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 our rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. I want us to be expectant. I really
want us to pay attention. We're going to continue
with our teaching. We're going to be continuing
our teaching. This will be the taught part of
it. Standing fast in the faith. Standing fast
in the faith. And I sense the relevance of this
at this point in time because a lot of things
have happened. A lot of things are happening.
And every believer has to know what they are
holding on to, or who they are holding on to.
And not just know who they are holding on to,
but why. And hold fast. And hold fast to God.
Praise God. In the previous teaching, I think
we started the teaching on paying attention,
right? Paying attention. And you don't just pay
attention, you pay faithful attention to every
word or every teaching. And just to remind those
of us, or if this is your first time in church,
or if this is your first time joining us, the
team of this year's Greater Works, and if we
are going to work in greater, we have to pay
attention. We have to pay not just passive attention,
but close and active attention to God's Word.
As we continued in the teaching, I think I took
us to the text in John 14 verse 12. I think in
the second part of the teaching, I walked us
through the uniqueness of John's Gospel. phrase
most assuredly was used several times and in
those several times there was a communication
that has been made and it highlights and focused
on learning, like wanting to understand what
the meaning is. And we established that trust
in God always leads us to action. It always leads
us to action. It always leads us to action. And
I just want us to go to our text in I want to
remind us as believers that our faith is not
a blind faith. Our faith in God is not a blind
faith. There's a basis for our faith in God.
You have people that can't or just believe blindly.
They feel that your belief in God has no basis.
There's no basis for your belief in God. And
in case you don't know what blind faith is, blind
faith is believing in something without any reason
or evidence. You are believing in something without
any reason or evidence. You don't know why you
believe what you believe in. It's almost like
a passive ignorance. You know, but you don't
know. Kind of situation. And the cure for that
is knowledge. The cure for blind ignorance is
knowledge. And I will go back to that aspect
of what's paying attention. Because if you don't
pay attention, you will still be ignorant. Praise
God. It was tough that you are in the circle
of, you are in a place where they are teaching
you and you're supposed to be learning, but you're
still ignorant. I think it's better you're not
even here than you are here. And this is me calling
attention to the fact that you can be here and
you're not taking notes. You're just watching.
It means that you really don't understand or
you do not know why you're here or you just showed
up as a routine. Praise God. I want us to understand
that our faith in God, you don't want to come
into that space where you are going through the
motions and you don't even know why. And if you
go out there and evangelize regularly, you will
notice that you will meet with a believer and
the believer cannot articulate their belief in
God, why they believe in God. And you'll be wondering
to yourself, do these persons actually know why
they do so? And it's sad enough that you are
in a space where this is being brought to you
over and over again and you still can't articulate
it. It means that you are guilty of not paying
attention, praise God. Because every time we
come here, we bring us to that place where we
understand. And some people get this idea of
faith in God being blind from certain aspects
of the Word of God or certain areas of the Word
of God, which is you misinterpreting or mis -
misrepresenting the text in a sense. Because
when you look at Hebrews, I think what we read
as a church, we had gone through the book of
Hebrews. And in Hebrews 11, it looks like it's
not sin, right? The idea of not sin, it not being
sin. So people can take this notion that you're
anchoring your faith to something that you can't
see or someone you can't see or you have not
seen. How is that valid? Or in fact, we don't
see it. doesn't write it off. Your mobile phones
are the tools, the physical tools that help you
collect the signals of whether you're using a
took cell or a Telosim. You don't see the network.
You only can tell that the network is available
because you have the hardware that is able to
interact with the network that is flying around.
The same thing goes for the air we breathe. We
don't necessarily have seen or understand or
even say hi to it, but we know that it's there
and it's responsible for our living. Praise God!
So, the fact that you don't see it doesn't mean
it's not there. Praise God! And I want you to
be encouraged that your faith is anchored on
something solid. Your faith is anchored on someone
solid. Praise God! And even if you cannot explain
it, you know, I just explained something that
some people have not even paid attention to.
