WEBVTT 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:14.289 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:16.589 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:19.789 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:22.989 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:27.190 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:31.010 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.010 --> 00:00:36.179 by this week's sermon. We have called this series 00:00:36.179 --> 00:00:39.840 of Advent Peace on Earth because Jesus, when 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:43.060 his birth was announced and when he was born, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:46.320 the angel said, Peace on Earth. They use this 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.659 phrase because Jesus came to establish everything 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:54.299 as a new beginning for the creation that he had 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:58.240 already created and to put everything in order 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:02.619 to bring the restoration of the shalom that he 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:08.030 only created. And each Sunday we're going to 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:12.430 hear about the different themes of Advent. Hope, 00:01:12.709 --> 00:01:19.989 peace, joy, love, light, and then the expectation 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:24.510 of the return. And we will get to share the pulpit 00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:26.849 with different people that will share with us 00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:29.170 about these themes of Advent. So we are looking 00:01:29.170 --> 00:01:33.010 forward to this season together. And today I 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:38.730 get to share about the topic of hope. In this 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:44.049 study, we will take a look at two prophecies 00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:46.730 that took place in the Old Testament that were 00:01:46.730 --> 00:01:51.230 fulfilled in the life of Jesus. And all of these 00:01:51.230 --> 00:01:55.129 things connect so beautifully and they bring 00:01:55.129 --> 00:02:00.459 to the surface what hope really is about. But 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:02.879 before we start digging into the scriptures and 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.280 studying more, I want to show you a couple of 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:09.180 pictures. Now, I know I showed you my camera 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:11.680 last week. I did not take these pictures. These 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:17.280 are not mine. But the first one is this, is the 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.680 picture of a tree that is in the middle of the 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:28.000 storm being bent and pushed to the limits for 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.379 these. Time of uncertainty. Oh, we are having 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:36.539 a little space here with the... Let's just pause 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:45.939 for a second. There it is. Now look at that tree. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:56.280 And you are that tree. Shaken by the wind. The 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:04.650 storm. And it keeps going on and on and on. And 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.229 you feel like, I'm not sure I could do this any 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:11.789 longer. What does it feel like to be this tree? 00:03:14.849 --> 00:03:17.990 And when the storm is over, will you remain standing? 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:28.219 Or will you collapse? Shaken by the wind. Now 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:32.060 let me show you this other picture. This is a 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:40.599 stump. Cut off. Everything that you're used to 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:45.379 and what was becoming suddenly gone. Abruptly 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:50.979 so. And in that space of being shocked by the 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:57.500 drastic change of life, is this the end? Or is 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:02.219 this a new beginning? Do you feel that this was 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:07.780 unfair? You didn't see it coming? What does it 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:15.699 feel like to be a stump? It was a Canadian woman. 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:21.279 Her name is Dorothy. She survived a car accident. 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:25.579 But her parents didn't. And she was just a little 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:31.310 child. So she had to grow up in the foster care 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:37.670 system, going from home to home. And it was during 00:04:37.670 --> 00:04:40.430 that time of childhood, going from home to home, 00:04:40.569 --> 00:04:43.649 she was under the care of a foster care family 00:04:43.649 --> 00:04:50.209 that ended up sexually molesting her. Therefore, 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:55.629 as she grew older, she learned to simply hate. 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:01.740 Her life had been shaken. She had become a stump. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:06.100 And not only that, but it kept coming against 00:05:06.100 --> 00:05:10.680 her as if God was against her. So for 50 years 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:16.480 of her life, she hated God. To be a shaken tree, 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.600 to be a stump, is not easy. But it's exactly 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:26.050 in that season of life. That our understanding 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:30.850 of hope kicks in and makes the entire difference 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:34.389 of how we go through it. And that is something 00:05:34.389 --> 00:05:36.829 that we are going to learn in this study today. 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:41.709 I want to introduce you to a king called Ahaz. 