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Understanding the Faith For Greater Works (Part 6) · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. You know, yesterday in the training
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center, I think someone asked a question in my
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group. It was asking, I can't remember who asked
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the question yesterday, but I remember the question
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throughout. Can't bring it in my mind, but how
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often should we teach a particular truth? You
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know, how often should we teach the idea of salvation
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by grace? And I said, we teach it every day,
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right? We preach what God has done. We preach
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salvation by grace through faith every day because
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we have the tendency to forget every day. Hallelujah!
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We have the tendency to forget that we are saved
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by grace through faith. So every day we need
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to be reminded of this truth. In fact, that is
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a summary of the Christian life that God God
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alone saved us. Hallelujah. God alone did what?
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He saved us. Okay? God alone saved us. And it's
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not by our works. Our sister was leading us to
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pray, and we see in Romans that it is God Himself
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that has saved us and given us the anointing
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of the Spirit. And it's not anything of our own.
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Alright? John chapter 14 verse 12. Even as we've
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been examining, We've been examining the faith
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for greater works. John chapter 14 verse 12 to
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verse 14, which is a theme for the year. Where
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we get the theme for the year, the text for the
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year. Moses shortly I say to you, he who believes
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in me, the works that I do, he will do also.
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And greater works than this, he will do. because
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I go to my father and whatever you ask in my
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name whatever you ask in my name I will do that
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the father may be glorified in the son verse
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14 if you ask anything in my name I will do hallelujah
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so then in verse 12 we see the importance of
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faith okay in verse 12 we will discuss this for
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several weeks the importance of faith for greater
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works and we have seen many times that faith
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this faith originates from God the faith comes
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from God the faith that will enable us number
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one to be born again and also to do the works
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of God to do that which God has recreated us
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in himself through Christ will do is by faith
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and this faith we've established several times.
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In fact, I've been very intentional every time
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I stand here to speak, to be very deliberate,
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to emphasize. The emphasis has always been to
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point us to where this faith comes from. And
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if we can, you know, memorize this and keep repeating
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it every day, it becomes a reality in our hearts.
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And I think it will shape the way we live our
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Christian life. So the faith is a result of,
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you know, Jesus going to the father we see this
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he says because I go to my father Jesus had to
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go to the father and we see this on we saw this
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on Sunday We saw that this is a centrality of
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the Eastern message that Jesus Had to go to the
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father Jesus had to go to the father. I'm going
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to the father reflects all speaks of his death
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Right while he was on art was telling his disciples
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that I must go to the father and going to the
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father speaks of His death speaks of His barrier.
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It speaks of His resurrection. Going to the Father
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speaks of His ascension. He's indwelling by the
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Spirit in the hearts of men. Hallelujah. So,
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and then not only that, but its corresponding
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benefit to the Church. How do the Church benefit
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from the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus
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Christ? justification and the gift of the Spirit
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and all that we see in our lives. So verse 13
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and 14 introduces a concept of prayer. Hallelujah.
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Look at verse 13. He says, and whatever you ask
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in my name, okay? So this speaks, first of all,
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we said, we established several times that Jesus
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was speaking to the disciples and the context
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is that He is going to die. Okay? And in His
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death, those who believe in Him will do greater
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works. So verse 13 and 14 introduces us to the
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concept of asking and receiving from God. And
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I trust that in this quarter, you know, we'll
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be able to deepen our understanding on the concept,
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an important component, which is prayer. And
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prayer also is a work of faith. So similarly,
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in the text that we used, we saw Jesus also teaching
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In Mark chapter 11, verse 12 to 14, we see that
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Jesus was teaching about faith and in it, he
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also talks about the issue of prayer. Mark 11,
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verse 12. Mark 11, verse 12. Now, the next day
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when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry
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and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves,
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he went to see if perhaps he will find something
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on it. And when he came to eat, He found nothing
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but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
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In response, Jesus said to them, Let no one eat
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fruit from you ever again. And his disciples
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heard what Jesus said, verse 20. So they came
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to Jerusalem, verse 20, verse 20, verse 20. Now
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in the morning as they passed by, they saw the
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fig tree dried up from its root, from the root.
