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. 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:14.500 Stay with us till the end for some valuable resources 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.339 to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:27.039 Amen. Hallelujah. Let's have our seat. You are 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:33.039 welcome in Jesus' name. Indeed, this is a wonderful 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:39.200 moment, and I'm so delighted, I'm so happy, you 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:42.000 know, for what God has begun. I'm so, so, so, 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:47.320 so expectant, and I'm full of expectation in 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:50.320 my heart. Hallelujah. Now, don't look down on 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.679 what God is doing here. Amen? Don't look down 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:58.920 on what God is doing here. Time will tell. The 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:00.880 kind of man and the kind of woman that you will 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:08.700 become when you make yourself available for God 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.859 to work on your life. When you make yourself 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:15.840 available for God to transform your life, it's 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:19.120 only time that will reveal the men and the women 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:25.400 that will become. So I want you to sit with an 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:29.579 understanding of Who you are. As a child of God. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:37.780 I want you to sit. You know. Trusting God for. 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.700 What he will do. With our lives. Hallelujah. 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:49.140 God has a plan. And the plan of God. Include 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:54.560 us. We are part of God's plan. And I trust that, 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:56.500 you know, all that God will do in this conference, 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:01.379 from the beginning to the very end, is that we 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:05.000 will be efficient. We will be equipped. We'll 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.240 be prepared and equipped to participate in what 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:13.300 God is doing in our generation. Hallelujah. It's 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:16.659 a blessing to be in this place. And I want you 00:02:16.659 --> 00:02:19.120 to be alert as well. As the meeting goes on, 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:20.699 there are things that God will be relating to 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:24.210 us. And there are specific instructions that 00:02:24.210 --> 00:02:27.629 may come to you as a person. And I want you to 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:30.370 take note because every single part of this meeting 00:02:30.370 --> 00:02:34.949 is important. So I want you to take note. Some 00:02:34.949 --> 00:02:38.550 inspirations, some specific instructions will 00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:40.349 be for you and you will be convicted in your 00:02:40.349 --> 00:02:45.550 heart about what to do. Hallelujah. So please, 00:02:45.669 --> 00:02:52.500 don't lose focus. Don't lose... Don't be absent 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:55.039 -minded. Don't be here and then your mind is 00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:01.620 somewhere. Amen? Don't be here physically and 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:08.240 your mind is somewhere. Try and be here and then 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.419 participate in whatever we do, whatever instruction 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:22.800 will come that you obey. Amen. And for those 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.099 following us online, this is the day one, the 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:31.800 first session for the Catetismus 2025. And I 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:37.800 trust that as well, you also follow us duly and 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:41.080 enjoy every single thing that God is doing in 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.360 this season. Hallelujah. So I'll be just giving 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.800 us an opening, you know, and laying the foundation 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:48.780 for all that God will be doing in the course 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:52.939 of the conference. Everything that we'll be doing, 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:55.759 every ministration is connected. Hallelujah. 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:00.139 So whatever that, you know, I will lay the foundation 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:03.039 and even the next ministers that will come, just 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:04.960 know that it's a build -up one upon another. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.900 Hallelujah. So in the end, we're going to see 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:12.860 how everything will unfold. So I want to encourage 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:18.000 you, please, to follow, you know, and be diligent. 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:21.870 Amen. So the theme for the conference is actually 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.470 manifesting the kingdom of God. Manifesting the 00:04:25.470 --> 00:04:28.790 kingdom of God. And it's also the theme for the 00:04:28.790 --> 00:04:32.410 year in the church. Manifesting the kingdom of 00:04:32.410 --> 00:04:37.689 God. Manifesting the kingdom of God. Let's turn 00:04:37.689 --> 00:04:51.689 to Matthew 16. Matthew chapter 16. Matthew 16. 00:04:53.430 --> 00:05:00.910 And I will be reading from verse 13. Matthew 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:09.610 16 from verse 13. Now when Jesus came into the 00:05:09.610 --> 00:05:14.189 region of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked his disciples, 00:05:14.310 --> 00:05:23.769 who do men say I? the son of Manam. So they said, 00:05:23.910 --> 00:05:30.709 some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:35.610 others Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He said 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:40.730 to them, but who do you say I am? Simon Peter 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:45.250 answered and said, you are the Christ, the son 00:05:45.250 --> 00:05:50.230 of the living God. Jesus answered and said to 00:05:50.230 --> 00:05:58.670 him, blessed are you, Simon. But Jonah, for flesh 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:02.490 and blood has not revealed this to you, but my 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:08.110 father who is in heaven. And I also say to you 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:13.449 that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:18.529 build my church. And the gates of Hades shall 00:06:18.529 --> 00:06:22.470 not prevail against it. And I will give you the 00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:30.250 keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you 00:06:30.250 --> 00:06:34.730 bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever 00:06:34.730 --> 00:06:39.430 you lose on earth will be lost in heaven. Hallelujah. 00:06:39.910 --> 00:06:45.800 So this is a text that will be... handling in 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.180 the course of the sessions that will be taken. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.459 Hallelujah. Now, the background of this text, 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.180 for us to have a background of this text, we 00:06:55.180 --> 00:06:58.060 have to collaborate it with other records in 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.860 the Gospels so that we can have the entire picture. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.639 I want us to look at the record in Mark chapter 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:13.490 8, the same story, but in Mark chapter 8. Mark 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:16.250 also captured the same story. Mark chapter 8 00:07:16.250 --> 00:07:24.689 verse 27. Mark chapter 8 verse 27. And Jesus 00:07:24.689 --> 00:07:28.629 and his disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea, 00:07:28.829 --> 00:07:33.589 Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples 00:07:33.589 --> 00:07:39.310 saying to them, who do men say I am? So they 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:44.240 answered, John. the Baptists, but some say Elijah, 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:49.220 and others, one of the prophets. He said to them, 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:53.100 but who do you say that I am? Peter answered 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:58.740 and said to him, you are the Christ. Then he 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:03.500 strictly warned them that they should tell no 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:09.990 one about him. I want us to move to Luke as well. 00:08:10.009 --> 00:08:13.649 In the book of Luke, Luke chapter 9. We'll see 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:19.509 the same story as well recorded by Luke. Luke 00:08:19.509 --> 00:08:32.750 chapter 9. Verse 18. And it happened as he was 00:08:32.750 --> 00:08:38.809 alone praying. That his disciples joined him. 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:42.549 And he asked them saying. Who do the crowd say 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:49.490 I am? So they answered and said. John the Baptist. 00:08:50.090 --> 00:08:54.690 But some say Elijah. And others say. That one 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:59.690 of the old prophets has risen again. Verse 20. 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:03.129 He said to them. But who do you say I am? Peter 00:09:03.129 --> 00:09:06.690 answered and said. The Christ. of God. Hallelujah. 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:10.129 Now this is the same account of the same story. 00:09:10.289 --> 00:09:15.769 Amen? But given by different writers of the Gospels. 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:19.169 Now for us to understand and have a complete 00:09:19.169 --> 00:09:21.450 picture, to have a better picture of the entire 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:25.230 story, it's important for us to do, to corroborate 00:09:25.230 --> 00:09:28.129 these scriptures together. Because without bringing 00:09:28.129 --> 00:09:30.850 these scriptures together, our understanding 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:36.570 of the picture will be limited. Hallelujah. Oftentimes, 00:09:36.690 --> 00:09:41.389 you know, people say, you know, the writers of 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:43.750 the gospel are contradicting each other. For 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:47.509 example, as we saw, you know, one said that Jesus 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:50.629 was coming from after Jesus finished prayer, 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:53.149 then they came to him. Another account saying 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:55.929 that they were on their way to somewhere. And 00:09:55.929 --> 00:09:57.889 it seems sometimes that it's a contradiction, 00:09:58.090 --> 00:10:02.250 isn't it? But, you know, it is important for 00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:06.899 us to note that People give a different account 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:11.220 of the same event. Amen? For example, now if 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:14.500 I ask you to write a story, to write a report 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:19.980 of what happened in this hall this morning, everybody 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:23.600 has a goal in writing, isn't it? Everybody has 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:28.039 a specific audience that he's writing to. And 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:31.700 everybody has a perception and, you know, what 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:36.039 would I call it? He has his own inclination. 