1 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,960 Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,000 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,240 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,280 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,080 We have started a series called The Kingdom Life based on the 6 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,920 life and teachings of Jesus from the Gospel according to Mark. 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,840 We look at how we must live our lives on this earth as followers 8 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,720 of Jesus in a way that is countercultural yet powerfully 9 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,160 impactful. As you listen in, our hope is 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:44,080 that you will be motivated to live, love, lead and serve just 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,160 like Jesus. Hi Church, what a joy it is to 12 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:51,120 bring God's word to you today. We've been looking at the 13 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,320 Kingdom Life and we have started a sub series called The Kingdom 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,200 Paradoxes. And the paradox we're going to 15 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,920 be looking at today is what Jesus talked about the great 16 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,600 reversal, which was basically the first shall be last, the 17 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,480 last shall be first. And this is a teaching which I 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,080 don't think we could do with school age kids around because 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,400 if you have a kid who absolutely resents studying, he's probably 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,560 going to use this against you and say, well, I'm last, so I'm 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:16,960 probably going to be first in heaven. 22 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,480 So that is really not what this this whole passage is about. 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,360 We're going to be looking at three different passages to 24 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,600 understand what Jesus meant by this seeming paradox. 25 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,960 And the great reversal is really something that Jesus was saying 26 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,920 would happen at the end of time. Once eternity happens, you know, 27 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,640 when when the heavens and the earth are brand new, it's going 28 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,240 to be something that Jesus himself will oversee. 29 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,320 And the problem is that sometimes we look at these 30 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:45,200 things and say, oh, well, it's going to happen in eternity. 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,680 I don't need to worry about it now, but I believe that the time 32 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,560 has come. It's a ripe for us to start 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,160 living in the now and the not yet with a greater realization 34 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,960 of what the not yet holds for us because we sometimes think, 35 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,560 well, that's, that's then. Let me live in the now. 36 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,080 Let me live with this, this sense of immediate 37 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,840 gratification. And I remember growing up, my 38 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:06,920 father used to often tell my brother and me this. 39 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,600 We would ask him for certain things immediately and he would 40 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,760 say, you guys need to understand that delayed gratification is a 41 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,080 good thing that you can wait for certain things. 42 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,920 As we become adults, as we grow in God's word, as we grow closer 43 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:23,640 to him, we realize that the weight is so important to our 44 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:26,760 maturity. And I want to ask you today, 45 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,800 well, how have you been looking at the Kingdom life? 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,160 Have you been looking at it as a one and done thing? 47 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,640 It's just what I do on a Sunday. It's just what I did at the time 48 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,160 of my salvation. Or is it a marathon? 49 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,920 It's it's something that we're running towards eternity. 50 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:43,520 It's a long drawn process and a lot of it, while the decisions 51 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,840 we make, the the things we do in the now are important. 52 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,000 It's more important because these are the things that lay 53 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,000 the foundation for the future. And you know, a lot of us are 54 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,120 living with this thing of, you know, I want God to bless me 55 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:56,640 now. I want him to give me that child 56 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:59,520 I've been waiting for now. I want that increase now. 57 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,360 I want that a carrier now. And God is saying why while you 58 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,480 wait on me, while you ask me for these things, there is a larger 59 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,760 picture. There is stuff that is to come 60 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,320 which I want you to be aware of because it changes the way we 61 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,800 live. The Kingdom life shifts and and 62 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,040 really it makes sense when we start looking at it through the 63 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:25,120 lens of this great reversing. And so we forget very often that 64 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,280 the Kingdom life has its systems in place. 65 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,200 It has these guard rails in place, things for our good, 66 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,760 things for our benefit. And so often, more often than 67 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,480 not, the rewards for a lot of the things we do now are not 68 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,280 immediate. So maybe you're saying, well, I 69 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,560 give my 10%, oh, I'm generous. Oh, I'm doing the right things 70 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:46,840 at work and you're not seeing the rewards. 71 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,320 But I want to encourage you. Many times the rewards don't 72 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,520 come in the exact same way. The seed was sown, the seed is 73 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:53,240 sown. This. 74 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,360 You know how a seed looks, but the plant looks completely 75 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:57,480 different. When you sow a seed of 76 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,080 generosity. The way God blesses you may not 77 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,280 be with wealth, He may bless you with good health. 78 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,720 He may bless you with more favour. 79 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,400 He may bless you with an increase of relationships and 80 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,120 friendships. I want to encourage you that 81 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,440 this reversal Jesus is talking about is beyond our 82 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,400 understanding. And the reason it I think it's 83 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,480 good that it's beyond our understanding is who's the one 84 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,880 who mediates. It is Jesus himself and this God 85 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,400 that we worship. This living God is omnipotent. 86 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:28,080 He's Omni C and he's omnipresent, which means he is 87 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:30,600 everywhere at all times. He knows exactly what's 88 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,800 happening behind closed doors. He knows who I am in public, who 89 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,480 I am in private. He knows the thoughts and 90 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,480 attitudes of my heart. Nothing in all creation is 91 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,800 hidden from Him, which means the only one who has the right to 92 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,400 reverse the optics of it, of of the now for eternity is Jesus. 93 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,320 No one else. No one else. 94 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,640 I cannot judge someone based on what I see of them for four 95 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:54,880 hours on a Sunday. I know nothing of them. 96 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,760 But God, on the other hand, sees the hidden things, the things 97 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,200 that we keep masked while He sees all of it. 98 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,200 So the only one who can be judged an arbitrator is Him. 99 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,720 And so I really don't want to get into the semantics of how 100 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,960 the reversal happens on what basis God judges someone. 