Latest / truthunedited / What Existed Before the World_ Jesus_ Answer Will Shock You

Transcript

What Existed Before the World_ Jesus_ Answer Will Shock You · truthunedited

0:00
Speaker 1: What happened before the creation of the world. What existed
0:03
Speaker 1: before the creation of the world. These are questions that
0:08
Speaker 1: many people ask and few know the answers to. However,
0:12
Speaker 1: the answer is not so simple. Let's embark on a
0:15
Speaker 1: fascinating journey into the unknown, where chapters of the Bible
0:20
Speaker 1: are written in tones of mystery and revelation. Before the
0:24
Speaker 1: universe took shape, before the Earth found its place in
0:27
Speaker 1: the vast universe, there is a hidden chapter in the Bible.
0:31
Speaker 1: This is an invitation to unravel together the enigmas of
0:34
Speaker 1: creation itself, delving into the sacred records that whisper about
0:39
Speaker 1: what existed before the world. In Peter one, verse twenty
0:43
Speaker 1: states that he was formed before the foundation of the world,
0:47
Speaker 1: but was manifested in the latter times for his sake.
0:50
Speaker 1: Genesis documents the beginning of creation in human history, but
0:54
Speaker 1: does not cover the events of eternity past, as Moses
0:58
Speaker 1: chose to omit them before the creation of humanity. In
1:01
Speaker 1: the material world, there is an independent story of creation.
1:05
Speaker 1: God existed before the concept of energy, time, space, and
1:10
Speaker 1: the universe was created by the rest of the scriptures
1:13
Speaker 1: provide some clues about the history of eternity past that
1:17
Speaker 1: preceded human life. Before the creation of the earth, God
1:21
Speaker 1: had majesty with his son. Jesus explained who he was
1:25
Speaker 1: before the creation of the world. Jesus shared many mysteries
1:29
Speaker 1: with us, including events before creation. The prayer that Jesus
1:33
Speaker 1: prayed in John seventeen is one of the most significant
1:37
Speaker 1: chapters in the Bible. It is considered the most powerful
1:40
Speaker 1: prayer ever made by the greatest person who ever lived.
1:44
Speaker 1: Through this prayer we can feel the beating of Jesus's
1:47
Speaker 1: heart as he prays to his father. The Bible contains
1:51
Speaker 1: many notable prayers. While we admire the prayers of Solomon, Abraham,
1:56
Speaker 1: and Moses, this particular prayer stands out as the most
2:00
Speaker 1: notable prayer recorded in the Bible. That Jesus spoke about
2:03
Speaker 1: the splendor and greatness he shared with God the Father
2:06
Speaker 1: before the creation of the world are described in John seventeen,
2:10
Speaker 1: Verses one through five. Jesus spoke these things, and lifting
2:15
Speaker 1: his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour has come.
2:19
Speaker 1: Glorify your son, that the son may glorify you, just
2:22
Speaker 1: as you gave authority over all mankind, so that all
2:26
Speaker 1: those you gave he may give eternal life, and eternal
2:29
Speaker 1: life is that they know You, the only true God,
2:32
Speaker 1: and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have glorified you
2:36
Speaker 1: on earth doing the work you gave me to do.
2:39
Speaker 1: And now Father, glorify me with yourself, with the glory
2:42
Speaker 1: I had with you before the world was before the
2:46
Speaker 1: creation of the earth, God existed and God had majesty
2:50
Speaker 1: with his son. The book of Genesis begins with the
2:53
Speaker 1: creation of man and other creatures, but it is evident
2:57
Speaker 1: that God was not beginning there. According to the Bible,
3:00
Speaker 1: God was present from the beginning when the universe was created.
3:05
Speaker 1: According to the Bible, God existed before the creation of
3:09
Speaker 1: the universe. He is described as an eternal being who
3:12
Speaker 1: has always existed and will always exist. This is supported
3:17
Speaker 1: by several verses throughout the scriptures. In Genesis chapter one,
3:21
Speaker 1: the word Elohim is a plural noun meaning God's This
3:26
Speaker 1: implies that God is three and one now. This grammatical
3:29
Speaker 1: structure may seem incorrect, but it is theologically correct and
3:33
Speaker 1: signifies the triune nature of God. Authentic prayers can often
3:38
Speaker 1: reveal a person's deepest thoughts and emotions. John seventeen offers
3:43
Speaker 1: a rare opportunity for us to witness the true nature
3:46
Speaker 1: and heart of Jesus. Through this prayer, Jesus touches on
3:50
Speaker 1: several themes that are explored throughout the Gospel, including glory, glorify, scent, believe,
3:56
Speaker 1: world love. Jesus asked to be glorified. Father, the time
4:01
Speaker 1: has come, glorify your son, so that his son can
4:04
Speaker 1: also glorify you. Before the hour of Jesus's glorification had
4:09
Speaker 1: not yet come. Now the time has come. Jesus prayed
4:12
Speaker 1: first for himself, but his appeal was not selfish. His
4:15
Speaker 1: concern for himself was a concern for the glory of
4:18
Speaker 1: the Father. The son can only glorify the Father if
4:22
Speaker 1: the Father first answers the son's prayer. Glorify your son.
4:27
Speaker 1: Jesus did not wait until his work on the cross
4:29
Speaker 1: to glorify God the Father. All his life he glorified
4:34
Speaker 1: God on earth. Jesus glorified the Father throughout his life,
4:38
Speaker 1: from his circumcision and temple dedication to his silent obedience
4:42
Speaker 1: in Nazareth, Jesus brought glory to God the Father through
4:46
Speaker 1: his unwavering faith, obedience, and diligent work throughout his earthly ministry,
4:52
Speaker 1: every sermon he preached, every blind or sick person he healed,
4:57
Speaker 1: every instruction and training he gave his disciples, every confrontation
5:01
Speaker 1: with corrupt religious leaders, every question he answered, and every
5:05
Speaker 1: loving touch he bestowed upon them. All they served to
5:09
Speaker 1: glorify God the Father. We then read, I have finished
5:13
Speaker 1: the work. Jesus, with divine confidence and security, saw the
5:18
Speaker 1: work on the cross as already completed. Jesus asked the
5:22
Speaker 1: Father to glorify him with the same glory as the
5:25
Speaker 1: Father himself. This was a prayer of total dependence on
5:29
Speaker 1: God the Father, not independence. Various individuals begged for praise
5:34
Speaker 1: and attention. However, the call for glorification of Jesus is
5:38
Speaker 1: very different. Glorify me with yourself. The difference is usually
5:43
Speaker 1: between dependence and independence. We also read with the glory
5:47
Speaker 1: that I had with you before the world. If Jesus
5:50
Speaker 1: was aware of his pre existence and the nature of it,
5:53
Speaker 1: he knew that there was a time in eternity when
5:56
Speaker 1: God the Son and God the Father shared the glory.
6:00
Speaker 1: Jesus could not pray this honestly or sensibly if he
6:03
Speaker 1: were not Yahweh himself equal to God the Father in
6:07
Speaker 1: Isaiah forty two, verse eight. Yahweh proclaimed that he does
6:11
Speaker 1: not share his glory with any one. If God the
6:14
Speaker 1: Father and God the Son share his glory, they must
6:17
Speaker 1: both be Yahweh. One Bible commentator noted that Jesus had
6:21
Speaker 1: a primary petition for the Father to welcome him back
6:25
Speaker 1: to the glory he had given up to fulfill his task.
