WEBVTT 00:00:01.220 --> 00:00:06.900 Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:09.900 designed to uplift and strengthen you in your 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:14.140 walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:18.140 the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:30.440 right in. You know, yesterday in the training 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:32.219 center, I think someone asked a question in my 00:00:32.219 --> 00:00:36.420 group. It was asking, I can't remember who asked 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:39.100 the question yesterday, but I remember the question 00:00:39.100 --> 00:00:43.259 throughout. Can't bring it in my mind, but how 00:00:43.259 --> 00:00:48.840 often should we teach a particular truth? You 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:54.320 know, how often should we teach the idea of salvation 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.679 by grace? And I said, we teach it every day, 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.520 right? We preach what God has done. We preach 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:06.060 salvation by grace through faith every day because 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:13.040 we have the tendency to forget every day. Hallelujah! 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:17.060 We have the tendency to forget that we are saved 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:20.560 by grace through faith. So every day we need 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.459 to be reminded of this truth. In fact, that is 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:28.209 a summary of the Christian life that God God 00:01:28.209 --> 00:01:32.689 alone saved us. Hallelujah. God alone did what? 00:01:32.969 --> 00:01:37.930 He saved us. Okay? God alone saved us. And it's 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:40.030 not by our works. Our sister was leading us to 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:42.870 pray, and we see in Romans that it is God Himself 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:46.709 that has saved us and given us the anointing 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:50.269 of the Spirit. And it's not anything of our own. 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:55.930 Alright? John chapter 14 verse 12. Even as we've 00:01:55.930 --> 00:02:00.459 been examining, We've been examining the faith 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:06.780 for greater works. John chapter 14 verse 12 to 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.800 verse 14, which is a theme for the year. Where 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:11.479 we get the theme for the year, the text for the 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:15.680 year. Moses shortly I say to you, he who believes 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:21.080 in me, the works that I do, he will do also. 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:26.580 And greater works than this, he will do. because 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:30.879 I go to my father and whatever you ask in my 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:35.840 name whatever you ask in my name I will do that 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.879 the father may be glorified in the son verse 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:45.960 14 if you ask anything in my name I will do hallelujah 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:50.460 so then in verse 12 we see the importance of 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:53.759 faith okay in verse 12 we will discuss this for 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:57.379 several weeks the importance of faith for greater 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:01.620 works and we have seen many times that faith 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:06.460 this faith originates from God the faith comes 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:09.699 from God the faith that will enable us number 00:03:09.699 --> 00:03:13.099 one to be born again and also to do the works 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:17.159 of God to do that which God has recreated us 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:20.680 in himself through Christ will do is by faith 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:23.509 and this faith we've established several times. 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:25.729 In fact, I've been very intentional every time 00:03:25.729 --> 00:03:28.629 I stand here to speak, to be very deliberate, 00:03:28.669 --> 00:03:31.969 to emphasize. The emphasis has always been to 00:03:31.969 --> 00:03:35.330 point us to where this faith comes from. And 00:03:35.330 --> 00:03:39.009 if we can, you know, memorize this and keep repeating 00:03:39.009 --> 00:03:42.810 it every day, it becomes a reality in our hearts. 00:03:43.150 --> 00:03:46.370 And I think it will shape the way we live our 00:03:46.370 --> 00:03:51.050 Christian life. So the faith is a result of, 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:54.759 you know, Jesus going to the father we see this 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:57.460 he says because I go to my father Jesus had to 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.259 go to the father and we see this on we saw this 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:05.800 on Sunday We saw that this is a centrality of 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:09.199 the Eastern message that Jesus Had to go to the 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:11.020 father Jesus had to go to the father. I'm going 00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:14.659 to the father reflects all speaks of his death 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:17.899 Right while he was on art was telling his disciples 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:20.660 that I must go to the father and going to the 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:25.470 father speaks of His death speaks of His barrier. 00:04:26.110 --> 00:04:29.110 It speaks of His resurrection. Going to the Father 00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:33.750 speaks of His ascension. He's indwelling by the 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:37.610 Spirit in the hearts of men. Hallelujah. So, 00:04:38.310 --> 00:04:41.970 and then not only that, but its corresponding 00:04:41.970 --> 00:04:47.269 benefit to the Church. How do the Church benefit 00:04:47.269 --> 00:04:50.529 from the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus 00:04:50.529 --> 00:04:53.959 Christ? justification and the gift of the Spirit 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:57.240 and all that we see in our lives. So verse 13 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:02.560 and 14 introduces a concept of prayer. Hallelujah. 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.579 Look at verse 13. He says, and whatever you ask 00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:09.319 in my name, okay? So this speaks, first of all, 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.060 we said, we established several times that Jesus 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.019 was speaking to the disciples and the context 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:19.399 is that He is going to die. Okay? And in His 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:21.980 death, those who believe in Him will do greater 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:25.639 works. So verse 13 and 14 introduces us to the 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.579 concept of asking and receiving from God. And 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:31.699 I trust that in this quarter, you know, we'll 00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:34.720 be able to deepen our understanding on the concept, 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.779 an important component, which is prayer. And 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:44.399 prayer also is a work of faith. So similarly, 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:47.639 in the text that we used, we saw Jesus also teaching 00:05:47.930 --> 00:05:51.769 In Mark chapter 11, verse 12 to 14, we see that 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:56.790 Jesus was teaching about faith and in it, he 00:05:56.790 --> 00:06:00.370 also talks about the issue of prayer. Mark 11, 