101 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,360 The ones who are influencers and, and you know, well known 102 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,680 and, and, and influential in the present world may not be so in 103 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,400 the world to come. And the one who decides that is 104 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,040 only God. And so I want us to look today 105 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,720 at the three passages that Jesus actually brings to our notice to 106 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,080 explain the great reversal and leave 3 principles with you. 107 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:36,240 I am not going to tell you how the great reversal happens 108 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,320 because I don't know. That's how that God is going to 109 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,680 mediate it. He's the judge, He's righteous, 110 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,520 and He's all knowing. But what I am going to say is 111 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,880 the way we live now will determine how the great reversal 112 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,120 affects us. So the first passage we're going 113 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,280 to be looking at is Matthew chapter 19, verses 27 to 30. 114 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,640 This addresses all believers in Jesus. 115 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,720 OK, this is what it says. Peter answered him. 116 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,480 We have left everything to follow you. 117 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,440 What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them, truly I tell 118 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,280 you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits 119 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:10,560 on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit 120 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,120 on 12 Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. 121 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,320 And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, 122 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,080 father, mother or wife, or children or fields for my sake 123 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,960 will receive 100 times as much and will inherit eternal life. 124 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,160 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will 125 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,080 be first. I want us to look at a couple of 126 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,160 important things here. The first thing is everything 127 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,920 Peter quantifies. You know, I be left everything 128 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:35,600 to follow you. God. 129 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,040 What did Peter leave? He left behind his occupation of 130 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,600 being a fisherman. He left behind probably his 131 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:42,720 family because he was a lot of time with Jesus. 132 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,080 We don't know what else he left, but this is what he said. 133 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:47,400 These were the important things to him. 134 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,640 He says we left everything. And then Jesus quantifies the 135 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,760 everything by mentioning the houses, the siblings, the 136 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,920 parents, the spouse, the children, the fields, you know, 137 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,000 the place of work. And he's assuring them that the 138 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,680 everything that you have left, you will be repaid for Now the 139 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:05,960 interesting thing is a lot of times we come to God and we say, 140 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:07,640 Lord, I gave up everything for you. 141 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,960 But the question remains, did I really give up everything? 142 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:16,120 Have I really made it a point for it to be sacrificial in the 143 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,800 way I serve God? Has it cost me something? 144 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,920 Maybe not everything. Has it cost me something? 145 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,720 The second thing I want us to look at is the word left. 146 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,240 The word left, He says we have left everything. 147 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,920 And then Jesus says those who have left houses. 148 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:39,160 And this word kind of gripped me because I was like, how is Jesus 149 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,280 endorsing leaving family, leaving friends, leaving your 150 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,120 home, leaving your work? What is he saying? 151 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,560 Does he expect that of me? And so I was reading up on the 152 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,840 meanings of the word left in the original text. 153 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,440 And it's very interesting. One of the meanings, one of the 154 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,840 possible meanings for the word left is actually released. 155 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,240 So isn't it comforting to know Jesus is not calling you to 156 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:03,880 relinquish your responsibility. He's not asking you to cast us 157 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,760 as cast us aside. He's actually saying, will you 158 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,160 release it to me? Because the Christian life, the 159 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,680 Kingdom life is one of release. It's not one of cutting loose 160 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:16,280 and justice, you know, flinging something aside. 161 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,840 Oh, I don't want this marriage anymore because Jesus told me to 162 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,280 leave everything behind and I cast my spouse out. 163 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,520 No, that is not what he's talking about. 164 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,440 He is saying, will you release these things into my hand. 165 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,039 It's so interesting because in the book of Mark, Mark adds and 166 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:35,320 added a small phrase. He says they will receive 100 167 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,400 times as much and sufferings in other translations, persecutions 168 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,159 as well as eternal life. A lot of times on earth we have 169 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:45,640 struggles with our health, we have struggles in our marriages. 170 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,000 We have struggles with with our work. 171 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:50,720 And God is saying I will repay it. 172 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,360 I will repay it with good in this life and the next. 173 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,520 And it's so important to understand that the point of 174 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,360 release is everything here. In order for the great reversal 175 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,280 not to bother me, I need to live a life of release. 176 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,960 I need to live a life where my wealth is held loosely, where my 177 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:10,560 children are held loosely, where my spouse is held loosely. 178 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,440 Do I relinquish all responsibility for them? 179 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,440 Do I not look after them? Do I not provide for them? 180 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,640 Do I not love them? Do I not pray for them? 181 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:19,680 No, absolutely not. I do all of that. 182 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,560 But fundamentally, I realized they were given to me. 183 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,760 They were loaned to me in the goodness and the graciousness of 184 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,880 God. And so I hold them loosely. 185 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,400 There's a story told a Chinese fable where a person gave his 186 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,920 little grandson a bird and told him to look after it. 187 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,760 Few days later the little guy comes back to his granddad and 188 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,880 says granddad, my bird died. And he said why? 189 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,760 How did your bird die? And he said, well, the whole 190 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,400 time I held it in my hand and eventually the bird just was 191 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,040 dead in my palm. And a lot of times we're looking 192 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:52,880 at our lives like this where I hold the things that God has 193 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,120 given me so tightly that I suffocated. 194 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,880 I suffocated and without releasing it to God, I will 195 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,920 never really know what God entrusted it for to begin with. 196 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:06,600 And God is calling us into a place of saying, will I release 197 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,080 the things that matter most to me into His hands? 198 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:15,200 Because when I release it is when I actually show that my 199 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,000 faith in Jesus is active and real. 200 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:21,480 The closer I hold everything that you know I love and value, 201 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,960 the lesser I actually trust God. So God is calling me into a 202 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,160 place of releasing my hold and saying, you know what, God, I 203 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,880 trust you with my marriage. I trust you with my health. 204 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,320 I trust you with my children. I trust you with my job. 205 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,240 I trust you with my dreams. I trust you with my ambitions. 