WEBVTT 00:00:01.159 --> 00:00:06.639 Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:09.640 designed to uplift and strengthen you in your 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:13.939 walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:17.879 the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:26.820 right in. Welcome to service. See, my mind is 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:33.450 renewed. My mind is renewed by the word of God. 00:00:34.270 --> 00:00:40.189 I grow by the word of God. The standards of the 00:00:40.189 --> 00:00:46.130 world is not my standard. The standard of the 00:00:46.130 --> 00:00:51.490 world is not my standard. So I want us to continue 00:00:51.490 --> 00:00:54.170 in the teaching that we've been having, understanding 00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:57.259 the Father's love, but I want you to add Something. 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:01.939 Add a column and put walking in love. Understanding 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:07.040 the Father's love in Christ and put a column 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:19.540 and then write walking in love. I want us to 00:01:19.540 --> 00:01:28.469 read Ephesians 1. 1 and 2. It says, therefore, 00:01:28.709 --> 00:01:34.409 be imitators of God as their children and walk 00:01:34.409 --> 00:01:41.469 in love as Christ also has loved us and given 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:47.170 himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to 00:01:47.170 --> 00:01:51.370 God for a sweet -smelling aroma. I'll read it 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:57.269 from the NLT. It says, imitate God. Therefore, 00:01:57.269 --> 00:02:02.930 in everything you do, in everything you do, imitate 00:02:02.930 --> 00:02:10.090 God. That's chapter 5. Sorry, did I say? Oh, 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:15.310 sorry. Chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:20.069 1 and 2. It says, imitate God, therefore, in 00:02:20.069 --> 00:02:21.689 everything that we do. You know, before we start, 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:24.310 we said we're thanking God in every situation 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:26.639 we find ourselves. We're imitating God in everything 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.020 that we do because you are his dear children. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.659 And we'll see what walk in love means, or we'll 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:38.860 see a bit of it because that word walk there 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:42.039 is not the physical or literal walking, right? 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:45.520 It's not you taking one step and the second step 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.840 after the first. It's living. It's a lifestyle. 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:53.120 A life filled with love, following the example. 00:02:53.949 --> 00:02:56.969 of Christ. We have an example to follow and our 00:02:56.969 --> 00:02:59.330 example is Christ. And we'll see time and time 00:02:59.330 --> 00:03:01.770 again, we're not living our lives as people that 00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:03.689 are lawless. We're living our life by standard. 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:06.289 Praise God. We're living our life by standard. 00:03:06.569 --> 00:03:10.530 And it says he loved us and offered himself as 00:03:10.530 --> 00:03:14.770 a sacrifice for us. Remember last week we were 00:03:14.770 --> 00:03:18.689 teaching, we said Christ did not... He did not 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:22.250 give himself to us. He gave himself for us. And 00:03:22.250 --> 00:03:26.110 how he did that is by laying down his life for 00:03:26.110 --> 00:03:29.789 us. And he says he offered himself as a sacrifice 00:03:29.789 --> 00:03:36.270 for us, a pleasing aroma to God. A pleasing aroma 00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:40.330 to God. And the New King James starts with a 00:03:40.330 --> 00:03:43.530 therefore, right? If you see a therefore, it 00:03:43.530 --> 00:03:45.370 means that a communication has been happening 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:49.069 before. The DF4, right? The communication has 00:03:49.069 --> 00:03:51.129 to have been happening before the DF4. I want 00:03:51.129 --> 00:03:57.449 us to go to Ephesians 4, verse 17. We're going 00:03:57.449 --> 00:04:00.129 to be taking a long reading from 17 to the end, 00:04:00.169 --> 00:04:16.850 which is 32. So I will read from the NLT, it 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:22.769 says, With the Lord's authority I say this, Live 00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:29.410 no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly 00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:34.629 confused. Their minds are full of darkness. They 00:04:34.629 --> 00:04:39.029 wander far away, far from the life God gives, 00:04:39.230 --> 00:04:43.819 because they have closed their minds. and hardened 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:47.379 their hearts against him. They have no sense 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:52.420 of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:57.339 eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20. 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:03.339 But that isn't what you learned about Christ. 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:08.220 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:15.740 the truth that comes from him, Throw off your 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:20.660 old sinful nature and your former way of life, 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:26.120 which is corrupt by loss and deception. Instead, 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:32.180 let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:39.959 Put on your new nature, created to be like God, 00:05:39.980 --> 00:05:47.660 truly. Righteous and holy. 25. So stop telling 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:53.600 lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth. For 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:58.079 we are all part of the same body. And don't sin 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.740 by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:07.319 go down while you are still angry. For anger 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:11.670 comes. For anger gives a foothold to the devil. 00:06:13.850 --> 00:06:21.490 28 now. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:27.250 use your hands for good hard work. And then give 00:06:27.250 --> 00:06:32.310 generously to others in need. Don't use foul 00:06:32.310 --> 00:06:37.470 or abusive language. Let everything you say Be 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:41.990 good and helpful so that your words will be an 00:06:41.990 --> 00:06:46.649 encouragement to those who hear them. 13. And 00:06:46.649 --> 00:06:51.129 don't bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the 00:06:51.129 --> 00:06:55.149 way you live. Remember, He has identified you 00:06:55.149 --> 00:06:59.230 as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:02.529 on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness. 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:07.980 rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:12.779 as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:17.240 to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.220 just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:24.180 Then it now goes to the chapters five that starts 00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:28.139 with the J4 said, imitate God, therefore, in 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:29.939 everything that you do. So we're coming from 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:33.529 somewhere. And when we started in 17, I would 00:07:33.529 --> 00:07:35.810 just highlight, that's not the point we're discussing, 00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:38.170 but I'll just highlight certain things. When 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:40.709 he mentions Gentiles, even the New King James 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:42.889 does that, mention Gentiles, know that it's not 00:07:42.889 --> 00:07:45.589 saying, it's saying people that don't believe. 00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:49.529 It's not speaking of the Gentiles who do believe, 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:54.850 not hopelessly confused, praise God. So as a 00:07:54.850 --> 00:07:58.250 believer, you're not hopelessly confused. Tell 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:01.199 your neighbor, the person next to you, You might 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.839 think what you are not. So just tell them and 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:10.639 say, you are not hopelessly confused. And then 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.079 add, if you are in Christ, you are not hopelessly 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.920 confused. So, and it goes further to say that 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:22.360 their minds, you see, their minds are full of 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:24.939 darkness. And the New King James will say, their 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:29.029 understanding is darkened. It's darkened. It 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:31.649 says, because they have wandered far away from 00:08:31.649 --> 00:08:36.029 the life God gives. There's a consequence for 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:38.889 wandering far away from the life God gives. Even 00:08:38.889 --> 00:08:41.690 to a person that is a believer, wandering far 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:46.350 away, wandering away, there are some consequences. 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:48.990 You will be in, we'll see that even mentions 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:52.190 ignorance, right? Mentions ignorance, meaning 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:55.850 that you can have a life and be ignorant of the 00:08:55.850 --> 00:08:58.690 life that you have. Ignorance of the things that 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:01.389 our life entails. Hence, we give ourselves to 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:03.389 the teaching of God's Word. We give ourselves 00:09:03.389 --> 00:09:06.590 to the study of God's Word. And in 20, I like 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:11.769 the way NLT puts it in the 20. It says, but that 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:15.269 isn't what you have learned about Christ. Meaning 00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:18.610 that there is a learning. There is a teaching. 