WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:07.580 Hi there, welcome to NECF. We're excited to share 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:10.679 today's message with you. Don't go anywhere, 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.500 stay with us till the end for some valuable resources 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.359 to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:28.100 Colossians chapter 1, I'll be teaching on the 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:32.119 will of God for the believers. The will of God 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:35.240 for believers. We are writing the will of God 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:39.939 for believers. Colossians chapter 1. The letter 00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:43.280 of Paul to the church in Colossae. Colossians 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:48.320 chapter 1. From verse 1 to 15. Please be sensitive 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:53.219 to what God is doing. He is speaking to us. And 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:56.840 he is edifying us. Paul, an apostle of Jesus 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:01.179 Christ. By the will of God and Timothy, our brother, 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:04.659 to the saints and the faithful brethren in Christ 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:12.519 who are in Colossae. Verse 3. We give thanks 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:16.019 to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:19.459 praying always for you, since we heard of your 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:24.840 faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.780 the saints. Because of the hope which is laid 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:32.019 up for you in heaven, of which you heard before 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:36.760 in the word of the truth of the gospel, which 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:41.159 has come to you as it has also in all the world, 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:45.780 and is bringing forth truth as it is also among 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:49.840 you since the day you heard and knew the grace 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:55.359 of God in truth. Verse 7. As we also learn from 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.760 Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:04.079 minister of Christ on our behalf, who also declared 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:10.599 to us your love in the Spirit. Your love in the 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:14.659 Spirit. So for this reason, we also, since the 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:18.219 day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you 00:02:18.219 --> 00:02:23.210 and to ask that you may be filled. with the knowledge 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:27.629 of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 00:02:27.930 --> 00:02:32.610 that you may work worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing 00:02:32.610 --> 00:02:35.729 to him, pleasing him rather, being fruitful in 00:02:35.729 --> 00:02:39.169 every good work and increasing in the knowledge 00:02:39.169 --> 00:02:43.710 of God. Strengthen with all mind according to 00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:47.110 his glorious power for all patience and longsuffering 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:50.349 with joy. Giving thanks to the Father who has 00:02:50.349 --> 00:02:55.409 qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance 00:02:55.409 --> 00:03:01.509 of the saints in light. He has delivered us from 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:05.189 the power of darkness, has conveyed us into the 00:03:05.189 --> 00:03:09.289 kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have 00:03:09.289 --> 00:03:12.530 redemption through His blood, the forgiveness 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.110 of sins. The last verse from here, verse 15, 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:19.620 it says, He is the image. of the invisible God, 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:26.319 the firstborn of all creation. Hallelujah. The 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:31.099 will of God for believers. Now, thanks to not 00:03:31.099 --> 00:03:34.939 from this passage, the Paul here is writing to 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:40.159 who? To a church. He says to faithful Christians, 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:42.860 Christians that are faithful and committed in 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:46.080 their work with God. Faithful Christians whom 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:49.460 he has received a good report of their faith 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:54.340 in Christ Jesus and love which they show for 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:56.800 themselves, for their brethren. And of course, 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.800 Paul received this good report from Epaphras, 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:03.680 a faithful minister of Christ. He's one of them. 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:06.340 He's their pastor. He's their minister. And he's 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:09.599 given a good report of the people of God to Paul 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.889 of their faithfulness, of their love. Of their 00:04:14.889 --> 00:04:17.730 growth. Of their commitment to the things of 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:21.149 God. Of their indulgence in the spiritual things. 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:24.689 Verse 9 and verse 10. It's a place of our focus. 00:04:25.189 --> 00:04:27.870 It says for this reason. Which reason? For the 00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:32.009 good report I've had of you. For the love I've 00:04:32.009 --> 00:04:36.089 had. That you have in the spirit. Verse 8. Who 00:04:36.089 --> 00:04:38.149 also declared to us your love in the spirit. 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:44.420 For this reason. We also, since the day we had 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:49.360 it, we do not cease to pray for you. We do not 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:50.939 cease to pray for you. And what is our prayer? 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:57.259 Our prayer is that we ask that you, that is the 00:04:57.259 --> 00:04:59.519 church, that is the people of God, that is the 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:02.379 faithful Christians, the faithful men and women 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:08.500 of God, that you may be filled with what? With 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:13.959 the knowledge. The knowledge of his will. Whose 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:18.680 will? The knowledge of the will of God. The knowledge 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:23.699 of the will of God in all wisdom, which is spiritual 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:28.220 understanding. This wisdom is spiritual understanding. 