Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / Standing Fast in the Faith

Transcript

Standing Fast in the Faith · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

0:01
Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
0:06
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
0:09
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
0:13
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
0:17
right in. Heavenly Father. Thank you, Heavenly
0:23
Father. Thank you, Heavenly Father. In the mighty
0:28
name of Jesus. Jesus speaking to his disciples,
0:32
he said, most assuredly, I say to you, most assuredly,
0:36
I say to you, most assuredly, I say to you, most
0:40
assuredly, I say to you. When someone is speaking,
0:42
you listen. When someone says most assuredly,
0:45
in their time, that will be truly, truly, that
0:48
will be like twice. The word will, I think another
0:51
translation, I want you to give us on the King
0:53
James. Verily, verily, or truly, truly. The ESV
0:59
will say, truly, truly, this is verily, verily.
1:03
Verily, verily. It's like someone calling your
1:04
name once and calling your name again to get
1:07
your attention, to bring you to this consciousness
1:09
that this is important. And we'll see that this
1:12
is unique to the gospel of John. We'll see about
1:18
in 25 verses, you see this exactly as it is.
1:24
Moses, surely I say to you, verily, verily I
1:26
say to you. You see this happen several times.
1:29
And it's a cue for something important. It's
1:32
a cue for something worth noting. In the teaching,
1:37
I will go further and explain that. But I'm setting
1:39
the stage for us to understand that we need to
1:42
pay attention, right? We need to pay attention.
1:44
And we're in a day and age where people lose
1:48
attention. People don't pay attention. People
1:50
can be looking at you. A person can be looking
1:52
at you, but their minds are far and in a distant
1:55
land. And attention is, we most times pursue,
2:02
we want to get attention, but we don't want to
2:05
give it. We don't want to give it. The world
2:09
is revolving around people seeking to be noticed,
2:12
people seeking to be known, people seeking clicks,
2:15
likes, and follows, or subscribers, people seeking
2:21
all of that. One very key thing and one very
2:26
important thing that's very foundational to understanding
2:28
is giving attention or paying attention. Giving
2:33
attention or paying attention. And in this year,
2:36
God is demanding that we pay attention to his
2:39
word. He's demanding that we pay attention to
2:42
the disciplines that will account for our growth.
2:46
Pay attention to the things that he's speaking,
2:48
the things he has spoken, the things that he's
2:50
still speaking. You are paying attention to the
2:53
prophecies that you have received, paying attention
2:58
to it so that you are able to partner with God
3:02
to see its fulfillment. And the whole of Scripture
3:07
is littered around with this whole idea or this
3:11
concept of having to give attention, to be attentive.
3:16
Proverbs 4, 1, 2. Two, it says, hear my children
3:24
the instruction of a father and give attention
3:28
to no understanding. Give attention to no understanding.
3:34
For I give you good doctrine. Don't forsake my
3:39
law. Give attention to no understanding. Give
3:45
attention to no understanding. If you want to
3:47
understand, you have to give attention. You have
3:49
to pay attention. You don't understand by being
3:53
passive. You don't understand by being casual.
3:59
You understand by paying or giving attention.
4:03
Praise God. And in Proverbs 2, verse 1 to 5,
4:07
it says, My son, if you receive my words and
4:12
treasure my commands within you, so that you...
4:16
If you receive my words and treasure my commands
4:18
within you so that you incline your ear to wisdom
4:21
and apply your heart to understanding. Yes, if
4:24
you cry out for discernment and lift up your
4:28
voice for understanding. If you seek her as silver
4:32
and search for her as hidden treasures, then
4:35
you understand the fear of the Lord and find
4:38
the knowledge of God. There is this inclining
4:43
your ear. to the wisdom, applying your heart
4:46
to understanding. There's this, every part of
4:49
you has to be involved in it. You don't just
4:51
give me your ear. You want to give God your ear.
4:55
You want to give him your heart. You want to
4:56
give him your full attention. Because when someone
5:00
has your full attention, they will not miss a
5:04
thing. Praise God. You will not miss a thing.
5:07
You will not miss a thing. And scripture continues
5:10
to communicate this strongly to us that Paying
5:13
attention is foundational to understanding. Paying
5:16
attention is foundational to growth. Anybody
5:19
that wants to grow in fact in a specific area,
5:24
you want to give attention to that area for you
5:27
to see growth. You can't just be aiming everywhere
5:30
and expecting to grow everywhere. Paying attention
5:34
means that you are focused. Paying attention
5:36
means that you are single -minded. You're not
5:39
all over the place. When someone is not paying
5:41
attention, the word for it is that they are distracted.
5:45
And for many of us, our walk with God is full
5:48
of distractions. If I ask you to reflect on 2025,
5:53
you will remember all the times you were distracted,
5:55
on the things that you had planned to do, you
5:58
had prayed, you had prepared, on the day of execution,
6:02
you found yourself doing another thing. Or you
6:04
find yourself doing something else. And then
6:06
when you finish, you say, Lord, I'm sorry. And
6:08
then you come back again and then you repeat
6:10
the cycle. It's almost like the cycle just comes
6:12
back again. But we see in that same Proverbs
6:15
4, when you read down, I want us to read down,
6:20
I think, from 20, 420. 420, I think. The minister
6:31
don't mind. Oh, the song. My son, pay attention
6:37
to my words. In fact, that's the song that comes
6:40
out when you're reading this Proverbs. Pay attention
6:43
to my words. Incline your heart to my sayings.