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:21.370 There is a training. There is an understanding 00:09:21.370 --> 00:09:26.389 that we learn. from the example that we have 00:09:26.389 --> 00:09:29.009 in Christ. That's why in chapters five, it says 00:09:29.009 --> 00:09:31.429 the example that we're to follow is the example 00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:34.929 that Christ is giving to us. And once you don't 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:37.110 learn, you don't open God's word, you will not 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:38.509 know what the example, you'll be living your 00:09:38.509 --> 00:09:41.370 life as the world or living your life on the 00:09:41.370 --> 00:09:43.549 basis of what you have before you. Praise God. 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:46.970 And it says, what it means is that there is a 00:09:46.970 --> 00:09:52.909 learning that will transform the way we know 00:09:53.710 --> 00:09:56.830 the love of God, and many other things that pertains 00:09:56.830 --> 00:10:00.789 to the kingdom of God. Yes, you are in the kingdom, 00:10:00.909 --> 00:10:04.529 but there are certain responsibilities that you 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:08.289 have, which is to learn, to know. And all of 00:10:08.289 --> 00:10:12.830 this transformation happens at our minds. We 00:10:12.830 --> 00:10:16.070 come to that understanding and it will affect 00:10:16.070 --> 00:10:18.909 our action. Praise God. Because if your mind 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:21.570 is not affected by what you are learning, your 00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:24.909 actions will show it. Your actions will show 00:10:24.909 --> 00:10:26.789 it. It doesn't nullify the fact that you are 00:10:26.789 --> 00:10:29.549 saved. It doesn't nullify the fact that you have 00:10:29.549 --> 00:10:32.809 the life of God. What is going to be affected 00:10:32.809 --> 00:10:36.529 is your actions, your actions. And I want us 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:43.789 to pay attention to 23. Chapters 4, 23 says, 00:10:44.210 --> 00:10:47.610 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. The 00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:51.490 NLC says, Instead, let the Spirit renew your 00:10:51.490 --> 00:10:54.970 thoughts and your attitude. Let the Spirit renew 00:10:54.970 --> 00:10:58.309 your thoughts and your attitude. Let the Spirit 00:10:58.309 --> 00:11:00.610 renew your thoughts and your attitude. And this 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:03.789 is very, very important. And that's why you see 00:11:03.789 --> 00:11:07.409 times where Apostle Paul will write letters and 00:11:07.409 --> 00:11:13.649 he will pray. He will pray for the minds of these 00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:17.080 people to be enlightened. for their minds to 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:19.179 be enlightened, for their minds to be enlightened, 00:11:19.340 --> 00:11:21.879 for them to come to an understanding of the riches 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:25.299 that they have. Very important that there's the 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:27.679 prayers and there's the study that brings you 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.700 into that understanding. And that understanding 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:34.659 is a precise knowledge of Christ. Praise God. 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:37.500 Precise knowledge of Christ. And I want us to 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:40.539 see a couple of prayers. Because what we're looking 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:44.659 at pertains to love. Let's see the kind of prayers. 00:11:45.059 --> 00:11:48.500 In 1 Thessalonians 3, 12. Let's just look at 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:59.299 12. 1 Thessalonians 3, 12. And it says, May the 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:04.539 Lord make you increase and abound in love to 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:10.700 one another and to all. just as we do to you. 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:18.000 May the Lord make you increase and abound in 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.740 love to one another and to all. In one another 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:26.820 and to all, just as we do to you. I want us to 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:34.559 go to Philippians 2 and see. Philippians 1, verse 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:40.580 9. We're going to read to 11. It says, And this 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:45.379 I pray, that your love may abound still more 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:49.679 and more in knowledge and all discernment, that 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:52.779 you may approve the things that are excellent, 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:58.039 that you may be sincere and without offense till 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.360 the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:06.840 of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:10.590 the glory. and praise of God, to the glory and 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:14.529 praise of God. I want us to see that Apostle 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:17.549 Paul, what will make him pray this prayer for 00:13:17.549 --> 00:13:21.730 them is that he himself would have experience 00:13:21.730 --> 00:13:24.429 and know that for himself to be able to say, 00:13:24.490 --> 00:13:27.169 I want this to be more and more in your life. 00:13:27.230 --> 00:13:32.250 I want us to see in it. In it, we see him saying 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:37.399 words. I like the way NLT puts it. He says, God 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:42.919 knows how much I love you and long for you with 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:48.299 the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. He says, 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:52.799 God knows how much I love you. You can hear his 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.559 words. He's not just, the words are not empty. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:01.159 They're not empty words of affection. I think 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:04.539 the New King James says affection. They're not 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:06.820 empty words of affection. It shows in the fact 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:10.879 that he takes his time and prays for them to 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:14.759 abound in the love that he himself knows and 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:18.200 they should know. Praise God. They abound and 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.360 bound. When we'll discuss and we'll talk more 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.240 about what it means or what that abound is, what 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:28.360 abound is, what more and more means. But I want 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.740 you to know that there's a standard that the 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:35.080 world There's what the word calls love and there's 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:40.200 what the word calls love. And we are called to 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:44.580 leave out the love walk above what the world 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:46.899 calls love. Because if you are dealing with what 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.039 the world calls love, there's the nuances of 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:53.440 it. And sometimes you have people pretend to 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.700 you, have people lie to you. But the love that 00:14:56.700 --> 00:15:00.399 we have in the word is true. And we had explained 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.789 previously. The love is practical and it was 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:10.169 demonstrated in how God sent his son to lay down 00:15:10.169 --> 00:15:15.090 his life for us to have not just the life that 00:15:15.090 --> 00:15:19.669 we have in him, but to have his spirit be one 00:15:19.669 --> 00:15:22.769 with us. Praise God. And it's very important 00:15:22.769 --> 00:15:25.870 that we put that into consideration when we're 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:29.440 thinking because there's a nature. There's a 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:33.580 believer's love nature compared to the world 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:36.120 standard. And you don't want to mix that up because 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.200 what happens is that we are mostly exposed to 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.720 the one the world offers. You just need to have 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.559 a social media account to see certain things 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:48.879 that kind of communicates what you think love 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:56.279 is. But all of that is empty in comparison to 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:00.600 the... See, Apostle Paul is praying this prayer. 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.159 We saw him praying this prayer for the church 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:06.940 in Thessalonica. Praying the prayer again for 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:10.080 the church in Philippi. And we get a sense that 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:14.220 this is the will of God for the church, the will 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:17.580 of God for his people. This is the will of God 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:19.200 for his church and the will of God for his people. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:23.440 And it's in the abounding more and more in it 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.879 that we express it. Something that abounds more 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:30.279 and more in you will have no choice than to find 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:33.580 expression to you. When something overflows from 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:38.820 you, it will spill to the person next to you. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.379 The person next to you will have no choice than 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:43.740 to experience it, whether they like it or not. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.000 Praise God. Whether they like it or not, they 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.460 will experience it. And all of this is made possible. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.340 When we come to an understanding, when our minds 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:57.139 are renewed to the right or what love really 00:16:57.139 --> 00:17:02.299 is. Praise God. What love really is. And then 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:05.059 when our mind is renewed to it, our walking now 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:10.500 will be consistent with what it really is. Praise 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:15.059 God. Praise God. So he prays this prayer for 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:19.319 them and he says that your love. may abound still 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.180 more and more. That your love may abound still 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:28.180 more and more. And that your love there, you 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:30.960 know, when somebody says your love and is praying 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:33.619 to a church, you get a sense that he's talking 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:36.019 about the general public, right? But note that 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:39.759 the love walk is seen like every one of us will 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.259 manifest it, right? Every one of us will manifest 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:44.940 it. And when you go out of here, it's now you 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:47.740 manifesting it. It's not the entire church. Some 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:50.980 of us can hide under the crowd to do the manifestation, 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:53.160 right? When something is happening here, there's 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.039 a sense of you can either copy, you can look, 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:58.440 and you can participate. But note that when he 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:02.019 says your love, the word that is used here, the 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:05.200 Greek word that is used here is indicative of 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:08.299 an individual, right? It's indicative of individuals. 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:12.410 It's not just collective. It's not just collective. 00:18:12.470 --> 00:18:14.490 I just want you to write it down that when he 00:18:14.490 --> 00:18:16.890 says that your love will abound, it's not just 00:18:16.890 --> 00:18:20.690 collective. It's that every individual that he's 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:23.630 praying for will abound more and more in that 00:18:23.630 --> 00:18:28.650 love. And that abound, the word abound is a Greek 00:18:28.650 --> 00:18:34.230 word. I will just spell it to us. The word abound 00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:44.480 is P -E -R -S -S -E -U -O. P -E -R. I -S -S -E 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:54.619 -U -O. Perissure. And it means to exceed normal 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:59.900 limits. It means to exceed normal limits. It 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:03.579 means to exceed normal limits, to go above and 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:09.019 beyond. To go above and beyond. It means to exceed 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:13.039 normal limits, to go above and beyond. So what 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:17.539 this means is that a believer's love should be 00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:20.519 above the ordinary. It should be extraordinary. 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:25.299 It should surpass the worldly kind of love. A 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:28.740 believer's love should surpass... It's not matching 00:19:28.740 --> 00:19:30.819 it. What makes you different from the person 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:33.539 that doesn't have the Spirit of God empowering 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:35.059 them to do the things that you are empowered 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:38.710 to do? So it should surpass it. It should surpass 00:19:38.710 --> 00:19:42.069 it. It should go above the ordinary. And when 00:19:42.069 --> 00:19:45.309 it says more and more, the word more, there is 00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:54.170 malon. It's M -A -L -O -N. And he says more and 00:19:54.170 --> 00:19:57.670 more, which is the chi is in between the malon, 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:03.650 chi, malon. That's K -A -I. So that phrase there 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:07.650 is indicative. It's a comparative. It's a phrase 00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:10.430 used to compare. And it says it's progressive. 00:20:11.730 --> 00:20:15.829 It means that you're measuring growth by the 00:20:15.829 --> 00:20:19.410 progression. So it says more and more. That means 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:22.190 there's an increase. It doesn't stay static. 00:20:22.430 --> 00:20:26.349 It keeps growing. So it means that you should 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:30.190 check yourself. You should check to see, okay, 00:20:30.309 --> 00:20:39.509 how much... of God's love? How have I grown? 00:20:39.730 --> 00:20:43.509 Like, am I better at loving than I was before? 00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:46.390 Like expressing love to my fellow brother and 00:20:46.390 --> 00:20:48.950 sister. You know, sometimes we don't, we just 00:20:48.950 --> 00:20:50.589 allow ourselves, just go through the motions. 00:20:50.650 --> 00:20:52.769 We come to church, we just go. You want to have 00:20:52.769 --> 00:20:55.609 times where you check yourself. You ask yourself 00:20:55.609 --> 00:20:59.390 very important question. Am I loving more than 00:20:59.390 --> 00:21:02.460 I was before? And that... Is it a function of 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:04.299 what you have been listening to, what you have 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:09.099 been learning? Because we ask that you grow in 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:11.519 zeal, you grow in knowledge, and that in itself 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.619 will affect certain areas of your life. And one 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:18.220 very key area will be how you engage your brother, 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:21.240 how you engage your sister. Is there love in 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:23.460 how you talk to them? You know, we read a list 00:21:23.460 --> 00:21:25.259 of things. We don't have the time to address 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:29.140 them. But what you want to know is that you want 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:34.200 to manifest God's love. you want to manifest 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:37.539 God's love, let it not come to a point where 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:40.539 it goes down. Let it be that you are looking 00:21:40.539 --> 00:21:43.319 for ways, you are believing God for the best 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:45.200 of your brother, believing God for the best of 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.160 your sister. If that is not a burden for you, 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:50.660 you want to check yourself. If you're more focused 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:53.019 on yourself, you know, when we talked about rejoicing 00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:57.559 and joy, and the one thing that causes people 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:00.690 to... Go down and think. You know, when you spend 00:22:00.690 --> 00:22:04.670 time thinking of your problems, you will be depressed. 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:09.690 And I say this thing. I will say this like this. 00:22:10.190 --> 00:22:13.630 Your emotion can only go where your thoughts 00:22:13.630 --> 00:22:16.910 have gone. Your emotions can only go where your 00:22:16.910 --> 00:22:21.029 thoughts have gone. If you spend time thinking. 00:22:21.930 --> 00:22:24.329 about certain things, know that the emotions 00:22:24.329 --> 00:22:26.869 will be valid because they are all what you have 00:22:26.869 --> 00:22:30.029 thought through and thought over and over again. 00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:34.069 But what scripture calls us to do is to set our 00:22:34.069 --> 00:22:36.509 minds on things that are above. We're encouraged 00:22:36.509 --> 00:22:40.450 with that upper Wednesday. We're encouraged to 00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:44.089 set our minds on things that are above. And when 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:48.329 we set our minds on loving the person next to 00:22:48.329 --> 00:22:52.109 you, regardless of whether they are loving you 00:22:52.109 --> 00:22:55.390 back, it changes a lot of things. Your focus 00:22:55.390 --> 00:22:58.269 now is on your brother, sister, the work that 00:22:58.269 --> 00:23:00.289 God has called you to do. It takes your mind 00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:07.210 off you. Praise God. And in our wanting to express 00:23:07.210 --> 00:23:10.589 this love, we sometimes find ourselves as Romans. 00:23:10.670 --> 00:23:15.130 Let's go to Romans. Romans 12, verse 9 and 10. 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:21.009 And sometimes we can pretend to love, right? 00:23:21.049 --> 00:23:23.750 Because we're forced to. We can pretend to love. 00:23:23.869 --> 00:23:27.549 He says, don't just pretend to love others. Don't 00:23:27.549 --> 00:23:30.710 just pretend to love others. Really love them. 00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:34.069 You might start off pretending, but don't stay 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:37.690 pretending. Because to love is part of your nature. 