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:05.209 verse 12. Mark 11, verse 12. Now, the next day 00:06:05.209 --> 00:06:07.949 when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:11.810 and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, 00:06:11.810 --> 00:06:14.870 he went to see if perhaps he will find something 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.529 on it. And when he came to eat, He found nothing 00:06:17.529 --> 00:06:21.290 but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:26.449 In response, Jesus said to them, Let no one eat 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:30.069 fruit from you ever again. And his disciples 00:06:30.069 --> 00:06:34.670 heard what Jesus said, verse 20. So they came 00:06:34.670 --> 00:06:38.930 to Jerusalem, verse 20, verse 20, verse 20. Now 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:41.970 in the morning as they passed by, they saw the 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.189 fig tree dried up from its root, from the root. 00:06:45.529 --> 00:06:50.850 verse 21 and Peter remembering said to him rabbi 00:06:50.850 --> 00:06:55.009 look the fig tree which you cursed has withered 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:59.529 away so Jesus answered and said to them have 00:06:59.529 --> 00:07:04.850 faith in God have faith in God 23 for as surely 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:09.149 I say to you it believes that those things he 00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:13.089 says will be done he will have whatever he sees 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:16.360 the person will have whatever he says and having 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.879 whatever he says comes from the point of having 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:23.279 the faith particularly the faith of God in him 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:27.240 verse 23 verse yes verse 24 therefore I say to 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:31.459 you whatever thing you ask you see he bring in 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:35.339 the idea of asking whatever you ask whatever 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:40.000 things you ask when you pray believe that you 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.019 receive them and you will have them And whenever 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:49.639 you start praying, look at verse 25, we can equally 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.720 see in verse 24, Jesus introducing the concept 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:57.500 of prayer, verse 24 again. Therefore I say to 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:01.779 you, whatever things you ask when you pray, what 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.259 do you do? You believe that you have received 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:09.819 those things and you will have them, okay? So 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:13.699 the prayer I've seen in verse 24, the result 00:08:13.699 --> 00:08:16.160 of faith or we will call it the work of faith 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.560 John also teach this in 1st John chapter 5 verse 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:25.879 13 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 and 15 13 to 15 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:31.899 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 to 15 these things 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:34.980 are written to you who believe you see faith 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:40.500 believing is essential those things I have written 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:44.470 to you who believe particularly the believer, 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:47.250 the Christian, okay? Who believe in the name 00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:50.610 of the Son of God that you may know that you 00:08:50.610 --> 00:08:54.509 have eternal life and that you may continue to 00:08:54.509 --> 00:08:58.490 believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, this 00:08:58.490 --> 00:09:01.769 is a confidence that we have in Him, in Jesus, 00:09:01.909 --> 00:09:07.750 in God. That if we ask anything, if we ask anything 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:11.759 according to His will, His will is that He hears 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:16.419 us. Hallelujah. And if we know that He hears 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:21.379 us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:27.320 petitions that we have asked of Him. So in God, 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:32.519 there is no unanswered prayer. Okay? In God, 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:37.250 we don't see anything as unanswered prayer. But 00:09:37.250 --> 00:09:41.330 in Mark 11 verse 25 to 26, we'll see an introduction 00:09:41.330 --> 00:09:46.690 of a concept. We'll read 20 to 24, but in 25 00:09:46.690 --> 00:09:50.710 and 26 we'll see a concept introducing Mark 11, 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:55.230 the previous text. Let's read from 24. Therefore 00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:57.549 I say to you that whatever things you ask when 00:09:57.549 --> 00:10:01.970 you pray, believe that you receive them and you 00:10:01.970 --> 00:10:07.340 will have them 25 And whenever you stand praying, 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:12.279 if you have anything against anyone, what do 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:17.899 you do? Forgive that your Father in heaven may 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:22.679 also forgive your trespasses. So what verse 25 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:28.279 is introducing is an idea of forgiveness and 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.419 answering of prayer. And what this suggests is 00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:37.909 that we forgive. Alright? So that we will be 00:10:37.909 --> 00:10:40.950 forgiven. Look at verse 26. But if you do not 00:10:40.950 --> 00:10:45.590 forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:47.529 your trespass. And if you are reading from the 00:10:47.529 --> 00:10:51.070 NIV, you will not see verse 26. Alright? If you 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:52.509 are reading, if your Bible is NIV, you will not 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:55.570 see verse 26. If it's good news, also I think 00:10:55.570 --> 00:10:57.590 you will not see verse 26 and other translations. 00:10:58.710 --> 00:11:01.889 So we see something quite remarkable in this 00:11:01.889 --> 00:11:05.139 verse. Jesus seems to be saying, or Jesus is 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:09.440 saying that there is a condition, there seems 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:14.899 to be a condition for answering prayer. The verse 00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:19.360 is applying that forgiveness is conditional on 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:25.440 us forgiving others. And as I said, verse 26 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:28.940 is not in some Bible translation. It means that 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:31.700 the verse is not found in some some of the oldest 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:33.860 manuscripts. I think Pastor Victor taught us 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:36.600 this when he was teaching us the canonicals, 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.840 right? The canonicity of Scripture, how the Scripture 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:43.399 was collected, you know. And it will be important 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.639 for you to go back to listen to this teaching 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.039 again. And you know why verse 26 especially is 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:52.659 not in some Bible translations, and you see a 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:55.080 footnote there. You know, so I don't want to 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.059 go back into the details of that, but you can 00:11:57.059 --> 00:11:59.679 listen to the teachings and learn from that again, 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:06.429 once again. But Matthew 11, 25, 26 gives us a 00:12:06.429 --> 00:12:10.129 notion, gives us a notion that there is a condition 00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:14.629 to God answering the prayer of those who believe 00:12:14.629 --> 00:12:17.470 in Him. And I want us to note particularly that 00:12:17.470 --> 00:12:20.570 these statements of Jesus, alright, especially 00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:23.450 in the gospel, what Jesus was teaching under 00:12:23.450 --> 00:12:27.190 the gospels were actually statements made under 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:29.799 the law. The Bible will let us know that Jesus 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:32.980 Christ, you know, came under the law. He died 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:37.440 under the law. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:40.940 we see that Jesus Christ came in the era of the 00:12:40.940 --> 00:12:43.679 law, and it is in his death, his burial, and 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:47.200 his same that was in existence. Or rather, he 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:50.559 fulfilled, or he brings to completion, that particular 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:54.919 system. He brings to an end, as it to say, that 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:58.870 system. So, in the four gospels, Fundamentally, 00:12:58.889 --> 00:13:03.129 under the law, there's a system. People forgive 00:13:03.129 --> 00:13:07.590 so they will be forgiven. Okay? There's a condition 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:10.809 to receiving forgiveness in the whole system. 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:13.870 People have to forgive. There's need for us to 00:13:13.870 --> 00:13:16.710 make this clarity as we teach about faith so 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:18.509 that we will not begin to appropriate things 00:13:18.509 --> 00:13:22.929 that is not meant for us. Hallelujah! So prior 00:13:22.929 --> 00:13:27.120 to redemption, forgiveness is conditional. And 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:30.080 what is the condition? The condition is that 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:34.220 you forgive. If you don't forgive, then you don't 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:39.820 receive forgiveness. Okay? But in the epistles, 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:43.620 let us see the scriptures as, let's see Ephesians 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:48.159 4 verse 31. After redemption, Ephesians 4 verse 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:57.590 31 and 32, we'll see a change. rough, anger, 00:13:58.009 --> 00:14:01.769 clamour and evil -speaking be put away from you 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:07.230 with all malice and be kind to one another, tender 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:10.710 -hearted, forgiving one another. And why should 00:14:10.710 --> 00:14:14.429 we forgive one another? Even as God in Christ 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:18.330 forgives you. So we see that after redemption, 00:14:19.830 --> 00:14:24.389 okay, forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:30.240 done. Alright? We forgive because Christ has 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:33.720 forgiven. This is a very important thing to note. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:39.399 Before redemption, the missing link is actually 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:44.279 Jesus' sacrifice for sin. Man forgives so that 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.639 God will forgive. And as I said earlier on, this 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:51.220 is a system that was under the law. But after 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:55.279 redemption, as we can see in verse 32, of Ephesians 00:14:55.279 --> 00:15:01.240 4, we forgive because God in Christ has forgiven 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:07.500 us. So forgiveness initially was based on our 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:10.500 performance, right? Forgiveness was rooted in 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:13.500 what we do, okay? Because that was a system that 00:15:13.500 --> 00:15:18.259 is under the law. But after redemption, we see 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:22.279 that forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:25.870 done. It is by understanding God's forgiveness 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:31.129 that we forgive Okay, so God forgives us because 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:36.289 of Christ Not because of what we do God forgives 00:15:36.289 --> 00:15:41.090 us because of Christ not because we did anything 00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:45.370 Ephesians 1 verse 17 will tell us Ephesians 1 00:15:45.370 --> 00:15:48.570 verse 17 says that the God of our Lord Jesus 00:15:48.570 --> 00:15:52.809 Christ the father of glory Is it Ephesians? 1 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:56.529 verse 7, sorry, not 17. 1 verse 7, in him we 00:15:56.529 --> 00:16:00.870 have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 00:16:00.870 --> 00:16:04.970 of sins. In him, talking about Jesus Christ, 00:16:05.190 --> 00:16:09.169 right? We have redemption through his blood, 00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:12.909 the forgiveness of sins according to the riches 00:16:12.909 --> 00:16:15.730 of his grace. Not according to what we've done, 00:16:15.769 --> 00:16:17.889 but according to the riches of the grace of God, 00:16:17.970 --> 00:16:20.590 we have redemption, we have forgiveness of sins. 00:16:20.990 --> 00:16:24.730 So after Jesus died on the cross, we see that 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:29.149 our forgiveness is grounded in what He has done. 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:32.289 No longer in what we do or what we will do. All 00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:34.789 right? Another text, Colossians chapter 1 verse 00:16:34.789 --> 00:16:38.370 14. We see Apostle Paul as well. Clearly stating 00:16:38.370 --> 00:16:43.070 this in Colossians chapter 1 verse 14. Colossians 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:47.610 chapter 1 verse 14. In whom? All right, let me 00:16:47.610 --> 00:16:49.789 read from verse 13 to give us. greater context 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:53.429 he says he has delivered us from the power of 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:58.029 darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of 00:16:58.029 --> 00:17:02.789 the son of his love in whom so now forgiveness 00:17:02.789 --> 00:17:07.750 is in whom forgiveness is in the person in whom 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:12.230 we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:16.109 of sins hallelujah so forgiveness of sins is 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:20.960 no longer in works or by works. Forgiveness of 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.960 sins is no longer in what a man can do, in what 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.859 a man can achieve. Even if you go to the law, 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:30.640 you discover that men could not even keep the 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:36.279 law. All right? So we now have confidence in 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:40.079 the place of prayer. We now have confidence as 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.680 we approach God. We now have confidence in our 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:47.359 conscience. Because our approaching God is not 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:51.420 based on the works of the law Amen is not rooted 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:54.039 in the works of the law. We now have confidence 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:57.039 in the place of prayer because God in Christ 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:01.039 has forgiven us Because God in Christ has forgiven 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:05.420 us. So there is no condition for receiving from 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:09.539 God except faith and That faith in reserve is 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:13.519 not from us but from God So we have the assurance 00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:17.789 that God will hear us. Amen? So when we approach 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:19.730 God, we're not approaching God because of anything 00:18:19.730 --> 00:18:22.309 that we need to do or anything that we've not 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:24.849 done. Because oftentimes when we pray, we start 00:18:24.849 --> 00:18:27.250 looking at ourselves, what have I not done? What 00:18:27.250 --> 00:18:29.470 have we not done? Or what should we do so that 00:18:29.470 --> 00:18:33.450 God will hear us? We approach God from the place 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:37.910 of our position, our position in Christ. The 00:18:37.910 --> 00:18:40.789 redemptive work that God has done in Christ gives 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:44.690 us the confidence to approach Him especially 00:18:44.690 --> 00:18:47.450 in the place of prayer, we have communion with 00:18:47.450 --> 00:18:51.190 the Father, we approach God, we commune with 00:18:51.190 --> 00:18:54.470 God, not based on anything that we have done, 00:18:55.230 --> 00:18:57.890 not based on anything that we should do, but 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:00.970 on all that God has done for us. Hallelujah. 