6:29
Speaker 1: This petition for a return to his spotless glory unequivocally
6:33
Speaker 1: implies his pre existence and equality with the Father. This
6:37
Speaker 1: confirms his claim that he and the Father are one,
6:40
Speaker 1: as stated in John ten, verse thirty. The Gospel of
6:44
Speaker 1: John emphasized the glory of Jesus throughout its record. John
6:48
Speaker 1: was careful to record the many ways in which Jesus
6:51
Speaker 1: referred to his own glory in this prayer. The events
6:55
Speaker 1: leading up to the crucifixion began with betrayal. The phrase
7:00
Speaker 1: now the Son of Man is glorified refers to the
7:03
Speaker 1: reason Jesus came into the world. He would die and
7:07
Speaker 1: be raised from the dead as a substitutionary atonement. The
7:11
Speaker 1: son would glorify the Father, and the father would glorify
7:14
Speaker 1: the son. They would promote each other's glory, highlighting God's greatness.
7:19
Speaker 1: This is what Christians are called to do. Everything we
7:22
Speaker 1: do in thought, word and deed is for the glory
7:25
Speaker 1: of God. Jesus doesn't just pray for himself, He prays
7:28
Speaker 1: for us. In John seventeen, verse four, Jesus says, Father,
7:32
Speaker 1: I desire that those also whom you have given me
7:35
Speaker 1: may be with me where I am, to see my glory,
7:39
Speaker 1: which you gave me because you loved me before the
7:41
Speaker 1: foundation of the world. Whatever we are or become in
7:45
Speaker 1: our spiritual lives, we owe it all to the Savior,
7:49
Speaker 1: who gave himself for us, who prayed for us that
7:52
Speaker 1: we might be one with him, and who gave us
7:54
Speaker 1: such a beautiful life as a patent to follow in
7:57
Speaker 1: our own lives of prayer. In the end, we see
8:01
Speaker 1: Jesus and his glory again. In the Book of Revelation, John,
8:05
Speaker 1: in documenting the things he saw, sees a powerful Jesus
8:09
Speaker 1: who is unlike any typical man. In Revelation one, verses
8:13
Speaker 1: twelve through thirteen, John turns to see the voice speaking
8:17
Speaker 1: to him and sees seven golden lamp stands. In the
8:21
Speaker 1: midst of the lamp stands. He saw someone like a
8:23
Speaker 1: son of man dressed in a robe that reached his
8:26
Speaker 1: feet and wrapped around his chest with a golden sash.
8:31
Speaker 1: John describes the sound of the voice he heard as
8:33
Speaker 1: distinct and striking, similar to the sound of a trumpet.
8:37
Speaker 1: The powerful voice is that of the Alpha and Omega,
8:40
Speaker 1: the First and the Last, who are at the beginning
8:43
Speaker 1: and end of everything. Jesus identified himself with these names
8:47
Speaker 1: in Revelation chapter one, verse eight, clearly confirming his divinity.
8:53
Speaker 1: We can imagine what went through John's head when he
8:56
Speaker 1: compared the sound of the voice he heard with the
8:58
Speaker 1: memory of Jesus's voice. John described it as a trumpet
9:02
Speaker 1: in Revelation one, verse ten. However, he was aware that
9:06
Speaker 1: it was Jesus due to the voice's description as the
9:10
Speaker 1: Alpha and Omega. After spending a significant amount of time
9:15
Speaker 1: with Jesus during his ministry on Earth, John finally had
9:19
Speaker 1: the opportunity to meet him face to face. The robe
9:23
Speaker 1: and belt may evoke images of the Bible's high priest,
9:27
Speaker 1: implying that Jesus is the high priest of his people.
9:30
Speaker 1: Other instances of girdles in Revelation, such as in fifteen,
9:34
Speaker 1: verse six, are also gilded and associated with priestly images
9:39
Speaker 1: of angels in the celestial Temple. Therefore, Jesus appears not
9:43
Speaker 1: only as king but as priest, a combination of images
9:47
Speaker 1: familiar to Jews at the time. John goes on to
9:50
Speaker 1: describe Jesus's head and hair as white as wool, as
9:53
Speaker 1: white as snow, his eyes as a flame of fire,
9:57
Speaker 1: his feet as polished bronze when heated until it glows
10:00
Speaker 1: in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of
10:03
Speaker 1: many waters. According to Revelation Chapter one, verses fourteen to fifteen.
10:08
Speaker 1: This description of his eyes is similar to the narrative
10:11
Speaker 1: we have of an angel in the Book of Daniel
10:14
Speaker 1: Daniel ten, verse six. His body was also like topaz,
10:19
Speaker 1: his face had the appearance of lightning, and his eyes
10:22
Speaker 1: were like burning torches. His arms and feet were like
10:25
Speaker 1: the shine of polished bronze, and the sound of his
10:29
Speaker 1: words was like the sound of a crowd. This description
10:32
Speaker 1: of its members is similar to the narrative we get
10:35
Speaker 1: from an angel in the Book of Ezekiel Ezekiel one,
10:38
Speaker 1: verse seven. His legs were straight, and his feet were
10:42
Speaker 1: like lime hooves, and shined like polished bronze. The angelic
10:47
Speaker 1: characteristic that appears in John's vision of Jesus does not
10:51
Speaker 1: demote him to the same level as the angels, but
10:53
Speaker 1: rather emphasizes the immense greatness of Jesus. He cannot be
10:58
Speaker 1: portrayed as less glorious than an angel. Glorious eyes like
11:02
Speaker 1: fire describe passionate eyes in Greek literature, but can also
11:06
Speaker 1: represent the supernaturally flaming eyes of divine beings or angels.
11:12
Speaker 1: The shining metal may also represent the glory of God,
11:15
Speaker 1: as in Ezekiel one, verse twenty seven, but other features
11:18
Speaker 1: suggest that although John portrays the glory of Jesus as
11:22
Speaker 1: no less than that of an angel, it is certainly
11:25
Speaker 1: more than that of an angel. An angel, Jesus's face
11:28
Speaker 1: also shines like the sun. Greek texts sometimes portray the
11:33
Speaker 1: deity shining like the sun or lightning. The Jewish text
11:37
Speaker 1: does the same for angels and others, but also for
11:39
Speaker 1: God himself. John continues in Revelation one, verse sixteen to seventeen.
11:45
Speaker 1: In his right hand he held seven stars, and from
11:48
Speaker 1: his mouth came a sharp, two edged sword. His face
11:52
Speaker 1: was like the sun, shining with its strength. When I
11:55
Speaker 1: saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man,
11:58
Speaker 1: and he laid his right hand on me, saying, do
12:00
Speaker 1: not be afraid. I am the first and the last.
12:04
Speaker 1: Although John was an apostle who met Jesus while he
12:07
Speaker 1: was on earth, he was overcome with awe after seeing
12:10
Speaker 1: this incredible sight. Even the three years that John lived
12:14
Speaker 1: on earth with Jesus did not adequately prepare him for
12:17
Speaker 1: the moment when Jesus appeared to him in his heavenly majesty.
12:21
Speaker 1: At that moment, John realized the divine power and majesty
12:25
Speaker 1: that Jesus gave up while living on Earth Philippians two,
12:29
Speaker 1: verse seven, but emptied himself, taking the form of a
12:32
Speaker 1: servant and being born in the likeness of men. At
12:36
Speaker 1: this point, John knew what a miracle it was that
12:39
Speaker 1: Jesus could protect his glory and authority as he walked
12:43
Speaker 1: this earth. Revelation one, verse eight. The living One and
12:47
Speaker 1: I were dead, and behold, I am alive forever and
12:50
Speaker 1: have the keys of death and hades. Jesus is the
12:53
Speaker 1: one who lives, was killed and is alive forever. He
12:57
Speaker 1: has resurrection credentials and lives never to die again. The
13:01
Speaker 1: victory that Jesus overcame sin and death was eternal. He
13:05
Speaker 1: did not rise from the dead just to die again.
