Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. Amen. So I want us to start from 2
Thessalonians 3. And the title is Understanding
the Father's Love in Christ. Understanding the
Father's Love in Christ. I want us to start from
2 Thessalonians 3. I'll read from the NLT. 2
Thessalonians 3. It says, Finally, dear brothers
and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray
that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and
be honored wherever it goes, just as it is when
it came to you. 2. Pray too that you will be
rescued from wicked and evil people, for not
everyone is a believer. 3. And the Lord is faithful.
I want you to say, the Lord is faithful. Say,
but the Lord is faithful. He says, regardless
of what the wicked and evil men are doing, the
Lord still remains faithful. He says, the Lord
is faithful. He will strengthen you. Say, I'm
strengthened of the Lord. I am strengthened of
the Lord to do his will. I am strengthened of
the Lord to do his will. And through me, the
Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored.
The scriptures here says, he will strengthen
you and guide you from the evil one. He will
strengthen and guide you from the evil one. Four,
we'll stop at five. It says, and we are confident
in the Lord that you are doing and will continue
to do the things we command you. Five, it says,
may the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding
and expression of the love of God and the patient
endurance that comes from Christ. I want us to
go back to four again. It says, we are confident
in the Lord that you are doing and will continue
to do the things we command you. And this is
Apostle Paul speaking and he is writing to the
church in Thessalonica and he, He makes a prayer.
He requests for prayer and then also prays. If
you see, he was like, in verse 3, he says that
we will be rescued from wickedness. And then
he says, but the Lord is faithful. He said he
will strengthen you and guide you. And then he
says, we are confident in the Lord that you are
doing and you will continue to do the things
we commanded you. Then in 5 now, which is where
we're going to be laying our emphasis, he says,
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding
and expression of the love of God and the patient
endurance that comes from Christ. Praise God.
What we're going to be discussing today is very
much anchored, and I'm looking at some of us,
and I want us to not downplay what exactly it
is we're going to be doing here. And it's very
important that if you come to church, I'll just
give us this very quickly, that you want to ensure
that you are engaged and focused. And one thing
that helps you stay engaged and focused as the
teaching is going on is if you are writing, right?
If you're writing, it helps you to stay engaged
and focused. And one other thing that writing
does is that it helps you to remember. Because
many of us will not be able to remember the things
I said after now. So it ensures that you have
some form of documentation that you can be able
to go to. And one thing I've noticed is that
you are in church and then you get instructions.
You don't know the problem or the challenges
that lies ahead that these instructions that
you get now will be solving. And once you don't
have a documentation to go back to, you will
be missing out on the blessing that you have
received that you didn't hold on to. Praise God.
And one other thing I want to also emphasize
is the fact that Your taking down notes is your
first line of action. It means that you are already
acting on what is being said. I say something
to you and you're taking down notes. That is
the first action that will capitalize on whether
other actions follows. So it means that if you're
not... Taking notes, you are not going to be
very, it's very unlikely that you're going to
act on what exactly it is you've received. Praise
God. So you are taking down notes and then you
are ensuring that you're noting down important
points and then you are avoiding mistakes that
have already been, you're able to avoid mistakes.
Praise God. I'm saying that because there's some
people here that when I speak to them or give
them instructions, because I cannot guarantee
that they understood instruction, before the
call ends, I said, Can you write back to me what
exactly it is I instructed you? And that way
we understand ourselves. Praise God. We understand
ourselves. So if we don't take down notes, you're
more likely to miss out on what exactly. And
then the other thing, last but not the least,
having a Bible and a writing material, we're
not warring against technology. All of those
things are very important. Having a physical
copy Bible and then a pen and a paper that you're
able to note down things. ensures that you're
not distracted or easily distracted because you
will not get a notification from your pen. You're
not going to get a notification from your book.
You're not going to get a notification from your
Bible except it's the Bible app. And you are
less likely to have a notification from all the
social media platforms that we have online. Praise
God. So this is a plea for us to make the most
of the service. I have to put that in there so
that you don't come. And if you are new to NECF,
this is how, It happens in church. If you're
old and you're still stuck, you're like new,
you're old but you're like new, we love you and
we believe the best of you. Praise God. So, understanding
the Father's love in Christ, understanding the
Father's love in Christ. Know that this church
is writing to have suffered persecution. and
are suffering persecution, right? And he's writing
to encourage them, writing to strengthen them,
and then also praying. In the course of 3, we
see that he's praying for them. He's praying
that they will be strengthened and guided from
the evil one, right? And to confirm that this
church has been going through all of that, we'll
see in 1. Let's go to chapter 1. I want to read
from 3 to 5. I want us to read from 3 to 5. Brothers
and sisters, we can't help but thank God for
you. Meaning that he's thanking God for them
because they are doing well in spite of what
they are going through. Praise God. They are
doing well in spite of what they are going through.
