Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Issues about Women's Liberty pt 18

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The Issues about Women's Liberty pt 18 · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Hi there, welcome to NECF. We're excited to share
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today's message with you. Don't go anywhere,
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stay with us till the end for some valuable resources
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to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.
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Genesis chapter 9, we will read. From verse 1,
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we are continuing from where we stopped on Sunday
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on the issues or issues around women's liberty.
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And we're trying to see what Scott's original
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intention to create the woman. We saw that God's
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intention for creating a woman is not different
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from his intention for creating the man. He intended
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to create one kind of man, male and female. We
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saw that he has a collective identity and he
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wants to build a family. He wants to make them
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his temple. He wants to make them his body. And
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that's what we've been exploring. And we try
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to also look at the issue of what image means.
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I'm moving to understand why is Christ called
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the image of God. We saw that that term is a
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collective term and that Jesus is referred to
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as the image of God because he became a man.
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So the image of God is an identity of man. In
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other words, it's a human identity. It's not
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an identity of God. So to say that he's given
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to man. An identity of man given to Christ. I
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don't understand what I'm trying to say. Christ
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became a man, so he is in the image of God. And
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we saw the image means to represent God. And
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I want to take the study in direction today that
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will help us to expand that thought. Also, the
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issue of... Christ becoming a man because he
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took on flesh. John 1, 14 says, and the world
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became flesh. The world among us. And I want
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us to start with the text we tried to study some
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time ago. We just touched it and I said we're
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going to come back to it. Genesis chapter 9,
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verse... One is a soul God blessed Noah and his
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sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply
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and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the
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dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth
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and on every bird of the air. On all that move
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on the earth and on them, and on all the fish
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of the sea, they are given into your hands. Every
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moving thing that lives shall be food for you.
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I have given you all things, even as the grain
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has. But you shall... Do not eat flesh with its
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life, that is, its blood. Verse 5. Surely for
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your life, Lord, I will demand a reckoning from
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the hand of every beast. I will require it from
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the hand of man. From the hand of every man's
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brother, I will require the life of man. Verse
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6. Whoever sheds... Man's blood by man, his blood
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shall be shed. For in the image of God, he made
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man. In the image of God, he made man. And we've
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seen this thought already from here. Last time
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we looked at, James also was making that same
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thing. Looking about men created in the similitude
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of God. Now look at verse 1 again. It says, So
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God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,
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Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
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Remember this is verse 28. Also Genesis chapter
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1. So Adam and Eve filled the earth, multiplied
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and blessed them. You remember? So and we noted
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that even from Genesis that that's couldn't likely
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be God asking them to just give birth. Because
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we know that Adam couldn't do that. After all,
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we noted that Genesis 1, 26 and 27 is talking
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about mankind, humanity, not just Adam and Eve.
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And so we saw that by the time you come to chapter
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6, we saw how the devil... corrupted with so
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wickedness as filled the earth, so to say. And
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that was not God's intention. So it is counter
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God's... Just look at chapter 6, verse 13. Chapter
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6, verse 13 of Genesis. It said, And God said
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to Noah, the earth The end of all flesh has come
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before me, for the earth is filled with violence.
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That wasn't God's intention. The earth is filled
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with violence through them. And behold, I will
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destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an
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ark. And then so on and so forth. So you see,
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Genesis 1. lead out God's intention to fill the
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earth with righteousness. We saw by Genesis 6,
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the earth is filled with violence. By the time
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everything was taken, God had to use Noah and
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then give him again that very intention he stated
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from the beginning. So Genesis 9 stated, So God
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blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be
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fruitful and multiply. We can call that like
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the great commission. So this is just almost
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a replica. If you look at it through down scriptures,
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like a replica of Matthew 28, from verse 18,
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19 and 20, we call generally the great commission,
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meaning to go. and fill the earth. There's a
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kind of species God wants on the earth, in the
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sand, and to make disciples of all nations. So
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that's the perspective that Scripture guides
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us through. And I want us to also note that here,
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very quickly, verse 3. Just look at verse 3 of
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Genesis 9. shall be with food for you. I have
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given you all things, even as the green herbs,
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even as the green herbs. And compare it with
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chapter 6. He said, for whoever sheds a man's
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blood. Now, already by saying he has given them
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all other things, already he is giving a distinction.