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:32.240 So the desire of Paul is that these people will 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:36.779 know, will have a grasp, will fully comprehend, 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:41.379 will have a perfect knowledge. Of what God desires. 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:46.339 Of what God desires. So poor prayer is that they 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:49.500 may be filled with what? With the knowledge. 00:05:49.899 --> 00:05:52.360 If the Bible is yours, underline that knowledge. 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:56.939 That they may be filled with the knowledge. That 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.620 they may be filled with what? With knowledge. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.100 The knowledge of what? The knowledge not of physics. 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:09.459 The knowledge not of chemistry or politics. or 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:13.399 commerce, or government, not of even history, 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:19.300 but a knowledge of what? Of the will of God. 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:23.740 So what is that knowledge? The word knowledge 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:26.980 in that text. The word knowledge is translated 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:30.040 into the English language from the Greek word 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:35.600 epignosis. E -P -I -G -N -O -S -I -S. Epignosis. 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:45.779 E... P -E -P -I -G -N -O -S -I -S. Epignosis. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:54.019 And this epignosis means precise. It means a 00:06:54.019 --> 00:07:00.339 precise and accurate knowledge. A precise and 00:07:00.339 --> 00:07:05.100 correct knowledge of the will of God. Which means 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:07.779 that... There could be a knowledge of God that 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.500 is not precise. There could be the knowledge 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:12.860 of the will of God that is not accurate. There 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:14.699 could be the knowledge of the will of God that 00:07:14.699 --> 00:07:17.300 is not correct. And you know, the funny thing 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:20.439 is that some people's entire Christian life is 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:23.800 built upon a distorted knowledge of the will 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:27.899 of God. Some people's entire Christianity is 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:31.759 built upon false doctrine, a distorted knowledge 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.529 of what God demands. A distorted knowledge of 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.930 what God has in plan for humanity. A distorted 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:42.350 knowledge of what God wants of us who are his 00:07:42.350 --> 00:07:45.790 people. Now the precise knowledge of God's will 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:51.670 is essential to fulfilling God's will. The precise 00:07:51.670 --> 00:07:55.170 knowledge of God's will is very vital, is important 00:07:55.170 --> 00:07:58.910 if you and I that are believers will do what 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:00.670 God wants us to do because it is God's desire 00:08:00.670 --> 00:08:04.439 that we do his will. Without knowing what is 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.720 expected of you, it is impossible to do that 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:10.800 which you have been instructed to do accurately. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:15.759 Imagine you enter an exam hall and then the professor 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.019 gives an instruction. Some of us actually, unfortunately, 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:23.740 don't read exam instructions. I remember ever 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:26.759 entering an exam back in high school and the 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.879 teacher wrote almost 20 questions in the paper. 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:33.070 And they write instructions so tiny. And the 00:08:33.070 --> 00:08:37.129 instruction is write your name and submit. Nobody 00:08:37.129 --> 00:08:40.970 read the instruction. There was time and everything. 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:43.629 But there's an instruction, write your name and 00:08:43.629 --> 00:08:48.250 submit. Just a test to see whether we listen 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:50.149 to instructions, we understand instructions. 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:53.950 And everybody was busy answering questions. Writing, 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:57.830 writing, and writing. Which means that everybody 00:08:57.830 --> 00:09:01.019 failed the exams. If you don't understand instruction, 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.580 it is impossible for you to do what God demands. 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:07.860 If you don't understand the will of God, it is 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:11.419 impossible for you to do the will of God. And 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:13.960 if you have a distorted knowledge of the will 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:17.720 of God, definitely we will have a distorted result 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:21.799 in our lives. What is that word will in verse 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:26.759 9? The word will in verse 9. The word will is 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.179 also translated from another Greek word, thilema. 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:37.460 T -H -E -L -E -M -A. T -H -E -L -E -M -A. Which 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:44.299 means, what one wishes or desires. No, no. What 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:48.039 one wishes or has determined shall be done. What 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:52.000 one wishes or has determined. That shall be done. 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.240 It also means, it means the person's will, right? 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:56.120 It means the person's choice. The word means 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.820 the person's choice. The person's inclination, 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.019 his desire, his pleasure. What gives him pleasure? 