Because your faith is flourishing. It says, because
your faith is flourishing. I want you to tell
yourself that my faith is flourishing. My faith
is flourishing. It says, and your love for one
another is growing. Say, the love that we have
for one another is growing. Say, the love I have
for my brother is growing. The love I have for
my sister is growing. 4 now says, it says, we
proudly tell... God's other churches about your
endurance and faithfulness in the persecution
and hardship that you are suffering, since we
gladly tell. We gladly tell other churches about
what they're going through because of their endurance
and faithfulness in spite of the persecutions
and hardships that they're going through. Five
now says, and God will use this persecution to
show his justice and make you worthy of the kingdom
for which you are suffering. And you know, when
you see make you worthy, you can be thinking
that, oh, you are going to be made worthy by
the sufferings and the persecutions you're going
through. No, not that. The privilege that they
have of being people that are going through those
sufferings. I want us to see something similar
in Acts 5. In Acts 5. Acts 5 .41. And the same,
that counted worthy or the make you worthy is
the same Greek word. And it's what is used in
the 41. And know that at this point, the disciples
were being persecuted. It says 41 says the apostles
left the high. cancel, rejoicing that God had
counted them worthy to suffer this grace for
the name of Jesus, for the name of Jesus, for
the name of Jesus. So they are excited that they
are counted worthy. Know that the suffering was
not what they brought up. The suffering was not
brought upon on themselves, but it was on the
course of doing what the will of God that that
happened. Praise God. So it means that as believers,
regardless of what is happening, around us. And
for some of us, we're not even doing the will
of God and the sufferings are coming or the hardships
are coming. What should be important to us is
that we are paying attention to what God's will
or what God's instruction is. We're ensuring
that, look at what we read in verse 3, in chapters
3, sorry, verse 1. He says that he prays that
the message will spread rapidly. He's speaking
to people that are going out and preaching and
teaching, that this word will spread rapidly.
And note that he's praying all of this and praying
and encouraging them. And he says in the verse
five that we read that their hearts will be led
into a full understanding and expression of God's
love. I want you to know that regardless of what
you're going through, what keeps you anchored
and what keeps you grounded is the love of God
that you understand and you know. Praise God.
The love of God that you understand and you know.
And it's not just a feeling. Praise God. It is
not just a feeling. Apostle Paul here is praying
for them not to feel loved. Praise God. Not to
feel love. He's praying for them to have an understanding
of the spiritual resources that they need to
survive and thrive in the difficult circumstances
they are finding themselves. He's praying that
they have the resource, in fact, they know the
resource that they have to survive the difficult
situations that they're finding themselves or
they found themselves in. And the ability that
we have to grasp this understanding is what ensures
that we are enduring with the strength that God
supplies. Because it's the strength that God
supplies that keeps us through. It's not what
we feel. It's not our feelings. It's not our
emotions that keeps us through this time. We're
able to go through difficult situations because
of that. And these truths we're going to be looking
at are foundational truths. Praise God. They
are foundational truths. The way this building
is. One of the most important part of the building
or the most important part of a building, the
structure of the building is the foundation.
You will not necessarily see the foundation of
a building and it's what ensures that regardless
of whatever, on Wednesday, when there was a shaking
or a quake, the building will still stand regardless
of what hits it. From underneath or from above.
Praise God. So these things are very key and
they ensure that our identities They show that
we stay true to our identity, that which we have
received. Our identity and our relationship is
rock solid regardless of what hits us left, right,
and center. That we're not tossed through and
through. That we're standing solid and we're
anchored in it. And that's why I want us to understand
what is this love of God? That's the first question
we're going to be answering. What is the love
of God? What is the love of God? Please, regardless
of what you know about love, When you come to
the word of God, you want to pack that at the
side and listen and take notes and pay attention
to what really the love of God is. And to do
this, I want us to open our Bibles to John 3.
We're going to go over a couple of scriptures,
but I want us to start from there. John 3, I
want us to look at 16. I know we're very familiar
with this, but I want you to look at it and look
at it very careful because sometimes we quote
it or say some things. I want you to do it in
New King James. John 3, 16. And it reads, it
says, For God so loved the world that he gave.
You know, sometimes we can read this and we'll
just say he gave us, right? We can just go and
just say he gave us. But I want us to see something.
It says, God so loved the word that he gave his
only begotten son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17, we'll add 17 to it. It says, for God did
not send his son into the world to condemn the
world, that the world through him might be saved.
Let's go back again to 16. It says, for God so
loved the world that he gave. When we quote this
and add that us, we do something very subtle
to this passage. In fact, there are songs that
we sing that says, God so loved the world that
he gave us. In fact, for some of us, that's what
basically is running through our head. God so
loved the world that he gave us. When you add
us to this, it changes something. And I want
us to understand, we'll just look at what it
means by he gave. What it means by he gave. And
we'll see something that is... And we know that
this whole action is God demonstrating his love,
right? Yes, he's demonstrating his love to us.
But note that he gave his son for a particular
reason. Right? He gave his son for a particular
reason. I want us to see from the same passage
what that reason is. I want us to go up to verse
14. Please pay attention. Don't lose the train
of where we're going to. In verse 14, it says,
And as Moses lifted up, right? And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. And the word lifted
up is Hoopsao is a Greek word. I had to practice
it a couple of times to be able to get it. It's
spelled H -Y -P -S -O -O. It doesn't read the
way I pronounce it because I had to. I'm not
Greek. H -Y -P -S -O -O. So it's pronounced Hoopsao.