13:07
Speaker 1: Jesus is the only one who holds the keys to
13:10
Speaker 1: Hades and death. Some believe that the devil has the
13:13
Speaker 1: authority or power to decide who lives and who dies,
13:17
Speaker 1: but they are obviously mistaken. Only Jesus has the keys
13:21
Speaker 1: to Hades and death. In its original form, apocalypse was
13:27
Speaker 1: known in Ancient Greek as apocalypsis, the word meaning a
13:31
Speaker 1: revelation and unveiling. The Book of Revelation is the revelation
13:36
Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ in the sense that belongs to him.
13:39
Speaker 1: He is the one who makes the revelation. Jesus is
13:42
Speaker 1: the person the book tells us about. Why do we
13:45
Speaker 1: need a revelation of Jesus? God gave it to show
13:49
Speaker 1: his servants. This is a significant reason why God chose
13:52
Speaker 1: to reveal this information about Jesus Christ to humanity. He
13:56
Speaker 1: gave it to show to his servants. God revealed this
14:00
Speaker 1: information so that it could be shared with others and
14:02
Speaker 1: not kept secret. This is an apocalypse, a revelation, not
14:06
Speaker 1: something apocryphal. The hidden creation of God's children is often
14:11
Speaker 1: a mysterious identity. Many Bible readers find the identity of
14:15
Speaker 1: the children of God and the Nephelim mysterious captivating in
14:20
Speaker 1: Genesis six verses one through four, and the Book of Job.
14:24
Speaker 1: In the Book of Job, there is a rich man
14:26
Speaker 1: named Job who lived in the land of Us with
14:29
Speaker 1: his extended family and vast herds. His work is known
14:33
Speaker 1: for being blameless and correct, always striving to live a
14:36
Speaker 1: moral life. He maintains a disciplined relationship with God. However,
14:41
Speaker 1: labour soon loses all its possessions and suffers greatly. This
14:46
Speaker 1: suffering harms the work, making it bitter, anxious, and afraid.
14:50
Speaker 1: Labor wants to confront God and protest. Eventually, God intervenes
14:55
Speaker 1: in the situation. Three times Job asked God to speak
14:59
Speaker 1: to him. He has now received his wish. Job thirty eight,
15:03
Speaker 1: verses four through seven. Where were you when I laid
15:06
Speaker 1: the foundations of the earth. Tell me if you know
15:09
Speaker 1: and understand who determined the measurements of the earth. If
15:12
Speaker 1: you know either who stretched out the measuring line over
15:15
Speaker 1: him on what his foundations were laid, or who laid
15:19
Speaker 1: his corner stone when the morning stars melted together and
15:23
Speaker 1: all the angels children of God shouted for joy. The
15:27
Speaker 1: purpose of this statement is to make it clear that
15:29
Speaker 1: when God created the foundations of the earth. The work
15:33
Speaker 1: does not present the power that the wisdom and power
15:36
Speaker 1: possessed by God far surpassed the power of job. His
15:40
Speaker 1: capabilities cannot be compared to God in any way. Some
15:44
Speaker 1: the questions also served to remind the worker that there
15:47
Speaker 1: were many things he didn't know. When the morning stars
15:51
Speaker 1: sang together and all of God's children shouted for joy,
15:54
Speaker 1: it is revealed that angelic beings known as the morning
15:58
Speaker 1: Stars and children of God God witnessed the creation of
16:01
Speaker 1: the earth and celebrated the glory, power, and wisdom of
16:05
Speaker 1: God involved in the creation of the earth process. After creation,
16:10
Speaker 1: there were reports of mixed marriages between the sons of
16:13
Speaker 1: God and the daughters of men, which were considered ungodly
16:17
Speaker 1: during a time of rapid population growth, particularly due to
16:21
Speaker 1: the long life expectancy in the pre flood world. Genesis six,
16:26
Speaker 1: verses one up to four. Now it came to pass
16:29
Speaker 1: when mankind began to multiply on the face of the
16:32
Speaker 1: earth and daughters were born to them, that the sons
16:34
Speaker 1: of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful,
16:38
Speaker 1: and they took wives for themselves whomever they chose. Then
16:42
Speaker 1: the Lord said, my spirit will not remain with man forever,
16:46
Speaker 1: because he also is flesh, but his days will be
16:50
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty years. During this period, the Nephelim
16:55
Speaker 1: were on earth, both before and after when the sons
16:58
Speaker 1: of God came to the daughter of humanity and they
17:01
Speaker 1: bore children to them. These were the mighty men, who
17:04
Speaker 1: were of old renown. But who were these children of God?
17:09
Speaker 1: Both pre Christian Judaism and the Early Church held that
17:12
Speaker 1: the sons of God were spiritual beings or angels, who
17:15
Speaker 1: took wives and gave birth to the giants known as Nephelim.
17:20
Speaker 1: The three main perspectives on the identity of God's children
17:23
Speaker 1: are as follows. First, they were fallen angels. Secondly, they
17:28
Speaker 1: were powerful human rulers, or thirdly, they were godly descendants
17:32
Speaker 1: of Seth intermarriage with ungodly descendants of Cain. The traditional
17:38
Speaker 1: belief is that God's children were supernatural beings who had
17:42
Speaker 1: children with human women, resulting in the Nephelim. Here are
17:46
Speaker 1: the reasons that support this view. The fact that the
17:49
Speaker 1: phrase sons of God always refers to angels in the
17:53
Speaker 1: Old Testament lends support. For example, Job one, verse six
17:58
Speaker 1: says there was a day when the son of God
18:01
Speaker 1: came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also
18:05
Speaker 1: came among them. Likewise, Job two, verse one states there
18:09
Speaker 1: was a day when the angels the sons of God
18:12
Speaker 1: came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan. The
18:15
Speaker 1: adversary also came among them to present himself before the Lord.
18:20
Speaker 1: Job thirty eight, verse seven mentions when the morning stars
18:23
Speaker 1: sank together and all the sons of the angels shouted
18:27
Speaker 1: for joy. In all of these cases, God's children are
18:31
Speaker 1: angelic spiritual beings, including Satan. The phrases used in Job
18:37
Speaker 1: suggest that Genesis six is referring to angels spirits. Genesis six,
18:42
Speaker 1: verses one and two contrasts the sons of God with Man,
18:46
Speaker 1: implying that these are non human beings. Genesis six, verse
18:50
Speaker 1: one says that man began to multiply and daughters were
18:54
Speaker 1: born to them. The Hebrew word for man is the
18:57
Speaker 1: generic term for humanity used in Genesis five, verses one
19:02
Speaker 1: and two. The children of God are contrasted with man. Therefore,
19:06
Speaker 1: the sons of God were distinct from Man and married
19:09
Speaker 1: all the daughters of humanity. As a result, God's children
19:13
Speaker 1: must be non human beings of some kind. The context
19:17
Speaker 1: implies that the Nephelim were the resulting offspring of spiritual
19:21
Speaker 1: and human beings. The Nephilim or fallen in Genesis six,
19:25
Speaker 1: verse four are mysterious personalities, powerful men who were of
19:30
Speaker 1: old renown. The text does not explain how the Nephelim arrived.
19:35
Speaker 1: The Nephelim were upon the earth in those days and
19:37
Speaker 1: also afterward when the sons of God were joined to
19:40
Speaker 1: the daughters of men and begat children for them. It
19:43
Speaker 1: simply states. But when the Nephilima mentioned in Genesis six
19:48
Speaker 1: alongside the internal marriage of the sons of God and
19:51
Speaker 1: the daughters of Man, it is unclear how these powerful
19:55
Speaker 1: and renowned men came to be if they were not
19:58
Speaker 1: the result of internal mans marriage between spiritual beings and humans.