206 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,800 And there's this word which says over there will receive whoever 207 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:48,240 leaves, whoever has left houses will receive 100 times that word 208 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,840 will receive is not just a passive, oh, I'll just sit on my 209 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,360 couch, I'll wait and then God will drop it into my lap. 210 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,080 But it's an active taking hold of you. 211 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,520 Remember what Paul talked about, where Paul said I press on to 212 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,080 take hold of the price that which God has kept for me in 213 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,640 Christ Jesus. It is an active pursuing the 214 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:11,600 promises of God, pursuing the things he has kept for me, which 215 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,280 means that I don't sit there passive, but in this this season 216 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,600 of the now right where I'm placed like Isaac, the son of 217 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,640 Abraham planted during famine received a hundredfold. 218 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,000 God is saying in the season you are in, it could be a famine 219 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,280 season of the soul. It could be the most fruitful 220 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,920 time of your life, but will you continue to release the things 221 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,320 that are in your hand to me? How does this practically get 222 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:40,240 outworked? I want us to look at one Timothy 223 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,600 chapter 6 verses 17 to 19. It says command those who are 224 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,280 rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their 225 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,480 hope and wealth which is so uncertain, but to put their hope 226 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,600 in God who richly provides us with everything for our 227 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,160 enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be 228 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,960 rich in good deeds, to be generous and willing to share. 229 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,000 In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a 230 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,720 firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold 231 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,200 of the life that is truly life. Maybe you've been asking God for 232 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,280 these things that you desire, or maybe you already have it and 233 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,320 you've been clinging onto it for dear life. 234 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,240 But God is calling us to give it away. 235 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,240 Money grows when it's in the right hands. 236 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,080 When it's in God's hands, it will grow. 237 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,600 It will bless many, he says be rich in good deeds. 238 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,360 It's not for you to hold up. It's not for you to take pride 239 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,440 in, but to be generous and willing to share. 240 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:37,560 God is calling us the Kingdom life is 1 where you leave or you 241 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:41,040 release the things that you have the that you love the most into 242 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,160 God's hands and you receive you take hold of the things that he 243 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,440 has marked out for you. So I want to leave this with 244 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:48,800 you. First thing that I want to leave 245 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,840 the principle is this. The great reversal will not 246 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,760 worry those who release the things they love into the hands 247 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:57,320 of the one who gave them everything. 248 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,000 God is the one who gave us all of this. 249 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,360 The best place for all of these things that we love is to be in 250 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,560 His hands, not in mine. So release is the first 251 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,680 principle. The second passage we're going 252 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:12,200 to be looking at is Matthew chapter 20, verses 1 to 16. 253 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,240 I'm reading it from the NKJV and this addresses seasoned 254 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,960 believers and the new believers, baby believers, older believers, 255 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:21,800 right? So with that mindset, let's read 256 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,480 it. But the Kingdom of heaven is 257 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,920 like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire 258 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,880 labourers for his vineyard. Now when he'd agreed with the 259 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,720 labourers for a dinar yesterday, he sent them into his vineyard 260 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,120 and he went out about the third hour and saw others standing 261 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,480 idle in the marketplace and said to them, you also go into the 262 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,600 vineyard and whatever is right, I will give you. 263 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,520 So they went again. He went out about the 6th and 264 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,880 9th hour and did likewise. And about the 11th hour he went 265 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,360 out and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why have 266 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,080 you been standing here idle all day? 267 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,840 They said to him, because no one hired us. 268 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,560 He said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever 269 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,200 is right you will receive. So when evening had come, the 270 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,280 owner of the vineyard said to his steward, call the labourers 271 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,480 and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the 272 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,200 1st. And when those came who were 273 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,720 hired about 11th hour, they each received a denarius. 274 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,960 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive 275 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,880 more, and they likewise received each a denarius. 276 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,320 And when they had received it, they complained against the 277 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,920 landowner, saying, These last men have worked only one hour, 278 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,240 and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and 279 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,040 the heat of the day. But he answered one of them and 280 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,800 said, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. 281 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,320 Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 282 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:42,800 Take what is yours and go your way. 283 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,360 I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 284 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,560 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? 285 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,680 Or is your eye evil because I am good? 286 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:59,480 So the last will be 1st and the 1st last, for many are called, 287 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:05,000 but few chosen. It's interesting that God likens 288 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,320 himself to the vineyard owner, but each of us are the workers. 289 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,440 Now interestingly enough, the workers who are hired at the 290 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,720 beginning of the day came in for an agreed wage. 291 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,960 It's not like he just gave them a vague thing saying come, I'll 292 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,280 give you something. They agreed to a denarius and 293 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:21,800 came in. They knew the cost. 294 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,240 The guys who came in later came in for whatever was given. 295 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,040 They were not told about the cost. 296 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,400 They just said you come, we'll give you something at the end of 297 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,000 the day. The problem was that the ones 298 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,080 who were hired first felt it was unfair to be deemed equal with 299 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,600 the rest of the guys. Now here's the problem, most of 300 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,400 us are fighting for equality all of the time, but when it comes 301 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,240 to God's grace, we don't like that God's grace is for 302 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,120 everyone. We don't like that everyone is 303 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,640 favoured in God's eyes, the ones that God chooses and hand picks. 304 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,840 All of us have been recipients of our grace and that's where 305 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:03,960 our inequal inequality shows up. And here God, the wine dresser, 306 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:10,240 the the vineyard owner says here I can do as I please, I'm the 307 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:14,880 one who invited you in. I can do what I want with the 308 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,920 wages I'm giving. And So what is highlighted here 309 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,720 is the grace of God, which is available to everyone. 