1 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,400 We welcome you to the We Are Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,160 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,480 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,200 be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,240 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:27,880 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,720 This summer we are going deeper into heartwarming movies to find 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,400 gospel gems and Kingdom truths for our everyday life. 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,160 As you listen in, we hope that through these familiar 10 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:44,160 characters and sweet stories, you have a fresh revelation of 11 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:46,640 the victorious life we have in Christ. 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,680 We've we are continuing with our at the movie series. 13 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,040 We still have two more parts and it will get over the end of the 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,000 month. Last week we saw the first part 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,320 of this movie, The Wild Robot. And I think as I was preparing 16 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,080 through for the 1st and the second part, I think three 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,440 things that we saw is we are poised in our reality, which 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,120 means we know where we are present, what our reality is. 19 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,880 We pivot in the direction God is present. 20 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,240 And I think that really as I was preparing, I didn't realize the 21 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,920 intensity till I was actually speaking about it. 22 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,960 And I believe today a lot of us have in this crucial place where 23 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,520 you're making that pivot, either we've started following Christ 24 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,360 or you're following Christ and God is doing some character 25 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,560 change, situation change. He's asking us to pivot. 26 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,560 But a lot of us are struggling with that pivot because the 27 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,160 pressure of our past is bringing us back to where? 28 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,640 And so God is we'll continue on with that. 29 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,120 The second part and the third thing we saw is to be persistent 30 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,560 toward what, toward what God has called us for a lifetime. 31 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,440 And one thing which I talked about is in God's Kingdom, we're 32 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,800 not measuring up to something that we have pre built in our 33 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,600 head, but rather it's God up where we're asking God, God, 34 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,160 what is it that you have next in my season? 35 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,120 What should I do next? It's not a long jump. 36 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,039 It's just a, it's just that one step, that 1° change that I can 37 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:10,320 make in our lives. And so today I've been, as you 38 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,600 go into the second part, this I've titled the sermon as 39 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,840 endurance takes me to the finish line. 40 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,240 Endurance everyday takes me to the finish line because 41 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,480 endurance is not a one off thing. 42 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,360 I know a lot of you might be having trauma from going to a 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,120 gym and hearing the word endurance, but that's not the 44 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,640 endurance we're talking about. But today when I'm talking about 45 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:37,360 endurance, it's this Christian walk because you and I are 46 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,040 called to walk in endurance and mind you, what better way to 47 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,040 actually have endurance For those of you who are probably 48 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,480 thinking probably thinking are the state of the world is 49 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,160 chaotic. He's placed us here and requires 50 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,720 us to have endurance. How many of you believe that you 51 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,080 know, as you watch this, I believe there are some truths 52 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,240 that that God's asked me to speak. 53 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,640 And as I, as I, my hope is that for those of you who've lacked 54 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:06,520 that endurance, that we'll be able to ask him for that. 55 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,280 For those of you who feel you need a fresh injection of that 56 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,240 endurance because you've stepped in, fatigue has stepped in. 57 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:13,480 I know for how many of you feel that. 58 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,480 But it's that if we don't feel encouraged and get that 59 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,200 injection weekly when we come here, not just alone from God, 60 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,920 but within from the community of believers, we will lose out on 61 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:27,920 certain things. And so as we watch this clip, 62 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,760 we'll get into the sermon after that saw the clip. 63 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,560 I'm sure a lot of us probably are seated here thinking, you 64 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,080 know what, I was on the verge of giving up. 65 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,840 I know what you're wanting to give up on, whether it's a 66 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,240 dream, whether it's I don't know. 67 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,640 This day and age when you're reading a lot of these articles 68 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,400 that are coming out, it can be even work. 69 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,480 I know how many how many of you felt like giving up on work with 70 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,000 AI coming in, you suddenly feel irrelevant or just looking at 71 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,720 everything that's happening around you feel today. 72 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,800 I pray and ask that as we go through the sermon that you'll 73 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,000 have the endurance to run the God-given race that's marked out 74 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,080 for you. Each of you have a marked out 75 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,240 race in your life and I pray that you have endurance to run 76 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,320 it because we can. When God's brought you into 77 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,600 salvation, you've pivoted when God's lifted you up from the 78 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,920 mighty clays put you on a rock to stay as you've come to that 79 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:25,520 place. You need endurance to stay. 80 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,640 And one of the things when I was looking in my life itself and 81 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,360 there was a point in time when actually Tina was telling me 82 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,720 Geshom, you know, one of the things that I'm scared about as 83 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,240 you get older is that probably you'll give up because early on 84 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,640 in life you started carrying so many things which you know. 85 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,600 And she spoke candidly about what her fear was with regard to 86 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,560 me. And I remember the starting of 87 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,080 the year didn't start as much as divine takeover. 88 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,560 As a priest about it, the inner struggle for me was always to 89 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,560 strive to make sure things happen. 90 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,640 And if for those of you who know me, I, I move towards certain 91 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,440 things, you know, with the, with faith that we can see God come 92 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,560 through, we'll see it happen. But then somewhere along the 93 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,200 line between faith, what happens is it becomes striving. 94 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,520 And so in that striving, she said, allow God to work in 95 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,200 entry. And then I remember struggling a 96 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,120 lot between Jan, Feb, March and in April. 97 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,240 I remember I had to say, God, I'm going to stop striving now. 98 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,280 I'm going to say God, I'm going to listen to what you have to 99 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:27,880 say. And I started converting 100 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,880 everything of that part of my struggle, the breakthroughs that 101 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,280 we wanted into prayer. And it's in that I realized God, 102 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:39,440 I need more endurance than that because faith is not absence of 103 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,040 Indians. It's rather more endurance to 104 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,560 push keep showing up still to keep doing it. 105 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,360 And so today as I'm standing here, I know like it's it's like 106 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,360 a hard topic to talk because you've not run of the race to 107 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,840 actually talk about Indians. But the interesting thing is 108 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,880 when I was in BBS, all five days, all the older people of 109 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,240 our church were actually coming and doing devotions. 110 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:04,080 And as they were doing devotions, I also realized in 111 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,160 their rage, they still haven't reached the end game. 112 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,200 There's not the end line. They still are working towards 113 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:12,920 maturity. And the New Testament called 114 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,680 keeps talking about this, that we are living out a Christian 115 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:17,400 life and working out our maturity. 116 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,360 We don't come to a state of fully mature here or in our Gen. 117 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,680 Z word Zen mode, we don't come to that place here. 118 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,120 We come to a place of working on it continuously. 119 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,040 So which means even in their age they need endurance. 120 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,840 Their age they need endurance. So today I wanted to look 121 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,880 through a couple of verses. The first verses from Hebrews 122 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:43,320 chapter 12 verses 1 to 2. A lot of us know this verse in 123 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,760 the NIV it says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such 124 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,280 a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that 125 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:53,920 hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run 126 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,480 with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our 127 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,200 eyes on Jesus the pioneer and the perfecter of faith. 