It's pronounced Hoopsao. And the word in this
passage, not that the word in this passage, you
know, when you see a word, the word can be literal
or it can be figurative. And that's why we advise
that when you come to scripture, you don't want
to come to scripture and then be reading like
English language because you're going to miss
out on certain things. And not that this passage,
it will read to you as though he's lifted up,
right? But understand that in this lifted up
lies what? he gave means. In this lifted up,
it lies what he gives means. And I want us to
just understand that that lifted up there, let's
look at it in Amplified. Amplified, not Amplified
Classic, Amplified. So we see that, it says,
just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent, the
bronze serpent in the desert on a pole, so must
the son of man be lifted up. On the cross. Praise
God. When he says lifted up on the cross, what
would that imply? Crucified, right? Crucified.
Some people are following me. So it means that
he'll be crucified. So will that mean a literal
lifting up or will mean death? Praise God. It
will mean death. So it means that when we read
he gave, that he gave there. will be pointing
to death. And please, I'm saying this so that
you understand it. Anytime you see lifted up,
you want to read the context of the passage to
understand what exactly it is that is being said.
What exactly it is that is being said because
the context will help you understand what lifted
up will mean. Let me show something. Some of
us can just go and then let's just try to apply
it and then we apply. lifted up on some other
passage. I was, when I was going through, you
know, those of us following the canonical, I
think we're now in Acts. I think if you did your
canonical today, I think it's Acts 10 or something
like that, 9, 10. So when we were doing John,
as we're just going down from John to 11, I think
I saw something that will also make, so John
11, let's go to John 11, not Amplified now, New
King James, John 11, 41. I just put that in there
so that we understand that anywhere you see something,
don't just conclude, right? It says, Yeah, New
King James. So let's see another lifted up here
and tell us what it means. Then they took away
the stone from the place where the dead man was
lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Now
that that lifted up there, will he be speaking
about the same thing as before? No, because it's
not speaking of the same thing as before. But
if you come and then say, okay, that lifted up
is the same lifted up as before, but the lifted
up has a context to it. See, lifted up his eyes,
right? Lifted up his eyes. And in this passage,
I don't know, this doesn't show it very clearly.
What you will see is that, another thing I want
to add while I'm explaining is that what you
see is that in this passage, I don't know whether
this shows it, you will see that there is The
place, right? And then there's his. Those two
words are italized. Because I think Pastor Victor
has helped us to explain this and understand
in the Bible. That once you see words italized,
if you see it in some brackets, know that those,
that from his place, from the place, I think
is from the place, that those words from the
place and his. If you have your Bible with you,
you will see that that word is italized. From
the place. And here's, I want to do this while
we're at it so that something, certain things
will do. I think we have understood. I would
explain this so that certain things I'll do ahead.
I don't have to re -explain myself. So from the
place and here's, those words are italized. When
you see any word italized in your Bible, and
that's the benefit of having a physical Bible.
In the online Bible, you still have it. Sometimes
it's very difficult for you to notice. But if
you have a physical Bible, you'll see it's somewhat
done. I said that. from his place and the word
his, it's a lie because in the original Hebrew
or Greek text, in this case, it's the Greek text.
In the original Greek text, that is not there.
It's not there in the original. Why it is not
there in the original Greek text is because while
translating or while translators or the interpreters,
because it's not just translating or interpreting,
while the interpreters, while the translators,
interpreted that particular passage, for us to
understand it better in English, just read that
word, just read it without from the place. If
you read, just, I think, just, let's read together
and eliminate from the place. And then eliminate
his. And see whether we'll make sense of what
is read. Say, from, then they took, let's read
together. Then they took away the stone where
the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up eyes
and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard
me. Notice that it doesn't sound grammatically
correct. When you read it without, even though
the part of took away, if you're trying to imagine
what is going on, if you say took away the stone
and then say where the dead man, you'll be wondering
where did they take away the stone? Interpreters
have to put that in there so that when we're
reading it in English language, it will just
flow and then you are able to understand what
exactly it is being said. So please, anytime
you're reading your Bible and you see that, don't
be scared. Sometimes in some particular translations,
a whole verse is taken out. My whole verse, I
think one time I was reading my Bible. That was
when I, I think when after, I think I've been
doing that for a while. And then I discovered
that there's a particular chunk of it. So when
Pastor Victor was teaching us to understand the
Bible, it now made sense. Because if you're paying
attention to the footnote, you will see it there.
But if we just read and then we say, it's my
Bible. What did he do to my Bible? You will just
be wondering. So this itself explains something.
And now, note that it says, and the word there
lifted and up is the word there I wrote. Lifted.
is airo, A -R, and it's not the same word as
the hypsao. It's not the same as the hypsao.