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:04.490 So Jesus Christ becomes the foundation by which 00:19:04.490 --> 00:19:08.009 we relate with God. So we must understand the 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:11.250 context of Jesus' conversation because we are 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:16.569 talking about faith. Hallelujah So it is important 00:19:16.569 --> 00:19:20.190 that we emphasize this It's important that we 00:19:20.190 --> 00:19:23.630 emphasize this That faith is from God Galatians 00:19:23.630 --> 00:19:30.230 2 verse 16 He says knowing that a man is not 00:19:30.230 --> 00:19:35.210 justified by the works of the law but by faith 00:19:35.210 --> 00:19:40.250 of Jesus Christ Even we have believed in Christ 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:44.400 Jesus That we might be justified by the faith 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:49.319 of Christ and not by the works of the law For 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:54.519 by the works of the law no flesh Shall be justified 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:57.940 All right, and we said this several times that 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:02.720 this faith Comes by hearing of the Word of God 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:07.200 Romans 10 verse 17 speaks of how we receive faith 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.019 This faith comes when we hear the message This 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:15.059 faith is transmitted to us through the message, 00:20:15.380 --> 00:20:18.019 through a message. And the message is a message 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:21.539 of the gospel. Alright? We receive it by the 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:26.880 message of the gospel. So, what happens to the 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.220 unbeliever when we preach to them? What happens 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.000 to the unbeliever when we go out to minister 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.519 or we go out for evangelism? I think this was 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:35.920 one of the questions I was trying to discuss 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.660 with Pastor Emma. You know, maybe we should have... 00:20:39.450 --> 00:20:42.490 establish more conversation on that. What happened 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:44.849 to the unbeliever when we go to preach to them? 00:20:45.710 --> 00:20:48.170 When the gospel is preached, does the unbeliever 00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:55.230 exercise faith to be saved? Do we ask them to 00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:58.849 believe so that they will be safe? Do we ask 00:20:58.849 --> 00:21:02.450 the unbeliever to exercise faith so that he will 00:21:02.450 --> 00:21:06.609 be saved? Does the unbeliever have the capacity 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:10.589 to exercise faith? Because if the unbeliever 00:21:10.589 --> 00:21:15.650 has faith then he's no longer an unbeliever Okay, 00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:18.369 faith is from God right we've always been emphasizing 00:21:18.369 --> 00:21:21.789 for past weeks that faith is from God So when 00:21:21.789 --> 00:21:27.329 we bring the message to the unbeliever Okay Do 00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:31.230 we ask the unbeliever to exercise faith? It's 00:21:31.230 --> 00:21:34.990 an argument I'm dropping Because if we're asking 00:21:34.990 --> 00:21:38.369 we're demanding faith from the unbeliever Then 00:21:38.369 --> 00:21:40.250 where can the unbeliever produce that thing? 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:45.869 The word that does preach to him. Okay. Now, 00:21:45.970 --> 00:21:49.789 Pastor Emmanuel told us that in the Bible, firstly, 00:21:50.730 --> 00:21:53.210 he says that faith describes salvation. I'm just 00:21:53.210 --> 00:21:56.970 making a recap of what he told us. Faith describes 00:21:56.970 --> 00:22:02.130 salvation. Am I right? Right? He also said faith 00:22:02.130 --> 00:22:04.970 in the Bible describes teaching or doctrine. 00:22:05.650 --> 00:22:10.190 When we see faith sometimes Okay, the Bible used 00:22:10.190 --> 00:22:15.710 doctrine as onto faith, and also the word faith 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:19.410 is also used to describe the believer's conduct. 00:22:20.390 --> 00:22:22.490 Okay, we can go back and listen to it again. 00:22:23.609 --> 00:22:27.890 The conduct of the believer. It is used to describe 00:22:27.890 --> 00:22:31.349 salvation. It is used to describe doctrine or 00:22:31.349 --> 00:22:34.990 teaching. It is used to describe the life or 00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:37.769 the conduct of the believer. and then he read 00:22:37.769 --> 00:22:41.349 some scriptures to us in relation to these concepts 00:22:41.349 --> 00:22:44.029 that the Bible explains faith and I want us to 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:47.109 read those scriptures again and we will see Galatians 00:22:47.109 --> 00:22:49.369 one of the scriptures he read for us was Galatians 00:22:49.369 --> 00:22:55.130 3 verse 26 quickly so we can save time Galatians 00:22:55.130 --> 00:22:59.849 chapter 3 verse 26 says for you are all sons 00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:04.230 of God true faith in Christ Jesus all right so 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:07.640 Specifically, this is speaking about the believer. 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:12.339 Okay? This text speaks of who? It speaks of the 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:17.180 believer. The believer became a son through faith 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:21.720 that is in Christ Jesus. So, salvation is through 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:26.180 faith. Alright? Another text, 1 John chapter 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:33.980 5 verse 4. 1 John chapter 5 verse 4. is born 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:37.539 of God, overcome the world, and this is a victory 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:41.180 that has overcome the world. Our faith, okay? 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:46.160 Our faith. And of course, our faith here, the 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:48.900 faith for salvation, is actually the faith that 00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:53.099 comes from God. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 00:23:53.099 --> 00:23:58.140 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 5. Examine 00:23:58.140 --> 00:24:02.019 yourself as to whether you are in the faith. 00:24:02.590 --> 00:24:04.849 This is talking about the conduct of the believer, 00:24:05.549 --> 00:24:07.670 okay? This is talking about the conduct of the 00:24:07.670 --> 00:24:10.390 believer. Examine yourself as to whether you 00:24:10.390 --> 00:24:14.809 are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not 00:24:14.809 --> 00:24:18.529 know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless 00:24:18.529 --> 00:24:22.450 indeed you are disqualified? Alright, so here 00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:25.990 the faith here is speaking of the conduct of 00:24:25.990 --> 00:24:29.250 the believer. Another text we read was 1 Timothy 00:24:29.250 --> 00:24:32.630 chapter 4 verse 6. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:37.069 6. If you instruct the brethren in these things, 00:24:37.650 --> 00:24:40.450 you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, 00:24:41.109 --> 00:24:44.549 nourished in the words of faith. Talking about 00:24:44.549 --> 00:24:46.450 doctrine here, right? In the words of faith. 00:24:46.750 --> 00:24:48.549 Words of faith has to do with the teaching of 00:24:48.549 --> 00:24:51.809 faith and of the good doctrine which you have 00:24:51.809 --> 00:24:54.789 carefully followed. So faith here speaks about 00:24:54.789 --> 00:24:57.670 doctrine. It talks about teaching. Jude verse 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:03.880 3. Jude verse 3. Deut. Verse 3. You don't have 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:29.500 Deut in your Bible? It's before Revelation. So 00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:32.819 this talks about doctrine, contending for the 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:36.700 doctrine. Alright? 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:41.880 11 to 12. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 11 to 12. 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:47.140 Yes. But you, O man of God, flee these things 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:52.839 and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:57.180 patience and gentleness. Verse 12. Fight the 00:25:57.180 --> 00:26:01.329 good fight of faith. lay hold of eternal life 00:26:01.329 --> 00:26:04.410 to which you were also called and have confessed 00:26:04.410 --> 00:26:07.130 the good confession in the presence of many witnesses 00:26:07.130 --> 00:26:09.849 hallelujah so if you read through this we know 00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:14.230 that the context is about doctrine okay second 00:26:14.230 --> 00:26:17.109 Corinthians number five verse seven second Corinthians 00:26:17.109 --> 00:26:20.170 number five verse seven second Corinthians number 00:26:20.170 --> 00:26:24.309 five verse seven side all right Ephesians number 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:27.750 six verse sixteen Ephesians six verse sixteen 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:31.180 Of course, this also speaks of conduct. Above 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:35.420 all, taking the shield of faith, which you will 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.940 be able to quench all the fearing debts of the 00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:45.279 wicked one. James 1 verse 6 to 8. James 1 verse 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:51.539 6 to 8. Prayer. But let him ask in faith with 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:56.960 no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:02.569 of the sea. driven and tossed by the wind. For 00:27:02.569 --> 00:27:06.109 let not that man suppose that he will receive 00:27:06.109 --> 00:27:09.390 anything from the Lord. He is a double -minded 00:27:09.390 --> 00:27:14.250 man, unstable in all his ways. So this fundamentally 00:27:14.250 --> 00:27:18.970 is speaking to a believer, how the believer ought 00:27:18.970 --> 00:27:29.410 to walk in faith. That is sharing of your faith 00:27:29.410 --> 00:27:33.349 Okay communication of your faith. That is the 00:27:33.349 --> 00:27:37.210 way you live your life the way you live the Christian 00:27:37.210 --> 00:27:42.230 life May become effective By the acknowledgement 00:27:42.230 --> 00:27:47.490 of every good thing which Christ in you Which 00:27:47.490 --> 00:27:51.210 is in you in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. So fundamentally 00:27:51.210 --> 00:27:55.049 to all the scriptures we see very importantly 00:27:55.049 --> 00:28:00.880 that It is the description of a believer. Okay? 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:04.720 In all these texts, the varied expressions, especially 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:09.039 in the epistles that we've seen, of faith. It 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:12.299 describes either what has happened to the believer, 00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:16.960 or it describes teaching or the doctrine that 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:21.079 concerns the believer, or it describes the way 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:23.279 the believer ought to live and conduct himself. 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:28.299 Hallelujah. So it does not in any way or this 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:32.720 text in no way speaks of any man that is not 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:37.279 born again All right, that is to say that a man 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.539 This life can only be found in a man that is 00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:44.380 born again This can only be found in a man that 00:28:44.380 --> 00:28:47.259 is born again. How does the Bible describes the 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:50.640 unbeliever? How does the Bible describes the 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:54.259 unbeliever? Now understanding is very important 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:59.400 All right? For us, when we go to preach, how 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:02.559 does the Bible describes the unbeliever? Ephesians 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:06.440 2 verse 1. The Bible describes the unbeliever 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:12.900 as a dead man. Ephesians 2 verse 1. And you, 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:17.539 of course, all of us that are in Christ, He made 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:22.740 alive. Who made us alive? God made us alive. 00:29:23.210 --> 00:29:29.410 who were dead in trespass and sins. So our former 00:29:29.410 --> 00:29:33.009 condition was that we were dead in trespasses, 00:29:33.529 --> 00:29:38.009 we were dead in sin. Verse two, in which you 00:29:38.009 --> 00:29:41.589 once walk according to the cause of this world, 00:29:42.269 --> 00:29:44.890 according to the prince of the power of the air, 00:29:45.549 --> 00:29:49.970 the spirit who now walks in the sons of disobedience. 00:29:50.430 --> 00:29:56.000 So our former identity is of disobedience. Okay? 00:29:56.680 --> 00:30:01.880 You and I were sons of disobedience, among whom 00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:05.660 also we all once conducted ourselves in the loss 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:09.740 of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:13.700 and of the mind, and whereby nature, the nature 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:17.119 of the man that is not born again, his nature 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:23.079 is that he is a child of wrath. Okay? He is under 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:25.640 condemnation. He is a child of wrath. And there 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:27.740 is a spirit that is at work in him. And that 00:30:27.740 --> 00:30:34.180 spirit is a spirit of disobedience. So the unbeliever 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:38.420 is dead in trespass and is a child of wrath. 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:41.980 And the response that we can see from someone 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:45.140 that is dead is what? What response can we see 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:48.880 from a dead man? We'll see death, right? To wake 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:53.140 a man That is pretending to sleep to wake up. 00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:56.099 I mean there's a common saying That is difficult 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:58.200 to wake a man that is pretending to sleep than 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:02.160 actually a man that is sleeping a Man that is 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:05.859 dead is dead and No matter what you try to do 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:09.160 to a man that is dead. He cannot respond Okay, 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:12.119 so you cannot make a demand from a man that is 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:15.599 dead Probably sometimes this understanding should 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.259 help us to lower our expectation from unbelievers. 