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Between animals and other living things. And
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man. Understand. And man. I want to know. Have
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you ever killed an animal before? Or. Or you
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don't kill. You only eat. Well. Whether you don't
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kill but you eat. That means, are you a conspirator?
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Because you don't kill, but you eat. I mean,
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you can imagine those innocent chickens here.
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I mean, they have suffered with some of us. For
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example, we just grabbed them. They didn't do
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anything. We just catch them, kill them, and
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we eat. But that's the point. Because they don't
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have the same value with man. You understand?
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So, you can kill, eat, right? But if you look
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at from verse 6, he talks about man. In the sign,
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verse 6 says, Whoever sheds man's blood by man,
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his blood shall be shed. For in the image of
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God, he made man. In the image. So the reason
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why you should not shed blood because the man
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in the image of God. Of course, as we have noted,
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this place is not talking about Christians alone.
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Because we would have said, if it is Christian,
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then that means we are free to kill anyone who
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is not a Christian. There is no problem. No.
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As we noted, that image is inclusive of all.
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He talks about every man. So every human being
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is in the image of God. It means that everyone
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born in the world carries the same identity.
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That's why as you walk around, once you see someone,
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you must see that person with that value. that
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that person has same value as I have. And once
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you do that, you will always walk with compassion.
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You will always see people correcting you. You
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will not, even if when somebody is doing something
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very terrible, you will see the person as God
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desires or as God intended. You know, sometimes
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you can be overtaken with emotion, you understand,
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and that can, blind us by the attitude of people.
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And then you begin to completely hate them by
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what they do. Yes, people can be wicked. But
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you must know the spirit which is at work in
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the children of disobedience. So, and that will
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help you to know. In fact, that will give you
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more energy. I mean, steer you to go for evangelism
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more. Because you want that person, understand,
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not to go against what God desires for his life
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or what God desires for her life. So here, man,
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as the image of God, shows a very good distinction
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between animals, as I said, and the physical
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body. Because the blood here is not talking about...
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Spiritual blood is physical blood. He said you
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shed. So he's talking about the body here. Physical
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body. Because that's where the blood is. So he
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shows that the image is related to the physical
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body as well. So image is not just only spirit.
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But image also involves the physical body. Therefore,
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the question is that, is the physical body of
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man part of the image of God? Yes. Is the physical
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body part of the image of God? Yes. This is another
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piece of evidence again that shows us that the
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image is not doing. It's being. Human being.
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Understand? Because once you are born a human
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being, you are born in the image. You don't need
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to do anything to be in the image or to be as
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the image. Remember we did that kind of discussion
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on the issue of the word, whether it is in or
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as. Understand? If you check, we have noted that
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you can say by interpretation, but what we have
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already done, say human beings are made. as the
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image of God. As the image of God. So, what can
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we conclude from this? We can see that here that
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the image means to be embodied. Image means to
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be embodied because this has to be doing physical.
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It says, don't shed a man's blood because it
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says, for in the image of God, He made man. Which
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means that because among God's created things
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and this body, this man's body is different.
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The kind is different from that of the animals.
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There is a value inherent in man's body. You
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understand? So what I'm trying to say is that
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to be in the image means to be embodied. Again,
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that's why we said, Jesus is referred to as the
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image of God because he became a man. He became
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a man. So, it means that our bodies are a core
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part of the image. This also means that our bodies
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are not useless to God. Remember that time when
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we had some discussion about understanding the
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Bible? When I told us about some certain philosophical
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ideas that crept into the early church? And we
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still have it today. That seems to discard the
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body. That seems to... In fact, Colossians told
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us that touch not... Remember that? where people
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feel as if the sin is in their body. So they
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neglect the body. They feel that to live spiritually,
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to live a pure life, is by destroying the body,
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is by torturing the body. And the writer, Paul,
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in Colossians, told us that that's not how to
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restrain sin. That sin cannot be restrained by
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torturing your body. By saying, touch not, taste
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not, you understand? He said, this has a form
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of a wisdom. It looks, it's as a way of, there's
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a form of a wisdom in it. But it lacks the power
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to restrain a mind from indulgence. And so, and
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this is how we, I mean, We combine a lot of ideas
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and that lead to show that the body is not useless.