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:05.679 Do you know what God wants of you as a believer? 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:08.820 Do you know what demands of you as a believer? 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:12.120 Do you know what gives God pleasure as a believer? 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:15.799 We can see the usage of the word will, the lima, 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:21.759 in other places in scriptures. Matthew 6, verse 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.179 10, quickly. Matthew 6, verse 10, where we usually 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:30.460 refer to as the Lord's Prayer. It says, your 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:35.559 kingdom, what? Your kingdom come. Your will, 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:42.899 what? Be done on earth as it is in heaven. What 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:47.320 is done in heaven, the culture of heaven where 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:52.240 God lives. should be established where? On the 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.120 earth. Of course, we know this is before Jesus 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.980 died and he rose again. Chapter 7, verse 21. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:02.500 Chapter 7, verse 21. It says, Not everyone who 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:07.500 says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:14.299 of heaven. But he who does the will of my Father, 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:19.700 where? In heaven. So how does one get into the 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:28.580 kingdom of heaven? How? Huh? By what? Huh? Believers, 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:33.139 how do we enter the kingdom of heaven? By believing. 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:41.559 Right? By faith. You see, we don't enter by works. 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:43.179 If you are entering by works, it means that you 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:45.690 don't know what the will of God is. The will 00:11:45.690 --> 00:11:47.529 of God is that you believe, that you have faith 00:11:47.529 --> 00:11:51.690 in what Jesus has done. So not everyone who says 00:11:51.690 --> 00:11:54.350 to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:58.549 heaven, but he who does what? Who does the pleasure 00:11:58.549 --> 00:12:02.470 of God? Who does what God desires? Who does what 00:12:02.470 --> 00:12:10.629 God demands of us? The will of God. Chapter 12, 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:13.210 verse 50. We'll see another place where the word... 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:19.220 Wheel is used. 12 verse 50. For whosoever does 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:23.000 the wheel of my Father in heaven is what? Is 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:26.899 my brother and my sister and my mother. This 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:30.659 is Jesus speaking. Whoever does the wheel of 00:12:30.659 --> 00:12:37.039 God is my father. Who does the wheel of my Father 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:41.600 in heaven is my brother, is my sister, and is 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.350 my mother. That is to say, when you do the will 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:46.190 of God, you come into fellowship with Jesus. 00:12:46.610 --> 00:12:50.289 You come into the family of God by doing the 00:12:50.289 --> 00:12:54.350 will of God. Chapter 18, verse 14. The word will. 00:12:54.809 --> 00:12:58.990 Even so, it is not the will. Now, this is opposite. 00:12:59.190 --> 00:13:02.950 This is in the negative. Even so, it is not the 00:13:02.950 --> 00:13:06.830 will. It is not the desire. It is not the demand. 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:10.419 It is not the pleasure of your father. Who is 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.740 in heaven that one of these little ones should 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:17.659 perish? So God does not desire, God does not 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:23.259 have pleasure for people to be perished. Amen? 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:29.519 Luke chapter 22, verse 42. Luke 22, verse 42. 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:34.179 Saying, Father, this is Jesus here, praying, 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:38.419 if it is your will, take this cup. away from 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:42.940 me. Nevertheless, not my will, but what? But 00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:45.779 yours be done. This is Jesus submitting to what? 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:49.100 To the will of the Father. What we do to the 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:51.440 will of the Father is that we submit to the will 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.779 of the Father. We embrace the will of the Father 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:58.059 even if it is comfortable. We embrace the will 00:13:58.059 --> 00:13:59.700 of the Father even when we don't understand. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:04.779 We submit to what gives God pleasure at all times, 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:08.789 at all seasons. And all circumstances, because 00:14:08.789 --> 00:14:13.129 that is what God desires. Luke 23, verse 25. 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.669 And he released them, the one who they requested. 00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:19.289 Now this is the Jewish, the Jewish people. Who 00:14:19.289 --> 00:14:23.049 for rebellion and murder had been thrown into 00:14:23.049 --> 00:14:25.870 prison. Who are they? Who are we talking about 00:14:25.870 --> 00:14:29.110 here? Barabbas, right? But he delivered Jesus 00:14:29.110 --> 00:14:31.830 to their will. So what is it? The word will here 00:14:31.830 --> 00:14:35.470 is a desire of the people. What the people wants 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.799 to happen. What do people plan to happen? What 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.259 do people desire to see manifested? They desire 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:48.340 to see Jesus crucified. The word will. John chapter 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:55.580 1 verse 13. John chapter 1 verse 13. Our salvation 00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:59.659 here. Look at our salvation. Who were born not 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:03.379 of the blood nor of the will of what? Of the 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:06.200 flesh. Which means that you being born again 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.220 is not the works of, is not an orchestration 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:13.840 of man. Alright? It's not a plan. Your salvation 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.740 is not designed by you or your economic council 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:21.460 in your country or your pastor or your church 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:26.440 elders. Your salvation is the will of who? Of 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:31.259 God. God planned, God orchestrated, God desire. 