6:47
Do not let them depart from your eyes. Keep them
6:52
in the midst of your heart. For they are life
6:55
to those who find them. They are health to all
6:58
their flesh. Keep your heart. with all diligence,
7:03
for out of it springs the issues of life. Put
7:08
away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse
7:14
lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight
7:18
ahead. Let your eyelids look right before you.
7:24
Ponder the patch of your feet, and let all your
7:29
ways be. established. Don't turn to the right
7:34
or to the left. Remove your foot from evil. I
7:41
would like us to read 1 and 2. That is chapters
7:43
1 and 2. Chapters 5 starts off with my son again.
7:51
Pay attention to my wisdom. Lend your ear to
7:58
my understanding. that you may preserve discretion
8:03
and your lips may keep knowledge. We see that
8:08
there's a repeated theme in this particular area,
8:10
in the passages that we've read, it starts off,
8:15
he encourages his son to pay attention, to give
8:19
attention. And this is a theme repeated and scattered
8:23
through. scriptures, you find it. It says wisdom
8:26
actually demands that you deliberately pursue
8:30
it. You don't stumble on wisdom. Wisdom doesn't
8:35
stumble to you. You look for it. You find it.
8:40
You give attention to it. You hold on to it.
8:44
You hold fast to it. And then you treasure it.
8:48
Some of us receive things and we don't treasure
8:52
the things that we have received. We take it
8:55
casual. We incline our hearts towards understanding
8:59
it. We seek insight and we intensify our desire
9:05
for it. We look at it. The way a gold miner mines
9:13
for gold, they dig. They investigate. They look
9:16
around. They search. They clean the dirt. They
9:18
get dirty. They get rough trying to do that.
9:22
And once they have found the gold, the search
9:25
doesn't stop because there is more gold to find.
9:28
Praise God. There is more gold to find. And God's
9:31
word is gold and God wants us to treasure it.
9:35
God wants us to treasure it. We incline ourselves
9:38
to it. We apply our hearts to it. So there's
9:40
always something to do. There's always something
9:42
to do. There's always something to do. And I
9:45
want to just put this in as we're talking about
9:47
it. When Pastor, if I was leading us in prayer,
9:49
he dropped it in. This is the 18th of January.
9:54
This is the 18th of January. I want to ask you,
9:57
you know, many people still do this thing of,
10:00
okay, this is a new year. I want to do something.
10:02
I want to do a new year, new me. I want to do
10:05
things differently this year. And then they say,
10:08
okay. I'm going to try. Last year, I couldn't
10:10
complete my Bible, the canonical. I want to do
10:13
better this year. If you want to do better this
10:17
year, and we are on the 18th of January, first
10:21
and foremost, doing better will mean that you
10:23
should be on the plan, the one we are together
10:25
as a church. Some people will say, sir, there's
10:28
a personal plan I do. Yes, there's a personal
10:30
plan you do. How do we... How are you accountable
10:33
in that personal plan? How we can know that you're
10:36
accountable because you already are used to doing
10:38
it. So what you'll just do is that you'll join
10:41
us and then we'll be able to hold ourselves accountable
10:44
together. That's one. Two, where we've started,
10:47
this is the 18. And the question is, are you
10:50
playing catch up? Because if you're playing catch
10:52
up, you know, some people have been doing catch
10:54
up since last year. Now is a new... It's a new
10:57
plan. If you're going to do catch up again, it
11:01
shouldn't be 18 days. We're now still doing 15
11:04
days. Not behind by 15 days. It means that if
11:09
you want to start off to do better, it means
11:13
that you should be closing in. We can be in day
11:17
18 and then it's bad enough that we're doing
11:21
like three days missed, four days missed. If
11:26
it's 10 days missed, it means that you have not
11:27
learned your lesson from the past year. Praise
11:30
God. And I'm saying this to say that little things
11:34
like this are the micro changes that you make
11:37
for the macro changes to occur. Praise God. They
11:42
are the micro changes that you make for the macro
11:44
changes to occur. I'm saying this and looking
11:45
into the eyes of some people. They are the micro
11:48
changes you make for the macro changes to occur.
11:51
You don't just arrive at here. You move slowly
11:55
and you can make mistakes or you can skip, but
12:00
let it not be too far apart. Let your recovery
12:02
time be shorter this year. Praise God. Let your
12:06
recovery time or let the days apart be shorter.
12:09
Some people, I was horrified to see that they
12:11
had like 100 and something days in last year.
12:14
And this year, there is no 100 and something.
12:16
There is no catch up this year. Praise God. It
12:20
means that if you want to. If you want to do
12:23
better, you have to plan. You don't stumble into
12:27
it. You want to say, I want to pay attention
12:29
to my study of God's Word. I want to see that
12:33
there's an improvement from what used to happen
12:36
before. Yes, I'm up to date, but how am I internalizing
12:41
what I'm receiving? That is the step further.