128 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,920 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning at 129 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,040 shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 130 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,160 The minute we are made aware of our sin, the minute we say no to 131 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:17,000 sin and yes to Christ, the minute we are redeemed by Jesus, 132 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,920 when we've prayed the sinner's prayer, and then the minute we 133 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,960 are set apart by the waters of baptism because we publicly are 134 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,440 telling people from here on, I'm not a follower of the world. 135 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,760 I'm a follower of Jesus. What happens? 136 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,440 You and I have started the race of endurance because Satan's 137 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:37,960 only game is to keep giving you the opportunity to see sin and 138 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:39,960 participate in sin and take you out. 139 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:41,920 And So what does this work entails? 140 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,400 In fact, in the message it says that there are pioneers who 141 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,200 blazed away. Which means people who've gone 142 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,160 before us. When we come every Sunday to 143 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,320 church, why do we look through the scriptures? 144 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,320 Why do we look through some of the people who've gone before 145 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:56,720 us? Because they have pioneered 146 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:58,760 their faith. They didn't have a road marked 147 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:00,800 out. It's in revelation of God that 148 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,760 they saw that this is a path they have to take in faith. 149 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:05,720 They took it and they kept pioneering. 150 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,600 What is pioneering? Let's say you're put in a huge 151 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,200 sugar cane land and you've given a sickle and you have to go in a 152 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:14,360 direction. What will you do? 153 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,480 You won't just weed off, you'll just start cutting out and 154 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,680 paving away. And So what happens today as a 155 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,200 husband, when I start doing it, who comes alongside me? 156 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,880 My wife, she starts and then suddenly our kids have a way to 157 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,200 go. But when God unfolds their life, 158 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,080 they start doing the same thing what they've seen. 159 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,640 And so today we are all pioneers in some way. 160 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,280 When we start this journey, all these veterans are cheering for 161 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,360 us. It says in the message, what 162 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:42,280 does that mean? Those who've gone before us, 163 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,000 they're already in eternity and they're cheering, saying you can 164 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,760 make it. That's why when someone takes 165 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,280 baptism, if you notice what happens, they say many are 166 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,400 cheering in heaven. They're happy for you, for the 167 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,000 decision you made. And so today I want us to come 168 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,560 to a place So it says that couple of things to do, which 169 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,200 Eugene Peterson writes it in his transition first says strip 170 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,760 down, start running and never quit. 171 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:12,680 No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins, no saturated 172 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,080 fat, no whatever fat you want to call it. 173 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:20,800 None of that, which means none of my past experiences matter to 174 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,240 run, which means a lot of us are trying to do this Christian 175 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,280 journey with oh, I know this person or I know that person or 176 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,280 that person is a friend of my father, or this is how my mother 177 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,040 did it. This is how my father did it, or 178 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,960 we were part of this thing. God sakes, strip everything 179 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:37,840 down. You're running the race for 180 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:39,880 yourself. And so there are a couple of 181 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,440 things which I wanted to highlight because a lot of times 182 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:48,280 we think endurance is something which we which we just have to 183 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:49,840 show in particular areas of our life. 184 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,560 But the beautiful thing about a Christian life is everything is 185 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:55,320 integrated. I can't just show endurance in 186 00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:00,920 work and not show it in myself or not show it in what God's 187 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,320 called me. It's not compartmentalized. 188 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,480 Any New Age guru will say you need to compartmentalize 189 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,360 everything, but a God is like everything is intersected. 190 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,160 When he redeemed you from sin, he didn't compartmentally redeem 191 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,440 you from sin. Holy, the very tag sinners 192 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,040 changed. He's redeemed you from that. 193 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,080 And So what is endurance is the ability to continue doing 194 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:27,160 something for a long time. You don't need endurance to do 195 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,160 the bad thing. How many of you can agree? 196 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,720 If you have to be mean, you don't need the endurance in that 197 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,520 because when you're mean, what do you somewhere you feel happy 198 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,160 inside? Do you do you need endurance to 199 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,840 lie? No, you just need endurance to 200 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:42,840 maintain the cover. Same stories. 201 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,600 What lie you told SD should work today also, as you all saw, 202 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:53,040 mothers are able to find every lie that we say you will soon 203 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,520 realize. So our endurance that's needed 204 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,880 is only needed to do the right things. 205 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,840 It's only needed when you have to give up food which has 206 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:09,640 saturated fat. So today I would ask you Church, 207 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,920 as much as we are have compartmentalized and segmented 208 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:19,160 certain parts, I pray and ask that we'll have endurance fully. 209 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,160 We are called to endure and turn build endurance. 210 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,920 A lot of you have a lot of us. In fact, many a times the 211 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,200 narrative, especially in India when they call Christians as 212 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,800 rice bag people and you know, they have those slurs about 213 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,840 about us. A lot of us tend to think the 214 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,680 endurance we are called to endure under suppression. 215 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:41,720 No, we're called to endure with freedom. 216 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,200 We're called to endure with seeing hope being fulfilled. 217 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,680 We're called to endure in what God is forming in the tapestry 218 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:55,200 of our lives. So don't allow the the world and 219 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,720 what culture is dictating with regard to that. 220 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,960 Today we are living in a world where we are always fighting 221 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,160 things we face with our strength. 222 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,520 How many of you agree homeophys And so many a times we feel 223 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,840 battle weary. For example, if, if I have to 224 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,840 ask, what does endurance look like in a real world scenario? 225 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,360 We all have a system in which we go through rigor of life. 226 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,640 You know, now it's started way early, 2 1/2 years old itself. 227 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,680 Parents are thinking we need to put them in something so that 228 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:29,720 their energy gets dissipated. But there's endurance that's 229 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:34,160 built in school that takes us to the door of the college but 230 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,360 doesn't take us through college. How many of you know that that's 231 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,640 endurance that's built in college that takes us to the 232 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,800 door of probably a masters or the door of getting placed into 233 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,240 a company, but not necessarily gets us ready for work. 234 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,880 That endurance that takes us in work and realizes every day is a 235 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,520 step of faith because you keep showing up. 236 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:58,800 You soon realize there are so many things. 237 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,160 Then from that what happens? You suddenly realize you end up 238 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,800 dating and you think, OK, this is what marriage is going to 239 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,920 look like. But the endurance from dating, 240 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:08,720 when it goes into marriage, it becomes even. 241 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,760 That's a whole other ball game. And then when you get married, 242 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,960 every day is a day off endurance because you don't know what 243 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:24,440 someone really laughed. It's why is it because you don't 244 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,160 know what's going to come? You don't have you? 245 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,680 How many of you, I don't know about you, but I got college 246 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:31,440 prospectus. When, when, when I have to 247 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:32,840 apply. And then nowadays you have 248 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,680 websites that time you have to like send ₹50 or something and 249 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:37,760 apply. And then they'll send you a 250 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:39,480 prospectus. So when you see the prospectus, 251 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,360 it'll be wow, great. They'll show you the food 252 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,440 they're serving in hostel and you know how the campus is and 253 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:46,880 all that. Wow, this is such great. 