You just probably realize it now. That is your
phone that helps you tell whether there's a network
or not. You don't see the network to know that
the network is available. The same way, if you
cannot explain your faith, it doesn't mean that
it can't be explained. Praise God. The fuck because
you cannot explain your faith doesn't mean that
your faith cannot be explained. What it only
means is that you need to learn, right? It only
just brings your attention to the need for learning,
the need for knowledge, the need for understanding.
And when you are learning, you are learning with
the end goal of understanding. We don't learn
with the end goal, with the plan of being ignorant.
We learn with the end goal that we can be able
to understand. And how we know you understand
is in your ability to explain. Praise God! The
way we know that you understand something is
when we ask you, you are able to explain what
you understand. And as I said, what we have in
God, we are not scared to be scrutinized. Praise
God! When you are not sure, you are scared of
scrutiny. Many people, when they ask you, you
are scared because you don't know. Anybody that
understands or knows why they believe what they
believe, they are not scared. In fact, the Bible
has been scrutinized more than any book in the
world. And it is not still afraid of scrutiny
because it's solid. Right? The other people that
don't like... Because once you... You don't even
need to go too far. In the first chapter, you
have already diagnosed the problem. But the Bible
has gone through so much scrutiny... to get to
arrive at this point where we can see for a fact
that we know what we believe and we run with
it. Praise God! And Scripture tells us that faith
comes by in Romans 10 verse 17, that faith comes
by hearing. And the NLT will say that is hearing
the good news about Christ. That means our faith
is anchored on what we hear and what we hear
about the One who our faith is anchored on. Praise
God! And it tells us that there's evidence to
what our faith is, even though we cannot see,
even though you have not met Jesus in person,
or you know that you have met Him. Praise God!
You have had an encounter with Him. And if you
want to further argue the fact that, oh, this
faith I think is still blind. And I'm saying
this to help someone because I sense that there
are people that are struggling with their faith.
They have been brought into it. because they
had no choice and they are just here because
they still have no choice. They have to report
to the person that brought them here, in a sense.
But I want you to know that you have to come
to a place where you understand and know why
and you can be able to explain it. Remember,
last time we were teaching, I told you that the
reason why Apostle Paul could defend his faith
is because he knew the encounter he had with
God was undeniable. And you could see it anywhere,
even if they call them crazy. There's also crazy
faith. Crazy faith, you cannot see it, but you
know it is there. And they will call you crazy.
Abramos will be classified in that, because you
are going somewhere you don't know. There are
many instances where you believe... is something
solid. There's an evidence for what you believe
in and in spite of the circumstance and the situation,
you still will go on believing. Praise God. You
still will go on believing and that is where
as what knowing, that's what understanding helps
us to do. That it might not seem like it, but
you are willing to hold on because the one who
holds you will never let you go. Praise God.
The one who is holding you will never let you
go. And you'd be wondering to yourself that,
oh, Look at Jesus and His disciples. How many
of you, when you read your Bible, there's a lot
of explaining that was happening. In fact, the
Bible doesn't give us all the explanation. But
there was a lot of explaining that He had done
and the Jews are not that easy to come to. Luke
24 verse 27, it says, and beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, He expanded. He, Jesus
Christ, expanded to them as those coming with
Him from the mouth, to them in all the scriptures,
the things concerning Himself, that is, Himself,
Christ. 45. It goes to 45. 45. 45 says, "...and
He opened their understanding..." This is when
Jesus Christ had gone to... He was with the disciples
now. But all the disciples say, they open their
understanding that they might comprehend the
scripture. You can't be explaining when you don't
have evidence. I don't know about you, but there's
no explaining when there's no evidence, right?