12:44
I think one way, Brother Gabriel was leading
12:47
us in prayer one time. He says, yes, there are
12:49
nine gifts of the Spirit. If you are doing eight,
12:52
there's one more. If you are doing one, there's
12:54
eight more. If you are doing five, there's four
12:57
more. It means that anywhere you find yourself,
13:00
there's more. Meaning that if you have been doing
13:03
it successfully, you want to put in a challenge
13:07
to it. Say this year, I'm going to add more fasting
13:12
to it. I'm going to add more of intense study
13:16
to it to challenge myself, to enable myself to
13:20
do. Because there's actually a consequence of
13:24
not paying. There's a big consequence to not
13:26
paying attention. Praise God. There are consequences
13:29
to not paying attention. I think I will give
13:33
an illustration with, I think, this semester
13:37
that just ended. Even in your everyday life,
13:42
if you don't pay attention, you pay for it daily.
13:46
I'd given announcements to all the students,
13:48
stated, okay, this is how you're going to do
13:51
it. This is the venue for the exams. And I walked
13:54
into an exam hall and I saw a particular student
13:56
in the wrong exam, writing the wrong examination.
14:00
And this student looks at me and I said, I looked
14:02
and I'm able to tell that this student shouldn't
14:04
be in this examination. I looked into the student's
14:07
eye. I said, you shouldn't be in this exam. She
14:09
looks, the student looks at me and tells me,
14:11
thank you, Hojam. And then I'm thinking to myself,
14:14
I was like. I don't have time. I have like different
14:16
rooms to attend to. I can't explain to the student
14:18
again that they're in the wrong class after telling
14:21
me thank you and not doing anything about it.
14:24
And then I'm thinking to myself that if you continue
14:28
and finish the entire exam, I hope you know that
14:31
the consequences that you have zero because the
14:33
courses are not the same. And then you have people
14:36
giving or you're doing work, but you're doing
14:42
work. in the wrong direction. And for some of
14:47
us, last year we were busy. We were very busy.
14:52
We were doing a lot of things. But we were not
14:56
in church. We were not in the Word. We were not
14:59
found in a place of prayer. We were nowhere,
15:02
but we were everywhere. Praise God. I want to
15:07
challenge you that you want to look And see,
15:11
paying attention is not just examining your life
15:13
and doing nothing about it. Because most of us
15:15
have examined our lives. And we have seen that
15:18
there is a problem in this area and this area.
15:20
But we are just locked in the habit of living
15:26
things the way that they are. This is my challenge
15:29
to us. That there is more, right? There is more.
15:34
There is more. There is more. And I think in
15:37
the passage that was read to us, I think on Wednesday,
15:40
when Pastor Victor was teaching us, he read to
15:46
us from Hebrew. And in Hebrews 2, he mentioned
15:52
something. He says, Hebrews 2 is one. He says,
15:55
therefore, we must give more earnest heed. I
15:59
like the way he emphasizes more. earnest heed
16:03
to the things that we have heard. More earnest
16:07
heed to the things that we have heard. Lest we
16:10
drift away. Lest we drift away. You're giving
16:15
heed to the things you have heard so that you
16:16
make progress. In fact, it didn't just say give
16:18
heed to the things. It said more earnest heed
16:23
to the things that you have heard. And for some
16:26
of us, we have been hearing, hearing, hearing.
16:30
It's a broken record. We've been hearing and
16:32
hearing, but we still have not decided that this
16:37
is the time it will end. What I believe God is
16:40
going to be doing to us or doing in us in this
16:42
season is that he's going to be stirring the
16:44
desire. We're going to look at, as we prayed,
16:47
we're going to see examples, as we saw in the
16:49
passage in 1 Timothy 4. We're going to see examples
16:54
that will challenge us. We're going to see people
16:56
around us, and God is going to put us in that
16:58
place where we'll be challenged to insist on
17:02
change. Insist on change. That we will not drift.
17:06
Some people drift and drift and drift, and to
17:09
come back, it's like a little slow fade, slow
17:11
fade, and before you know it, there's nothing.
17:15
Jesus Christ speaking in Luke 18. I want us to
17:18
go to Luke 8, Luke 8, 18. Luke 8, 18, it says,
17:28
Therefore take heed how you hear. Take heed how
17:34
you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be
17:43
given, and whoever does not have, even that which
17:47
he seems to have, will be taken from him. Even
17:57
the things you do have, you can lose it if you
17:59
don't apply yourself to it. Some of us, we just,
18:04
we regress a bit and when we come back, it's
18:07
like it's new to us. Because you have regressed
18:13
or you have held back a bit. Means that if you
18:18
don't consistently pay attention, you're going
18:22
to lose already gained grounds. You're going
18:24
to lose already gained grounds. If you don't
18:26
consistently pay attention, you will miss something
18:29
that you will struggle to catch up with. It's
18:33
like if you don't pay attention in the whole
18:34
of the semester, when you fail, you have to pay
18:38
for another semester. It means that it will cost
18:40
you. It will cost you. It means that you don't
18:43
want to give yourself, you want to really pay
18:46
attention to what is happening so that you don't
18:49
miss out. You don't miss out. I want us to go
18:53
to the first Timothy. First Timothy 4. First
19:02
Timothy 4. We'll start from 13. First Timothy
19:09
4. We'll start from 13. It says, Till I come,
19:11
give attention to reading. Till I come, give
19:17
attention to reading, to exaltation, to doctrine.
19:22
Give attention to doctrine, that is teaching.
19:25
Do not neglect the gift which is in you, which
19:30
has been given to you by prophecy by the laying
19:33
on of hands of the eldership. 15 now says, meditate
19:39
on these things. Give yourself entirely to them.