254 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,880 So we we want prospectus for a marriage. 255 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,120 We want prospectus when God's given us children. 256 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,040 We want prospectus when it comes to work today. 257 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:02,640 What they call that the the Facebook alphabet or they call 258 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,360 that one when abbreviation is there. 259 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,040 No, you want to get fan. Yeah. 260 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:11,240 And when you think of all these, we want something that's well 261 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:12,440 structured. Everything. 262 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,520 But God said, no, your life is 1, which is dependent on me. 263 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,160 And so as much as you're looking for the prospectus, I will give 264 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,880 you the step each day to build this endurance a deal. 265 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,280 This is built in marriage. And eventually that when 266 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,080 parenting starts, it's a whole different thing. 267 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,880 And then from parenting, it moves to mentoring and then it 268 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,640 continues on. Endurance is needed in 269 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,440 everything. And so today, whatever stage in 270 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,000 life you're giving up on endurance, I would ask, would 271 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,280 you ask God? I need strength like never 272 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,840 before, especially to do the right things in life. 273 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,760 One Corinthians 1558 says, Therefore, my dear brothers and 274 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:54,800 sisters, stand firm, let nothing move you always give yourselves 275 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,760 fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor 276 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,360 in the Lord is not in vain. To read this endurance that we 277 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,360 are called to do is one of Labor in the Lord. 278 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,160 This is not full time missionary calling. 279 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,640 It's labor in the Lord if you are redeemed by Jesus, we are 280 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,400 living our lives out for Jesus. And so it's that labour. 281 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:16,840 And what does that labour look like? 282 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:21,720 The the Greek word for labour's copas, which means it, it's to 283 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,960 stand strong. So when a blow on a strike is 284 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,720 hit hard it it doesn't it weakens, but it doesn't 285 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,080 debilitate us. It it it we labour in such a 286 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,880 sense that we we keep moving forward it. 287 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,280 And so that's what Paul is asking us that we will have deep 288 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,400 fatigue. We will find extreme weariness, 289 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,040 but still the joy of the Lord will be my strength. 290 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,000 When Paul talks about that, he talks about the resurrected life 291 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,520 in that particular chapter. He says the hope of all gory 292 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:55,720 when we go, our eyes are set on eternity and so today I would 293 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,920 ask you for those of you who want I pray that the sermon will 294 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:02,800 encourage you to continue in endurance for those of you 295 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,160 who've given up and are saying you know what God this Christian 296 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,080 life is too hard. My prayer is that it'll restart 297 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,040 you'll be able to restart enduring and doing it for God. 298 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:14,920 For those of you who like you know what that's one aspect of 299 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,400 Christian life I've never thought about. 300 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,120 I just come on a Sunday. I hear what has been said. 301 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,400 I deceive it and I go about, but I prayed as we introduce 302 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,160 endurance to you today, there'll be a shift internally so that 303 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,560 you'll be able to do things for God's glory. 304 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,040 The first thing I wanted to ask you to make a note is endurance 305 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,840 is personal and life giving. It's personal and life giving. 306 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,840 You know, it's always good to cheer someone on. 307 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,400 How many of you have seen that? You know, especially now as 308 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,920 parents, when you come, it's so easy to tell our kids to study, 309 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:54,880 but we only know how difficult it was to study, you know, And 310 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,960 so and we create these rules like as if we followed all those 311 00:16:57,960 --> 00:16:59,880 rules, you know, And so you say you need to study, you need to 312 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,120 finish it on time. And then Tina will say, did you 313 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:03,680 actually do that? And I'm like, no, I didn't do 314 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,160 it. And so you know that that so we 315 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,280 endurance is personal. And so today, as you're seated 316 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,000 here, I want you all to make a choice for yourself. 317 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:14,319 Will this endurance be personal for me? 318 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,480 Because there are so many things that are gods rested on our 319 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,079 shoulders. He's saying, I'm wanting to 320 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,160 journey with you. But if you're not willing to 321 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,160 journey this, this is not moving anywhere. 322 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,680 How many of you feel stuck in a spiritual sense? 323 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,280 How many of you feel physically also you feel stuck. 324 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,200 Nothing is moving. I'll ask the Lord, we come to 325 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,120 your altar to say, Lord, I need endurance. 326 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:39,800 Lord, for some reason I've just been, I've not taken 327 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,280 responsibility. So I pray that today as we go 328 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:49,040 out from here, our mind will be made-up to do things Jesus way, 329 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,080 you know, a mindset that we need to break. 330 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,800 We somehow think, you know, the entire family's endurance. 331 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,800 No, it starts with me. The minute I'm showcased in 332 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,840 endured enduring and moving forward automatically others all 333 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,280 will follow. That's the beautiful equation 334 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,360 about the Christian faith. So when we take that step 335 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:12,200 towards endurance, it has to be personal. 336 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,760 The enemy marks us out because just imagine, I was just 337 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,640 thinking through my the what I was feeling a couple of months 338 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,160 back, the pleasure of it and everything. 339 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,920 And God had to realign some of my priorities. 340 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,000 And as he was doing that, I was just thanking God because one 341 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,600 thing he'll do is if he takes me out, who does he take out? 342 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:36,120 He takes also as far as if in a family equation, if he takes one 343 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:40,000 out 1 is out out of the four and like that each one he can take 344 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,240 out so three, you play a vital part in the bigger equation, but 345 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:49,160 your equation also matters. Your equation also matters. 346 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,560 And what a coincidence I'm talking about this. 347 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,440 Every seat matters in today's election. 348 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:57,920 Talk according to a seat when we can, when we can believe that, 349 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:04,240 you know, so that your life pant is somewhere down the line. 350 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,160 You're thinking, oh you know what, I'm just part of the rat 351 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,240 race. No, you are uniquely created. 352 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:12,600 You are thought of. You are beautifully structured 353 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:16,040 for a time such as this. Esther had to be structured for 354 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,440 a time such as this to be in the courtrooms there to go and save 355 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,520 her people. Just imagine if each and 356 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,840 everyone are ready to wait for God's unfolding. 357 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,880 God won't just give you your entire life strategy plan when 358 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,120 the minute you say God, I'm ready to endurance because you 359 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:34,880 know you'll get scared. But as you go take that step, 360 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:39,040 he's like, I'll put one, yes. Next, the beautiful imagery in 361 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:44,640 that was when he said if he has to fly from morning to from dawn 362 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:49,120 to dusk to put that stones, endurance will feel like that. 363 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:55,480 It'll feel like little wings doing the job, which and it'll 364 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:59,520 be because of God. Endurance is personal because 365 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,960 the weight of living it out is hard. 366 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,000 And so if you see in Galatians 5, there's an interesting 367 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,400 passage where Paul urges the Galatian church not to gratify 368 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,000 the desires of the flesh. And as I mentioned earlier, 369 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:14,720 endurance is not needed for doing the wrong thing. 