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:39.639 Our stories cannot be exactly the same. Your 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:41.700 report, the report that you write and the report 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:43.799 that another person will write, even though it's 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.980 of the same event, but probably the details that 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:48.759 you capture are different from the details that 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:53.840 another person will capture. So, for us to be 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:57.139 able to understand or to have a better understanding 00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:00.299 of the entire context of what happened, we have 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:02.559 to put the stories together and corroborate them 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:06.789 as a puzzle. Hallelujah. So also in the law, 00:11:06.870 --> 00:11:09.590 in the court of law, you know, when there's an 00:11:09.590 --> 00:11:12.370 event that is an event that happened and then 00:11:12.370 --> 00:11:14.789 we bring in witnesses to testify of the same 00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:21.009 event. If witness A and witness B, witness C 00:11:21.009 --> 00:11:25.570 said exactly the same thing without any form 00:11:25.570 --> 00:11:33.879 of any variation at all, right? Then It's okay 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:36.720 for us to be suspicious that maybe this testimony 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:40.220 is a doctor testimony. If not, why would you 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:42.379 say exactly the same thing, the same language, 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.799 the same tenses, the same expression and everything. 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.000 It means that probably you've been coached to 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:53.100 give an account and there's a possibility that 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:57.019 this record of the testimonies you give may not 00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:59.820 be accurate. Hallelujah. But then the beauty 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:03.039 of scripture, especially but we have different 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.940 records, especially in the gospel, is that when 00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:08.240 we're able to put the entire picture together, 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.860 we're able to, you know, collaborate these stories 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:14.799 together, it helps us in understanding the entire 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:18.200 picture of the conversation in that particular 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:23.159 text. So, when we look at the pretext in Luke, 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:27.840 especially from chapter 1, Luke chapter 9, Luke 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:31.279 chapter 9, it will give us a background. Of what 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:34.960 happened prior to this conversation. Luke chapter 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:42.220 9. Luke chapter 9. From verse 1. Let me read 00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:46.960 from verse 1. Then he called his 12 disciples 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:51.039 together. And gave them power. And authority 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:59.870 over all demons. And to cure diseases. He sent 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:03.190 them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal 00:13:03.190 --> 00:13:07.870 the sick. And he said to them, take nothing for 00:13:07.870 --> 00:13:13.830 the journey. Neither staff, no money, and do 00:13:13.830 --> 00:13:18.350 not have two tonics apiece. Whatever house you 00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:23.389 enter, stay there. And from there, depart. And 00:13:23.389 --> 00:13:26.870 whoever will not receive you when you go out 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:30.700 of that city, shake off. The very dust from your 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:35.179 feet. As a testimony against them. So they departed. 00:13:35.419 --> 00:13:38.720 And went through the towns. And what were they 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.899 doing? Preaching the gospel. And healing everywhere. 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:50.139 Now Herod. Herod the Tetrarch. Heard of all that 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:54.720 was done by him. And he was perplexed. Because 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:58.059 it was said. By some. There was a rumor in town. 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:01.559 It was said by some that John had risen from 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:09.259 the dead. That John has risen from the dead. 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:17.019 Verse 8. And by some Elijah had appeared and 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:20.039 by some that one of the all prophets has risen 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:30.840 again. Herod said John I have beheaded. But who 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:35.919 is this of whom I hear such things? So he sought 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:39.000 to see Jesus. He sought to see him. Verse 10. 00:14:40.539 --> 00:14:46.500 And the apostles, when they had returned, told 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:51.059 him all that they had done. Then he took them 00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:54.720 and went aside privately into a desert place. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.679 belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.559 the multitudes knew it, they followed him and 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.240 he received them and spoke to them about the 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:08.860 kingdom of God and healed those who had need 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:14.039 of healing. When they had begun to weigh away, 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:17.600 the twelve came and said to him, send the multitudes 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:22.730 away that they may go into The surrounding towns 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:26.610 and country. And lodge and get provisions. For 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:32.309 we are in a desert place. But he said to them. 00:15:32.929 --> 00:15:36.990 You give them something to eat. And they said. 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:40.110 We have no more than five loaves and two fish. 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:43.789 Unless we go and buy food for all these people. 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:52.779 For there were about 5 ,000 men. Then he said 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:55.679 to his disciples, make them sit down in groups 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:01.460 of 50. And they did so and made them all sit 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:05.039 down. Then he took the five loaves and the two 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.700 fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed and 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:13.179 brought them and gave them to the disciples to 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:19.360 set before the multitude. They all ate. And were 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:25.820 filled. And a 12 basket. And 12. And a basket 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:29.639 of the. Okay. So they all ate. And were filled. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.379 And 12 baskets of the leftover fragments. Were 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:37.440 taken up by them. Hallelujah. So this is the 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:42.440 context. Of. Where we read previously in Matthew 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:48.019 16. So from Luke. From verse 1 to 5, we see that 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:51.899 Jesus has sent out the twelve to go and preach. 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:57.320 And what they are to preach is the kingdom of 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:02.220 God and to heal the sick. He sent them to preach 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:05.279 the kingdom of God, verse 2. Luke chapter 9, 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.099 verse 2. He says he sent them to go to preach 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:14.119 the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. To preach 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.940 the kingdom. To proclaim the kingdom. To announce 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:24.640 the kingdom of God. To proclaim the kingdom of 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:29.579 God. And also to do what? To heal the sick. There 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:33.920 is an association. Between preaching of the gospel. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.160 Of the kingdom. And healing of the sick. And 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.930 healing of the sick. Verse 6. We see. The disciples 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:47.049 departed in obedience and going into the towns 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:50.789 and preaching the gospel and doing what? And 00:17:50.789 --> 00:17:54.450 exactly doing what he asked them to do. So they 00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:58.390 departed and went through the towns preaching 00:17:58.390 --> 00:18:02.650 the gospel on the basis of the authority of Jesus 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:07.849 Christ. Preaching the gospel and we see the healing 00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:15.410 of the sick. Hallelujah. Now, it's important 00:18:15.410 --> 00:18:19.730 to note that Jesus sent out disciples. Okay? 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:23.029 Not just random people from the crowd. Not just 00:18:23.029 --> 00:18:27.029 some of the people that he fed among the 5 ,000. 00:18:28.029 --> 00:18:30.410 It's not everybody that he sent out to do or 00:18:30.410 --> 00:18:34.589 to preach. Jesus was very peculiar about the 00:18:34.589 --> 00:18:39.089 people that he sent. And these are the people 00:18:39.089 --> 00:18:43.660 that he has given them authority. Verse 1 says, 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:48.000 he gave them power and he gave them power and 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:53.480 authority over all demons and to cure diseases. 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:57.920 Not just random people from the crowd, but specifically 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:04.420 disciples. Disciples are those who have been 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:08.640 qualified to do what? To go and to preach the 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:13.369 gospel of the kingdom. Now for us to be qualified 00:19:13.369 --> 00:19:17.309 as well, to preach the gospel of the kingdom, 00:19:17.450 --> 00:19:24.750 we must in the same way be disciples. It takes 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:30.329 only disciples to do the work of ministry. If 00:19:30.329 --> 00:19:33.910 you are not a disciple of Jesus Christ, doing 00:19:33.910 --> 00:19:38.529 ministry will be difficult. It is impossible 00:19:38.529 --> 00:19:43.000 to do the will of God. If we are not, you know, 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:46.740 yielded to discipleship. And discipleship is 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:48.740 not just like school that we go to for a period 00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:51.700 of time and then we graduate. No. We must be 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:55.859 lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. That we are, 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.539 you know, students that are yielded to learning 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:02.539 the things of God, learning the ways of God, 00:20:02.660 --> 00:20:05.240 and doing the things that God is leading us per 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:10.299 time, per season to do. So you must be a disciple 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:16.480 in order to do the work of God. A disciple is 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:19.099 someone who is devoted to learning the word of 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:22.539 God. A disciple is someone that is committed 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:26.980 to not just glancing through, not just reading 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:30.140 for reading's sake, but the devotion of a disciple 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:36.829 is to learn of the master. And we see power and 00:20:36.829 --> 00:20:39.549 authority. Power and authority come from the 00:20:39.549 --> 00:20:43.369 place of instruction from the word of God. It 00:20:43.369 --> 00:20:46.710 takes a man and a woman that has been with God, 00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:50.470 that is staying with God, that is learning from 00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:56.130 God, that will receive specific instruction and 00:20:56.130 --> 00:21:04.440 the authority to do the work of ministry. It 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.119 is important for us to see also that miracles 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:12.099 and healings are essential and a mandatory part 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:17.700 of doing the work of ministry. Jesus Christ sent 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:20.940 them to preach, and not only to preach, but to 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:26.400 demonstrate the preaching of the gospel, to demonstrate 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.779 the preaching of the kingdom with accompanying 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:34.950 signs, especially healing. Healing of the sick. 