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:47.410 Ahaz was not a king that loved God. In fact, 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.509 he worshipped all these other deities and he 00:05:50.509 --> 00:05:55.889 was a person who... whose heart had turned from 00:05:55.889 --> 00:06:04.930 God completely. And he lived in a time in which 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:09.589 you have to rewind history and go to the 700s 00:06:09.589 --> 00:06:13.949 before Jesus. This was the time also of prophet 00:06:13.949 --> 00:06:20.170 Isaiah. So we are going to learn and read something 00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:27.209 that took place almost 3 ,000 years ago. And 00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:29.709 as we look at Ahaz and what was happening in 00:06:29.709 --> 00:06:34.170 his life, you discover that he was being like 00:06:34.170 --> 00:06:38.029 a tree shaken. So many things that were going 00:06:38.029 --> 00:06:40.610 on in his life. And to understand what Prophet 00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:42.990 Isaiah writes and to understand what was going 00:06:42.990 --> 00:06:47.810 on during this period of history, You go to the 00:06:47.810 --> 00:06:50.850 Old Testament and you look at 2 Kings, and 2 00:06:50.850 --> 00:06:53.389 Kings tells you the story of everything that 00:06:53.389 --> 00:07:00.410 is happening. And what we understand is that 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:03.970 the context of the surrounding nations, of everything 00:07:03.970 --> 00:07:06.689 that was happening during the time of Ahaz, was 00:07:06.689 --> 00:07:09.290 difficult. It was a time of war. It was a time 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:14.829 of expansion. There was a nation called the Assyrians. 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:19.180 Assyria is the region that is known today as 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:23.660 Iraq. And in that time, the kingdom of Assyria 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:27.600 was expanding. And as it was expanding, they 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:31.500 were conquering different areas in their surrounding. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:37.980 But then, the nation of Syria and the nation 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:45.790 of Israel on the north, together forming an alliance 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:49.350 to attack the Assyrians and defend themselves 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:54.029 from them. Now you notice that the map has two 00:07:54.029 --> 00:07:56.430 highlighted sections in two different colors 00:07:56.430 --> 00:07:59.470 because it was a time in the nation of Israel 00:07:59.470 --> 00:08:03.250 in which they were a divided kingdom. The kingdom 00:08:03.250 --> 00:08:08.329 of the north had the capital in Samaria and the 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:12.339 kingdom of the south was Judah. And had the capital 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:16.160 in Jerusalem. And Ahaz was the kingdom of Judah 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:20.079 in the south. And he was living right there in 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:25.839 Jerusalem. So it so happens that the nation of 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:29.360 Syria and the north of Israel. They come together 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:33.159 and they decide that they are going to attack 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:38.879 Judah. And what is amazing about all of these 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.059 things and all of this time, even though it's 00:08:41.059 --> 00:08:45.720 so ancient, we actually have archaeological elements 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:48.799 from that time. And what I love about archaeology 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.320 is how it always corroborates the historicity 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.580 of the Bible and the truthfulness of it. We have 00:08:56.580 --> 00:09:00.460 discovered what is known as the seal of King 00:09:00.460 --> 00:09:04.639 Ahaz. This was something that was used for legal 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.419 documents. And we also have the seal of prophet 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:14.259 Isaiah. Isn't that amazing? The same Isaiah that 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:19.399 you get to read in the Bible from. So Ahaz is 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:23.080 going through this time of turmoil in his life. 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:27.639 And when he hears that the neighbors in the north 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:33.240 are coming to invade them, he becomes very fearful. 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:37.419 Now, he had already been worshiping lots of the 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:39.960 different idols and he had brought so many idols 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:45.259 in Jerusalem and even in the temple. And he was 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:49.039 so pagan that he had even adopted some of the 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:52.740 practices of child sacrifice. He had himself 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:56.600 sacrificed some of his sons to the fire in the 00:09:56.600 --> 00:10:01.379 worship of Moloch. So he was not a God that loved 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:05.559 God and that was seeking him. But it was a guy 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:09.120 that God was reaching to because he was a king 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:15.980 in the nation. So as he is hearing about this 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:19.860 news, God sends Isaiah with a message for him. 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.980 And we are told in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 2, 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:28.480 So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were what? 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:33.740 Shaken. As the trees of the forest are shaken 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:39.299 by the wind. He was that shaken tree. The tempest 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:43.720 was growing stronger. And he was freaking out. 