20:03
Speaker 1: Jude probably understands Genesis six, verses one through four as
20:07
Speaker 1: referring to marriage between spiritual beings and humans. In the
20:11
Speaker 1: Book of Jude, there is a reference to angels leaving
20:15
Speaker 1: their rightful place of authority and habitation. This verse is
20:19
Speaker 1: believed to refer to the angels who left Heaven to
20:21
Speaker 1: come to earth, as mentioned in Genesis chapter six, verses
20:25
Speaker 1: one through four. This passage has traditionally been interpreted to
20:30
Speaker 1: mean that God's sons had children with human women, resulting
20:34
Speaker 1: in the Nephelim. Although this may seem unusual to us today,
20:38
Speaker 1: we must remember that the Bible is full of extraordinary events.
20:42
Speaker 1: Truth is often stranger than fiction, and the world God
20:46
Speaker 1: created is far beyond our limited understanding. Jude six speaks
20:51
Speaker 1: of angels who did not remain in their position of authority,
20:54
Speaker 1: but left their proper abode. Unless Jude is referring to
20:58
Speaker 1: an unknown event, he appears to be referring to the
21:01
Speaker 1: angels who left Heaven to live on earth, as in
21:03
Speaker 1: Genesis six, verses one through four. These arguments support the
21:08
Speaker 1: traditional view that God's sons mated with human women and
21:12
Speaker 1: gave birth to the Nephelim. While this may seem strange
21:16
Speaker 1: to modern ears, the same could be said of all
21:19
Speaker 1: biblical truth, for it is stranger than fiction, and the
21:23
Speaker 1: world that God created is far from what we commonly
21:25
Speaker 1: believe the sons of God have seen the daughters of men.
21:29
Speaker 1: It is more accurate to view the sons of God
21:32
Speaker 1: as demonic angels in rebellion against God, exclusively possessing men
21:36
Speaker 1: by demons and the daughters of men as human women.
21:40
Speaker 1: Jude six talks about angels who did not guard their
21:43
Speaker 1: own appointed place of power, but abandoned their proper abode.
21:48
Speaker 1: These are kept in eternal chains under a thick darkness
21:51
Speaker 1: of total darkness for the judgment of the great day.
21:55
Speaker 1: Jude six also explains what God did with these evil angels.
22:00
Speaker 1: Peter three verses nineteen twenty informs us that Jesus proclaimed
22:04
Speaker 1: his victory on the cross over them, in which he
22:07
Speaker 1: also went and preached to the spirits that are now
22:09
Speaker 1: in prison, which in time past were rebellious when the
22:13
Speaker 1: long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
22:16
Speaker 1: while the ark was being prepared in this ark, some
22:21
Speaker 1: that is, eight people of Noah's family were brought to
22:24
Speaker 1: safety across the waters. Fallen angels are rarely mentioned in
22:28
Speaker 1: the Bible, as the vast majority of angels in heaven
22:31
Speaker 1: never fell from grace and went to the dark side. Some, however,
22:36
Speaker 1: chose to do so. The fallen angels did not maintain
22:40
Speaker 1: their beginnings, meaning they did not follow the path in
22:43
Speaker 1: which they were created. Angels were created to be in
22:46
Speaker 1: heaven with God, praising him and carrying out his orders,
22:50
Speaker 1: just as humans were created to glorify him. However, humans
22:55
Speaker 1: were created to live on Earth, not angels. Yet these
22:58
Speaker 1: angels left their beginning or starting point in Heaven, choosing
23:02
Speaker 1: to reject God's plan for their lives by exercising their
23:06
Speaker 1: free will. According to the Bible, these angels of fallen
23:10
Speaker 1: angels as they have left heaven. What happened to these
23:13
Speaker 1: angels according to the Bible According to peter Io verse four,
23:18
Speaker 1: for if God did not spare the angels when they sinned,
23:21
Speaker 1: but cast them into Hell and delivered them into the
23:24
Speaker 1: depths of darkness, reserving them for judgment. The leader of
23:29
Speaker 1: these angels is Satan, who transforms into an angel of light.
23:33
Speaker 1: The devil plotted against God, his creator, and he and
23:36
Speaker 1: the angels who followed him lost the battle. What happens
23:40
Speaker 1: after the fallen angels leave heaven? According to the Bible,
23:44
Speaker 1: Matthew Chapter twenty five, verse forty one states eternal hell
23:48
Speaker 1: of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels.
23:51
Speaker 1: In other words, Hell was never intended for a single person,
23:55
Speaker 1: although Judas and others will undoubtedly end up there. In
23:58
Speaker 1: the end, Satan and the fallen angels where the intended
24:02
Speaker 1: recipients of Hell. Hell was created in heaven as the
24:05
Speaker 1: final punishment for the leaders of the Great Rebellion, but
24:09
Speaker 1: the Lord allows others to enter the nations he judges
24:13
Speaker 1: go there too. Because of the choice of free will
24:16
Speaker 1: and the responsibility given by God to man to choose
24:20
Speaker 1: his eternal destiny, whether heaven or hell. It is the
24:24
Speaker 1: Hell that Satan and the fallen angels, a third of
24:28
Speaker 1: those who rebelled alongside him, will go too. At the
24:31
Speaker 1: end of all things, God will exercise his wrath on
24:35
Speaker 1: those who have rebelled against Him, and Satan and the
24:38
Speaker 1: fallen angels will not escape unscathed. We have seen here
24:43
Speaker 1: that fallen angels exist even if they have fallen. Grace
24:48
Speaker 1: is a difficult concept for some of us to understand.
24:51
Speaker 1: We would like to believe that angels cannot fall, but
24:54
Speaker 1: biblical history proves otherwise. The fallen angels are known to
24:58
Speaker 1: be one third of the Angelica host who follow Satan
25:01
Speaker 1: in the Great Rebellion, attempting to overthrow God and his
25:05
Speaker 1: throne to take control of Heaven. We also know that
25:09
Speaker 1: the attempt was a colossal failure, and that Satan and
25:12
Speaker 1: his rebellious angels were cast out of heaven. Some fallen
25:16
Speaker 1: angels have gone to Hell, while others are on Earth
25:19
Speaker 1: going their separate ways. According to Genesis, six fallen angels
25:24
Speaker 1: married humans and fathered giant children with human women. As
25:29
Speaker 1: can be seen, Satan is much more than a red
25:32
Speaker 1: figure with horns and a pitchfork. He is an ancient
25:35
Speaker 1: being with true spiritual power, which he puts to evil
25:38
Speaker 1: and selfish hands. He is particularly hostile to Christians and
25:43
Speaker 1: seeks their annihilation. So here are three crucial truths to
25:47
Speaker 1: keep in mind as we navigate this spiritual reality. A
25:51
Speaker 1: serious mistake is to consider God and the Devil as
25:55
Speaker 1: polar opposites. This gives Satan much more credit than he deserves.
26:00
Speaker 1: The disparity in power between God and Satan is that
26:03
Speaker 1: of an infinite creator at his work. No matter how
26:07
Speaker 1: cunning or powerful Satan becomes in his rebellion against God,
26:11
Speaker 1: he will never be able to match the power of
26:13
Speaker 1: the one who created him. He simply can't. No angelic being,
26:18
Speaker 1: whether fallen or righteous, can compete with the power and
26:21
Speaker 1: authority of Jesus. On the other hand, underestimating Satan's power
26:27
Speaker 1: is an equally dangerous mistake. He is not stronger than God,
26:31
Speaker 1: but he is stronger than you. For millennia, Satan has
26:34
Speaker 1: been concocting dark and wicked schemes. He is a skilled
26:38
Speaker 1: liar and a manipulator, with power unmatched compared to any
26:41
Speaker 1: mortal human being. Although we should be wary of Satan,
26:45
Speaker 1: we need not fear him. We don't even know what
26:47
Speaker 1: his real name is, which I believe is a subtle
26:50
Speaker 1: hint that he is not a big enough threat to
26:52
Speaker 1: God in spiritual warfare. Knowing his name, Satan's defeat was
26:57
Speaker 1: predicted from the beginning. We can see the end from
27:00
Speaker 1: the beginning. In the first chapters of Genesis, God declares
27:04
Speaker 1: the serpent defeated, even after it has led Adam and
27:07
Speaker 1: Eve astray. Here is what God has to say to
27:10
Speaker 1: the serpent, and we see this promise fulfilled in Jesus's sacrifice.
