1 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,600 Hi and welcome to the We Are Zion Sermon Podcast. 2 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:15,840 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,240 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,440 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,120 We continue our series titled All Roads Lead to Rome, which is 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,960 a study in the book of Romans. As we study this letter written 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,160 to the Jewish and Gentile believers in the city of Rome, 8 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:39,520 we ask that you put yourself in their shoes, for our context is 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,160 not that different after all. Our hope is that through this 10 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:47,280 series you would experience the fullness of knowing who God is, 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,840 what He did for you through Jesus, and how you can live a 12 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,320 life that honours Him and blesses others. 13 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,480 Hi Church, it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. 14 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,920 Again, last week we looked at Romans chapter 12, one of my 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,280 favorite chapters in the Bible. And we looked at how we are 16 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:09,000 called to be living sacrifices and living sacrifices are tried 17 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,480 by fire. We looked at how the Holy Spirit 18 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,520 works in our lives to cleanse our lives and take out all that 19 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,600 is not of God. And this week we're going to be 20 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,120 looking at Romans 13 and 14. And these are a continuation to 21 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,200 the practical side of what we believe, right? 22 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,560 We looked at Romans chapter one verse chapter one up to 11, 23 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,760 which was really just our doctrine establishing why we 24 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,720 believe what we believe. But 12 onwards is really the 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,440 practical outworking of why we believe these things. 26 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,360 How does that actually affect our lives? 27 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,400 How does that get showcased to the world? 28 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,240 And so that's what we are going to be looking at for this week 29 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,160 and the next. But today we're going to be 30 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,440 looking at Romans chapter 13 and 14. 31 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,120 And before we get into this, I just want to show you this news 32 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,920 clip that I saw just a few days back in our newspaper. 33 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,360 So what had happened was there's this picture and it showed how a 34 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,440 young girl of age 23 or 24 was riding a bike with her brother. 35 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,000 Her brother was driving it. She was seated behind. 36 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,080 They were driving through a part of our city when they 37 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,920 encountered a pothole, stumbled over it. 38 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,480 The a bike on which they were fell, fell over. 39 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,440 He felt one side, she felt one side, and she was run over, 40 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,440 unfortunately, by a truck and died on the spot. 41 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,760 Her brother was treated for injuries later. 42 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,640 But there was this one line at the end of this whole narration 43 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,880 of this incident which really caught my eye. 44 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,160 And it said the pothole was subsequently closed up. 45 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:47,480 And as I was reading it, it felt so harsh and it felt very 46 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,840 anticlimactic. You know why? 47 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,720 Because here was a life that was lost, a precious life of parents 48 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,800 who are left without a daughter, a child in her prime who was cut 49 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,720 down. And all that could be said in 50 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,440 conclusion, as if an afterthought. 51 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,200 You know that the pothole was then closed. 52 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,920 And as I was reading it, I really believe that it was God's 53 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:09,400 doing that I would see that line. 54 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,360 And I realized that so many of us in our lives have 55 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,800 unconsciously or consciously allowed these potholes or these 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,000 stumbling blocks to come into our lives. 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,040 We've allowed them to come in at different seasons and without 58 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,640 our knowledge. They've tripped us up and 59 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,400 inevitably tripped someone else up. 60 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:33,040 And so today our sermon, I've titled it Get Rid of the 61 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,560 Potholes. It's based on Romans chapter 14, 62 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,360 verse 13, which says, therefore, let us stop passing judgement on 63 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,520 one another. Instead, make up your mind not 64 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,480 to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother 65 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,320 or sister. And the truth is that all of us 66 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,600 have a pothole or two minimum. And these potholes get 67 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,600 introduced at some point, maybe because of a lapse of judgement, 68 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,680 because of a certain situation that we allowed it in. 69 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,840 And sometimes they grow out of control until they tarnish our 70 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,240 lives. And even if they haven't yet 71 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,440 tarnished our life, they start tripping others up. 72 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,280 And the thing about these potholes is that they're blind 73 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,080 spots in our life. Jesus talked about, you know, 74 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,399 how we overlook the plank in our eye and we look at the speck in 75 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:20,160 someone else's eye. And a lot of times, these 76 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,360 stumbling blocks that we have allowed into our lives, we are 77 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,400 so unsuspecting of it. Or even if we see it, we show 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,520 ourselves so much grace that we overlook it. 79 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,760 But the sad thing is, in the Christian walk, we don't live in 80 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:33,240 silos. We don't live for ourselves. 81 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,240 We live and do everything for God's glory. 82 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,680 And we do it in the context of community. 83 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,400 There are people around us who are running their races as well 84 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,720 towards eternity. And inevitably, if these 85 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,840 stumbling blocks, these potholes in my life are not looked at, 86 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,200 are not dealt with with the power of the Holy Spirit, they 87 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,840 will trip someone else up. And I want to ask you that have 88 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,720 you allowed yourself to look at yourself closer and say, hey, 89 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,360 where am I tripping up on in my faith journey? 90 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,680 What is tripping me up? Is it bias? 91 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,160 Is it an attitude? Is it a racial preconditioning 92 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:13,720 that I have? What is it in my life that is 93 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,720 tripping me up, which is not letting me live in my fullness 94 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,440 and which is also tripping up a brother or a sister? 