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verse 21 and Peter remembering said to him rabbi
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look the fig tree which you cursed has withered
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away so Jesus answered and said to them have
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faith in God have faith in God 23 for as surely
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I say to you it believes that those things he
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says will be done he will have whatever he sees
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the person will have whatever he says and having
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whatever he says comes from the point of having
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the faith particularly the faith of God in him
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verse 23 verse yes verse 24 therefore I say to
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you whatever thing you ask you see he bring in
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the idea of asking whatever you ask whatever
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things you ask when you pray believe that you
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receive them and you will have them And whenever
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you start praying, look at verse 25, we can equally
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see in verse 24, Jesus introducing the concept
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of prayer, verse 24 again. Therefore I say to
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you, whatever things you ask when you pray, what
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do you do? You believe that you have received
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those things and you will have them, okay? So
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the prayer I've seen in verse 24, the result
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of faith or we will call it the work of faith
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John also teach this in 1st John chapter 5 verse
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13 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 and 15 13 to 15
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1st John chapter 5 verse 13 to 15 these things
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are written to you who believe you see faith
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believing is essential those things I have written
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to you who believe particularly the believer,
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the Christian, okay? Who believe in the name
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of the Son of God that you may know that you
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have eternal life and that you may continue to
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believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, this
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is a confidence that we have in Him, in Jesus,
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in God. That if we ask anything, if we ask anything
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according to His will, His will is that He hears
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us. Hallelujah. And if we know that He hears
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us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
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petitions that we have asked of Him. So in God,
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there is no unanswered prayer. Okay? In God,
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we don't see anything as unanswered prayer. But
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in Mark 11 verse 25 to 26, we'll see an introduction
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of a concept. We'll read 20 to 24, but in 25
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and 26 we'll see a concept introducing Mark 11,
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the previous text. Let's read from 24. Therefore
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I say to you that whatever things you ask when
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you pray, believe that you receive them and you
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will have them 25 And whenever you stand praying,
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if you have anything against anyone, what do
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you do? Forgive that your Father in heaven may
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also forgive your trespasses. So what verse 25
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is introducing is an idea of forgiveness and
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answering of prayer. And what this suggests is
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that we forgive. Alright? So that we will be
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forgiven. Look at verse 26. But if you do not
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forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive
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your trespass. And if you are reading from the
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NIV, you will not see verse 26. Alright? If you
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are reading, if your Bible is NIV, you will not
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see verse 26. If it's good news, also I think
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you will not see verse 26 and other translations.
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So we see something quite remarkable in this
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verse. Jesus seems to be saying, or Jesus is
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saying that there is a condition, there seems
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to be a condition for answering prayer. The verse
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is applying that forgiveness is conditional on
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us forgiving others. And as I said, verse 26
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is not in some Bible translation. It means that
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the verse is not found in some some of the oldest
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manuscripts. I think Pastor Victor taught us
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this when he was teaching us the canonicals,
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right? The canonicity of Scripture, how the Scripture
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was collected, you know. And it will be important
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for you to go back to listen to this teaching
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again. And you know why verse 26 especially is
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not in some Bible translations, and you see a
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footnote there. You know, so I don't want to
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go back into the details of that, but you can
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listen to the teachings and learn from that again,
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once again. But Matthew 11, 25, 26 gives us a
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notion, gives us a notion that there is a condition
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to God answering the prayer of those who believe
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in Him. And I want us to note particularly that
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these statements of Jesus, alright, especially
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in the gospel, what Jesus was teaching under
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the gospels were actually statements made under
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the law. The Bible will let us know that Jesus
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Christ, you know, came under the law. He died
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under the law. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
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we see that Jesus Christ came in the era of the
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law, and it is in his death, his burial, and
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his same that was in existence. Or rather, he
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fulfilled, or he brings to completion, that particular
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system. He brings to an end, as it to say, that
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system. So, in the four gospels, Fundamentally,
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under the law, there's a system. People forgive
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so they will be forgiven. Okay? There's a condition
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to receiving forgiveness in the whole system.