27:14
Speaker 1: Despite receiving the fatal blow, Jesus crushed the serpent's head
27:19
Speaker 1: when he gave up his spirit. We eagerly await the
27:22
Speaker 1: day when this promise will be fully fulfilled. Be prepared
27:26
Speaker 1: for spiritual warfare. Many of us raised in modern times
27:29
Speaker 1: are often blind to spiritual realities and the unseen forces
27:33
Speaker 1: at work. Although we learn about them from books and
27:36
Speaker 1: talk about them, few of us actually participate in them.
27:39
Speaker 1: In doing so, we may expose ourselves to spiritual conflicts.
27:43
Speaker 1: The quickest way to lose a battle is to not
27:46
Speaker 1: know you are involved in it. The power of Jesus
27:49
Speaker 1: is much more than words on a page and hope
27:52
Speaker 1: after death. Spiritual battles rage around us every day. If
27:57
Speaker 1: we are to be effective spiritual warriors, we must rely
28:01
Speaker 1: on prayer, tune our hearts to the real presence of God,
28:04
Speaker 1: and cultivate discernment as we seek to do the Father's work.
28:09
Speaker 1: Our adversary is formidable, but our God is even more formidable.
28:14
Speaker 1: A spiritual war is happening right now that affects every
28:18
Speaker 1: person on the planet. It is a clash between two kingdoms,
28:22
Speaker 1: one led by Almighty God, the Prince of Peace, and
28:25
Speaker 1: the other led by Satan, the Prince of Darkness. One
28:29
Speaker 1: is the Kingdom of Good, while the other is the
28:31
Speaker 1: Kingdom of evil. One represents light while the other represents darkness.
28:38
Speaker 1: One represents blessings while the other represents curses. One represents
28:43
Speaker 1: life while the other represents death. These two antagonistic kingdoms
28:48
Speaker 1: cannot coexist. They have been at odds since the beginning
28:52
Speaker 1: of the spiritual conflict? What caused this conflict? After being
28:56
Speaker 1: expelled from the third heaven, Satan and his followers comprom
29:00
Speaker 1: vied with each other and formed the rebellious kingdom that
29:03
Speaker 1: still exists today. It will continue to exist until it
29:07
Speaker 1: is destroyed by the supreme power of God. Paul warned
29:11
Speaker 1: us to keep our main goal in mind so that
29:13
Speaker 1: we can face the devil's wiles without turning against each other.
29:17
Speaker 1: He emphasized that our adversary is not flesh and blood,
29:21
Speaker 1: but evil spirits. When this event occurred before the creation
29:25
Speaker 1: of the world, many people wonder what happened before the
29:28
Speaker 1: foundation of the earth. Several things occurred, However, there was
29:33
Speaker 1: an occurrence that involved you before the foundations of the earth.
29:38
Speaker 1: God chose you. Ephesians one, verses three and four says,
29:42
Speaker 1: Blessed and worthy of praise be the God and Father
29:45
Speaker 1: of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
29:48
Speaker 1: all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms in Christ. Just
29:52
Speaker 1: as in his love he chose us in Christ, He
29:55
Speaker 1: truly selected us for himself before the foundation of the world,
29:59
Speaker 1: that we should saints those who are consecrated and set
30:02
Speaker 1: apart for Him, motivated by purpose and blameless in his
30:06
Speaker 1: passionate eyes. The letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians is
30:11
Speaker 1: different from many of his other letters found in the
30:13
Speaker 1: New Testament. Like Romans, Ephesians was not designed so much
30:18
Speaker 1: to address concerns of a specific church, as it was
30:21
Speaker 1: written to clarify some of the enormous principles that permeate
30:25
Speaker 1: the entire New Testament. If the letter to the Romans
30:29
Speaker 1: focuses more on the work of God in the individual Christian,
30:33
Speaker 1: Ephesians includes the great themes of God's work in the
30:36
Speaker 1: church in the community of believers. When considering the enormous
30:41
Speaker 1: and glorious ideas presented in Ephesians, it is essential to
30:45
Speaker 1: remember that Paul wrote this epistle while in prison. Paul
30:48
Speaker 1: wrote in Corinthians, Chapter two, Verses nine and ten. But
30:52
Speaker 1: just as it is written in the scriptures, things which
30:55
Speaker 1: I has not seen nor ear heard, and which have
30:58
Speaker 1: not entered into the heart of man, All that God
31:01
Speaker 1: has prepared for those who love him, those who hold
31:05
Speaker 1: Him with affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully
31:09
Speaker 1: acknowledge the benefits He has bestowed, for God has uncovered
31:13
Speaker 1: and revealed them to us through the Holy Spirit, to
31:16
Speaker 1: the spirit that diligently examines all things, even sound, and
31:21
Speaker 1: it measures the profound depths of God, divine counsels, and
31:25
Speaker 1: things far beyond human understanding. It was essential to emphasize
31:30
Speaker 1: that these blessings are available to both Gentile and Jewish believers.
31:35
Speaker 1: The Jewish people of the first century had a deep
31:37
Speaker 1: understanding of what it meant to be blessed by having
31:40
Speaker 1: a calling and by being predestined. Paul, however, showed that
31:44
Speaker 1: these gifts are now available to Christians. We read with
31:48
Speaker 1: all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ.
31:52
Speaker 1: These blessings refer to spiritual and not material ones, and
31:55
Speaker 1: are located in heavenly places in Christ. They are superior,
32:00
Speaker 1: more valuable, and safer than earthly ones blessings. A famous
32:04
Speaker 1: preacher observed that a new heart is better than a
32:07
Speaker 1: new coat. To feed on Christ, it is better than
32:09
Speaker 1: having the best earthly food. Being heir to God is
32:13
Speaker 1: better than being heir to the greatest nobles. Having God
32:17
Speaker 1: as our portion is infinitely more blest than owning broad
32:20
Speaker 1: acres of land. God has blessed us with spiritual blessings.
32:26
Speaker 1: These are the rarest, the richest, the most lasting of
32:29
Speaker 1: all blessings. They are invaluable in value. If you are
32:33
Speaker 1: not able to recognize the benefits that spiritual blessings provide,
32:37
Speaker 1: then we will be reduced to the status of animals.
32:41
Speaker 1: Animals live only to eat, sleep, have fun, and have offspring.
32:45
Speaker 1: Even though we were created in the image of God,
32:48
Speaker 1: and God is something much better reserved for us. Many
32:51
Speaker 1: people prefer to live on the same level as animals.
32:54
Speaker 1: God wants us to know all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
32:58
Speaker 1: In Christ. Our possession of all spiritual blessings is as
33:02
Speaker 1: certain as our choice for Him and choice before the
33:06
Speaker 1: foundation of the world. What Paul says in this passage
33:10
Speaker 1: is too essential for us to minimize God's choices. Believers,
33:14
Speaker 1: this word means to choose, to select the voice of
33:18
Speaker 1: This term implies choosing for oneself, and in general usage,
33:22
Speaker 1: it means choosing one thing among many. This word is
33:26
Speaker 1: used when Jesus chooses his disciples, calling them to be
33:30
Speaker 1: part of his inner circle of followers Luke six, verse thirteen.
