Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website ecb .asia or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. We are now on session
seven. of the study, Grace and Peace, a journey
through the book of Colossians. And we will learn
a little bit more about what the Apostle Paul
has been telling us through it. But before we
do that, let's pray. Lord, we always, always
want to start with you first. Because this is
your word. And because we need you in our lives.
We need your truth. To open our hearts to you.
So we are humbling ourselves before you. Acknowledging
our need for you. And I'm asking you Lord. Would
you use me in your power. In your grace. In your
strength. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. What we
have discovered so far in the book of Colossians
is that this was a book, a letter written in
the year 60 or so of our era to a Christian community
at the very beginning of the church that was
in an area called Colossae, which was in the
country that today is known as Turkey. And they
were facing lots of different things. And the
Apostle Paul writes from prison while he is in
Rome. And he writes in this letter many things
to help them understand their salvation. So that
they can experience God's grace and his peace.
And so that that grace and that peace also can
flow through them. And he's going to take them
through all of that in the book. We learn that
when God saved us. He made us part of his people
and now we have received full forgiveness, full
acceptance, full embrace. We no longer need to
wonder whether God loves us, whether he accepts
us, whether we are good enough. None of that
is part of the story because we have been completely
reconciled with God. We belong to his realm,
to his kingdom now. We no longer belong to the
kingdom of darkness. And now that we are rooted
in Christ and we have received His grace and
His peace, now we can start experiencing the
flow of God's grace and peace through us. And
that's why Paul told us that this grace and this
peace does not stop with you, but it flows through
you. It's meant to flow through you into your
relationships. It's meant to flow through you
in your home, in your family life. It is meant
to flow through you in your work life. And that
is what we have covered so far in the previous
studies. Today we will learn also that this grace
and this peace is also meant to flow through
you into the world in which God has placed you.
And whenever we hear the phrase world peace,
somehow we imagine like a political movement
and presidents and countries. But actually, what
we will discover is that the foundation for world
peace is not in politics. It's in Jesus. And
it's in the transformation of the heart of the
individual that suddenly opens up the grace and
peace of God through us. So at the core, the
question we're going to be trying to discern
today is, Is God's grace and his peace flowing
through you? Or has it stopped with you? That's
an important question, isn't it? Let me tell
you the story of a high school student. I don't
really know his name. I know he was about 14
years old. He was Christian. And he went to a
school that was not a Christian school. So when
he went to school, one of his classmates, That
was very interested in politics. His nickname
was Nacho. And Nacho approaches this student.
And says hey I want you to come to this political
event. Will you join me? So this Christian high
schooler said. Sure I'll join you. But if you
promise to come with me to church. So Nacho said.
Sure I'll go with you. He was just trying. To
play the political game. To bring him in. And
he thought. Yeah I can attend church with you
once. But they did not go to a worship service.
They went to a soccer game. And it was a bunch
of youths. And as they are in that game. He heard
from the first time. A person stand up. Right
there in the field. And started sharing. About
the love of Jesus. And what God had done for
them. And for the first time, he started hearing
that God loved him, that Jesus had come to pay
for all of his sins, that Jesus was inviting
him to follow him and experience God's grace
and his peace. So that intrigued Nacho. And that
was not the only time he ended up attending church.
He started asking so many questions. And the
guy that was teaching all of these things was
not even from his country. He came from a place
called Puerto Rico. Any Puerto Ricans here? Well,
so he came from Puerto Rico to this country and
then started working with the youth and shared
the gospel with Nacho. And at 14 years old, Nacho
came to know Christ. And then later he became
my father. The work of one simple invitation
from a high school student to simply say, yeah.
I'll go, but you come with me too. What is the
power of letting God's grace and peace flow through
you in something that is as simple as an invitation?
It's not something that you have to figure out
or plan ahead. When we are following the Lord
Jesus and you have received His grace and His
peace, God wants now His grace and that peace
to flow through you in a very organic way. And
the Holy Spirit is going to prompt you to engage
and to do things that you cannot imagine the
outcome of that throughout the years. The Apostle
Paul is going to tell us in this passage that
the grace and peace of God was never meant To
stop with us. From the beginning. It has been
released. To flow throughout the world. No matter
where Christians go. This grace goes with them.
And flows through them. So he wants to make sure.