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:39.750 Miracles were performed by them. And also, you 00:21:39.750 --> 00:21:45.690 know, healing of the sick. So, also know that 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:47.450 their ministry, the ministry of the apostles 00:21:47.450 --> 00:21:52.369 or the disciples here is a pre -resurrection 00:21:52.369 --> 00:21:55.089 ministry, isn't it? Jesus Christ has not yet 00:21:55.089 --> 00:21:59.089 died and he has not yet risen. But then, by virtue 00:21:59.089 --> 00:22:03.349 of He's been with them. He gave them authority 00:22:03.349 --> 00:22:08.569 to do what? To preach. Yet, they preach the message. 00:22:08.690 --> 00:22:10.630 They preach the message. They announce the message 00:22:10.630 --> 00:22:14.970 of the kingdom with signs and wonders following. 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:19.410 So if men that we can, that they never had, you 00:22:19.410 --> 00:22:22.690 know, the indwelling of the spirit of God in 00:22:22.690 --> 00:22:28.349 them could preach the gospel, right? They could 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:32.440 go and preach about the kingdom of God. In announcing 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:34.380 the kingdom of God, in proclaiming the kingdom 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:37.420 of God, we see signs and wonders accompanying. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.440 What of us who have the spirit indwelling in 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.940 us? Amen? How about you and I that are living 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:50.900 in the reality of the kingdom? It means that 00:22:50.900 --> 00:22:54.220 as we as well preach the gospel, it is expected 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:58.200 that we see demonstration. If you read through 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:05.839 in the... In Mark, you know, Mark chapter, give 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:10.440 me Mark chapter 16, from verse 16. We see the 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:12.119 instruction that Jesus will later give after 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:15.299 his resurrection. It says, he who believes and 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:18.220 is baptized will be saved. But he who does not 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:24.799 believe will be condemned. And these signs shall 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:29.359 do what? Shall follow those who believe. So signs. 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:33.640 Shall follow those who believe. As we go about 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.480 preaching the gospel. As we go about announcing 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.039 the gospel of the kingdom. Or announcing the 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:43.640 kingdom of God. Signs will accompany. The work 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:46.859 of preaching the gospel. In my name they will 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:53.299 cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues. 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:59.299 They will take up serpents. And if they drink 00:23:59.299 --> 00:24:02.339 anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:05.980 They will lay hands on the sick. And what will 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:08.599 happen to the sick? And the sick will recover. 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:12.059 Hallelujah. Now this is after his resurrection. 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.779 And this is a mandate to all of us. That what 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:18.700 God is doing here is that he is preparing us 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:22.880 for this kind of ministry. Amen. God is preparing 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.019 you. He is preparing me for this kind of ministry. 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:32.440 And in the course of this meeting, in the course 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:35.859 of this cataclysm from now until Saturday, what 00:24:35.859 --> 00:24:38.019 God will be doing in our lives is that he will 00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:40.180 be revealing his finished work in our lives. 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:43.140 He will be revealing to us what he has accomplished. 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:48.660 He will be revealing to us, you know, the finished 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.400 work that he has done in us. We will realize 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:56.279 who we are. Hallelujah. We realize who we are. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.960 We realize what he has done. And in it, we know 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:03.079 our responsibility. We will know the authority 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:11.599 that we carry as ministers of God. Amen? So God 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.299 is counting on you. He's counting on us to do 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:20.700 what? To carry on the ministry of preaching the 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:26.670 gospel of the kingdom of God. Hallelujah. So 00:25:26.670 --> 00:25:31.309 in Luke chapter 9, verse 7 to 9, you know, we 00:25:31.309 --> 00:25:34.670 see a lot of rumors going around. It gives us 00:25:34.670 --> 00:25:38.049 the rumors in town, what people are saying concerning 00:25:38.049 --> 00:25:43.609 who Jesus is. Let's go back to Luke chapter 9. 00:25:45.490 --> 00:25:50.690 Luke chapter 9. What were people saying about 00:25:50.690 --> 00:25:53.849 Jesus? People have different perception of Jesus. 00:25:55.849 --> 00:25:58.349 Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was 00:25:58.349 --> 00:26:01.730 done by him. By who? By Jesus. And also of course 00:26:01.730 --> 00:26:04.829 what the disciples were doing. And he was perplexed. 00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:11.470 Because it was said by some that John had risen 00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:14.190 from the dead. How come they are thinking that 00:26:14.190 --> 00:26:18.390 John has risen from the dead? Is there any explanation 00:26:18.390 --> 00:26:20.710 in scriptures that John will die and rise again? 00:26:22.549 --> 00:26:25.500 But these are the rumors in town about. What 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:31.000 is happening? And by some, that Elijah had appeared. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:37.339 And by some others, that one of the prophets 00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:41.000 had risen again. So all these were speculations 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:45.619 about who, about who Jesus is or about what has 00:26:45.619 --> 00:26:51.099 happened. And it's important for us to not these 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:53.319 speculations because we'll go back, you know, 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:59.029 to look at it later on. We also see in verse 00:26:59.029 --> 00:27:05.109 10 to 17, verse 10 to 17 of that same Luke, you 00:27:05.109 --> 00:27:09.930 know, the apostles, and in this context here, 00:27:09.950 --> 00:27:14.089 including Judas. Hallelujah. Judas was part of 00:27:14.089 --> 00:27:18.369 the 12. It means that Judas Iscariot went out 00:27:18.369 --> 00:27:23.069 with them and possibly do all that they did. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:29.759 He proclaimed about the kingdom. He preached 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.319 about the kingdom. All right? Signs and wonders 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:43.259 were done. All right? Amen? Are we here? All 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:50.339 right. Verse 10 to 17. And the apostles, when 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:53.160 they had returned, what was their testimonies? 00:27:54.089 --> 00:28:01.029 They told him all that they had done. They reported 00:28:01.029 --> 00:28:04.289 to him and said, this is what we did. Then he 00:28:04.289 --> 00:28:07.309 took them and went aside privately into a deserted 00:28:07.309 --> 00:28:10.390 place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 00:28:11.990 --> 00:28:16.569 But when the multitude followed him and he received 00:28:16.569 --> 00:28:20.109 them and spoke to them, the multitude gathered 00:28:20.109 --> 00:28:24.000 again. And what did he do? We see him also doing 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:28.519 what? He spoke to them about what? About the 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:33.980 kingdom of God. Now, we're not even specifically 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:38.759 looking at the preaching that he did, but we 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:41.960 are so sure that what he spoke to them, or the 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:43.599 teaching he taught them, the preaching Jesus 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:47.799 taught them, is about what? It's about the kingdom 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:53.240 of who? Of God. And what did he do? He healed 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:56.940 those who had need of healing. What is really 00:28:56.940 --> 00:28:59.359 the relationship between healing and the kingdom 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:02.460 of God? What is really the relationship between 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:05.140 healing and the kingdom of God? We will see that 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:08.539 in the course of this meeting. Then they began 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:13.720 to weigh away. The twelve came and said to him, 00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:17.180 send the multitude away that they may go into 00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:20.859 the surrounding towns and country and lodge. 00:29:21.529 --> 00:29:25.150 And get provisions for we are in a deserted place. 00:29:27.329 --> 00:29:30.670 But he said to them, you give them something 00:29:30.670 --> 00:29:37.630 to eat. You know, this is a teaching experience. 00:29:37.970 --> 00:29:40.750 He said, you give them something to eat. And 00:29:40.750 --> 00:29:43.990 he said, we have no more than five loaves and 00:29:43.990 --> 00:29:48.289 two fish. Unless we go and buy food for all these 00:29:48.289 --> 00:29:54.569 people. For there were about 5 ,000 men. 5 ,000 00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:56.910 men. And we know, you know, theologians have 00:29:56.910 --> 00:30:00.569 told us that in census, during those times, that 00:30:00.569 --> 00:30:03.309 when they do census, you know, they only count 00:30:03.309 --> 00:30:07.569 men, right? Adult men. They don't count children. 00:30:07.769 --> 00:30:11.049 They don't count women. They count men. Then 00:30:11.049 --> 00:30:13.369 he said to his disciples, make them sit down 00:30:13.369 --> 00:30:18.380 in groups of 50. And they did so. And made all 00:30:18.380 --> 00:30:23.819 sit down. Then he took the five loaves. And the 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:27.880 two fishes. And looking up to heaven. He blessed. 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.339 And broke them. And gave them to the disciples. 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.720 The disciples are the ones that were. Responsible 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:38.920 for what? For serving the multitude. For serving 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:42.019 the multitude. All these things are very, very 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:44.980 important. Listen, there is no miracle that is 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:50.059 recorded in scriptures that is just casual. Every 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:56.539 miracle, every parable, every teaching is pointing 00:30:56.539 --> 00:31:01.900 toward to something that Jesus will do in his 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:06.019 resurrection. Hallelujah. So whenever we go through 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:08.079 stories in the scriptures, let's be very keen. 00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:10.279 These were not just recorded for us for just 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:14.920 entertainment, no. Every single record of Jesus' 00:31:15.059 --> 00:31:19.819 miracles, of his teachings are important in revealing 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:25.220 what he will do in the resurrection. Hallelujah. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:32.339 So, when the crowd followed them, Jesus received 00:31:32.339 --> 00:31:34.339 them and what did he do? We saw that he spoke 00:31:34.339 --> 00:31:37.539 to them about the kingdom of God and he healed 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:41.579 the sick. He further performed the miracle of 00:31:41.579 --> 00:31:45.119 what? Of feeding the multitude. He healed the 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:55.519 sick and then he fed the multitude. The preaching 00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:58.519 of the gospel I said, we see in Jesus' ministry. 