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People have to forgive. There's need for us to
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make this clarity as we teach about faith so
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that we will not begin to appropriate things
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that is not meant for us. Hallelujah! So prior
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to redemption, forgiveness is conditional. And
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what is the condition? The condition is that
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you forgive. If you don't forgive, then you don't
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receive forgiveness. Okay? But in the epistles,
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let us see the scriptures as, let's see Ephesians
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4 verse 31. After redemption, Ephesians 4 verse
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31 and 32, we'll see a change. rough, anger,
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clamour and evil -speaking be put away from you
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with all malice and be kind to one another, tender
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-hearted, forgiving one another. And why should
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we forgive one another? Even as God in Christ
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forgives you. So we see that after redemption,
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okay, forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has
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done. Alright? We forgive because Christ has
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forgiven. This is a very important thing to note.
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Before redemption, the missing link is actually
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Jesus' sacrifice for sin. Man forgives so that
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God will forgive. And as I said earlier on, this
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is a system that was under the law. But after
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redemption, as we can see in verse 32, of Ephesians
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4, we forgive because God in Christ has forgiven
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us. So forgiveness initially was based on our
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performance, right? Forgiveness was rooted in
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what we do, okay? Because that was a system that
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is under the law. But after redemption, we see
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that forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has
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done. It is by understanding God's forgiveness
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that we forgive Okay, so God forgives us because
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of Christ Not because of what we do God forgives
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us because of Christ not because we did anything
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Ephesians 1 verse 17 will tell us Ephesians 1
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verse 17 says that the God of our Lord Jesus
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Christ the father of glory Is it Ephesians? 1
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verse 7, sorry, not 17. 1 verse 7, in him we
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have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
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of sins. In him, talking about Jesus Christ,
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right? We have redemption through his blood,
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the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
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of his grace. Not according to what we've done,
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but according to the riches of the grace of God,
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we have redemption, we have forgiveness of sins.
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So after Jesus died on the cross, we see that
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our forgiveness is grounded in what He has done.
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No longer in what we do or what we will do. All
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right? Another text, Colossians chapter 1 verse
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14. We see Apostle Paul as well. Clearly stating
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this in Colossians chapter 1 verse 14. Colossians
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chapter 1 verse 14. In whom? All right, let me
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read from verse 13 to give us. greater context
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he says he has delivered us from the power of
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darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of
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the son of his love in whom so now forgiveness
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is in whom forgiveness is in the person in whom
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we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness
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of sins hallelujah so forgiveness of sins is
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no longer in works or by works. Forgiveness of
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sins is no longer in what a man can do, in what
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a man can achieve. Even if you go to the law,
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you discover that men could not even keep the
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law. All right? So we now have confidence in
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the place of prayer. We now have confidence as
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we approach God. We now have confidence in our
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conscience. Because our approaching God is not
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based on the works of the law Amen is not rooted
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in the works of the law. We now have confidence
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in the place of prayer because God in Christ
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has forgiven us Because God in Christ has forgiven
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us. So there is no condition for receiving from
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God except faith and That faith in reserve is
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not from us but from God So we have the assurance
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that God will hear us. Amen? So when we approach
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God, we're not approaching God because of anything
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that we need to do or anything that we've not
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done. Because oftentimes when we pray, we start
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looking at ourselves, what have I not done? What
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have we not done? Or what should we do so that
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God will hear us? We approach God from the place
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of our position, our position in Christ. The
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redemptive work that God has done in Christ gives
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us the confidence to approach Him especially
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in the place of prayer, we have communion with
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the Father, we approach God, we commune with
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God, not based on anything that we have done,
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not based on anything that we should do, but
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on all that God has done for us. Hallelujah.
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So Jesus Christ becomes the foundation by which
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we relate with God. So we must understand the
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context of Jesus' conversation because we are
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talking about faith. Hallelujah So it is important
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that we emphasize this It's important that we
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emphasize this That faith is from God Galatians
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2 verse 16 He says knowing that a man is not
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justified by the works of the law but by faith
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of Jesus Christ Even we have believed in Christ
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Jesus That we might be justified by the faith
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of Christ and not by the works of the law For
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by the works of the law no flesh Shall be justified
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All right, and we said this several times that
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this faith Comes by hearing of the Word of God
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Romans 10 verse 17 speaks of how we receive faith
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This faith comes when we hear the message This
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faith is transmitted to us through the message,
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through a message. And the message is a message
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of the gospel. Alright? We receive it by the
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message of the gospel. So, what happens to the
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unbeliever when we preach to them? What happens
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to the unbeliever when we go out to minister
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or we go out for evangelism? I think this was
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one of the questions I was trying to discuss
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with Pastor Emma. You know, maybe we should have...