So that's why we go to the Greek and the Hebrew
to be able to understand when words are the same,
where it applies and where it doesn't apply,
where certain things are literal or where they
are figurative. So we do all of that so that
we can better understand. And please... One very
good thing, I think my wife was talking about
how the blessing of having that series on Understand
the Bible is many believers don't know a lot
of things that were discussed by Pastor Victor
in that series. Yes, it's a long series, but
it's good for us to be able to understand because
you're a believer, you have instances where you
have to preach or speak to people and you want
to understand why certain things. Because when
people are arguing with you, oh, the Bible has
been changed, you will be able to give proofs
and evidences why it is not so. Praise God. So,
note that this one, in this particular passage,
the only person that was dead in the passage
is Lazarus. It's not Jesus Christ. Right? And
note that even the dead was temporary because
he was raised from the dead, because he was praying
for him to be raised from the dead. So, note
that there's nothing around that. But now, when
we move to the next passage, the next chapter,
that is chapter 12. Chapter 12. Please be patient.
Just some of us, just be patient and let's build
on something. Chapters 12 in 32, 33. We're going
to just read 32, 33. It says, and I, if I'm lifted
up from the earth, will draw peoples, right?
To myself. That peoples too is in Italis. I will
draw. peoples to myself. Now, the lifted up,
just go back a bit. Yeah. Now, if you see this
lifted up, because we understand that it is him
speaking, right? He says, if I'm lifted up from
the earth, lifted up from the earth will mean,
will mean what? From what we have discussed?
Crucifixion. Just put, just change to amplify,
just to confirm, amplify it. So, now that he
says, if when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw up. And then he said, when he sees
the people now, because that's why that word
will explain why they put peoples, because both
Gentiles and Jews as well are the people that
he's going to draw to himself. Go back to the
New King James. Praise God. So now we see that
all of this, he doesn't just leave us hanging.
In the next verse, you see what he means. In
case if you missed it. He says, this he said
signifying what death he will die. Praise God.
This he said signifying what death he will die.
I'm looking at some people talking to themselves.
We'll discuss after the service. Praise God.
He said, this he said signifying what way he
was going to die. So it means that the son of
God or what is going to happen to him is going
back to what we said. For God so loved the world
that he gave. That giving is to death. Praise
God. That giving there is to death. He's not
giving to us. He's giving to die for us. Do you
understand? He's not giving to death, but he's
giving to us, but he's giving to death to die
for us. Praise God. Is that clear? I'm saying
these things because... Some of us will go out
and we're evangelizing to people and we'll say
certain things that will leave the person not,
in fact, some of us cannot even explain why it
is. Like if you meet somebody and the person
say, I'm a Christian, you say, why are you a
Christian? The person starts telling you how
God delivered him from one thing or delivered
him for the other thing. And then the person
is, you're wondering to yourself, when are you
going to hit the nail on the head? And the person
goes around and around and around until when
you now say, okay, let me explain to you what
you have been trying to explain. And then you
explain it. So there are many Christians that
don't understand this foundation. That's why
we're looking at it and we're talking about it.
We're still building on it. Praise God. So understand
that this popular passage that has always been
quoted or is what is shared, you want to know
that in the first line, there lies what he gave
means. Right? Let's move down. Just to confirm
that this he gave, anywhere you see he gave,
you will see that or you see like lay down. We
also see that word lay down because lay down
and John uses that word a lot. Lay down, you
see lay down his life or lay down, lay down.
That word is used a lot. And when somebody, when
they say lay down, it's not laying down to sleep.
Praise God. When they say laying down, if you
take that literally, you'll be like, yes, he
laid down, let him get up. Yeah, most times we
lay down and get up, except the laying down is
different. And even Jesus Christ speaking to
Lazarus, he's sleeping, right? When he was talking
about Lazarus, he's sleeping. If he's sleeping,
why are we doing ceremony to go and see him?
He will wake up. But know that he meant that,
he was saying that to say that because he had
the power to raise him up. Because he says, here's
the way, here's the truth, here's the life. And
if you're reading Economical, you discover that
the Pharisees was a threat to them. I think we're
discussing the cell. It was a big threat to them
because the Sadducees are dead. They don't believe
in the resurrection of the dead. And this man
now has destroyed their whole belief system because
if you don't believe in the resurrection of the
dead and then somebody has resurrected from the
dead, how do you now explain to your people that
our whole movement is valid? Because these guys,
that's why they were seeking ways to kill them.
So two people that are not necessarily working
together decide to come together because they
have a common enemy. Because they have a common
enemy. They had to come together to see how they're
going to take these individuals down. And they
did so because Lazarus will still die, will eventually
die, and then Jesus Christ lay down his life.
Praise God. So I want us to see something. I
want you to pay attention to the use of the word
for in this passage, just to verify the fact
that there's a reason why he laid down his life.
So he gave his life, right? He gave his son to
die. He did not give us his son to kill or his
son to... So it's very important that we see
this. So in John 15, verse 3. John 15, verse
13, sorry, not 3, verse 13. It says, greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one's
life for his friends. The grace idea is mega.