That these Christians in Colossae. are not only
missing the picture of recipients of God's grace
and thinking that they're not good enough and
they have to do extra things to gain God's love,
but also he wants to make sure that they don't
miss the picture of being a channel of God's
grace and impacting the world. Because the secret
for world peace is the peace of the individual.
And the peace of the individual starts with a
relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the Prince
of Peace. That's why he says these words. We
always pray for you Colossians. And we give thanks
to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For
we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.
And your love for all of God's people. Which
come from your confident hope of what God has
reserved for you in heaven. Do you remember how
they heard the gospel? It wasn't from the Apostle
Paul. It was from this other guy. Epaphras. The
guy that Paul now is talking to in Rome while
in prison. And he learns everything that had
happened to the Colossians. He knows everything
that they have gone through. And then he says,
you have had these expectations ever since you
first heard the truth of the good news. The gospel
of Jesus Christ. The same good news that came
to you. It's going out all over the world. If
you would just see what I have seen. It is bearing
fruit everywhere. By doing what? By changing
lives. Just as it changed your lives. From the
day you first heard and understood the truth
about God's wonderful grace. I'm excited for
you, Colossians. I'm praying for you because
I heard that you now believe in the gospel. And
just as your lives have been transformed, there
are many more lives around the world that are
being transformed by the same power of God's
love. You learn about the good news from Epaphras,
our beloved co -worker. He is Christ's faithful
servant, and he's helping us on your behalf.
He has told us about the love for others that
the Holy Spirit has given you. Very good reputation.
And he's telling them, look, you have experienced
the power of the gospel. When you heard that
Jesus loved you and he had died for you, and
he's inviting you to follow him, but now completely
free from guilt and accusation because he has
already paid for all of your shame. And he's
inviting you now to follow him in full grace
and peace. This gospel, which is a word that
means good news, is the good news that you believed
and transformed you. When he talks about the
gospel in the letter to the Romans, he uses the
word power. The gospel is the power of God. That
is the word dunamis. The gospel is this transforming
message that has the power to transform your
life and the life of those around you. It's not
just an intellectual assertion of belief. It's
a relationship with the creator of the universe
who has loved you, who has created you, and now
he's redeeming you from within. And this power
is the power that is at the foundation of world
peace. Because by transforming the one life that
transforms the other life that transforms the
other life. And you fast forward and it's the
domino effect of the gospel. And the apostle
Paul saw it. He saw the transformations of lives
because he had the privilege of being one of
the first people to take the gospel to the world.
If you look at this map, this is the map of the
Roman Empire during the time of the Apostle Paul.
And he is going there from Jerusalem to the north
in Antioch. And then from there he goes to the
area of Galatia, Asia Minor. He goes to Greece.
He has been in all of those places, even to Rome
itself. And he has experienced so many things.
If you are unaware of that history, you need
to go to the Bible, the book of Acts. The book
of Acts tells you all the experiences that they
went through as he experienced taking the gospel
to all of these places. And he saw life transform
after life transformed after life transformed.
He really was able to witness this power that
he was talking about. And he knows that this
gospel has to be taken. To all of these places.
Because it's the foundation for the peace. That
God wants the world to experience. And therefore.
He was able to see the churches being planted.
In all these different places. And Christians
now being born. Into these places. And the gospel
taking root. That's why. He continues telling
the Colossians. That he wants to make sure. That
what started with Jesus and then moved to the
Apostle Paul. And now they moved to Epaphras
and then got to the Colossians. Will continue.
That the domino effect will continue. That grace
will not stop with them. But will flow through
them into the world. And that's what he says
in the following verses. I am glad when I suffer
for you in my body. For I am participating in
the sufferings of Christ that continue for his
body, the church. God has given me the responsibility
of serving his church by proclaiming his entire
message to you. So we tell others about Christ,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all
the wisdom God has given us. We want to present
them to God. Perfect in their relationship with
Christ. We want them to experience this peace,
this grace that comes from knowing Jesus. That's
why I'm working and suffering for these things.
Yes, that's why I work and struggle so hard depending
on Christ's mighty power that works within me.
Will you read that aloud with me? That's why.
I work and struggle so hard depending on Christ's
mighty power that works within me. I know the
power of the gospel. And I know that can transform
lives and bring restoration and new beginnings.
I know that's why I'm working so hard and suffering.