33:34
Speaker 1: When the day came, he called his disciples and selected
33:37
Speaker 1: twelve of them, whom he also appointed special apostles personally
33:41
Speaker 1: chosen representative messengers. But its main use in the New
33:45
Speaker 1: Testament is to refer to God's election of believers in
33:49
Speaker 1: Christ to salvation. We are called out of the world
33:52
Speaker 1: to belong to Christ. John fifteen, verse sixteen. You did
33:56
Speaker 1: not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you,
34:00
Speaker 1: and placed you and planted you on purpose, so that
34:02
Speaker 1: you would go and bear fruit and continue producing, and
34:06
Speaker 1: that your fruit would remain and be lasting, so that
34:09
Speaker 1: whatever you ask of the Father in my name, as
34:12
Speaker 1: my representatives, he may give it to you, so that
34:16
Speaker 1: there would be no tendency for them to become discouraged
34:20
Speaker 1: and give up. Jesus reminded them that it was he
34:23
Speaker 1: who chose them. This could mean that He chose them
34:26
Speaker 1: for discipleship or for fruitfulness. He set them apart for
34:31
Speaker 1: the mission ahead. We must go and bear fruit. It
34:35
Speaker 1: can mean the graces of the Christian life, such as
34:38
Speaker 1: love and peace. It can also indicate the salvation of
34:41
Speaker 1: souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. Both things are connected
34:46
Speaker 1: in a very significant way. We cannot bring forth the
34:49
Speaker 1: second type of fruit until we have succeeded in bringing
34:52
Speaker 1: the first type of fruit into manifestation. The reasons for
34:56
Speaker 1: God's choice are not fickle nor the result of a
34:59
Speaker 1: random process. Although we don't discover it, we are sure
35:03
Speaker 1: that they are wise and good in every way. But
35:06
Speaker 1: the reasons are all in Him and not in us.
35:09
Speaker 1: Your choice is according to the good pleasure of your will.
35:12
Speaker 1: A popular Bible commentator noted that we are chosen in Him.
35:16
Speaker 1: For if we are chosen in Christ, it is outside
35:19
Speaker 1: of ourselves. It is not because of our worthiness, but
35:22
Speaker 1: because our heavenly Father grafted us through the blessing of adoption,
35:26
Speaker 1: into the body of Christ. In short, the name of
35:30
Speaker 1: Christ excludes all merit in everything that men have for themselves.
35:34
Speaker 1: We have been selected not only for salvation, but also
35:38
Speaker 1: for holiness Ephesians one, Verses five and six. He predestined
35:43
Speaker 1: and lovingly planned for us to be adopted as his
35:46
Speaker 1: own children through Jesus Christ, according to his gentle intention
35:50
Speaker 1: and good pleasure of will, to the praise of his
35:53
Speaker 1: glorious grace and favor, which He has so freely bestowed
35:57
Speaker 1: upon us in the beloved his son, Geesus Christ. The
36:01
Speaker 1: words holy and blameless are a metaphor taken from the
36:04
Speaker 1: perfect and spotless sacrifices that the law required the people
36:08
Speaker 1: to bring to the altar of God. We read, having
36:11
Speaker 1: predestined us for adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself.
36:16
Speaker 1: This is the plan that the Father has for those
36:18
Speaker 1: he has selected, and it is for them to be adopted.
36:22
Speaker 1: Not only will we be saved and undergo personal transformation
36:26
Speaker 1: as part of God's plan for us, but we will
36:29
Speaker 1: also develop a close, self reliant connection with the Father.
36:34
Speaker 1: In Roman law, when an adoption was complete, the person
36:37
Speaker 1: who was adopted gained all the legitimate rights of a
36:40
Speaker 1: child in his or her new family, but lost all
36:43
Speaker 1: of his or her rights in the previous family. After
36:47
Speaker 1: the adoption was finalized, she was considered a completely different
36:51
Speaker 1: individual by the legal system. As she was starting over
36:54
Speaker 1: with her new family. Debts and obligations associated with your
36:59
Speaker 1: previous family were canceled as if they had never been incurred.
37:04
Speaker 1: Read to the praise of the glory of His grace
37:07
Speaker 1: by which He has made us acceptable in the Beloved.
37:10
Speaker 1: The relational aspect is emphasized again when Paul describes the
37:14
Speaker 1: accepted status granted to every believer because of God's grace.
37:19
Speaker 1: Jesus' acceptance by the Father was total. The totality of
37:23
Speaker 1: who he was, what he spoke, and what he accomplished
37:26
Speaker 1: were all praiseworthy in the eyes of God the Father.
37:30
Speaker 1: At this point we are accepted in the Beloved Ephesians one,
37:34
Speaker 1: Verses seven and eight. In Him we have redemption, which
37:38
Speaker 1: is our deliverance and salvation through his blood, which paid
37:41
Speaker 1: the penalty for our sins and resulted in the complete
37:45
Speaker 1: forgiveness of our sins. According to the riches of his grace,
37:49
Speaker 1: He has showered us with all wisdom and understanding, with
37:52
Speaker 1: practical vision. We read that in Christ we have redemption
37:56
Speaker 1: through his blood. Only in him, and in no one
37:59
Speaker 1: else can we find redemption. There is no possibility of
38:02
Speaker 1: redemption without Jesus and the blood he shed on the cross.
38:07
Speaker 1: Note that it is not redemption through his power, it's
38:10
Speaker 1: through his blood. It is not redemption through his love,
38:13
Speaker 1: it is through his blood Apollo three. From the word redemption,
38:17
Speaker 1: it implies the act of totally freeing Ephesians two. We
38:22
Speaker 1: understand that we need redemption because we were dead in
38:25
Speaker 1: our trespasses and sins. Ephesians two, Verse one He made
38:30
Speaker 1: you alive when you were spiritually dead and separated from
38:33
Speaker 1: Him because of your transgressions and sins. We had breath
38:37
Speaker 1: in our bodies, but we were enslave to sin, the
38:40
Speaker 1: devil and our sinful natures. In Ephesians two, verses two
38:45
Speaker 1: and three, we read that you once walked in the
38:47
Speaker 1: way of this world, influenced by this present age, in
38:51
Speaker 1: accordance with the prince of the power of the air, Satan,
38:54
Speaker 1: the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient
38:57
Speaker 1: unbelievers who fight against God's purposes. Among these unbelievers, we
39:03
Speaker 1: have all lived in the passions of our flesh, our
39:06
Speaker 1: behavior governed by the sinful self, indulging the desires of
39:10
Speaker 1: human nature, without the Holy Spirit and the impulses of
39:14
Speaker 1: the sinful mind. We were by nature children under the
39:18
Speaker 1: sentence of God's wrath. Just like the rest of humanity.
39:22
Speaker 1: We deserved God's revenge. In the end, we owed money
39:26
Speaker 1: that we could never get on our own. We were
39:28
Speaker 1: enemies of God, as Paul explains elsewhere Romans five, verse ten.