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.200 and executed your salvation. It is all about 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.460 him, what he desires and what he manifested in 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:41.759 Christ Jesus. Chapter 4, John chapter 4, verse 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:46.620 34. John chapter 4, verse 34. Jesus said to them, 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:53.840 my food is what? Is to do the desire. Is to do 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:58.559 the wishes. Is to do what God has determined. 00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:05.549 Is to do the pleasure. Of him who sent me. And 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:09.769 to do what? And to finish whose work? His work. 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:15.350 God's work. So Jesus was committed to one thing. 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:19.269 The commitment of Jesus Christ. Must be the commitment 00:16:19.269 --> 00:16:23.830 of the believer. The will of the father. The 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:26.710 will of the father. And of course we have the 00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:30.110 ability to do the will of the father. What that 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:32.919 takes. You can read also John chapter 5 verse 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:37.059 30, John chapter 6 verse 38 to 40. You can write 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:39.259 it down, John chapter 5 verse 30, John chapter 00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:42.799 6 verse 38 to 40. Ephesians chapter 1 from verse 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.559 1 down to 11 is the will of God, the will of 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.899 God, by the will of God. So we see that Paul's 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:54.860 prayer is for the saints, the believers, the 00:16:54.860 --> 00:17:00.330 Christians, to have a correct... precise knowledge 00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:05.430 of what God wishes or has determined shall be 00:17:05.430 --> 00:17:10.049 done or should be done, God's choice, God's plan, 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:16.670 His desire, and His pleasure for humanity. Hallelujah. 00:17:17.410 --> 00:17:21.109 Now, the understanding of this, of God's will, 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:25.609 will result in what we see in the next verse, 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:32.099 Colossians. chapter 1, verse 10. With the understanding 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:36.900 of the precise knowledge, the accurate knowledge 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:41.240 of the will of the Father, that you may walk 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:46.859 worthy of the Lord to fully pleasing Him. In 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:49.759 pleasing Him, you are being fruitful, Lord, in 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:54.640 every good work and increasing in the knowledge 00:17:54.640 --> 00:18:00.299 of God. Being fruitful, In every good work is 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:04.380 a product of understanding what God wants of 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:08.839 you and then you do it. Without understanding 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:11.519 precisely, without understanding accurately, 00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:16.099 it is impossible to become what's fruitful in 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:20.059 every good work. So the knowledge of God's will 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:24.680 results in working in alignment with God. It 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:28.619 results in doing what pleases God. It results 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:34.599 to being fruitful in every good work. Now, abounding 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.960 or fruitfulness in every good work refers to 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:43.440 what? Ministry. Amen? It refers to what? It refers 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:47.599 to ministry. It refers to ministry. And it's 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.259 to the saints, to every saint, to every believer. 00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:54.230 to every Christian, every man that is born again, 00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:57.910 it's called to ministry. You must know that that 00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.029 is the will of God for you. That is the plan 00:19:00.029 --> 00:19:02.569 of God for you. That is the desire of God for 00:19:02.569 --> 00:19:07.390 you. So your effectiveness and precision in ministry 00:19:07.390 --> 00:19:11.769 are a product of knowing what exactly God's plan 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:17.309 is. You must know what God's plan is for you, 00:19:17.410 --> 00:19:20.119 the believer. You must know what the will of 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.319 God is for you, the believer. And there's no 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:26.799 way you can find the will of God. Then what? 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:30.079 That in the word of God. Because the word of 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.460 God is a written word of God for the believer 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:36.420 to know God's plan, to know God's purpose, to 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:38.779 know God's desire for you, to know God's desire 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:41.640 for the church, to know the hope to which you 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.660 were called without an explanation. Without an 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:48.700 accurate teaching of the word of God, it is impossible 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:53.920 for you to know what God demands of you. Because 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:57.839 it is all about the will of God and less of us. 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:02.079 Hallelujah. Now let's look at the believer's 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:08.660 identity. Who we are. It is important to note 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:12.359 that the believer's identity comes with... a 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:14.839 responsibility, or let me say the responsibility. 