Even if some people now can't explain without
evidence, but you have to. And the length of
explanation will tell that you have a lot more
evidence than, right? Because it's just a matter
of time. You will see holes in your explanation,
right? Because the longer the person talks, the
more lies you pick if the person is lying, if
the evidence is false. I want us to go to Acts
17. Well, St. Jesus will see. What's the Paul?
Acts 17 verse 2 to 4. Yeah, 2. Then Paul, as
his custom was, went into them and for three
sabbaths reasoned. with them from the scriptures
three explaining and demonstrating that christ
had to suffer and rise again from the dead and
saying this jesus whom i preach to you is the
christ for the last verse and some of them were
persuaded and a great multitude of devout greeks
and a few of the leading women joined Paul and
Silas. I want you to give me an NLT. Give me
an NLT. NLT makes it clear enough for us. Yeah.
So, as I told you, Ella, some of the Jews who
listened were persuaded. Remember, I told you
that the Jews are not easy to convince. So, some
of them were the ones that were... And they noticed
that they listened, right? They had to have listened
to have been persuaded. Because if the person
you're talking to is not listening to you, You're
not having a conversation or you're not communicating.
They joined Paul and Silas along with the many
God -fearing Greek men and a few of their prominent
women. So, we see that a lot of the Jews, a lot
of the Greeks believed and they came, they believed
and they happened to. The teaching hall was being
communicated, but you see that the Jews... What
it means is that you have to have evidence to
be able to convince. You have to know what you're
talking about to be able to convince. You have
to keep at it. You have to keep communicating
and keep talking and keep encouraging and keep
showing them from scriptures. Keep communicating.
It doesn't stop. You keep at it because the Word
of God, you're sowing seeds of that Word and
it's able to yield that increase. And I said
to ourselves, and I repeat myself again, there's
a basis for our faith in God. There's a basis
for our faith in God. There's a basis for our
faith in God. I want us to look at John 20 -31.
John 20 -31. John 20 -31. Not the NLT, the New
King James. Thank you. It says, but this were
written that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you
may have life in His name. and that believing
you may have life in His name. Notice that in
the earlier verses, you will notice that Thomas
said that he will not believe until he sees.
When he saw, Jesus Christ asked him to put his
hands up, and because he saw, he believed. Then
Jesus Christ says, Blessed are you who believe
without seeing. And I want us to go to Matthew.
I want us to see more, you know, when you don't
have, if the evidence is real, right, when you
have a false, when you see falsification of an
evidence, let me read it the way I wrote it.
It says, if there's some, if there is, if there
wasn't any evidence, there wouldn't be any falsification
of the evidence. So if you, if the evidence,
if there wasn't a, If there wasn't truth, there
wouldn't be a lie, right? About something. If
there wasn't truth about something, there wouldn't
be a lie. I want us to see something. I want
us to examine, take our time and examine this.
In Matthew 28, 11 to 15. Matthew 28, 11 to 15.
Matthew 28, 11 to 15. Yes, let's use the NLT.
Let's use the NLT. Matthew 28, 11 to 15. See,
as the women, we are... Jesus Christ has resurrected.
Some of the men went into the city and told the
leading priest what had happened. Please pay
close attention. A meeting with the elders was
called and they decided to give the soldiers
a large bribe. They told the soldiers, you must
say, Jesus' disciples came during the night while
the soldiers were sleeping. stole his body. If
the governor hears about this, we will stand
for you so you won't get in trouble. So the guards
accepted the bribe and said what they were told
to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews
and they still tell it today. Notice something.
The first point we want to look at is the fact
that what is the need for the elders and the
leading priest? There's something that has to
be needed for them because there has to be something
that will result or amount in a covenant. And
then the first question I want us to ask ourselves
is, because you want to use what we have to make
a case, right? And the question is, If the soldiers,
because they were told to, if the soldiers were
asleep, how would they have known who stole the
body? Right? Because the thing is that they were
told to say, and I will take us to what actually
happened, but they were told to say that they
were asleep. Because if you have, and by the
way, these are Roman soldiers that if you have
seen movies of they are armed, they are armed.
So you are dealing with a bunch of armed soldiers
as against a bunch of fishermen, people that
are untrained against trained. Then if you add
education to it, anyhow. But you have some bunch
of untrained people against trained. And I don't
know which one for me is embarrassing. It's the
fact that you are a soldier sleeping on duty.