It's almost like telling like this, this is much,
there's no greater love than this. And to lay
down is a note that it says, lay down one's life
for his friends. So when you're laying down your
life for, there's a reason for the laying down
of the life. And there is a person or there is
a group of people that you're laying down your
life for. Then let's go to Romans 8 .32. Romans
8 .32. Let's do that in New King James, please.
New King James, he says, he did not spare his
own son. Now, speaking of God now, he did not
spare his own son, but delivered him for us all.
For us all. How should he not with him so freely
give us all things? Praise God. He says he delivered
up for us. All. For us. All. So God delivered
him, that is Jesus Christ, for death. For us.
To death. For us. And now that we're going to
take time, we're going to go back and we'll shortly
explain why that was done. I want us to read
John. Still John 10. We're going to be doing
a lot of John. John 10. I'll read 11 to 17 so
that we'll see it again and we'll see a lot of...
Because John actually does a lot of lay down,
lay down, lay down, and we'll see, and he explains
what he says. So he says, I'm the good shepherd.
I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives
his life for the sheep. Know that all of this
is paying a picture. He says he's a shepherd.
and he lays down his life for the sheep. He says,
but a hireling, a hireling there is a hired man,
a hired man. And then we see in the same, it's
a lies, he who is. You're saying a hired man
who is not the shepherd. It's putting that there
so that you better understand who the hired man
is. So the hired man, he who is not the shepherd,
one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And this
passage will come in handy in the next passage
we're going to be reading. It says, sees the
sheep and flees. The wolf catches the sheep and
scatters them. 13 now says, the hireling, which
I said is the hired man, flees because he is
a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
Praise God. He doesn't care about the sheep.
He says, I am the good shepherd and I know my
sheep and I'm known by my own. 15, as the father
knows me, even so I know the father and I lay
down my life for the sheep. Are we saying it?
I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 now says,
and the other, and the other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold. Them also I must bring,
and they will hear my voice, and there will be
one flock and one shepherd. Therefore, my father
loves me, because I lay down my life, that I
may take it again. Praise God. Lay down his life
that he may take it again, so he doesn't just
lay down his life. He doesn't stay dead. He comes
back again. And I will say this. There's no religion
in the world that goes, that the author of that
religion or the person who, we're going to say
religion, we want to understand that it's beyond
that. Many of this, the people are dead and gone.
And in fact, even most of them, people are the
followers that lead on their lives for the movement.
They are the ones on the front line. They're
the ones laying down their life for the movement.
But we are in a relationship where the one who
instructs us has led by example. He's instructing
us to do what he has done, not what he has not
done. Praise God. I just had to put that in there.
Now we understand. Then now we go to 13. John
13. In John 13, Peter is the one now speaking.
And this is going to show us that Christ has
to do what he had to do. Even if we try, we cannot
do the work he has done. And we should not even
try to do the work he has done because sometimes
we put ourselves in the position of wanting to
save ourselves, redeem ourselves, do all of those
things, but that is not possible. Praise God.
Peter said to him, that's verse 37, John 13,
37. Peter said to him, Lord, why can't, Why can
I not follow you now? Why can I not follow you
now? I will lay down my life for your sake. Jesus
answered him, Will you lay down your life for
my sake? Assuredly, I say to you, the rooster
shall not crow until you have denied me three
times. Praise God. What was Peter trying to do?
What was he trying to do? He was trying to lay
down his life. For Jesus Christ that came down
to that, that, that is going to. So sometimes
we can be overzealous or sometimes we cannot,
we might not understand what exactly. So, but
that's why we are anchored on the instruction
of God's word. And sometimes we even know it
mentally, but we, we, by our spirit, we know
these things, but we sometimes want to just take
things into our, you know, we want to be in control
of our lives. We want to be able to. navigate
and mix and put all the things together. And
I will get to somewhere. Know that this laying
down of his life for us was solely his responsibility.
Laying down his life for us is solely the responsibility
of Christ Jesus. And he has done it. Praise God.
Don't your neighbor and say he has done it. You
don't have to do it the way he did it to because
there's no that he said he has instructed us
to lay down our lives for. our brothers and our
sisters. And we'll get to that passage in the
next. We'll get to that passage in the next.
Let's even go there now. 1 John 3, verse 16 to
18. 1 John 3, 16 to 18. So we're doing 16 first.
It says, by this, are we there? Please, let's
get there so we can do it together. You see,
by this we know. That word no there is ginosko.
And ginosko is that we are aware of a fact. We
are aware of a fact. Ginosko is like Gino, the
popular brand. G -I -N -O -S -K -O. I don't know
what that brand is. It's still there. Brand of
tomato paste. G -I -N -O -S -K -O. There's a
verb form of it. It says we... It means to be
aware of a fact, to be aware of a fact. It says,
by this we know love. Because he laid down his
life for us, and we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren. And you might be thinking
that you're laying down your life in the same
manner. No, it says, as he has, you do so. And
17 confirms what exactly it is. It says, but
whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother
in need and shuts his heart from them, how does
the love of God abide in him? My little children,
let us not love in word or in tongue, but in
deed and in truth. But in deed and in truth.
What it means there in short, or you'll see in
the New Testament, is that it's not just in words.