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:48.919 And he was thinking. That he was going to find 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:52.440 rescue from the situation. But turning to the 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:56.419 king of Assyria. Pay him a lot of money. And 00:10:56.419 --> 00:11:00.980 say you come and help us. And you fight for us 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:05.539 against these guys in the north. So he was trying 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:09.899 to control things so that he could control the 00:11:09.899 --> 00:11:14.139 outcome, but he is completely driven by fear. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.000 And God sends Isaiah to say, you know what? You 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:23.360 need to turn to me. Trust in me, not in pagans. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:28.139 Trust in me, not in political powers. Trust in 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:32.820 me. So he tells Isaiah, Isaiah, I want you to 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.559 meet the king. Take your son with you. Go and 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:37.500 meet him in this location. And gives him the 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:40.860 exact GPS description of the location where he 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:43.700 needed to meet the king. So he goes to meet the 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:49.240 king. And as he meets him, God says, say this 00:11:49.240 --> 00:12:00.070 to the king. Ahaz, be careful. Keep calm. Don't 00:12:00.070 --> 00:12:07.210 be afraid. Don't let anxiety take over your heart. 00:12:07.509 --> 00:12:10.850 And don't start making decisions that are rushed 00:12:10.850 --> 00:12:15.970 and not driven by the right foundation. Be careful. 00:12:19.429 --> 00:12:27.409 And then, it says, look. If you do not stand 00:12:27.409 --> 00:12:33.450 firm in your faith right now, you will not stand 00:12:33.450 --> 00:12:38.509 at all. If you are wanting to survive this storm, 00:12:38.730 --> 00:12:43.549 you need to remain standing in the foundation 00:12:43.549 --> 00:12:48.549 which is me. I am with you and I'm going to take 00:12:48.549 --> 00:12:52.990 you through this. But you have to stand in this 00:12:52.990 --> 00:12:57.809 foundation. Otherwise, you will become a casualty 00:12:57.809 --> 00:13:05.250 of fear. And as a pagan person, he was just not 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:08.909 trusting, and he was doubting, and he wanted 00:13:08.909 --> 00:13:12.809 to worship instead and seek the help from every 00:13:12.809 --> 00:13:17.250 other possible deity to get his best luck possible. 00:13:19.429 --> 00:13:24.570 And at that moment, God says to Isaiah, you know, 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:29.820 this guy is hard, but I really want him to get 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:32.919 it that I'm here with him and I'm going to lead, 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.899 not to turn to the king of the Assyrians. So 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:45.019 go to him and tell him, look, ask me for a sign, 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:50.059 any sign, just to confirm that I'm serious, I'm 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:54.340 here and I'm going to help you. So at that moment, 00:13:56.330 --> 00:14:00.210 He goes, and it says, again, the Lord spoke to 00:14:00.210 --> 00:14:04.070 Ahaz, ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether 00:14:04.070 --> 00:14:07.409 in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. 00:14:08.870 --> 00:14:13.210 God is here for you. But Ahaz's heart was not 00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:15.990 for God. And he goes, I don't want to hear anything. 00:14:16.110 --> 00:14:19.950 I don't want anything. And at that moment, God 00:14:19.950 --> 00:14:23.070 is going the extra mile to meet him in his despair, 00:14:23.309 --> 00:14:27.440 and he acts with that arrogance. He says, really? 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.539 Isaiah says, oh, you're really something else, 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:35.080 you know? Let me tell you what. God is going 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.919 to give you a sign anyway. And here he says, 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:43.460 therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.740 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:53.080 son and will call him Emmanuel. For before the 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:55.899 boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:59.720 the right, the land of the two kings you dread 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:04.700 will be laid waste. They are planning the attack, 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:07.679 but I'm here to tell you, it's not going to happen. 00:15:08.590 --> 00:15:12.250 And this child will be born. And this child will 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:15.950 be the sign that I am with you. And you will 00:15:15.950 --> 00:15:19.809 know it by his name. So you will be reminded 00:15:19.809 --> 00:15:27.490 that I am with you. And Isaiah turned to the 00:15:27.490 --> 00:15:31.649 nations. And proclaimed this. Devise your strategy. 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:37.129 But it will be thwarted. Propose your plan. But 00:15:37.129 --> 00:15:48.389 it will not. Stand, for God is with us. But Ahaz 00:15:48.389 --> 00:15:53.330 did not listen. Instead, he went to the temple 00:15:53.330 --> 00:15:57.350 in Jerusalem. He took all the gold and all the 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:00.690 silver and all the things that were consecrated 00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:05.090 to the worship of the one true God. He took all 00:16:05.090 --> 00:16:10.269 of that. Send it to the pagan king of the Assyrians 00:16:10.269 --> 00:16:15.070 as a payment. So that that king could fight for 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:19.009 them. And that king came and fought against the 00:16:19.009 --> 00:16:25.690 north. But then later he came back and attacked 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:31.210 some sections of Judah. And he turned the kingdom 00:16:31.210 --> 00:16:36.000 of Judah. into a state that now was subjugated 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.240 by the Assyrians that they have to pay taxes 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:46.519 all the time. And the hope that Ahaz sought was 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:51.039 not God himself. And instead of the time of crisis 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:54.299 turning to God, he rejected God altogether and 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:59.049 he tried to do it on his own. And that brought 00:16:59.049 --> 00:17:02.549 consequences because God, through Isaiah and 00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:04.849 all the prophets later, like Prophet Jeremiah, 00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:07.930 he told the nation, look, guys, you have become 00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:10.890 so corrupted. You don't care about truth anymore. 