95 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,680 Let me give you a few examples. You may have a certain idea of 96 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,400 marrying within your caste and you've enforced it on your 97 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,400 children for years. That now that your children are 98 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,360 of marriageable age, their options have become so limited. 99 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,080 Even though you know now that in Christ all are one, there is no 100 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,760 division. Maybe you're someone who hasn't 101 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,160 had an opinion on how much to pay to the government. 102 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,640 You feel if a government is not worthy of my income, they don't 103 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,640 get my tax. And you found clever ways to 104 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,320 evade it. When you read the word of God, 105 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:53,960 Jesus himself says give to Caesar. 106 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:55,600 What is Caesar's give to God? What is God? 107 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,760 Don't get mixed up. What you owe the government, you 108 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,880 give the government. And because of your rebellion in 109 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,480 terms of, you know, the revenue and the taxes and things, you 110 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,080 are confusing others around you about how to live their lives. 111 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,800 Maybe you are of the notion that a certain class of people are 112 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,200 beneath you. Or maybe you're of the notion 113 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,680 that a class of people are above you and you cannot mix with 114 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,040 them. In Christ, all are equal. 115 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,200 What if your demonstration of inequality is causing others to 116 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:34,120 despise Jesus and his church? A stumbling block in our lives 117 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:38,080 is not just something that makes us stumble, it causes others to 118 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,720 stumble as well. And today we're going to be 119 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,440 really looking introspectively. We're not going to point the 120 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,160 blame on anyone else. We're going to look at 121 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,400 ourselves. God, where does this concern me? 122 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,400 Where am I so blinded that I have been putting these 123 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,720 restrictions on others? I've been putting these blocks 124 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,080 before others and tripping them up. 125 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,120 It's really going to be more about you and God. 126 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,200 It's going to be me and God. We're going to put a magnifying 127 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,240 lens on our own lives. Where am I overlooking the plank 128 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,480 in my eye just to pick on the speck in someone else's eye? 129 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,240 And I believe there are about four potholes that Romans 130 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,120 chapter 13 and 14 talk about. We're just going to quickly look 131 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,320 at what those four potholes are. And I can assure you that you 132 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,160 and I will fall into at least two of the above categories. 133 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,000 OK. The first pothole is rebellion 134 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,240 against authority. Romans chapter 13 verses one to 135 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,000 seven, it says let everyone be subject to the governing 136 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,280 authorities. For there is no authority except 137 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,520 that which God has established. The authorities that exist have 138 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,040 been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels 139 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,200 against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, 140 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,400 and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 141 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,120 For rulers, hold no terror for those who do right, but for 142 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,000 those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear 143 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,280 of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you 144 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,040 will be commended, for the one in authority is God's servant 145 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,040 for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, 146 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,080 for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. 147 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:11,520 They are God's servants, agents of wrath, to bring punishment on 148 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,040 the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to 149 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,320 submit to the authorities, not only because of possible 150 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,320 punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. 151 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,680 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's 152 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,520 servants who give their full time to governing. 153 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,080 Give to everyone what you owe them. 154 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,480 If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue. 155 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:36,320 If respect, then respect, then honour. 156 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,080 Honour them. When we talk about governing 157 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,120 authorities, we're not just talking about government 158 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,360 leaders, we're also talking about bosses. 159 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:46,160 We're talking about team leaders. 160 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,600 We're talking about that client that we provide a service for. 161 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,680 Every single person that we work with or work for comes under 162 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,600 this. It also comes down to the 163 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,920 government authorities that are placed over us at the state 164 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:04,040 level, at the district level, at the country level, whatever is 165 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,520 due us as those who are, you know, within their authority 166 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,840 structure below them, we owe it to them. 167 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,520 I hear a lot of people say young people say when they when they 168 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,080 have a boss who's old or he's a boomer, his mentality is 169 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:20,040 different. I can't get him. 170 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:21,440 I don't understand why he's like that. 171 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,680 I don't have to listen to him. I'll do my own thing. 172 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,080 Rebellion starts out small, but it is real, and it is something 173 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,000 that does not set us apart from the crowd. 174 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,560 It just makes us merge in. But God is calling those who are 175 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:36,800 in this new way of life, those who are following hard after 176 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,560 Jesus, to submit to God first and then to submit to earthly 177 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:43,280 authorities. They are placed above you for a 178 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,080 reason. Even if they're unjust, even if 179 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,600 they're unrighteous, God has placed them there for a reason. 180 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,720 And our job, for our hands to be clean, our conscience is to be 181 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,040 clean, is to submit. What are our excuses? 