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:22.900 All right Because we so much expect some miraculous 00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:27.359 way, we expect a lot from them that we will not 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:31.680 see. Hallelujah. So a man that is not in Christ 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:35.619 is a dead man. Okay? A man that is not in Christ 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:38.460 is a dead man. Romans chapter 8 verse 5 speaks 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:41.160 more about this particular person. Romans chapter 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:46.339 8 verse 5 to 8 also speaks about this man that 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:50.220 is not born again. For those who live according 00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:56.160 to the flesh, their mind, right, are set on the 00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:59.099 things of the flesh. But those who live according 00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:02.799 to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:06.119 the carnally, to be carnally minded is what? 00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:10.779 Is death. But to be spiritually minded is life 00:32:10.779 --> 00:32:13.619 and peace. Now this is a contrast of two different 00:32:13.619 --> 00:32:17.500 individuals. Okay? Because the carnal mind that 00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:19.960 is the one that does not have the Spirit of God 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.759 in him, the one that is not born again, this 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:28.400 is his identity. He is enmity against God. He 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:31.160 is an enmity against God. He is in opposition 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:34.940 to the things of God. For that particular mind 00:32:34.940 --> 00:32:37.200 or that particular man is not subject to the 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:39.940 law of God, and the law of God is the law of 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:44.599 faith. Nor indeed can be. There is no possibility 00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:48.599 for such a man to obey the Lord of God, verse 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:52.220 8. So then those who are in the flesh, they cannot 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:57.900 please God. Hallelujah. So the judgment concerning 00:32:57.900 --> 00:33:00.759 a man that is not born again is that he cannot 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:05.839 please God. There is nothing he can do of himself 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:09.480 that will bring pleasure to God. He does not 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:14.259 have the ability to do what pleases God. The 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:16.960 man that is dead does not have the ability to 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.279 please God. Those who are in the flesh and those 00:33:19.279 --> 00:33:22.380 who are not born again cannot please God because 00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:26.119 God is pleased by what? By faith. Hebrews 11 00:33:26.119 --> 00:33:31.180 verse 6 talks about how God can be pleased. The 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:34.000 only way that God can be pleased is by faith. 00:33:34.900 --> 00:33:37.079 And the time we're talking about that text, Hebrews 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:39.859 11 verse 6, we say that that faith is the faith 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:43.119 of God. or without faith, it is impossible to 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.420 please him. For he who comes to God must believe 00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:49.819 that he is and that he is a rewarder of those 00:33:49.819 --> 00:33:55.079 who diligently seek him. So the unbeliever is 00:33:55.079 --> 00:34:01.339 given life by faith that God, that the unbeliever 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:04.619 receive life through faith, that is a gift from 00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:06.880 God. Ephesians 2 verse 1, let's go back to Ephesians 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:10.989 2 and see how that unbeliever Okay, can become 00:34:10.989 --> 00:34:15.230 a life He says I knew he made a life who made 00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:18.150 the unbeliever who made the dead man come to 00:34:18.150 --> 00:34:22.429 life God All right, because the dead man is dead 00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:26.070 and he does not have the ability to come to contribute 00:34:26.070 --> 00:34:30.989 to his coming alive So I knew he made a life 00:34:30.989 --> 00:34:34.329 who were dead in trespasses and sins now move 00:34:34.329 --> 00:34:38.550 down to verse 4 From verse 4 we read to 9 But 00:34:38.550 --> 00:34:43.530 God who is rich in mercy not I wanted to focus 00:34:43.530 --> 00:34:47.929 on who is responsible here Okay, who the responsibility 00:34:47.929 --> 00:34:51.809 lies on in bringing that dead man to life? All 00:34:51.809 --> 00:34:56.670 right, but God who is rich in mercy? Because 00:34:56.670 --> 00:35:01.090 of his great love with which he loved us Even 00:35:01.090 --> 00:35:04.550 when we were what we're dead in trespass what 00:35:04.550 --> 00:35:08.460 happened? He made us alive together with Christ. 00:35:09.219 --> 00:35:14.460 By grace, you have been saved. How? And raised 00:35:14.460 --> 00:35:17.960 up together with Christ together and made us 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:21.659 sit together in the heavenly places in Christ 00:35:21.659 --> 00:35:24.860 Jesus. We don't see any of our works or any of 00:35:24.860 --> 00:35:27.719 our contribution in this. The next verse. That 00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:32.420 in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:37.329 riches of his grace in His kindness toward us 00:35:37.329 --> 00:35:42.030 in Christ Jesus. Everything was done by God in 00:35:42.030 --> 00:35:45.389 Christ Jesus. For by grace, importantly, now 00:35:45.389 --> 00:35:47.829 focus on this verse, very, very important. Says, 00:35:47.849 --> 00:35:54.210 for by grace, you have been saved through faith 00:35:54.210 --> 00:36:00.949 and that not of yourselves. And that not of yourselves. 00:36:01.750 --> 00:36:05.889 What is it? It is the gift of God. Hallelujah. 00:36:06.789 --> 00:36:11.110 So the man coming to life is the gift of God. 00:36:12.110 --> 00:36:15.210 Because he's a dead man. A dead man cannot give 00:36:15.210 --> 00:36:18.050 himself life. A dead man cannot contribute to 00:36:18.050 --> 00:36:22.090 him coming to life. God in totality brings a 00:36:22.090 --> 00:36:27.250 man back to life. The grace and the faith is 00:36:27.250 --> 00:36:32.329 the gift of God. All right? The grace, the salvation, 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:37.460 And the faith is the gift of God. So what the 00:36:37.460 --> 00:36:39.900 man does is that he receives the gift of God. 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:44.699 This is very important. The dead man receives 00:36:44.699 --> 00:36:49.500 the gift of God. So faith, this is what faith 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:54.000 does. Because faith is a gift. It removes any 00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:58.780 ground for human boasting. All right? It takes 00:36:58.780 --> 00:37:04.460 away any idea of pride from man. It takes away 00:37:04.460 --> 00:37:08.099 any possibility of we beating our chase. You 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:09.780 know the common language we use to say I give 00:37:09.780 --> 00:37:14.099 my life to Christ. It shows how we give something 00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:16.880 to God so that we will receive something in return. 