00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:13.650 You don't care about seeking me anymore. And 00:17:13.650 --> 00:17:16.789 therefore, there's going to be more storms that 00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:20.430 are going to come down the road. And from there, 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:26.289 we know from this initial conversation with Ahaz, 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.339 That there's this prophecy given based on this 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:33.200 name that is right here on the screen for you. 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:38.339 This is what the name looks like in Hebrew. Emmanuel. 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:52.809 With us, God. God with us. And as God... Tries 00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:56.430 to remind Ahaz. That he can indeed turn to him. 00:17:56.690 --> 00:17:59.789 That he can rely on him. In the midst of the 00:17:59.789 --> 00:18:04.190 crisis. Now he moves forward. To chapter 11. 00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:09.369 And from being in a position. Of being a tree. 00:18:09.470 --> 00:18:13.930 That is being shaken by the storm. Now the picture 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:18.990 changes. To being a stump. Because what is going 00:18:18.990 --> 00:18:23.779 to happen. With his line. What is going to happen 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:26.339 when the kingdom is destroyed and there will 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:29.819 be no more king? What is going to happen with 00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:33.180 my children and great -grandchildren? And at 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:35.740 that moment, the hopelessness takes over completely. 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:41.039 In fact, Ahaz died young. He started being a 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:45.819 king at age 20. Any 20 -year -olds here? In this 00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:50.980 room? Imagine being the king at age 20. And he 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:55.819 died in his mid -30s, not with an honorable death. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.279 But as the season of feeling like a stump comes 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:09.859 in, God sends Isaiah with another message. And 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:12.500 he's going to address this, and he will say in 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:16.480 chapter 11, verse 1, Out of the stump of David's 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:23.490 family will grow a shoot. Yes, a new branch bearing 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:27.849 fruit from the old root. I know this sounds like 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:32.529 this is the end of it, but it is not. Because 00:19:32.529 --> 00:19:36.970 I have a plan. Yes, I had the plan of cutting 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:40.589 the tree down because it needed to be cut. But 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:43.509 it is not the end. This is the beginning of a 00:19:43.509 --> 00:19:49.130 new stage. And this shoot is going to be a person. 00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:52.970 And the spirit of the Lord will rest on him, 00:19:53.130 --> 00:19:56.269 the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit 00:19:56.269 --> 00:19:59.710 of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge 00:19:59.710 --> 00:20:03.170 and the fear of the Lord. He will wear righteousness 00:20:03.170 --> 00:20:08.250 like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In 00:20:08.250 --> 00:20:14.069 that day, the heir to David's throne will be 00:20:14.069 --> 00:20:21.240 a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:25.099 will rally to him and the land where he lives 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:32.200 will be a glorious place. If you have never read 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:36.000 the entire chapter 11 of Isaiah, go home and 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.220 read it. Because it's a prophecy about the king 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:42.599 that was going to come. The promised Messiah 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:46.880 that was going to come and bring to righteousness. 00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:51.950 and establish the kingdom that was never going 00:20:51.950 --> 00:21:01.509 to end, the little shoot was going to become 00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:05.670 a whole new tree that will never be caught again. 00:21:10.809 --> 00:21:19.609 From a stump to a shoot. I do not know if you've 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:24.049 ever gone through a season where things are like 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:29.670 cut off completely, drastically. It's very disorienting, 00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:35.569 very disorienting. But in this space, God speaks 00:21:35.569 --> 00:21:46.099 hope. But hope, as it turns out, is... and is 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:50.900 a person. In both cases, when it felt like a 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:54.799 shaken tree, the hope was a name, a person that 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:59.740 was coming. When life felt like a stump, hope 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:06.839 was a person, one who was coming. And that person 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:10.960 is revealed in the New Testament at the beginning. 00:22:11.579 --> 00:22:14.200 With the very first gospel, the gospel of Matthew, 00:22:14.420 --> 00:22:19.200 his name is Jesus. And as you fast forward now 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:23.380 from 700 before Christ to the time of Jesus, 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:28.000 right before his birth, the book of Matthew begins 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.940 telling us how these prophecies that Isaiah had 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:36.089 given now will be fulfilled. The book of Matthew 00:22:36.089 --> 00:22:40.490 begins with the genealogy of Jesus, the family 00:22:40.490 --> 00:22:43.890 line of Jesus. And then when it gets to verse 00:22:43.890 --> 00:22:49.289 18, it tells us how the birth of Jesus came about. 