Your love has to be seen or demonstrated as his
in action. Praise God. Demonstrated in action.
And many of us, we say we love God with our mouth,
but our actions betray us. The same way Peter
said, I will lay down my life for your sake.
And then say, ah, will you lay down your life?
And then he tells him something. I know that
it didn't stop there because the man in question
now came to a point where he understood and then
he did. Praise God. So the only way we can do
the things that we're instructed to do is by
the help of God. Don't ever get yourself to the
point where you feel that by your own strength,
you are able to do the instruction. And it doesn't
mean now that you're relegated to, I've not received
the strength, I cannot do. We have sang. Some
of us don't know that when we sing some certain
songs in this church, you are implicating yourself.
I will repeat myself again. You sang power, flow.
You sang favor abundant. If you leave this place
and then you are now acting like the favor will
come from outer space to inner space, you are
lying to yourself. Praise God. Know that when
you sing certain things and say, that's why we
are careful what we say, what we sing, because
you are communicating something to your subconscious.
And when it's time to act, you will act that.
Because that's what you've heard. That's why
Apostle Paul was saying, I know that what the
things have commanded you, you will do it. Because
there's an instruction that goes for you to act.
But some of us, as I started, you want to be
able to note down these things so that you are
reminded of it when it's time to act. And an
abundance of it in you will ensure that you act
accordingly. So he says that we're not just doing,
you don't want to leave it in words alone because
words is cheap. Like you, anybody can see anything,
but you're working is what confirms or proves
to everyone around that this thing is genuine.
This person actually is working in the truth.
This person is working in love. This person is
working in the light. Praise God. All of that
is saying the same thing. So now we ask ourselves
another question. The love of God, see, how is
this love now demonstrated? How is this love
demonstrated? Yes, there's a debt. So, we will
see that the love of the Father is demonstrated
in the forgiveness of sin. The love of the Father
is demonstrated in the forgiveness of sin. And
I want you to note that this is a foundational
layer in our understanding of God's love. If
you don't understand that your sins are forgiven,
that's why when we started to say, I am forgiven.
If you don't understand that your sins are forgiven,
you will continue to move around with guilt.
In fact, you will not be able to effectively
do the work because you're struggling with guilt.
Every other thing will go wrong if you don't
understand a single thing. Because you'll be
living your life unstable. You'll be like a wind,
like you'll be like a child. You will be tossed
to and fro. because you're not grounded on the
spiritual truths that forms the foundation of
your walk and your life with God. So our effective
spiritual growth is anchored on our understanding
of this particular reality that we have in Christ
Jesus. Praise God. So many of us are holding
on to gifts that has already been paid for. You
know, they have paid your debt and then you are
still acting like somebody that still owes somebody.
It doesn't help in any way. So I want us to see
that same, I think we're still in the same John
3 .20. I want us to see something and we'll see
it from the NLT. That 3 .20, NLT now, 3 .20.
It says, even if we feel guilty, not the word
used, feel guilty doesn't mean that you are guilty.
I will explain it. Again, you can feel something
that is wrong. You can feel something that is
wrong. I was telling, you know, when certain
things stimulate certain response, sometimes
just the presence of that thing will stimulate
a response that is not necessarily genuine. A
very practical example, when you're cutting onions
and then you're crying, do you really, were you
really sad? Were you really sad? No, it was because...
Something stimulated the action and then you
quickly clean your eyes and continue because
you know the cause of the problem, right? Same
way if laughing gas is here, everybody will be
laughing. It's not necessarily that anything
funny is happening. They do that in comedy. I
was told that they do that. In fact, I read a
documentary that they do that in clubs. They
put laughing gas in the club so that people think
they're having a good time. Just imagine, you're
in a place where here is natural. It comes from
within. And then some people are going to where
they are stimulating them because when people
feel that they are laughing and they're happy,
they feel they had a good time, but they don't
know that they were externally stimulated to
do those things. Praise God. But know that what
we have in God is from within. Everything is
not, if things, if your life is bent on externals,
externals, you'll be suffering, you'll be in
trouble. So even if you feel guilty, it says
God is greater than our feelings and he knows
everything. So I want you to tell yourself and
tell your neighbor that God is greater than your
feelings. So what you feel is not as important
as what God has said and what God says of you.
Praise God. So what you feel is not important.
Sometimes you feel like you are unforgiven. You
feel like there's still things that you need
to pay. There's still debts you owe God that
you need to pay God. But you can't pay God. He
has already paid for you already. Praise God.
So what is forgiveness? What is forgiveness?
What is forgiveness? Let's look at Ephesians
1 verse 7. I would have loved us to start from
3, but let's just do 1 verse 7. But subsequently,
I think we might go back to it again. Ephesians
1 verse 7, it says, In him we have redemption.
That's New King James, not NLT. In him we have
redemption through his blood. The forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace.
In him we have redemption through his blood.
His blood there will be what? Speaking of what?
We'll be speaking of death, right? Speaking of
death through his blood. This is the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace.