19:43
Notice he says, give yourself entirely to them.
19:47
He didn't say partly. He didn't say somehowly.
19:52
He says entirely to them that your progress may
19:56
be evident to all. It means that what we'll see
19:59
as a result is progress, right? What we'll see
20:01
as a result is you'll get better. What we'll
20:04
see as a result is that you will not struggle
20:07
to catch it or to understand when it's being
20:10
taught. It means that your progress will be evident
20:13
to all. 16 now says take heed to yourself and
20:18
to the doctrine, which is teaching. Continue
20:22
in them. For in doing this, you will save both
20:26
yourself and those who hear you. So it means
20:30
that your making progress is not going to be
20:33
beneficial to you alone. Even people around you.
20:35
In the prayers that we're saying, it's now not
20:38
we or you're looking forward to who will encourage
20:41
you. It's now you encouraging someone else because
20:44
you yourself have been encouraged. Praise God.
20:48
You have been encouraged. And time and time again,
20:51
the purpose or the plan for God is not for everyone
20:57
to be needing, right? Everyone to always, God,
21:01
what is it for me today? What do you have for
21:07
me today? That kind of work is what we are here
21:14
encouraging you not to. Give yourself to praise
21:19
God. The work should be such that you will say,
21:23
what do you want me to do? That is someone that
21:27
is paying attention. Someone that is paying attention
21:31
will be like, there is work to be done. I am
21:35
availing myself for that work that needs to be
21:37
done. But someone that is needing attention will
21:41
wake up and say, what do you have for me today?
21:44
I want... You know, I have fees that are not
21:47
paid. But someone that is paying attention will
21:51
see the pattern. The way your fees have been
21:55
coming from last year, it has been miraculous.
21:59
But it has been coming. So it means that you
22:02
don't want to give your attention to that, but
22:06
focus your attention on the work that he's instructing
22:10
you to do. So we see that it's very... practical
22:14
either benefits or consequences to it. There
22:20
are practical benefits or consequences to it.
22:22
And I want us to pick something from the parable
22:26
of the sower, right? And this further exemplifies
22:29
or illustrates the matter. Because when people
22:34
hear spiritual truths and they don't understand
22:38
it or they don't heed it, there is There are
22:43
things that can happen. There are things, there
22:46
are consequences, or there are things that they
22:48
can allow themselves to give heed to that will
22:51
distract them from the truth. Because if the
22:53
truth that you have received doesn't take root,
22:56
you will not see the fruit of it. Praise God.
22:59
You will not see the fruit of it. And it's very
23:01
important that we don't undermine the things
23:04
that God is exposing us to, the things that God
23:06
is teaching us, the things that He's helping
23:08
us to come into understanding of. I want us to
23:10
see it from a sense where I want to see this
23:13
from Matthew 13. Matthew 13 from verse 9. It
23:28
starts off with, He who has ears to hear, let
23:32
him hear. 10 now says, And the disciples came
23:37
and said to him, Why? Do you speak to them in
23:42
parables? He answered and said to them, Because
23:46
it has been given to you to know the mysteries
23:50
of the kingdom of heaven. But to them it has
23:56
not been given. For whoever has to him more will
24:01
be given. have abundance, but whoever does not
24:07
have, even that which he has will be taken away
24:11
from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables,
24:15
because seeing they do not see, and hearing they
24:19
do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them
24:22
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,
24:26
Hearing you will not hear, and shall not understand
24:30
and see, you will see and not perceive. For the
24:35
hands of his people have grown dull, their ears
24:39
are hard of hearing, and their eyes have been
24:42
closed, lest they should see with their eyes
24:51
and hear with their ears, lest they should understand
24:55
with their hearts and tongue. So I will... so
24:58
I should heal them. 16. But blessed are your
25:04
eyes for they see, your ears for they hear. 17
25:11
now says, For assuredly I say to you that many
25:17
prophets and righteous men desire to see what
25:21
you see and they not see it and hear what you
25:23
hear and they not hear it. 18 now comes to the
25:27
explanation. Therefore, hear the parable of the
25:30
sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom
25:34
and does not understand it, then the wicked one
25:37
comes and snatches away what has been sown in
25:40
his heart. This is he who received seed by the
25:46
wayside. But he who received the seed on stony
25:50
places is the one who hears the word and immediately
25:54
perceives and receives it with joy. Yet he has
25:59
no root in himself but endures only for a while.
26:03
For when tribulations or persecutions arises
26:06
because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
26:09
Now he who receives seed among the tons is he
26:14
who hears the word, and the cares of the world
26:17
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word.
26:20
And he becomes unfruitful. 23. But he who receives
26:29
seed on the good ground is he who hears the word
26:32
and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and
26:36
produces a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirteen.
26:41
Praise God. So, we want to be people who receive.
26:49
the Word with enthusiasm and allow it to take
26:52
root in us without letting things choke the Word.
26:57
We can read this in the different accounts in
27:00
Luke 8, which we had read earlier, the ending
27:04
part of it, from 4 to 15, and Mark 4, 1 to 9.