00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:03.349 All true. was accompanied by healings, by signs 00:32:03.349 --> 00:32:08.190 and wonders. Now, since we have also received 00:32:08.190 --> 00:32:13.170 the same ministry in the resurrection, we must 00:32:13.170 --> 00:32:16.970 also manifest the kingdom of God in the same 00:32:16.970 --> 00:32:21.789 way he did, healing the sick and working in signs 00:32:21.789 --> 00:32:25.710 and wonders. As we often say in church, you know, 00:32:25.730 --> 00:32:29.470 we are prophets, we are kings. All that we are, 00:32:29.529 --> 00:32:33.950 we occupy the office of Jesus Christ. By identification, 00:32:34.349 --> 00:32:37.329 by believing in Jesus Christ, we do what? We 00:32:37.329 --> 00:32:42.049 come into the office of Jesus Christ. Amen? So 00:32:42.049 --> 00:32:45.730 it is expected that whatever he, because Jesus 00:32:45.730 --> 00:32:48.690 is the same yesterday, isn't it? He's the same 00:32:48.690 --> 00:32:51.009 yesterday. He's the same today. And forever he 00:32:51.009 --> 00:32:54.349 will be who he is. And this same Jesus Christ 00:32:54.349 --> 00:32:59.079 is the one that lives in us. Hallelujah. He lives 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:01.900 in you, he lives in us. So if we are carrying 00:33:01.900 --> 00:33:05.460 on the ministry of Jesus Christ, if we are carrying 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:08.259 on to do the works that he did while he was on 00:33:08.259 --> 00:33:12.920 earth, even the apostles, they were, will classify 00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:15.039 them as not born again in the context of where 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:19.480 we are today. In doing the works of ministry, 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:22.400 in preaching the gospel, they walked in signs 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.910 and wonders. It is also important for us that 00:33:25.910 --> 00:33:29.109 are in the reality of what Christ has done. To 00:33:29.109 --> 00:33:33.210 do what? To see this manifest in our ministry. 00:33:35.210 --> 00:33:42.150 In our ministry. It is expected of us. Hallelujah. 00:33:42.650 --> 00:33:47.190 Because that is what the preaching of the gospel 00:33:47.190 --> 00:33:52.769 entails. As we go, signs and wonders ensure the 00:33:52.769 --> 00:33:56.710 preaching. Of the gospel. Afterwards we will 00:33:56.710 --> 00:33:59.710 see Jesus Christ. You know. Questioning them 00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:08.449 in verse 18 to 20. Asking them. About who. Do 00:34:08.449 --> 00:34:11.090 men say he is. Now let's go back to Matthew. 00:34:11.210 --> 00:34:14.590 Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. Matthew 00:34:14.590 --> 00:34:18.409 chapter 6 from verse 13. When Jesus came into 00:34:18.409 --> 00:34:20.489 the region of Caesarea Philippi. He asked his 00:34:20.489 --> 00:34:24.849 disciples saying. who do men say that I, the 00:34:24.849 --> 00:34:29.889 son of man, am? Now, Jesus was not just asking 00:34:29.889 --> 00:34:34.309 these questions to know. All right? He wasn't 00:34:34.309 --> 00:34:36.409 asking this question because he doesn't know 00:34:36.409 --> 00:34:39.929 who he is. Maybe his identity crisis. He wanted 00:34:39.929 --> 00:34:43.610 to be sure whether, you know, who he is. No. 00:34:44.309 --> 00:34:48.730 He wasn't asking this question to build an image 00:34:48.730 --> 00:34:53.269 for himself. You know, one of the common, you 00:34:53.269 --> 00:34:56.929 know, things that, from where I come from, from 00:34:56.929 --> 00:34:59.090 the part of the world I came from, you know, 00:34:59.110 --> 00:35:04.570 one of the common phrases we use in intimidating 00:35:04.570 --> 00:35:08.849 people is, do you know who I am? Or who are you? 00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:11.989 Do you know who I am? And all this, you know, 00:35:11.989 --> 00:35:15.409 is just showcase, you know, or try to build an 00:35:15.409 --> 00:35:17.869 image, an ego for ourselves. No, no, no. Jesus 00:35:17.869 --> 00:35:21.159 Christ was not trying to, you know, Inquired 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:26.360 to know. He was not looking for. It was not a 00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:31.699 desire for self validation. Of who he is. Who 00:35:31.699 --> 00:35:36.179 will see subsequently. But every question. That 00:35:36.179 --> 00:35:39.880 Jesus will ask. Is geared towards a teaching. 00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:44.659 Hallelujah. Whenever we see questions. In scripture. 00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:50.400 Let's be careful. Especially. You know, even 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:53.579 in Genesis, let's look at some instances in Genesis. 00:35:53.619 --> 00:35:57.019 Genesis chapter 3 verse 9, where God appeared 00:35:57.019 --> 00:36:01.760 to Adam. Genesis chapter 3 verse 9. Then the 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.159 Lord God called Adam and said to him, where are 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:07.780 you? Is it that God is not aware of where Adam 00:36:07.780 --> 00:36:12.099 is? He's asking so that he will know where Adam 00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:17.059 is. Is it that God is not all -knowing? He doesn't 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:19.400 know the location of Adam that he's asking Adam. 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:22.699 Adam, where are you? But rather we know that 00:36:22.699 --> 00:36:25.260 the questioning is for what? It's for Adam to 00:36:25.260 --> 00:36:29.940 realize. Isn't it? The focus of the question 00:36:29.940 --> 00:36:32.760 is for Adam and it's not for God. Hallelujah. 00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:36.940 And we'll see also another one in chapter 4 verse 00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:45.980 9. When God was asking Cain. Chapter 4 verse 00:36:45.980 --> 00:36:49.719 9. Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel 00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:54.619 your brother? Is it that God does not know or 00:36:54.619 --> 00:36:57.440 is not aware of what has happened to Cain, to 00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:01.579 Abel? The all -knowing God, the all -sufficient 00:37:01.579 --> 00:37:05.860 God, the God that knows everything. He says, 00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:09.159 where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not 00:37:09.159 --> 00:37:11.559 know. Am I my brother's keeper? Of course we 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:21.139 know that this is a lie, right? Hallelujah. And 00:37:21.139 --> 00:37:23.380 then let's look at another one in the Gospels, 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:33.099 Matthew 22. Matthew 22, verse 41. Where Jesus 00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:37.480 Christ was asking the Pharisees, because there 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:43.619 was a bit of a controversy about the identity 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:47.360 of Jesus. While the Pharisees were gathered together, 00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:49.880 Jesus asked them, look at the way Jesus asked 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:52.800 them. He says, what do you think about the Christ? 00:37:55.940 --> 00:38:00.000 Amen? What do you think about the Christ? Now, 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:02.900 it is important to know that the Pharisees, they 00:38:02.900 --> 00:38:06.639 are scholars of the scripture. Alright? They 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:08.420 are scholars of the scripture, which means that 00:38:08.420 --> 00:38:10.880 they know that in the scriptures, there is a 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:15.030 promise for the Christ. The scriptures have given 00:38:15.030 --> 00:38:18.969 an explanation about the Christ. So Jesus was 00:38:18.969 --> 00:38:23.670 asking them, he says, what do you think about 00:38:23.670 --> 00:38:32.449 the Christ? Whose son is he? Whose son is he? 00:38:32.869 --> 00:38:35.969 That is to say, what does the scripture teach 00:38:35.969 --> 00:38:41.150 us about the Christ? And whose son does the scripture 00:38:41.150 --> 00:38:44.480 say? That Christ, the Christ is an office. Now, 00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:47.300 when we go to the Old Testament, what we call 00:38:47.300 --> 00:38:50.179 the Old Testament scriptures, we'll discover 00:38:50.179 --> 00:38:52.579 that there's a promise for a Christ. The Christ 00:38:52.579 --> 00:38:57.420 is an office. Are we together? The Christ is 00:38:57.420 --> 00:39:01.800 an office that someone will occupy. There was 00:39:01.800 --> 00:39:04.840 a proclamation. There was a prophecy in scriptures 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:11.340 from Genesis to Malachi about the Christ. It's 00:39:11.340 --> 00:39:17.400 a Christ. So Jesus is the Christ, right? As I 00:39:17.400 --> 00:39:19.619 always say, the Christ, the word Christ is not 00:39:19.619 --> 00:39:23.320 his surname, right? It is the office which he 00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:28.039 occupies. The Christ. The Messiah. The one who 00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:33.940 will do a function. And a function is a deliverance 00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:37.699 of the people of God. Hallelujah. So he asks 00:39:37.699 --> 00:39:40.500 them, he says, who does the scripture says? What 00:39:40.500 --> 00:39:42.880 do you think, rather, about the Christ? Whose 00:39:42.880 --> 00:39:48.880 son is he? And what was their response? They 00:39:48.880 --> 00:39:53.119 said to him, the son of David. Of course, the 00:39:53.119 --> 00:39:55.820 scripture says that the Christ will come through 00:39:55.820 --> 00:40:01.139 the lineage of David. So Jesus was not asking 00:40:01.139 --> 00:40:03.860 because he does not know that he is the Christ. 00:40:04.139 --> 00:40:06.900 Oh, he wasn't asking because he wants to know. 00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:11.900 Whose son is the Christ? No. But he was geared 00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:17.519 towards revealing a truth. Amen? Towards revealing 00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:21.800 a truth. Now, the next verse. He said to them, 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:26.900 how does David, how then does David in the spirit 00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:34.500 call him Lord? Saying, the Lord said to my Lord. 00:40:36.460 --> 00:40:40.760 Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies 00:40:40.760 --> 00:40:46.599 your footstool. If David then calls him Lord, 00:40:46.780 --> 00:40:53.059 how is he his son? How is the Christ the son 00:40:53.059 --> 00:41:01.880 of David if David calls him his Lord? Amen? And 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:06.699 then no one was able to answer him a word. No, 00:41:06.719 --> 00:41:10.579 from that day on, did anyone dare question him 00:41:10.579 --> 00:41:14.639 anymore? Now, I want you to realize that these 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:17.579 Pharisees understood the implication of what 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:24.880 Jesus was saying. Amen? His question was revealing 00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:29.579 to them something that they don't want to believe. 00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:37.380 You know, they are fond of asking questions. 00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:41.260 And most of the time, when they ask questions, 00:41:41.260 --> 00:41:44.980 it's to put Jesus in a box, right? It's to set 00:41:44.980 --> 00:41:51.880 a trap for him with a question. If a man dies 00:41:51.880 --> 00:41:55.219 and he has a wife, and then he dies, and then 00:41:55.219 --> 00:41:57.460 his brother marries his wife, and then another 00:41:57.460 --> 00:42:00.480 marries, and then another marries, at the resurrection, 00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:06.869 whose wife will she be? Foolish question. Jesus 00:42:06.869 --> 00:42:08.349 would tell them, have you not read? Which means 00:42:08.349 --> 00:42:10.929 that even the scriptures, you are scholars, but 00:42:10.929 --> 00:42:13.550 that means you don't believe the scriptures that 00:42:13.550 --> 00:42:17.630 you are reading. So oftentimes when they ask 00:42:17.630 --> 00:42:21.030 questions, it's out of ignorance. It's out of 00:42:21.030 --> 00:42:24.349 sheer foolishness. I mean the scribes and the 00:42:24.349 --> 00:42:26.690 Pharisees, because they want to put Jesus in 00:42:26.690 --> 00:42:29.610 a, they want to set a trap. But whenever we see 00:42:29.610 --> 00:42:32.630 Jesus ask questions, it's because he wants to 00:42:32.630 --> 00:42:41.139 reveal a truth. Hallelujah. So, physically or 00:42:41.139 --> 00:42:44.179 humanly, we know that the Christ will come through 00:42:44.179 --> 00:42:48.059 the lineage of David. And Jesus Christ is the 00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:51.400 Christ. But Jesus Christ is not just a son of 00:42:51.400 --> 00:42:56.280 David. He is God. Hallelujah. He is God himself. 00:42:56.699 --> 00:43:00.000 Amen. And that was what he was revealing to them 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.900 that they were shying away from agreeing with. 00:43:07.980 --> 00:43:11.179 And of course, his quotation is from Psalms 110 00:43:11.179 --> 00:43:16.880 verse 1. So it was important for Jesus, especially 00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:22.079 in Matthew 6, 13. It is important that those 00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:24.380 who will preach the message of the kingdom of 00:43:24.380 --> 00:43:28.380 God, the ministers of the message of the kingdom 00:43:28.380 --> 00:43:32.380 of God, better understand who the message is. 00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:38.010 Because the message is a person. Alright? The 00:43:38.010 --> 00:43:41.670 message is what? The message is about a person. 