some people had met with the person that
28:10
the body was stolen? Because the person was not...
28:12
You know, when they say they stole the body,
28:14
they mean that they stole the lifeless body,
28:16
right? Because when they say stealing the body,
28:19
stealing is the lifeless body. But now you have
28:21
people that have seen the person alive. You know
28:27
you cannot argue with that. You know you can't
28:29
argue with that testimony. And that's why, as
28:33
a believer, you want to know the truth. You want
28:36
to know the truth so well that when somebody
28:39
tells you it's like your name, that it gives
28:41
you a different name, you know you will be...
28:43
In fact, you will not stress yourself because
28:46
you know what your name is. And you want to have
28:49
faith in God like you know your name, right?
28:52
You want to have that solid faith in God like
28:55
you know your name. that when somebody tells
28:57
you that this is who you are, you tell them,
29:01
no, this is who I am. Praise God! And in this
29:04
case, you'd be saying, I am the child of God,
29:06
right? I know who my father is. I have the spirit
29:11
of God. I'm not unsure of whether I do or I don't.
29:17
In fact, God's Word confirms to me again and
29:20
again and again who I am in Him. Praise God!
29:26
That was it for the disciples. That was it for
29:28
the disciples. I want us to look at the case
29:30
of Peter and John. I want us to look at the case
29:34
of Peter and John in Acts 4, 16 to 17. Acts 4,
29:40
16 to 17. I'll read it to us. It says... No,
29:46
KJV. Just go to KJV. It says, saying, what shall
29:51
we do to these men? This was after they had healed
29:54
the lame man. What shall we do to this man? For
30:01
indeed, what a notable miracle has been done
30:06
through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem
30:10
and we cannot deny it. I want you to say it,
30:17
you can't deny the truth. Say it like you mean
30:21
you can't deny the truth. 17 now says, but so
30:26
that it spreads no further among the people,
30:31
let us severely threaten them that from now on
30:37
they speak to no man in his name. They speak
30:42
to no man in his name. What do you think Peter
30:47
and John's response will be to them? What do
30:50
you think Peter and John's response would be
30:51
to them? Let's look at their response in 19 and
30:54
20. He says, but Peter, give me the NLT. I like
31:01
to wait. What's it? He said, but Peter and John
31:04
replied, do you think God wants us to obey you
31:08
rather than him? You know, that's a very good
31:11
question to ask. You know, when you put somebody,
31:14
you know, that's what somebody would do to you.
31:17
Say, I'm serving my God. You cannot tell me what
31:20
my God has said and what you are saying. So,
31:25
we cannot stop telling about everything we have
31:30
seen and heard. Praise God! They have seen and
31:35
they have heard. The evidence they have is overwhelming
31:39
in comparison to the lies you are trying to or
31:43
the instruction that you are giving. Praise God!
31:46
And this is where you want to move to a place
31:48
where you have overwhelming evidence about the
31:51
God that you serve. An overwhelming evidence
31:54
about the God that you serve that when somebody
31:56
tells you contrary to it, you are able to stand,
32:00
right? You are able to stand. You are not going
32:03
to car. And these men are able to say that because
32:08
they had been with Jesus. They, doing otherwise,
32:13
were almost on... It would be that they are denying
32:17
what they have seen and what they have heard.
32:21
And for some of us, even the ones we have seen
32:23
and heard, we still deny it at every given opportunity
32:27
because we don't want to. We just deny it at
32:33
every given opportunity. I want us to look at
32:39
4 verse 13. That's the same Acts 4 verse 13.
32:44
It says, Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter
32:47
and John and perceived that they were uneducated
32:50
and untrained, uneducated and untrained men,
32:54
they marveled and they realized that they had
32:59
been with Jesus. Praise God! They had been with
33:02
Jesus. So, there is an education and a training.
33:10
that you get being with Jesus. There is an education
33:15
and a training that you get being with Jesus.
33:21
And when they say being with Jesus, it's not
33:23
just that they were in a community, right? They
33:26
were not... You know, somebody would say, I'm
33:28
in my house with Jesus. A ministry is a bedside
33:32
ministry. In my house with Jesus. Wake up every
33:36
morning and say, I'm with Jesus. But we know
33:41
that they are with Jesus because of the way they
33:43
lived, right? The way they were able to defend,
33:48
the way they were able to... The things that
33:49
they did showed us that these people were...
33:51
because they could see. In Marvel, you see, these
33:53
people didn't have... they don't have the education.