182 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,120 Many times, well, they're corrupt, they're hard hearted, 183 00:09:58,120 --> 00:09:59,800 they're unkind, they're self-serving. 184 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,240 All of that may be true, but the Christian's role is different. 185 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,240 The Christian's posture has to be one of submission. 186 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,440 Have you been tripping yourself up because of your rebellion 187 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,320 against the authority that God has placed in your life? 188 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:19,160 Have you been tripping others up because of you choosing to evade 189 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,600 taxes, evading the things that are due from you to the 190 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,360 government? What is it that you are doing 191 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:27,600 that could be tripping someone else up? 192 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,320 Pothole #1 rebellion against authority. 193 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:36,560 Pothole #2A dislike for people we like, those who are like us. 194 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,800 It's just the fact of the matter, all of us. 195 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,520 And we find it harder to love those who are completely 196 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,320 different from us, those who have different opinions, Those 197 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,560 who look different, rest different, act different. 198 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,920 But God is calling us into a place of loving everyone the way 199 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,000 He loves them. Romans chapter 13, verses 8 to 200 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,120 10. He continues by saying, Let no 201 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,440 debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one 202 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:02,560 another. For whoever loves others has 203 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:04,680 fulfilled the law, the commandments. 204 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:07,080 You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall 205 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,240 not steal, you shall not covet. And whatever other command there 206 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,520 may be are summed up in this one command, love your neighbour as 207 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,800 yourself. Love does no harm to a 208 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:19,480 neighbour. Therefore, love is the 209 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,960 fulfillment of the law. Like we talked last week, the 210 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:29,040 agape love of God, it feels so big, it feels so selfless, it 211 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,040 feels so boundless. But God is calling us to a place 212 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,960 where the evidence of our love for Him who we cannot see is in 213 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,280 the way we love his people who we can see. 214 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:45,000 And that is what we need to do. God is calling us to move past 215 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,200 our dislike. Do we have these biases of this 216 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,560 people group, this part of the country, this part of the world, 217 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:52,200 They are like this. I cannot like them. 218 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,440 Or maybe there are people in your work spot, your 219 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,560 neighbourhood we just cannot get along with God is calling us 220 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,200 into a place of loving them. It's interesting. 221 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:04,920 It says love your neighbour as yourself. 222 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,600 Loving ourself. Even that is sometimes hard. 223 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,680 But most often have you noticed we show ourselves so much grace. 224 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,520 Oh well, you know what, I can overlook this about myself. 225 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:16,560 We tend to overlook the things about ourselves that are in 226 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:19,120 others face. If we can do the same with 227 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,440 ourselves, why not do it with someone else? 228 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,960 That is the second pothole, a dislike of people. 229 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,320 The third pothole, unfortunately, is undisciplined 230 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,480 living. Romans chapter 13 verses 1113. 231 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,640 It says this and do this understanding the present time. 232 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,080 The hour has already come for you to wake up from your 233 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,600 slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first 234 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:44,840 believed. The night is nearly over. 235 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,680 The day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of 236 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:49,880 darkness and put on the armor of light. 237 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:53,960 Let us behave decently as in the daytime, Not in carousing and 238 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:58,720 drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not 239 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,920 in dissension and jealousy. There's nothing to explain here. 240 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,040 Do I become devoid of temptation just because I live the new life 241 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,600 in Christ? No, I still live in a fallen 242 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,560 world. I'm still encountering my flesh. 243 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:16,720 My flesh still was against me. The Spirit, like Paul writes so 244 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,560 clear, so beautifully, he says I'd never do what I want to do. 245 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:21,680 I do exactly what I don't want to do. 246 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,840 And so this is a real struggle. And, and The thing is, all of us 247 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,480 have been set free when we accepted Jesus. 248 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,800 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 249 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,320 Whoever believes on the Son is free, indeed we know this. 250 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,760 And yet this freedom was hard won. 251 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:40,280 It was purchased by the blood of Jesus. 252 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,240 And so we cannot cheapen that freedom by living however we 253 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,080 want. This freedom is actually calling 254 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:50,040 us to be free in the presence of our God, free to live in a way 255 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,520 that honors him, that brings him glory. 256 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,680 So often we get it confused and say I can do whatever and his 257 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,720 grace is like a blanket. It covers me. 258 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,760 I can do anything again and again, it doesn't matter. 259 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:09,600 We need to use our freedom to draw closer to God, to live the 260 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:14,360 way in a way that honours him, in a way that expands his 261 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,640 Kingdom. We cannot use our freedom to 262 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,040 satisfy our appetites, our desires, our selfish ambitions. 263 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,120 That doesn't please God, It doesn't bring him glory, it 264 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:25,720 doesn't. And so there are so many things 265 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,920 that he talks about. He says the key is to stay 266 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,720 awake, stop slumbering, stop thinking that this way of living 267 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:32,840 is OK. It isn't. 268 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,280 You don't just harm yourself. For those who live 269 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,000 undisciplined, too many marriages have been spoiled 270 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,400 because of sexual immorality. In marriages, too many children 271 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:45,360 have been left abandoned because parents decided to choose 272 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,440 alcohol, to choose partying over staying over loving them, over 273 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,000 living in a disciplined way. Today God is calling you. 274 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,000 Have you been a pothole in the life of your family? 