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:21.900 Because it is by faith, it takes away the tendency 00:37:21.900 --> 00:37:28.679 of boasting. We have no play in it. We have no 00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:32.869 work in it. We have no work in it. You know the 00:37:32.869 --> 00:37:35.949 human mind always wanted infused responsibility 00:37:35.949 --> 00:37:40.650 Okay So you mean is free. Of course is free. 00:37:40.929 --> 00:37:43.230 You mean God did everything of course God did 00:37:43.230 --> 00:37:46.389 everything Because it is fit which is a gift 00:37:46.389 --> 00:37:49.610 takes away any possibility for Boston. Look at 00:37:49.610 --> 00:37:53.090 first Corinthians up to one verse 28 first Corinthians 00:37:53.090 --> 00:38:00.099 21 28 to 31 and the best things of the world 00:38:00.099 --> 00:38:03.920 and the things which are despised God has chosen 00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:08.079 and the things which are not to bring to nothing 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:12.320 the things which that are that no flesh should 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:18.340 do what should glory in his presence okay God 00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:23.639 wants to ensure right that no flesh will glory 00:38:23.639 --> 00:38:27.179 in his presence If there's any possibility that 00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:30.980 a man will take glory, if man, if anything can 00:38:30.980 --> 00:38:34.719 be traced to the action of man, then it's not 00:38:34.719 --> 00:38:38.639 from God. Okay? That is why even the life we 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:41.219 live, it says we live by the faith of the Son 00:38:41.219 --> 00:38:44.599 of God. Even the life that we live today as believers, 00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:47.659 we live in response to the complete, you are 00:38:47.659 --> 00:38:49.719 not trying, see the life you're living, you are 00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:52.320 not constructing a life. You're not building 00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:55.389 a new life. All right? Even when your character 00:38:55.389 --> 00:38:58.550 is transforming, you're only responding to what 00:38:58.550 --> 00:39:04.489 God has finished in you, complete, by His sacrifice, 00:39:05.150 --> 00:39:09.750 by His death. All right? So it takes away the 00:39:09.750 --> 00:39:14.610 place of Boston. Boston has to do with, you know, 00:39:14.789 --> 00:39:18.030 what you contributed, what you did, what started. 00:39:18.909 --> 00:39:23.929 But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus. who become 00:39:23.929 --> 00:39:28.309 for us wisdom from God and righteousness and 00:39:28.309 --> 00:39:33.190 sanctification and redemption. That is, that 00:39:33.190 --> 00:39:36.650 as it is written, he who glories, what should 00:39:36.650 --> 00:39:40.949 be his glory, let him glory where? In the Lord. 00:39:42.010 --> 00:39:44.449 That he who glory, let him glory in the Lord. 00:39:44.750 --> 00:39:47.210 That is he who will boast, let him boast in the 00:39:47.210 --> 00:39:49.989 Lord. First Corinthians chapter four verse seven. 00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:54.900 First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. So will 00:39:54.900 --> 00:39:59.139 the dry bones live again? Right? It's by the 00:39:59.139 --> 00:40:00.800 work of God that the dry bones will come back 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:05.440 to life. Okay? First Corinthians 4 verse 7. For 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:08.780 who makes you differ from another? And what do 00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:13.860 you have? What do you have? What has the believer 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:18.639 has? Okay? Received. What? for what makes you 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:21.699 differ from another, and what do you have that 00:40:21.699 --> 00:40:26.039 you did not receive? Including, listen, including 00:40:26.039 --> 00:40:28.840 the manifestation we see today, pastors have 00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:31.480 been teaching us about the gifts, you know, the 00:40:31.480 --> 00:40:33.760 gifts of the Spirit, the gift of the assignment 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:36.360 of Spirit, the gift of healing. It's not because 00:40:36.360 --> 00:40:40.099 you fasted that you produce it, all right? It's 00:40:40.099 --> 00:40:43.739 not because you did some spiritual disciplines, 00:40:43.900 --> 00:40:46.199 then... You formulated, you know, you batted 00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:50.260 it from the place of consecration of, you know, 00:40:50.280 --> 00:40:56.679 we try to, we try to show our effort in manifesting. 00:40:57.320 --> 00:41:00.880 See, what do you have that you do not receive? 00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:04.780 Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you 00:41:04.780 --> 00:41:09.719 boast as if you had not received it? Okay. Why 00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:12.099 do you boast as though you do not receive it? 00:41:12.420 --> 00:41:15.389 Titus 3 verse 5. had to strip the tree verse 00:41:15.389 --> 00:41:19.909 5 not by works of righteousness give me verse 00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:22.489 4 so that we can have context to this text but 00:41:22.489 --> 00:41:25.150 when the kindness and the love of God our Savior 00:41:25.150 --> 00:41:29.110 towards man see the kindness and the love of 00:41:29.110 --> 00:41:33.030 God our Savior towards man appeared not by works 00:41:33.030 --> 00:41:36.789 of righteousness not by any work that man did 00:41:36.789 --> 00:41:42.170 which we have done but according to his mercy 00:41:42.170 --> 00:41:48.360 he would He saved us through the washing of regeneration 00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:52.900 and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. So it is 00:41:52.900 --> 00:41:55.679 the work of the Spirit that a man becomes born 00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:59.340 again. Are we together? The regeneration of the 00:41:59.340 --> 00:42:01.840 Spirit of God makes, look at the dead man. Just 00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:03.639 have a picture of the dead man on the floor. 00:42:04.179 --> 00:42:06.800 And the Spirit of God brings him back to life. 00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:09.340 The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. 00:42:10.219 --> 00:42:15.039 All right? Quicken us as we become born again. 00:42:15.460 --> 00:42:19.960 Hallelujah! So, Romans 4 verse 2. Romans 4 verse 00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:25.980 2. So that faith is a gift from God and it takes 00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:29.420 away the place for busting. It takes away the 00:42:29.420 --> 00:42:33.340 place for pride in us. For if Abraham was justified 00:42:33.340 --> 00:42:37.619 by works, right? If Abraham was justified by 00:42:37.619 --> 00:42:40.619 something he did, he has something to boss about. 00:42:41.250 --> 00:42:44.369 Because he did something so God did something 00:42:44.369 --> 00:42:47.289 so he will have a point to bust but not before 00:42:47.289 --> 00:42:51.849 God You know how that means it is by works Everyone 00:42:51.849 --> 00:42:53.909 will have something to bust but it's not before 00:42:53.909 --> 00:42:56.809 God because before God, you know what all of 00:42:56.809 --> 00:43:00.889 us are on the same scale before God All of us 00:43:00.889 --> 00:43:04.710 are wretched before God All of us are dead as 00:43:04.710 --> 00:43:07.570 pertaining to the things of God as pertaining 00:43:07.570 --> 00:43:11.760 to the life of God If we could produce a life 00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:15.780 by ourselves, if we could contribute to having 00:43:15.780 --> 00:43:20.000 life of ourselves, then we don't need God. So 00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:23.300 scripture will constantly teach that faith is 00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:28.300 not conjured up by the human will. Faith is not 00:43:28.300 --> 00:43:32.659 produced by human will, but is sovereignly granted 00:43:32.659 --> 00:43:38.019 as a gift from God. Faith is granted as a gift 00:43:38.019 --> 00:43:41.849 from God. Jesus will say no one can come to me 00:43:41.849 --> 00:43:45.010 unless the father what? Unless the father draws 00:43:45.010 --> 00:43:49.030 you. You can't come to God on your own terms 00:43:49.030 --> 00:43:52.949 or by your own ability except the father draws 00:43:52.949 --> 00:43:56.530 you to himself. John chapter 6 verse 44. Give 00:43:56.530 --> 00:44:02.469 me that text. John chapter 6 verse 44. Yes. Says 00:44:02.469 --> 00:44:05.869 no one can come to me unless the father who sent 00:44:05.869 --> 00:44:09.780 me draws him and I will raise him up. where at 00:44:09.780 --> 00:44:12.840 the last day look at verse 65 verse 65 verse 00:44:12.840 --> 00:44:19.380 65 verse 65 yes and he said therefore I have 