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establish more conversation on that. What happened
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to the unbeliever when we go to preach to them?
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When the gospel is preached, does the unbeliever
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exercise faith to be saved? Do we ask them to
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believe so that they will be safe? Do we ask
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the unbeliever to exercise faith so that he will
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be saved? Does the unbeliever have the capacity
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to exercise faith? Because if the unbeliever
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has faith then he's no longer an unbeliever Okay,
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faith is from God right we've always been emphasizing
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for past weeks that faith is from God So when
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we bring the message to the unbeliever Okay Do
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we ask the unbeliever to exercise faith? It's
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an argument I'm dropping Because if we're asking
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we're demanding faith from the unbeliever Then
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where can the unbeliever produce that thing?
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The word that does preach to him. Okay. Now,
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Pastor Emmanuel told us that in the Bible, firstly,
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he says that faith describes salvation. I'm just
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making a recap of what he told us. Faith describes
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salvation. Am I right? Right? He also said faith
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in the Bible describes teaching or doctrine.
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When we see faith sometimes Okay, the Bible used
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doctrine as onto faith, and also the word faith
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is also used to describe the believer's conduct.
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Okay, we can go back and listen to it again.
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The conduct of the believer. It is used to describe
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salvation. It is used to describe doctrine or
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teaching. It is used to describe the life or
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the conduct of the believer. and then he read
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some scriptures to us in relation to these concepts
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that the Bible explains faith and I want us to
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read those scriptures again and we will see Galatians
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one of the scriptures he read for us was Galatians
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3 verse 26 quickly so we can save time Galatians
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chapter 3 verse 26 says for you are all sons
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of God true faith in Christ Jesus all right so
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Specifically, this is speaking about the believer.
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Okay? This text speaks of who? It speaks of the
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believer. The believer became a son through faith
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that is in Christ Jesus. So, salvation is through
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faith. Alright? Another text, 1 John chapter
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5 verse 4. 1 John chapter 5 verse 4. is born
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of God, overcome the world, and this is a victory
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that has overcome the world. Our faith, okay?
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Our faith. And of course, our faith here, the
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faith for salvation, is actually the faith that
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comes from God. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse
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5. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 5. Examine
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yourself as to whether you are in the faith.
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This is talking about the conduct of the believer,
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okay? This is talking about the conduct of the
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believer. Examine yourself as to whether you
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are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not
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know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless
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indeed you are disqualified? Alright, so here
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the faith here is speaking of the conduct of
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the believer. Another text we read was 1 Timothy
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chapter 4 verse 6. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse
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6. If you instruct the brethren in these things,
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you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
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nourished in the words of faith. Talking about
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doctrine here, right? In the words of faith.
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Words of faith has to do with the teaching of
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faith and of the good doctrine which you have
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carefully followed. So faith here speaks about
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doctrine. It talks about teaching. Jude verse
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3. Jude verse 3. Deut. Verse 3. You don't have
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Deut in your Bible? It's before Revelation. So
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this talks about doctrine, contending for the
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doctrine. Alright? 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse
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11 to 12. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 11 to 12.
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Yes. But you, O man of God, flee these things
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and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
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patience and gentleness. Verse 12. Fight the
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good fight of faith. lay hold of eternal life
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to which you were also called and have confessed
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the good confession in the presence of many witnesses
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hallelujah so if you read through this we know
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that the context is about doctrine okay second
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Corinthians number five verse seven second Corinthians
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number five verse seven second Corinthians number
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five verse seven side all right Ephesians number
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six verse sixteen Ephesians six verse sixteen
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Of course, this also speaks of conduct. Above
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all, taking the shield of faith, which you will
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be able to quench all the fearing debts of the
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wicked one. James 1 verse 6 to 8. James 1 verse
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6 to 8. Prayer. But let him ask in faith with
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no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave
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of the sea. driven and tossed by the wind. For
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let not that man suppose that he will receive
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anything from the Lord. He is a double -minded
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man, unstable in all his ways. So this fundamentally
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is speaking to a believer, how the believer ought
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to walk in faith. That is sharing of your faith
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Okay communication of your faith. That is the
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way you live your life the way you live the Christian
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life May become effective By the acknowledgement
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of every good thing which Christ in you Which
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is in you in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. So fundamentally
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to all the scriptures we see very importantly
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that It is the description of a believer. Okay?