27:09
It means that genuine fruitfulness requires not
27:13
just you, hearing but there's the vigilance or
27:17
there's the consistent engagement what you're
27:20
receiving and allowing it to take root that results
27:22
in the growth that we are believing to see and
27:27
we see that in the proverbs that we read and
27:30
remember we read proverbs 4 23 where we see that
27:34
the heart has to be diligent right you have to
27:39
guard your heart with all diligence right Guard
27:41
your heart, keep your heart with all diligence,
27:43
for out of it springs the issue of life. Meaning
27:46
that if you are not guarding the Word, guarding
27:50
it, and I want us to notice that when you are
27:55
being taught something, and then you go outside
27:59
and heed the opposite or something different
28:03
from what it is you've been taught, you're undermining
28:05
what you have been taught. Praise God. You have
28:09
been taught about... your identity in Christ,
28:12
and someone comes and tells you, like, something
28:14
else. Know that it's going to undermine what
28:18
you have understood. You held on to it, but you
28:20
let go of it. And for many of us, there are many
28:24
things that are even more detrimental, where
28:26
you have heard about this, you believed it, in
28:29
fact, you saw the fruits of it. And then you
28:32
go, and then you listen to something else, and
28:34
you allow that thing to take root. The consequences
28:37
are there because you didn't pay attention. You
28:40
didn't heed. You didn't even notice. You didn't
28:43
understand that this thing you are entertaining
28:45
will affect you on the long run. And note that
28:50
this, your attention is able to shape your life
28:55
in ways, which is what the Proverbs are saying.
28:57
It's able to shape your lives in ways that you
29:00
can't even imagine. And for some of us, it's
29:02
because we're allowing, we don't have filters.
29:06
And we are in a world where everybody now just
29:09
allows anything to go through. We don't have
29:12
guards. We don't have filters. We just allow
29:15
whatever it is that is flying around, just come
29:18
and sit on us. And once it sits, the fruits,
29:24
the same way the word of God takes root in your
29:27
life and the fruit is evident, the same way once
29:29
the errors or the wrong things flying around,
29:33
once it sits, the... manifestations of it will
29:36
be very evident. Praise God. It will be very
29:39
evident. So paying attention to Scripture is
29:43
not just a minor spiritual discipline, right?
29:46
It's a gateway through which all the growth that
29:50
is needed, all the possible things that is needed
29:52
to be manifest in our life is made available.
29:56
And it's not something you don't just... Most
30:01
of us don't actually... look at the areas that
30:06
need immediate care and attention we allow things
30:10
to go out of hand and then we now react to it
30:16
when it goes out of hand we find ourselves reacting
30:19
to the circumstance or reacting to the difficulties
30:23
but what should change in this year is we want
30:27
to not just assess the situation but walk towards
30:31
ensuring that we constantly make it a habit to
30:37
continue in the new things or in the things that
30:40
God is laying our hearts to because we're going
30:42
to be getting instructions. Instructions are
30:44
coming. Instructions will continue to come. We
30:46
want to be consistent. We want to be regular
30:48
because it's in your consistency and your regularity
30:52
that you are able to see the areas and heed the
30:56
word and get the instructions and make progress.
31:00
And in this season, building capacity is, paying
31:03
attention is inevitable when you are wanting
31:06
to build capacity. Paying attention is one thing
31:10
that is inevitable, meaning that you have to
31:12
focus steadily towards the area that needs attention.
31:17
And for most of us, it's all around information
31:20
because it's information that guarantees that
31:23
we understand. If you don't have information,
31:27
you'll be lacking understanding. And if you lack
31:29
understanding, you are very much in a disadvantaged
31:33
position and to result in no growth or growth
31:37
in the areas that is not important. Praise God.
31:40
Because many of us are having a lot of information,
31:42
we're growing in areas that are not as important
31:45
as the areas that demand our immediate attention.
31:49
Praise God. And we want to be like... a detective,
31:55
as the Proverbs was talking, how you are investigating,
31:59
you are focusing and trying to find clues. Yes,
32:02
you know, but you are not allowing what you know
32:05
cloud the things that you are taking or you are
32:09
receiving. Because in it lies clues or things
32:13
that you will learn while you are at it. Praise
32:16
God. For some of us, we come to, we pay attention
32:20
and we hold on to the things that we know. and
32:27
push away the things that we don't agree with
32:29
very quickly. And that in itself doesn't allow
32:32
us to make room to understand what is being taught.
32:36
Because once you are so critical of everything
32:40
that you hear, that you miss out on the truths
32:44
that is coming to you, there's still not going
32:46
to be any progress. Praise God. We want to be
32:48
people that you have a filter. But you're open
32:54
to allow what exactly it is that you're hearing
32:57
pass through that filter. Praise God. Because
33:00
if it doesn't pass through the filter, you never
33:01
got it. And if you don't understand it, you're
33:04
not going to make any progress in and along that
33:07
line. So you are looking for clues and you're
33:10
hoping and expecting to learn something new.
33:13
Praise God. And I want to share a story of someone
33:16
that I think a couple of us are familiar with.
33:19
Because his wife became a believer. And he's
33:24
a journalist. His wife became a believer. And
33:26
because of his wife becoming a believer, he decided
33:29
to investigate the faith. He, as a journalist,
33:35
took on the research of finding out about Christianity,
33:40
finding out whether this Jesus Christ actually
33:43
existed and finding out whether he actually died.
33:47
And note that in his research or in his investigation,
33:50
he had to hear both sides. and had to sift through
33:56
the information given, and he arrived at a conclusion.