00:43:43.630 --> 00:43:52.650 The message is about a person. So when Jesus 00:43:52.650 --> 00:43:56.969 was asking who do people say the son of man is, 00:43:57.170 --> 00:44:02.590 the goal is to reveal to them who the son of 00:44:02.590 --> 00:44:08.059 man is. Because Those who preach the message 00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:11.719 of the kingdom of God should be able to know 00:44:11.719 --> 00:44:17.519 who the message is. Now the testimonies of the 00:44:17.519 --> 00:44:21.019 ministers of the kingdom of God must be different 00:44:21.019 --> 00:44:27.880 from the testimonies of the crowd. Amen? It is 00:44:27.880 --> 00:44:32.920 important for us, right, to have a different 00:44:32.920 --> 00:44:38.099 testimony from the crowd. Our understanding of 00:44:38.099 --> 00:44:48.000 who Jesus is cannot be rumors. As ministers of 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:53.179 God, our knowledge about Jesus Christ cannot 00:44:53.179 --> 00:45:03.369 just be Google information. If our understanding 00:45:03.369 --> 00:45:06.110 of who Jesus Christ is cannot just be charged, 00:45:06.309 --> 00:45:09.949 you know, charged if he can give you anything. 00:45:13.550 --> 00:45:17.889 Amen? Recently, is it last year, we're looking 00:45:17.889 --> 00:45:21.630 at a church, is it in Germany or in France, where, 00:45:21.630 --> 00:45:23.230 you know, they said, oh, right now in ministry 00:45:23.230 --> 00:45:28.699 they can have an AI as their pastor. And then, 00:45:28.699 --> 00:45:33.719 you know, I was just laughing. I saw the news 00:45:33.719 --> 00:45:35.840 that people would just come to church and then, 00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:39.880 you know, they would play and AI would give them 00:45:39.880 --> 00:45:42.980 salmon. You know, we are in the age of technology. 00:45:44.860 --> 00:45:48.579 See, there's something that technology can never 00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:50.039 replace. You see, the preaching of the gospel, 00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:56.699 it can never be replaced. Men can never... be 00:45:56.699 --> 00:45:58.320 replaced when it comes to the preaching of the 00:45:58.320 --> 00:46:03.059 gospel of Christ. If God could not use angels, 00:46:03.139 --> 00:46:05.000 do you think that God is limited in technological 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:10.199 advancement? Do you think that God is not wise, 00:46:10.320 --> 00:46:13.420 is not all -knowing from the foundation of the 00:46:13.420 --> 00:46:20.659 world? He decided to trust you and I with the 00:46:20.659 --> 00:46:27.739 salvation of men. In gospel land, it is men who 00:46:27.739 --> 00:46:34.800 preach the gospel. Not machines, not angels, 00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:42.440 but men. Hallelujah. So it is necessary that 00:46:42.440 --> 00:46:46.179 we are very, very equipped with the knowledge 00:46:46.179 --> 00:46:51.280 of what the message is because it is us who have 00:46:51.280 --> 00:46:55.429 been redeemed. That have been qualified. Through 00:46:55.429 --> 00:46:58.389 our relationship with God. Through discipleship. 00:46:58.530 --> 00:47:00.489 In order to preach the message of the kingdom 00:47:00.489 --> 00:47:07.110 of God. So our testimony. Must be different from 00:47:07.110 --> 00:47:12.130 what we hear from the street. You know. Our opinion 00:47:12.130 --> 00:47:15.369 about Jesus Christ. Cannot be the opinion. Of 00:47:15.369 --> 00:47:20.369 what we see on social media. Some of us. The 00:47:20.369 --> 00:47:24.599 formulation. of our ideologies about God is a 00:47:24.599 --> 00:47:32.400 product of, you know, media. Media, rumor, what 00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:36.219 is on the street. If you must be an efficient 00:47:36.219 --> 00:47:40.960 minister of the word of God, you must go beyond 00:47:40.960 --> 00:47:47.400 what you just hear on the street. Not people's 00:47:47.400 --> 00:47:52.440 experiences. Even if it's experiences, we must 00:47:52.440 --> 00:47:55.460 be able to know whether this is right or this 00:47:55.460 --> 00:47:58.280 is wrong. Because what the people are saying 00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:02.860 is not true about Jesus. He is not Elijah. He 00:48:02.860 --> 00:48:05.619 is not one of the prophets. He is not John that 00:48:05.619 --> 00:48:11.639 died and rose again. Amen? So you and I cannot 00:48:11.639 --> 00:48:19.969 go and be preaching rumors about Jesus. Jesus 00:48:19.969 --> 00:48:23.869 called himself what? Son of man. Who do men say 00:48:23.869 --> 00:48:30.030 I, the son of man, am? What does son of man mean? 00:48:31.349 --> 00:48:36.969 We'll look at it shortly. So in verse 14, Matthew 00:48:36.969 --> 00:48:40.769 16, 14. So they said, some say John the Baptist. 00:48:43.409 --> 00:48:49.119 Some say Elijah. And others Jeremiah. Or one 00:48:49.119 --> 00:48:52.179 of the prophets. If I was Jesus. I would ask. 00:48:52.400 --> 00:49:01.000 What did you tell them? What did you counter? 00:49:02.860 --> 00:49:04.719 With the information you've been hearing. Or 00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:07.079 they say Jesus is Jesus. What did you tell them? 00:49:07.179 --> 00:49:15.800 I the son of man is. That is a mission. That 00:49:15.800 --> 00:49:20.389 we've been called. To do. Alright? That is the 00:49:20.389 --> 00:49:23.610 mission we've been called to do. To announce 00:49:23.610 --> 00:49:28.030 who Jesus is to the world. And in announcing 00:49:28.030 --> 00:49:33.389 Jesus, we reveal what he has done. Hallelujah. 00:49:35.190 --> 00:49:37.170 So you cannot go and tell the world that Jesus 00:49:37.170 --> 00:49:43.630 Christ is one of the prophets. Or, you know, 00:49:43.670 --> 00:49:49.059 just like Mahatma Gandhi. You know, he's one 00:49:49.059 --> 00:49:54.659 of those great men. Just like, who else? Nelson 00:49:54.659 --> 00:49:58.079 Mandela in Africa. He was an emancipator of his 00:49:58.079 --> 00:50:00.480 nation. He was sent to prison. Mandela did not 00:50:00.480 --> 00:50:03.840 die. But this one, he was. No, no, no, no. We 00:50:03.840 --> 00:50:08.460 must have an accurate knowledge of Jesus. If 00:50:08.460 --> 00:50:11.360 we must present. Listen, brothers and sisters. 00:50:11.920 --> 00:50:16.000 Our generation is a smart generation. Full of 00:50:16.000 --> 00:50:20.280 information. That's what I mean by smart. There's 00:50:20.280 --> 00:50:24.559 a lot of information around our generation. You 00:50:24.559 --> 00:50:27.159 must be sophisticated in order to confront a 00:50:27.159 --> 00:50:29.360 sophisticated generation with a message of the 00:50:29.360 --> 00:50:35.079 gospel. This morning I was just going through 00:50:35.079 --> 00:50:39.219 a media chat somewhere about someone gave a story 00:50:39.219 --> 00:50:42.719 about Jesus Christ. It's a video. He was trying 00:50:42.719 --> 00:50:44.960 to share the gospel. So I just went down to see 00:50:44.960 --> 00:50:47.460 what people are saying. Somebody said that He 00:50:47.460 --> 00:50:50.699 just wrote a comment. He said, why is it that 00:50:50.699 --> 00:50:55.739 God will not just forgive sin? Why must someone 00:50:55.739 --> 00:50:59.760 have to die? That this story is not adding up. 00:51:01.800 --> 00:51:03.900 If Jesus will forgive, has the power to forgive 00:51:03.900 --> 00:51:05.980 sin, if God has the power to forgive sin, why 00:51:05.980 --> 00:51:08.739 must somebody die? Now, my brothers and sisters, 00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:11.059 if you don't know how to give an answer to this, 00:51:11.199 --> 00:51:13.000 and let me tell you, some of your questions are 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:18.179 genuine. Amen? Some of your questions are genuine 00:51:18.179 --> 00:51:22.920 questions. So you and I are the ones that must 00:51:22.920 --> 00:51:25.420 have the answers to those questions. For you, 00:51:25.480 --> 00:51:27.119 you see this question as a foolish and a stupid 00:51:27.119 --> 00:51:29.679 question. But these are genuine questions that 00:51:29.679 --> 00:51:34.199 people have in their hearts. There's a brother 00:51:34.199 --> 00:51:36.920 that is finding it difficult to agree that Jesus 00:51:36.920 --> 00:51:40.320 Christ is God. Because he has listened to some 00:51:40.320 --> 00:51:45.829 debates. He has listened to some arguments. intellectual 00:51:45.829 --> 00:51:50.349 arguments about religion, about God, and then 00:51:50.349 --> 00:51:53.349 he reached a point that he's doubting about the 00:51:53.349 --> 00:52:02.090 divine nature of Christ. See, if we are not equipped 00:52:02.090 --> 00:52:05.710 with knowledge, with understanding, that's what 00:52:05.710 --> 00:52:09.650 we trust God to do in the course of this cataclysm, 00:52:09.730 --> 00:52:16.210 that we will have the ability To do what? To 00:52:16.210 --> 00:52:20.969 rightly present Christ to our generation. And 00:52:20.969 --> 00:52:24.650 in presenting this Christ, listen, we must do 00:52:24.650 --> 00:52:30.510 it in signs and wonders. Amen? We must do it 00:52:30.510 --> 00:52:33.550 what? In demonstration of the Spirit of God. 00:52:33.989 --> 00:52:36.969 That is why I kept emphasizing about the importance 00:52:36.969 --> 00:52:40.829 of the miraculous. The importance of what? Of 00:52:40.829 --> 00:52:44.730 healing. The importance of Of seeing the signs 00:52:44.730 --> 00:52:49.090 following the preaching of the gospel. What difference 00:52:49.090 --> 00:52:52.809 will be your preaching from a man that stands 00:52:52.809 --> 00:52:57.289 to motivate and collect money and go? What makes 00:52:57.289 --> 00:53:00.769 you different? Paul will say that I didn't come 00:53:00.769 --> 00:53:03.090 to you with lovely speech. Because there are 00:53:03.090 --> 00:53:05.070 others that will come with lovely speech. In 00:53:05.070 --> 00:53:06.869 fact, some of them are more eloquent than us. 00:53:08.309 --> 00:53:11.429 Have you ever seen a man trying to sell a course 00:53:11.429 --> 00:53:19.400 online? The way they will present it, you don't 00:53:19.400 --> 00:53:21.480 even know when you go and click, click bits, 00:53:21.599 --> 00:53:25.079 right? You go and click to subscribe. Because 00:53:25.079 --> 00:53:29.260 they know how to market it very well. And this 00:53:29.260 --> 00:53:30.619 is the kind of generation we are confronting 00:53:30.619 --> 00:53:40.159 with the message of the gospel. Hallelujah. Verse 00:53:40.159 --> 00:53:46.869 14. Some say John. The Baptists, some say Elijah, 00:53:47.190 --> 00:53:53.010 others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Now 00:53:53.010 --> 00:53:57.510 the disciples in their going out to preach, they 00:53:57.510 --> 00:53:59.869 didn't just go from coast to coast, from one 00:53:59.869 --> 00:54:04.130 angle to another, shouting, repent. But they 00:54:04.130 --> 00:54:09.690 must have taught from the scriptures. Amen? They 00:54:09.690 --> 00:54:15.420 must have what? Taught from the scriptures. Are 00:54:15.420 --> 00:54:19.460 we together? For them to preach the gospel of 00:54:19.460 --> 00:54:24.239 the kingdom, they must do what? Preach or teach 00:54:24.239 --> 00:54:28.320 from the scriptures. And of course, we could 00:54:28.320 --> 00:54:32.860 see that even in that generation, the people's 00:54:32.860 --> 00:54:35.179 perception, even though it was flawed, let's 00:54:35.179 --> 00:54:39.000 look at it clearly. Nevertheless, they mentioned 00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:44.460 Elijah, they mentioned Jeremiah. mean that the 00:54:44.460 --> 00:54:46.579 disciples probably may have preached from the 00:54:46.579 --> 00:54:50.119 Holy Scriptures. And also the peoples were aware 00:54:50.119 --> 00:54:54.340 of the Scriptures. We agree, right? That these 00:54:54.340 --> 00:54:56.659 people, these people bringing out the rumors 00:54:56.659 --> 00:54:59.880 about who Jesus is, they are probably aware of, 00:54:59.920 --> 00:55:02.079 because the names they called were scriptural 00:55:02.079 --> 00:55:06.579 names. Alright? They didn't call one of their 00:55:06.579 --> 00:55:10.699 governors. They didn't say it's Herod. But they 00:55:10.699 --> 00:55:13.880 mentioned the prophets. They mentioned, Elijah 00:55:13.880 --> 00:55:17.820 they mentioned. So they have an idea of scriptures. 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:24.579 But it's not accurate. And why? These people 00:55:24.579 --> 00:55:26.940 do not have faith in the scriptures. That's why 00:55:26.940 --> 00:55:31.400 I'm headed. Because if these people have believed 00:55:31.400 --> 00:55:37.000 the scriptures. They would have believed. The 00:55:37.000 --> 00:55:41.039 message that the prophets spoke. Right? They 00:55:41.039 --> 00:55:44.960 would have believed. The mission and the ministry 00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:47.360 of the prophets they were mentioning, which means 00:55:47.360 --> 00:55:51.920 they never had faith in the scriptures. Their 00:55:51.920 --> 00:55:55.659 statements are a product of ignorance and unbelief. 00:55:58.679 --> 00:56:01.940 Because if they had believed what the prophets 00:56:01.940 --> 00:56:07.380 taught, especially John. John is the closest. 00:56:08.400 --> 00:56:11.320 John is the closest because John is a contemporary 00:56:11.320 --> 00:56:13.559 at that time. Of course, they didn't see Elijah. 00:56:13.780 --> 00:56:19.400 They didn't see Jeremiah. But at least they saw 00:56:19.400 --> 00:56:26.400 John the Baptist. And they would have known Jesus. 