310 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,840 He's also highlighting the difference between a seasoned 311 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,400 Christian who feels they know God longer, they deserve more 312 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,080 rewards, greater grace than a fresh baby believer who somehow 313 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,080 seems to have inherited the same kind of grace, same kind of 314 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,800 favour and you're wondering God, but I know you longer. 315 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,920 I have worked longer in this vineyard for you. 316 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,800 I have been saving more souls. I have been standing on these 317 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:44,920 pulpits. I have a greater reach than this 318 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:46,920 person. How come they have the same kind 319 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,960 of favour I have and God is calling us into a place of 320 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,720 understanding the the vastness of his grace. 321 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,880 But the important thing I want you to look at here is God was 322 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,720 not is not talking about repaying people based on the 323 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,079 time spent in the vineyard. Whether you were hired first 324 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:07,560 thing in the morning or last thing in the day, there's no 325 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,000 difference, correct? He equalised that and as as I 326 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,839 was thinking about, I was wondering how do we draw it to 327 00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:15,599 us today? Well, here's the thing. 328 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:19,599 Psalm 90 talks about how 1000 years are like a day in God's 329 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:21,640 eyes. And Peter writes that again in 330 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,040 two Peter chapter 3 verse 8, he says do not forget this one 331 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,640 thing dear friends with the Lord, a day is like 1000 years 332 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,840 and 1000 years are like a day. OK, So with that understanding, 333 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:38,360 the believers, the apostles, the the generals in God's army over 334 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:44,120 the last say 1000 years and you are all recipients of God's 335 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,640 grace, the ones who are forerunners, the founders of 336 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,920 churches, The Pioneers, the the martyrs, you and I, we stand 337 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,160 under the same grace of God. Isn't that amazing? 338 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:59,080 Isn't that beautiful? And God expects us to extend 339 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,440 that same grace to those who come after us, new believer or 340 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,560 not. But interestingly enough, it's 341 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,640 not about the time. It's about the work being done 342 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,440 in the vineyard. And that is what is important 343 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,920 for us to look at. Each person was called into the 344 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,960 vineyard to do work, whether we was. 345 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,320 So they they say this very interesting thing that sounds 346 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,560 like my kids when they're trying to get out of work because 347 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:24,840 they've done too much a previous day. 348 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,800 This is what they say. We have borne the burden and the 349 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,800 heat of the day and you made them equal to us. 350 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,160 It's like we work so many more hours. 351 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,840 We have toiled in the sun. These guys come in at dusk. 352 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:39,640 They're not faced all that we faced. 353 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,520 How come they get the same thing as us? 354 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,360 And yet God's sovereignty comes in there where he says I can do 355 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:50,000 as I want, it's my money. But when you bring it down to 356 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,920 the principle of the Kingdom, I believe that God is calling us 357 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,560 into a place of looking at the work entrusted to us. 358 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,520 He's saying, don't compare. You were hired in the morning. 359 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:01,880 You knew what you were getting in for. 360 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:03,960 You had to do your work. These guys were hired in the 361 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:05,600 evening. They had to do their work. 362 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,240 What was the work entrusted to work the field. 363 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,960 Too often many of us are looking at what someone else is doing 364 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,400 and wishing we had that. We Instagram probably has 365 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,000 created this culture of comparison. 366 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,160 Oh, they're doing a church plan. They're doing it like that. 367 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,440 Maybe we should do it like that or they do their church posters 368 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:24,800 like that. Maybe we should try that up. 369 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,040 Or maybe they we should do prayer like they do. 370 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,480 Maybe we should do worship like they do bring it down into 371 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,600 travel or they go to these destinations. 372 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:36,360 I can't go anywhere. We have created a comparison 373 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:40,920 culture within the faith that we've worshiped, the the faith 374 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,680 that we practice. And I believe it's very 375 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,480 destructive because comparison is the thief of joy. 376 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,640 The minute I take my eyes off my field, the space guard has asked 377 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,760 me to operate and with the gifts that he has given me and I start 378 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,120 looking at someone else and wishing I had what they had, 379 00:19:57,720 --> 00:19:59,480 I've lost the purpose for my life. 380 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,960 And I want to ask you how many of you have been wasting your 381 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,240 life by just looking at what someone else is doing? 382 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,880 Some of us don't even take responsibility for the field 383 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,040 entrusted to us. So in our home after VBS, we 384 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,600 gave all of our kids fish to take home. 385 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,000 It was an underwater theme. So the take away gift was fish. 386 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,080 So we have both our younger kids brought home fish. 387 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,600 We we got them fish tanks. We brought the fish, you know, 388 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,720 from VBS. They didn't last long. 389 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:28,840 So we finally substituted all the fish. 390 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,320 We got them each a fighter fish. And these two tanks are at home. 391 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,280 And the job of each of the kids was just to look after their own 392 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,920 tank. But one of our kids, I won't 393 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,920 tell you who, decided that it was better that the other person 394 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,400 managed both the tanks. SO1 does the cleaning of both 395 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,120 and the other does the feeding of both. 396 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:52,360 This week one of the fish died, unfortunately. 397 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:55,080 So immediately the blame game started off. 398 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,880 You probably didn't. You fed the fish too much and 399 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,320 then the other person shifted the blame and said, well, you 400 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,880 didn't clean the tanks properly. And that's when my husband was 401 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,480 explaining to them, if you had just taken responsibility for 402 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,240 your own tank, we won't have this problem. 403 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,640 But you see what I'm saying? Some of us think that we have 404 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,360 the right to bicker and complain about what's not working out for 405 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:17,880 us. But maybe you haven't been 406 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,600 looking after your field. Maybe you've been having your 407 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,000 feet in someone else's field. Maybe you've been having your 408 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,480 eyes and mind on someone else's work, someone else's trajectory 409 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,480 and you missed out the fact that you have a field that you have 410 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,800 called to work on. How do you take this into your 411 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,720 daily life? How do you apply this into the 412 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,080 Kingdom life? We are called to live? 413 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,480 Luke chapter 12 verse 48 says, but the one who does not know 414 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,680 and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with 415 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,720 few blows From everyone who has been given much, much will be 416 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,720 demanded. And from the one who has been 417 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,080 entrusted with much, much more will be asked. 