But depending on whose power? Christ. Not my
own smarts. I can't convert or heal or bring
peace to anyone. Only God can. So yeah, I work
hard with all of these things. Because He wants
them to understand that if God's grace and peace
is going to flow from them into the world, this
is not a piece of cake, as we say in American
English. This is not just easy. It requires hard
work. You may have to suffer and pay a price
to do this. But it's worth it. But also you will
have to depend on God's power. Because without
power you cannot have the impact. So these two
things have been part of our experience. And
now that you have received God's grace and his
peace. You also need to invest and you also need
to depend on God's power because this is what
is going to continue the flow of God's grace
into the world way far from you. And that's why
he tells them at the end of the letter, devote
yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a
thankful heart. Pray for us too that God will
give us many opportunities to speak about his
mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why
I'm here in chains, in prison, in Rome. Pray
that I will proclaim this message as clearly
as I should. Just as I did it with Onesimus who
happened to be one of your own people. Pray for
me. Live wisely among those who are not believers.
Make the most of every opportunity. Let your
conversations be gracious and attractive so that
you will have the right response for everyone.
Make sure that the way that you are being a channel
of that grace and that peace comes in the way
that you live and the way that you speak. Because
the people around you that do not have Jesus,
they do not know peace. They only know fear.
They do not know grace. They only know shame.
Therefore, the way you live, make sure that you're
living wisely. Because if you're a channel of
that grace, they will see it in your very eyes.
They will perceive it in the tone. Of your voice.
They will perceive it in the words of wisdom
that you share. Make sure. That that grace and
that peace is flowing through you. And also.
Make sure. That you remember. My chains. And
actually. This last verse is the last words.
Of the book. Don't forget. The price. That we
have paid. For the gospel to get to you. Don't
forget my chains. It has taken. A lot of investment.
A lot of sacrifice. A lot of dependence on God's
power. To get to where you are. So Colossians.
Now it's your turn. Go. And continue this. Because
God's grace was never meant to stop with you.
Wow. This is powerful stuff. Because it is true.
We have seen it historically. Way past the Colossians.
As the gospel started spreading from there to
other places. And throughout the centuries. And
we have amazing stories of people, Christians,
just like you, like me, just like the teenager
in the high school that says to Nacho, will you
come with me to church? Christians that simply
decided to let God's grace flow through them.
And in that journey of following Jesus, God led
them to places they never anticipated. And it
was in their presence that God started bringing
transformation in their surroundings. Let me
tell you, for instance, the story of William
Carey. He was a guy from England that in the
1700s and 1800s, during that time, he went to
India, compelled by the love of God. And as he
went there, he started preaching the gospel.
And one of the things that they discovered in
some of the regions of India, being such a huge
place with so many cultures, it was that there
was a belief in a region of India, based on Hinduism,
that when a man died, his wife, who became now
a widow, had to be buried alive with her husband,
or burned. Because that was her place in life.
In many contexts, the wife was considered property.
And therefore, just as the husband will be buried
with some of his belongings, the wife will be
one of them. And in other dimensions of this,
they would believe that it was the honorable
thing for the wife not to outlive the husband.
So if the husband died first, then she also had
to die with him. And when William arrived to
that place, it's like they could not believe
that people had that belief and they had that
practice. So it was through the grace and peace
of God flowing through the gospel that eventually
people came to know Christ. And through that,
Some of these people stopped that practices.
Many of the widows were saved because of it.
And eventually it became an initiative for the
government to pass a law that banned this practice
altogether. I also love this story of Mary Slessor.
She was from Scotland. A young girl that was
working very hard, came from a very poor place.
And a home that was not healthy. Very dysfunctional
place. But she came to know Christ. And in that
roughness of her life, she learned to be rough.
And God was preparing that roughness because
he had a plan for her. And you know what Mary
Schlesser ended up doing? God moved her heart
to eventually go to a place in Nigeria called
Kalabar. And as she was there, she started discovering
that people, Worship spirits. And they had all
these beliefs about the worship of spirits. And
one of the things that they believed in their
worldview was that if a mother had twins, then
those babies were cursed. And therefore, they
would take those twins and they would abandon
them in the jungle to be eaten by animals or
to just be killed. And in many cases the mother
of those twins also would be considered cursed.
So she would be killed too. And as Mary arrived
in that place of darkness. With the grace and
peace of Jesus now to flow through her. She started
rescuing those babies. And she started creating
a place for some of these women to find shelter.
And eventually. God used her presence in Nigeria
to pass a law that banned that practice altogether.