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In all these texts, the varied expressions, especially
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in the epistles that we've seen, of faith. It
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describes either what has happened to the believer,
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or it describes teaching or the doctrine that
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concerns the believer, or it describes the way
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the believer ought to live and conduct himself.
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Hallelujah. So it does not in any way or this
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text in no way speaks of any man that is not
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born again All right, that is to say that a man
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This life can only be found in a man that is
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born again This can only be found in a man that
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is born again. How does the Bible describes the
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unbeliever? How does the Bible describes the
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unbeliever? Now understanding is very important
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All right? For us, when we go to preach, how
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does the Bible describes the unbeliever? Ephesians
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2 verse 1. The Bible describes the unbeliever
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as a dead man. Ephesians 2 verse 1. And you,
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of course, all of us that are in Christ, He made
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alive. Who made us alive? God made us alive.
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who were dead in trespass and sins. So our former
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condition was that we were dead in trespasses,
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we were dead in sin. Verse two, in which you
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once walk according to the cause of this world,
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according to the prince of the power of the air,
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the spirit who now walks in the sons of disobedience.
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So our former identity is of disobedience. Okay?
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You and I were sons of disobedience, among whom
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also we all once conducted ourselves in the loss
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of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
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and of the mind, and whereby nature, the nature
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of the man that is not born again, his nature
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is that he is a child of wrath. Okay? He is under
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condemnation. He is a child of wrath. And there
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is a spirit that is at work in him. And that
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spirit is a spirit of disobedience. So the unbeliever
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is dead in trespass and is a child of wrath.
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And the response that we can see from someone
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that is dead is what? What response can we see
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from a dead man? We'll see death, right? To wake
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a man That is pretending to sleep to wake up.
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I mean there's a common saying That is difficult
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to wake a man that is pretending to sleep than
30:58
actually a man that is sleeping a Man that is
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dead is dead and No matter what you try to do
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to a man that is dead. He cannot respond Okay,
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so you cannot make a demand from a man that is
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dead Probably sometimes this understanding should
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help us to lower our expectation from unbelievers.
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All right Because we so much expect some miraculous
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way, we expect a lot from them that we will not
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see. Hallelujah. So a man that is not in Christ
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is a dead man. Okay? A man that is not in Christ
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is a dead man. Romans chapter 8 verse 5 speaks
31:38
more about this particular person. Romans chapter
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8 verse 5 to 8 also speaks about this man that
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is not born again. For those who live according
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to the flesh, their mind, right, are set on the
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things of the flesh. But those who live according
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to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For
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the carnally, to be carnally minded is what?
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Is death. But to be spiritually minded is life
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and peace. Now this is a contrast of two different
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individuals. Okay? Because the carnal mind that
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is the one that does not have the Spirit of God
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in him, the one that is not born again, this
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is his identity. He is enmity against God. He
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is an enmity against God. He is in opposition
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to the things of God. For that particular mind
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or that particular man is not subject to the
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law of God, and the law of God is the law of
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faith. Nor indeed can be. There is no possibility
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for such a man to obey the Lord of God, verse
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8. So then those who are in the flesh, they cannot
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please God. Hallelujah. So the judgment concerning
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a man that is not born again is that he cannot
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please God. There is nothing he can do of himself
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that will bring pleasure to God. He does not
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have the ability to do what pleases God. The
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man that is dead does not have the ability to
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please God. Those who are in the flesh and those
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who are not born again cannot please God because
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God is pleased by what? By faith. Hebrews 11
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verse 6 talks about how God can be pleased. The
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only way that God can be pleased is by faith.