418 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,920 This is it. It's on the the background of, 419 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:01,400 you know, the servants who've been entrusted with things in, 420 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,720 in certain in one of the Gospels it talks about giving him 10 421 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:09,680 cities and you know, or 10 talents, whatever it is, the one 422 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,760 who had lots grew it, the one who had little hid it. 423 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,080 And God is saying to whom much is given, much more will be 424 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,960 expected, much more will be also entrusted. 425 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,120 But it remains as to how I do the little. 426 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:26,480 First, if you're not faithful with the little, He cannot 427 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,960 increase it into much. And God is calling us to live 428 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,600 with humility, to live with contentment, to live with 429 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:37,040 diligence rather than with pride and comparison and being slack. 430 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,080 Because when he returns, he's going to take account. 431 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,960 He's going to take stock. I give you 70 years on earth. 432 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,720 What did you do with it? Were you wasting your time 433 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,720 comparing yourself with others? Were you trying your hand at 10 434 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,320 different things without being the one thing I created you for? 435 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:57,360 It's so important that we realise whether we are seasoned 436 00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:00,560 believers or fresh baby believers or growing believers, 437 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,640 wherever we are, the favour of God is on all our lives. 438 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,560 There is no point comparing how my journey looks with yours, but 439 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,600 it is important that we work the field we are placed in. 440 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:14,000 So what's the Kingdom principle here? 441 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,800 The great reversal won't worry those who work with joy in the 442 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,800 fields that are marked out for them. 443 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:26,240 This is my field, the field of Via Zayn, the field with my 444 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,440 children, my spouse and myself, the field of the people 445 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,240 entrusted to us through the church, the field of influence 446 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,040 through what I create artistically. 447 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,280 It is important that I work that field. 448 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,600 If I suddenly decide, oh, you know what, writing isn't my 449 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,680 thing, I should start singing, I'm going to be answerable to 450 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:47,320 God for that. Too many of us are not content 451 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,000 with the field entrusted to us. If I had a spouse like that 452 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,640 person, my marriage, marriage life would look different. 453 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,200 If I had kids who listened like their kids, my life would look 454 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,120 different. You don't know the struggles of 455 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:05,560 the person working that field. If each of us put our heads down 456 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,200 and worked with joy with the field we have, I believe the 457 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,600 great reversal won't matter because we'll be doing what 458 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,360 we're called to do when the Master returns. 459 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,360 So that's the second principle. The third principle we're going 460 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:20,840 to be looking at the book of Luke, Luke chapter 13 verses 20 461 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,600 to 30 and says this. He went through the cities and 462 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,520 villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 463 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,200 Then once said to him, Lord, are there few who are saved? 464 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,720 And he said to them, strive to enter through the narrow gate. 465 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,520 For many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be 466 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,600 able. When once the master of the 467 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,640 house had risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand 468 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,480 outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. 469 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,720 And he will answer and say to you, I do not know you where you 470 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,200 are from. Then you will begin to say, We 471 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,000 ate and rank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. 472 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,280 But he will say, I tell you, I do not know you where you are 473 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,720 from. Depart from me all you workers 474 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:00,960 of iniquity. There will be weeping and 475 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,120 gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all 476 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,520 the prophets in the Kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out. 477 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,600 They will come from the east and the West, from the north and the 478 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,880 South, and sit down in the Kingdom of God. 479 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,680 And indeed, there are those who will be first and there are 480 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,800 first who will be last. Now this was written to the 481 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,240 Jewish audience. These are the guys who are 482 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:27,600 following Judaism seriously. But The thing is this, the, the 483 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,080 way of the, of Judaism was not the way of Christ. 484 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,040 There was this one point where they all stumbled and that was 485 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,120 believing in Jesus. He is the narrow door. 486 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,920 There is no way to eternity. There's no way to the Father 487 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,440 through the Son. And so Jesus was talking to his 488 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,120 Jewish listeners saying the narrow door is me. 489 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:49,920 You believe in me, you have eternal life. 490 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,560 But many of us choosing not to choose Jesus, not to believe 491 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,160 him. And we live in a time of the New 492 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:57,880 Age movement. We live in the time of 493 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,160 universalism. All roads lead to God. 494 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,040 If I say God, I mean all the divine powers. 495 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:11,920 But the truth is this. Jesus is the way, the truth, the 496 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,280 life. Many of us don't choose Jesus as 497 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,840 the way, but we have our own truth and we want to live our 498 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,920 own life. But God is calling us into a 499 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,920 place of saying, hey, you want access to me, you go through my 500 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,560 son. There is no other route. 501 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,440 Too many people are standing outside that door and thinking, 502 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,800 you know what? I know God. 503 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,080 He's the God of my parents, my grandparents. 504 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:35,400 I think that's adequate. But it requires that you and I 505 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:40,960 will strive to enter through the narrow door, which means it 506 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,200 requires effort on our part. It requires a step of faith. 507 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,600 If you are someone who's been dilly dallying, choosing Jesus, 508 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,160 I would urge you now is the time. 509 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,480 I remember this bumper sticker we saw on a car in our time in 510 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:58,640 the US, which said, if you're waiting to accept Jesus in the 511 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,080 11th hour, don't be surprised if he turns up at 1059. 