And now there's the story of John Newton. John
Newton was a man that was involved in the slave
trade in the 1800s. And he had this ship that
was used to transfer slaves from Africa to the
Americas. And he was making money out of all
of that until one day he heard the message of
Jesus. And he repented of his sins and he realized
that what he was doing was not only wrong but
was contrary to the message of the gospel. So
he became a very loud voice that eventually was
one of the foundations for the abolition of slavery.
But not only that. If you have ever heard the
words, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. The
saved are raised like me. Those were his words.
He wrote that hymn. This is just a glimpse of
what the Apostle Paul is telling us. Is that
the gospel. has the power to transform a life.
And that life can become the outflow of God's
grace that can transform another life and a family
and communities and nations. And this is not
just for the people in the time of the first
century of the Apostle Paul. Or the 17 or 1800s.
This is true for all of us. And by the way. If
you want to learn more about the impact. That
God's grace and his peace has had. Throughout
history. This is an amazing book. How Christianity
changed the world. You may not realize. That
the whole movement of education. and universities,
and going to college, and all of these things
we take for granted, was something that was started
by Christians. Hospitals. Something that was
started by Christians. By individuals that believed
in the calling to let God's grace flow through
them. The domino effect. That started with Jesus.
Moved to the Apostle Paul. Moved to the Colossians.
Moved. Throughout the Roman Empire. And finally.
Reached someone. In a country in South America.
All the way from Puerto Rico. And from South
America to Mexico. And from Mexico to Thailand.
The domino effect. Is something that only God
can imagine. But what is true. Is that it cannot
stop. With us. God's grace never. Ever was meant.
To stop here at ECB. And end here. It was meant
to flow from us. Into the world. But I'm afraid.
That as it has happened throughout the years.
There are some churches that will eventually
die. Because they refused. To be a channel of
God's grace and peace. And they turn into political
entities. And there are Christians that have
chosen. To let God's grace and his peace stop
with them. Rather than obey the calling. To let
that grace and peace flow through them. And it
is very important that we do not go that route.
We have to invest. We have to depend on God's
power, and we have to continue what we received.
And what are those obstacles that are keeping
us from continuing the flow here in Thailand
and beyond, in this generation and the next?
What I have observed is that there are three
obstacles that are very common, and I want to
address them because if you are facing one of
them, This is the time that God wants you to
be aware of it so that you will become unclogged.
And now the grace and peace of God can flow through
you into your family, into your context, into
the world that God leads you to. What is the
first one of those? Well, it's the idea that
somehow, you know, People don't need Jesus to
find peace and grace. They will find it somehow.
Somewhere else. It's like. Pastor Pablo. You
have to understand. We live in the era of globalization.
And it's like. Just to think. That a person that
was born. Let's say in an island. That. They
worship their gods and everything. And they never
heard about Jesus. Are you telling me that if
that person doesn't believe in Jesus. That person
will not experience God's grace and his peace.
And that Jesus is the only way. You know. Somehow
there must be another way. And this mindset.
Seems logical. But it's not biblical. And the
apostle Paul is going to write about this. To
the Christians in the first century in Rome.
To make sure that they don't fall for that. And
look at what he says. Listen. If you openly declare
that Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead. Then what
will happen? So what do you need to do to be
saved? You need to openly declare that. Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart. That God raises
from the dead. You need to believe this. And
then you will be saved. For it is by believing
in your heart. That you are made right with God.
And now that peace starts flowing. And it is
by openly declaring your faith. That you are
saved. This is how you experience God's grace
and his peace. Therefore. Jew and Gentile are
the same in this respect. They have the same
Lord who gives generously to all who call on
him. For everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved. But how can they call on
him to save them? And this is where he starts
asking the questions. Pay attention to these
questions. How can they call on him to save them?
Unless they believe in him. And how can they
believe in him if they have never heard about
him? And how can they hear about him unless someone
tells them? That's the logical flow. How can
Nacho hear about the gospel and believe in it
if nobody is telling him what the gospel is?
And how can someone tell him if nobody has been
sent to go and tell him? How is he going to experience
God's grace and his peace? That's why. How will
anyone go and tell them without being sent? That
is why the scriptures say, how beautiful are
the feet of messengers who bring good news. Paul
is saying, guys, Don't entertain, even for a
second, the idea that there's another way of
experiencing God's grace and His peace. People
cannot believe in Jesus unless they hear about
Jesus. And they cannot be saved and experience
His grace unless they believe. And that's why
I love these stories. This is a group of people
in an island that they had never heard about
the gospel. This is that tribe that you were
thinking about. The Moi tribe. What about them?