And I don't know which one is more embarrassing
to admit. When I was thinking about you, there
was a situation that happened when I was meant
to talk to security and I felt it was evening,
so the man was tired. The man was sleeping, but
I don't know how to wake him without making him
know that he was sleeping. So, I had to make
sounds because it's embarrassing because you
are not meant to be sleeping at your post. And
you knowing that the person that is coming to
check on you finds there's a bit of embarrassment
about it. So, you can imagine the amount of embarrassment
the soldiers were willing to take, right? To
not say the truth. And if you think about it,
they were incentivized because I'm giving you
money to lie and then I'm going to protect you
again to lie. So, I can only imagine the interview.
If it's in this day and age, I'm guessing maybe
one of the soldiers will do a YouTube video communicating
the actual thing that happened because he has
collected the money. He probably will be arrested
afterwards. But that's the thought that comes
to mind. I'm saying this for us to know the extent
to which people will lie to cover up the truth.
It means that if you are not critical... Notice
that we just looked at the fact that they said
that they were sleeping and then the disciples
came and stole this body. So, if you are fast
asleep, I don't know about you, except if you
are sleeping, because the story would make sense
if you were sleeping and they made some noise
and then you woke up and you saw them. But you
said you were sleeping, meaning that... you are
sleeping and then because if you woke up from
sleep you should be able to fight them and then
preserve but because I don't know how that would
even make sense but you want to just put that
in mind and the fact that they were going to
get into trouble and we understand that it is
a very serious thing for them to have mount guard
at that place and in fact it was the same elders
that insisted that they mount guard because in
fact they believed And they knew, even the disciples
were not, but they believed that this man, he
has said he will rise up on the third day. So,
they had instructed for that to be done. And
then, sleeping on duty was very serious because
if it wasn't in the verse 14, they wouldn't have
said, okay, we will protect you. When the governor,
because in the verse 14 it says, if the governor
hears about it, we will stand up for you. so
you wouldn't get in trouble. Because they had
given them the bribe and they were going to also
get protection when this happened. In the same
Bible, I want us to go to Acts 16 -27, just to
clarify that what they would have faced, if they
were not protected, would be death. So, this
is the jailer. The background story to this was
Paul. and Silas having praying, rejoicing in
prison and then all of that happened. The jailer
woke up to see the prison doors wide open. You
can imagine you are in charge of the prison and
then you know that the prisoners, it's not like
they're having fun in prison. If prison opens,
you run. But he said he assumed. that the prisoner
works to see because his life was preserved and
then he and his household, as we'll see in 34,
that's clever, I want us to go to 34, his household
and himself was now saved to 34, it says he brought
them to his house and set a meal before them
and he and his entire household rejoiced because
they all believed. I want us to see 31. 31 just
go to 31 Because they replied because the jailer
asked that what can he do to be saved they say
they replied believe in the Lord Jesus and You
will be saved along with everyone in your household.
Praise God That was what they are told him and
he responded took him to took them home and they
were saved So you you would have thought that
the prison situation will be end ugly But the
prison situation was also an opportunity for
the gospel to be preached, for the jailer and
his household to be saved. So, you want to always
think of difficult situations, challenging situations,
and this is me still going back to the theme
of standing fast in the faith. Know that no matter
what elements or whatever challenges will be
thrown at you, your consciousness should be in
the one or you should be conscious of the one
who holds you. and stand fast in it. Paul and
Silas were rejoicing in that prison. They didn't
look like they were led in prayers. Prison is
not where you would be rejoicing in. Every normal
person, because we walk by faith, not by sight,
rejoices in spite of. Corinthians would say that
there's a reason why we don't give up. There's
a reason why we never give up. So, going back
to... Matthew, I want us to go to Matthew in
NLT. Matthew 28, 2 -4. Matthew 28, 2 -4. I read,
Suddenly there was an earthquake. There was an
earthquake. There was a great earthquake. For
an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled
aside the stone and sat on it, his face shone
like lightning, and his cloth was as white as
snow. The gods shook with fear when they saw
him, and they fell into a dead feint." The NLTC
says they fell into a dead feint. Go back to
4. That's what we're saying. And they fell into
a dead feint, and the other translation was that
they were dead men. They were dead men, and you
can imagine. because they saw what they never
expected in all of the times of them standing
guard. You can now imagine which of the stories
would be better to tell. Which of them would
be better to tell it to me, because I don't know
how about explaining that kind of a situation.