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And the time we're talking about that text, Hebrews
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11 verse 6, we say that that faith is the faith
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of God. or without faith, it is impossible to
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please him. For he who comes to God must believe
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that he is and that he is a rewarder of those
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who diligently seek him. So the unbeliever is
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given life by faith that God, that the unbeliever
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receive life through faith, that is a gift from
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God. Ephesians 2 verse 1, let's go back to Ephesians
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2 and see how that unbeliever Okay, can become
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a life He says I knew he made a life who made
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the unbeliever who made the dead man come to
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life God All right, because the dead man is dead
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and he does not have the ability to come to contribute
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to his coming alive So I knew he made a life
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who were dead in trespasses and sins now move
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down to verse 4 From verse 4 we read to 9 But
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God who is rich in mercy not I wanted to focus
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on who is responsible here Okay, who the responsibility
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lies on in bringing that dead man to life? All
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right, but God who is rich in mercy? Because
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of his great love with which he loved us Even
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when we were what we're dead in trespass what
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happened? He made us alive together with Christ.
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By grace, you have been saved. How? And raised
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up together with Christ together and made us
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sit together in the heavenly places in Christ
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Jesus. We don't see any of our works or any of
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our contribution in this. The next verse. That
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in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding
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riches of his grace in His kindness toward us
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in Christ Jesus. Everything was done by God in
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Christ Jesus. For by grace, importantly, now
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focus on this verse, very, very important. Says,
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for by grace, you have been saved through faith
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and that not of yourselves. And that not of yourselves.
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What is it? It is the gift of God. Hallelujah.
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So the man coming to life is the gift of God.
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Because he's a dead man. A dead man cannot give
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himself life. A dead man cannot contribute to
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him coming to life. God in totality brings a
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man back to life. The grace and the faith is
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the gift of God. All right? The grace, the salvation,
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And the faith is the gift of God. So what the
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man does is that he receives the gift of God.
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This is very important. The dead man receives
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the gift of God. So faith, this is what faith
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does. Because faith is a gift. It removes any
36:54
ground for human boasting. All right? It takes
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away any idea of pride from man. It takes away
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any possibility of we beating our chase. You
37:08
know the common language we use to say I give
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my life to Christ. It shows how we give something
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to God so that we will receive something in return.
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Because it is by faith, it takes away the tendency
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of boasting. We have no play in it. We have no
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work in it. We have no work in it. You know the
37:32
human mind always wanted infused responsibility
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Okay So you mean is free. Of course is free.
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You mean God did everything of course God did
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everything Because it is fit which is a gift
37:46
takes away any possibility for Boston. Look at
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first Corinthians up to one verse 28 first Corinthians
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21 28 to 31 and the best things of the world
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and the things which are despised God has chosen
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and the things which are not to bring to nothing
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the things which that are that no flesh should
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do what should glory in his presence okay God
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wants to ensure right that no flesh will glory
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in his presence If there's any possibility that
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a man will take glory, if man, if anything can
38:30
be traced to the action of man, then it's not
38:34
from God. Okay? That is why even the life we
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live, it says we live by the faith of the Son
38:41
of God. Even the life that we live today as believers,
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we live in response to the complete, you are
38:47
not trying, see the life you're living, you are
38:49
not constructing a life. You're not building
38:52
a new life. All right? Even when your character
38:55
is transforming, you're only responding to what
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God has finished in you, complete, by His sacrifice,
39:05
by His death. All right? So it takes away the
39:09
place of Boston. Boston has to do with, you know,
39:14
what you contributed, what you did, what started.
39:18
But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus. who become
39:23
for us wisdom from God and righteousness and
39:28
sanctification and redemption. That is, that
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as it is written, he who glories, what should
39:36
be his glory, let him glory where? In the Lord.
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That he who glory, let him glory in the Lord.
39:44
That is he who will boast, let him boast in the
39:47
Lord. First Corinthians chapter four verse seven.