275 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,000 Have you been a pothole in the life of your your work Because 276 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,360 of your undisciplined living? Have you started being painful 277 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,200 to the ones who work around you? God is calling you to address 278 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,320 that. The 4th pothole is self-imposed 279 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:15,600 traditions and restrictions. There are some things that we 280 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,280 that have been taught to us from the time we were children. 281 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,840 I remember growing up my grandfather had this rule in his 282 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,040 house where on Sundays he would never switch on his TV and he 283 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,120 had a TV, a small little TV on which only DD 1-2 and three 284 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,720 would be there. So on Sundays we were not 285 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:33,760 allowed to even watch those three channels. 286 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,560 It was the days before Netflix, before cable, and I remember all 287 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,520 of us 8 cousins were forced on Sundays to go play outside, to 288 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,440 hang out in the garden, to make new friends with the neighbours 289 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,480 there, to do anything but sit in the house and watch TV. 290 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,960 And when we all grew up and went into our own homes, I remember 291 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,440 my mum imposed that on us. She said you know what, Sundays, 292 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,240 no TV. And it worked well for our 293 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,920 family of four because you know, we would use Sundays to really, 294 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,000 you know, get closer to our parents. 295 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,920 We would have family time, go out with friends and things like 296 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,160 that. But when I got married and had 297 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,200 my children, I realized that that had become such a stringent 298 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,760 rule that I was actually losing out on a lot of precious time 299 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,840 which I spent with my kids. Sometimes all I get was, you 300 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,680 know, a Sunday afternoon or an evening to watch a Disney movie 301 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,680 with the kids or to watch an online service of another church 302 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,920 with my husband. And in the name of tradition, I 303 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,520 was missing out on even that. And so it had to come to a place 304 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,080 where I decided that tradition, that restriction that happened 2 305 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,520 generations before, didn't necessarily have to work for me. 306 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,600 I want to ask you, what self-imposed traditions have you 307 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,720 brought in or restrictions that you live by because it works for 308 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,840 you? Have you started now imposing on 309 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,280 others? Romans 14 verses one to four 310 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,040 says accept the one whose faith is weak without quarreling over 311 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,920 disputable matters. One person's faith allows them 312 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,040 to eat anything, but another whose faith is weak eats only 313 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,800 vegetables. The one who eats everything must 314 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,839 not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who 315 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,359 does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God 316 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,520 has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone 317 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,400 else's servant to their own master servant? 318 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,599 Stand or fall and they will stand for the Lord is able to 319 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,200 make them stand. Sometimes we think our rules are 320 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,319 keeping others in check and in reality they are accountable to 321 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,120 their master just as you are accountable to your master. 322 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,960 And it's amazing because he says the Lord is able to make them 323 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:34,560 stand. A lot of times we impose these 324 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,040 rules on them and say you need to dress a certain way. 325 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,280 You need to, you know, save a certain way. 326 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,360 You need because if you see them spending a lot, you feel you 327 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,080 should give them, you know, rules from your life. 328 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,040 What works for you may not work for someone else. 329 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,800 The traditions that you follow for yourself. 330 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:53,440 First of all, you need to examine them if they're really 331 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,560 of God. If they are, keep them to 332 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,280 yourself. If they're not, get rid of them. 333 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,760 It's so easy to use the boundaries that we have built 334 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,160 for ourselves as a, you know, fetter on someone else. 335 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,760 I remember reading about how the Israelites actually picked up 336 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,760 these traditions when they moved into foreign lands. 337 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:18,400 They had to establish certain traditions to protect, you know, 338 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,800 the way of life that was taught to them to protect the the law 339 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,880 that had been given to them and how they applied it. 340 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,760 And what happened was they started making these rigid rules 341 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,280 and they started imposing it on their children and into the 342 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,720 people that were marrying into their families. 343 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,720 So by the time Jesus came, these had become traditions that the 344 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,400 elders had taught them was not biblical. 345 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,480 It was not of the law. It was something they had come 346 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,560 up with because they had to be still set apart. 347 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,560 But here in the time of Jesus, it was no longer relevant. 348 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:48,920 And therefore Jesus had to keep telling them. 349 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,560 He addressed the Pharisees and their hypocritical ways, the way 350 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,520 in which they had these double standards because it had 351 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,200 happened. The origin of these traditions 352 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,600 were from such a shaky ground. And so today I want to ask you, 353 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:04,680 have you brought certain things into your life that worked in 354 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:06,160 another season that were necessary? 355 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,840 Maybe, but at this point you started imposing it on yourself 356 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,360 to the point of rigidity and you started pressing it down others 357 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,200 throats as well. Romans 14 verse 8 continues. 