00:23:38.829 --> 00:23:42.480 Love flows naturally from you. You might not 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.079 feel like it, but remember we had talked earlier 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:48.599 about it's not about how you feel. It's knowledge 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:53.539 that empowers how you act. It's knowledge that 00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:56.000 empowers how you act. Because you know you act, 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.319 your feelings are fleeting. They come and they 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:02.859 go. It says, don't just pretend to love others. 00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:08.220 And for some of us here, you stop. expressing 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:09.859 love to your brother and your sister because 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:12.140 you feel that that is not you. You are pretending. 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:16.039 How many of you know that when you pretend long 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.819 enough, it becomes your number? You know, if 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:20.779 you pretend, that's how you pretend long enough. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:22.779 You know, some people, in the wrong things, they 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:25.000 pretend long enough and they forget their reality. 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:28.380 Because you can wake up in the morning and pretend 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:30.700 that you have money in your account, but it doesn't 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:34.259 put money in your account. But there are certain 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:36.940 things that you have an abundance of, you're 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:39.480 not pretending. You might be feeling or telling 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:41.279 yourself you're pretending, but you're not pretending 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:44.420 because your understanding of what Christ has 00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:47.619 done will cause love to spring up from within 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:50.680 you. Praise God. It says, hate what is wrong 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:55.059 and hold tightly to what is good. I think, let 00:24:55.059 --> 00:25:00.900 me just say this while we're here. When we were 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:04.119 praying and they said, that we should give thanks 00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:06.819 in all situations. And for some of us, we think 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:14.079 that our giving thanks is for, our giving thanks 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:18.579 also helps us, right? Your giving thanks puts 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:21.019 you in a posture, like it's something it does 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:23.400 to your mind. When you know that this is a challenge 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:26.220 and you're thanking God for that challenging 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:29.740 situation, that difficult boss, I will tell you 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:33.250 for free that what took me through, some difficult 00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:35.009 times is thanking God for certain individuals. 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:37.210 You know, it's a different thing when you have 00:25:37.210 --> 00:25:38.950 a situation that's difficult. You can find a 00:25:38.950 --> 00:25:40.890 way, walk around. But when individuals are difficult, 00:25:41.170 --> 00:25:45.250 it will take God himself touching their hearts 00:25:45.250 --> 00:25:47.930 or making changes to happen. And I had times 00:25:47.930 --> 00:25:50.009 like that. And I've seen it happen where you 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:51.769 come and then you're like, there's a problem 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:53.950 here and I'm struggling to deal with this person 00:25:53.950 --> 00:25:56.170 because this person is not seeing reasons at 00:25:56.170 --> 00:26:00.089 all. And then I'm... I had no choice but to keep 00:26:00.089 --> 00:26:01.990 thanking God and believe in the best. And know 00:26:01.990 --> 00:26:05.190 that when I spend time thanking God for those 00:26:05.190 --> 00:26:07.089 individuals, and I don't want to mention, but 00:26:07.089 --> 00:26:09.269 yeah, it's done. She celebrated her birthday 00:26:09.269 --> 00:26:12.630 some weeks ago. That's my supervisor, my PhD 00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:16.549 supervisor. And you'll be doing all the work 00:26:16.549 --> 00:26:20.210 you can. Your tissues will just be changing. 00:26:20.789 --> 00:26:23.450 I mean, you will spend time, you will work and 00:26:23.450 --> 00:26:24.990 work and work. And they come by and say, oh, 00:26:24.990 --> 00:26:27.839 sorry, we have to change the topic. And then 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:31.180 I'll be like, one time I just, I was like, I'm 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:34.619 tired of changing the topic. Like, how, like, 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:37.400 is this? And then it makes you not to walk giving 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:39.460 your best because you have tried it. How sure 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:40.839 are you it's not going to happen again the next 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:43.700 minute? And I was like, praying and believing 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:45.359 God. I said, let's come to a place where we can 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.579 move. Even when I say, okay, this is a way out. 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:51.779 She says, no, let's do it this way. I say, I 00:26:51.779 --> 00:26:53.420 know people here. She said, no, no, let's do 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:55.680 it this way. And it gets frustrated. But what 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:57.740 thing that kept on happening was the fact that 00:26:57.740 --> 00:27:00.640 the more you pray for the person, the more you 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:02.819 have compassion towards the person that you cannot 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:06.480 explain. And when people are saying, oh, this 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:08.279 person is a bad person. In fact, I've gone to 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.400 a place where someone tells me that your supervisor 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:13.140 has psychological problems. I was like, does 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:16.900 she know I can tell her what she just said? And 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:18.940 the funny thing is that she talks bad about her. 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:21.740 What blew my mind was when they met, they were 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:25.829 like talking like friends. I was, in fact, when 00:27:25.829 --> 00:27:27.890 they met, I was like, I saw her, I was like, 00:27:27.970 --> 00:27:30.509 I don't want to greet this woman and be too, 00:27:30.690 --> 00:27:32.329 and then my supervisor would now be asking me, 00:27:32.369 --> 00:27:34.990 are you friends with my enemy? So I greeted very 00:27:34.990 --> 00:27:36.930 quickly and passed. And then all of a sudden, 00:27:37.029 --> 00:27:38.849 they were greeting, I was confused. I said, am 00:27:38.849 --> 00:27:41.930 I hearing very, like they are greeting like long 00:27:41.930 --> 00:27:43.769 friends that have not seen themselves. And they 00:27:43.769 --> 00:27:46.049 were, I was thinking, I was like, oh, so if you 00:27:46.049 --> 00:27:48.930 took time and then you were, you would just be 00:27:48.930 --> 00:27:54.759 caught in the, the crossfire. But, The moment 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.799 I did the thing, you want to, even for, I can 00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:00.079 count several persons that you'll be praying 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.079 for them. And your heart, see, the love of God 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:06.779 is very much abundant in you. The moment you 00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:08.619 start doing it, you just find yourself. And the 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:11.700 moment you see results, you keep at it. The moment 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:13.240 you see that it worked for this person, there 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:16.559 was somebody, the guy, the boy told me that this 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:18.920 man is a racist. That there's nothing you can 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.500 do to this man. And so, I kept on praying for, 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:24.779 I spent a lot of time, every time I woke up in 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:27.220 the morning, I just wrote down the names of the 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:28.900 different individuals, just to be praying for 00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:30.480 them, praying that they would know, come to the 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:32.839 knowledge of the truth, take time. During that, 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:35.079 at some point in time, it was funny because the 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:37.759 man said, can I drop you off at home? I was like, 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.779 ah, it's like, what does it say? Like, this is 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:43.920 not normal for this person to go out of his way. 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:47.299 That is, that means that it works. When I told 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:51.059 the person, I was like, ah, what do you do? I 00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:54.119 said, I didn't do anything than to just pray 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:56.460 for the person and look for opportunities to 00:28:56.460 --> 00:29:00.920 present. And that is the power of when your compassion 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:04.599 does a lot, even when someone is sick, we will 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:06.140 do that and we will get to that on Wednesday. 