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:20.140 The knowledge of the believer's identity comes 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:23.680 with a responsibility to fulfill God's eternal 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:29.960 plan on earth. The knowledge of your identity 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:34.380 comes with a responsibility upon you to do the 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:39.240 will of God. 1 Peter chapter 1. Let's read 1 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:42.769 Peter chapter 1 from verse 22. Down to chapter 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:48.750 2, verse 1 to 10. 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter 00:20:48.750 --> 00:21:10.099 chapter 1 from verse 22. but incorruptible through 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:12.839 the word of God, which lives and abides forever. 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:18.740 Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:22.140 of man as the flowers of the grass. The grass 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:27.440 withers, and its flowers fall away. But the word 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:31.599 of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.160 word which by the gospel was preached to you. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:39.480 Chapter 2. Therefore laying aside all malice, 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:43.160 all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:48.940 as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:53.000 word, that you who may grow, if indeed you have 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:58.980 tested that the Lord is gracious. Coming to him 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:04.559 as to a living stone. We're singing about the 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.390 rock Elaron. And who or what do we say is a rock? 00:22:09.329 --> 00:22:14.230 Huh? The Lord is a rock, right? Or the rock is 00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:19.430 the Lord. Hallelujah. Coming to him as to a living 00:22:19.430 --> 00:22:26.470 stone rejected indeed by men but chosen by God 00:22:26.470 --> 00:22:35.170 and precious. You also as living stones are being 00:22:35.609 --> 00:22:41.869 Let me say, I built up a spiritual house, a holy 00:22:41.869 --> 00:22:47.430 priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable 00:22:47.430 --> 00:22:51.750 to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is 00:22:51.750 --> 00:22:55.170 also contained in Scripture. Behold, I lay Zion 00:22:55.170 --> 00:22:59.609 a chief cornerstone, elect precious. And he who 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:03.869 believes on him will by no means be put to shame. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:09.039 Therefore to whom believe, he is precious. But 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:12.720 to those who are disobedient, the stone which 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:15.920 the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:20.259 and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:25.140 So when you believe, this rock is not a stumbling 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:31.220 block. It's not a rock of offense. It says they 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:34.500 stumble, being disobedient. What is that disobedience? 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:39.259 They refuse to believe that rock. Amen? They 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:43.019 refuse to believe that rock. So we are built 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:46.720 on him. That was our song. The Lord is a rock 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.420 of which we are built on him. When you don't 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:52.420 believe in a rock, you are like that foolish 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:56.539 man that builds his life on what? On the sun. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.799 And we know what happened to that house. We know 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:02.339 what happened to that life. So they stumbled 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:05.839 being disobedient to the word to which they also 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:13.059 were appointed. But you, say but I, but you are 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:18.980 a chosen generation, a royal pursuit, a holy 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:28.240 nation, His own special people, that you May 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.059 proclaim the praises of him who called you out 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:35.420 of darkness into his marvelous light. Who once 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:38.759 were not a people, but now the people of God. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:43.779 Who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:49.880 mercy. Hallelujah. So in chapter 2, verse 4 and 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:54.440 5, we see the identity of the believers. We see 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:57.630 the identity of the church. The identity of the 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:02.809 believers. The identity of. We believers. It's 00:25:02.809 --> 00:25:06.269 coming to him as a living stone. Rejected indeed 00:25:06.269 --> 00:25:10.109 by men. But chosen by God. And precious. You 00:25:10.109 --> 00:25:16.269 also. It called Jesus the living stone. And also 00:25:16.269 --> 00:25:20.309 called us. The believers. You also a living stone. 00:25:20.450 --> 00:25:22.730 As living stones. See the living stones is in 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:26.039 plural. Meaning everybody. That believes is also 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:29.480 what? It's a living stone. That is the identity 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:34.720 of every believer. I built up a what? A spiritual 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:40.240 house. A habitation. A spiritual house. A holy 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.859 priesthood. Holy means set apart. A priesthood. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.519 A priest. A priesthood. You know, we used to 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:52.940 say every Sunday that we are priests. Isn't it? 00:25:53.549 --> 00:25:56.470 We are priests. We are what? We are kings. We 00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:01.069 are what? And prophets. Hallelujah. So we are 00:26:01.069 --> 00:26:04.390 a holy priesthood to offer what? We offer up 00:26:04.390 --> 00:26:08.210 spiritual sacrifices acceptable to go through 00:26:08.210 --> 00:26:13.609 Jesus Christ. So we see in verse 4, Jesus is 00:26:13.609 --> 00:26:17.390 a living stone. And we see believers also referred 00:26:17.390 --> 00:26:21.109 to as living stones. This is what we call identification. 