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First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. So will
39:54
the dry bones live again? Right? It's by the
39:59
work of God that the dry bones will come back
40:00
to life. Okay? First Corinthians 4 verse 7. For
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who makes you differ from another? And what do
40:08
you have? What do you have? What has the believer
40:13
has? Okay? Received. What? for what makes you
40:18
differ from another, and what do you have that
40:21
you did not receive? Including, listen, including
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the manifestation we see today, pastors have
40:28
been teaching us about the gifts, you know, the
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gifts of the Spirit, the gift of the assignment
40:33
of Spirit, the gift of healing. It's not because
40:36
you fasted that you produce it, all right? It's
40:40
not because you did some spiritual disciplines,
40:43
then... You formulated, you know, you batted
40:46
it from the place of consecration of, you know,
40:50
we try to, we try to show our effort in manifesting.
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See, what do you have that you do not receive?
41:01
Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you
41:04
boast as if you had not received it? Okay. Why
41:09
do you boast as though you do not receive it?
41:12
Titus 3 verse 5. had to strip the tree verse
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5 not by works of righteousness give me verse
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4 so that we can have context to this text but
41:22
when the kindness and the love of God our Savior
41:25
towards man see the kindness and the love of
41:29
God our Savior towards man appeared not by works
41:33
of righteousness not by any work that man did
41:36
which we have done but according to his mercy
41:42
he would He saved us through the washing of regeneration
41:48
and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. So it is
41:52
the work of the Spirit that a man becomes born
41:55
again. Are we together? The regeneration of the
41:59
Spirit of God makes, look at the dead man. Just
42:01
have a picture of the dead man on the floor.
42:04
And the Spirit of God brings him back to life.
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The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
42:10
All right? Quicken us as we become born again.
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Hallelujah! So, Romans 4 verse 2. Romans 4 verse
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2. So that faith is a gift from God and it takes
42:25
away the place for busting. It takes away the
42:29
place for pride in us. For if Abraham was justified
42:33
by works, right? If Abraham was justified by
42:37
something he did, he has something to boss about.
42:41
Because he did something so God did something
42:44
so he will have a point to bust but not before
42:47
God You know how that means it is by works Everyone
42:51
will have something to bust but it's not before
42:53
God because before God, you know what all of
42:56
us are on the same scale before God All of us
43:00
are wretched before God All of us are dead as
43:04
pertaining to the things of God as pertaining
43:07
to the life of God If we could produce a life
43:11
by ourselves, if we could contribute to having
43:15
life of ourselves, then we don't need God. So
43:20
scripture will constantly teach that faith is
43:23
not conjured up by the human will. Faith is not
43:28
produced by human will, but is sovereignly granted
43:32
as a gift from God. Faith is granted as a gift
43:38
from God. Jesus will say no one can come to me
43:41
unless the father what? Unless the father draws
43:45
you. You can't come to God on your own terms
43:49
or by your own ability except the father draws
43:52
you to himself. John chapter 6 verse 44. Give
43:56
me that text. John chapter 6 verse 44. Yes. Says
44:02
no one can come to me unless the father who sent
44:05
me draws him and I will raise him up. where at
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the last day look at verse 65 verse 65 verse
44:12
65 verse 65 yes and he said therefore I have
44:19
said to you and no one that no one can come to
44:23
me unless it has been granted to him by my father
44:28
all right and Acts chapter 3 verse 16 we'll see
44:32
where you know Peter was preaching Acts chapter
44:35
3 verse 16 and it speaks of the faith which comes
44:38
through him and his name and true faith in his
44:43
name has made this man strong whom you see and
44:48
know yes the faith which comes through him has
44:52
given him the perfect soundness in the presence
44:55
of you also the faith by which we see Peter healing
45:00
the man is the faith that comes from God in Philippians
45:04
1 29 He sees, you know, it has been granted of
45:09
Christ. Philippians 1 .29, Philippians 1 .29
45:13
says for you, for to you, it has been granted
45:17
on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in Him,
45:22
but also to suffer for His sake. So it was granted
45:26
to believe and also to suffer. It has been granted.