00:22:49.630 --> 00:22:52.390 And it says, this is how the birth of Jesus, 00:22:52.430 --> 00:22:58.900 the Messiah, came about. His mother Mary... Was 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:02.299 pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:06.059 came together. She was found to be pregnant through 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:11.400 the Holy Spirit. Now. In the Jewish cultural 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:15.619 context, the way marriage worked was that the 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:18.900 moment the agreement was made between these families 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:22.440 for the guy and the woman to get married, they 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:24.660 will sign these documents, there was payment 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:29.180 that was made, and now that was officially that 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:31.740 they were going to get married, they will consider 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:37.000 now officially a couple. But not yet. Because 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:40.140 they would wait a year before the actual wedding 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:43.299 and celebration and the consummation of their 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:47.440 marriage. During that period of time, they were 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:50.819 not yet living as a married couple. They were 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:55.079 not yet sexually involved with each other. However, 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:58.700 if there was any infidelity that would take place 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:02.160 during that year, it was as serious as adultery 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.519 because they were already technically committed. 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:11.720 For marriage. So now you see that Mary is engaged 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:15.920 to Joseph. Everything has been signed. Everything 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:20.059 has been paid. And now oops. She is found to 00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:23.240 be pregnant. But the text says she was pregnant. 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:27.740 Not by a person that was just a human person. 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:33.440 This was the Holy Spirit himself. And this. Child 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:38.779 that was within her now was conceived by God 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:45.440 through her. And Joseph hears about it. Of course, 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:51.839 he doesn't believe it. He's like, what? You want 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:57.099 to take me for a fool? What am I going to do 00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:02.789 now? So he has a hard time. He's become a tree 00:25:02.789 --> 00:25:06.609 shaken in the storm. He didn't see this coming. 00:25:07.250 --> 00:25:11.349 This was not supposed to happen. And now he's 00:25:11.349 --> 00:25:14.089 having a hard time going to sleep. But one of 00:25:14.089 --> 00:25:17.089 those nights as he goes to sleep, he finally 00:25:17.089 --> 00:25:22.190 falls asleep. And the verse tells us that Joseph, 00:25:22.269 --> 00:25:25.289 to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man. 00:25:25.630 --> 00:25:29.190 I did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he 00:25:29.190 --> 00:25:32.849 decided to break the engagement quietly. I'm 00:25:32.849 --> 00:25:35.170 just going to sign the papers, going to keep 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:38.450 it quiet, because otherwise my honor, the honor 00:25:38.450 --> 00:25:41.190 of my family, her honor, the honor of her family, 00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:48.039 let's keep it low. So he had made the decision 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:50.539 in his heart and goes to bed and as he falls 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:54.559 asleep, after he had considered this, an angel 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:58.099 of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:08.920 Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:13.200 Mary home as your wife because what is conceived 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:21.910 in her It's truly from the Holy Spirit. So don't 00:26:21.910 --> 00:26:26.410 be afraid. You will go ahead. You will make your 00:26:26.410 --> 00:26:29.630 head as you were planning. And now you are going 00:26:29.630 --> 00:26:35.730 to take care of this child. She will give birth 00:26:35.730 --> 00:26:41.049 to a son. And you are to give him the name Jesus. 00:26:41.670 --> 00:26:45.789 Because he will save his people. From their sins. 00:26:48.650 --> 00:26:55.609 Jesus in Hebrew is the name Yeshua. And he means 00:26:55.609 --> 00:27:02.789 God saves. You are going to name this child God 00:27:02.789 --> 00:27:07.410 saves. And as he is growing up in your home, 00:27:07.529 --> 00:27:10.490 every time you name, you call his name, you're 00:27:10.490 --> 00:27:14.069 going to say, God saves, come here. God saves, 00:27:14.089 --> 00:27:18.930 it's time to eat. God saves. Every time the name 00:27:18.930 --> 00:27:22.890 of this child is pronounced, you are pronouncing 00:27:22.890 --> 00:27:32.720 this meaning. Because this child, Is the king 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:35.940 that was supposed to come to save their people 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:42.579 from their sins. And the passage in Matthew continues. 00:27:44.119 --> 00:27:48.180 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:51.259 had said through the prophet. Prophet Isaiah. 00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:57.180 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a 00:27:57.180 --> 00:28:00.599 son. And they will call him. Emmanuel, which 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:19.619 means God with us. God with us. This Jesus, not 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:25.460 symbolically, but literally, is God with us. 