00:26:22.399 --> 00:26:27.339 Amen? We identified with him. Because of who 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:31.059 he is, we become. Because of who he is and what 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:35.440 he has done, we become. So we identify with his 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:40.059 nature because we believe. This is identification. 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:43.920 The phrase as living stones identifies us with 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:48.960 Christ. He is the living stone and we are also 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:53.460 living stones. We live. Because we share in his 00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:58.500 resurrection, in his resurrection life, by believing 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:04.559 in what he has done. Hallelujah. How many of 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.079 us know that this living stone is a figure of 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:13.019 speech? We know, right? Are you a stone? Are 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:17.660 you a rock? You are a human being. So, it's a 00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:22.680 way of communication. Right? In English, what 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:28.920 do we call it? Simile? Or metaphor? Okay, what 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:31.140 if we carry the characteristics of a living thing 00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:34.559 and give to a non -living thing? So, let's join 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:39.700 the two together. Of course, it's metaphorical, 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:45.380 right? But we are seen as what? As living stones. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:50.680 Okay? And what is our function? We have been 00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:55.460 built up into a spiritual house. That is also 00:27:55.460 --> 00:28:01.140 metaphoric. Right? To us, it is a metaphor. But 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:03.819 spiritually, it is a reality. It is not a metaphor 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.380 spiritually. Do you understand what I just said 00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:11.180 now? It is a spiritual reality. We must define 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:15.519 what stone is. Stone is a Bible language. So 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:20.390 stone is equal to stone in Bible language. And 00:28:20.390 --> 00:28:26.390 you are a house. Conglomerately, we are the house 00:28:26.390 --> 00:28:28.430 of God. We are the church of God. We are the 00:28:28.430 --> 00:28:33.450 habitation where God dwells. Hallelujah. We are 00:28:33.450 --> 00:28:36.930 the house of God. So we've been built up into 00:28:36.930 --> 00:28:41.410 a spiritual house. We are not only a spiritual 00:28:41.410 --> 00:28:44.950 house, but we are a holy priesthood. So what 00:28:44.950 --> 00:28:48.569 is our identity? We are identified in Christ. 00:28:48.609 --> 00:28:51.690 Our identity is in Christ. We are who Christ 00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:58.470 is. Amen? We are identified with him. We are 00:28:58.470 --> 00:29:04.190 a holy priesthood. What does a priest do? A priest 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:11.490 offers spiritual sacrifice to God. So from this, 00:29:11.609 --> 00:29:14.650 we can know that the believers, collective and 00:29:14.650 --> 00:29:18.359 individual, Collectively and individually, we 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:22.660 are spiritual, right? We are heavenly. Spiritual 00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:25.359 simply means that we are heavenly. Spiritual 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:29.240 simply means that we are not only physical, but 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:33.299 we are spiritual by nature. Our nature, our identity 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:38.599 first is that we are spiritual men. We are heavenly. 00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:44.099 And we are a dwelling place of God. We are God's 00:29:44.099 --> 00:29:49.250 house. God's temple. I want us to note also that 00:29:49.250 --> 00:29:53.549 this conversation is about a union. The union, 00:29:53.650 --> 00:29:56.769 if you look through all scripture, right? We 00:29:56.769 --> 00:30:00.750 are in God and God is in us. It's a union. Hallelujah. 00:30:01.369 --> 00:30:07.630 It's a union. So the believers collectively are 00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:11.750 the priesthood who offer spiritual sacrifices 00:30:11.750 --> 00:30:17.390 to God. The priest under the law, the priest 00:30:17.390 --> 00:30:21.130 under the law, the law of Moses, performs activities 00:30:21.130 --> 00:30:23.869 where? Where does he perform his activities? 00:30:24.849 --> 00:30:28.369 Inside the temple, the physical temple. So what 00:30:28.369 --> 00:30:31.750 we see Moses did, Moses created what? A shadow 00:30:31.750 --> 00:30:36.450 of the reality. Moses created a type of what 00:30:36.450 --> 00:30:42.450 he saw in the heavenly. So the temple... It's 00:30:42.450 --> 00:30:46.549 a physical representation, a pointer to the real, 00:30:46.809 --> 00:30:51.869 which is our reality today. So the priest under 00:30:51.869 --> 00:30:55.289 the law performs activities in the temple. He 00:30:55.289 --> 00:30:58.690 goes into the Holy of Holies, the dwelling of 00:30:58.690 --> 00:31:01.750 God, and offers sacrifice. He offers blood on 00:31:01.750 --> 00:31:06.569 the altar. The priest is a typology of what Christ 00:31:06.569 --> 00:31:10.690 has done. Number one, it's a typology of what... 00:31:10.910 --> 00:31:14.670 Of what Christ has done. Alright. His activity 00:31:14.670 --> 00:31:17.730 in the temple. Is an expression. Whose activity? 00:31:18.069 --> 00:31:21.450 The activity of the priest under the law. Is 00:31:21.450 --> 00:31:27.089 an expression. Of what Christ did. In other words. 00:31:27.150 --> 00:31:32.869 The priest. Is proclaiming. The work of Christ. 00:31:33.549 --> 00:31:38.589 The priest. Is demonstrating. What Christ has 00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:43.569 done. The priest is showing, I would say, the 00:31:43.569 --> 00:31:48.509 priest is teaching what Christ will do. Which 00:31:48.509 --> 00:31:50.549 our reality, Christ has already done it. Hallelujah. 00:31:51.569 --> 00:31:57.210 So we are a holy priesthood. And what we do also 00:31:57.210 --> 00:32:02.450 is offer a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to 00:32:02.450 --> 00:32:06.029 God. What is this spiritual sacrifice that is 00:32:06.029 --> 00:32:09.170 acceptable to God? What is this spiritual sacrifice 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:12.309 that is acceptable to God? What is this spiritual? 