33:56
They are not scholars, but because of the time
33:59
they had spent with Him. So, if by what they
34:02
believed in, they would have just said, OK, fine.
34:05
This is the first and last time. It's okay. We
34:08
will not do it again. Is that what you want us
34:10
to do? Because if we don't do it, you're going
34:12
to lock us up because they threaten them. You
34:14
know, when they actually say that they are not
34:17
going to do what they have seen and heard, they
34:20
threaten them again. So, it means that the threat
34:23
will not stop until the person feels that you
34:25
succumb to their instructions, right? Because
34:27
just imagine, the soldiers had no choice. The
34:29
soldiers could not do anything and it was more
34:31
lucrative for them. I'm wondering, even if they
34:34
gave them bride, they would not still call it,
34:36
right? Because they know what they believed.
34:40
And I want you to pay attention to what they
34:42
did afterwards because sometimes we undermine
34:46
the value of the church community. Because after
34:52
that incident, what they did was that they went
34:54
back to the believers and told them of what had
34:58
happened. And what had happened afterwards is
35:00
that they prayed and they were strengthened and
35:03
they went on preaching. We see it in 23. They
35:06
went back and told the brethren about it, told
35:12
the believers about it in 23. They went and said
35:15
their own companions and then in 31, they prayed
35:19
and then in 31, we see that they prayed and the
35:23
place was shaking and they were filled with host
35:25
and they went and spoke the word of God with
35:28
boldness. Praise God! They went and they spoke
35:31
the Word of God with boldness. I want you to
35:33
know that standing fast in faith is not automatic,
35:37
right? It's not something that happens automatically
35:39
when you just come in. It just happens. It happens
35:43
as a result of you... as a result of you actively
35:48
paying attention to what is being taught and
35:54
learning the Word of God. It comes from all of
35:57
that. The Word of God is... is food for our faith.
36:06
The Word of God is what builds us up. The Word
36:09
of God is what ensures that we are confident
36:13
in what we believe in. Praise God! That's what
36:16
the Word of God does to us. And I want you to
36:21
know that because your faith is anchored on His
36:24
Word, you will see results that will blow your
36:30
mind, right? You will see results of... I think
36:35
I was having a conversation with someone and
36:36
I was like, okay, that was probably on Friday
36:39
when we were evangelizing. We asked the person,
36:45
okay, why do you believe what you believe in?
36:47
And the person was saying, Omar, you will know
36:50
that there's no basis for the believer and they
36:53
can only have... It was just going there. And
36:56
then... I asked a couple of questions. Well,
37:00
that aside, I will say that I have seen things
37:04
that I know that it can only be good, right?
37:06
It can only be good. I think we talked about
37:10
it. I think it was last summer. I think I shared
37:13
it with Pastor Fred as well. It was last summer.
37:16
I think the first time Pastor Fred was the one
37:20
that pointed to the lady and told me, Do you
37:23
know this lady? I said, I see her around in church,
37:25
but I don't know her. Some weeks later, I had
37:30
woken up, I had a dream and in the dream, I was
37:34
praying for the lady. She was crying and then
37:36
I prayed for her. And then I woke up, I told
37:39
my wife, I was like, this lady I saw. And then
37:42
that week that happened, she was used as a flyer
37:46
for the church, like a church flyer, that same
37:48
week. And then I was like, this is interesting.
37:51
And then the lady did not show to church from
37:55
last summer. until like two Sundays ago. The
37:59
moment she walked into church, I was like, I
38:01
think I told Sister Easy to go and call the lady
38:04
for me. So, when the lady came to me, we started
38:07
talking. She was... When I told her... I told
38:11
her, I was like, the situation... I can't...
38:13
We can't have that conversation here. So, but
38:15
we talked over the phone because we couldn't
38:17
meet. We talked over the phone. And over the
38:19
phone, she opened up and said, that was... That
38:23
particular period was the... was the darkest
38:25
period of her life and not Cyprus. Meaning that
38:29
she was probably praying for a solution to her
38:31
problem and then she had other people praying
38:34
because I was like, why did you disappear? Because
38:36
I was looking. In fact, I told my wife that I
38:40
should probably send the person... I think I
38:43
said, bro, Gabriel would know this person, but
38:45
I forgot to ask him about it. Unfortunately,
38:50
when I... was speaking with her. She said they
38:53
live in the same building. My brain was like,
38:58
how can you make this up? You cannot make it
39:01
up. And we spent time, I think we spent close
39:04
to an hour plus on the phone. We talked and she
39:08
cried, laughed. There was all manner of emotions
39:12
on the phone and I knew. I thought she had left,
39:21
so she had mentioned that she was traveling on
39:23
the Tuesday of that. So, we took time and prayed,
39:26
and it was really a blessing. That aside, that
39:31
had happened the previous Sunday. He started
39:34
talking, and he was in tears. He was in tears,
39:39
and the next words he says afterwards, I couldn't...