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:10.680 When someone is sick and you have so much desire, 00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:14.660 and speaking, going back to what Apostle Paul, 00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:19.099 just... I was just thinking this morning, when 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:22.160 I was just going over, just thinking about how 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:25.359 the pastors of NECF take their time. Even I myself, 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:28.519 I've seen instances where you are so concerned 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:30.700 about the person's situation like it's yours. 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:33.559 You'll be praying and say, Holy Spirit, how can 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:36.119 this person be helped in their situation? And 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:38.039 then you do all of that. And sometimes you're 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:41.220 even met with turn downs. They say, oh no, there's 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:43.819 this and there's that. Sometimes we have had 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:45.440 situations where the person even blocks your 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:48.630 line. And what you're doing is not for your own 00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:50.170 good. What you're doing is for their own good. 00:29:50.269 --> 00:29:54.490 So it doesn't stop your attitude and some point 00:29:54.490 --> 00:29:56.430 in time they will unblock and ask you for help 00:29:56.430 --> 00:29:59.589 and you will still help them regardless. You 00:29:59.589 --> 00:30:03.150 know that that is not normal. Even themselves, 00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:06.769 they are shocked that you responded. And that 00:30:06.769 --> 00:30:11.130 is what will work every time because that is 00:30:11.130 --> 00:30:13.410 not the way the world does it. The world will 00:30:13.410 --> 00:30:17.529 block you if they can block you twice. They will 00:30:17.529 --> 00:30:19.609 block you. Even if you find a way around, they 00:30:19.609 --> 00:30:23.869 will block again until you stop coming back. 00:30:25.450 --> 00:30:28.390 But we see that the instruction that is given 00:30:28.390 --> 00:30:31.049 to us and the example that has been set for us 00:30:31.049 --> 00:30:34.190 is the example of Christ. Not the example of 00:30:34.190 --> 00:30:36.490 the world. Not the example of your boss. Not 00:30:36.490 --> 00:30:38.990 the example of anyone other than the example 00:30:38.990 --> 00:30:44.970 of Jesus Christ. Praise God. 10 says, love each 00:30:44.970 --> 00:30:48.509 other. with genuine affection. Love each other 00:30:48.509 --> 00:30:51.329 with genuine affection. Romans 12 verse 10 say, 00:30:51.410 --> 00:30:54.829 love each other with genuine affection and delight 00:30:54.829 --> 00:30:58.250 in honoring each other. Delight in honoring each 00:30:58.250 --> 00:31:01.009 other. You know, when we say these words, some 00:31:01.009 --> 00:31:03.809 of you think that you can only just honor your 00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:07.130 pastors. You sometimes think that honoring your 00:31:07.130 --> 00:31:09.670 pastors is the right thing to do. It's beautiful. 00:31:09.849 --> 00:31:12.529 But once you honor your pastor and you don't 00:31:12.529 --> 00:31:14.869 honor your brother and sister, We have a problem 00:31:14.869 --> 00:31:17.750 with you. You're just pretending. You're just 00:31:17.750 --> 00:31:20.910 a hypocrite. You're just doing it because you 00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:28.269 have to do it. Praise God. And it doesn't help 00:31:28.269 --> 00:31:32.109 your own work because you are dishing out dishonor. 00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:36.210 You yourself will be affected in some shape or 00:31:36.210 --> 00:31:38.549 form because you will be dishing out the dishonor 00:31:38.549 --> 00:31:43.789 and one time will block. The person that is meant 00:31:43.789 --> 00:31:45.430 to help you to go out of a difficult situation. 00:31:45.990 --> 00:31:47.910 Because whether you like it or not, every one 00:31:47.910 --> 00:31:51.890 of us here, the way God designs it, we are designed 00:31:51.890 --> 00:31:55.029 to be a blessing to one another. Regardless of 00:31:55.029 --> 00:31:58.009 wherever it is that you are, it's designed that 00:31:58.009 --> 00:32:01.170 way. And it's something that God does to humble 00:32:01.170 --> 00:32:03.950 each and every one of us. That you might be so 00:32:03.950 --> 00:32:07.019 great and mighty, but there's... Someone so small 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:09.220 that will have to say something or do something 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:11.960 to bring you forward. I think I heard a story 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:15.119 once of a man that was struggling to meet someone 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:19.000 that is high ranking. And then he was just sitting 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:23.680 at the front of the man's office, the building 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:25.680 of his office. And he was just there mumbling 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:27.940 and he just said a word of prayer that how we 00:32:27.940 --> 00:32:30.140 wish you could have access. And this little child 00:32:30.140 --> 00:32:31.200 just came and asked him, why are you looking 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:33.359 down? What's the problem? And then the child 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:35.400 said, he said he has been looking forward to 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:37.259 seeing this man and he's been, he's feeling down. 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:40.000 And then the boy just told him he should come. 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:44.180 He didn't realize, but he just said, okay, who 00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:46.819 is this child? He follows the boy and he discovered 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:49.099 that the securities that were blocking him from 00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:51.400 passing, they were just giving way, giving way, 00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:54.900 giving way until he got to the man that happens 00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:56.759 to be the boy's father. And he said, daddy, this 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:58.660 man wants to see you. He has been looking, he 00:32:58.660 --> 00:33:00.960 explained his situation and that was how. the 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:03.940 man had his problem solved because he prayed 00:33:03.940 --> 00:33:06.500 a prayer, but a little boy showed up and he not 00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:07.859 say, you, what is your problem? You don't know 00:33:07.859 --> 00:33:10.200 what I'm going to get out of here. You know, 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:11.799 that would have been the end of his, he would 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:13.200 not even have known what would have happened 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:18.319 if he had not listened and even talked to the, 00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:20.900 you know, sometimes we are so into our problems 00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:23.240 that we can't even talk to, you know, it's as 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:24.819 little as the boy asked the question, the boy 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.180 did not say, are you, are you? He asked the question, 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:30.029 what's the problem? And he didn't even feel that 00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:32.529 he's wasting his time explaining all of that 00:33:32.529 --> 00:33:36.170 to the little boy. And that's how you can be 00:33:36.170 --> 00:33:38.869 able to receive blessing. Because there's not 00:33:38.869 --> 00:33:41.390 just the showing love, there's also the receiving 00:33:41.390 --> 00:33:43.069 the love that is being shown to you. Because 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:47.829 if he had said, no, why am I following you? He 00:33:47.829 --> 00:33:51.890 would have been a different story. In John 3, 00:33:51.990 --> 00:34:08.250 34 to 35. John 13, 34 -35. John 13, 34 -35. It 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:11.210 says, A new commandment I give to you, that you 00:34:11.210 --> 00:34:12.989 love one another. And we know that it's not new. 00:34:13.530 --> 00:34:18.309 It's something that we have seen before. It says 00:34:18.309 --> 00:34:23.010 that you love one another as I have loved you. 00:34:23.070 --> 00:34:28.309 That's what we'll introduce. As I have loved 00:34:28.309 --> 00:34:32.010 you. That you also love one another. It says, 00:34:32.150 --> 00:34:38.449 and this all will, by this all will know that 00:34:38.449 --> 00:34:42.550 you are my disciples. If you have love for one 00:34:42.550 --> 00:34:44.829 another. It says, by this all will know that 00:34:44.829 --> 00:34:48.090 you are my disciples. If you have love for one 00:34:48.090 --> 00:34:51.530 another. And another thing, it's very clear. 