358 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,080 It says if we live, we live for the Lord. 359 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,200 If we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we 360 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,560 belong to the Lord when our understanding of everything we 361 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,920 do and say is for God. That's why I said it's very 362 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,920 introspective. I cannot point this at you and 363 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,320 say, you know, this is how you should live. 364 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:37,480 If I'm living as if every single thing I do and say is for God, 365 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,600 it changes the way I live. Romans 14 verse 12 says so then 366 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,680 each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. 367 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,800 How much lesser would we judge someone else? 368 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,240 If I live with this awareness of you know what I'm going to give 369 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,800 an account for today to God, at some point I'm going to give an 370 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,960 account to God for such and such. 371 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,000 It changes the way I look at someone else's issues. 372 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,920 It changes the way I'm I'm spending so much of time and 373 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:07,480 money judging someone else. It changes the way I perceive 374 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,320 others because here I am completely accountable to God 375 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,720 alone. Keep your rules to yourself. 376 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,800 Don't impose them on others. I love that Paul continues in 377 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,040 Romans 1416 by saying, therefore do not, do not let what is a 378 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:25,880 good thing for you because of your freedom to choose be spoken 379 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,720 of as evil by someone else. If I choose to dress a certain 380 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,560 way and I start imposing on that, that on someone else, 381 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,840 they'll turn that around and say she's a judgmental person, she's 382 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,960 a hypocrite, she's like this, she's like that. 383 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:47,160 And it gets spoken of as evil. Don't allow what you condone to 384 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,000 condemn you. That's what Paul was saying. 385 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,840 It's important that we learn to mind our own business. 386 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,040 It's something Geshram created for the kids when they used to 387 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,560 get in each other's hair and, you know, mind each other's 388 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,640 business of their own. He used to say, myb, mind your 389 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,240 business. Paul is essentially saying how 390 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,720 others eat, how they dress, what they do in their free time, what 391 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,600 they do with their money, what they do with their influence is 392 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,720 not your business, it is theirs. You run your race well. 393 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,480 You are accountable to God for your actions. 394 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:20,720 You are accountable to God with your money. 395 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,600 You are accountable to God with how you carry yourself. 396 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,560 Don't worry about others. Romans 14 verses 19 to 23 says, 397 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:33,280 Therefore, let us make every effort to do what leads to peace 398 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,160 and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God 399 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,160 for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is 400 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,000 wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone 401 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,760 else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or 402 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,520 drink wine or do anything else that will cause your brother or 403 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,760 sister to fall. So whatever you believe about 404 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,080 these things, keep between yourself and God. 405 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,680 Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he 406 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,600 approves. What have you and I been 407 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,760 approving of? It's very important we live in 408 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:10,120 an age of grey scale. I the, the company policy is, is 409 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,440 such and such on, on inclusivity. 410 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,360 It's better to just conform to that rather than to take a stand 411 00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:17,880 and say, no, that's not what I believe in. 412 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,160 Maybe you're a teacher working in a school and you're coming up 413 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,320 with a policy and the policy is, is completely not in line with 414 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,160 your faith. Are you just OK to condone it 415 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,400 and fit in rather than to take a stand and and probably have to 416 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,920 make a decision? Blessed is the one who does not 417 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,360 condemn himself by what he approves. 418 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,600 What is it that you and I have been approving of? 419 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,840 The disputable matters are of food, clothing, things like 420 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,760 that. But there are some things that 421 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,680 are indisputable. What have you and I been 422 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:56,720 condoning that is causing someone else to stumble or 423 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,280 falter in their faith? Have you been condoning an 424 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:06,840 extramarital affair? Have you been condoning usage of 425 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,040 curse words? Have you been condoning 426 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,920 moonlighting in your job without the company knowing it? 427 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,000 What have you been condoning? Because what you are condoning 428 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,560 will cause condemnation because someone else somewhere who is 429 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,520 watching you, who is influenced by you, will be LED astray. 430 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,440 Luke chapter 17 verses one and two says Jesus said to his 431 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,240 disciples things that 'cause people to stumble are bound to 432 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:35,400 come, but vote to anyone through whom they come. 433 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,440 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a 434 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,720 millstone tied around their neck than to Causeway one of these 435 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:46,120 little ones to stumble. What a scary thought. 436 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,760 Stumbling blocks are all around, but if you and I, as followers 437 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:53,520 of Jesus, carry the stumbling block and place it in front of 438 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,120 someone else who is innocently running their race beside us, 439 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,520 who is in our circle of influence, who is someone who's 440 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,480 close to us, who's leaning on us, if that stumbling block 441 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,920 disrupts their life, there's a problem. 442 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,040 So what is the solution? You're probably saying, OK, so I 443 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,440 should live in such a way that I don't put stumbling blocks in 444 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:14,960 front of others. So what are you saying? 