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:31.579 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:35.019 Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife, but 00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:37.940 he did not have sexual relations with her until 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:42.019 her son was born. And here you have the two shaken 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:46.799 trees. Ahaz, when the prophecy was given, and 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.859 Joseph, when the prophecy is being fulfilled, 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:52.680 both being shaken by the storm in their lives, 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.779 both being in a place of... Fear. Where they 00:28:56.779 --> 00:29:03.279 are in the verge of anxiety attack. And God reaches 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:07.259 both of them. And he tells them. Do not be afraid. 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:13.160 Follow me. I have a plan for this. But Ahaz decided 00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:17.000 not to follow God. But Joseph decided to follow 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:25.940 God. And obey him. And that. is the story and 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:28.680 the beginning and the fulfillment of these two 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:35.180 prophecies. And now Joseph goes, marries Mary, 00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:41.519 and when Jesus is born, he takes the child and 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:49.039 says, and Joseph named him, God saves. To the 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:55.119 very end, acted in obedience, not in fear. God 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:01.799 with us, Emmanuel. Yeshua, God saves. In Greek, 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:11.460 Yesu. God saves. In English, Jesus. The Savior 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:18.339 who came so that we can be with him. God with 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:23.589 us so we can be. With him. God with us. In the 00:30:23.589 --> 00:30:26.730 midst of the storm. So that we will be shaken. 00:30:26.970 --> 00:30:32.609 But not uprooted. God with us. So even though 00:30:32.609 --> 00:30:36.089 we are a stump. Is not the end of our story. 00:30:36.470 --> 00:30:41.170 Because God is with us. And God is the God of 00:30:41.170 --> 00:30:47.339 new beginnings. And what is amazing about this 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:50.039 promise, about this fulfillment of who Jesus 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:54.759 is, is just as the book of Matthew begins with 00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:58.519 these words saying God is with us, is being fulfilled 00:30:58.519 --> 00:31:03.240 in this person. The very last words of the gospel 00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:06.859 of Matthew is this person, the fulfillment of 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:11.619 Isaiah speaking. He has already died for our 00:31:11.619 --> 00:31:15.579 sins. He has already paid for your shame. He 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:18.579 has already resurrected. He has already overcome 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:22.119 Satan. He has already overcome the power of death. 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:25.700 He has already overcome the power of sin. And 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:30.059 he is now ready to begin the fulfillment of the 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:34.859 promises of the new kingdom. But before... He 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:38.000 gathers the apostles and he says to them, I want 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.140 you to go to the world and start telling people 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:45.440 about me, God with us. I want you to go to the 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:47.900 world and start telling people that God saves 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:51.359 and I'm here to save them from their sins. You 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:56.680 will go and tell the world about me. And as soon 00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:02.140 as he gives them the command, Jesus. Pronounced 00:32:02.140 --> 00:32:04.599 as the very last words of the book of Matthew. 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:09.960 And I want you to read them with me. And be sure 00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:16.140 of this. I am with you always. Even to the end 00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:26.059 of the age. I am with you for how long? Until 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:35.670 when? Do you believe that? There's a reason why 00:32:35.670 --> 00:32:40.829 Matthew began by telling us, God is with us. 00:32:41.569 --> 00:32:47.509 If you are following Jesus, God is with us. There's 00:32:47.509 --> 00:32:50.750 a reason why Matthew finished this book with 00:32:50.750 --> 00:32:53.990 the words of assurance. You can be sure of this. 00:32:54.089 --> 00:32:59.380 I am with you always. Because when we are shaken 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:03.359 by the storm. When it feels like it's the end. 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:07.920 And there's no hope for a new beginning. Because 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:13.640 this is impossible. In that moment. It's very 00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:18.299 easy to feel. And then to believe. That God is 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:23.279 not with us. That he has abandoned us. That he's 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:28.839 playing tricks against us. And that is why Dorothy 00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:35.759 spent 50 years of her life hating God. Because 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:41.579 she felt like a stump. As if God had completely 00:33:41.579 --> 00:33:44.759 given her just the wrong treatment altogether. 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:51.900 Unfair. Not just. Why me? But the problem is 00:33:51.900 --> 00:33:56.130 that 50 years of hating God. Did not bring any 00:33:56.130 --> 00:33:58.690 more healing to her heart or any more peace. 