39:34
Speaker 1: For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to
39:37
Speaker 1: God through the death of his son, it is much
39:39
Speaker 1: more certain that having been reconciled, we shall be saved
39:43
Speaker 1: from the consequences of sin by His life. In other words,
39:47
Speaker 1: we will be saved because Christ lives today. But in
39:51
Speaker 1: Christ we have redemption. He died on the cross to
39:54
Speaker 1: free us by the grace of God. Through our belief
39:57
Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ, we are freed from the slaveh of
40:00
Speaker 1: sin and the wrath and judgment of God Romans five,
40:03
Speaker 1: verse nine. Therefore, since we have now been justified and
40:07
Speaker 1: declared free from the guilt of sin by His blood,
40:11
Speaker 1: how much more certain is it that we will be
40:13
Speaker 1: saved from the wrath of God through Him. In all this,
40:17
Speaker 1: it is so that those who have trusted in Christ
40:20
Speaker 1: may exist to the praise of His glory. The ultimate
40:24
Speaker 1: goal of God's purpose is to bring glory to himself
40:28
Speaker 1: Ephesians one, verses nine through twelve. He made known, revealed
40:32
Speaker 1: to us the mystery of his will according to his
40:35
Speaker 1: good pleasure, which he proposed in Christ, for the fulfillment
40:39
Speaker 1: of times, which is the end of history, the climax
40:42
Speaker 1: of times, to unite all things in Christ, both things
40:46
Speaker 1: in the heavens and things on earth. In Him, we
40:49
Speaker 1: also receive an inheritance, a destiny, that we have been
40:53
Speaker 1: claimed by God as his own, having been predestined, chosen
40:57
Speaker 1: in advance according to the purpose of Him who does
41:00
Speaker 1: everything according to the counsel and design of his will,
41:04
Speaker 1: so that we, the first to place our hope in Christ,
41:07
Speaker 1: would exist to the praise of His glory. Peter two,
41:10
Speaker 1: verse nine. It says that you are a chosen people,
41:14
Speaker 1: a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that
41:18
Speaker 1: you may declare the praises of Him who called you
41:21
Speaker 1: out of darkness into his marvelous light. It is undeniable
41:25
Speaker 1: that God chose those who are believers in Jesus. We
41:29
Speaker 1: are not saved because of our good works. It is
41:32
Speaker 1: out of gratitude to God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing
41:36
Speaker 1: you to Christ, that you have been saved, indeed freed
41:40
Speaker 1: from judgment and give an eternal life through faith. And
41:43
Speaker 1: this salvation is not of yourselves, not through your own effort,
41:47
Speaker 1: but is the undeserved and gracious gift of God, not
41:51
Speaker 1: as a result of his works nor of his attempts
41:54
Speaker 1: to keep the law. So that no one can boast
41:57
Speaker 1: or take credit in any way for his salvation. Ephesians
42:01
Speaker 1: two verses eight and nine. We are all sinners who
42:05
Speaker 1: cannot measure up to the glory of God. Romans three,
42:08
Speaker 1: verse twenty three. Since all have sinned and continually fall
42:12
Speaker 1: short of the glory of God, except Jesus, all deserve
42:16
Speaker 1: death Romans six, verse twenty three. For the wages of
42:20
Speaker 1: sin is death. But the free gift of God, which
42:23
Speaker 1: is his remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers, is
42:28
Speaker 1: eternal life. In Christ Jesus our Lord. But in Jesus
42:32
Speaker 1: we can have life. It is not because of who
42:34
Speaker 1: we are that God chooses us, but because of who
42:37
Speaker 1: he is. God also chose us so that he could
42:41
Speaker 1: participate in his work in the world Ephesians two, verse ten.
42:45
Speaker 1: For we are yours to make your own masterpiece, a
42:48
Speaker 1: work of art created in Christ, Jesus, reborn from above,
42:52
Speaker 1: spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used in good works
42:56
Speaker 1: that God prepared for us in advance paths he laid
42:59
Speaker 1: out for us to work walk in living the good
43:01
Speaker 1: life He pre arranged and prepared for us. Moses explains
43:06
Speaker 1: to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy seven, verses seven
43:09
Speaker 1: to nine, the reasons why God chose them as his people.
43:13
Speaker 1: The Lord did not make you his beloved, nor choose
43:16
Speaker 1: you because you were more in number than any of
43:18
Speaker 1: the people, since you were the least of all people.
43:21
Speaker 1: But because the Lord loved you and fulfilled the oath
43:24
Speaker 1: he swore to your ancestors, the Lord brought you out
43:28
Speaker 1: with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house
43:30
Speaker 1: of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh. Know therefore that
43:34
Speaker 1: the Lord your God, is God, the God of faith,
43:38
Speaker 1: who keeps his covenant and his faithfulness for a thousand
43:41
Speaker 1: generations to those who love him and keep his commandments
43:45
Speaker 1: Deuteronomy seven, verses seven to nine. Just as God chose
43:50
Speaker 1: Israel out of love and not because of anything impressive
43:52
Speaker 1: about the nation, God chooses us out of love. The
43:56
Speaker 1: doctrine of predestination is difficult to understand, for we naturally
44:01
Speaker 1: tend to think that those who are predestined are chosen
44:04
Speaker 1: by some merit of their own. To understand why God
44:07
Speaker 1: created you, you need to see God's vision for your life.
44:11
Speaker 1: A true vision is the unfolding of the divine plan
44:15
Speaker 1: and purpose. Each person is created to fulfill a specific
44:20
Speaker 1: purpose on earth. Just as every manufacturer releases a product
44:24
Speaker 1: to satisfy a need. Discovering the purpose for which you
44:28
Speaker 1: were created is called vision. A vision is the unfolding
44:33
Speaker 1: of a divine plan related to a person, a group,
44:36
Speaker 1: or even an organization. God revealed his purpose to the
44:40
Speaker 1: prophet Jeremiah before he formed you in the womb, I
44:44
Speaker 1: knew you, and before you came out of the womb,
44:47
Speaker 1: I sanctified you and ordained you a prophet to the
44:50
Speaker 1: nations Jeremiah one, verse five. God had a purpose for
44:55
Speaker 1: the apostle Paul. But when it pleased God, who separated
44:59
Speaker 1: me from my my mother's womb and called me by
45:02
Speaker 1: his grace to reveal his son in me, that I
45:05
Speaker 1: might preach him among the heathen Galatians one, verses fifteen
45:09
Speaker 1: and sixteen. You also have a purpose for being here
45:13
Speaker 1: on earth. You need to know God and the vision
45:16
Speaker 1: he has for you. When you know God, you hold
45:19
Speaker 1: on to strength. When he has the strength He exploits
45:22
Speaker 1: one of the most unpleasant aspects, which is seeing believers
45:25
Speaker 1: not achieving their great and extraordinary status in Jesus. The
45:29
Speaker 1: reason for this problem is ignorance. Each believer is ordained
45:33
Speaker 1: to perform a specific role, as are all members of
45:36
Speaker 1: the same body in the Body of Christ. Corinthians twelve,
45:40
Speaker 1: verse twenty seven. You are now the Body of Christ
45:43
Speaker 1: and individually part of it. God has called each of
45:47
Speaker 1: us to full time ministry. We are all part of
45:50
Speaker 1: the Body of Christ, and each of us has a
45:52
Speaker 1: role to fulfill. As a member of the body, you
45:55
Speaker 1: are a steward of a particular position that God expects
45:59
Speaker 1: you to fulfill. This same mission is a ministry. Ministry
46:03
Speaker 1: is not limited to the pulpit. It is true stewardship
46:06
Speaker 1: occupying its God appointed position. Gideon was not called to preach,
46:11
Speaker 1: but to free his people Israel. Abraham was called to
46:15
Speaker 1: be established as an institution through which the families of
46:18
Speaker 1: the earth would be blessed. You have a purpose has
46:21
Speaker 1: a divine attribution. A discovery of this function is what
46:25
Speaker 1: is called vision. Vision is a divine vision of God's
46:29
Speaker 1: plan for you. You have a ministry. You are a minister,
46:33
Speaker 1: and you must discover what your ministry is. A vision
46:36
Speaker 1: gives a defined focus, and vision gives you the mindset
46:40
Speaker 1: of a warrior on a divine mission. When God wanted
46:43
Speaker 1: to free his people from Egypt, who did he choose you?
46:47
Speaker 1: And I would have chosen an eloquent individual in wells,
46:51
Speaker 1: but God chose a stutterer in the person of Moses.
46:55
Speaker 1: God does this to show the world his glory. Your
46:58
Speaker 1: natural talent cannot qualify you for a divine task that
47:02
Speaker 1: requires divine resources. You will need divine strength, and divine
47:07
Speaker 1: power can only be perfected in weakness. To Corinthians twelve,
47:11
Speaker 1: verse nine, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
47:16
Speaker 1: A vision can be oral, pictorial, or both. Either way,
47:20
Speaker 1: the vision comes as a spiritual language through which God
47:23
Speaker 1: conveys his plan to chosen vessels. A dream is not
47:26
Speaker 1: a vision, but a vision can be communicated to you
47:30
Speaker 1: according to your level of understanding. It can be through
47:33
Speaker 1: words or images as much as they make it easier
47:36
Speaker 1: to understand. You were created to serve the kingdom of God.