512 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,480 Some of us are just hoping, you know, I live the way I like, but 513 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,400 just before I die, I'll say, Jesus, I believe in you and just 514 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,800 kind of sneak into heaven. But the problem with that is you 515 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,520 remember that first passage which says you will receive 100 516 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,840 times that in this life and eternal life. 517 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,880 So eternal life is the goal, yes, but there is a reward for 518 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,760 those who choose Jesus on this side of eternity and live a life 519 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:27,760 with Him. You miss out on that. 520 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,760 The ones who choose Jesus at in the 11th hour, you miss out on a 521 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,040 fruitful life. You miss out on a life filled 522 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,280 with the joy of knowing Him, filled with the victories that 523 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:41,400 come by walking with Him. And so it comes back to this. 524 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,560 The word strive is so important. Maybe you're someone you've 525 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:47,160 chosen Jesus and you're like, you know what? 526 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:48,400 I made it through the narrow door. 527 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,920 I'm in, I'm in safe pasture, I'm good. 528 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,440 But it's interesting because it's not talking about a one 529 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:56,880 time striving. It's not talking about a one 530 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,120 time door. Jesus is the is the way. 531 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,360 He's the truth to life. He is the door that I entered 532 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:03,480 in. But season to season, we have 533 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,240 doors that we transition through to the next season, and it is 534 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,440 important that we keep striving to enter through the narrow 535 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,120 door. So maybe you're saying, you know 536 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:13,680 what? I'm not a universalist. 537 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,240 I'm not a new ager. I believe Jesus is the way I go 538 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,040 to church. I tithe, I look after my family. 539 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,080 I'm doing all the stuff that I know I need to do. 540 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,680 But my question to you is, do you continually strive to keep 541 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,280 taking the narrow door? What does that look like? 542 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,560 You're building a house. They want the money in black. 543 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,120 Will you choose to take the broad door which everyone else 544 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:37,800 takes, or will you decide, no, I'll do it all in white? 545 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:44,600 Or maybe you're someone who says I need this particular pass from 546 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,280 the government, so if I give them that bribe under the table, 547 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,200 who's going to know everyone's doing it? 548 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,920 Or maybe, just maybe, you've been deciding to step out of 549 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,080 your marriage because you're just tired of this whole 550 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,760 monogamous lifestyle. So many are doing it in my 551 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:03,240 office and everywhere. Why not? 552 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:08,160 But to choose to take the narrow door, the narrow way is an 553 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,200 everyday thing. It's a seasonal thing. 554 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,880 Many times we look at open doors as as symbolic of transitions 555 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,640 into new seasons. But it means that you and I need 556 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:19,400 to be very intentional about which door I take. 557 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,240 Because always in our lives there are many doors which will 558 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,360 open up. Doors of opportunity, Doors to 559 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,080 travel, doors to achieve more, doors to do more. 560 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,400 But God, is this the door you want me to step in is the 561 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:36,360 important question. And I believe that striving to 562 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,920 enter the narrow door is something that every believer 563 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:43,280 must do consistently. I cannot rest complacent that I 564 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,600 chose Jesus. I'm sorted for the next 50 565 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,560 years. I don't believe that because we 566 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,000 live in a world where the temptations are many. 567 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,480 I live in a world where the opportunities arrive. 568 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,640 I can do anything I choose to at any given point of time, and no 569 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,360 one needs to know. But the point is the one who 570 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:02,200 counts me, who will finally ask me and take account, will know. 571 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:04,640 He will know which door I walked through. 572 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,280 He will know the repercussions of that door before I even know 573 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,720 it. And so it's important that I 574 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:12,400 endeavour to choose the narrow door. 575 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,840 The word for strive says strive to enter through the narrow 576 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:17,560 gate. The word for it is agwon 577 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:24,080 NIZOMAY, to contend, to fight, to struggle, to endeavour. 578 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,680 Now why I know this is not talking about the narrow door of 579 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,840 salvation is because to enter through the narrow door of 580 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,160 salvation is a very simple thing. 581 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,400 There's no contending there. I just say yes to Jesus. 582 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,720 He, I repent of my sins, I accept him into my life as Lord 583 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,280 and Saviour and he comes in. So it cannot be that door that 584 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,520 doesn't need striving and contending. 585 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,800 It's just accepting his grace. It's a free gift. 586 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,560 But this door that he's talking about is is a continual door 587 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,160 throughout my life, in every season, sometimes every day for 588 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,880 some of us. Do I choose to Live Today with 589 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,320 joy or do I choose to complain? Can I pick up the phone and 590 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:04,200 gossip or can I sit quietly and allow God to work in me? 591 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,640 These are the choices. The narrow door, the broad door 592 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,880 are constant choices. And it I believe when it says 593 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,360 content, it's talking about contending for a prize. 594 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,080 Again, I'm drawing back on what the apostle Paul says. 595 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,720 He says I'm running for the prize. 596 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,480 I contend. I fight my body. 597 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,120 I beat it's desires. I beat it into submission so 598 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,560 that I will not be disqualified, but I will run and get the 599 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:32,200 price. And so this Christian walk is 600 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,880 many times a fight. It's a fight to the bitter end. 601 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,080 It's a fight for my life. It's a fight for my faith. 602 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,560 You will find people who will contend with you at every turn. 603 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:44,560 You will find people who will tell you do this. 604 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,120 This is better. You will find believers who will 605 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,280 tell you there's ways to cut short and do things in a 606 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:54,600 different way. You will find ways in which you 607 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,000 can bypass the right way to do it. 608 00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:59,920 It's shorter. It's easier time, less time 609 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,760 consuming. But if it is the narrow door, I 610 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,400 don't know you would. And God is calling us into a 611 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,680 place where we will struggle and find that narrow door and walk 612 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:12,440 through it. It's not easy. 613 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:16,000 At no point if we ever gave you the impression over the past 3-4 614 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,320 weeks that the Kingdom life is easy, It's not. 615 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,760 But it's incredibly fruitful. It's incredibly planned by God. 616 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,080 He has, he has a plan for every step of the way. 617 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:30,400 But it will require contending. And what is contending? 618 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,000 Contending is the is the stance of a fighter. 619 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,640 You don't just, you know, kind of just lazily walk on this 620 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,120 Kingdom Life Rd. You're actually ready for 621 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:42,560 whatever life brings at you. And if you look at this one 622 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,960 statement, he says, you will begin to say we ate and rank in 623 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,480 your presence. And you talk in our streets. 