370 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,760 But as we do the right thing, we also need to realize that the 371 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,240 wrong thing is something which we need to run away from. 372 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,320 We need to, we need the endurance to run away from. 373 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,880 So I say walk by spirit verse 16 onwards, and you will not 374 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,560 gratify the desires of the flesh. 375 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,720 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit and the 376 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,880 spirit what is contrary to the flesh. 377 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:36,480 They are in conflict with each other. 378 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,000 So you so that you are not to do whatever you want. 379 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,200 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the 380 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,120 law. The acts of flesh are obvious. 381 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:49,160 Sexual immortality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry and 382 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,960 witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish 383 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,120 ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies 384 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,680 and the like. And I warn you, as I did before, 385 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,360 that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of 386 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:05,480 God. The beautiful aspect of this 387 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,440 passage is we're not just one and done. 388 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,720 As we continue on with life, all these things start suddenly 389 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,360 coming out. You suddenly feel God. 390 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,960 I've been following you for like 15 years, but suddenly jealousy 391 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:18,440 is suddenly starting to manifest. 392 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,160 It's suddenly starting to show up because I'm suddenly starting 393 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,720 to see other believers having their breakthroughs and I'm 394 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,240 starting to engage in this fruit of jealousy. 395 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:31,680 But God said no, endure, Endure towards patience, endure towards 396 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,200 seeking me more. And so it's needed for us to 397 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,800 really pivot every time these things keep coming up. 398 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,920 Endurance is needed to enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. 399 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,520 So today, what are So today, where are we really? 400 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,000 Is a salvation real or are we wearing a mask? 401 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,480 The easiest place to wear a mask is in the church among 402 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,760 believers. But God's like saying, can you 403 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,920 come forward today and say God, this is where I am. 404 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,400 I love in open heavens. When he met again, God was 405 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,120 reminding me, the altar has to become the safest place for you, 406 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,440 the altar of God. And when we are in this place, 407 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,520 what happens is the revelation that he gives when you come to 408 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,520 the altar should be 1 where like God. 409 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,600 Thank you for revealing that. I will take a step towards that. 410 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:23,680 In the message it says when you continue on about the fruit of 411 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,640 the Spirit. But since this is the kind of 412 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,920 life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure 413 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,960 that we do not just hold it as an idea in our head. 414 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,080 Lot of us are holding goodness as an idea of our head, or it 415 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,360 will be nice if it can be good. So on, on my birthday, I'll be 416 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,200 good. What happens to the remaining 417 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:46,600 364 days? Oh, I, I, I'll show love this 418 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,160 time. Oh, joy this time. 419 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,840 Oh, peace this time. No, he's saying let it not just 420 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,640 be an idea in our head or a sentiment in our hearts, but 421 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,400 work out its implications in every detail of our lives. 422 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,680 Which means when you have to have love, he'll put you in 423 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,600 situations where it's difficult to love. 424 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:07,880 Yashum, I didn't want to hear that in May May's vacation time. 425 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,520 I wanted to be free from my Christian emotions, Jesus 426 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,000 emotions. But here the truth is, when you 427 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,920 have to endure peace, where will he put you? 428 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,560 He won't put you in a beach where you have you're seated, 429 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,480 you have a tender coconut in your hand. 430 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,560 He's not going to do that. He's going to put you in a place 431 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,640 of peacelessness where your bank balance is running dry. 432 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,000 You're getting that everyday alert saying it's gone below the 433 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,840 balance, although probably you're getting that e-mail 434 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,720 thread that's you see time and again where you're like, God, I 435 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,320 don't have the strength to complete this, but Lord, I'm 436 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:47,200 losing my peace on this. And so I ask you today, maybe 437 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,920 work out its implications in every detail of our lives. 438 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:56,400 That means we will not compare ourselves to these each other as 439 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,200 if one of us were better and another worse. 440 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,560 We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. 441 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,080 Each of us is an original. Each of you are an original. 442 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,880 And so today, when we personally live with endurance, the love 443 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,200 that we show will be different. The joy that we show will be 444 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,520 different. The peace that we show will be 445 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,800 different. We won't. 446 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,960 We will be understanding of the peace that's around us and we'll 447 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,520 know how to conduct ourselves. Forbearance, kindness, goodness, 448 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,440 faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 449 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,200 The journey is going to be hard. No, there's no doubt in that. 450 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:36,880 There'll be. There will be times when you 451 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,680 feel like giving up. That's because we are trying to 452 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:46,520 constantly fight who God has created US versus what we want 453 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,720 to be. Endurance is to make sure we are 454 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:56,840 free and enjoy the freedom. And if I'm not enjoying that 455 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,040 freedom, feels I'm compromised somewhere. 456 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,440 Galatians 51. It's for freedom that Christ has 457 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,280 set us free. In Deuteronomy chapter 5, he 458 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,360 says verse 30 to 33. So be careful to do what the 459 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:12,040 Lord your God has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right 460 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,520 or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that 461 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,000 the Lord your God has commanded you so that you may live and 462 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,080 prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. 463 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,760 A lot of us are waiting for promises, but if we don't listen 464 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,640 to the instruction of God over our lives, If you're looking 465 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,400 constantly to the right and to the left, and in today's 466 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,280 culture, we don't have to look to the right or the left. 467 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,040 We just have to look down. We are scrolling, doom 468 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,520 scrolling. We're looking at other people's 469 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:42,400 lives and thinking for wow, they've got it. 470 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,000 Ask every person who's editing a video and everything, Everything 471 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,520 is staged. Nothing is real. 472 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,840 Everything is staged. Everything when you see in a 473 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,120 real is staged. No one's life is that perfect. 474 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,600 The beauty treatments that they go, the food pictures that they 475 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,400 put. How many of you have actually 476 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,320 gone to a food joint after seeing a review and found it's 477 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,440 completely opposite from what that person said? 478 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,080 That's true because the person is coming because a guest of 479 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,080 honour is coming. They would have made extra 480 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:16,960 butter and made the food taste good. 481 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,560 But then when regular things come, it'll look, it'll taste 482 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,320 different. So don't get distracted. 483 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:26,560 Our Christian life is 1 where he's saying walk with endurance 484 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,400 because a lot of us, if you're not walking with personal 485 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,080 endurance, our marriages will not move any further. 486 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,640 The the endurance journey of a marriage depends on us. 487 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,200 It's 5050 parenting. You can't just say, OK, we've 488 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,920 had our kids. They'll just know endurance and 489 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,920 that also it was interesting in this season of our lives. 490 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,080 I took a back seat in some of my kids things. 