33:58
At the end of the day, his journey was from that
34:01
of a skeptic to that of a convinced believer.
34:05
Praise God. Meaning that he started off as a
34:08
skeptic, and he didn't allow what he understood
34:12
of it to deny him the privilege of learning something.
34:16
And he learned, and the man now is a convinced
34:20
believer, and as a result of that, he had written
34:25
a book, or several books now, because I checked
34:28
up just to confirm, that he has now several books.
34:31
And his book now is one of those, is a very powerful
34:36
tool in Christian apologetics because of the
34:39
research that he has done in ensuring that. there's
34:42
a proper like in communicating his findings so
34:45
that other people will be able to know what he
34:48
had learned that brought him to the faith and
34:51
christian apologetics for those of us that probably
34:53
are not aware of what or this is the first time
34:55
hearing christian apologetics the the word apologetics
34:59
i think we know what christian is i shouldn't
35:00
be defining what christian is we know what apologetics
35:02
is apologetics is derived from the greek word
35:05
apologia And it means to give a verbal defense
35:09
or a speech in defense or a reasoned statement
35:13
or argument. Apologia, I'll spell it if it's
35:18
apology. Just instead of apology, you write apologia.
35:21
The apologetics is the same spelling, but it
35:24
ends with jetics. That's E -P -O -L -O -G -E
35:29
-T -I -C -S. Then apologia is the same spelling
35:33
with an I -A. A -P -O -L -O -G -I -A. And it
35:40
just simply means to give a verbal defense, simply
35:43
means to, as a speech in defense or a reason
35:47
statement of argument. And when we say argument,
35:50
most people would think of argument as violent
35:53
argument. You know, some people don't have, the
35:56
argument has to be, it almost would look like
35:59
it's physical. But this is the argument in. Like
36:03
you are defending a stance. I think the people
36:06
in the court of law will understand because it's
36:08
a courtroom. It's a term, courtroom. And I want
36:12
us to see, because we're going to look at defense.
36:16
Because if you don't pay attention, you will
36:19
not have understanding. And once you don't have
36:21
understanding, you cannot give a defense of why
36:25
you believe what you believe in. Remember, you...
36:32
You didn't stumble. You heard something to come
36:37
to the knowledge of the truth. And what you had
36:41
heard is what convinced you. The person actually
36:45
had presented something to you, made a defense
36:47
of why he believes what he believes, and then
36:52
you bought into that whole idea, and then you
36:54
now became a believer. Praise God. In 1 Peter
36:57
3 .15, 1 Peter 3 .15 says, But sanctify the Lord
37:05
in your hearts. And always be ready to give a
37:09
defense. Always be ready to give a defense to
37:13
everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope
37:18
that is in you. With meekness and fear. With
37:23
meekness and fear. So he says always be ready.
37:27
Always be ready. Turn to your neighbor and say
37:30
this year. I am always ready. I am always ready
37:35
to give a defense for the reason of the hope
37:41
that is in me. And I do it with meekness and
37:47
fear. Amen. I think the song of a battle ready.
37:55
So you want to always be ready. Praise God. You
38:00
want to always be ready. You can be a believer.
38:02
And because what is going on, it's a warfare,
38:07
right? Even right now, in this world and this
38:11
day and this age, everything is competing for
38:13
attention. So it's really a battlefield. Everyone
38:17
is competing. There's a whole lot of money that
38:21
goes into this whole idea of wanting to get your
38:24
attention, into media. A lot of money goes into
38:27
media. The way they design things to take your
38:30
attention or to get your attention, it's they
38:32
are really paying attention to how you pay attention
38:35
to get your attention. That just came here. So
38:39
they are really putting a lot of work into it
38:42
and you have a responsibility to pay attention
38:45
to the things that you pay attention to so that
38:48
nothing steals your attention, but rather you
38:50
give your attention to the things that demands
38:53
your attention. Praise God. There's a lot of
38:55
attention in the statement, but I hope we get
38:58
the point. Praise God. And we're going to look
39:01
at a bit while we close. We're going to look
39:04
at a bit, look at Apostle Paul's, the way Apostle
39:09
Paul carries out his defense. We're going to
39:11
analyze it a bit in closing. In Acts 22 verse
39:15
1, Acts 22 verse 1, I want us to listen and see.
39:25
Yeah, he says, brethren and fathers, hear my
39:31
defense before you now. Notice, Paul, you remember
39:34
we said with meekness and what? Fear. Notice
39:39
the way he acknowledges the audience that he's
39:42
making a defense. He says, hear my defense before
39:46
you. Next verse, we're going to, I think, get
39:49
to probably five, six or so. See, and when they...
39:53
When they heard that he spoke to them in Hebrew
39:57
language, they kept all the more silent than
40:02
he said. Praise God. I want you to notice something.
40:06
Please, while I'm going through the verses, I'll
40:08
be bringing out points for us to note. Note that
40:11
in making his defense, he had to communicate
40:15
in a language that they would listen. that will
40:20
demand the attention. So it means that when you
40:22
are making a defense, you want to make that defense
40:25
in something that the other person can understand.
40:28
You can't be, a Turkish person can't be making
40:31
a defense to you in the language if you don't
40:33
understand. You will just be looking at them
40:35
and not understanding. So know that people will
40:38
listen to you or you get the attention of the
40:41
other person by communicating in a language that...