39:43
But I've heard that before because... I've heard
39:45
it before. I think there was an instance where
39:48
a lady walked into my office. I just picked up
39:51
that she was suicidal. When I told her, she was
39:53
in shock. And the next words that she will say
39:57
is similar to what the boy said. That's why I'm
39:58
connecting the two stories together. Because
40:00
the lady now tells me that she had planned that
40:03
that particular summer she was going to go home,
40:06
lock herself and kill herself in the house. Because
40:09
she knew that dying... Because when she was talking
40:13
about it, I said... I know how expensive it is
40:15
for your dead body to be sent back to you because
40:18
it's very expensive. It's $12 ,000 or $8 ,000.
40:23
It depends on the country you're from because
40:26
they have to move. When you're talking to some
40:30
people, you have to reason so that they will
40:32
reason with you. It's bad enough that you're
40:35
killing yourself. You're not giving your family
40:36
a death in the process. And most of the times,
40:40
when people that feel that way go back home,
40:42
they recover. They are huge. But you can be huge.
40:47
You don't have to go back home because it's expensive.
40:49
Because you go back and then you come back. You
40:50
can go back and never come back. So, she had
40:53
said all of that and then I said, no problem.
40:56
She came, I gave my wife, I followed up with
40:58
her and by first of all, because she has graduated,
41:00
I think the last time I checked, she has graduated,
41:02
she's back. She came here a couple of times and
41:04
then she had left. And this particular young
41:06
man too, said the same thing. He said, in fact,
41:09
he said there's a seed he saw on Amazon. He's
41:11
planning to order it. when it takes it to...
41:15
What blows my mind is how people talk about death
41:19
like they give themselves life. You know, if
41:22
you're the one that gives yourself life, you
41:24
know, it's almost like you can do and undo. But
41:27
once you've done it, you can't undo it. And some
41:30
people in the face of death, their life flashes
41:33
before their eyes and they regret it. But it's
41:36
late because you're not the one moving yourself
41:38
to... Scripture tells us that the enemy comes
41:40
to steal, kill, and destroy. It's the enemy that
41:43
souls seize. Because what God does in the life
41:48
of a believer, for suppose, is to see, to live.
41:54
There's a game because the work of God will go
41:57
forward, right? In fact, that should stop you
41:59
from wanting to... because there's work that
42:02
needs to be done. Praise God! So, we had a conversation
42:05
with him. We talked. I said, let me pray for
42:07
you, but I was praying already on the program.
42:09
I was praying in the Spirit, but I said, no,
42:11
he doesn't want to be prayed for. I said, no
42:13
problem. If you don't want to be prayed for,
42:16
I will pray for you. I had to send him a text.
42:19
I said, you see, you will hate death. As much
42:23
as you love death and you want to take your life,
42:25
you will hate it and the other things that are
42:28
tied to it. And I think last Sunday he came to
42:30
church, at least he didn't kill himself. He came
42:32
to church on Sunday and we were praying. And
42:34
then I think the following, I think that was
42:36
this week that just passed, I saw him on the
42:38
road. We talked and then he told me about, okay,
42:41
the situations are better now. He was very excited
42:43
and he says it's going to be more. And that is,
42:47
there are certain things and this is interaction
42:50
with people and certain things that you have
42:52
experienced that will make you know that God
42:54
is real. I said all of that not to... I want
42:58
you to know that in this season, the greater
43:01
works will not just be the team of the church.
43:02
The greater work will be something you can say
43:04
for yourself in your life. That God is doing
43:07
greater in and through you. Because God is able.
43:12
We are the ones that put a limit to how God can
43:16
minister through us to meet the needs of others.
43:19
We are the ones that say, this is the only way
43:22
God can do it. Because sometimes that's why it's
43:25
almost like... But it can happen in any... You
43:28
can be in your classroom and you get the word.
43:32
You know, when I said what I said to the lady,
43:36
my brain had to... You know, that was when logic
43:38
came in, but I've said it already. I can't return.