00:56:26.500 --> 00:56:29.059 If they have believed John, what John taught, 00:56:29.219 --> 00:56:33.280 they would have known who Jesus is and whom John 00:56:33.280 --> 00:56:37.980 preached. Amen? They would have known who John 00:56:37.980 --> 00:56:41.139 was preaching. What was the ministry of John? 00:56:43.880 --> 00:56:48.119 The prophets all wrote about and taught about 00:56:48.119 --> 00:56:51.519 Jesus. Luke chapter 24. Let's look at this. Luke 00:56:51.519 --> 00:57:02.539 24. Verse 25. 27. Jesus at resurrection said 00:57:02.539 --> 00:57:04.699 this. He says, then he said to them, all foolish 00:57:04.699 --> 00:57:11.320 ones and slow of heart to believe all the prophets. 00:57:12.429 --> 00:57:14.489 Which means that all the prophets that they mentioned, 00:57:14.710 --> 00:57:17.750 they were speculating that it was Jesus. All 00:57:17.750 --> 00:57:20.690 the prophets have spoken. What have they spoken? 00:57:21.130 --> 00:57:25.289 Ought not the Christ, the Christ, to have suffered 00:57:25.289 --> 00:57:29.670 these things and to enter his glory? And beginning 00:57:29.670 --> 00:57:34.849 at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to 00:57:34.849 --> 00:57:39.010 them in all the scriptures the things concerning 00:57:39.010 --> 00:57:43.300 himself. That is to say, That the writings of 00:57:43.300 --> 00:57:46.179 the prophets, the communication of the prophets, 00:57:46.380 --> 00:57:49.940 all that the prophets were teaching, the function 00:57:49.940 --> 00:57:56.300 that they did was to announce the coming Messiah. 00:57:57.739 --> 00:58:05.880 Verse 44. Verse 44. Luke 24, 44. Then he said 00:58:05.880 --> 00:58:07.820 to them, these are the words which I spoke to 00:58:07.820 --> 00:58:10.329 you while I was still with you. that all these 00:58:10.329 --> 00:58:13.530 things must be what? Must be accomplished, must 00:58:13.530 --> 00:58:16.829 be fulfilled, which were written in the law of 00:58:16.829 --> 00:58:20.130 Moses, the writings of Moses about Jesus and 00:58:20.130 --> 00:58:27.289 the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. So 00:58:27.289 --> 00:58:29.789 if these men that were bringing these rumors 00:58:29.789 --> 00:58:34.989 about Jesus believe in the writings of the prophets, 00:58:35.679 --> 00:58:38.079 They believed in what the prophets were teaching. 00:58:38.280 --> 00:58:41.840 They wouldn't have a crisis in understanding 00:58:41.840 --> 00:58:47.820 who Jesus Christ is. Hallelujah. This is important. 00:58:51.119 --> 00:58:54.820 What about John? Who is their contemporary? The 00:58:54.820 --> 00:58:57.719 entire ministry of John was about introducing 00:58:57.719 --> 00:59:03.159 Jesus Christ. That means that they didn't believe 00:59:03.159 --> 00:59:08.349 John. Let's look at John. John chapter 1 verse 00:59:08.349 --> 00:59:12.449 19. It means that they didn't believe in the 00:59:12.449 --> 00:59:14.510 ministry of John. They didn't believe in what 00:59:14.510 --> 00:59:16.489 John was preaching. They know John to be a prophet. 00:59:21.429 --> 00:59:24.050 Even the Pharisees knew that John was a prophet 00:59:24.050 --> 00:59:32.309 of God. Now this is a testimony of John. When 00:59:32.309 --> 00:59:37.190 a Jew sent a priest. This is a testimony of John. 00:59:37.289 --> 00:59:40.070 This is the ministry of John. This is what John 00:59:40.070 --> 00:59:43.449 did. This was the purpose of the ministry of 00:59:43.449 --> 00:59:47.389 John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites 00:59:47.389 --> 00:59:52.489 from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? They 00:59:52.489 --> 00:59:59.369 want to know who is he. Right? He confessed and 00:59:59.369 --> 01:00:03.190 did not deny but confessed, I am not the Christ. 01:00:03.289 --> 01:00:06.090 Because I told you earlier on, The nation of 01:00:06.090 --> 01:00:08.710 Israel was expecting the Christ. And the Christ 01:00:08.710 --> 01:00:13.409 is a man. Is a man. That will come as the redeemer 01:00:13.409 --> 01:00:16.889 of Israel. To redeem Israel. To save Israel. 01:00:17.110 --> 01:00:21.449 So they know that this person. Will function 01:00:21.449 --> 01:00:26.650 in the teaching ministry. So they saw John. They 01:00:26.650 --> 01:00:30.250 were guessing. Who are you? Are you the Christ? 01:00:31.409 --> 01:00:37.500 He said no. What then are you? Are you Elijah? 01:00:38.199 --> 01:00:42.380 He said, I am not Elijah. Are you the prophet? 01:00:42.519 --> 01:00:47.320 That means the Christ will be the prophet, right? 01:00:48.159 --> 01:00:52.099 And he answered, no. Then they said to him, who 01:00:52.099 --> 01:00:57.679 are you that we may give an answer to those who 01:00:57.679 --> 01:01:04.699 send us? What do you say about yourself? He said, 01:01:04.800 --> 01:01:09.280 I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness. 01:01:10.699 --> 01:01:13.880 Make straight the way of the Lord. Which means 01:01:13.880 --> 01:01:19.280 that this is in Isaiah. John was able to look 01:01:19.280 --> 01:01:22.380 through the prophecies of Isaiah. And see his 01:01:22.380 --> 01:01:25.320 role in the prophecy of Isaiah. And say, this 01:01:25.320 --> 01:01:31.059 is who I am. This is who I represent. As the 01:01:31.059 --> 01:01:36.179 prophet Isaiah said. Verse 24. Now, those who 01:01:36.179 --> 01:01:41.960 were sent were from what? Pharisee. And they 01:01:41.960 --> 01:01:45.139 asked him, saying, why then do you baptize if 01:01:45.139 --> 01:01:47.619 you are not the Christ? Which means that the 01:01:47.619 --> 01:01:52.539 Christ will do what? Will baptize. Now, I didn't 01:01:52.539 --> 01:01:56.039 say baptize in water. But the Christ will have 01:01:56.039 --> 01:02:00.840 a function to do. If you are not, why then do 01:02:00.840 --> 01:02:03.809 you baptize if you are not the Christ? nor Elijah, 01:02:03.949 --> 01:02:08.849 nor the prophet. John answered them saying, I 01:02:08.849 --> 01:02:15.190 baptize with what? With water. But there stands 01:02:15.190 --> 01:02:21.570 one among you whom you do not know. It is he 01:02:21.570 --> 01:02:27.710 who coming after me is preferred before me. That 01:02:27.710 --> 01:02:30.849 means he's greater than me, which is he has a 01:02:30.849 --> 01:02:37.309 superior ministry than mine. Whose sandals traps 01:02:37.309 --> 01:02:42.710 I am not worthy to lose. These things were done 01:02:42.710 --> 01:02:47.070 in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was 01:02:47.070 --> 01:02:49.710 sucking people in water, was baptizing with water. 01:02:50.630 --> 01:02:54.429 Right? 28, 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming. 01:02:56.110 --> 01:02:59.489 And he said, behold the Lamb of God who takes 01:02:59.489 --> 01:03:04.769 away the sin of the world. This is he of whom 01:03:04.769 --> 01:03:08.989 I said, after me come a man who is preferred 01:03:08.989 --> 01:03:16.150 before me. For he was before me. I did not know 01:03:16.150 --> 01:03:22.250 him. But that he should be revealed to Israel. 01:03:22.469 --> 01:03:26.750 So this is the... The context of John's ministry, 01:03:26.949 --> 01:03:30.989 the revelation of the Christ, that he will point 01:03:30.989 --> 01:03:33.110 to Israel and say, this is the one that the prophets 01:03:33.110 --> 01:03:36.909 have been talking about. This is the one that 01:03:36.909 --> 01:03:40.630 what? That Moses spoke about. This is the one 01:03:40.630 --> 01:03:43.489 that the prophets wrote about. This is the one 01:03:43.489 --> 01:03:46.070 that David even talked about. This is the one 01:03:46.070 --> 01:03:48.670 that has, this is the one that the scripture 01:03:48.670 --> 01:03:52.940 has been communicating about. I did not know 01:03:52.940 --> 01:03:55.980 him myself. But that he should be revealed to 01:03:55.980 --> 01:03:58.480 Israel. Therefore I came baptizing with water. 01:04:04.340 --> 01:04:08.539 And John bore witness. He bore witness saying. 01:04:08.739 --> 01:04:11.460 I saw the spirit descending from heaven like 01:04:11.460 --> 01:04:16.019 a dove. And he remained upon him. And I did not 01:04:16.019 --> 01:04:19.380 know him. But he who sent me to baptize with 01:04:19.380 --> 01:04:22.710 water said to me. Upon whom you see the spirit 01:04:22.710 --> 01:04:27.110 descending. And remaining on him. Is he. Who 01:04:27.110 --> 01:04:33.110 baptizes. With what? With the Holy Spirit. And 01:04:33.110 --> 01:04:37.309 I have seen. And do what? And testify that what? 01:04:37.429 --> 01:04:44.170 That this is what? Is a son of God. That was 01:04:44.170 --> 01:04:49.309 a summary of John's ministry. So. If these people. 01:04:50.269 --> 01:04:55.090 knew who John was. It simply means that they 01:04:55.090 --> 01:04:58.550 didn't believe in what John was doing. It simply 01:04:58.550 --> 01:05:01.090 means that they didn't put faith in what John 01:05:01.090 --> 01:05:05.010 was teaching, his explanation, his baptism, his 01:05:05.010 --> 01:05:11.329 telling them to repent because the kingdom of 01:05:11.329 --> 01:05:15.360 God has arrived. That was his message. That was 01:05:15.360 --> 01:05:20.579 his teaching about shouting and compelling them 01:05:20.579 --> 01:05:24.000 and rebuking them that they will repent. Repentance 01:05:24.000 --> 01:05:26.579 simply means change your thought, change your 01:05:26.579 --> 01:05:30.260 idea, change your mind because the kingdom of 01:05:30.260 --> 01:05:34.679 God has arrived. The kingdom of God has arrived. 01:05:37.159 --> 01:05:42.750 But they were not in faith. They didn't believe 01:05:42.750 --> 01:05:49.130 what John was teaching. So, if you don't believe 01:05:49.130 --> 01:05:53.949 the scripture, I can assure you that you will 01:05:53.949 --> 01:05:58.130 never come to a place of what the revelation 01:05:58.130 --> 01:06:01.550 of who God is. Because the knowledge of God, 01:06:01.610 --> 01:06:06.730 first and foremost, is by faith. Amen? It's by 01:06:06.730 --> 01:06:11.039 faith. That is why no matter how intellectually 01:06:11.039 --> 01:06:14.639 sound a man is, if he does not come to the scripture 01:06:14.639 --> 01:06:22.500 by faith, he cannot know God. The scriptures 01:06:22.500 --> 01:06:29.400 is not known by the prowess of your understanding 01:06:29.400 --> 01:06:35.920 of Hebrew as a language or Greek as a language. 01:06:38.190 --> 01:06:41.730 It's by what? It's by believing what the scripture 01:06:41.730 --> 01:06:47.889 says. You don't need Hebrew and Greek to know 01:06:47.889 --> 01:06:56.449 God. Amen? There are people that are so sophisticated 01:06:56.449 --> 01:07:02.050 in theological seminary. They're atheists, but 01:07:02.050 --> 01:07:08.929 they're teaching the Bible. You know? They are 01:07:08.929 --> 01:07:11.110 atheists. They don't believe in God, but they 01:07:11.110 --> 01:07:18.550 are experts in explaining the scriptures. So, 01:07:18.550 --> 01:07:22.849 first of all, the revelation of God comes by 01:07:22.849 --> 01:07:27.530 what? By faith. By faith in what the scripture 01:07:27.530 --> 01:07:36.829 says about who God is. So we must respond always 01:07:36.829 --> 01:07:42.550 in faith. agreeing in faith that whatever the 01:07:42.550 --> 01:07:47.289 scripture says is what we believe about who God 01:07:47.289 --> 01:07:54.250 is. Matthew 16, 15, it says, but he said, okay, 01:07:54.329 --> 01:07:56.289 this is all that the people have been saying 01:07:56.289 --> 01:08:00.550 about me. All right? This is all the rumors. 01:08:00.650 --> 01:08:02.789 You've brought all the conversation and all, 01:08:03.030 --> 01:08:08.090 you know, the Google searches you've made about 01:08:09.039 --> 01:08:13.780 Different stories about who Jesus is. Now, he 01:08:13.780 --> 01:08:16.819 said to them, but who do you say? Let's leave 01:08:16.819 --> 01:08:21.500 what people are saying. You, who do you say I 01:08:21.500 --> 01:08:31.779 am? Who do you say I am? Jesus shifted from the 01:08:31.779 --> 01:08:35.760 confession of others and his focus right now 01:08:35.760 --> 01:08:42.359 is what? It's on the disciples. Moving away from 01:08:42.359 --> 01:08:46.819 what the crowds have been saying to what the 01:08:46.819 --> 01:08:55.380 disciples know about him. Now the Christian life 01:08:55.380 --> 01:08:59.760 and of course the work of ministry must be founded 01:08:59.760 --> 01:09:04.220 on what? On a personal knowledge. Now when I 01:09:04.220 --> 01:09:06.199 say personal knowledge, I'm not saying a personal 01:09:06.199 --> 01:09:11.600 interpretation. I'm saying that you must be able 01:09:11.600 --> 01:09:19.460 to know God as an individual. Not on what my 01:09:19.460 --> 01:09:30.560 pastor believe or what my pastor said. A personal 01:09:30.560 --> 01:09:34.140 knowledge of God, who he is and what he has done. 01:09:39.440 --> 01:09:44.060 Not the God of my father. Some people say, I 01:09:44.060 --> 01:09:46.739 have a praying mother. So I will never fail. 01:09:47.479 --> 01:09:53.619 You will fail. Don't pray. You walk away from 01:09:53.619 --> 01:09:56.100 the will of God for your life. What prayer does? 01:09:56.180 --> 01:09:58.239 Prayer aligns with the will of God for your life. 01:09:59.899 --> 01:10:04.699 Your mother needs prayer for herself. Amen? Of 01:10:04.699 --> 01:10:10.079 course we pray for one another. Alright? We are 01:10:10.079 --> 01:10:13.439 encouraged to pray for one another. But as a 01:10:13.439 --> 01:10:16.859 believer, you must seek to know God and to know 01:10:16.859 --> 01:10:20.720 the will of God for yourself. Because nobody 01:10:20.720 --> 01:10:29.420 can do the work of God on your behalf for you. 01:10:30.100 --> 01:10:35.359 You, as an individual, are called to do. So it's 01:10:35.359 --> 01:10:40.539 not the God of my pastor. No. The God of your 01:10:40.539 --> 01:10:44.479 pastor must move from just being the God of your 01:10:44.479 --> 01:10:48.199 pastor to what? To your own God. Your own God. 01:10:48.760 --> 01:10:52.039 Your own God. He must be your own God as well. 01:10:53.279 --> 01:11:02.539 And that comes by knowledge. Not just what my 01:11:02.539 --> 01:11:05.600 pastor said. It must move from what my pastor 01:11:05.600 --> 01:11:11.750 said to what I believe. What the pastor teaches 01:11:11.750 --> 01:11:18.250 us must be believed on, personalized and practiced 01:11:18.250 --> 01:11:28.810 in our lives. Because exploits in the kingdom 01:11:28.810 --> 01:11:35.390 of God comes from knowing God. Hallelujah. It 01:11:35.390 --> 01:11:38.710 comes from what? It comes from knowing God. Daniel 01:11:38.710 --> 01:11:43.710 11 .32. Let's see that text in the Amplified. 