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It is very crucial, very important to God. Very
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important. Very crucial. Look at 1 Corinthians
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chapter 6. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Look
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at 19, verse 19, that's Corinthians 6, 19. He
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said, or do you not know that your body is a
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temple of the Holy Spirit? Who is in you whom
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you have from God and you are not your own? Did
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you see how your body is so important? So our
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body is not useless. He says it's the temple
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of God. Paul says your body, you're speaking
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to the church. He says it's the temple of the
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Holy Spirit. Remember, Look at that word there.
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He said, you are not your own. You are not your
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own. Remember what we said about image. Image
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is collective. Image is relational. Image is
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not independent. You understand? Image is not
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independent. We say image is belonging to another
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one. It is family. It's kinship. Are we together?
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You know, these days, you hear people say something
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like, and that's actually a lot of the problem
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we have today is because we have created a system
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that makes us feel we have no reason. I mean,
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we are independent in our decision. We take decisions
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without considering anyone. I don't care. I don't
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care. I don't have to live to promote anybody's
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good. I look at my own good. That's all. Where
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did you learn that? Oh, it is my body. It is
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my body. I can do whatever I want to do. No,
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it's not your body. It's not. It's not your body.
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He said, you are not your own. And remember,
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this is not just about that you are in Christ.
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You understand? Remember you are made by God
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in the image. Image is collective. You understand?
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So it's not about whether you are in Christ or
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not in Christ. You are not on your own. God has
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never created man to be independent. It's anti
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-God's creation. You understand? If dependence
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is not weakness, we're not talking about... When
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I say dependence, I'm not talking about idleness.
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No, they are not the same. I'm not talking about
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idleness. Idleness is a causing to laziness.
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And it is not God's will. It's not in the agenda
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of God. For a man to be idle, he that should
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not walk should not eat. He should not eat at
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all. So the point we are making here is that
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God desires us to belong. That even in taking
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decisions, your decisions must be common. Your
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thoughts must be common. Your goals must be common.
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It tempers with the plan of God. When a man makes
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decisions just to prosper, he may lose. He does
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not regard how he tramples and kills and destroys
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and scatters others. That is not God's will.
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It's a corruption. The idea of God is that we,
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whatever thing we do, That we know that we belong.
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You understand? We know we belong. Meaning, we
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know we are united. We are connected. So, anything
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that will make people say pricks, you understand?
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Anything is anti -God's agenda. That's why when
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the Pharisee came with the question, Can a man
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divorce his wife for any other reason? Remember,
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we said this is not, you are not, he's not talking
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about Christians. Jesus didn't say, it depends.
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No. Jesus didn't say, it depends. Whether you're
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a believer or not believer. No, no, no, no, no,
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no, no, no. He said, it was not so in the beginning.
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In creation, God desire this connection. And
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that is what image is about. It's a collective
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identity. It's a collective identity. So we're
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seeing here, he's talking about, listen, this,
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as we said, image talks about being embodied.
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It means to be embodied. And when you're talking
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about to be embodied, you are talking about the
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temple. Therefore, you can see the connection.
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You understand? In other words, what we're saying
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is that the image of God relates to the temple.
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It's a temple language. You understand? The temple
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of God. And because we belong to God, we also
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belong to others. This is what God wants us to
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understand. You cannot say, like some of these
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discussions we used to say, My personal relationship
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with God. We don't have that. There's nothing
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like that. What do you mean by personal relationship
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with God? You understand? Your relationship with
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God, you understand, is or automatically makes
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you relate with others. It's a family. You can't
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relate with God and not relate with others. That
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is... God's intention. That is God's desire.
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Let me sound it again. Anything you do. That
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makes you separate. In the sense. That anything
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you are thinking. You are thinking individualistic.
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You are always thinking. Me, me, me, me. Is anti
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-God's agenda. So from today. As you are thinking.
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as you are thinking to make progress, even in
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your career, even in things that are not pertaining
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to God, your thoughts must be, how will this
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decision contribute to the development of my
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people? How will it contribute to the development
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of the church? How will it? Because God desires
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us to be in Atlanta. So God values the body.
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God values the body. The very reason why we have
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the body is that it becomes the temple of God.