43:42
So, her response now gave me the confidence that,
43:44
OK, you're on point, because how else can you
43:46
tell? Because the lady was like, I didn't post
43:48
it anywhere. I didn't write it. And you can't
43:51
tell a person, you cannot tell, I don't think
43:53
you can tell. You can probably deduce with some
43:55
clues, but you can't tell a person that has that
43:58
plans. Because if she had not opened her mouth
44:00
and said this was the plan, the way she had it,
44:02
you know, like somebody is telling about a business
44:04
plan. That is basically how it sounded to me.
44:07
But this one was going to end the person's life.
44:09
And I don't know if you're here and you're contemplating
44:13
taking your own life or you have had thoughts
44:15
of that. I want you to know that the thoughts
44:18
that you have had of that nature is not from
44:20
God. First and foremost, it's not from God. It's
44:24
not from God. It's not from God. And John 17
44:31
.3 says that this is eternal life, that you may
44:34
know that they may know you, the only true God,
44:41
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. This is Jesus
44:44
speaking. And they might know the only true life
44:46
news. And we know that basically this is what
44:50
brings a believer into this world. You know that
44:53
this is it and you know Him. You can't have it
44:57
any other way. You have it in God. It's either
45:00
you know you have it or you are just going through
45:03
the motions. And you have to come to a place
45:07
where you know that regardless of the difficulty
45:10
you're going through, you know, If the young
45:14
man had taken his life, he would not have shared
45:16
the testimony later on. It would have been the
45:18
end of him. Praise God! I want us to know that
45:23
what God calls us to is to continue to learn,
45:29
to continue to grow, to continue to learn, to
45:33
continue to grow. The part that I struggle with
45:36
or which blows my mind is when you see students
45:40
that have a problem with studying, right? Because
45:46
it's there in the name, student. If you just
45:47
move the ENT and put a Y, it's literally the
45:52
same. And the worst of it is they are shocked
45:57
when they fail. Like you didn't study and then
46:00
you are surprised that you failed. That's the
46:04
part I like, you're like, you're like, oh. Like
46:09
I said, how were you expecting the miracle to
46:14
happen. And then the other part, the other group
46:17
of people are engineers that hate maths. They
46:21
are engineers, they are studying engineering,
46:23
but they say that they hate maths and they are
46:25
bragging. It's bad that you shouldn't even say
46:28
that you hate maths and you're doing engineering
46:29
and you are now bragging about it. I think a
46:33
student told me that they hate maths, they hate
46:36
numbers. In fact, they go specific. They say
46:38
they hate numbers and I see Do you know your
46:42
phone number? She said, that's different. I said,
46:44
you have a problem. If you hate numbers, you
46:47
should not know any number in your life. Somebody
46:50
said, I showed them a picture of Abraham Lincoln.
46:55
I said, do you know him? They said, we don't
46:56
know his story. I said, but do you know Ataturk?
46:58
They said, that's different. So, I said all that
47:04
to say this because sometimes the logic... I
47:10
can't understand. I had to even take it a step
47:14
further. It's like someone says, I love to swim
47:17
and I hate water. The question is, what do you
47:20
intend to swim in? I start thinking of things.
47:24
Maybe it's money, but money is not readily available.
47:28
And then I say, maybe it has to be air, because
47:30
that's the only thing, because if you can't swim,
47:35
you'll fly. That's the thing, air. And the same
47:41
thing goes for a believer that doesn't want to
47:42
learn the Word of God, doesn't want to learn
47:45
because it's the same thing that applies here.
47:49
Because you're a believer, you believe, right?
47:52
Because you're a Christian, you have a relationship
47:54
with the One that has saved you and then you
47:57
grow in that relationship. And I want this to
48:02
challenge you to want to know God better than
48:05
you did yesterday. to want to know God better
48:09
than you did last year. Because if we're going
48:12
to see God do the supernatural and mighty things
48:15
He's already doing, because it's you that needs
48:19
to participate in it, He's already doing it and
48:21
through us, He will be limited by the amount
48:25
of what you know of Him. Because it's what you
48:28
know that you can work with. Because if you know
48:32
Him to do... One that if you know him to save
48:36
if you know you want to see that happen through
48:38
you and in fact You're gonna be posturing yourself
48:41
to see that happening to you. Praise God So I
48:44
want us to just open our mouths and just thank
48:47
God for his word We appreciate you being here
48:51
today, we hope you carry this war with you throughout
48:54
your week Don't forget to check the show notes
48:57
for additional insights Stay connected with us
49:00
through our website or follow us on social media
49:04
If you were encouraged, share this message with
49:06
someone you care about. Until next time, stay
49:10
blessed.