445 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,480 Are you saying that we should please everyone or do what works 446 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:18,880 for everyone? Absolutely not. 447 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,200 I believe that we are called to live in such a way to please the 448 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,400 King. Romans 14 verses 17 to 18 talks 449 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,720 about God's Kingdom not being a matter of eating and drinking, 450 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,920 but of righteousness, peace and joy. 451 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,480 The message version says is so beautifully it says God's 452 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,240 Kingdom isn't a matter of what you put into your stomach for 453 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,520 goodness sake. It's what God does with your 454 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,920 life as He sets it right, puts it together and completes it 455 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:50,080 with joy. Your task is to single mindedly 456 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,360 serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two 457 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:56,880 birds with one stone, pleasing the God above you and proving 458 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:58,800 your worth to the people around you. 459 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,800 I want to remind you, you and I, we are subjects in the Kingdom 460 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:07,200 of God. We live on earth, we have 461 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:11,040 leaders, we have people above us, we have certain systems, 462 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,080 there are hierarchies, and all of that is real. 463 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,920 But more real than the world we are living in is a spiritual 464 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,040 environment around us and we are part of the Kingdom of God. 465 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:22,600 We are subjects in the Kingdom of God. 466 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:27,000 And it says here where you prove your worth to the people around 467 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,840 you and you please the God above you, Our worth is already set. 468 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,200 We are invaluable to God, right? Our worth is not because of what 469 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,800 you and I do for God is our worth is because of what God has 470 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,080 done for us in Christ Jesus. And so as Kingdom subjects, we 471 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,200 carry the King's presence with us, his spirit within us. 472 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,760 Wherever we go, whichever space, whichever place, whichever city, 473 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,080 whichever town, whichever you know, enclosure we walk into, 474 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,120 the Spirit of God comes with us. The King's spirit comes with us. 475 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,240 So I don't live for myself anymore. 476 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,280 Whatever I do, I do it for the King. 477 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,160 I do for the kingdom's Causeway. I do it for the advancement of 478 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:07,440 the Kingdom of God. And So what happens is when I 479 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,480 introduce these potholes in my life, probably because of, you 480 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,960 know, hearing growing up that taxes were bad. 481 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:15,840 You just decided you don't want to pay taxes. 482 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,320 Or maybe that your undisciplined living carried on from your life 483 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:21,680 before Christ into the life after Christ because you 484 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,720 thought, who's going to know who is it affecting? 485 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,400 Or maybe you thought that, you know what, not liking certain 486 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,240 people is completely cool because you know what I do? 487 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,520 Me. I'm living my truth. 488 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,640 But God is calling us now into a place where we're part of a 489 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,040 Kingdom. We're no longer living for 490 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,360 ourselves. We live for the king and we're 491 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:45,320 living with fellow subjects. And all of us are running this 492 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,200 race headed towards eternity. And he's saying that when you 493 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,600 introduce a pothole in your life, it doesn't just affect 494 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,400 you, it affects the ones in the Kingdom as well. 495 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,520 And the interesting thing is these obstacles, these stumbling 496 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,680 blocks eventually become a snare. 497 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,320 A snare is a contraption which grabs your ankles and makes you 498 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,880 trip and fall. Undisciplined living, lack of 499 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,000 submission to authority, not loving people. 500 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,560 All of these, all of these, the self-made traditions and 501 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,000 restrictions, all of these can become a snare in your life and 502 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,040 can eventually, if left untreated, can become a snare 503 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:25,840 for someone else. Try it and see. 504 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,520 Anything that you leave, you know, undealt with any stumbling 505 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,600 block in your life will eventually become a snare to 506 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,520 your spouse. It could become a snare to your 507 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,320 children. It could become a snare to the 508 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:36,800 ones you live with, your roommates. 509 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,160 It extends across whichever season of our life we are in. 510 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,880 Careful of the potholes and the Kingdom life requires that we 511 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,240 address these potholes with the help of God's Spirit in US and 512 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,400 come to a place of closing it up with His power, because if it is 513 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,640 left undealt with, it will become a snare to you and to 514 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,400 others. What are those things that you 515 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,440 have permitted? What are the things that you 516 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,840 have condoned? It could have been one 517 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,760 permissive encounter with someone that you connected with 518 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,600 online. It could have been one wrong 519 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:16,840 call, one wrong text, one wrong e-mail, one wrong glance. 520 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,480 Has it started affecting the way you live? 521 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,160 What about the rules that you've imposed on others even though 522 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,840 you don't follow any rules? What about your dislike for 523 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,720 certain people? Has that started passing to your 524 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,480 children? Has that started infecting those 525 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,080 around you? Or do you connect with those who 526 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,040 exactly think the same way as you, so all of you have the same 527 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,560 understanding of, you know, your dislike for certain people? 528 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,720 What about your rebellion? It could be a very silent 529 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,840 rebellion, a very quiet one. Or maybe you're more vocal about 530 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:53,200 it. Whatever it is, have these grown 531 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,400 to become full-fledged snares that have bound you and have 532 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,680 caused others to lose their way because of you? 533 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,520 I want to encourage you that it's not too late and the 534 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,080 solution is given in the very text we are reading, Romans 535 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,800 chapter 13, verse 14. I want you to highlight this in 536 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,560 your Bibles. It says, rather clothe 537 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,240 yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about 538 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,320 how to gratify the desires of the flesh. 