Now they had explained it to the elders and the
Pharisees, and the Pharisees and the elders said,
look, this one will not go down well for us.
Just take money and we'll protect you. explain
this one because it's easier to say, you don't
have to explain all of these things and then
the person will not be arguing with you. So,
where did the angel come from? How do you start
explaining all of that? But the good thing about
it is that they were not the only ones that were
there. So, the fact that the chief priests and
the elders were willing to pay a large bribe
and protect the soldiers suggests a desire to
cover up the truth at all costs. There's a desire
to cover up the truth at all costs and I'm challenging
you. We have the Word of God. You add a desire
to know what is in it or you close it and invariably
not know what is in the Word and deny yourself
and walk in the ignorance we talked about. You
have faith but it's blind. You don't even know
what you believe in. Praise God! You want to
challenge yourself. It's not the easiest because
it takes work. to go and research, find, know
what exactly it is that your faith is all about.
Praise God. It's because you can't cover up the
truth for long, right? And I want you to think
with me the horror of the chief priests and the
Pharisees and the elders, when the disciples
now are healing people in the name of the same
person that they tried. The same person that
they tried to say that they were covering it
was a color of story for. Because if they say
they stole the body, how do you explain the fact
that some people had met with the person that
the body was stolen? Because the person was not...
You know, when they say they stole the body,
they mean that they stole the lifeless body,
right? Because when they say stealing the body,
stealing is the lifeless body. But now you have
people that have seen the person alive. You know
you cannot argue with that. You know you can't
argue with that testimony. And that's why, as
a believer, you want to know the truth. You want
to know the truth so well that when somebody
tells you it's like your name, that it gives
you a different name, you know you will be...
In fact, you will not stress yourself because
you know what your name is. And you want to have
faith in God like you know your name, right?
You want to have that solid faith in God like
you know your name. that when somebody tells
you that this is who you are, you tell them,
no, this is who I am. Praise God! And in this
case, you'd be saying, I am the child of God,
right? I know who my father is. I have the spirit
of God. I'm not unsure of whether I do or I don't.
In fact, God's Word confirms to me again and
again and again who I am in Him. Praise God!
That was it for the disciples. That was it for
the disciples. I want us to look at the case
of Peter and John. I want us to look at the case
of Peter and John in Acts 4, 16 to 17. Acts 4,
16 to 17. I'll read it to us. It says... No,
KJV. Just go to KJV. It says, saying, what shall
we do to these men? This was after they had healed
the lame man. What shall we do to this man? For
indeed, what a notable miracle has been done
through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem
and we cannot deny it. I want you to say it,
you can't deny the truth. Say it like you mean
you can't deny the truth. 17 now says, but so
that it spreads no further among the people,
let us severely threaten them that from now on
they speak to no man in his name. They speak
to no man in his name. What do you think Peter
and John's response will be to them? What do
you think Peter and John's response would be
to them? Let's look at their response in 19 and
20. He says, but Peter, give me the NLT. I like
to wait. What's it? He said, but Peter and John
replied, do you think God wants us to obey you
rather than him? You know, that's a very good
question to ask. You know, when you put somebody,
you know, that's what somebody would do to you.
Say, I'm serving my God. You cannot tell me what
my God has said and what you are saying. So,
we cannot stop telling about everything we have
seen and heard. Praise God! They have seen and
they have heard. The evidence they have is overwhelming
in comparison to the lies you are trying to or
the instruction that you are giving. Praise God!