So the forgiveness there is a Greek word called
aphesis. A -P -H -E -S -I -S. A -P -H -E -S -I
-S. A -P -H -E -S -I -S. That's the word forgiveness.
And this forgiveness is not a reluctant pardon.
You know where? You know, some people will just
say, I forgive you, I forgive you. They say they
forgive you, but they come back tomorrow, it's
like you still owe them. Right? So this forgiveness
is not a lockdown pardon, right? It is granted,
it is done. And I want to explain to us what
the word is. The word affesses, the word affesses
is, it means sending away, a removal, a dismissal.
It means a dismissal. A removal, a dismissal.
And this word carries the idea of a debt being
cancelled and the record of it being removed.
A debt being cancelled and the record of it being
removed. You know, when somebody cancels your
debt and he still has the paper with him. You
know, when somebody cancels your debt and he
still has the paper with him and he'll be like,
If I do something wrong now, the person will
just use, and then if he even comes to you with
pencil, you're most, you're not sure if the debt,
and I don't know, how many of you have had, some
of us are still in it, and I'm not making any
light of it, but I want you to just immerse yourself
in this. How many of you have had debt? And we're
students here. Some of us, we know you had debt,
and like the debt sometimes overwhelms you. That
even in your working day, you're still, you just,
when you even try to take a breather, you just
remember, the morning just flashes. It just flashes.
You're like, when you try to say, the joy of
the Lord is my strength. I rejoice always. You
just, all of a sudden you're saying, the debt,
the debt. And then you are like, what, how exactly?
It's almost like everywhere you turn. Know that
at that point in time now, it's not about how
you feel. Because if you want to carry the debt
on your forehead, You'll be feeling guilty. Even
when the person is greeting you, the person that
you owe, you know, some of us, the whole institution
we owe, so there's nobody. So you don't, you
can't even move around. In fact, some of us,
even the way we move around the school, we are
scared. Or when you are owing the government,
you don't even leave your house. But look at
what happens. When that debt is cleared, there's
a way you move around like someone that now can
breathe properly. Like you, the air now, formerly
the air felt like it was heavy, but now there's
something about, because you have an understanding.
And not that for some of us, the debt has been
cleared already. I was sharing this money. I
was remembering when I was pregnant. It was a
time when there was this debt. But one thing
I told myself, I said, the debt came, the debt
will go. Right? The debt came, the debt will
go. And I said, if I'm going to be moody all
through the time or anybody that sees me will
say, ah, this guy is owing somebody. Know that
it's going to... I would just miss out on opportunities
to share the gospel. You know, you can't share
the gospel if you're not rejoicing. You can't
share the gospel if your face is looking like
you're owing. You know, what even makes your
gospel even stronger is when you're owing in
depth and the guy will say, how are you doing
it? You are still sharing this gospel like you
don't owe anybody. The gospel is more powerful
in that particular situation than when you come
and everything is okay and the person will say,
why are you sharing the gospel? You say, you
know, the Lord has been good to me. You know,
it's easy for us to say the Lord has been good
to me. And then some of us will now use that
as the basis. His goodness now is the basis for
us to now share the gospel. Note that that in
itself is just, you don't even understand what
the goodness of God is. And that's basically
what we're going to be seeing here, right? So
when a debt is removed, it's not like a parent
merely saying, okay, I forgive you and then remembers
the offense later. Or a judge now can't say you
are guilty. But what it is, the picture here
that is painting of you is that you are guilty.
you know that you're guilty. You know that you're
owing that debt. And then somebody comes and
cancels it entirely and deletes every record
of it. You know that, you know when the person
presses delete, you know there's no way the thing
will come back and you ensure that they remove
it from the recycle bin if there's some recycle
bin. So you know that there's no way they can
even put the mask together and account for something.
And please, this doesn't pale in anything in
comparison to what Christ has done. Because it's
not just 1 ,000, 10 ,000. The price he paid is
so high. Praise God. The price he paid is so
high. And it means that sin is no longer a problem
in our relationship with God. I don't know whether
you heard me. Sin is no longer a problem in our
relationship with God because the price has been
paid. So it means that if you're going about,
because whether you like it or not, but it doesn't
carry the same, because the record of it, you
know, some of us, you think that now there's
a new record after the old record. After the
old record is gone, you think there's a new record.
Like when he has paid that one, then there's
a fresh new, no, that's not it. You know, if
you are always somebody, and then you don't want
to even take from the person again, because that
one has a miracle happened. Praise God. But now
our relationship with you, we have that. There's
no record of it. It's gone. And even when you
make any missteps, he doesn't look at it because
someone has stand in the place for you. That's
when we are telling someone about what Christ
has done. You want to ensure that you make it
clear, right? You make it clear that this is
what Christ has done. Now we can come boldly.
Now we're bold. We don't move around like people
that owe somebody because that's been paid. Praise
God. Colossians 1, 13. 13 to 14. We'll see more
of the passages. It says, He has delivered us
from the power of darkness and conveyed us into
the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom...