624 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:54,080 He's talking to those who know him, to those who actually have 625 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:57,240 encountered him. And it's interesting because it 626 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,000 speaks of a familiar familiarity, but it's not 627 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,400 intimacy. He says we ate and drank in your 628 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:05,640 presence. What does that mean? 629 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,480 You were there. We were eating and drinking. 630 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,160 You have to remember, in the old system, the temple priest would 631 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,200 perform the sacrifices, and there were certain offerings 632 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,120 that they could. The ones who offered it could 633 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,920 eat there. It could mean that. 634 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,960 But I really believe it. It comes down to us in today's 635 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,920 time. We could be sitting in church 636 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:28,200 with hearts that are far from him. 637 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,880 We could be worshipping in church, but our minds are really 638 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,400 not on Him. We could be saying all the right 639 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,920 things to people that we fellowship with, but we know 640 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:42,640 where our heart is really at. It says you taught in our 641 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:47,720 streets and he would say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity 642 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:53,800 because it speaks of a proximity but no relationship. 643 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,520 You can be close to those who know God but not know God. 644 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,480 You could know about God and not know God. 645 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,160 And the importance today is that we come back to this place. 646 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,560 This is for each of us. We find ourselves in Christian 647 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,679 circles. We find ourselves in church, in 648 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:14,520 fellowship, in Bible studies, in small groups, but we could be 649 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:17,480 far from God. I want us to look at how do we 650 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,760 apply this? How do you and I actually 651 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,400 prevent that from becoming our story, that I'm in proximity but 652 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:27,159 not in relationship? I have a familiarity but no 653 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:29,400 intimacy. God forbid that becomes the 654 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,760 story of our life, because then the great reversal will shake us 655 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,199 up. Jude chapter 1, verses three to 656 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:38,320 four, says this. Dear friends, although I was 657 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,679 very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I feel 658 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:45,080 compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that 659 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,239 was once for all entrusted to God's holy people. 660 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,239 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about 661 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,639 long ago have secretly slipped in among you. 662 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:57,320 They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God 663 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:02,320 into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ, our only 664 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,360 sovereign and Lord. It's so important to understand 665 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,680 that the faith has been entrusted to us once and for 666 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:13,560 all, the faith that is in Jesus. It's a faith through grace. 667 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:15,880 That's all. That's the only formula. 668 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:21,560 But the problem is that many times we who know Jesus, we who 669 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,800 are attempting to live in the ways that he has postulated for 670 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,160 us, have taken our own routes and made it the right route. 671 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,120 But the truth is this, the narrow door awaits. 672 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:34,800 Every season will have a narrow door. 673 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:37,840 It will also have a wide door. It's two decisions you'll have 674 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,920 to take, but the decision you take will have to be spirit LED. 675 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,280 God, is this the route you want me to take? 676 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:45,960 I love that passage. I think it's in the book of 677 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,360 Isaiah, which says he will. He'll come to a place where he 678 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,040 says this is the way walk in it. But it'll come down to whether 679 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,320 my ears are tuned to the Chief Shepherd. 680 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,680 And I want to ask you this for those of you who find yourselves 681 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:00,480 in church, those of you who have Christian names, those of you 682 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:02,920 who are normally Christians, those of you who say I am a 683 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:07,160 believer in Jesus, Are you doing Christian things? 684 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,920 Are you near the House of God, but far from being the temple of 685 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:15,680 God? Are you familiar with the things 686 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:21,560 of God but not tipping your feet into the rivers of God himself? 687 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,920 Have you been so far from him but putting up a show that 688 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:29,560 you're close? Familiarity is not relationship. 689 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:33,360 Knowing about God is not knowing God. 690 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,760 God is calling us into deeper waters. 691 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,560 He's saying know me more. It's not enough to just do the 692 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:43,320 Christian thing. How are you living on a 693 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,680 day-to-day basis? Which door do you strive to 694 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:50,040 take? The principle here is that the 695 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:54,440 great reversal won't worry those who contend for the faith and 696 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:57,200 live the Kingdom life intentionally. 697 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,200 The Kingdom life is not for someone. 698 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,880 It's not just, you know, like you take a gun and just shoot 699 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:04,800 like a shotgun and there's a volley of bullets. 700 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:09,120 No, it's highly focused. It's every decision that you 701 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:13,760 make will be impacting eternity. Every relationship you invest in 702 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,400 is for eternity. Even if they're just seasonal in 703 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,400 your life, what you impart to them is for eternity. 704 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:26,040 Every transaction you make could either be wearing a hole like a 705 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,840 moth wears a hole in a curtain, or it could be depositing things 706 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,080 in it in your eternal inheritance. 707 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,720 It's really up to you. It's really up to me. 708 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,080 So what are the three principles I want to leave with you? 709 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,200 And as we close up, we don't need to worry about the great 710 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:44,760 reversal because that is in the hands of God himself, the 711 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,920 sovereign supernatural. Beyond understanding God who 712 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:51,720 knows all things, He sees all things. 713 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:55,160 The only righteous judge, the one who can actually turn 714 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:57,840 everything on his head, is Him. So we leave that to him. 715 00:37:58,040 --> 00:37:59,720 But that doesn't need to worry us. 716 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,120 If we are living the Kingdom life, and how do we live it? 717 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,960 We release the things that matter most into His hands. 718 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:11,160 When I say release, it's not releasing them and throwing them 719 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:12,920 by the side of the road. Not saying I don't want this 720 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,400 marriage, I don't want these kids, I don't want this 721 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,600 relationship, but rather saying Lord, I release them into your 722 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:21,600 hands because in your hands they are the safest. 723 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,400 In your hands things grow because your life itself. 