45:32
And we'll see Peter also writing first. 2nd Peter
45:35
1 verse 1 talks about those who have received
45:38
the faith of the same kind as us. 2nd Peter 1
45:41
verse 1, yes, says Simon Peter, a born servant
45:44
and apostle of Jesus Christ, those who have obtained,
45:47
not obtained is to receive, those who have received
45:50
like precious faith. So the faith was something
45:53
that was received with us by the righteous of
45:57
God and Savior Jesus Christ. So faith is something
46:01
that has been received from God. Okay? How do
46:06
you know faith is God's gift? Left to ourselves,
46:10
no one will ever believe. The Bible says in Romans
46:13
3 verse 11, making reference to, you know, the
46:16
text in all this, it says, there's none who understands.
46:19
Romans 3 verse 11, none who understands. There's
46:23
none who seeks for God. There's none who understands.
46:27
There's none who seeks after God. So then, it
46:30
does not depend on the man. Who wills all the
46:34
man who runs but on God who has shown mercy Romans
46:38
9 16 Romans 9 16 talks about God showing mercy
46:43
and not by the wisdom and the effort of man so
46:47
then it is not of him who wills no of him who
46:50
runs but of God who shows mercy You know, so
46:55
God draws the sinner to Christ and gives the
46:58
ability to believe Without that divinely generated
47:02
faith one cannot understand an approach to the
47:07
Savior One cannot understand an approach to the
47:11
Savior All right, so first Corinthians 2 verse
47:15
14 will speak about the things of the Spirit
47:18
the things of faith you say that a natural man
47:21
does not accept the things of the Spirit of God
47:25
For they are what they are fully to him. They
47:28
are foolishness to him And he cannot understand
47:30
them because they are spiritually appraised.
47:33
They are spiritually discerned. Okay? So what
47:37
really happened when we preach the gospel? So
47:39
what really happened when we preach the gospel?
47:42
Since we say that the dead man cannot exercise
47:45
faith because all that comes from the dead man
47:47
is death. There is no ability in him to please
47:50
God because he's dead. Because he has no faith
47:53
in him so he cannot please God. So what happens
47:55
when we preach the gospel? Now we must understand
47:58
the gospel. that we preach is actually the power
48:01
of God. Okay? The gospel we preach is actually
48:05
the power of God that brings men to life. Thomas
48:09
1 of 16 talks about it as I ran up. For I am
48:13
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For what
48:16
is it? It is the power of God toward salvation.
48:21
So the gospel you preach is what gives power
48:25
to that dead man to come to life. For it is a
48:29
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,
48:32
for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The
48:35
gospel produces and births salvation in the man.
48:40
So the faith of God comes by the gospel. The
48:44
faith of God comes by the gospel. Romans 10 verse
48:49
17 talks about by hearing right? Hearing by the
48:53
message. So the faith of God comes by the gospel.
48:56
The gospel is a power of God. So the duty of
49:01
men is to welcome the word. The duty of men is
49:07
to welcome the word when it is preached and not
49:11
be rebellious to the word. You know what makes
49:14
a man an unbeliever is that he is preached to,
49:17
right? And he heard and he didn't welcome it.
49:22
That's what makes him an unbeliever. So the response
49:26
of a man is to accept the world Is to we'll see
49:31
so subsequently in text maybe on Sunday We'll
49:34
see where every single place the gospel was preached
49:37
in the book of Acts We'll see what is expected
49:40
of there. That is that that should believe all
49:43
that will believe Okay, so God only requirement
49:47
to hear the gospel the requirement is that men
49:51
should hear the gospel Then faith is given by
49:55
the gospel Then they believe Do you hear what
49:59
I just said? The requirement is that knowing
50:02
hear the gospel, right? Then faith is given to
50:07
the gospel Then they believe We're going to look
50:11
deeper into this subsequently So faith is not
50:15
our response to what God has done Faith is not
50:19
responding to what God has done Actually, faith
50:22
is what God has given. The gospel is everything
50:27
God has given humanity to come to life. Hallelujah.
50:33
So we must be very mindful of this reality as
50:38
we preach the gospel. We will see subsequently,
50:42
okay, how gospel was preached. Moses will tell
50:47
them, look and live. All right, look. We appreciate
51:01
you being here today. We hope you carry this
51:15
word with you throughout your week. Don't forget
51:18
to check the show notes for additional insights.
51:21
Stay connected with us through our website or
51:23
follow us on social media. If you were encouraged,
51:27
share this message with someone you care about.
51:30
Until next time, stay blessed.