539 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,480 All of these potholes we talked about had to do with our flesh. 540 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,920 When I rebel against an authority, it's because I think 541 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,880 I know better. It's because I have a certain 542 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,040 ambition which I need to fulfill in my timeline. 543 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,840 It's me wanting to save money instead of giving the tax. 544 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:37,840 It's about me. It's about my flesh. 545 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,480 It's about having more in hand. When I choose to dislike certain 546 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,880 people, it's because I have decided they just don't work for 547 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:47,600 me. When I decide to have a 548 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,800 tradition or a rule that I'll impose on myself and on others, 549 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,640 again it comes down to gratifying my needs. 550 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,560 All of these potholes we talked about have that as the primary 551 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,720 focus, but God is calling us into a place of clothing 552 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,400 ourselves with Christ. And this didn't leave me 553 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,760 because, you know, I realized that at the time of salvation, 554 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,600 the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. 555 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,040 Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 556 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,480 We know that he's indwelling, but what does it look like to 557 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,800 clothe myself with the Lord Jesus Christ? 558 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:22,320 What does that look like? Clothing is to put on and I 559 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,040 realized that the idea of clothing ourselves with God is 560 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,240 not a new one. I want us to look at Judges 561 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,720 chapter 6 verse 34 and this talks about Gideon. 562 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,240 It says the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, then he blew 563 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,600 the trumpet and the abbesserites gathered behind him. 564 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:46,720 And the actual meaning of that, the spirit of the Lord came upon 565 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,080 Gideon. The action meaning is clothing. 566 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,280 The Spirit of God clothed himself on Gideon. 567 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,360 Meaning imagine an empty glove, right? 568 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,920 Imagine the empty glove and imagine putting your hand into 569 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:03,160 it is basically meaning fit on like a glove. 570 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:08,960 The Spirit of God clothed himself on Gideon and because of 571 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,720 which Gideon was able to do a mighty thing against the 572 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,440 Midianites. You remember that story? 573 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:18,160 300 men with Gideon overcame a huge number of Midianites and 574 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,160 got the land free from their oppression. 575 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,600 But the interesting thing is that in the Old Testament when 576 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,200 we read of these stories, when the Spirit of God came upon 577 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,440 someone, I've read it another time and I think it's in the 578 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,280 Book of Kings or Chronicles where it says the Spirit of God 579 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,480 came upon Amasa. And when he came upon Amasa, 580 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,000 Amasa spoke out and told David, we are with you. 581 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:40,200 This is just after David had been had become king. 582 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,440 He says, we are with you. We'll do whatever you ask us to 583 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:44,360 do. They pledged their loyalty, but 584 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,400 it was an utterance that came because the Spirit of God came 585 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,680 upon a Massa. And in the Old Testament the 586 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,160 Spirit of God clothed people as and when they needed it for a 587 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,520 big victory, right. And talks about Elijah the 588 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,280 Spirit of God came upon him and he ran ahead of Ahab into the 589 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,760 city of Jezreel faster than a chariot. 590 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,360 So you see what I'm saying, Those were those moments, big 591 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:10,080 moments when the Spirit of God came upon certain people to 592 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,520 accomplish certain things. But today, thanks to Jesus, 593 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,240 thanks to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we 594 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:18,960 don't have to have these one off high moments or one off high 595 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,480 victories. We get to live in that place of 596 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:23,880 victory. We get to live and and breathe 597 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:28,040 with that kind of strength. The problem with these one off 598 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,840 moments when we get clothed and then decide we don't need the 599 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:37,000 clothing of of Christ or the Spirit of God is that's when a 600 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,840 pothole gets introduced. And that is seen in the life of 601 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,280 Gideon. If you look at Judges chapter 8 602 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:44,800 verse 27, he's had this huge momentous victory. 603 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,360 He finishes up the tribal heads of the Midianites comes back 604 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,800 victorious. He has seventy sons. 605 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,840 He's got a lot of concubines. And in the midst of that, they 606 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,240 say, we want you to rule over us. 607 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,600 The Israelites tell him, we want you to rule over us. 608 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,040 And in an act of false humility, Gideon says, no, no, I don't 609 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,760 want to. But then I think it was a moment 610 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,480 of insecurity. And he said, well, give me all 611 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,160 your gold. Let me make an ephod. 612 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:17,480 And he creates a Pagan altar. He decided that he needed to get 613 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,560 them to gather at one place and worship. 614 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,960 He got their gold. Verse 27 says chapter 8, Gideon 615 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:29,360 made it into an ephod and set it up in his city Ofra, and all 616 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:31,920 Israel played the harlot with it there. 617 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,840 It became a snare to Gideon and to his house. 