491 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,320 And when a set back came, God reminded me that was something 492 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,640 you were supposed to do. Why did you take a step back? 493 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,680 And I realized when I had to look through back, a lot of my 494 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,560 own personal things came up, which I thought those were more 495 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,880 important. So God's asking you do your 496 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,680 thing, I'll do mine. And a lot of times they're 497 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,480 trying to get into the list, which God is saying He'll 498 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,440 handle. You know, for those of you 499 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,520 who've been struggling, especially in this area, I pray 500 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:21,920 that Jesus will give you the strength. 501 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,840 Because a lot of times when we keep falling, especially it says 502 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,360 in Proverbs 24 verse 16, in passion for the lovers of God 503 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,880 may suffer adversity and stumble 7 times, but they will continue 504 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,040 to rise over and over again. And I pray that that will be 505 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:39,920 something that we'll do in Christ. 506 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,880 It will be hard, God, this, but God here, thank you for 507 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,040 revealing this to me again. I'm sorry, God, I'll show up 508 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,920 again. I'll end your I'll press the 509 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,280 accelerator and move forward towards you. 510 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,040 The second thing, the first thing is endurance is personal. 511 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,880 The second thing is endurance is tested so we don't lose ground 512 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,840 every time. Endurance is tested and if you 513 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,600 take a step back, you're losing ground, you're losing territory. 514 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:12,680 And who gains territory? The enemy every time, because in 515 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,040 your personal life, if you haven't overcome what he's what 516 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:21,400 you're fighting him against. I, I, I want to encourage you, 517 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:23,520 Church, the Christian life is one of battle. 518 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,800 Only in that battle you'll enjoy the blessing. 519 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:28,520 That's the beauty about it. How does he do it? 520 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:33,400 I don't know. The seasons of hardship come and 521 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,920 the seasons of fruitfulness also happen at the same time. 522 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,800 Seasons of confusion comes. But then there's a season of, 523 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,840 you know, his revelation coming and making us understand this is 524 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,400 far bigger. So today as you as you hear 525 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,760 this, my ask is, would you realize that you won't give in 526 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,080 to the fear and allow your SO pick yourselves up? 527 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,680 So when you're tested, you're not losing ground. 528 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,680 In the Old Testament, we see from Abraham, the promise is 529 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,440 given. He has numerous stars in the 530 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,760 sky. Joseph gets the dream, David is 531 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,360 anointed and 20 odd years later he gets anointed as he becomes a 532 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,800 king. You see that they all had to 533 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,360 show endurance. All had to show endurance time 534 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:18,680 and again. There's So I want to ask you 535 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,720 today, is your endurance, is your shield in your life looking 536 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,680 like it's tested or is it glossy? 537 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,080 You know, you've got a nice Polish and you just kept it, 538 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,520 which is shelf worthy. Is your endurance battle tested 539 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,440 today? Has it? 540 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,120 Does it have the scars of resisting the enemy? 541 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,480 A lot of us have a God-given promise. 542 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,960 We are working out a salvation is being put to work. 543 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,360 So today as you're, as you're trying to take ground, are you 544 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,360 saying, God, I'll hold on to the place where you've called me to 545 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,120 hold on and resist the enemy. You need endurance for that. 546 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,120 I want to show you a picture of a shield, one of the Roman 547 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,320 Shields that were there. The shield making in centuries 548 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,480 before was strong enough to endure the attack. 549 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:11,280 Just a single shield will be there. 550 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,960 But the interesting thing is as Shields evolved, as metal and 551 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:17,920 all that grew, they started adding it around. 552 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,040 But the centre had a whole ball of a steel structure that was 553 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,320 kept which so that that could take the highest impact. 554 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,920 And why is that is because behind it was a person who held 555 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,800 it that was always clamped to their arm. 556 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,360 And so today a lot of us, if there's anything that Satan will 557 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,200 do is we always are worried about what he'll hit on the 558 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,560 outside, but he's actually always hitting at the centre. 559 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,640 He's not playing fair. I've, I think preached about 560 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,920 that earlier. He is wanting to hit you right 561 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,280 at the centre. It's called a shield boss. 562 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,880 The central Dome. It's heavily hammered. 563 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,760 It requires us and so if that core of our being today. 564 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,520 I want to ask you never ever allow the enemy to pull you down 565 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,200 and who God's created you. If he can take you out on that, 566 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,480 he'll take you out with everything else. 567 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,240 Everything else is just everything else is even if a 568 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,520 person says something, it'll directly go down to that. 569 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:18,760 Be so sure that you're forged in the image of God right here on 570 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,960 earth spiritually, yes, but right here, which means you need 571 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,040 to speak to yourself. You might say, you know what, in 572 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:27,880 30s there's revelation that's coming. 573 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:29,680 Oh, you know, I was bullied when I was in school. 574 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,040 I was this the world will give you language to what all you've 575 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,560 gone through, but go back to the creator and say God, what did 576 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,560 you create me for and realize that what you've gone through is 577 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,800 just a testimony at the end of the day, because you know Jesus 578 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:44,800 already. That is what you have to do. 579 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,920 And so parents don't succumb when your kids are coming and 580 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,120 saying this is fearful that is there. 581 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:52,240 I've been this person is bullying me. 582 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,080 Rise up and tell them K keep the game. 583 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:56,840 Keep your eyes on the bigger part of the game. 584 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,240 Rise up because today if you don't overcome this bully 585 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,000 tomorrow, you can't overcome the bully at work. 586 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,160 You can't overcome the bully that that you'll meet outside. 587 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,360 So today you and I have to personally walk through it and 588 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,840 keep strengthening the central frame of our shield. 589 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:19,280 So I pray that you won't because every time we think the the 590 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,160 beautiful thing about the Christian walk is that God and 591 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,840 sake Geshom, go make disciples, build a Kingdom and build a 592 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:27,160 legacy. He didn't say that. 593 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,880 What did he say? Go make disciples of all nation, 594 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,160 baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy 595 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:34,840 Spirit. When you read it in mark what 596 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,560 you say, go perform signs wonders, liberate them, set them 597 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,720 free, let them live in freedom. You and I are called to live in 598 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,560 freedom today, not to be bound, but that comes at the cost of 599 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,560 resisting the enemy. So you and I today are called 600 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,960 not just to protect ourselves, but to take a stand against the 601 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,840 darts of the enemy. Darts of the enemy. 602 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,400 When you look at this entire process of the shield being 603 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,200 forged, especially that centrepiece, it goes through a 604 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,360 lot of hammering, lot of hammering. 605 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:11,600 So if you're having doubts, if you're having ideas like God, 606 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:15,720 this is I'm struggling with this thought like as even as we're 607 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,440 celebrating Mother's Day, it's probably a childhood is 1 where 608 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:23,440 people called us names and told us things come down to the thing 609 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,080 of God. You've created me as an 610 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,920 original, created me as an original. 