47:41
Speaker 1: You need to see the vision that God has for
47:43
Speaker 1: you planning his kingdom. A good architect doesn't start building
47:47
Speaker 1: before considering the overall layout of the building, So it
47:50
Speaker 1: shouldn't surprise us that God was planning his kingdom before
47:54
Speaker 1: creating the universe. God did not like the trigger of
47:57
Speaker 1: any kind of big bang and hope for the best.
48:00
Speaker 1: He created intentionally with a specific end in mind, and
48:04
Speaker 1: this end was predetermined beforehand. For example, Matthew chapter twenty
48:09
Speaker 1: five tells us, and he will place the sheep on
48:11
Speaker 1: his right the place of honor, and the goats on
48:14
Speaker 1: his left the place of rejection. Then the king will
48:18
Speaker 1: say to those on his right, come you, blessed by
48:20
Speaker 1: my Father, favored by God, appointed to eternal salvation inherit
48:25
Speaker 1: the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
48:29
Speaker 1: For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.
48:32
Speaker 1: I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.
48:35
Speaker 1: I was a stranger and you invited me in. This
48:38
Speaker 1: reveals that God planned his kingdom before creation, and that
48:42
Speaker 1: he always wanted believers to be united with Christ. Love
48:47
Speaker 1: is an essential part of God's plan for his kingdom.
48:50
Speaker 1: It is evident that God did not create the kingdom
48:52
Speaker 1: out of necessity, for he already had everything he needed
48:56
Speaker 1: within himself before creation. However, he created the kingdom for
49:01
Speaker 1: his son and his people, whom he intended to bless
49:05
Speaker 1: The ultimate purpose of salvation is to glorify God, but
49:09
Speaker 1: it is important to note that it also results in
49:12
Speaker 1: our glorification when we place our faith in Jesus Christ.
49:16
Speaker 1: According to the Bible, God's existence predates that of the universe,
49:21
Speaker 1: and he exists beyond the physical laws that govern it.
49:25
Speaker 1: As stated in Psalm ninety verse two, Moses declares, before
49:29
Speaker 1: the mountains were born, or before you gave birth to
49:32
Speaker 1: the earth and the world, even from eternity to eternity,
49:36
Speaker 1: you are the eternal God. When we try to contemplate
49:40
Speaker 1: the pre existence of God, we usually think of him
49:43
Speaker 1: as existing for billions of years before creation, but this
49:46
Speaker 1: is an incomplete understanding. In fact, God is timeless. He
49:52
Speaker 1: created time itself and can also enter time and space
49:55
Speaker 1: to intervene in events whenever necessary. This means that God
49:59
Speaker 1: is outside the constraints of time and he can see
50:02
Speaker 1: the past, present, and future all at once. In addition,
50:07
Speaker 1: God's ability to enter time and space allows him to
50:11
Speaker 1: interact with his creation and intervene in human affairs at
50:15
Speaker 1: any point. It is natural for us to ask what
50:18
Speaker 1: God was doing in eternity past before he created the universe.
50:23
Speaker 1: The concept of what God was doing before creation is
50:26
Speaker 1: a challenge for us to fully understand, given our limited
50:30
Speaker 1: human understanding. However, in the scriptures, God has revealed certain
50:35
Speaker 1: details about his pre creation activity that can help us
50:39
Speaker 1: gain a deeper understanding of his nature, as well as
50:42
Speaker 1: his relationship with the created world and his plans for it.
50:46
Speaker 1: By exploring these details, we can gain insights into the
50:50
Speaker 1: nature of God's existence outside of time and space, and
50:54
Speaker 1: the ways in which He orchestrated the unfolding of the cosmos.
50:58
Speaker 1: This can be a deeply enriching experience and enlightening study
51:02
Speaker 1: for anyone seeking to know God better. Let us pray,
51:06
Speaker 1: Dear God, our loving heavenly Father. There are times when
51:09
Speaker 1: we long to feel his presence, to see a sign
51:12
Speaker 1: that you are near us, and to know that you
51:14
Speaker 1: care about what we are going through. Despite our faith
51:18
Speaker 1: and trust in you, sometimes we long for a tangible
51:21
Speaker 1: reminder that You are with us, guiding us and watching
51:25
Speaker 1: over us. We humbly seek forgiveness for our doubts and
51:29
Speaker 1: pray to be lifted to a greater level of faith
51:31
Speaker 1: than understanding. We ask forgiveness for the times when we
51:35
Speaker 1: question and doubt, and we beg you to lift us
51:38
Speaker 1: to a higher level of faith than understanding. Please grant
51:41
Speaker 1: us the wisdom to see beyond our own limited perspectives
51:45
Speaker 1: and the courage to trust your divine plan. May we
51:49
Speaker 1: be open to new insights and revelations, and may our
51:52
Speaker 1: faith be strengthened in the face of adversity. We offer
51:56
Speaker 1: this prayer with humility and gratitude for your infinite love
51:59
Speaker 1: and guide. I humbly and openly admit that I need
52:03
Speaker 1: to gain understanding in various aspects of my life. I
52:07
Speaker 1: recognize that blessings in favor of the Divine are essential
52:11
Speaker 1: to leading a meaningful and fulfilling life. I pray that
52:14
Speaker 1: the Divine presence guides me and blesses me with its grace.
52:18
Speaker 1: Dear God, I am so grateful that you sent your
52:20
Speaker 1: son Jesus into this world to be my savior. I
52:24
Speaker 1: am in awe of this immense love you have for me,
52:27
Speaker 1: for allowing him to die on the cross and pay
52:29
Speaker 1: the price for all my sins. Furthermore, I am immensely
52:33
Speaker 1: grateful for his gift of speech the Bible, which so
52:36
Speaker 1: beautifully reveals his plan of redemption for all humanity. It
52:40
Speaker 1: is a source of comfort, guidance, and inspiration for me
52:44
Speaker 1: in all aspects of my life. And Lastly, I cannot
52:47
Speaker 1: express my gratitude enough for the precious gift of the
52:51
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit who lives within me, guiding me into all
52:54
Speaker 1: truth and helping me navigate the ups and downs of life.
52:58
Speaker 1: Thank you for your in grace and mercy, and for
53:02
Speaker 1: your unwavering love that sustains me every day. Amen, Gracious
53:07
Speaker 1: and Loving God, God, My heart is filled with gratitude
53:11
Speaker 1: as I come before you in prayer. I'm humbled by
53:14
Speaker 1: the depth of your love for me and the entire world.
53:17
Speaker 1: You sent your beloved son, Jesus Christ to pay the
53:20
Speaker 1: ultimate price for my sins so that I can have
53:23
Speaker 1: eternal life with you. Your word, the Bible is a
53:27
Speaker 1: treasure of wisdom and knowledge, revealing your plan of redemption
53:31
Speaker 1: for all humanity. It is a source of comfort, strength,
53:35
Speaker 1: and guidance for me as I navigate life's challenges. Most
53:39
Speaker 1: of all, I am amazed at the gift of the
53:41
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit who dwells within me, comforting me, guiding me,
53:45
Speaker 1: and leading me into all truth. Your love and mercy
53:49
Speaker 1: are endless, and I will be forever grateful for the
53:51
Speaker 1: blessings you bestow upon me every day. Thank you, Heavenly Father,
53:56
Speaker 1: for your unfailing grace and compassion. Father, I pray that
54:00
Speaker 1: you will open the eyes of my heart as I read, study,
54:04
Speaker 1: and meditate on your words, so that I can see
54:06
Speaker 1: you more clearly and love you more eternally. In the
54:09
Speaker 1: name of Jesus, I pray Amen