00:34:51.610 --> 00:34:56.090 It says, as I have loved you, as I have loved 00:34:56.090 --> 00:35:01.280 you. And how has he loved you? Romans 5. Verse 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:05.699 8, it says, Romans 5 verse 8, it says, But God 00:35:05.699 --> 00:35:10.920 demonstrates his love towards us in that while 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:15.579 we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So 00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:19.099 it means that even when we were in our broken 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:23.639 state, he still chose to die for us. And sometimes 00:35:23.639 --> 00:35:27.139 you cannot understand this until certain things 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:29.599 are practically explained or illustrated to you. 00:35:30.110 --> 00:35:33.829 Nobody goes to the market and buys something 00:35:33.829 --> 00:35:37.849 that is broken. Nobody goes to the market and 00:35:37.849 --> 00:35:40.010 sees things that are in perfect condition and 00:35:40.010 --> 00:35:43.289 picks that one thing that is broken. Nobody goes 00:35:43.289 --> 00:35:46.050 to the market and says, I want to buy something 00:35:46.050 --> 00:35:47.949 that is working and sees something that is not 00:35:47.949 --> 00:35:51.610 working and then picks that up. You would say 00:35:51.610 --> 00:35:53.929 it's a mad person that goes and does that because 00:35:53.929 --> 00:35:57.340 it costs them something. Praise God. And he says, 00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:00.199 even while we were still sinners, he died. So 00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:04.300 even while the person doesn't act like they deserve 00:36:04.300 --> 00:36:08.460 it, you are instructed to do it anyways. Even 00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:10.780 regardless of the action of the individuals to 00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:13.619 you, what shows that you are bound or you are 00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:18.179 bounding is in the way you respond or the way 00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:21.119 you give regardless of what the condition of 00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:24.369 the situation is. And note that in the abounding, 00:36:24.409 --> 00:36:26.789 it says, we're abounding, it says, the love must 00:36:26.789 --> 00:36:29.809 abound in knowledge and all discernment. Let's 00:36:29.809 --> 00:36:32.889 continue. The love must abound in knowledge and 00:36:32.889 --> 00:36:39.090 all discernment. It means that it points to the 00:36:39.090 --> 00:36:41.989 primary area of growth. All of this points to 00:36:41.989 --> 00:36:46.250 growth because the knowledge and the discernment 00:36:46.250 --> 00:36:50.650 will be growth. And note that we have to come 00:36:50.650 --> 00:36:54.690 to that. precise knowledge that precise and accurate 00:36:54.690 --> 00:36:57.949 and full knowledge our minds is the one that 00:36:57.949 --> 00:37:00.750 is catching up because the primary area of this 00:37:00.750 --> 00:37:04.070 growth is our minds because remember what we 00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:07.150 read we said the renewing of the mind the spirit 00:37:07.150 --> 00:37:10.829 renews the renew of the mind that happens is 00:37:10.829 --> 00:37:13.789 what brings us into and we're not we're renewing 00:37:13.789 --> 00:37:17.989 all that we're putting away the old stuff and 00:37:17.989 --> 00:37:20.110 putting our new identity and putting that into 00:37:20.110 --> 00:37:23.380 check I will do this very quickly and bring us 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:27.219 to a situation that happened with Philemon. I 00:37:27.219 --> 00:37:34.139 will discuss that very shortly. So in knowledge, 00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:39.940 the Greek word for knowledge is epignosis. It's 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:47.199 E -P -I -G -N -O -S -I -S. E -P -I -G -N -O -S 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:50.949 -I -S. And this is not... General knowledge. 00:37:51.909 --> 00:37:55.130 This is not general knowledge, but precise, accurate, 00:37:55.289 --> 00:37:59.170 and full knowledge. And it is the knowledge of 00:37:59.170 --> 00:38:03.929 God and his ways. It's not general knowledge. 00:38:03.949 --> 00:38:05.849 It's the knowledge of God and his ways. So it's 00:38:05.849 --> 00:38:09.130 a precise, accurate, and full knowledge of God 00:38:09.130 --> 00:38:13.170 and his ways. And we'll see this in Ephesians 00:38:13.170 --> 00:38:18.900 1 verse 17. Ephesians 1. Verse 17, it says that 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:22.340 the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:27.119 of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom 00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:30.820 and revelation in the knowledge of him. The key 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:33.480 thing you want to focus on is in the knowledge 00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:37.980 of him. And note that when he says spirit of 00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:41.280 wisdom, you know, you can be thinking, oh, spirit 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:43.480 of wisdom, am I receiving another spirit? Because 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:46.199 when he says he will give you the spirit of wisdom. 00:38:46.829 --> 00:38:49.530 Know that in the verse 13 of that particular 00:38:49.530 --> 00:38:52.530 chapter, 13 of that particular chapter, he says, 00:38:52.789 --> 00:38:58.369 in him you also trusted. After you heard the 00:38:58.369 --> 00:39:02.429 word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 00:39:02.630 --> 00:39:08.150 in whom also, having believed, you were sealed. 00:39:08.329 --> 00:39:13.409 You were. sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. 00:39:13.670 --> 00:39:16.869 You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. 00:39:16.989 --> 00:39:21.090 So it means that you are not receiving... So 00:39:21.090 --> 00:39:25.889 we had said that it is the wisdom of the Spirit, 00:39:26.010 --> 00:39:30.369 which is the revelation in the knowledge of Him. 00:39:30.510 --> 00:39:34.389 The revelation in the knowledge of Him. And how... 00:39:34.389 --> 00:39:39.079 What does the... Spirit of God enable us because 00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:42.059 he says in, I want us to see Romans 5 verse 5. 00:39:42.980 --> 00:39:47.719 Romans 5 verse 5 and see how the love of God 00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:56.139 and what is the role of the Spirit. 5 verse 5 00:39:56.139 --> 00:40:01.039 it says, now hope doesn't disappoint, does not 00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:04.599 disappoint. Because the love of God has been 00:40:04.599 --> 00:40:09.400 poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which 00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:14.039 was given to us. Now the love of God has been 00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:16.159 poured into our hearts by the Spirit of God, 00:40:16.179 --> 00:40:18.000 which has been given to us. So we see a couple 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:21.539 of things there, that the Holy Spirit, because 00:40:21.539 --> 00:40:23.739 we are sealed and we have the Spirit of God, 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:27.400 it means that it comes naturally for us to extend 00:40:27.400 --> 00:40:30.920 and express the love of God. And I want to see... 00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:33.840 I think we'll probably close around this particular 00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:38.619 area. In Philemon, I want us to, many of us know 00:40:38.619 --> 00:40:42.400 this passage of Philemon because what we come 00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:46.500 to mostly in this passage is Philemon 6. I want 00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:49.079 to bring something to our attention, something 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:51.340 that will help us understand and see love in 00:40:51.340 --> 00:40:54.679 action. Philemon 1 verse 6, which is to point 00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:57.239 the acknowledgement, to talk about the acknowledgement, 00:40:57.239 --> 00:41:00.070 which is epignosis. And this is opposed to Paul 00:41:00.070 --> 00:41:07.809 writing to Philemon. And Philemon is a, if you 00:41:07.809 --> 00:41:10.250 see in the chapter, in that particular chapter, 00:41:10.250 --> 00:41:16.909 and Philemon is just one chapter and it can be 00:41:16.909 --> 00:41:19.789 lost in your Bible between Titus and Hebrew. 00:41:20.170 --> 00:41:22.510 It's one page and sometimes you can be flipping 00:41:22.510 --> 00:41:27.030 trying to find the page. I want you to see something 00:41:27.030 --> 00:41:31.460 that Philemon, is a believer, first and foremost, 00:41:31.679 --> 00:41:35.760 and the church meets in his house. We see that 00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:42.420 in verse 2 of the book. It says, and your sister 00:41:42.420 --> 00:41:49.940 and our fellow soldier and to the church that 00:41:49.940 --> 00:41:55.420 meets in your house. So Philemon was a convert. 00:41:56.630 --> 00:42:00.010 By Paul, Apostle Paul, we see that in 19. Apostle 00:42:00.010 --> 00:42:02.190 Paul alludes to that. And he meets in his house. 00:42:03.050 --> 00:42:06.949 And the church meets at his house. At this time, 00:42:06.969 --> 00:42:09.969 they had like house where people, believers would 00:42:09.969 --> 00:42:12.510 come and gather and meet at the house. So Apostle 00:42:12.510 --> 00:42:15.070 Paul now writing to him in verse 6, he says that 00:42:15.070 --> 00:42:19.929 the sharing of your faith may become effective 00:42:19.929 --> 00:42:25.150 by the acknowledgement of every good thing. which 00:42:25.150 --> 00:42:28.429 is in you in Christ Jesus. If you notice, you'll 00:42:28.429 --> 00:42:30.769 be seen in Christ. You'll be seen by Christ. 00:42:30.869 --> 00:42:33.849 You'll be seen. All the things that we have is 00:42:33.849 --> 00:42:36.570 anchored on what Christ has done. And that should 00:42:36.570 --> 00:42:38.949 not, you should not even miss it. You know, sometimes 00:42:38.949 --> 00:42:42.570 we will think when we are asked, oh, the things 00:42:42.570 --> 00:42:44.469 we almost would think that the things we have 00:42:44.469 --> 00:42:47.750 is in our own strength or because, you know, 00:42:47.750 --> 00:42:49.630 sometimes we say, you know, the Lord loves me. 00:42:49.889 --> 00:42:52.289 You know, when I was coming out today, I suggested 00:42:52.289 --> 00:42:56.210 my heart like this. Somebody stopped for me. 00:42:56.329 --> 00:43:00.530 Do you believe it? All of those things are beautiful. 00:43:01.150 --> 00:43:04.030 All of those things are wonderful. But the greatest 00:43:04.030 --> 00:43:07.170 of all of those things is what Christ has done 00:43:07.170 --> 00:43:12.010 for you. That should be what should always excite 00:43:12.010 --> 00:43:14.449 you. That should be what should always spoil 00:43:14.449 --> 00:43:16.510 you to give thanks to God because of what Christ 00:43:16.510 --> 00:43:19.730 has done for you. As good as that is, we're not 00:43:19.730 --> 00:43:21.789 saying you should not share about the things, 00:43:21.889 --> 00:43:25.400 but you want to ensure because What happens the 00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:28.559 day you did your hand like this and nobody stopped? 00:43:29.019 --> 00:43:32.159 You know, that now can look like, ah, God is 00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:34.199 not with me today. Because the last time I did 00:43:34.199 --> 00:43:36.139 so, like two, three cars stopped, I was even 00:43:36.139 --> 00:43:40.460 choosing which one to enter. Praise God. So know 00:43:40.460 --> 00:43:43.400 that you want to anchor your faith on something 00:43:43.400 --> 00:43:46.420 that is solid, not something that can happen 00:43:46.420 --> 00:43:49.679 today and not happen tomorrow. Praise God. And 00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:52.159 I will read it from, I like the way it goes. 00:43:52.380 --> 00:43:56.090 It says, It says, I am praying that you would 00:43:56.090 --> 00:44:00.949 put into action the generosity that comes from 00:44:00.949 --> 00:44:04.630 your faith as you understand and experience all 00:44:04.630 --> 00:44:08.010 the good things we have in Christ Jesus. He's 00:44:08.010 --> 00:44:13.510 praying that you act on what you have received 00:44:13.510 --> 00:44:16.409 that is anchored in Christ Jesus. You act on 00:44:16.409 --> 00:44:18.389 it. That you should put into action that comes 00:44:18.389 --> 00:44:21.969 from the faith as you understand and you experience. 