00:33:59.150 --> 00:34:05.769 Instead, it took the peace away. So as she became 00:34:05.769 --> 00:34:09.389 an adult and she became older, she decided to 00:34:09.389 --> 00:34:13.010 take a trip to Greece. You know, sometimes changing 00:34:13.010 --> 00:34:19.969 environments helps you breathe differently. But 00:34:19.969 --> 00:34:24.230 as a God -hater, she took that trip. And it so 00:34:24.230 --> 00:34:27.030 happened that in that tour, there were people 00:34:27.030 --> 00:34:29.769 that were gathering to read the Bible in a circle 00:34:29.769 --> 00:34:33.030 together. And they invited her, stand here, you 00:34:33.030 --> 00:34:35.369 know, we're going to read this because this happened 00:34:35.369 --> 00:34:37.969 here in Greece. And they were reading from the 00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:44.150 book of Acts. It was the story of these two guys 00:34:44.150 --> 00:34:46.750 that had arrived to that town where they were 00:34:46.750 --> 00:34:51.250 visiting in Greece. But they had been tortured. 00:34:52.429 --> 00:34:57.030 And treated unjustly. And they had become imprisoned. 00:34:58.389 --> 00:35:02.730 And as these two guys become imprisoned. As she 00:35:02.730 --> 00:35:04.690 is reading and hearing the story being read. 00:35:04.909 --> 00:35:08.769 It's like these two guys started praising God 00:35:08.769 --> 00:35:13.989 with hymns. And at that moment Dorothy said. 00:35:14.269 --> 00:35:22.659 What? How can you sing? Praises to God when you 00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:27.579 have been tortured. Betrayed. Treated so badly. 00:35:28.619 --> 00:35:35.500 And now you are chained in prison. At that moment 00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:38.980 as one who had turned against God. Because of 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:43.039 her own suffering. She started asking questions 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:47.179 about that. Who is this people? Paul and Silas. 00:35:47.380 --> 00:35:52.659 And can you really. Praise God in the midst of 00:35:52.659 --> 00:35:58.099 suffering like that? Yes, you can. And yes, they 00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:01.920 did. And at that moment, Dorothy says, well, 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:09.760 I want to know more about that God. Because 50 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:14.940 years of hating God is heavy. It's 50 years of 00:36:14.940 --> 00:36:19.690 no peace. It's heavy. And now she realizes that 00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:22.630 there's a God that can meet you in your own prison 00:36:22.630 --> 00:36:31.369 and give you peace. And that is how Dorothy started 00:36:31.369 --> 00:36:36.650 learning more about this God. Emmanuel got with 00:36:36.650 --> 00:36:40.789 us. And soon she became a follower of Jesus. 00:36:43.289 --> 00:36:55.400 Shaken tree. A stump. Not anymore. As she started 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:59.780 following Jesus, there was a friend that was 00:36:59.780 --> 00:37:04.500 working in a shelter for women who had been abused, 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:09.199 abandoned. And said to Dorothy, Dorothy, would 00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:11.519 you come and help me a little bit? It's becoming 00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:13.920 very hard. I need extra help. Would you please 00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:16.610 come and help me? And Dorothy says, you know, 00:37:16.710 --> 00:37:20.170 I don't speak Spanish. What am I doing in Mexico? 00:37:21.429 --> 00:37:25.730 Just come, help me. So she went. And at that 00:37:25.730 --> 00:37:30.210 moment, when she met a 13 -year -old girl that 00:37:30.210 --> 00:37:37.190 had been abused, completely hopeless, as a follower 00:37:37.190 --> 00:37:40.949 of Jesus, now she realized that she could not 00:37:40.949 --> 00:37:47.210 stand there and do nothing. And God started calling 00:37:47.210 --> 00:37:51.829 her with the understanding of her own pain and 00:37:51.829 --> 00:37:54.989 journey to now minister to the people that did 00:37:54.989 --> 00:37:59.409 not know the hope. They knew the pain, but they 00:37:59.409 --> 00:38:04.289 did not know God with us. So eventually Dorothy, 00:38:04.510 --> 00:38:09.730 beyond her own imagination and planning, becomes 00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:13.159 the founder of a ministry. That is a shelter 00:38:13.159 --> 00:38:16.659 for women who have been abused and abandoned. 00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:21.179 And as she serves his story, she says, you know, 00:38:21.260 --> 00:38:25.559 I still do not understand why God would use me. 00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:28.960 But I realize that God is not looking for experts. 00:38:29.260 --> 00:38:32.190 He's looking for people who are willing. And 00:38:32.190 --> 00:38:35.110 no matter how old you are and how old you have 00:38:35.110 --> 00:38:37.829 become, you have to understand that God loves 00:38:37.829 --> 00:38:41.530 you, he is with you, and he has a plan for you 00:38:41.530 --> 00:38:48.110 even in your old age. How do you turn a stump 00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:57.110 into a fruitful tree? Well, that takes a person 00:38:57.110 --> 00:39:00.639 and his name is Jesus. And I'm here to tell you, 00:39:00.699 --> 00:39:05.719 you are not a stump. If Jesus is your savior, 00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:09.840 he has the power to redeem your story and bring 00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:18.219 new beginnings, new callings, new impact. So 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:21.659 this prophecy and the fulfillment of Jesus as 00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:25.949 being the very hope in which we stand. Has a 00:39:25.949 --> 00:39:28.449 few implications. The first one of these implications. 00:39:28.889 --> 00:39:34.449 Is that Jesus is indeed our living hope. So you 00:39:34.449 --> 00:39:39.889 do not know hope. Unless you know Jesus. Therefore 00:39:39.889 --> 00:39:43.309 if you are here. And you are listening to this 00:39:43.309 --> 00:39:47.920 study. And Jesus is not your savior. The very 00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:51.719 first thing that God wants you to do is to encounter 00:39:51.719 --> 00:39:55.940 him as your savior. He came to save you from 00:39:55.940 --> 00:40:01.400 your sins. You can choose to do like Ahaz did. 00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:04.860 Go and keep worshiping all the other pagan deities. 00:40:05.699 --> 00:40:09.699 But they have no power to forgive your sins and 00:40:09.699 --> 00:40:12.619 to give you the peace that your soul needs. Only 00:40:12.619 --> 00:40:16.519 Jesus can do that because only Jesus is God with 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:23.260 us. Only Jesus is the God who saves. If God is 00:40:23.260 --> 00:40:27.639 drawing you to him, let this be the day in which 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:30.760 you turn to Jesus and you say, Jesus, I want 00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:34.800 to follow you. Please forgive me for my sins. 00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:38.219 I turn away from them and I'm going to follow 00:40:38.219 --> 00:40:41.099 you the rest of my life. Would you make me one? 00:40:41.739 --> 00:40:45.820 Of your people. That is something that you can 00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:49.300 do. Anytime. Anywhere. And here right now. Today. 