611 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:32,000 Because if you don't set yourself right, your spouse also 612 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:33,960 won't be able to set. You're just going to do more 613 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,280 harm in your marriage. You're just going to do more 614 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,360 harm in your parenting. And So what happens in this is 615 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:44,360 the shield when you're going through life, it gets tested. 616 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,560 And honestly speaking, you're not aware of the test. 617 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:49,360 It's not an appointment that the doctors made. 618 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,360 You're making to the doctor to go see. 619 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,840 It's one thing by it'll come. And so even this last week, I 620 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,520 was going through certain things and I had to make certain 621 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:01,400 decisions. Tina was sitting on a 622 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,040 conversation which happened in a conversation and the 623 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,360 conversation reminded of 15 years back of a conversation 624 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:11,280 we've had with with another friend. 625 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,239 And honestly, you know, if you're battle weary, what is 626 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,440 battle weary? God, how many times will the 627 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,960 enemy be hitting here? God it feels difficult and I had 628 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,320 to and we had to say this Tina said feeds like 15 years back 629 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:26,920 and I was reminded he just wants to take us out. 630 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:28,880 He just wants to say I can't do it. 631 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:30,560 You know what I give up this post. 632 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,239 You know what you just do whatever you want. 633 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,199 If we give up what will happen? The enemy will come and sit over 634 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:39,239 there. You and I have to come to a 635 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:44,520 place of saying God even unto my old age till I close my eyes. 636 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,440 I won't give up, I will endure. The enemy won't Take Me Out. 637 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,639 The enemy won't Take Me Out. It's hard, you know, if we don't 638 00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:57,960 come to a place of controlling ourselves now in our 20s, in our 639 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:04,600 30s, forties, if we don't act right as men in our old days. 640 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,200 If you're acting funny, the root cause is because we didn't deal 641 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,280 with it here. So I pray that we'll have 642 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,840 endurance to do the right things here, endurance to stand for the 643 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:17,520 truth, endurance to stand so that we'll be able to see God 644 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:19,800 reveal His true self in and through us. 645 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,880 So I pray if you're feeling fatigued now, I pray today we'll 646 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:26,560 you'll feel refreshed even as we partake of the Lord's Table, 647 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,960 you'll be refreshed. Don't give too much room for 648 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,680 your mental script because the mental script keeps changing. 649 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,560 The next day when you wake up, if it has not rained, you might 650 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:39,320 feel like writing a better mental script. 651 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,800 But if it's rained and if you're feeling cozy, you'd write a 652 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,240 whole different mental script. If you've had hot chocolate, you 653 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:47,680 might write a different mental script. 654 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,880 For those of you living in pain, guests, if you're drinking, that 655 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,000 occurs old coffee, you just have to. 656 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:54,960 It'll be a different mental script. 657 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,680 You can't base it on emotion. You need to base it on who God's 658 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,760 created you to be. So when you rise up, rise up 659 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:07,360 with strength and encouragement in it, God is not wanting to 660 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,520 break us. Rather He wants us to move 661 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,480 through the struggle so that we go into maturity. 662 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,160 Every step is going to be 1 of maturity. 663 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:24,760 So I pray that as we enter into this place, it enables us to 664 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:28,360 pull down every smokescreen and mirage that the enemy has. 665 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:31,960 A lot of times we are stuck in a place where we think the enemy 666 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:33,640 is out there and it's just a mirage. 667 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,800 With endurance, you'll be able to see that God's placing you on 668 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,920 firm ground. James One versus 2 onwards, it 669 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:43,760 says consider it nothing but joy. 670 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:47,200 My brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various 671 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,600 trials, be assured that the testing of your faith through 672 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:55,920 experience produces endurance, leading to spiritual maturity 673 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,120 and inner peace through experience. 674 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:03,760 You and I have to walk through it to experience the endurance 675 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:05,440 that God has built in and through us. 676 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:08,240 And so in fact, when we go through that, we were seeing 677 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:12,240 even the same verse in our men's Bible study like starts off, 678 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:14,640 James starts off with that and it says when you go through 679 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:19,320 verse 4 and verse 5, it says if any of you lacks wisdom, let him 680 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:22,000 ask of God who generally see gives without reproach. 681 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,520 And so when you see in that you understand that you need his 682 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:32,200 wisdom as you also go through this endurance experience in 683 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:36,600 Christ produces endurance. So which means in when as I 684 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,280 endure through this joy will be present, testing will come, but 685 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,320 God will take me through it. It talks about you will have 686 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,640 inner peace. So which means I won't exist to 687 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,880 have outer peace. How many of you long for inner 688 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:53,320 peace than outer peace? You can't control outer peace, 689 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,600 inner peace you can. And so I pray that we'll a 690 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:03,040 thorough work is done, which means you are you are going 691 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,040 through endurance where even though you're attacked from all 692 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:10,560 sides, you will survive. The enemy is just not going to 693 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,360 attack on one side, which means a lot of us think, oh, he'll 694 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,080 only attack us physically. No, he'll attack us with a 695 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:18,400 spiritual mind with in our spirit. 696 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:22,480 He'll attack us on our on our mind also and our emotions. 697 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:26,000 And so in every level we will have endurance to push through. 698 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,200 The third thing is when we when it is personal, when it is 699 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:33,440 tested, it is also accounted for because we are a collective. 700 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,640 Endurance is accounted for because we are a collective. 701 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,160 We are accountable because it's mutual edification. 702 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,520 At the end of the day, when we gather like this, what we endure 703 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,800 is mutual edification for someone else. 704 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,440 None of us are called to do this singular stand alone journey, 705 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,680 but rather I'm called to surround myself with people. 706 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:04,840 A lot of us, a real Christian or a real Christ follow will not 707 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,480 choose to live in an echo chamber. 708 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:13,400 What is an echo chamber? I don't know if there was a 709 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,840 movie where this where the guy apparently has apparatus, he 710 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,800 could just put it. He'll just become a bubble 711 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,200 around him and he can scream whatever, and then it'll go off. 712 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:26,400 And a lot of us are wanting those echo chambers was like, 713 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:27,800 no, you don't need echo chambers. 714 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,520 You can't. Your echo chamber doesn't give 715 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:31,520 life. It brings death. 716 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:34,920 It doesn't give you clarity, it gives confusion. 717 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:38,720 So today, as you do endurance, what will happen is with mutual 718 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:41,560 edification, you'll be able to realize, wow, they were in the 719 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,000 midst of that struggle. They were able to still see God, 720 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,280 man, I can, I can step on endurance this week. 721 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:50,720 I don't have to give up. Well, that person has stayed 722 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:53,760 away from their family and they're in a hostel and they're 723 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,520 able to get through their exams. Well, hey, even I can push 724 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,440 through. I don't have any excuse. 725 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,600 I can ask God. You see, suddenly the church 726 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:06,200 becomes a place where you're able to see God walk in and 727 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:07,480 through each and every one of us. 728 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,080 One of the key aspects of endurance is not just for us to 729 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:15,720 get stronger, but for us to lock our Shields to becoming 730 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:18,200 something stronger for His Kingdom. 