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He said, don't you know that your body is a temple
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of the Holy Spirit? He said, you are not your
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own. You are not your own. You are God's. Look
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at verse 20. He said, for you, we are bought
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at a price. Bought there doesn't mean an exchange.
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We have explained it. It means redeemed. It means
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that you have been reclaimed. Because purchased,
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in our modern time, we know purchased is to exchange
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something. No. Redeemed or purchased in Bible
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language is to claim back that which is your
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own. That's what it means. It's to claim back
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that which is your own. That's what it means.
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So if, for example, your father has an inheritance
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for you, then it's normal and you wanted to go
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and do it. You're not going there to give something.
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You're just going there to identify, to claim
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back that which is your own. That means you are
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a diminutive. So it is not your own. See, you
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are bought with a price. It's not your own. Therefore,
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you glorify God in your body. Are we together?
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In your body. The other parts, those are additions.
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It's not in the original. You and your spirits,
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which are God's. There are other parts, obviously.
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We have done that in the church about the issue
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of majority tax and Nestle, Allen, and the rest.
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All those manuscripts and the rest. So, but the
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idea is talking about, of course, if you read
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in the context, it's focusing about body, body,
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body, not spirit. You understand? So, you understand
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that Paul is focusing on the body, body, body.
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That is the temple of God. So, the physical body,
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Is the image of God. When. To show us. That how
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this body is very important. Is not only in this
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life. We will have body. Understand. We may have.
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A changed body. But we will still have a body.
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So body is important. Brother. Is in the image
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of God. Body. Is the temple of God. Glory to
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Jesus. Now look at what Jesus demonstrated and
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that's exactly what happened to us. John chapter
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20. Look at John 20 first. John 20, 27. John
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20, 27. He said, then he said to Thomas, he said,
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reach out, he said, reach your finger here and
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look at my hand and reach your hand here and
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put it into my sight. He said, do not be unbelieving,
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but believe it. Do not be unbelieving. but believing.
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When Jesus resurrected, he resurrected bodily.
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You should reach out, reach out to see. Luke
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24. Look at Luke 24 verse 36. Luke 24 verse 36.
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And now as he said these things, Jesus himself
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stood in the midst of them, this is after the
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resurrection, and said to them, Peace to you.
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But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed
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they had seen his spirit. And he said to them,
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Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise
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in your heart? Behold my hands. my feet, that
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it is my soul. Handle me and see. For a spirit
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does not have what? Flesh. It means a spirit
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does not have body and bones as you see I have.
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So Jesus resurrected body. This shows to us that
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the body is very important. The body is valuable
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to God, just as our spirit. It is valuable. It
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is valued by God. Where we studied last time,
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we said that the resurrection of Jesus is called
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the first fruit because that has happened to
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him. It happens to us. It's the first fruit or
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the firstborn. Firstborn prototokos or prototokos
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in Greek. It means It is like the rest, that
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is, he is a first, we will be like him. Meaning
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he is a chief, we will be like the rest, like
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his brethren. We read also in 1 Corinthians 15,
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he told us that he is a first in that order.
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In that order, 1 Corinthians 15, in that order,
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verse 23, he said, but each one in his order
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is a Christ the first fruit. Afterward, those
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who are Christ at his coming. Those who are Christ
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at his coming. Those who have Christ at his coming.
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So I want you to note something. That this shows
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to us how the body is important. The body is
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man. I hope that in the nearest future, we will
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have to study something very, very carefully.
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about the body, the soul, and the spirit. Because
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there is truth that has been eroded here. We
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need to study that again. Because it will help
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us to not to move. Romans chapter 8. Let's go
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on this journey first. Romans chapter 8. Look
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at verse 14. Look at verse 14. For as many as
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are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons
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of God. Verse 15. For you did not receive the
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Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received
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the Spirit of adoption. I want you to know this
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word, the Spirit of adoption. by whom we cry
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out, Abba, Father. Spirit himself be our witness.
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We are spirit. We are children of God. If children
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then hear of God and join ears with Christ, even
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did we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified
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together. For I consider that the suffering of
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this present time are not worthy to be compared
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with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
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For the earnest expectation of all creation eagerly
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awaits for the revealing of the sons of God.