618 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,720 There's that word what you introduce into your life, if 619 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,720 you're not careful about it, in a moment of a lapsed judgement 620 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:46,640 call, in a moment when the Spirit of God is no longer 621 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:52,280 clothing you with power, you can make a mistake of this 622 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,200 monumental size. And he does that and it says it 623 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,640 became a snare and eventually oppression starts again and they 624 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,680 need another rescuer. I want to ask you, have you been 625 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:08,239 living for those momentous, powerful moments just on and off 626 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,360 when you need a Spirit of God come upon me? 627 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,520 Or are you prepared to clothe yourself with Christ every 628 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:17,239 moment of every day? What if it becomes our prayer 629 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:18,840 every day? Lord, I clothe you on. 630 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:25,560 I put you on today so that when I put you on, the potholes in my 631 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,920 life become quite visible and with your help I can close them 632 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:33,280 up. What if when I clothe myself 633 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,360 with Christ, I'm able to overcome my flesh's needs and 634 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,600 live and walk and talk? By the Spirit's power from 635 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:45,840 living inside you, you can call Him to clothe you completely. 636 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,600 I want to ask you, as we close today, what are some of the 637 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,159 potholes you identified in the course of this 40 minutes? 638 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,040 What did you identify in your lives? 639 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,720 I know as I'm speaking, conviction has fallen on me in 640 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:06,280 certain areas of my life, certain ideas, certain notions 641 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,000 that I have believed to be true that I've passed on. 642 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,600 We need to be very clear that it doesn't just affect us, it 643 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:16,640 affects others. And Paul keeps saying make sure 644 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:18,800 you're not a stumbling block to someone else. 645 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:24,240 Will you look at the things in your life and identify which 646 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:26,160 ones are central and which ones are peripheral? 647 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,640 There are some issues that are central to our faith. 648 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,840 They are non negotiables. The sanctity of marriage, the 649 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,960 Trinity, Trinitarian concept of our God, the power of the Holy 650 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:41,760 Spirit by which we live His death, His resurrection power 651 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,720 that lives in us, The move of the Holy Spirit in today's 652 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:46,880 world, the gifts that he's giving his church. 653 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:51,720 All of that non negotiables. Living a life of integrity, 654 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,640 living a life where faithfulness is evident. 655 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,000 Faithfulness to the marriage covenant you have made, 656 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,160 faithfulness to the children you have birthed, being faithful to 657 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,080 the parents, the families of origin that you have come from, 658 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,360 all of that. Those are according to the word. 659 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,160 But what are the peripheral things that you can let go of so 660 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,480 that you are not a stumbling block to someone else? 661 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,200 Have you been imposing your ideas on someone else? 662 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:19,280 Has your dislike of someone been causing that person to receive 663 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:23,440 alienation from larger circles? What is it that God is calling 664 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:28,600 you to identify and close up? That is the question for us 665 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:30,080 today. And so even as we close, I just 666 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:34,160 want to pray for us that we will walk in freedom from the snares 667 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,360 that have held us down. Even if you are living in a 668 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:41,600 place where your undisciplined life has started to show up, 669 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:45,080 it's not too late. You can call and invite God to 670 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:49,080 clothe you so that you no longer give in to the desires of the 671 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:50,200 flesh. Can we just pray? 672 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:53,440 Father, I pray each of our obstacles are many. 673 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,720 Each of our snares are many. Each of the things that we have 674 00:36:55,720 --> 00:37:01,160 permitted in the name of self protection or preservation, God 675 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,360 are many. But God, I pray that each one of 676 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,600 us who are listening in, who are here right now, will clothe 677 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:13,000 ourselves with Christ. And that God, we will live 678 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,720 moment by moment with your power, with an awareness of your 679 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:20,000 goodness, with an awareness of who you are and what you have 680 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,200 planned for us. God, I pray that we will no 681 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:25,760 longer live for ourselves. We will no longer point the 682 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,120 finger at others. But Lord, we will look at 683 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:32,760 ourselves with reality, with an understanding of who we are and 684 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,680 what you have done for us. I pray your Father, that we 685 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,840 would love others as you have loved us. 686 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:44,400 I pray your Father God, that you would help us to live with a 687 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,440 greater vision, with a Kingdom vision. 688 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,800 Help us to live as subjects of this Kingdom faithfully until 689 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,080 the very end. I pray your Father that you 690 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,760 would uproot and close up every pothole in our lives. 691 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,680 Things that we are unaware of. Reveal it to us. 692 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:03,920 Things that we are so ignorant about. 693 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,560 Show it to us. I pray for those who have 694 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,200 already put an impediment in front of their families that 695 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:15,520 today or father they would repent for it and it would be 696 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,120 moved out. We pray generations will be 697 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,640 blessed again. We pray homes will be blessed 698 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:22,440 again. Relationships will once more be 699 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:25,920 renewed. We pray Spirit of God, that you 700 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,400 would clothe us, that you would help us. 701 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,800 In Jesus name we pray. Amen, Amen. 702 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:33,880 God bless you have an amazing week. 703 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:37,600 I pray that you would live free of those potholes and if there 704 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:40,240 are any, you'll be unafraid to get rid of those. 705 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,320 God bless you. Thanks for listening to this 706 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:46,440 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 707 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:50,160 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 708 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,800 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 709 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,560 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 710 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:59,720 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 711 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:04,440 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 712 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:08,960 and to connect with us, go to viazion.in. 713 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,080 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.