731 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,560 The Romans used this Roman shield formation called Testudo 732 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,920 and I have a picture of that. And as I was just. 733 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:30,000 Going through that entire formation, what it showed was 734 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:34,920 this is what we as a church are called to do every Friday when 735 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,720 we meet, what are we doing? We're saying we're coming 736 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:40,000 probably 5 or 10 or how many of us are coming? 737 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,800 We're saying we're locking in our Shields to say God, we're 738 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:45,000 not done. We are here to stand and 739 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,080 testify. We are here to stand and 740 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:51,080 infiltrate the enemy's camp. See, we can only infiltrate the 741 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:52,920 enemy's camp. And we have a common goal. 742 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:58,200 How many of you agree? I might want to pray for 743 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:00,120 healing. Tina wants to pray for 744 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,760 spirituality. Someone else might want to pay 745 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:04,520 for provision. All that are individual 746 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,640 endurances. But when we come here, we have a 747 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:08,920 common goal as to what the church has called us to pray. 748 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,320 And So what happens is we are able to push through the NEP 749 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:14,840 camp. We're able to take ground. 750 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,680 What is God called via Zion today to do? 751 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:22,440 It will only happen when all of us come together in unison, in 752 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:24,640 unison. What happened yesterday night 753 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:29,240 was, and I'm glad it sounds political, but it came. 754 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,200 It was a good analogy for me to use. 755 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,600 The other single voters from different parties all agreed 756 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,200 that they didn't want president's rule and they wanted 757 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,800 us to have a democratic rule. So they came together in that 758 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:44,920 consideration and they've given their confidence so that our 759 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:48,560 government will be formed. There was a singular vision to 760 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:52,200 which they came together, but today we have a far bigger 761 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,160 vision. We are just one part of the body 762 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:57,400 that's gathering here. Imagine how many churches are 763 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,760 there around when we gather like this, when we keep pushing 764 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:03,640 through, automatically we'll be In Sync with other churches who 765 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,120 are moving in that direction. We start praying. 766 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,920 We start taking claim in what God's called us. 767 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,760 Our church specifically is doing things for the stretch of Omar, 768 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:16,240 which means families are there. You're praying for marriages, 769 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,040 which means people are struggling to have kids. 770 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,840 We are right on top of a fertility clinic. 771 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:25,320 These are all the, all the different walls that we are 772 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:27,200 going and banging time and again. 773 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:32,400 We have a whole load of colleges and workplace people here. 774 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,960 We are praying for all of them to have a better understanding 775 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:38,120 of what it is to work, what it is to study, what it is to have 776 00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,000 for their future. Dreams which are supposed to be 777 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,720 built here, are starting to die here. 778 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:46,320 So you're asking God, God, would you enable us to start seeing 779 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:48,840 your purposes come alive? And so when you look at this 780 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:53,520 imagery, we are called to go and infiltrate the enemy's camp. 781 00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:57,720 You're not here to come feel good, have things and go. 782 00:42:57,720 --> 00:42:58,680 No. What are some of the things 783 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,000 you're going to infiltrate? One of the key things of this 784 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:04,600 formation, if you see as you see that image, is when they log the 785 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:08,560 Shields, they're able to go to the walls that are there, and 786 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,280 they're able to stand there and take ground. 787 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:13,160 In fact, there'll be a picture. Yeah. 788 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:17,040 You're able to go to the ground, to the walls there because we 789 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,000 are united. That's why seasons of fasting 790 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:20,640 are important. Seasons of praying are 791 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:23,280 important. So today, what we're doing as a 792 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:26,040 church, even with the endurance, I'm giving you the bigger 793 00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:29,320 picture. If we can work on our personal, 794 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,960 when we are tested in our personal, we'll be useful as a 795 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,800 collective for what God's calling us. 796 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,600 I'm believing for signs, wonders and miracles. 797 00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:42,800 The enemy has built fortified walls, which we are scared 798 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:44,640 about. Oh, we won't touch that. 799 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,920 We won't do that. The spirit of this age, ever 800 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:51,360 since code came was awareness, but awareness does not bring 801 00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:54,680 transformation. How many of you know that if 802 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,240 awareness brought transformation, we won't be 803 00:43:56,240 --> 00:43:58,760 having drugs. If awareness brought 804 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:00,800 transformation, we won't be having alcoholism. 805 00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:03,560 Awareness does not bring anything. 806 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,640 It's only with awareness when you put it to work with 807 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:11,200 endurance brings transformation. So church today, if you and I 808 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:15,480 are to are placed in a place like this where God's placed us 809 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:19,840 in the city, I believe we are called to India for far bigger 810 00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:24,360 things, far bigger things. But the challenge is can we do 811 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:30,320 it for our own lives? First, there were three things 812 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:32,840 why the shield formation was done. 813 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:38,640 It was used to safely reach walls, undermine fortifications, 814 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:43,720 and batter down gears. Three things, safely reach 815 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:47,600 walls, undermine fortifications, or batter down gates. 816 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:50,400 That's why mutual edification is important. 817 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,440 So when someone comes alongside, and I think this is what you're 818 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:56,200 praying for, this is what you're going towards, we're standing in 819 00:44:56,200 --> 00:44:57,120 agreement. Together. 820 00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:01,400 We are united together. We are seeing God come and move 821 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:05,960 so that we can go together. Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 to 8 822 00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:09,640 says it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, 823 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:12,520 who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the 824 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:15,760 Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and 825 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:19,240 the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away to be 826 00:45:19,240 --> 00:45:22,440 brought back to repentance to their loss. 827 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:26,200 They are crucifying the Son of God all over again and 828 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:28,280 subjecting him to public disgrace. 829 00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:34,720 Land that drinks in the rain, often falling on it, and that 830 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:39,080 produces A crop useful to those for whom it is farmed, receives 831 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:41,800 a blessing of God. But the land that produces 832 00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:45,600 thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being 833 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,520 cursed. In the end, it will be burnt. 834 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:52,400 And the reason why I wanted to give this verse is all of us in 835 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:57,000 that first section of verses 4 to 6 are partakers of that where 836 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,600 we've received it. But today, what is our land 837 00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:04,200 looking like when rain falls? Is it bringing a harvest or is 838 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:08,960 it bringing thorns and thistles? Am I magnifying my hurts and my 839 00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:13,760 worries and my things so much? Or am I saying, God, you are 840 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:17,600 bigger than everything? Every Friday when we meet, one 841 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,680 of the things God always pushes me to always say is I'm here 842 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,040 waiting for you. Which means everything else I 843 00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:29,160 bring is lesser than him. Everything else, when I have 844 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:31,520 that understanding, I'm able to worship him. 845 00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:33,560 When I'm able to have that understanding, I'm able to see 846 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,160 God. You will work it out for good. 847 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:38,680 It's only when my things are heightened and God is smaller. 848 00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:41,440 God, what are you doing? God, why is this happening in my 849 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:43,040 life? Why am I not seeing a victory? 850 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:46,520 It's when I bring everything and say, Lord, I pulled this very 851 00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:51,320 fear of mine to the to the to the ground and say, God, it bows 852 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,680 before you. It won't undermine you. 853 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,880 That's when I'll be able to see God being glorified. 854 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:04,520 So I asked, can we stand firm? Can we strive to be? 855 00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:07,960 Can we strive together as one for the faith in the gospel? 