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For the creation was subject to futility, not
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willingly, but because of him who subject it
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in hope, because the creation itself also. will
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be delivered from the bondage of corruption into
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the glorious liberty of the children of God.
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For we know that the whole creation groans and
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labors with birth bans. Gather until now, verse
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23, not only that, but we also who have the first
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fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
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within ourselves, eagerly, I wait for the adoption.
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And he called that adoption the what? The redemption
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of our body. The redemption of our body. Now
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if you look at this, this text also shows us
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how the body is very important. You understand?
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That again, and I want us to notice very, very.
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uh, carefully. If you see verse, as I said, verse
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15, I said, note that word adoption. He said,
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we have received the spirit of adoption. Understand?
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The spirit of adoption. Usually, we stop here.
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Verse 15. Understand? But by the time you go
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to chapter 23, he said, also, again, adoption,
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he said, the redemption of our body. Which means
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that that word adoption, It means sonship. Because
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if you see, it's a spirit of adoption. You understand?
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The spirit of sonship. Because you are a son,
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you receive that spirit. You understand? So,
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because he calls this, you understand? And he
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also calls the body adoption also. Which means,
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what he's trying to say is that, that you are
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just a son of God in your spirit. Just as you
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are also a son in your physical body. That means
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you are also a son of God in your physical body.
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You are a son in your physical body. You are
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a son in your physical body. What am I trying
37:38
to say is that the physical body is part of salvation.
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What God says. is part of salvation. That shows
37:53
to us how the physical body is important. So
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that's why you cannot just call the physical
38:01
body like one part of man that is not important.
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You understand? The physical body is very crucial.
38:10
It's son also. It's man. You cannot say as if
38:15
it's one like a clue that will just be true.
38:20
No, no, no, no. The physical body is man also.
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Yes, sir. You can't talk about your sonship without
38:30
talking about the physical body. I'm trying to
38:38
connect to you why you see that the image it
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talks about that to be embodied means you are
38:45
in the image. Because the physical body is man.
38:53
You know, some people think that immediately
38:55
at the resurrection, you know, we will just become
39:00
spirits. Like we will not have body. No. Now,
39:08
look at verse 23 again. He said, eagerly waiting
39:13
for the adoption. waiting for the adoption of
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the body, of our body. The word their redemption,
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sorry, waiting for the adoption, yes, the redemption
39:31
of our body. That word redemption, which I've
39:35
already noted in the psalm, is the word apolitrosis.
39:43
Apolitrosis. A -P... O -N -Y -T -R -O -S -I -S.
39:54
Apolitrosis. In Greek. It means to be delivered.
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To be set free. It means to be fully claimed.
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To fully claim something. Just like I mentioned.
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To claim something. That which of course. Is
40:11
your own. So it means. We are not fully saved
40:17
without our body. That's why I say you cannot
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talk about sonship without talking about the
40:22
body. Listen. Your body is important. The Holy
40:29
Spirit in us is a proof that the physical body
40:32
is going to be forever. Of course, not at this
40:37
day. It will be changed. It will be quickened.
40:42
Are we together? It's a proof that this body
40:47
is going to be forever. We're not going to be
40:50
without body. And we'll be always with the body.
40:59
We'll be with the body. So the physical body
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is as much as same as other part of man, as any
41:07
other part of man. That's why there's a claim
41:13
of it. This is the reason of our hope. That what
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Christ saved or reclaimed, redeemed, are we together?
41:27
Through his blood, it's not just our spirit,
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it's also our body. It's also our body. So your
41:39
redemption is not just your spirit, it's also
41:45
your body. If we look at 1 John 1, 1 John 1,
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I want to read especially verse 3. In verse 3,
42:07
verse 2. He said that below, now, we are children
42:25
of God. And it has not yet been revealed what
42:30
we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed,
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we shall do what? So we shall be like Him. He
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is the firstborn. showing us what we shall be.
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Remember, prototokos. What we shall be. We will
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be changed into the likeness of His body, that
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body that resurrected. For we shall see Him as
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He is. Verse 3 says, and everyone who has this
43:13
hope, because it's what we are hoping for. He
43:18
said, hope in him purify himself. No, no, no,
43:23
no, no, no. Now, we have already thought that
43:26
purification is once and for all. It's not what
43:33
we do. It's not our job. We have been sanctified,
43:38
purified, justified. So it's not that those who
43:41
have hope in him will purify themselves. you
43:47
can adjust that, bring himself in the place of
43:51
purify and bring purify in the place of himself.