We have redemption through his blood. Notice
that he says through his blood. I said anytime
you see through his blood is the death that resulted
in that. The forgiveness. That forgiveness there
is the face of sins. Right? We're getting into
sins. I want us to go to John 1 .29. John 1 .29
says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away.
The word there, I think we've seen it before,
that eye roll. The same, that takes away, that
takes away, take away, that lifted up, you know,
that other word when Jesus Christ lifted, that
eye roll is the word. You see, take away and
carry away the sin of the world. The sin of the
world. So Jesus didn't just cover it, right?
He took it away. So the walk, It's complete.
It's comprehensive. It's done. It's not rendering.
It's not what the debt is gone and then it's
still counting. It is done and it's done. Praise
God. I want us to see another word that confirms
to us that, you know, that takeaway is present.
You know, this one now is done. Let's see another
word that's in Ephesians 4 verse 32. Ephesians
4 verse 32. Ephesians 4 verse 32. It says, And
be kind to one another. Tenderhearted, forgiving
one another. Even as God in Christ forgave you.
Forgave you. Forgave you. I don't know whether
you understand. Forgive. It is past. Somebody
forgave you and you are still saying, I'm not
forgiving. That can be an insult. Right? That
can be an insult. And the word there is kaisomia.
I don't know whether I even pronounced it correctly.
I don't think I practiced this one as much. So
C -H -A -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. I'll repeat it
again. C -H -A -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. So the reason
why I'm giving us this word is first to understand
that the word there means to give generously
and freely. Give generously and freely. It means
that you're not giving it and then hoping or
going to change it. You're doing it freely. You're
not doing it and holding back. It says to pardon
or rescue as an act of grace. And what this emphasizes
is that what is being given or what is being
let away is permanent. It's permanent. It's permanent.
So it means that God's forgiveness towards us
is not a temporary overlook. It doesn't just
overlook it and then, but it's a gracious gift
and it's permanently given in Christ. So it's
ours. It's not that it will be ours. It's ours.
It's not that it will be. It's not like it's
something that will be. It's what is ours and
it's what is ours. Know that in this economy,
what it says, it says, which we're given is what
we have and it's what we, and I want you to see
something, we'll close from here. In the Old
Testament, in Psalms 103, Psalms 103, Psalms
103 verse 10 to 12. 10 to 12, it says, He has
not dealt with us according to our sins, nor
punished us according to our iniquities. For
as the heavens are high above the earth, so great
is His mercy towards us who fear Him. 12 now
says, as far as the east is from the west, so
far as he removed our transgressions from us.
As he removed our transgressions from us. That
he removed. That removed there is rehach. And
the removed there is, you know when it speaks
of the east. so far away that you can't even
find it. It's like when somebody throws something
far away, you can't, the person, you know when
you carry something and just throw it away, you
can't even find it, even when you think that
you're going to go back to it, but that is not
it. He says he has not dealt with us according
to our sins. Some of us, we move around feeling
guilty and I will close with this. I said myself
before, I said this before, but I'll repeat myself
again. Don't move around carrying a debt, you
no longer owe. Because you're carrying the debt
in your mind. You're feeling that you're owing
in your mind. You're carrying that sense of guilt.
You're carrying that sense of I'm unforgiving
or I'm not forgiven or I'm unforgiving. You're
carrying that sense when he has done it and he
has perfected it and it's permanent. And this
is David. David understood this and David had
prophesied of it. He understood it. He understood
it. David, It's prophesying what God will do,
what God has done now, where we are now. And
this is the posture we have when we come to God.
The posture we have is that it is done. And it's
infinite, it's absolute. It says, as far as the
east is from the west. The way east is far from
the west, that is how far he has taken our transgressions
from us. So what it means is that... In our relationship
with God, I repeat myself, I repeat myself again.
In our relationship with God, sin is not a problem
because we are one with his son. We are united
with him. We are united with him. So sin is not
a problem. So close with this, with what we started
with. I want you to see that I'm forgiven. And
if you're here and you don't know that forgiveness,
I will advise that you don't leave without interacting.
You can meet with any of the pastors. You can
meet with any of the leaders in the church and
have a conversation. I was excited when I saw
this young man. Welcome to church. So I remember
you and I will see you after the service. So
it's amazing when you come to this understanding
because it changes everything. Remember we said
it's foundation. If you don't understand the
foundation of something, it's difficult for you
to move forward. You'll be unstable. You'll be
shaky. And that's why we want to remind ourselves
that every time, remind yourself that I'm forgiven.
Say it, I am forgiven. My sins are removed and
they are not held against me. So I do not face
judgment for it. Say I am loved. My identity
and what is anchored on the same perfect love
the father has for his son. Say I am enlightened
because he loves me. God reveals his heart. and
his mind to me. See, I am a child of light. I
am a child of light. His word is open to me.
I am not condemned. I am not in the dark. I am
not an outsider. I am not an outsider. See, I
am a child of God, full of insight. I want you
to turn that into prayer. Just turn that into
prayer. Just open your mouth. We appreciate you
being here today. We hope you carry this word
with you throughout your week. Don't forget to
check the show notes for additional insights.
Stay connected with us through our website or
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Until next time, stay blessed.