40:44
So, next verse. He says, I am indeed a Jew, born
40:50
in Tarsus of Sicilia, but brought up in this
40:58
city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according
41:00
to the strictness of our father's law, and was
41:03
zealous towards God as you are all today. Notice
41:08
that he also introduces himself. One other thing
41:13
that we do when we are trying to, we just meet
41:15
the person. Hello, brother. just run to whatever
41:20
it is you want to make them understand that,
41:24
okay, you're a person, your name is this, you're
41:26
this, and that, and that. All of those things
41:28
aid the conversation. A person will know that,
41:32
they will kind of get to know you before you
41:34
say the things that you have to say. And sometimes
41:38
it's very important that we do these things because
41:40
it goes a long way in ensuring that what your
41:44
defense is heard. Praise God. Your defense is
41:48
heard. Then in 3 and go down, it says, I persecuted
41:53
this way to the death, binding and delivering
41:56
into prison both men and women. So he didn't
41:59
just, he tells them that he's part of them and
42:05
he did work. He also explains to them the training
42:11
he had received and his commitment to the cause.
42:15
He uses, we see that in the three and the four
42:18
that we're looking at, that he had introduced
42:22
himself, described his training, and explained
42:26
his commitment to the cause. And we see in verse
42:28
five, let's look at verse five. He says, as also
42:31
the high priest bears me weakness and all the
42:34
council of elders, from whom I also received
42:37
letters to the brethren and went to Damascus
42:39
to bring. in chains, even those who were there
42:44
to Jerusalem to be punished. So he also now has
42:47
proof. Like he tells you, okay, the things I've
42:51
done, these people are weaknesses. They can confirm
42:54
the credibility of what my defense, the credibility
42:57
of what I'm saying or the credibility of who
42:59
I was because he's no longer that anymore. Then
43:03
let's go to six. It says, and it happened that
43:07
as I journeyed and came near Damascus, At about
43:12
noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone
43:15
around me. 7. And I fell to the ground and heard
43:20
a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you
43:23
persecuting me? So I answered, Who are you, Lord?
43:27
And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom
43:32
you are persecuting. And I want you to notice
43:34
something that sometimes we read this passage
43:36
and we probably might not notice is the fact
43:39
that Apostle Paul hadn't persecuted Christ, but
43:46
rather his people, right? And when we communicate
43:49
this, our oneness with God, we don't understand
43:52
the extent to it in the sense that he is here
43:56
having, and it's Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus.
44:00
He's a physical person that you'd be like, oh,
44:03
I should know this person because if he's a Nazarene,
44:07
I should have had an encounter. He knows what
44:10
is going on. He says, you're persecuting. Why
44:13
are you persecuting? Whom are you persecuting?
44:14
Then we see in the next verse, it says, and those
44:18
who were with me indeed saw the light and were
44:22
afraid, but they didn't hear the voice of him
44:25
who spoke to me. So it means that they saw light,
44:28
they saw all of those things, but they didn't.
44:30
There was the light, but they didn't hear who
44:32
was speaking. He was the one that was hearing
44:34
what was going on. And then we see him go through
44:37
what, all of this are the things that happened
44:39
in Acts 9. And if you go down to, I think, 20
44:44
or so, we see him also makes reference to...
44:49
him also being part like him he says and when
44:53
the blood of the matthias stephen was shed i
44:56
also was standing by consent to the death and
44:59
guarding the clothes of those who were killing
45:01
him as him as way back as act six seven so we
45:05
see that he had done a lot and this is him explaining
45:09
the encounter that happened to make a defense
45:12
and what he was doing was making a defense of
45:16
his case before them. And I want us to see him
45:19
make another defense. I'll do this in Acts 26,
45:23
Acts 26, 24. Acts 26, 24. It says, now toss and
45:32
toss his defense, which is the same. And this
45:35
is the verb of the apologia. This is the verb
45:38
of apologia. It ends with, it's A -P -O -L -O
45:43
-G. E -O -M -A -I. A -P -O -L -O -G -E -O -M
45:50
-A -I. And he makes, this is the verb form of
45:52
it. So Festus, which is Governor Festus, said
45:55
to him in a loud voice, Paul, you are besides
45:58
yourself. Much learning is driving you mad. Much
46:03
learning is driving you mad. Meaning that what
46:06
Festus is trying to do is undermine... The validity,
46:10
you know, in the court of law, you know, we see
46:12
this all the time. When people want to faint,
46:14
they act mad. Because once the person is mad,
46:18
what they are saying loses credibility. So we
46:21
see him trying to undermine his defense by saying
46:24
he is mad. And understand that other translations
46:28
will say insane or crazy. Insane or crazy. Note
46:32
that Apostle Paul did not take that. from him
46:35
he goes ahead he said in 25 he says but he said
46:39
i am not mad most noble festers notice the fact
46:45
you know when somebody calls you mad some people
46:47
will not take it lightly it's can that meekness
46:50
part of the passage that we read will be out
46:52
of the window But know that in this case, he
46:55
says, I'm not mad. Except if, you know, when
46:57
you say mad is making a difference, then you
46:59
can say, yes, I'm not crazy. I'm not, but I'm
47:03
making a difference. That is M -A -D. But know
47:05
that he's clearly states, he is clearly stating
47:09
that he's not mad because he knows that that
47:11
will undermine his defense. And then he says,
47:14
but speak the words of truth and reason. Speak
47:19
the words of truth and reason. 26. He now says,
47:23
for the king before whom I also speak freely
47:28
knows these things. That is speaking about King
47:32
Agrippa. For I am convinced that none of these
47:36
things escapes his attention. Praise God. None
47:40
of these things escapes his attention since these
47:42
things was not done in a corner. 27. King Agrippa,
47:47
do you believe the prophets? I know that you
47:52
do. Then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuaded
47:57
me to become a Christian. You almost persuaded
48:02
me to become a Christian. That word persuade,
48:05
we'll discuss that on Wednesday. You almost persuaded
48:08
me to become a Christian. And Paul said, I would
48:13
to God that not only you, but also all who hear
48:21
me today. might be, but almost altogether, such
48:26
as I am, except for this change, which is very
48:29
powerful, that he wants all of them to be such
48:33
as he is, except for the change. 13 now says,
48:37
and when he said these things, the king stood
48:39
up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those
48:44
who sat with them. And when they had gone aside,
48:48
he... they talked amongst themselves saying,
48:52
this man is doing nothing deserving of debt or
48:58
change. Then Agrippa said to Festus, this man
49:01
might have been set free if he had not appealed
49:07
to Caesar. So what I want us to notice very quickly
49:10
in closing is that Paul's passion or passionate
49:15
defense of his faith came across to the governor
49:18
Festus as being like, why is this person here
49:21
talking to us about how a light shone, he heard
49:25
the voice of somebody that is dead, all of that.