43:55
You will see that there is a better adjustment.
43:59
So I will read it this way. He said, and everyone
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who has this hope in him, comma, himself purifies
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just as he is pure. Oh, did you get the difference?
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Meaning that, He is the one that purifies just
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as he is pure. Did you get the point? Not that
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you purify just as he is pure. No, you can't
44:24
do that, sir. No, no, no, no. That's not the
44:27
job of a human being. No human being can purify
44:30
himself just as he is pure. That is just as Christ
44:33
is pure. No, it's Christ that purifies. Are we
44:37
together? It's Christ that purifies just as he
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is. Hallelujah. In fact, you see, when you read
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Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 2, verse 11, says something
44:57
very important. We have done this study before,
44:59
but I just want to remind us again so that we
45:04
know. So that you know, give undue pleasure to
45:07
yourself, wanting to purify what has been purified.
45:11
Because you cannot purify what has been purified.
45:15
Glory to Jesus. You see that? He was told, he
45:20
said, for both, Hebrews 2, 11, for both he who
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sanctifies and those who are being sanctified,
45:28
or those who are sanctified. Sanctified means
45:31
to be purified. Are we together? To be made a
45:35
saint. That is from the word saint. That is,
45:39
you are pure. He said, who is the one that sanctifies?
45:45
He said, he that sanctifies. Are we together?
45:49
It is Christ that sanctifies, not you. So when
45:53
you go back to this verse, John, he said, and
45:57
everyone who has this hope in him himself purified
46:02
just as he is pure. And when you see verse 2
46:13
talks about we will be like him, that's exactly
46:17
What Philippians 3 is talking about. What Philippians
46:22
is talking about. That he will change. Are we
46:28
together? He will change. Philippians 3 .20.
46:34
Let me read 20 and 21. It's in our citizenship.
46:52
It's in heaven from which we also eagerly wait
46:56
for the Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
47:01
think it is somewhere else. You are currently
47:03
now in heaven. Are we together? He said we are
47:08
raised together. We team and seated together.
47:12
Are we together? In the heaven. That's where
47:14
you are. And that's where. So this scripture
47:17
is not different from what Romans 8, 11 talks
47:22
about that it is from within. Understand? He
47:27
said from within. He said the spirit that dwelleth
47:30
in you will quicken your mortal body, will give
47:33
life to your mortal body. Jesus is with us. He's
47:39
not coming from somewhere else. The issue of
47:42
resurrection of the body and the coming of Christ
47:45
is not him coming from somewhere. He is with
47:47
us. is disappearing. He said, who, verse 21,
47:54
who will transform our lowly bodies? Did you
47:58
hear that? That's exactly what Romans is saying.
48:01
The spirit that is in you will quicken. He said,
48:05
from heaven we await a savior. That's where you
48:09
are. It's the same where you are. That's where
48:11
we are expecting him to appear. He said he would
48:16
transform our lowly body that we might conform
48:20
to his glorious body according to the working
48:25
by which he is able even to subdue all things
48:30
to himself. So the physical body as I shall say,
48:36
the physical body is constantly. What that means
48:51
is that it's in the image of God. What that means
48:57
is that you are not your own. What that means
49:06
is that you are not your own. You belong to a
49:12
family. That's why if you understand that, you
49:17
cannot be depressed. You cannot say, I don't
49:20
have a sense of belonging. No. It's inherently
49:24
built in you to be part. You are. You belong.
49:30
You belong. Don't say, I don't belong. Of course,
49:37
you don't belong to evil. The plan of God is
49:42
that you belong to this family. He belonged to
49:49
his family. And Jesus came and be the firstborn
49:57
of this family and be the protocos. Are we together?