And this is where you want to move to a place
where you have overwhelming evidence about the
God that you serve. An overwhelming evidence
about the God that you serve that when somebody
tells you contrary to it, you are able to stand,
right? You are able to stand. You are not going
to car. And these men are able to say that because
they had been with Jesus. They, doing otherwise,
were almost on... It would be that they are denying
what they have seen and what they have heard.
And for some of us, even the ones we have seen
and heard, we still deny it at every given opportunity
because we don't want to. We just deny it at
every given opportunity. I want us to look at
4 verse 13. That's the same Acts 4 verse 13.
It says, Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John and perceived that they were uneducated
and untrained, uneducated and untrained men,
they marveled and they realized that they had
been with Jesus. Praise God! They had been with
Jesus. So, there is an education and a training.
that you get being with Jesus. There is an education
and a training that you get being with Jesus.
And when they say being with Jesus, it's not
just that they were in a community, right? They
were not... You know, somebody would say, I'm
in my house with Jesus. A ministry is a bedside
ministry. In my house with Jesus. Wake up every
morning and say, I'm with Jesus. But we know
that they are with Jesus because of the way they
lived, right? The way they were able to defend,
the way they were able to... The things that
they did showed us that these people were...
because they could see. In Marvel, you see, these
people didn't have... they don't have the education.
They are not scholars, but because of the time
they had spent with Him. So, if by what they
believed in, they would have just said, OK, fine.
This is the first and last time. It's okay. We
will not do it again. Is that what you want us
to do? Because if we don't do it, you're going
to lock us up because they threaten them. You
know, when they actually say that they are not
going to do what they have seen and heard, they
threaten them again. So, it means that the threat
will not stop until the person feels that you
succumb to their instructions, right? Because
just imagine, the soldiers had no choice. The
soldiers could not do anything and it was more
lucrative for them. I'm wondering, even if they
gave them bride, they would not still call it,
right? Because they know what they believed.
And I want you to pay attention to what they
did afterwards because sometimes we undermine
the value of the church community. Because after
that incident, what they did was that they went
back to the believers and told them of what had
happened. And what had happened afterwards is
that they prayed and they were strengthened and
they went on preaching. We see it in 23. They
went back and told the brethren about it, told
the believers about it in 23. They went and said
their own companions and then in 31, they prayed
and then in 31, we see that they prayed and the
place was shaking and they were filled with host
and they went and spoke the word of God with
boldness. Praise God! They went and they spoke
the Word of God with boldness. I want you to
know that standing fast in faith is not automatic,
right? It's not something that happens automatically
when you just come in. It just happens. It happens
as a result of you... as a result of you actively
paying attention to what is being taught and
learning the Word of God. It comes from all of
that. The Word of God is... is food for our faith.
The Word of God is what builds us up. The Word
of God is what ensures that we are confident
in what we believe in. Praise God! That's what
the Word of God does to us. And I want you to
know that because your faith is anchored on His
Word, you will see results that will blow your
mind, right? You will see results of... I think
I was having a conversation with someone and
I was like, okay, that was probably on Friday
when we were evangelizing. We asked the person,
okay, why do you believe what you believe in?
And the person was saying, Omar, you will know
that there's no basis for the believer and they
can only have... It was just going there. And
then... I asked a couple of questions. Well,
that aside, I will say that I have seen things
that I know that it can only be good, right?
It can only be good. I think we talked about
it. I think it was last summer. I think I shared
it with Pastor Fred as well. It was last summer.
I think the first time Pastor Fred was the one
that pointed to the lady and told me, Do you
know this lady? I said, I see her around in church,
but I don't know her. Some weeks later, I had
woken up, I had a dream and in the dream, I was
praying for the lady. She was crying and then
I prayed for her. And then I woke up, I told
my wife, I was like, this lady I saw. And then
that week that happened, she was used as a flyer
for the church, like a church flyer, that same
week. And then I was like, this is interesting.