00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:56.619 Experience Jesus. As your living hope. And you 00:40:56.619 --> 00:41:01.940 will see. That even 50 years of hating God. Can 00:41:01.940 --> 00:41:04.599 turn now in the rest of your life. Loving him. 00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:11.119 It's amazing what God can do. If you just let 00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:16.059 him. The second implication for us. Is that if 00:41:16.059 --> 00:41:19.380 you are a follower of Jesus. The Bible says that 00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:21.639 the moment you believed in Jesus. And you heard 00:41:21.639 --> 00:41:24.820 the gospel of truth. That at that moment of believing. 00:41:25.099 --> 00:41:28.059 You were given the Holy Spirit to live in you. 00:41:28.199 --> 00:41:32.599 As a seal until the day of redemption. Which 00:41:32.599 --> 00:41:36.059 means that if you are a follower of Jesus, God 00:41:36.059 --> 00:41:42.500 is with you, in you, and for you. There's never 00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:46.119 a second, there's never a minute of your life 00:41:46.119 --> 00:41:49.699 in which God is not with you. It's impossible. 00:41:51.300 --> 00:41:53.760 Because He is in you, you are sealed with the 00:41:53.760 --> 00:41:58.820 Spirit until the day of redemption. So if you 00:41:58.820 --> 00:42:01.800 have been shaken like a tree in the wind and 00:42:01.800 --> 00:42:04.500 the storm. And you have been doubting whether 00:42:04.500 --> 00:42:08.300 God is with you or not. If you are in a place 00:42:08.300 --> 00:42:10.579 in which you have become discouraged. Because 00:42:10.579 --> 00:42:13.079 you have been believing that God is against you. 00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:15.659 That God has forgotten you. That he does not 00:42:15.659 --> 00:42:19.519 see you. I'm here to tell you. Those are lies 00:42:19.519 --> 00:42:22.579 from your true enemy. And your true enemy is 00:42:22.579 --> 00:42:28.130 not God. Your true enemy is the devil. He's a 00:42:28.130 --> 00:42:33.449 master liar. And he wants to deceive you so that 00:42:33.449 --> 00:42:36.210 you will walk away from God rather than to him. 00:42:38.289 --> 00:42:41.429 So today is the day for you to realize that you 00:42:41.429 --> 00:42:45.670 have been duped by the enemy. And that's why 00:42:45.670 --> 00:42:51.829 you have no peace. Don't point your finger to 00:42:51.829 --> 00:42:56.079 God. Instead let him point the finger at the 00:42:56.079 --> 00:43:02.460 path ahead and you follow him. So today as we 00:43:02.460 --> 00:43:06.380 pray, tell the Lord, Lord I renounce the fear 00:43:06.380 --> 00:43:10.039 that you have abandoned me. I renounce the lie 00:43:10.039 --> 00:43:12.739 that you are not with me, that you don't care 00:43:12.739 --> 00:43:15.719 about my future. I renounce that in your presence 00:43:15.719 --> 00:43:24.519 because you are God with us. And the last implication 00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:29.719 for us is that there's only one way of facing 00:43:29.719 --> 00:43:35.539 this storm. And you must stand firm in your faith. 00:43:35.619 --> 00:43:40.940 There's no other solid ground, only Jesus. And 00:43:40.940 --> 00:43:43.440 once you are in the midst of this storm, when 00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:47.000 things become so hard, where you are in that 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:50.019 space of thinking, there's no way I can go through 00:43:50.019 --> 00:43:53.340 this one more day. I don't think I can do this. 00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:57.000 When you are in that space. What are you going 00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:03.219 to do? Are you going to abandon the faith? For 00:44:03.219 --> 00:44:07.119 what? There's no hope in any other name under 00:44:07.119 --> 00:44:11.920 heaven. But in Jesus alone. You will not find 00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:15.960 what your soul needs. Stand firm in your faith. 00:44:16.500 --> 00:44:20.590 And that's exactly what Isaiah told Ahaz. If 00:44:20.590 --> 00:44:24.329 you do not stand firm in your faith now. You 00:44:24.329 --> 00:44:27.489 will not end up standing at the end. You will 00:44:27.489 --> 00:44:31.869 be uprooted. A fallen tree. Only with regrets 00:44:31.869 --> 00:44:35.090 for the rest of your life. Because at the crucial 00:44:35.090 --> 00:44:37.809 moment of trusting God with your doubts and your 00:44:37.809 --> 00:44:41.530 pain. You chose not to remain strong in your 00:44:41.530 --> 00:44:49.570 faith. Remain strong in your faith. The storm. 00:44:50.110 --> 00:44:57.369 Will pass. The storm will end. And not only you 00:44:57.369 --> 00:45:01.429 will remain standing. But God will bring you 00:45:01.429 --> 00:45:06.829 a season of fruit. Fruitfulness that will bring 00:45:06.829 --> 00:45:10.050 glory and impact for his kingdom like never before. 00:45:12.130 --> 00:45:20.059 Father. Why do you love us so much? Us to do 00:45:20.059 --> 00:45:23.539 so much. So that we could be saved from our sins. 00:45:25.960 --> 00:45:31.760 So that the storm will not uproot us. So that 00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:34.400 being a stump will not be the end of our story. 00:45:36.500 --> 00:45:39.119 I don't know why you love us so much. But thank 00:45:39.119 --> 00:45:43.420 you for loving us that much. And today in this 00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:51.679 moment. In this place. Remind us that you never 00:45:51.679 --> 00:45:56.500 left us. Remind us that you are not the enemy. 00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:06.679 Remind us that you are with us. In Jesus' name 00:46:06.679 --> 00:46:16.079 we pray, amen. Thank you for tuning in to the 00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:20.530 ECB Sermon Podcast. Whether near or far, if you 00:46:20.530 --> 00:46:23.750 are looking for community or are in need of prayer, 00:46:24.050 --> 00:46:27.289 we welcome you to engage by sending us an email 00:46:27.289 --> 00:46:32.650 to office at ecb .asia. If God is calling you 00:46:32.650 --> 00:46:35.389 to support our ministries, you will find giving 00:46:35.389 --> 00:46:39.190 options on our website. And remember to join 00:46:39.190 --> 00:46:41.269 us next week. God bless you.