They were born in a place they never heard the
gospel. They were in a place where, look, they
have their religions. Maybe that's enough as
long as they are really genuine in their faith.
You know what's amazing about the story of the
Moi people? Is that you get to hear from their
very mouths the very first time that they heard
the gospel. Because there were these missionaries
that believed what the Apostle Paul just said
in Romans. How can they believe if no one tells
them? So they went. They learned their language.
And one day they organized a gathering of all
of these people for about seven days to start
telling them about the good news from Genesis
all the way to Jesus so they could understand
that there's power of transformation in Jesus,
that grace and peace are found in Him. And you
know what happens? I'm not going to tell you.
You will get to see it yourself. Because I want
to show you. A two minute video. So you can hear.
From the very mouths of a person. Who belong
to a tribe. In an island. Where they had never
heard. I am very happy to be able to do this.
I am very happy to be able to do this. This is
the heart of the gate. This is the gate to the
temple. This is the gate to the temple. This
is the gate to the temple. This is the gate to
the temple. I don't know what to do. I don't
know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't
know what to do. It's not a big deal. It's not
a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's a big deal.
This ministry was known as New Tribes Mission.
Today is Ethnos 360. You can hear the very person
saying, Now I have peace with God and before,
no I didn't because you never told me. I didn't
understand. Don't ever fall for the lie that
people can find peace and grace without Jesus.
And therefore the importance of going does matter.
And things are still ahead of us. There are 7
,357 ethnic groups estimated that have never
heard about the gospel. That's about 3 .56 billion
people that do not even know what the name Jesus
is about. There are 3 ,640 languages approximately.
That have no Bible in their language. Not even
a fraction. They could not say. For God so loved
the world. They don't even know what it's like
to say. I can do all things through Christ who
gives me strength. They have no Bible in their
language. This is the world that we have inherited.
And it still needs the gospel. But. Has the gospel
stopped with us? Or now is it flowing through
us? It will stop with us if we believe that there's
another way apart from Jesus. The second obstacle
is the belief that the apostle Paul is going
to tell the Corinthians. And he's going to write
this to them straightforward. And it's the belief
that, you know, It's like, it's okay, you know.
We don't need to suffer so much. Let's just keep
it easy. Let's avoid all the cost of all these
things. Somebody else will go, but not me. Because
if I go, that's going to be too costly, too inconvenient.
And you know what he tells them? He spares no
details. Listen to his words. And he's not whining.
He's just speaking truth. Listen, for me to take
the gospel to you, for you to experience God's
grace and God's peace, it was not easy. Five
different times the Jewish leaders gave me 39
lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once
I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked.
Once I spent a whole night and a day I drift
at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys.
I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers.
I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews,
as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger
in the cities, in the deserts, and in the seas.
And I have faced danger from men who claim to
be believers but are not. I have worked hard.
Hard and long and during many sleepless nights.
I have been hungry and thirsty and have often
gone without food. I have shivered in the cold
without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then,
besides all this, I have the daily burden of
my concerns for all the churches. Who is weak
without my feeling that weakness? And who is
led astray and I do not burn with anger? I suffer
for you to be able to hear the gospel and believe
in it. Then why are you complaining? Do you know
what it took for the gospel to reach this place?
It's like, but Paul, you sound miserable. It's
like, all of that you had to suffer, sleepless
night, cold, hungry. It's like, I'm not sure.
I want to take the gospel to the world. It's
just, why just not quit? Change careers. Do something
that is easier. Be happy. He says, it's because
the love of Christ compels me. I'm not doing
this. Because it's easy. I'm doing it. Because
I love Jesus. And when you love Jesus. You love
what he loves. Have you been wrestling. With
God's calling you to engage. To pursue things.
But what is holding you back. Is the cost. Thinking.
That it will be too difficult to be separated
from your family. That it will be too difficult
because you will have opposition. That it will
be too difficult because you will have to learn
another language. That it will be too difficult
because you name it. If you are in that space,
go home and read the words of Paul that we just
read one more time. Because it will put it in
perspective. Muhammad heard the gospel in Iran.
But he did not grow up knowing the gospel. He
was believing a whole different way of religion.