And then the lady did not show to church from
last summer. until like two Sundays ago. The
moment she walked into church, I was like, I
think I told Sister Easy to go and call the lady
for me. So, when the lady came to me, we started
talking. She was... When I told her... I told
her, I was like, the situation... I can't...
We can't have that conversation here. So, but
we talked over the phone because we couldn't
meet. We talked over the phone. And over the
phone, she opened up and said, that was... That
particular period was the... was the darkest
period of her life and not Cyprus. Meaning that
she was probably praying for a solution to her
problem and then she had other people praying
because I was like, why did you disappear? Because
I was looking. In fact, I told my wife that I
should probably send the person... I think I
said, bro, Gabriel would know this person, but
I forgot to ask him about it. Unfortunately,
when I... was speaking with her. She said they
live in the same building. My brain was like,
how can you make this up? You cannot make it
up. And we spent time, I think we spent close
to an hour plus on the phone. We talked and she
cried, laughed. There was all manner of emotions
on the phone and I knew. I thought she had left,
so she had mentioned that she was traveling on
the Tuesday of that. So, we took time and prayed,
and it was really a blessing. That aside, that
had happened the previous Sunday. He started
talking, and he was in tears. He was in tears,
and the next words he says afterwards, I couldn't...
But I've heard that before because... I've heard
it before. I think there was an instance where
a lady walked into my office. I just picked up
that she was suicidal. When I told her, she was
in shock. And the next words that she will say
is similar to what the boy said. That's why I'm
connecting the two stories together. Because
the lady now tells me that she had planned that
that particular summer she was going to go home,
lock herself and kill herself in the house. Because
she knew that dying... Because when she was talking
about it, I said... I know how expensive it is
for your dead body to be sent back to you because
it's very expensive. It's $12 ,000 or $8 ,000.
It depends on the country you're from because
they have to move. When you're talking to some
people, you have to reason so that they will
reason with you. It's bad enough that you're
killing yourself. You're not giving your family
a death in the process. And most of the times,
when people that feel that way go back home,
they recover. They are huge. But you can be huge.
You don't have to go back home because it's expensive.
Because you go back and then you come back. You
can go back and never come back. So, she had
said all of that and then I said, no problem.
She came, I gave my wife, I followed up with
her and by first of all, because she has graduated,
I think the last time I checked, she has graduated,
she's back. She came here a couple of times and
then she had left. And this particular young
man too, said the same thing. He said, in fact,
he said there's a seed he saw on Amazon. He's
planning to order it. when it takes it to...
What blows my mind is how people talk about death
like they give themselves life. You know, if
you're the one that gives yourself life, you
know, it's almost like you can do and undo. But
once you've done it, you can't undo it. And some
people in the face of death, their life flashes
before their eyes and they regret it. But it's
late because you're not the one moving yourself
to... Scripture tells us that the enemy comes
to steal, kill, and destroy. It's the enemy that
souls seize. Because what God does in the life
of a believer, for suppose, is to see, to live.
There's a game because the work of God will go
forward, right? In fact, that should stop you
from wanting to... because there's work that
needs to be done. Praise God! So, we had a conversation
with him. We talked. I said, let me pray for
you, but I was praying already on the program.
I was praying in the Spirit, but I said, no,
he doesn't want to be prayed for. I said, no
problem. If you don't want to be prayed for,
I will pray for you. I had to send him a text.
I said, you see, you will hate death. As much
as you love death and you want to take your life,
you will hate it and the other things that are
tied to it. And I think last Sunday he came to
church, at least he didn't kill himself. He came
to church on Sunday and we were praying. And
then I think the following, I think that was
this week that just passed, I saw him on the
road. We talked and then he told me about, okay,
the situations are better now. He was very excited
and he says it's going to be more. And that is,
there are certain things and this is interaction
with people and certain things that you have
experienced that will make you know that God
is real. I said all of that not to... I want
you to know that in this season, the greater
works will not just be the team of the church.