00:32:12.490 --> 00:32:15.849 We didn't say it's a fiscal sacrifice. We're 00:32:15.849 --> 00:32:20.710 not saying give $10 ,000 as a sacrifice. That's 00:32:20.710 --> 00:32:22.589 not what we're talking about here. We're not 00:32:22.589 --> 00:32:24.769 saying bring ram and bull to be slaughtered for 00:32:24.769 --> 00:32:29.710 sacrifice. No. The sacrifice is a spiritual sacrifice. 00:32:30.549 --> 00:32:36.799 So what spiritual sacrifice do we offer? The 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:41.819 proclamation of his praises. Amen. The proclamation 00:32:41.819 --> 00:32:45.259 of his praises. Look at verse 9. 1 Peter 2 verse 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:48.779 9. Let's read verse 5 and then we read verse 00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:54.160 9. It says, you also as living stones are being 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:59.480 built up a spiritual house. A holy priesthood. 00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:03.309 So a priest has a function. You are a holy priesthood. 00:33:03.430 --> 00:33:06.069 To do what? To offer up spiritual sacrifices 00:33:06.069 --> 00:33:09.630 that is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:12.490 And we see it emphasized again in verse 9. Verse 00:33:12.490 --> 00:33:15.930 9 says, But you are a chosen generation, a royal 00:33:15.930 --> 00:33:21.250 priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, 00:33:21.569 --> 00:33:26.769 that you may what? What does a priest do? He 00:33:26.769 --> 00:33:30.109 offers sacrifices, right? Spiritual sacrifices. 00:33:30.309 --> 00:33:33.710 And we see emphasis here. A priesthood to do 00:33:33.710 --> 00:33:37.930 what? To proclaim. Hallelujah. To proclaim the 00:33:37.930 --> 00:33:40.890 praises of him who called you out of darkness 00:33:40.890 --> 00:33:44.269 into his marvelous light. Which means that what 00:33:44.269 --> 00:33:48.430 the priest in all order honored the Lord of Moses 00:33:48.430 --> 00:33:51.670 as he goes into the temple and is doing those 00:33:51.670 --> 00:33:56.390 activities. What is he doing? He's pointing at 00:33:56.390 --> 00:34:00.200 what? What Jesus will do. In Christ. In his death 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:02.640 and his burial and his resurrection. So also 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:07.599 are we. As priests under the new order. In Christ 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:12.059 Jesus. We offer. What? A spiritual sacrifice. 00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:15.519 And I say that this sacrifice we see in verse 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:19.519 9. That you may proclaim the praises of him. 00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:22.699 Who called you out of darkness. Into his marvelous 00:34:22.699 --> 00:34:27.280 light. So our identity as living stones. That 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:31.360 is, spiritual people that are built up into a 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:34.960 spiritual house comes with a priestly responsibility 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:40.820 of the proclamation of the works of God. Let 00:34:40.820 --> 00:34:45.400 me repeat that. Our identity as living stones, 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:49.059 as spiritual people that are built up into a 00:34:49.059 --> 00:34:53.340 spiritual house comes alongside with our priestly 00:34:53.340 --> 00:34:58.269 responsibility. Of the proclamation of the works 00:34:58.269 --> 00:35:02.809 of God. So you are a priest unto God. Because 00:35:02.809 --> 00:35:05.869 you believe in Jesus Christ. In other words. 00:35:06.250 --> 00:35:11.230 You are a minister of God unto good works. Amen. 00:35:11.730 --> 00:35:16.570 You are a minister of God unto good works. Ephesians 00:35:16.570 --> 00:35:18.969 chapter 2 verse 10. It says for we are God's 00:35:18.969 --> 00:35:21.449 masterpiece. Ephesians 2 verse 10 NLT. It says 00:35:21.449 --> 00:35:24.670 for we are God's masterpiece. He has created 00:35:24.670 --> 00:35:30.449 us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do good 00:35:30.449 --> 00:35:35.769 things he planned for us long ago. What good 00:35:35.769 --> 00:35:38.789 things has he planned long ago? That is his will, 00:35:38.909 --> 00:35:42.090 that is his purpose for the believer. These good 00:35:42.090 --> 00:35:45.070 things he has planned for us are the work of 00:35:45.070 --> 00:35:47.969 ministry, the proclamation of his good works. 00:35:48.619 --> 00:35:51.679 2 Corinthians 5, verse 18 to 19, NLT says, and 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:56.019 all of this is a gift from God. Your selection 00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:58.920 and your being chosen by God is a product of 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:02.599 God's grace. It's a gift from God who brought 00:36:02.599 --> 00:36:07.480 us back to himself through Christ. And God has 00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:12.039 given us his tax of what? Of reconciling people 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:16.059 to him. For God was in Christ. Reconciling the 00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:18.940 world to himself. No longer counting people's 00:36:18.940 --> 00:36:22.420 sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful 00:36:22.420 --> 00:36:26.960 message of reconciliation. So the believers have 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:30.219 a responsibility. The reconciliation of men to 00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:35.599 God. By the proclamation of his good works. So. 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:39.659 What does it mean to proclaim? What does it mean 00:36:39.659 --> 00:36:43.519 to proclaim? When we say proclaim His excellencies, 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:46.940 as the Amplifier will put it, what do we mean? 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:50.300 1 Peter 2 verse 9, in the Orchid Gem, it says, 00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:54.480 But ye are a choosing generation, a royal priesthood, 00:36:54.619 --> 00:36:59.539 an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should 00:36:59.539 --> 00:37:04.960 shew forth the praises of Him who hath called 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:08.000 you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 00:37:08.750 --> 00:37:15.809 She forth. She forth. The phrase she forth, which 00:37:15.809 --> 00:37:19.889 is not a common English in our day today, is 00:37:19.889 --> 00:37:23.130 translated into a modern English as set forth 00:37:23.130 --> 00:37:27.389 in the Amplified translation. It's also translated 00:37:27.389 --> 00:37:33.230 as declare in the NIV. Of course, in the New 00:37:33.230 --> 00:37:36.900 King James, we see the word proclaim. And then 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:39.119 in a tippity, which is paraphrase, he uses the 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:44.239 word broadcast. Broadcast. To broadcast something. 00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:46.119 What do you broadcast? What do you proclaim? 00:37:46.300 --> 00:37:49.940 What do you show forth? What do you declare? 