00:44:24.330 --> 00:44:28.530 All the good things that we have in Christ Jesus. 00:44:29.090 --> 00:44:34.269 And in verse 7, he says, for we have great joy 00:44:34.269 --> 00:44:40.349 and consolation in your love because the hearts 00:44:40.349 --> 00:44:43.530 of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. 00:44:43.809 --> 00:44:46.369 You see, for the hearts of the saints have been 00:44:46.369 --> 00:44:51.070 refreshed by Philemon. The hearts of the saints 00:44:51.070 --> 00:44:56.760 have been refreshed by Philemon. Let me just 00:44:56.760 --> 00:44:59.480 give you something that will help us too. Philemon, 00:44:59.559 --> 00:45:01.920 I think I was looking at the meaning of his name. 00:45:02.019 --> 00:45:05.679 It means friendly. His name means friendly. Philemon, 00:45:05.800 --> 00:45:09.179 his name means friendly. And it also, the friendly 00:45:09.179 --> 00:45:12.679 is just the, it says the one who kisses or the 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:16.030 one who shows sign of love. All right. The one 00:45:16.030 --> 00:45:18.210 who kisses and one who shows sign of love. The 00:45:18.210 --> 00:45:22.090 Philip without the moon at the end is the one 00:45:22.090 --> 00:45:24.690 who shows the sign of love. And it makes sense 00:45:24.690 --> 00:45:27.369 when you think about it. And I think one of the 00:45:27.369 --> 00:45:30.230 things that, you know, cultures are very different. 00:45:30.309 --> 00:45:32.710 Like if you're from a different culture and you 00:45:32.710 --> 00:45:34.230 come into a new culture, certain things will 00:45:34.230 --> 00:45:36.550 shock you. Certain things will shock you. And 00:45:36.550 --> 00:45:39.250 one of them for me, very quickly, to help you 00:45:39.250 --> 00:45:41.230 understand that if you don't understand a culture, 00:45:41.389 --> 00:45:45.550 you will be met with a shock. And if you understand 00:45:45.550 --> 00:45:47.750 that culture, you just flow with it because you 00:45:47.750 --> 00:45:49.730 understand the culture. That's to help us to 00:45:49.730 --> 00:45:51.730 understand how understanding affects the way 00:45:51.730 --> 00:45:54.690 you respond or even receive things. When I came 00:45:54.690 --> 00:45:58.230 to this island in like, that was 2013, you know, 00:45:58.250 --> 00:46:01.489 one of my first, I think I had a couple. One 00:46:01.489 --> 00:46:04.730 was with the whole idea of when they say no, 00:46:04.929 --> 00:46:08.230 they do it like this. And then many of you, if 00:46:08.230 --> 00:46:10.809 I was to do, shout out what you think this is. 00:46:11.210 --> 00:46:13.869 you will have a good amount of people still think 00:46:13.869 --> 00:46:15.909 that it's yes because there's a note that comes 00:46:15.909 --> 00:46:19.250 with it. But that was a rude shock to me and 00:46:19.250 --> 00:46:21.769 I had to learn the hard way and I learned it 00:46:21.769 --> 00:46:23.989 very quickly because I learned from my own experience. 00:46:24.070 --> 00:46:26.909 I don't learn. I don't like learning from my 00:46:26.909 --> 00:46:29.090 own experience. And when it happens to me, it 00:46:29.090 --> 00:46:32.389 will never happen again. Praise God. The other 00:46:32.389 --> 00:46:35.690 one is when I was, I think I met this Turkish 00:46:35.690 --> 00:46:38.500 guy for the first time and... what happens was 00:46:38.500 --> 00:46:40.159 that, you know, typically you give a handshake, 00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:45.539 but you know, my, the, I, nobody prepared me 00:46:45.539 --> 00:46:47.760 for what I experienced because I was full, I 00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:49.659 was trying to, my brain is like, what's going 00:46:49.659 --> 00:46:52.219 on? What is going, what exactly is going on? 00:46:52.280 --> 00:46:54.719 And the, the guy held my hand, pulled me close, 00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:56.780 gave me a nod on the side and the other side. 00:46:56.860 --> 00:46:59.739 And I was like, he, when, if he had paid attention, 00:46:59.880 --> 00:47:01.519 he would just see that I was, I was full. I was 00:47:01.519 --> 00:47:05.960 like, what did he just like, like, what was it? 00:47:06.179 --> 00:47:10.539 Because, Like, I couldn't, like, because he did 00:47:10.539 --> 00:47:14.320 not was, you could hear the sound. So that, my 00:47:14.320 --> 00:47:17.000 brain, my brain is like, is it the pain I should 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:18.980 come out? My brain is like, what just happened? 00:47:19.039 --> 00:47:21.940 What just, what exactly just happened? Because 00:47:21.940 --> 00:47:24.400 I have, I was like, nobody prepared me for the 00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:26.460 whole experience. But after that day, I got it. 00:47:26.619 --> 00:47:28.599 So anybody that's coming, I was like, yeah, it's 00:47:28.599 --> 00:47:30.780 just, we can go for it. So, because now I know. 00:47:31.519 --> 00:47:35.460 But, you know, when you don't know, you don't 00:47:35.460 --> 00:47:39.340 know. And when you experience it, nobody, you'll 00:47:39.340 --> 00:47:42.500 just be there wondering. And knowledge really 00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:44.820 empowers you to be prepared. Because if I'd seen 00:47:44.820 --> 00:47:47.019 that, even if it was a video, I'd seen that. 00:47:47.280 --> 00:47:50.119 You know, when he comes, okay, I would have seen 00:47:50.119 --> 00:47:52.820 it before. We just go for it. But I haven't seen 00:47:52.820 --> 00:47:55.019 it before. So it would be difficult for me to 00:47:55.019 --> 00:47:57.719 engage or even participate in it. And for some 00:47:57.719 --> 00:48:01.199 of us, we really have not experienced, we don't 00:48:01.199 --> 00:48:03.380 even know what the love of God is. And once we 00:48:03.380 --> 00:48:06.170 see it or see someone, do something that is, 00:48:06.210 --> 00:48:10.070 the person do something that is above and beyond 00:48:10.070 --> 00:48:12.829 the normal that you know, which is of the world. 00:48:12.969 --> 00:48:15.550 You are like, ah. And some of us, our immediate 00:48:15.550 --> 00:48:17.369 response is that we drop because it's strange. 00:48:17.630 --> 00:48:19.610 So why does this person love me like this? Why 00:48:19.610 --> 00:48:22.610 does this person keep calling my name? And I'm 00:48:22.610 --> 00:48:24.409 thinking to myself, they start thinking, okay, 00:48:24.449 --> 00:48:28.679 is there something? Maybe they're trying to collect 00:48:28.679 --> 00:48:30.739 something. You just start becoming suspicious 00:48:30.739 --> 00:48:34.500 or thinking that the person is trying to... Some 00:48:34.500 --> 00:48:37.519 people just spend time thinking, thinking all 00:48:37.519 --> 00:48:39.960 manner of things. They should just receive the 00:48:39.960 --> 00:48:43.119 love of God. Praise God. Don't overthink it. 00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:47.159 If you think there's a problem, you can report. 00:48:47.639 --> 00:48:51.400 Right? Yeah, you should report. And please feel 00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:54.519 free to report if you think that the love is 00:48:54.519 --> 00:48:58.800 getting too much. But let it be that we are challenging 00:48:58.800 --> 00:49:02.159 one another to outdo one another in the things 00:49:02.159 --> 00:49:04.420 that God has instructed us to do, not in the 00:49:04.420 --> 00:49:06.280 things that the world is showing us every now 00:49:06.280 --> 00:49:09.219 and then to do so. Praise God. And we see that 00:49:09.219 --> 00:49:11.780 Apostle Paul now is challenging Philemon to do 00:49:11.780 --> 00:49:18.639 something. In the verse 10 and 11, we see a man 00:49:18.639 --> 00:49:23.780 or we see someone named Onesimus. You know, Paul 00:49:23.780 --> 00:49:25.940 had already set the stage and reminded him of 00:49:25.940 --> 00:49:28.639 his identity, reminded him of how his love is 00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:30.880 refreshing them to bring it to this point. And 00:49:30.880 --> 00:49:32.300 there are many ways Paul would have done what 00:49:32.300 --> 00:49:35.719 he did, but he goes back to the identity of Philemon. 00:49:36.320 --> 00:49:40.179 How Philemon should know that this is the situation 00:49:40.179 --> 00:49:42.119 or this is the kingdom that we found ourselves. 00:49:42.639 --> 00:49:45.239 And this is the response that is required. So 00:49:45.239 --> 00:49:49.420 in verse 10, he says, I appeal to you to show 00:49:49.420 --> 00:49:54.409 kindness to my child Onesimus. I've become his 00:49:54.409 --> 00:49:59.650 father in the faith while here in prison. 11 00:49:59.650 --> 00:50:04.849 now says, Onesimus hasn't been much use to you 00:50:04.849 --> 00:50:10.369 in the past, but now he's very useful to both 00:50:10.369 --> 00:50:13.670 of us. And it's funny that the name, the meaning 00:50:13.670 --> 00:50:19.090 of Onesimus' name is useful, profitable, or beneficial. 00:50:19.150 --> 00:50:21.730 It's almost like Paul is playing on words and 00:50:21.730 --> 00:50:24.699 saying, see, You will wonder like his name is 00:50:24.699 --> 00:50:28.900 useful, but in the past, he has not been useful. 00:50:29.300 --> 00:50:32.139 You know, for some people, your name means something 00:50:32.139 --> 00:50:36.000 and you don't seem to find that thing in your 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:39.079 life. And it doesn't mean that because people 00:50:39.079 --> 00:50:40.679 have been calling you that, right? People have 00:50:40.679 --> 00:50:43.059 been saying that, calling you, saying, calling. 00:50:43.219 --> 00:50:46.880 But the moment you have a revelation of what, 00:50:46.980 --> 00:50:49.619 the moment you come to an understanding of what 00:50:49.619 --> 00:50:52.400 that means or what you have, it changes everything. 00:50:53.460 --> 00:50:56.000 Because what has happened is that, let me explain 00:50:56.000 --> 00:50:59.900 it to us. Onesimus was a slave that ran away. 00:51:00.699 --> 00:51:03.599 And running away in those times means that he's 00:51:03.599 --> 00:51:07.800 either dead or they will brand you. They will 00:51:07.800 --> 00:51:09.440 brand you the brand that if you run, they will 00:51:09.440 --> 00:51:12.340 say this is a slave. And most of the times the 00:51:12.340 --> 00:51:15.039 branding is unique to them. So they will find 00:51:15.039 --> 00:51:17.400 you and bring you back to your master. And they 00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:19.500 are branding you on purpose so that anytime they 00:51:19.500 --> 00:51:23.210 will bring you back. So what had happened was 00:51:23.210 --> 00:51:29.110 that Onesimus had run away and then had an encounter 00:51:29.110 --> 00:51:32.889 with Apostle Paul, then now was saved. And now 00:51:32.889 --> 00:51:36.289 that's why if you notice, he addresses him. He 00:51:36.289 --> 00:51:40.369 says he's his child, his son, right? And he's 00:51:40.369 --> 00:51:42.570 the father. And know that he's not talking about, 00:51:42.670 --> 00:51:44.030 Apostle Paul is not saying that I give birth 00:51:44.030 --> 00:51:47.369 to him. Apostle Paul is saying that he is now 00:51:47.369 --> 00:51:50.309 a spiritual father or is a father to this person. 