50:04
And model what we would be in our body. Just
50:10
as in him, so are we in this world. And then
50:21
we notice that we are predestined. We're talking
50:29
about predestination. We're talking about full
50:31
knowledge. We are to foreordain to be in the
50:34
image of God, to belong to a family. This is
50:39
male and female. This is male and female. Image
50:46
of God is a singular, inclusive, collective identity,
50:52
male and female, indicating equality and value
50:58
in essence, in significance. It points us to
51:05
how valuable we are to God. It points us also
51:10
to God's intention for mankind. So image points
51:16
us to value. we have all before God equal value,
51:20
equal essence, equal purpose. It also points
51:25
us to God's intention on the earth is that of
51:33
a building of a family, is that of a relation,
51:36
is that of a connection, not an isolation, not
51:42
an independence, male and female. Not only male.
51:49
So God's intention for the man is the same with
51:52
God's intention for the woman. So you cannot
51:57
come tomorrow and say, no, no, no, no, she cannot
51:59
do certain things. It's only men that should
52:03
do it. No, it's not that way in the agenda of
52:07
God. The agenda of God is that of cooperation.
52:13
Is that one that you come to achieve his purpose.
52:18
You are the image of God as a woman. The man
52:23
is also the image of God. You are the temple
52:26
of God as a woman. The man is equally the temple
52:31
of God. The same identity. No diminution. That
52:41
is God's desire. That is God's intention. That
52:48
is God's doing. That is God's doing. So I wanted
52:59
to just think about all that we have been saying.
53:04
In all the things we have talked about so far
53:10
now. You will see that you need women in the
53:18
south because they are part of God's agenda.
53:21
They are not to be relegated in the south. They
53:25
are not to be treated using culture. Recently
53:31
and often I have been very, very annoyed with
53:34
the way we do wedding in Africa. And it's part
53:37
of the problem and we got to stop it. And the
53:40
children have not been Doing well in teaching
53:42
well in this area. You understand? The woman
53:50
is portrayed as a commodity. You understand?
53:56
It is during our time of wedding that she will
53:58
be sold. In some cultures there are different
54:02
type of... What do you call it? Depending on
54:06
which school she has gone. Depending on what
54:09
level has she stopped. That's how her, what they
54:13
call, bride price. And you will see that upon
54:21
a daughter, precious, the image of God, and they
54:25
are negotiating upon her head. As if she's a
54:28
goat. No, we want to give this. No, we want to
54:32
give that. used to ask where all this while they
54:47
gave birth to her you didn't use culture to name
54:50
her they gave birth to her you understand you
54:54
didn't use culture to send her to school they
54:56
gave birth i mean she she continued all her life
54:59
you never use culture all of a sudden she came
55:02
to to be married then they say in our culture
55:04
where then the culture has become and the most
55:07
unfortunate thing is that this culture it has
55:10
It has transformed. It has metamorphosed. You
55:15
understand? It has moved. The culture, we saw
55:19
that, you see, they will put in culture, Henneking,
55:22
Gulda. In your village, in those that work there,
55:26
you see Gulda. So even in this, they will put
55:34
all kinds of things of modernization. They will
55:39
say culture. Where does the culture? You could
55:41
see the greed of people. No. For God has saved
55:48
my generation. No devil will do that. No devil.
55:53
Even if they sent him, he will not do that. You
55:56
see parents relinquishing their own authority.
55:59
A father will say, no, I'm not the one. Some
56:03
unscrupulous element will be taking decision
56:05
for your daughter at that time. Let me come and
56:07
see that devil. I mean, it's so annoying. It's
56:14
so annoying. You could see greed. You could see
56:18
lack of love. Trying to squeeze things. We need
56:23
to change. Our daughters have suffered so well.
56:28
We need to change those things. It's not the
56:32
issue of change. It has changed. You see? It
56:38
has changed. Nothing is wrong with the culture
56:42
and all those things. As long as, you understand,
56:46
we have a good culture in Africa. We are relational,
56:49
naturally. You understand? But we have imbibed
56:53
certain things that creep into us. You understand?
56:59
To the extent of this. So people will hear me
57:03
say, hey, is that African culture? You understand?
57:07
And then you move from Africa, you go to white
57:09
culture. That's the problem. You say, me, I don't
57:15
bother about anybody. I don't bother about anybody.
57:17
You now move, you and your wife, you go to court
57:21
and wait. Your parents didn't know. You are confused.
57:23
Something is wrong with your head. That means
57:26
you are thinking you are also independent. That's
57:28
another extreme. That's the Western culture now.