49:27
That doesn't sound to him as something that is
49:30
saying, that's something that will come from
49:32
him. He just feels that it's all superstition.
49:34
He didn't understand it, but Apostle Paul did
49:37
not allow it to deter him from communicating
49:39
the truth that he was communicating. And that
49:41
is, the same should apply to us. People should
49:45
not make us feel mad. Because of what we believe
49:47
in. Because we're the ones that believe what
49:49
we believe in. They don't believe. What we're
49:50
doing is that we're trying to convince them to
49:52
see what we have seen and what we know. See,
49:56
don't let anyone explain your faith away with
49:59
madness. Don't let anyone explain your faith
50:03
away with madness. Because, as I said earlier,
50:06
some of us didn't get the joke. It looks like
50:07
I saw Sister Fola Kemi laughing. I think she
50:09
got... The joke that, except if you're making
50:11
a difference in the life of the person, making
50:13
a difference in life, if mad means making a difference
50:15
in the life of a person, then you can, mad can
50:18
work for that. King Agrippa's familiarity with
50:21
the Jewish customs basically was what made him
50:24
a very, too, in evaluating Apostle Paul's case.
50:27
And that's why he mentioned, that's why he...
50:30
Apostle Paul could tell that this person is following
50:32
through with what I'm saying. And notice that
50:34
the fact that he's king, notice he said, you
50:37
almost persuaded me. In the sense that if probably
50:41
it was a one -on -one, there's a likelihood that
50:44
he would have just walking off the conversation.
50:49
I'm not inferring anything, but walking off the
50:50
conversation that had happened. So the fact that
50:53
you speak to someone. and you didn't seem to
50:56
have got the response that you require, doesn't
50:58
mean that the seed hasn't been sown. Praise God.
51:01
The seed of God's word, God's word is powerful.
51:05
Meaning that the fact that you had that opportunity
51:07
to allow the seed be sown, God is working in
51:11
the life of the person. Beyond your conversation
51:13
with that person, God is doing something in the
51:15
life of that person. And I've seen time and time
51:17
again how you meet with someone and you are finishing
51:21
a work that someone else has... planted the seed
51:23
for praise God and we all and they all agreed
51:28
in one thing even though they didn't agree on
51:30
that to the face of Apostle Paul that he shouldn't
51:32
be in prison or he shouldn't be in prison or
51:34
be placed in debt for any reason and I am running
51:39
off with this to encourage us in this season
51:42
as we've started from last year and getting into
51:44
this new year you want to share your faith And
51:49
how you stand fast in the faith is by sharing
51:52
what you have received. Because holding on to
51:55
what you have received is not good enough. How
51:58
you solidify or how you allow what you have received
52:01
to take root is by sharing it. Praise God. And
52:05
you don't have to know too much to share. What
52:11
you just have to do is to desire to share. And
52:15
once you desire to share, you will see. the promise
52:18
of God ring true, that once you open your mouth
52:20
to speak, he will put his words in your mouth.
52:23
It's not really, yes, you have to know what you're,
52:26
but notice that he's the one that does the work
52:29
and the life of the other person by the spirit
52:31
of God. I want us to open our mouths and just
52:33
say, Father, I thank you because in this season,
52:35
I'm standing fast in the faith. In this season,
52:38
I'm paying attention. In this season, I'm strong.
52:41
I am brave. I am brave to go out and share my
52:44
faith. I am brave to engage and make a defense
52:48
of the things I have received, the things that
52:52
I know, the things that you are doing. And in
52:55
this season, our hands will heal. In this season,
52:59
our ears will hear. We appreciate you being here
53:03
today. We hope you carry this word with you throughout
53:07
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
53:09
for additional insights. Stay connected with
53:12
us through our website or follow us on social
53:15
media. If you are encouraged, share this message
53:19
with someone you care about. Until next time,
53:22
stay blessed.