724 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:28,680 The second thing is that you would work the field that is 725 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:32,600 entrusted to you. Stop comparing, stop slacking 726 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,520 off because if you snooze, you lose. 727 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:38,720 But work the field that you have stopped thinking that someone 728 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:40,240 has it better than you. They don't. 729 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,520 Everyone is fighting a battle, every single person. 730 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:46,760 The third thing is that you would contend for the faith. 731 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,680 Fight for the faith that was given so freely to you. 732 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:53,000 Don't just let it off saying, you know what? 733 00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:54,560 We'll all believe what we believe. 734 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:58,320 That's fine if someone is speaking against the faith, if 735 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:02,160 someone is trying to convince you of an alternate faith, stand 736 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:06,200 for your faith in Jesus and live the Kingdom life intentionally. 737 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,400 It is an everyday choice. It is it comes down to the 738 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,040 thoughts. I think God. 739 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:13,520 If I think this thought I'm going to go down this black hole 740 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:15,920 of self pity and despair. So I'm going to choose to 741 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:19,800 believe the best in this moment, choosing the narrow door. 742 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:25,040 How I respond to my household help, even when they keep taking 743 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,840 plenty of leave, plenty of holidays. 744 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,120 How I respond to her in that matter matters. 745 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,840 Because again, it's a narrow door moment. 746 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,920 I could scream at her. I could, you know, take off on 747 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,520 her, cut her salary, do a bunch of things. 748 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:44,680 But should I choose to offer her grace, the way I have received 749 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:47,880 grace, it changes everything. I chose the narrow door. 750 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,960 It comes down to everything. Would you start looking at life 751 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:53,160 through the lens of the great reversal? 752 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,240 Because nothing is as it seems. I need to remind us of this. 753 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:58,880 What we see all around us is temporary. 754 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,360 Everything around us is temporary. 755 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:03,880 What is permanent is yet to come. 756 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:05,600 So there's more than meets the eye. 757 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,920 Let's not fall for what is temporal and before us, you 758 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,680 know, in in the flesh. Things beyond our understanding 759 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,920 are just around the corner. And it matters how we live in 760 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:20,240 the now. We must live in the tension of 761 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,440 the now and the not yet. So even as we pray, I want to 762 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:26,560 just encourage you. No matter where you're at, you 763 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,480 could be a fresh believer, you could be a long time believer. 764 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:31,960 It doesn't matter. The grace of God holds you. 765 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,720 It's what keeps you going. You could be someone who is 766 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:40,160 churched for for donkeys years, but your heart is far from God. 767 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,400 And he's saying come back. I want your heart, I want your 768 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:48,240 soul, I want your focus back on me, lest it be said like the 769 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,400 prophet Isaiah wrote, You know these people, they listen to me, 770 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,640 they say the right things, but their hearts are far from me. 771 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:58,280 That shouldn't be said of us. And also for those of you who 772 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:02,040 said I've sacrificed so much, I cut off my birth family when I 773 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:06,480 chose you, Jesus, he's saying I will repay in ways you have not 774 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:10,200 imagined. But it all comes down to if we 775 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:13,120 will choose to live the Kingdom life on a daily basis. 776 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:17,640 Father in heaven, I just thank you for this time and Father as 777 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,240 as a community of those who love you and believe in you. 778 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,760 We just want to release our hold on the things that matter most 779 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,400 to us, ourselves, our loved ones, our wealth, our circle of 780 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:31,920 influence, our networks, our dreams, our ambitions, all of 781 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:33,240 it. God, we just release it. 782 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:35,400 If you can do this with your hand, you release it to him. 783 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:38,520 It's just a symbolic representation of letting it go. 784 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:43,560 You let it go to him and God, here I am empty handed. 785 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:49,000 Use us, use us as you see. If it do with what all that I've 786 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:53,360 entrusted you do with it as you will grow it, expand it, bless 787 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:56,760 it. Father, I pray for those who are 788 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:00,560 struggling to work the field that has been entrusted to them. 789 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:04,840 Father, I pray that they will put their back into it if it's 790 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:10,240 teaching, if it's feeding, if it's encouraging, if it's 791 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:15,120 hosting, if it is leading, whatever it is got. 792 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:18,360 I pray that we will put our heads down, put our back into it 793 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:21,520 and work. I pray that comparison will stop 794 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:25,000 in the name of Jesus. God, I pray also for those who 795 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,960 are struggling to stand for the faith. 796 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:30,760 Lord, I pray for those who are on the verge of choosing 797 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:35,760 multiple options to God. I pray for those, Lord, who have 798 00:42:35,760 --> 00:42:39,320 for too long been so complacent about their faith that God, they 799 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:42,440 will make a conscious choice to choose you, Jesus, and to keep 800 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:43,920 entering through the narrow door. 801 00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:49,480 I pray for those, Lord, who have relinquished things that 802 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,200 mattered. They'll relinquish their 803 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:55,520 responsibility. I pray today, your Father, that 804 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:57,880 we would come to you in repentance and say sorry, Lord, 805 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,440 for handing over what belonged to us, what we should have 806 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:05,360 stewarded. I pray that God, that you would 807 00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:07,800 continue to work in us. Thank you for forgiving us. 808 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:12,360 Thank you for washing us clean. Thank you for your grace, which 809 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,960 is all we really need. We pray that you would continue 810 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,360 to shower us with your favour, with your blessing. 811 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:22,040 Thank you God that you are the justice God that you will 812 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:25,200 reverse everything in eternity. But until then, help us to live 813 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,560 faithfully. Help us to live intentionally. 814 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:31,320 In Jesus mighty name I pray Amen, Amen. 815 00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:33,440 God bless you. Have an amazing week. 816 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:35,920 Remember you don't have to worry about the great reverse and you 817 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:39,200 just need to live the Kingdom life now and to the fullest. 818 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:43,360 God bless you. Thanks for listening to this 819 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,480 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 820 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:50,200 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 821 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,840 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 822 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,600 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 823 00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:59,760 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 824 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,480 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 825 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,000 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 826 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:13,080 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.