57:32
So don't run away from what we are talking about
57:34
culture. You think that we're a gay African culture.
57:37
You now go to another stupid culture. You understand
57:40
what I'm trying to say? No, that's not what we're
57:41
talking about. We're talking about a culture
57:45
that is shaped about love. That is unconditional.
57:49
You understand? That is considerate. In all its
57:54
actions. Whether during wedding or not during
57:57
wedding. You understand? We're talking about
57:59
a culture that treats each and everyone with
58:03
dignity. That we treat our sisters with dignity.
58:07
We treat also just the same way we treat our
58:10
brothers because they are equal before God with
58:12
value. They are both made in the image of God.
58:21
That's what God desires for his children. That
58:26
we shouldn't be wicked. We should let love, unconditional
58:31
love. that we're looking for to develop others,
58:35
that every decision we're taking, we're not thinking
58:37
to harm anyone. We're not thinking to take advantage
58:41
of another person. Whether the person is knowledgeable
58:46
or not, whether the person understands, we cannot
58:51
take advantage of another person. They ignore
58:55
us. Some of us leaders, God has given to us advantages.
59:00
Don't use such advantage. To cheat another person.
59:05
Don't take advantage of sisters. Don't take advantage
59:08
of. Also brothers. Just because they didn't know.
59:12
You just take advantage of it. Know. What God
59:17
is teaching us. In this season. He has made us.
59:22
As leaders. We are not different. From those.
59:29
Whom God have. Given us opportunity. To preside
59:34
over. We are not lords. We are leaders. We lead
59:38
by example. We lead by example. We lead by example.
59:45
And I'm talking to sisters as we lose. You understand?
59:51
Don't look down on yourself. I want you to see
59:54
yourself as God sees you. I want you to speak
59:58
as God sees you. Speak. In the image. He made
1:00:03
you. Tell yourself I have value. As we said.
1:00:08
You understand. The value. Marriage is good.
1:00:13
If you are doing it. Do it to the glory of God.
1:00:16
But that doesn't mean. It's not a must. You must
1:00:18
do it. You understand. But if you are not doing
1:00:22
it. Do it also for the glory of God. Those people
1:00:27
who refused to marry. They didn't. They didn't
1:00:29
refuse to marry. Because of selfishness. It's
1:00:32
not because they are angry with men. Or it's
1:00:35
not because they were angry with women. When
1:00:38
Paul refused to get married and Barnabas, you
1:00:41
understand? It's not because they were angry
1:00:43
with women. That the women did them shaky. They
1:00:48
say, we will not marry again. But that's not
1:00:51
what they said. But the reason why they did not
1:00:55
get married, we read it in 1 Corinthians 9. Even
1:00:57
in the book we are reading. It was consecration.
1:01:01
They waive that right for the sake of the gospel.
1:01:04
As I said, whether you get married or not get
1:01:06
married, you should do it for the sake of God's
1:01:10
kingdom. But don't get married because you want
1:01:12
to have honor. No, no, no. You are getting it
1:01:15
wrong. That means you have not understood that
1:01:17
you are in the image of God. Don't get married
1:01:21
because you want to be... Because they told you,
1:01:26
you know, women who are not married, they are
1:01:28
not... They are not, what do you call this? They
1:01:33
are not respected. No, not at all. So that is
1:01:40
the desire of God for us. And I pray that the
1:01:42
Lord will continue to help us. We'll continue
1:01:44
to explore in this. We just scratched some facts.
1:01:47
Of course, we are going to come. Because the
1:01:49
prayer taught us some time ago. You understand?
1:01:51
Quoting from Philippians. You understand? Paul
1:01:54
was talking about to repeat again and again to
1:01:57
you is safe to you. We are coming back to it
1:02:00
to dig deep on these thoughts and concepts in
1:02:05
the sense of the image of God and to see much
1:02:08
more how God desires us to live based according
1:02:12
to how he sees us. Hallelujah. Thank you for
1:02:18
listening to today's sermon. Your journey matters
1:02:21
to us. Let's keep walking together. Visit our
1:02:25
website for more resources and follow us on social
1:02:29
media to stay updated. Feel free to check the
1:02:32
show notes for additional insights. If today's
1:02:36
message was a blessing, share it with a friend.
1:02:39
Till next time, be blessed.