00:51:52.360 --> 00:51:58.239 And he goes further too. And the church he is 00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:01.539 part of. Let's just confirm that from Colossians. 00:52:01.539 --> 00:52:06.880 Let's go to Colossians 4. Colossians 4, verse 00:52:06.880 --> 00:52:13.840 9. I think we read that. Colossians 4, verse 00:52:13.840 --> 00:52:20.630 9. And by the way, This church is in Colossae. 00:52:20.710 --> 00:52:23.130 The church that Philemon is part of is in Colossae. 00:52:23.210 --> 00:52:25.190 You'll see similarities. You'll see names mentioned 00:52:25.190 --> 00:52:27.110 there. They're mentioned here as well. Verse 00:52:27.110 --> 00:52:30.630 9, it says, I am also sending Onesimus a faithful 00:52:30.630 --> 00:52:34.130 and beloved brother. See how he addresses him 00:52:34.130 --> 00:52:36.949 here. He says he's a faithful and beloved brother. 00:52:37.010 --> 00:52:39.050 This is somebody that he has said that wasn't 00:52:39.050 --> 00:52:41.670 useful. Now this person has, there's something 00:52:41.670 --> 00:52:44.260 that the gospel had done to him, right? There's 00:52:44.260 --> 00:52:45.860 something that the gospel has done to you. And 00:52:45.860 --> 00:52:47.699 the same way I would challenge you that there's 00:52:47.699 --> 00:52:50.739 something that hearing God's word, showing up, 00:52:50.739 --> 00:52:52.420 listening to God's word, learning God's word 00:52:52.420 --> 00:52:55.199 will do to you. You might be somebody before, 00:52:55.380 --> 00:52:58.960 but there's some things that we'll see. You can't 00:52:58.960 --> 00:53:03.159 say I am a believer and then we can't see evidence 00:53:03.159 --> 00:53:08.239 of a walk, a lifestyle that is consistent with 00:53:08.239 --> 00:53:10.960 what you said you have believed. Praise God. 00:53:11.119 --> 00:53:13.599 So now we see that this person now is clear. 00:53:13.780 --> 00:53:16.000 There is a brother. He's one of your people. 00:53:16.320 --> 00:53:18.760 And then he and Tychicus, which were the people 00:53:18.760 --> 00:53:21.179 that are going to take this in, will tell you 00:53:21.179 --> 00:53:23.460 everything that is happening here. Praise God. 00:53:23.739 --> 00:53:37.239 Let's go back to Philemon. And what Apostle Paul 00:53:37.239 --> 00:53:40.099 is doing here is he's challenging. Philemon, 00:53:40.219 --> 00:53:45.059 and he even, if you go to 20, he says in verse 00:53:45.059 --> 00:53:51.760 20, he says, yes, my brother, please do me this 00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:56.780 favor for the Lord's sake. Give me this encouragement 00:53:56.780 --> 00:54:00.900 in Christ. Give me this encouragement in Christ. 00:54:01.039 --> 00:54:03.780 Give me this encouragement in Christ. He now 00:54:03.780 --> 00:54:06.599 goes that I am confident as I write this letter. 00:54:06.989 --> 00:54:11.710 that you will do what I ask. And even more, praise 00:54:11.710 --> 00:54:14.289 God, and even more, remember what we said about 00:54:14.289 --> 00:54:18.530 the love he knows. In fact, if you read the way 00:54:18.530 --> 00:54:20.489 it reads, you understand that. Paul is writing 00:54:20.489 --> 00:54:22.829 this letter knowing that when Philemon reads 00:54:22.829 --> 00:54:26.449 this letter, the response will be, like he knows 00:54:26.449 --> 00:54:29.550 what the response will be. Praise God. And regardless 00:54:29.550 --> 00:54:33.889 of what, he even... To tell you how interesting 00:54:33.889 --> 00:54:36.369 it is, in 9, he says, even if he had done anything, 00:54:36.750 --> 00:54:39.889 put the charge on me. If he had, you know, there's 00:54:39.889 --> 00:54:41.329 a likelihood he might have stolen some things 00:54:41.329 --> 00:54:43.809 and left. So he says, if any of those things 00:54:43.809 --> 00:54:46.550 are going to be a problem, put it on me. It just 00:54:46.550 --> 00:54:50.710 goes to show you the heart of the apostle and 00:54:50.710 --> 00:54:54.409 his concern and his desire for this man to be 00:54:54.409 --> 00:54:58.829 restored back to his master. And not just restored 00:54:58.829 --> 00:55:01.579 back to the master as a slave. but he wants, 00:55:01.679 --> 00:55:03.960 he brings it, he wants, he's conscious, let him 00:55:03.960 --> 00:55:06.159 be conscious that this is not just a slave, this 00:55:06.159 --> 00:55:08.340 is a brother because he writes it there and he 00:55:08.340 --> 00:55:11.199 says, receive him as a fellow brother in Christ. 00:55:11.860 --> 00:55:18.239 Praise God. And if someone, we see all of this, 00:55:18.340 --> 00:55:21.699 all of this goes to tell us that there's a way 00:55:21.699 --> 00:55:24.519 the world does things and there's a way the word 00:55:24.519 --> 00:55:28.860 instructs us to do things. You must unlearn. 00:55:29.800 --> 00:55:33.579 Unlearn. You must unlearn. You must unlearn the 00:55:33.579 --> 00:55:36.579 way the world does things and learn. For many 00:55:36.579 --> 00:55:42.280 of us, what has hampered or delayed our growth 00:55:42.280 --> 00:55:46.320 and what makes it difficult for us to discern 00:55:46.320 --> 00:55:50.840 and size up situations correctly, which is what 00:55:50.840 --> 00:55:53.579 the discernment part is, and size up situations 00:55:53.579 --> 00:55:58.619 correctly is the fact that we are stuck in One 00:55:58.619 --> 00:56:03.059 end, and I will see on Wednesday that it's our 00:56:03.059 --> 00:56:07.500 thinking. Because our thoughts, we allow things, 00:56:07.800 --> 00:56:10.380 the world, the different things, the world keeps 00:56:10.380 --> 00:56:12.699 bombarding us with things, showing us certain 00:56:12.699 --> 00:56:14.960 things, showing us how things should be, and 00:56:14.960 --> 00:56:17.460 then we superimpose that on the Word of God. 00:56:17.579 --> 00:56:19.260 And for some of us, it's when we come to the 00:56:19.260 --> 00:56:21.679 Word of God and we say, ah, is that what we should 00:56:21.679 --> 00:56:23.699 do? You know, today for some of us, the root 00:56:23.699 --> 00:56:25.960 shock to us is that you thank God even for that 00:56:25.960 --> 00:56:27.460 person that you don't, even for the person that 00:56:27.460 --> 00:56:29.059 broke your heart. Some of us, it was like, ah, 00:56:29.260 --> 00:56:33.360 I thought you... And that is what the word of 00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:35.980 God does. When you see it, it means that when 00:56:35.980 --> 00:56:38.579 he says everything, it means include that as 00:56:38.579 --> 00:56:41.519 well. Praise God. Include that as well and you 00:56:41.519 --> 00:56:44.599 will see what happens. You'll see the joy. You'll 00:56:44.599 --> 00:56:47.400 see the peace. All of those things will be evident 00:56:47.400 --> 00:56:49.239 in your walk. All those things will be evident 00:56:49.239 --> 00:56:51.679 in the way you move around and you will know. 00:56:52.159 --> 00:56:55.599 you will know that it has been there all along. 00:56:56.500 --> 00:57:00.380 It has been in your nature to manifest it. But 00:57:00.380 --> 00:57:02.639 you are just holding yourself back or thinking 00:57:02.639 --> 00:57:05.800 that it's not possible or waiting to feel it. 00:57:07.559 --> 00:57:09.920 If you're waiting to feel certain things, you 00:57:09.920 --> 00:57:12.559 will never do it. You're waiting to feel like, 00:57:12.639 --> 00:57:16.019 I can pray for this person. It will not happen. 00:57:16.659 --> 00:57:18.780 Because the kingdom of the world to manifest, 00:57:20.179 --> 00:57:25.340 is in the instruction of the one who is in charge, 00:57:25.559 --> 00:57:27.480 the one who has brought us into the kingdom. 00:57:27.619 --> 00:57:30.400 If Jesus Christ went about doing good, healing 00:57:30.400 --> 00:57:33.239 the sick, raising the dead, all of those things 00:57:33.239 --> 00:57:35.099 that he has done is the example we should live 00:57:35.099 --> 00:57:38.000 by. He was moved with compassion. He prayed for 00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:41.079 the sick and they were healed. He saw the blind. 00:57:41.179 --> 00:57:43.440 He opened their eyes and they could see. The 00:57:43.440 --> 00:57:45.780 lame, he would look at, he's moved with compassion 00:57:45.780 --> 00:57:48.320 and say, you have been here for this. regardless 00:57:48.320 --> 00:57:50.239 of the laws they have set in place and say, oh, 00:57:50.300 --> 00:57:52.159 you should not come and receive healing. There 00:57:52.159 --> 00:57:53.739 are many days in a week you can come and receive 00:57:53.739 --> 00:57:56.059 healing. The woman was bent over for 30. He said, 00:57:56.179 --> 00:58:01.280 set the woman free. All of this is only what 00:58:01.280 --> 00:58:05.099 an abounding, a life that is abounding in the 00:58:05.099 --> 00:58:07.360 love of God is able to see or is able to manifest, 00:58:07.480 --> 00:58:10.059 is able to experience. Praise God. I'm charging 00:58:10.059 --> 00:58:19.019 you this afternoon now that you have to. desire 00:58:19.019 --> 00:58:25.679 to see above the normal limits. In fact, your 00:58:25.679 --> 00:58:30.139 mark is not the world standard. You want to understand 00:58:30.139 --> 00:58:34.880 that. But the mark is what we see Christ do in 00:58:34.880 --> 00:58:37.400 Scripture. That is the person we are to imitate. 00:58:38.059 --> 00:58:40.519 That is the person we are to imitate. We'll discuss 00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:43.000 this. We'll finalize this on Wednesday. I want 00:58:43.000 --> 00:58:46.019 you to just open your mouth and thank God because 00:58:50.380 --> 00:58:55.079 The DNA we have is that of our Father, and the 00:58:55.079 --> 00:58:58.920 actions we take is that of our Father. Our thoughts 00:58:58.920 --> 00:59:02.639 align to it by the Word of God. We're able to 00:59:02.639 --> 00:59:08.039 see ourselves do miracles, signs and wonders. 00:59:09.139 --> 00:59:11.420 We're able to pray for situations. In fact, first 00:59:11.420 --> 00:59:14.460 and foremost, we're able to let go of circumstances 00:59:14.460 --> 00:59:17.500 and situations that have held us bound. I see 00:59:17.500 --> 00:59:21.619 people being set free. from things that have 00:59:21.619 --> 00:59:25.500 held them down for so long that the word of God 00:59:25.500 --> 00:59:28.019 now brings your attention to it and you see a 00:59:28.019 --> 00:59:33.239 release. We appreciate you being here today. 00:59:33.559 --> 00:59:36.019 We hope you carry this word with you throughout 00:59:36.019 --> 00:59:38.920 your week. Don't forget to check the show notes 00:59:38.920 --> 00:59:41.659 for additional insights. Stay connected with 00:59:41.659 --> 00:59:44.360 us through our website or follow us on social 00:59:44.360 --> 00:59:48.039 media. If you are encouraged, share this message 00:59:48.039 --> 00:59:51.050 with someone you care about. Until next time, 00:59:51.090 --> 00:59:52.030 stay blessed.