And as he was hungry for God and peace in his
life, he was told, you will really be able to
be accepted by God if you memorize your holy
book. So he started memorizing his holy book,
reading it, and tried to memorize it, even though
it was in another language that was not his country's
language. But if that is what it will take, but
he had no peace. So he asked his religious leaders,
what else do I need to do? Well, you have to
pay for your sins. So he had this chain that
he would hit himself with in the back so that
he would bleed. And he was hurting. But he kept
doing it. Because by paying for his sins. He
was going to reach God's peace. But it was not
working. So he asked his religious leaders. What
else can I do? And the religious leaders said.
You are not doing enough. You have to suffer
more. And now you have to fight for our God.
And you have to go to war. Because if you die
in war. For this God. Then. You will go straight
to heaven. But only then. So he engaged in the
army. And ruled in the army. All of that. Feeling
complete shame. And not good enough. And all
his efforts. Until he met a friend that he hadn't
seen in a long time. And this friend looked different.
And as they were talking about life and everything.
Muhammad says what happened to you? You have
this like this. This peace. That I can see in
your eyes. You're not the same. And at that moment,
the friend said, you know what? I'm a Christian
now. I'm following Jesus. It's like, what? That
cannot be. Because in his religion, the idea
of conversion was completely just unimaginable.
But as he started learning more about this, Jesus
had died for him, that he didn't have to pay
for his sins, because Jesus had paid it all.
At that moment, Muhammad says, the gospel pierced
my heart, and now I understood that Jesus had
done it all. So he gave his life to Christ, but
as he started... going home and praying to Jesus.
One day his father found out he was praying to
Jesus and he hit him and started kicking him
and hitting him. So he had to escape. Eventually
he became a taxi driver. And as a taxi driver,
he would take every opportunity to share the
gospel with the people. But one day he got news
that the secret police was after him. So he was
able to leave Iran. He moved to the U .S. and
that's where he lives today. I do not know what
your journey is, but one thing I know is that
God is calling us to follow Him and let His grace
flow through us. And if we are not willing to
pay the price, It will stop with us. Has it stopped
with you? And finally, the Apostle Paul tells
the Colossians what we already heard. Don't fall
for the mistake that it's okay not to engage.
Ignore the call. It's not your role. That's the
pastor's role. You know, in ECB, there's lots
of missionaries. They are the ones that share
the gospel with people. Not you. You are just
a Christian. No. Each one of us has received
God's grace. Each one of us is called to let
that grace flow through us. So read this with
me, please. Devote yourselves to prayer with
an alert mind. and a thankful heart. Pray for
us, too, that God will give us many opportunities
to speak about this mysterious plan concerning
Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray
that I will proclaim this message as clearly
as I should. Live wisely among those who are
not believers. Make the most of every opportunity.
Let your conversation be gracious and attractive
so that you will have the right response. The
need is real. It's not going to go away. The
cost is real. It's not going to get cheaper.
And the call is real. The Holy Spirit is not
going to shut up. What will your response be?
Would you let God's grace flow through you? Or
would you let it stop with you? So what the Apostle
Paul basically wrote makes me wonder these questions.
Am I praying about these things? He says pray
for this depending on God's power. Am I praying
for that? He also says, look, you need to be
living wisely among the people. Am I living wisely
among the people? Am I doing the things that
are the foundation to depend on God's power?
If the Lord is calling you to engage, engage,
and you will be so glad once you look back later
and you can see what God did through you. Like
he did with a high school student that simply
felt compelled to invite another student to an
event. And that form of grace flowing through
him was all that God was calling him to do at
the moment. Will God be able to use you for his
grace to flow through you? Lord, as we stand
in your presence, we acknowledge. That your grace
has reached us and we are so thankful for it.
Thank you for all the lives that have come before
us. All the sacrifices made. All the price that
has been paid. So that today we can be here standing
in your presence, worshiping you. But Lord, let
your grace and your peace not stop with us. Let
it flow through us into every space that you
have called us to be. Let this be a day where
there's new beginnings of new visions, of new
ideas, of new prompting. But we are here. If
we have been blocked, unblock us today. In Jesus'
name. Thank you for tuning in to the ECB sermon
podcast. Whether near or far, if you are looking
for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome
you to engage by sending us an email to office
at ecb .asia. If God is calling you to support
our ministries, you will find giving options
on our website. And remember to join us next
week. God bless you.