00:44:19.380 --> 00:44:23.179 said to you and no one that no one can come to 00:44:23.179 --> 00:44:28.760 me unless it has been granted to him by my father 00:44:28.760 --> 00:44:32.219 all right and Acts chapter 3 verse 16 we'll see 00:44:32.219 --> 00:44:35.219 where you know Peter was preaching Acts chapter 00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:38.570 3 verse 16 and it speaks of the faith which comes 00:44:38.570 --> 00:44:43.690 through him and his name and true faith in his 00:44:43.690 --> 00:44:48.230 name has made this man strong whom you see and 00:44:48.230 --> 00:44:52.710 know yes the faith which comes through him has 00:44:52.710 --> 00:44:55.409 given him the perfect soundness in the presence 00:44:55.409 --> 00:45:00.369 of you also the faith by which we see Peter healing 00:45:00.369 --> 00:45:04.670 the man is the faith that comes from God in Philippians 00:45:04.670 --> 00:45:09.019 1 29 He sees, you know, it has been granted of 00:45:09.019 --> 00:45:13.659 Christ. Philippians 1 .29, Philippians 1 .29 00:45:13.659 --> 00:45:17.820 says for you, for to you, it has been granted 00:45:17.820 --> 00:45:22.219 on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in Him, 00:45:22.760 --> 00:45:26.860 but also to suffer for His sake. So it was granted 00:45:26.860 --> 00:45:31.599 to believe and also to suffer. It has been granted. 00:45:32.739 --> 00:45:35.329 And we'll see Peter also writing first. 2nd Peter 00:45:35.329 --> 00:45:38.309 1 verse 1 talks about those who have received 00:45:38.309 --> 00:45:41.989 the faith of the same kind as us. 2nd Peter 1 00:45:41.989 --> 00:45:44.170 verse 1, yes, says Simon Peter, a born servant 00:45:44.170 --> 00:45:47.329 and apostle of Jesus Christ, those who have obtained, 00:45:47.630 --> 00:45:50.690 not obtained is to receive, those who have received 00:45:50.690 --> 00:45:53.969 like precious faith. So the faith was something 00:45:53.969 --> 00:45:57.329 that was received with us by the righteous of 00:45:57.329 --> 00:46:01.309 God and Savior Jesus Christ. So faith is something 00:46:01.309 --> 00:46:06.360 that has been received from God. Okay? How do 00:46:06.360 --> 00:46:10.539 you know faith is God's gift? Left to ourselves, 00:46:10.619 --> 00:46:13.920 no one will ever believe. The Bible says in Romans 00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:16.539 3 verse 11, making reference to, you know, the 00:46:16.539 --> 00:46:18.940 text in all this, it says, there's none who understands. 00:46:19.260 --> 00:46:23.320 Romans 3 verse 11, none who understands. There's 00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:26.820 none who seeks for God. There's none who understands. 00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:30.579 There's none who seeks after God. So then, it 00:46:30.579 --> 00:46:34.239 does not depend on the man. Who wills all the 00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:38.800 man who runs but on God who has shown mercy Romans 00:46:38.800 --> 00:46:43.119 9 16 Romans 9 16 talks about God showing mercy 00:46:43.119 --> 00:46:47.900 and not by the wisdom and the effort of man so 00:46:47.900 --> 00:46:50.840 then it is not of him who wills no of him who 00:46:50.840 --> 00:46:55.360 runs but of God who shows mercy You know, so 00:46:55.360 --> 00:46:58.780 God draws the sinner to Christ and gives the 00:46:58.780 --> 00:47:02.530 ability to believe Without that divinely generated 00:47:02.530 --> 00:47:07.210 faith one cannot understand an approach to the 00:47:07.210 --> 00:47:11.570 Savior One cannot understand an approach to the 00:47:11.570 --> 00:47:15.130 Savior All right, so first Corinthians 2 verse 00:47:15.130 --> 00:47:18.269 14 will speak about the things of the Spirit 00:47:18.269 --> 00:47:21.829 the things of faith you say that a natural man 00:47:21.829 --> 00:47:25.570 does not accept the things of the Spirit of God 00:47:25.570 --> 00:47:28.449 For they are what they are fully to him. They 00:47:28.449 --> 00:47:30.989 are foolishness to him And he cannot understand 00:47:30.989 --> 00:47:33.010 them because they are spiritually appraised. 00:47:33.389 --> 00:47:37.050 They are spiritually discerned. Okay? So what 00:47:37.050 --> 00:47:39.570 really happened when we preach the gospel? So 00:47:39.570 --> 00:47:41.369 what really happened when we preach the gospel? 00:47:42.469 --> 00:47:45.349 Since we say that the dead man cannot exercise 00:47:45.349 --> 00:47:47.650 faith because all that comes from the dead man 00:47:47.650 --> 00:47:50.610 is death. There is no ability in him to please 00:47:50.610 --> 00:47:53.329 God because he's dead. Because he has no faith 00:47:53.329 --> 00:47:55.570 in him so he cannot please God. So what happens 00:47:55.570 --> 00:47:58.309 when we preach the gospel? Now we must understand 00:47:58.309 --> 00:48:01.639 the gospel. that we preach is actually the power 00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:05.599 of God. Okay? The gospel we preach is actually 00:48:05.599 --> 00:48:09.099 the power of God that brings men to life. Thomas 00:48:09.099 --> 00:48:13.460 1 of 16 talks about it as I ran up. For I am 00:48:13.460 --> 00:48:16.239 not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For what 00:48:16.239 --> 00:48:20.440 is it? It is the power of God toward salvation. 00:48:21.239 --> 00:48:25.500 So the gospel you preach is what gives power 00:48:25.500 --> 00:48:29.300 to that dead man to come to life. For it is a 00:48:29.300 --> 00:48:32.579 power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, 00:48:32.699 --> 00:48:35.380 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The 00:48:35.380 --> 00:48:39.739 gospel produces and births salvation in the man. 00:48:40.679 --> 00:48:44.800 So the faith of God comes by the gospel. The 00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:49.360 faith of God comes by the gospel. Romans 10 verse 00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:53.159 17 talks about by hearing right? Hearing by the 00:48:53.159 --> 00:48:56.510 message. So the faith of God comes by the gospel. 00:48:56.929 --> 00:49:01.090 The gospel is a power of God. So the duty of 00:49:01.090 --> 00:49:07.230 men is to welcome the word. The duty of men is 00:49:07.230 --> 00:49:11.130 to welcome the word when it is preached and not 00:49:11.130 --> 00:49:14.210 be rebellious to the word. You know what makes 00:49:14.210 --> 00:49:17.989 a man an unbeliever is that he is preached to, 00:49:17.989 --> 00:49:22.050 right? And he heard and he didn't welcome it. 00:49:22.070 --> 00:49:26.070 That's what makes him an unbeliever. So the response 00:49:26.070 --> 00:49:31.510 of a man is to accept the world Is to we'll see 00:49:31.510 --> 00:49:34.269 so subsequently in text maybe on Sunday We'll 00:49:34.269 --> 00:49:37.429 see where every single place the gospel was preached 00:49:37.429 --> 00:49:40.909 in the book of Acts We'll see what is expected 00:49:40.909 --> 00:49:43.989 of there. That is that that should believe all 00:49:43.989 --> 00:49:47.849 that will believe Okay, so God only requirement 00:49:47.849 --> 00:49:51.670 to hear the gospel the requirement is that men 00:49:51.670 --> 00:49:55.829 should hear the gospel Then faith is given by 00:49:55.829 --> 00:49:59.809 the gospel Then they believe Do you hear what 00:49:59.809 --> 00:50:02.869 I just said? The requirement is that knowing 00:50:02.869 --> 00:50:07.590 hear the gospel, right? Then faith is given to 00:50:07.590 --> 00:50:11.530 the gospel Then they believe We're going to look 00:50:11.530 --> 00:50:15.210 deeper into this subsequently So faith is not 00:50:15.210 --> 00:50:19.110 our response to what God has done Faith is not 00:50:19.110 --> 00:50:22.960 responding to what God has done Actually, faith 00:50:22.960 --> 00:50:27.880 is what God has given. The gospel is everything 00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:32.380 God has given humanity to come to life. Hallelujah. 00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:38.019 So we must be very mindful of this reality as 00:50:38.019 --> 00:50:41.679 we preach the gospel. We will see subsequently, 00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:47.440 okay, how gospel was preached. Moses will tell 00:50:47.440 --> 00:51:01.880 them, look and live. All right, look. We appreciate 00:51:01.880 --> 00:51:15.199 you being here today. We hope you carry this 00:51:15.199 --> 00:51:18.190 word with you throughout your week. Don't forget 00:51:18.190 --> 00:51:20.409 to check the show notes for additional insights. 00:51:21.170 --> 00:51:23.630 Stay connected with us through our website or 00:51:23.630 --> 00:51:27.090 follow us on social media. If you were encouraged, 00:51:27.650 --> 00:51:29.769 share this message with someone you care about. 00:51:30.469 --> 00:51:32.369 Until next time, stay blessed.