00:37:51.219 --> 00:37:55.559 You utter. You manifest. You declare. And all 00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:58.460 these are translated into English from a great 00:37:58.460 --> 00:38:07.750 word, exangelo. E -X -A -N -G. E -L -O, which 00:38:07.750 --> 00:38:12.510 means to tell out or forth, to declare abroad, 00:38:12.650 --> 00:38:19.789 to publish, or to make known by praising or proclaiming. 00:38:20.570 --> 00:38:26.590 Exangelo, which means to tell forth or forth, 00:38:26.710 --> 00:38:31.530 tell out or forth, to declare abroad, to publish, 00:38:31.730 --> 00:38:35.000 to make known by praising or proclaiming. This 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.800 word exangelo, gelo rather, is from two root 00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:46.519 words, ek, e -k, which is a preposition. The 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:51.920 preposition, it explains origin. And angelos, 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:57.079 two words, are brought together to form exangelo. 00:38:57.500 --> 00:39:02.820 Ek and angelos, which refers to, angelos refers 00:39:02.820 --> 00:39:07.050 to... It refers to a messenger. It is from the 00:39:07.050 --> 00:39:11.989 word we get angel from in English, angelos, which 00:39:11.989 --> 00:39:16.230 is refers to a messenger, an envoy, you know, 00:39:16.230 --> 00:39:19.690 an envoy that is sent out to deliver a responsibility. 00:39:20.090 --> 00:39:24.449 One who is sent a messenger, especially from 00:39:24.449 --> 00:39:27.530 God. Hallelujah. So tell yourself, am I a messenger 00:39:27.530 --> 00:39:30.900 from God? So to shift of all, in other words, 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:35.239 to declare or proclaim his praises, one has to 00:39:35.239 --> 00:39:39.159 be sent. You are sent with a definite message. 00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:42.860 And that must not be altered. So there's a specific 00:39:42.860 --> 00:39:45.739 message. If you are sent on error, you don't 00:39:45.739 --> 00:39:49.559 remix the message on the way. Amen? You don't 00:39:49.559 --> 00:39:51.300 alter the content of the message. You deliver 00:39:51.300 --> 00:39:53.920 as you are given. It's not what I order versus 00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:57.019 what I receive. As a deliverer of the message, 00:39:57.059 --> 00:40:00.719 you deliver as you receive. That brings us back 00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:03.659 to understanding the message. That brings us 00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:06.360 back to understanding who sent us. That brings 00:40:06.360 --> 00:40:08.500 us back to understanding the modalities of the 00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:10.800 delivery. That brings us back to understanding 00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:13.880 what the will of God is for the believer. Hallelujah. 00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:17.179 The messenger is one from God to declare the 00:40:17.179 --> 00:40:19.559 praises of him who was called out of darkness 00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:22.739 into his marvelous light. What are the praises 00:40:22.739 --> 00:40:27.380 of God? What are the praises of God? The Amplified 00:40:27.380 --> 00:40:33.340 Classic says, the wonderful deeds and display 00:40:33.340 --> 00:40:38.059 the virtues and perfection of him. Give me amplified 00:40:38.059 --> 00:40:43.340 1 Peter 2 verse 9. Yes, it says, so that you 00:40:43.340 --> 00:40:46.860 may proclaim the excellencies and he explains 00:40:46.860 --> 00:40:51.280 these excellencies as the wonderful deeds and 00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:55.320 the virtue and the perfections of who? Of him. 00:40:55.340 --> 00:41:00.039 Who is that him there? Of God. Hallelujah. And 00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:02.059 we say that that proclaim is what? Is to broadcast. 00:41:02.760 --> 00:41:06.980 Is to speak out. Is to announce the wonderful 00:41:06.980 --> 00:41:13.099 deeds. And how, what has God done for us? How 00:41:13.099 --> 00:41:16.920 did he do what he did for us? The good news translation 00:41:16.920 --> 00:41:20.500 use the word wonderful acts of God. How do we 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:23.199 see the wonderful acts of God? Where do we see 00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:27.159 the wonderful acts of God? Where? In Christ. 00:41:28.179 --> 00:41:34.719 Hallelujah. In Christ, you know the word praises 00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:39.539 is arete, A -R -E -T -E, which refers to virtues 00:41:39.539 --> 00:41:43.539 or the goodness, that is the quality, the characteristics 00:41:43.539 --> 00:41:47.780 of God, who God is. And we see who God is in 00:41:47.780 --> 00:41:52.079 what he has done. Hallelujah. We know who God 00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:56.119 is by what he has done. And what has God done? 00:41:57.130 --> 00:42:00.889 He gave us Christ. So we are to declare the character 00:42:00.889 --> 00:42:07.510 of God. Who is who he is. His goodness. His virtue. 00:42:07.909 --> 00:42:12.329 And wonderful acts. We see all this in Christ 00:42:12.329 --> 00:42:15.489 and what he has accomplished. Colossians 1 .15. 00:42:16.329 --> 00:42:20.269 Colossians 1 .15. We see it. We see the goodness 00:42:20.269 --> 00:42:23.469 of God. We know God through Christ. He is the 00:42:23.469 --> 00:42:26.880 exact living image. the essential manifestation 00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:29.860 of the unseen God, the visible representation 00:42:29.860 --> 00:42:33.380 of the invisible, the firstborn, the preeminent 00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:36.380 one, the sovereign and the originator of all 00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:43.960 creation. Hebrews 1 .3 The Son is a radiance, 00:42:44.179 --> 00:42:52.360 the only registered, patented, qualified, approved 00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:58.289 modality. In which you know God. I just paraphrase. 00:42:59.170 --> 00:43:04.110 This verse. The sun is a radiance. And the only 00:43:04.110 --> 00:43:08.489 expression of the glory of our awesome God. Reflecting 00:43:08.489 --> 00:43:11.929 God's kind of glory. The light being. The brilliant 00:43:11.929 --> 00:43:16.150 light of the divine. And the exact representation. 00:43:16.969 --> 00:43:20.570 And the perfect imprint of his father. Of his 00:43:20.570 --> 00:43:25.530 father. His father's essence. So believers. Our 00:43:25.530 --> 00:43:29.690 identity as a choosing people, as royal priesthood, 00:43:29.809 --> 00:43:37.150 and a holy nation is to preach and to teach the 00:43:37.150 --> 00:43:40.050 wonderful works of God which he has accomplished 00:43:40.050 --> 00:43:46.349 in Christ Jesus. This is our life. This is our 00:43:46.349 --> 00:43:50.190 song. And this is our reality. Glory to God. 00:43:50.710 --> 00:43:52.369 We'll continue from here next time. Let's just 00:43:52.369 --> 00:44:15.320 close our eyes and begin to pray. If today's 00:44:15.320 --> 00:44:18.079 message was a blessing, share it with a friend. 00:44:18.440 --> 00:44:20.679 Till next time, be blessed.