The greater work will be something you can say
for yourself in your life. That God is doing
greater in and through you. Because God is able.
We are the ones that put a limit to how God can
minister through us to meet the needs of others.
We are the ones that say, this is the only way
God can do it. Because sometimes that's why it's
almost like... But it can happen in any... You
can be in your classroom and you get the word.
You know, when I said what I said to the lady,
my brain had to... You know, that was when logic
came in, but I've said it already. I can't return.
So, her response now gave me the confidence that,
OK, you're on point, because how else can you
tell? Because the lady was like, I didn't post
it anywhere. I didn't write it. And you can't
tell a person, you cannot tell, I don't think
you can tell. You can probably deduce with some
clues, but you can't tell a person that has that
plans. Because if she had not opened her mouth
and said this was the plan, the way she had it,
you know, like somebody is telling about a business
plan. That is basically how it sounded to me.
But this one was going to end the person's life.
And I don't know if you're here and you're contemplating
taking your own life or you have had thoughts
of that. I want you to know that the thoughts
that you have had of that nature is not from
God. First and foremost, it's not from God. It's
not from God. It's not from God. And John 17
.3 says that this is eternal life, that you may
know that they may know you, the only true God,
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. This is Jesus
speaking. And they might know the only true life
news. And we know that basically this is what
brings a believer into this world. You know that
this is it and you know Him. You can't have it
any other way. You have it in God. It's either
you know you have it or you are just going through
the motions. And you have to come to a place
where you know that regardless of the difficulty
you're going through, you know, If the young
man had taken his life, he would not have shared
the testimony later on. It would have been the
end of him. Praise God! I want us to know that
what God calls us to is to continue to learn,
to continue to grow, to continue to learn, to
continue to grow. The part that I struggle with
or which blows my mind is when you see students
that have a problem with studying, right? Because
it's there in the name, student. If you just
move the ENT and put a Y, it's literally the
same. And the worst of it is they are shocked
when they fail. Like you didn't study and then
you are surprised that you failed. That's the
part I like, you're like, you're like, oh. Like
I said, how were you expecting the miracle to
happen. And then the other part, the other group
of people are engineers that hate maths. They
are engineers, they are studying engineering,
but they say that they hate maths and they are
bragging. It's bad that you shouldn't even say
that you hate maths and you're doing engineering
and you are now bragging about it. I think a
student told me that they hate maths, they hate
numbers. In fact, they go specific. They say
they hate numbers and I see Do you know your
phone number? She said, that's different. I said,
you have a problem. If you hate numbers, you
should not know any number in your life. Somebody
said, I showed them a picture of Abraham Lincoln.
I said, do you know him? They said, we don't
know his story. I said, but do you know Ataturk?
They said, that's different. So, I said all that
to say this because sometimes the logic... I
can't understand. I had to even take it a step
further. It's like someone says, I love to swim
and I hate water. The question is, what do you
intend to swim in? I start thinking of things.
Maybe it's money, but money is not readily available.
And then I say, maybe it has to be air, because
that's the only thing, because if you can't swim,
you'll fly. That's the thing, air. And the same
thing goes for a believer that doesn't want to
learn the Word of God, doesn't want to learn
because it's the same thing that applies here.
Because you're a believer, you believe, right?
Because you're a Christian, you have a relationship
with the One that has saved you and then you
grow in that relationship. And I want this to
challenge you to want to know God better than
you did yesterday. to want to know God better
than you did last year. Because if we're going
to see God do the supernatural and mighty things
He's already doing, because it's you that needs
to participate in it, He's already doing it and
through us, He will be limited by the amount
of what you know of Him. Because it's what you
know that you can work with. Because if you know
Him to do... One that if you know him to save
if you know you want to see that happen through
you and in fact You're gonna be posturing yourself
to see that happening to you. Praise God So I
want us to just open our mouths and just thank
God for his word We appreciate you being here
today, we hope you carry this war with you throughout
your week Don't forget to check the show notes
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blessed.