01:11:45.949 --> 01:11:51.670 In the Amplified. Daniel 11, 32. It says, And 01:11:51.670 --> 01:11:56.170 such as violate the covenant, he shall pervert 01:11:56.170 --> 01:12:01.170 and seduce with flatteries. But the people who 01:12:01.170 --> 01:12:08.130 know their God, they shall prevail. They shall 01:12:08.130 --> 01:12:12.340 prove themselves strong. Strong against what? 01:12:12.380 --> 01:12:20.220 Against the violent, the perverted one. They 01:12:20.220 --> 01:12:23.640 shall prove themselves strong and shall stand 01:12:23.640 --> 01:12:28.239 firm and shall do what? And they shall do exploits 01:12:28.239 --> 01:12:35.220 for God. Which means that it must come from a 01:12:35.220 --> 01:12:39.840 point of what? Knowledge. Knowledge. Our faith 01:12:39.840 --> 01:12:44.819 is a knowledge -based faith. Right? Christianity 01:12:44.819 --> 01:12:48.060 is a knowledge -based faith. If you are an ignorant 01:12:48.060 --> 01:12:51.899 person, you will not thrive as a Christian. If 01:12:51.899 --> 01:12:56.619 you have an allergy for knowledge, sorry, Christianity 01:12:56.619 --> 01:12:59.920 is not for you. You can be born again, but you 01:12:59.920 --> 01:13:06.300 will not do much in this kingdom. So there must 01:13:06.300 --> 01:13:11.149 be a high level of hunger. To know. Because knowledge 01:13:11.149 --> 01:13:14.010 is essential. There must be a transformation. 01:13:14.050 --> 01:13:21.829 Of our mind. Your mind. Is not born again. Hallelujah. 01:13:22.329 --> 01:13:25.470 Your soul is safe. Your spirit is safe. But your 01:13:25.470 --> 01:13:29.569 mind needs to be renewed. By what? By information. 01:13:29.989 --> 01:13:32.989 By knowledge. That what has happened in your 01:13:32.989 --> 01:13:40.460 spirit man. consumes your intellect, your mind. 01:13:41.039 --> 01:13:43.539 And how does that come? It comes by the study 01:13:43.539 --> 01:13:45.720 of God's word. That's what we're doing today. 01:13:46.279 --> 01:13:50.380 That our mind is transformed and we acquire the 01:13:50.380 --> 01:14:00.460 knowledge, the knowledge of God. Remember the 01:14:00.460 --> 01:14:07.510 parable of the talents? You know. That one servant, 01:14:07.770 --> 01:14:16.050 Matthew chapter 25 verse 24. Matthew 25 verse 01:14:16.050 --> 01:14:21.810 24. Then he who had received the one talent came 01:14:21.810 --> 01:14:26.029 and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man. 01:14:27.750 --> 01:14:33.550 Talking about the master. Which means that he 01:14:33.550 --> 01:14:36.579 has no knowledge of who the master is. Because 01:14:36.579 --> 01:14:39.579 if he knew who the master is, he will do what? 01:14:40.460 --> 01:14:42.579 He will have done well with what the master gives 01:14:42.579 --> 01:14:47.920 him. He says, I know you to be a hard man, reaping 01:14:47.920 --> 01:14:51.199 where you have not sown, and gathering where 01:14:51.199 --> 01:14:54.619 you have not scattered seed. And then he gave 01:14:54.619 --> 01:15:01.659 you one to keep. I mean, thank God it's a parable. 01:15:05.100 --> 01:15:10.020 Amen. Thank God it's a story, right? It's a parable. 01:15:10.819 --> 01:15:14.020 But unfortunately, some of us, our life is just 01:15:14.020 --> 01:15:22.439 like this parable. It says, I was afraid. Fear 01:15:22.439 --> 01:15:29.539 comes from where? The lack of knowledge of who 01:15:29.539 --> 01:15:36.550 the master is, of who God is. I was afraid and 01:15:36.550 --> 01:15:39.489 went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, 01:15:39.569 --> 01:15:41.909 there you have what is yours. And look at what 01:15:41.909 --> 01:15:44.189 the master says. But his Lord answered and said 01:15:44.189 --> 01:15:50.430 to him, you wicked and lazy servant. You knew 01:15:50.430 --> 01:15:52.710 that I reap where I have not sworn, which is 01:15:52.710 --> 01:15:56.869 not true anyway. Right? And gathered where I 01:15:56.869 --> 01:16:00.409 have not scattered seed. So you ought to have 01:16:00.409 --> 01:16:04.020 just deposited my money with the bankers. And 01:16:04.020 --> 01:16:07.560 at my coming, I will have received back my own 01:16:07.560 --> 01:16:12.859 reward with interest. Therefore, take the talent 01:16:12.859 --> 01:16:17.380 from him and give it to him who has ten talents. 01:16:19.180 --> 01:16:24.520 To everyone who has more will be given. And he 01:16:24.520 --> 01:16:27.819 will have abundance. But from him who does not 01:16:27.819 --> 01:16:33.260 have, even what he has will be taken away. So 01:16:33.260 --> 01:16:39.600 we see that the conduct of this servant is from 01:16:39.600 --> 01:16:42.260 what? It's from a distorted knowledge of who 01:16:42.260 --> 01:16:49.060 his master is. He couldn't be productive. He 01:16:49.060 --> 01:16:51.100 couldn't become efficient in the utilization 01:16:51.100 --> 01:16:54.939 of what he was given. Others were productive. 01:16:55.079 --> 01:16:58.340 Others went and then they traded, as the scripture 01:16:58.340 --> 01:17:01.100 would say, with what was given to them. But this 01:17:01.100 --> 01:17:03.800 one, because he lacked knowledge and understanding 01:17:03.800 --> 01:17:07.159 of who the master is, what the master is expecting 01:17:07.159 --> 01:17:12.300 for him to do, he went and ducked and then he 01:17:12.300 --> 01:17:16.260 hid. May that never be a testimony in Jesus' 01:17:16.399 --> 01:17:20.020 name. That our lives will be spent about the 01:17:20.020 --> 01:17:24.800 father's business. Hallelujah. That our lives 01:17:24.800 --> 01:17:28.439 will yield profit in the kingdom. See, God seeks 01:17:28.729 --> 01:17:31.729 profit from our lives. And the profit is souls 01:17:31.729 --> 01:17:39.130 that will be able to what? Multiply. Will be 01:17:39.130 --> 01:17:47.109 able to multiply. Hallelujah. Now let's look 01:17:47.109 --> 01:17:58.920 at the reply of Simon Peter. Matthew 16. Simon 01:17:58.920 --> 01:18:04.420 answered and said, you are the Christ. Amen? 01:18:05.420 --> 01:18:11.479 Hello? What is his answer? Let's read verse 16 01:18:11.479 --> 01:18:14.380 together, all of us. One, two, go. Simon Peter 01:18:14.380 --> 01:18:19.260 answered and said, you are the Christ, the son 01:18:19.260 --> 01:18:30.319 of the living God. Hallelujah. Christ. He was 01:18:30.319 --> 01:18:36.260 able to give an accurate answer different from 01:18:36.260 --> 01:18:47.699 that of the crowd. You are the Christ. Son of 01:18:47.699 --> 01:18:53.340 the living God. And I believe so much that God 01:18:53.340 --> 01:18:58.649 intends to reveal himself to us. Amen? for each 01:18:58.649 --> 01:19:02.909 and every one of us, that, listen, I'm so sure 01:19:02.909 --> 01:19:07.710 about this, that our eyes are opening to know 01:19:07.710 --> 01:19:12.489 who God is. That the confidence we have in preaching 01:19:12.489 --> 01:19:15.789 Christ, people will be asking, why is this brother 01:19:15.789 --> 01:19:21.229 so passionate about evangelism? Why is this sister 01:19:21.229 --> 01:19:25.149 so passionate about this Christ? Someone asked 01:19:25.149 --> 01:19:28.489 me that. In the office, while I was working some 01:19:28.489 --> 01:19:31.149 years back in the office here, my boss walked 01:19:31.149 --> 01:19:37.850 into my room and she was asking, are you being 01:19:37.850 --> 01:19:46.350 paid from anywhere? I said, no. Then why are 01:19:46.350 --> 01:19:49.270 you so passionate about this fellowship of a 01:19:49.270 --> 01:19:51.949 thing? And I told her, you see this fellowship, 01:19:52.229 --> 01:19:54.449 I can leave school because of this fellowship. 01:19:59.149 --> 01:20:01.529 Because I've come to a point that I'm convinced 01:20:01.529 --> 01:20:08.550 that this is life. Amen? And a person does not 01:20:08.550 --> 01:20:11.890 just walk into this and I'm hoping that I will 01:20:11.890 --> 01:20:14.569 grow more every single day in the knowledge of 01:20:14.569 --> 01:20:16.350 God. I will grow deeper in the knowledge of who 01:20:16.350 --> 01:20:20.590 God is. There's a place of knowledge you come 01:20:20.590 --> 01:20:23.289 to know about God that it is impossible to deny 01:20:23.289 --> 01:20:30.270 God. Amen? It's impossible to Even the disciples 01:20:30.270 --> 01:20:34.689 went away with him. Later on we'll see. When 01:20:34.689 --> 01:20:36.649 everybody was walking away, they said, will you 01:20:36.649 --> 01:20:40.010 also go? Peter, who is their spokesman, said, 01:20:40.069 --> 01:20:45.649 unto who shall we go? We've come to realize, 01:20:45.930 --> 01:20:48.090 we've come to know that you are the one that 01:20:48.090 --> 01:20:53.750 have eternal life. So where are we going? Where 01:20:53.750 --> 01:20:57.920 else are we going to go? Even if it's hard. You 01:20:57.920 --> 01:21:02.020 see, the people that will walk away from the 01:21:02.020 --> 01:21:05.479 faith are people that don't have fruit. Right? 01:21:08.140 --> 01:21:12.420 They remain at the surface level. When trial 01:21:12.420 --> 01:21:15.939 comes, what happens? It swifts them away. When 01:21:15.939 --> 01:21:17.760 temptation comes, what happens? It takes them 01:21:17.760 --> 01:21:23.140 away. But for you, your testimony is that you 01:21:23.140 --> 01:21:27.500 know God. Amen? And the knowledge of God you 01:21:27.500 --> 01:21:30.020 will have. You will be like that house that is 01:21:30.020 --> 01:21:35.060 built on the rock. And you are grounded. You 01:21:35.060 --> 01:21:39.960 are firm on the rock. Your root goes down into 01:21:39.960 --> 01:21:47.079 the ground. Hallelujah. The wind will blow. The 01:21:47.079 --> 01:21:49.680 temptations will come. The challenges will rise. 01:21:49.859 --> 01:21:53.380 On account of the truth, you will be persecuted. 01:21:58.670 --> 01:22:01.310 Oh, some of you, they will fire you from your 01:22:01.310 --> 01:22:05.930 jobs on account of the truth. Some of you, you'll 01:22:05.930 --> 01:22:09.069 be rejected by your loved ones. It will happen. 01:22:13.210 --> 01:22:16.010 But your testimony will be that, see, I've come 01:22:16.010 --> 01:22:19.850 to know who God is. And it's too late for me 01:22:19.850 --> 01:22:23.970 to say what? To say I'm going back. But you see, 01:22:24.069 --> 01:22:27.149 it takes a man, it takes a woman that knows God. 01:22:30.569 --> 01:22:34.510 To reach this place of conviction. Sometimes 01:22:34.510 --> 01:22:37.229 when I read. Or read a little bit about. The 01:22:37.229 --> 01:22:40.829 men who gave themselves. Why will the apostles. 01:22:41.170 --> 01:22:43.229 First of all let's begin with the apostles. What 01:22:43.229 --> 01:22:45.609 do you think would be so convincing. If you look 01:22:45.609 --> 01:22:48.829 at how. Each and every one of them was killed. 01:22:49.609 --> 01:22:53.949 Except John. Some of them the Bible says. History 01:22:53.949 --> 01:22:56.050 rather. Says that they were sworn into pieces. 01:22:59.500 --> 01:23:04.859 How can a man believe a lie to the point of giving 01:23:04.859 --> 01:23:11.520 his life? How can a man be willing to say, see, 01:23:11.640 --> 01:23:15.659 even if you shoot me, you kill me, I will not 01:23:15.659 --> 01:23:22.239 deny the faith. The history of the church will 01:23:22.239 --> 01:23:26.800 see men that have laid down their lives for the 01:23:26.800 --> 01:23:35.880 gospel. Some were excommunicated. Some were boiled 01:23:35.880 --> 01:23:42.159 in hot oil. Some were burned with fire. And the 01:23:42.159 --> 01:23:44.539 only condition they were given was to renounce 01:23:44.539 --> 01:23:53.720 what? To renounce the gospel. And they were not 01:23:53.720 --> 01:23:56.119 willing to because you know what? They have come 01:23:56.119 --> 01:23:58.199 to know God. They have come to know the truth. 01:23:58.750 --> 01:24:00.789 To the point that they are willing to lay down 01:24:00.789 --> 01:24:06.310 their lives for the truth that they know. And 01:24:06.310 --> 01:24:08.810 I see God moving us to this place of knowledge. 01:24:09.090 --> 01:24:11.729 I see God moving us to this place of intimacy. 01:24:11.949 --> 01:24:14.829 I see God bringing us to a place of conviction. 01:24:16.329 --> 01:24:19.449 Men that will do exploits are men of conviction. 01:24:22.609 --> 01:24:27.720 And conviction is a product of knowledge. The 01:24:27.720 --> 01:24:30.439 knowledge of God. The knowledge of what he's 01:24:30.439 --> 01:24:38.539 doing. The knowledge of what he has done. It 01:24:38.539 --> 01:24:44.140 would take a man and a woman of conviction to 01:24:44.140 --> 01:24:47.359 say, see, this job they're going to give me, 01:24:47.479 --> 01:24:54.039 right? I may be making $100 ,000 annually. But 01:24:54.039 --> 01:24:55.880 what this job will do for me is that it will 01:24:55.880 --> 01:24:58.880 take away Christ. It will take away, you know, 01:24:58.920 --> 01:25:01.760 an opportunity for me to know, it will affect 01:25:01.760 --> 01:25:04.760 my relationship with God. It will take a man 01:25:04.760 --> 01:25:08.659 and a woman of conviction to say no to such kind 01:25:08.659 --> 01:25:11.460 of an opportunity for a source of livelihood 01:25:11.460 --> 01:25:14.079 and say, I choose to trust God for something 01:25:14.079 --> 01:25:18.359 else because I know that this will be a hindrance 01:25:18.359 --> 01:25:23.819 to me serving God and living for God. It's not 01:25:23.819 --> 01:25:28.159 just casual knowledge. It's not just casual knowledge. 01:25:32.119 --> 01:25:38.739 Amen? It's not just casual knowledge. You always 01:25:38.739 --> 01:25:43.739 see the crowds. The crowds will come around and 01:25:43.739 --> 01:25:46.699 there will be 5 ,000. They will give you loaves 01:25:46.699 --> 01:25:52.859 of bread. You know those ones? Jim, Jim, Jim 01:25:52.859 --> 01:25:57.409 in church. Oh, this service was powerful. It 01:25:57.409 --> 01:26:01.569 is a crowd. I'm not saying that singing and dancing 01:26:01.569 --> 01:26:04.529 is bad. That's not what I'm saying. But if you 01:26:04.529 --> 01:26:06.550 take away the instruments, the drums and the 01:26:06.550 --> 01:26:12.609 keyboard, will you still sing? Or your devotion 01:26:12.609 --> 01:26:19.930 for God is musically stimulated. If we say now 01:26:19.930 --> 01:26:21.590 in this church we no longer play the keyboard, 01:26:21.810 --> 01:26:25.029 we only come and clap. Will you dance and sweat? 