856 00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:11,080 According to Philippians, one was 2728. 857 00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:14,920 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of 858 00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:17,400 the gospel. Whether I come and see you or 859 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:19,680 only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you 860 00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:23,840 stand from in one spirit striving together as one for the 861 00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:28,080 faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way of 862 00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:32,040 those who oppose you. So today you and I have to stand 863 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:35,160 united. We have a singular vision 864 00:47:35,640 --> 00:47:40,120 because our trust is in Jesus. It says that no flinching, no 865 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:46,120 dodging the enemy, which means we don't give in to the to what 866 00:47:46,120 --> 00:47:48,600 Goliath was telling the Israelites. 867 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:50,600 We don't shudder, we don't show up. 868 00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:52,520 We're saying, God, you are far bigger. 869 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:59,800 So I pray today as we come to this place, real transformation 870 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:01,640 only will happen when you're honest with God. 871 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:08,240 Can we be honest with God today? A lot of us are so easy honest 872 00:48:08,240 --> 00:48:12,600 with counselors. That's probably because you're 873 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:16,400 paying them and we have no one else to listen. 874 00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:20,840 But today I want to ask you, can you be really honest with God? 875 00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:22,760 You're probably aware of certain things in your life, but 876 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:25,280 transformation will come when you're honest with God. 877 00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:32,360 And can we go all in? Endurance is going all in. 878 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:34,040 Is this not saying the right things? 879 00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:37,600 Honestly, saying the right things is very easy today. 880 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:42,720 You give access to either copilot or to open AI. 881 00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:45,400 They'll read through your inbox. They'll write a message that 882 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:47,440 will make you feel happy about yourself. 883 00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:54,000 But you need to come to a place of saying God. 884 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:58,520 I want to come to a place that I even I don't know what, what are 885 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:01,320 the right things to say, Lord Jesus, but I want to come to a 886 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:04,320 place that in this endurance, I want to come even if even if I 887 00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:07,160 don't have the words, I know I'll be able to push through 888 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:11,640 because you are with me. For those of you who are 889 00:49:11,640 --> 00:49:14,840 struggling because you're like God, the thing didn't come. 890 00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:17,360 I got battered and I'm battled weary. 891 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,080 Healing begins when you stop hiding and start confessing. 892 00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:24,360 One of the beautiful things about a Christian faith is to 893 00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:28,240 confess, to say God, This, this is a struggle. 894 00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:33,120 This is where I the cross is where I meet with you to say 895 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:39,600 Lord, I can't do this. As I said that we are an 896 00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:41,920 original. Your purpose is all the inside 897 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:43,440 you. You don't need it to be revealed 898 00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:45,520 by anyone. You don't have to wait for 899 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:47,120 someone to come and talk to you about it. 900 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:50,480 It's all the inside you. You just have to say, God, I'm 901 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:54,280 ready for you. The New Testament doesn't talk 902 00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:57,560 about building a legacy. So take the pressure off. 903 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:02,720 If you live right, that's an outcome of living right. 904 00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:04,920 An outcome of living right is legacy. 905 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:09,720 Don't strive for legacy. Suddenly in our 40s and 50s, 906 00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:11,240 we're like, Oh no, I have to now do good. 907 00:50:11,240 --> 00:50:12,680 I need to do that. I need to do this. 908 00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:15,920 I need to be known for this. No, if you've lived your life 909 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,920 all this long, legacy is already built. 910 00:50:19,320 --> 00:50:20,640 You don't have to strive for legacy. 911 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:24,440 That it's a very Indian mindset. I'm talking to so many church 912 00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:27,480 leaders and movement leaders. They're all saying I need to 913 00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:28,520 have legacy. I have to. 914 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:32,440 You don't. If the Spirit of God is moving 915 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:35,000 in and through us, we will be doing it right. 916 00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:37,600 God didn't ask us anywhere to build legacies. 917 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:42,040 There was no structure around, yet there was uniformity. 918 00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:46,520 There was so much of uniformity across the believers when one 919 00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:49,760 church in the in a struggle, then other church was able to 920 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:53,800 give and Paul commended them for that when it was not asked for 921 00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:54,360 you gay. Why? 922 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:57,120 Because the Spirit was moving. They didn't write an e-mail or 923 00:50:57,120 --> 00:50:59,360 send a letter or a messenger. They didn't do anything. 924 00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:02,120 The Spirit of God will impress on our hearts. 925 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:05,320 We need to come to a place where our faith is growing to that 926 00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:08,720 kind of a place. And mind you, we won't be able 927 00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:13,120 to break any stronghold if you're not united, if we are not 928 00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:16,320 united. And so I'm praying specifically. 929 00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:19,720 I, I did mention, you know, that we felt that there was a lid 930 00:51:19,720 --> 00:51:22,680 over the church, that there was a lid over a Sunday school. 931 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:24,000 We have been praying specifically. 932 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:27,240 And I want to ask you also that as we continue to pray, we're 933 00:51:27,240 --> 00:51:30,720 going to ask for a outpouring this Sunday, next Sunday, 934 00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:34,120 Sabbath Sunday, even as you take some time off, I would encourage 935 00:51:34,120 --> 00:51:36,600 you to pray. God, what do you want me to be 936 00:51:36,600 --> 00:51:41,840 filled with the Spirit for? It'll be only for his glory, but 937 00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:43,360 God, I'm making that room for you. 938 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:46,200 So even as next week is we don't have church service and the 939 00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:48,160 following we can meet for Pentecost Sunday. 940 00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:53,680 We're coming to say, God, we want that fresh wind, fresh wind 941 00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:58,160 for the season, fresh wind for what we have to do, fresh wind 942 00:51:58,160 --> 00:52:00,600 for what you're going to do, Lord Jesus. 943 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:05,400 And so today, even as we take some time to pray and even as 944 00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:08,960 the communion elements are being passed around, and I want us to 945 00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:11,080 come to a place where we're saying, God, I'm ready for 946 00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:14,080 battle. For those of us who've tapped 947 00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:17,280 out and are sitting outside and saying, God, let them fight. 948 00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:21,840 No, God, I want to push through my own lives and move through 949 00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:23,480 endurance so I can see you clearly. 950 00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:29,040 Lord, can see you clearly. Even as the communion elements 951 00:52:29,040 --> 00:52:31,080 are past. Could you hold it even as I 952 00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:34,400 asked Tina to come forward and lead us into time of prayer? 953 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:39,840 That as you hold the elements, One of the things Tina told me 954 00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:44,080 this week, which was kind of like mind blowing, was about 955 00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:45,680 processing. A lot of us are unable to. 956 00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:48,080 We are like, you know, I'm processing this, I'm processing 957 00:52:48,080 --> 00:52:50,160 that. And then Jesus didn't process 958 00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:52,440 too much about God's will in the Garden of Gethsemane. 959 00:52:53,480 --> 00:52:56,880 If he was because he was human, if he was processing, he would 960 00:52:56,880 --> 00:52:58,640 still be would still not be redeemed. 961 00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:03,320 We are holding this today because God who walked in human 962 00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:05,760 form as much as the trouble was real. 963 00:53:05,880 --> 00:53:09,040 He came to a place saying Lord, let not my will, but your will 964 00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:12,920 be done. There was a step of faith in 965 00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:16,800 Jesus himself who did that. So as you hold the elements 966 00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:20,240 count that count the cost that he's already done. 967 00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:23,800 If you're lacking faith, say God, I'm going to ask you for 968 00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:26,080 more faith, Lord. If you're lacking courage, 969 00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:27,640 you're going to say God, I'm going to ask you for more 970 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:29,960 courage, God. If I've been unable to dream, 971 00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:33,880 I'm going to ask you, God, would you bring your plan and purposes 972 00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:38,400 alive in me? We hope you enjoyed today's 973 00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:42,160 message and we're blessed. If you liked what you heard and 974 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:45,400 want to hear more messages from us, you could rate US and 975 00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:49,600 subscribe to our podcast channel for more content from We Are 976 00:53:49,600 --> 00:53:53,360 Zion or if you would like to get in touch with us, you can go to 977 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:59,560 We Are Zion dot in or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and 978 00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:03,360 YouTube. Most importantly, remember that 979 00:54:03,360 --> 00:54:06,120 whoever finds Jesus finds life.