01:26:31.829 --> 01:26:36.550 Let's move away from the crowd and then come 01:26:36.550 --> 01:26:39.909 into a place of intimacy, a place of relationship 01:26:39.909 --> 01:26:42.989 with God that will know him in discipleship, 01:26:43.010 --> 01:26:46.489 that will build this knowledge of him that will 01:26:46.489 --> 01:26:57.539 be able to execute his will on the earth. Hallelujah. 01:26:57.539 --> 01:27:01.600 It is crucial. Knowing God is important. And 01:27:01.600 --> 01:27:04.460 that is what God is doing right now. Even Moses. 01:27:04.680 --> 01:27:06.640 You see the story of Moses. When Moses was called 01:27:06.640 --> 01:27:10.659 in Exodus chapter 3. That was a challenge he 01:27:10.659 --> 01:27:23.809 had to cross. Exodus chapter 3 verse 1. Now, 01:27:23.809 --> 01:27:26.609 when Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his 01:27:26.609 --> 01:27:31.829 father -in -law, a priest of Midian, and he led 01:27:31.829 --> 01:27:34.869 the flock to the back of the desert and came 01:27:34.869 --> 01:27:39.569 to Horeb, the mount of God. And the angel of 01:27:39.569 --> 01:27:42.569 the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from 01:27:42.569 --> 01:27:46.489 the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, 01:27:46.829 --> 01:27:51.789 the bush was burning with fire. But the bush 01:27:51.789 --> 01:27:55.590 was not consumed. Then Moses said, I will now 01:27:55.590 --> 01:27:59.609 turn aside and see this great sight by why the 01:27:59.609 --> 01:28:03.569 bush does not burn. So when the Lord saw, he 01:28:03.569 --> 01:28:06.869 turned aside to look. God called him from the 01:28:06.869 --> 01:28:10.770 midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And 01:28:10.770 --> 01:28:14.390 he said, here I am. Then he said, do not draw 01:28:14.390 --> 01:28:17.449 near this place. Take your sandals off your feet. 01:28:18.010 --> 01:28:21.090 For the place where you stand is holy ground. 01:28:22.250 --> 01:28:25.390 Moreover, he said, I am the God of your father. 01:28:25.670 --> 01:28:30.689 You see introduction? God was introducing himself 01:28:30.689 --> 01:28:35.949 to who? Because you see, if Moses would go and 01:28:35.949 --> 01:28:39.949 preach the people of God in Egypt, he must know 01:28:39.949 --> 01:28:43.909 who this God is. He must know because there are 01:28:43.909 --> 01:28:52.260 many gods. There are many gods out there. But 01:28:52.260 --> 01:28:58.060 this God is a God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 01:28:58.279 --> 01:29:03.300 and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, 01:29:03.399 --> 01:29:07.479 for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord 01:29:07.479 --> 01:29:09.779 said, I have surely seen the oppression of my 01:29:09.779 --> 01:29:13.489 people who are in Egypt, and I've heard... their 01:29:13.489 --> 01:29:17.350 cry because of their taskmasters. For I know 01:29:17.350 --> 01:29:22.449 their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver 01:29:22.449 --> 01:29:25.449 them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to 01:29:25.449 --> 01:29:29.170 bring them up from that land to a good and large 01:29:29.170 --> 01:29:33.510 land, to a land flowing with milk and honey to 01:29:33.510 --> 01:29:36.189 the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites 01:29:36.189 --> 01:29:40.090 and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites 01:29:40.090 --> 01:29:43.930 and the Jebusites. Now, therefore, this is his 01:29:43.930 --> 01:29:47.189 call. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the 01:29:47.189 --> 01:29:49.569 children of Israel has come to me, and I have 01:29:49.569 --> 01:29:52.810 also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians 01:29:52.810 --> 01:29:58.869 oppressed them. Come now, therefore, I will send 01:29:58.869 --> 01:30:05.869 you, that you may bring my people, the children 01:30:05.869 --> 01:30:10.880 of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, 01:30:11.000 --> 01:30:15.100 Whom am I that I should go to Pharaoh, that I 01:30:15.100 --> 01:30:17.319 should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? 01:30:18.420 --> 01:30:22.039 So he said, I will certainly be with you. And 01:30:22.039 --> 01:30:25.340 this shall be a sign to you that I have sent 01:30:25.340 --> 01:30:28.680 you. When you have brought the people out of 01:30:28.680 --> 01:30:31.420 Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. 01:30:32.440 --> 01:30:35.380 Then Moses said to God, indeed, when I come to 01:30:35.380 --> 01:30:37.560 the children of Israel and say to them, the God 01:30:37.560 --> 01:30:40.520 of your fathers has sent me to you and they say 01:30:40.520 --> 01:30:44.500 to me, what is his name? What shall I say to 01:30:44.500 --> 01:30:51.359 them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And 01:30:51.359 --> 01:30:53.640 he said, first you shall say to the children 01:30:53.640 --> 01:30:57.159 of Israel, I am has sent you, sent me to you. 01:30:59.119 --> 01:31:05.609 Hallelujah. So Moses was inquisitive about who 01:31:05.609 --> 01:31:11.789 God is. Who is the God that is sending you? Do 01:31:11.789 --> 01:31:13.609 you know him? Do you have a relationship with 01:31:13.609 --> 01:31:18.750 him? Which God are you going out there? Listen, 01:31:18.829 --> 01:31:23.130 Egypt is a picture. Alright? In scriptures, Egypt 01:31:23.130 --> 01:31:27.649 is a picture. It's a picture of operation. Operation 01:31:27.649 --> 01:31:34.960 is a picture of sin. And Moses is a deliverer. 01:31:37.880 --> 01:31:44.500 A messenger has been sent to deliver them from 01:31:44.500 --> 01:31:47.100 darkness, to deliver them from oppression. And 01:31:47.100 --> 01:31:52.850 we equally have that ministry as Moses. To go 01:31:52.850 --> 01:31:56.890 and deliver people from darkness. To deliver 01:31:56.890 --> 01:31:59.949 people from oppression. To deliver people from 01:31:59.949 --> 01:32:02.810 the works of darkness. To save them from what? 01:32:02.930 --> 01:32:08.909 From wickedness. From oppression. But how are 01:32:08.909 --> 01:32:14.569 we going to save them? Because what will save 01:32:14.569 --> 01:32:18.430 them is a message. What are we going to tell 01:32:18.430 --> 01:32:22.060 them? Who are we going to tell them? What will 01:32:22.060 --> 01:32:24.939 save them is a message. And the message is a 01:32:24.939 --> 01:32:35.060 who. The message is a person. Hallelujah. Now, 01:32:35.060 --> 01:32:41.279 do you know that person? We must know that person. 01:32:43.079 --> 01:32:48.640 Because the knowledge of God is important. If 01:32:48.640 --> 01:32:52.350 not, Do you know what will happen to us? Let's 01:32:52.350 --> 01:32:59.529 look at what will happen. Acts 19. We will not 01:32:59.529 --> 01:33:02.170 be able to do it if we don't know God. Acts 19 01:33:02.170 --> 01:33:13.189 verse 11. Let's see a story here. Now God walk 01:33:13.189 --> 01:33:16.939 unusual miracle by the hands of Paul. So that 01:33:16.939 --> 01:33:20.000 even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from 01:33:20.000 --> 01:33:24.319 his body to the sick. And what happened? Diseases 01:33:24.319 --> 01:33:29.420 left them and the evil spirit went out. Then 01:33:29.420 --> 01:33:37.279 some of the Iteran Jewish exorcists saw what 01:33:37.279 --> 01:33:42.239 Paul did. They said, this is good stuff. We're 01:33:42.239 --> 01:33:44.479 going to do something. They took it upon themselves. 01:33:45.210 --> 01:33:48.710 To call the name of the Lord Jesus over those 01:33:48.710 --> 01:33:51.630 who are evil spirits. Saying, look at what they 01:33:51.630 --> 01:34:02.489 say. We exercise you by the Jesus. Whom who? 01:34:03.069 --> 01:34:11.189 Whom my pastor preach. We cast out these demons 01:34:11.189 --> 01:34:19.689 in the name of the God of my father. Also there 01:34:19.689 --> 01:34:23.789 were what? Seven sons of Siva. A Jewish chief 01:34:23.789 --> 01:34:26.510 priest. Who did so? These were seven young men 01:34:26.510 --> 01:34:31.289 who did. And what happened to them? And the evil 01:34:31.289 --> 01:34:39.229 spirit answered and said, Jesus I know. Paul 01:34:39.229 --> 01:34:44.909 I also know. But you half one. Who are you? Who 01:34:44.909 --> 01:34:51.100 ghost you? And what happened? Then the man in 01:34:51.100 --> 01:34:56.779 whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered 01:34:56.779 --> 01:35:00.439 them, and prevailed. But remember, those who 01:35:00.439 --> 01:35:05.039 know their God shall what? Shall what? Shall 01:35:05.039 --> 01:35:09.800 be what? Shall be what? Shall be strong and what? 01:35:11.239 --> 01:35:13.140 So these ones, what happened to them? They were 01:35:13.140 --> 01:35:17.739 what? They were prevailed against. They were 01:35:17.739 --> 01:35:22.979 overpowered. So that they fled out of that house 01:35:22.979 --> 01:35:31.399 how? Naked and wounded. This is shame. Naked 01:35:31.399 --> 01:35:37.159 and what? And wounded. Why? Because they were 01:35:37.159 --> 01:35:39.479 trying to do something that they don't have shame 01:35:39.479 --> 01:35:42.449 in. They are trying to do something that they 01:35:42.449 --> 01:35:45.250 don't have authority to do. They were trying 01:35:45.250 --> 01:35:47.630 to do something that they don't have access to 01:35:47.630 --> 01:35:55.390 do. But have they heard about Jesus? Yes, they 01:35:55.390 --> 01:35:58.329 did. Do they believe Jesus? I doubt if they did. 01:36:01.710 --> 01:36:06.050 Amen? Do you know that there was even a time 01:36:06.050 --> 01:36:08.409 when they brought some sick people to the disciples? 01:36:09.390 --> 01:36:14.430 To heal. And what happened? They couldn't heal 01:36:14.430 --> 01:36:18.930 them. And Jesus made reference to their unbelief. 01:36:19.149 --> 01:36:26.649 How many times will I be with you? So for us 01:36:26.649 --> 01:36:29.229 to be effective, for us to be able to carry out 01:36:29.229 --> 01:36:31.869 the work of ministry, listen, I can tell you 01:36:31.869 --> 01:36:37.609 this, that ministry is warfare. Are we together? 01:36:38.279 --> 01:36:43.079 It's life and death. A minister is always a target 01:36:43.079 --> 01:36:49.319 by the enemy. Hallelujah. A target, number one, 01:36:49.340 --> 01:36:55.380 your faith is a target. Your life is a target. 01:36:55.600 --> 01:37:00.359 Your stability is a target. And what will establish 01:37:00.359 --> 01:37:05.180 you is a knowledge of God. It's a knowledge of 01:37:05.180 --> 01:37:16.640 God. So for us not to suffer disgrace, disgrace 01:37:16.640 --> 01:37:19.579 to the name of God, disrepute to the name of 01:37:19.579 --> 01:37:23.100 God, shame to the kingdom, shame to the family, 01:37:23.220 --> 01:37:26.800 it's essential that we give ourselves to knowing 01:37:26.800 --> 01:37:32.899 God. It's essential. And in knowing him, we are 01:37:32.899 --> 01:37:36.699 in a relationship with him. We are in a communion 01:37:36.699 --> 01:37:41.020 with him. We are in intimacy with him. That we 01:37:41.020 --> 01:37:45.279 will know what to do. We will know where to go. 01:37:45.659 --> 01:37:49.119 We will know how to go. We will know the message. 01:37:52.420 --> 01:37:56.260 Hallelujah. Let's rise on our feet and pray a 01:37:56.260 --> 01:38:09.949 little bit. Let's rise on our feet. The intent 01:38:09.949 --> 01:38:26.430 of God is to reveal himself to us. I want you 01:38:26.430 --> 01:38:30.149 to pray. Pray that God will reveal himself to 01:38:30.149 --> 01:39:00.510 you. Pray. Pray for yourself. That your eyes 01:39:00.510 --> 01:39:11.449 will be enlightened. That your eyes will be enlightened. 01:39:17.189 --> 01:39:22.780 That was the prayer of Paul to the church. I 01:39:22.780 --> 01:39:29.060 don't know God. Let's pray. Let's pray. Pray 01:39:29.060 --> 01:39:36.720 for yourself. Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, 01:39:36.800 --> 01:39:42.739 that I will know you. That I will know you. That 01:39:42.739 --> 01:39:47.100 I will know you. The revelation of Jesus is essential. 01:39:48.100 --> 01:39:51.020 To manifesting the kingdom of God. Lord, that 01:39:51.020 --> 01:39:55.640 I will know you. That I will know you, that I 01:39:55.640 --> 01:39:57.340 will know you, that I will know you. Lord Jesus, 01:39:57.479 --> 01:40:04.899 this is my prayer. This is my desire. For me 01:40:04.899 --> 01:40:07.439 to represent you in this generation, I must know 01:40:07.439 --> 01:40:17.590 you. This is our heart cry, Lord Jesus, in this 01:40:17.590 --> 01:40:26.130 generation. That we will know you. That at least 01:40:26.130 --> 01:40:30.010 amongst us here will know you. Not just by rumors. 01:40:33.630 --> 01:40:42.750 Not just by hearsays. Open your mouth and pray, 01:40:42.789 --> 01:40:46.859 and pray, pray, pray, pray. Listen. It is the 01:40:46.859 --> 01:40:49.140 intention, listen, it is God's will to reveal 01:40:49.140 --> 01:41:07.279 himself to us. It is God's intent to reveal himself 01:41:07.279 --> 01:41:10.420 to us in this meeting so we can better represent 01:41:10.420 --> 01:41:13.819 him, so we can better preach him, so we can better 01:41:14.140 --> 01:41:20.359 better and better do the work of ministry thank 01:41:20.359 --> 01:41:35.039 you Jesus thank you for listening to today's 01:41:35.039 --> 01:41:38.640 sermon your journey matters to us let's keep 01:41:38.640 --> 01:41:42.359 walking together visit our website for more resources 01:41:43.050 --> 01:41:45.590 And follow us on social media to stay updated. 01:41:46.250 --> 01:41:48.909 Feel free to check the show notes for additional 01:41:48.909 --> 01:41:52.189 insights. If today's message was a blessing, 01:41:52.369 --> 01:41:56.649 share it with a friend. Till next time, be blessed.