1 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,240 Hello, a big welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,240 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,720 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,560 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,160 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,880 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:38,680 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,240 our promise. As we seek to find Jesus in 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,080 Leviticus, our hope is that we will fall deeper in love with 10 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:51,680 him and pursue him more. We look at Leviticus 22 today to 11 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,320 find that each of us are called to holiness and none of us who 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,040 find ourselves in Christ are disqualified. 13 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:01,400 Hi Church, it's such a joy and a privilege. 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,920 We're bringing God's Word to you today and I consider it an 15 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,840 honour even as we take some time to go into God's Word. 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,120 We've been going through the series called Finding Jesus in 17 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,880 Leviticus, and over the last two weeks we've gone through Part 1 18 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,120 and Part 2. And I just wanted to kind of 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,320 like just recap some of the key themes we saw in Part 1 and Part 20 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:24,520 2 because they're all intertwined as we see Jesus in 21 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,320 Leviticus. The first part I'd emphasize 22 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:31,200 specifically on beholding his glory and we become whole. 23 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,120 And I think that's a central theme around the season of Lent 24 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:40,400 as to why we take some time, why these 40 days as Jesus went 25 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,720 towards the cross, as we remembered that time when he 26 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,720 went to the cross, lay down his life for you and me. 27 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,640 I think it's for us to behold his glory because there's so 28 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:53,360 many areas in our life which read wholeness than ever before. 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:58,640 And as we move closer to him, those areas which need can only 30 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,280 be filled, rectified, He, we go back to the Potter so that he 31 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,600 can mould us and shape us. And we saw that we approach him 32 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,400 daily. We saw that we live eternally 33 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:15,200 redeemed and we are able to enjoy that eternally redeemed 34 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,360 because you're submitting to him every day. 35 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:22,360 You know, we are not going like how they did earlier on and once 36 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,480 a year, you know, having a goat there and confessing all their 37 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,480 sins on the goat and then sending the goat out. 38 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,480 That doesn't happen. The price has been paid for you 39 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,560 and for me once and for all. And we saw last week, which was 40 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,840 very crucial because it talked about the blood of the Lamb, 41 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,760 every blood that was shed in the temple, you know, equated to 42 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,000 Jesus dying on the cross for you and me. 43 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,280 And so that blood today has breath, has life. 44 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,280 And so even as you and me call on the name of the blood of 45 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,480 Jesus as we apply it on our lives, we saw last week how it 46 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,920 is to apply. We just don't just say it, but 47 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,240 we intentionally believe and we apply it. 48 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,560 We see things happen. We see we are marked out. 49 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,440 We see that we are, you know, there's a wall of protection 50 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,400 around us because we are marked by the blood of Jesus. 51 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,360 And even as we are living in this new covenant today, you and 52 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,320 I can tap into Jesus and call on his name. 53 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,160 That's what it makes sense, part of the church. 54 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,920 We gather here in person, but there's a part of you who 55 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:21,080 gathers online. And even as I'm speaking to you 56 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:26,520 all, I'm reminded that God can move in and through you even as 57 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,160 you hear His Word. His word has life. 58 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,120 And I pray that as we meditate that we'll draw deeper in. 59 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,360 As we're meditating today, we're going to be looking at Leviticus 60 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,080 chapter 22. And one of the key themes about 61 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:44,160 Leviticus 22 is that there's a constant repetition of God 62 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,040 telling I am God. And the reason why this 63 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,680 reckoning theme occurs is for the people of God to realize all 64 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,360 that he's asking us to do, all that he's asked the people of 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,600 Israel to do, all that he's asking them to abide by and 66 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,760 follow and make sure they follow. 67 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,760 It is so that it will please God. 68 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,880 We're doing it for God. He's saying God is giving the 69 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:07,840 instruction. It's not a man made instruction. 70 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,760 And so even as we meditate, I want you to keep your eyes and 71 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,600 your ears open because I believe God wants us to take some of 72 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,200 these themes and apply it. A lot of times we have so many 73 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,600 things in those places of God and God's telling. 74 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,520 I want you to reorient everything and say I am your 75 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,280 God. So Leviticus 22, verses 31 to 76 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,920 33, this is what it says. You must faithfully keep all my 77 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:32,120 commands. We're putting them into 78 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,040 practice, for I am the Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy 79 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,200 name, for I will display my holiness among the people of 80 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,000 Israel. I am the Lord who makes you 81 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,120 holy. It was I who rescued you from 82 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,800 the land of Egypt that I might be your God. 83 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,880 I am the Lord. And so God talks here to the 84 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,440 people of Israel, saying he's brought them out of Egypt. 85 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,920 He's calling them to live a life that is set apart, a life that 86 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,960 is different from where and what the surroundings look like. 87 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,880 And often times this is what a Christian battle is all about. 88 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,880 We are trying to blend in and we struggle to be in this place of 89 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,880 being set apart. And what does that look like? 90 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,400 Like the Israelites were struggling to keep God's word. 91 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,280 And even as they received all these different commandments, 92 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,360 it's would have seemed heavy. It would have seemed quite 93 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,480 jarringly like they don't want to mess it up because if they 94 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,520 mess it up, God will get angry. But he says an interesting line 95 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,040 here in verse 31. He says you must faithfully keep 96 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,040 all my commands by putting them into practice. 97 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,560 There are two aspects faithfully keep it, which means every day 98 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,120 you just keep going back to Jesus. 99 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,720 You reorient your thinking. Everything is moved from moving 100 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:50,960 it from the eyes of looking at others. 101 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,120 You're reorienting your vision to only God. 102 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,480 And the second thing is you're also keeping and putting it into 103 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:02,520 practice because God will enable you to overcome those other 104 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,560 things which do not occupy space. 105 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,960 As I've over the last couple of months, as we've been going 106 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:12,400 through this entire series with the years theme of being 107 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,000 positioned to possess the promise. 108 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,880 One of the things that keeps coming to my attention and the 109 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,400 foremost thing is always about God's holiness. 110 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,160 I think in this day and age, we sing about it a lot. 111 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,200 There are beautiful songs that have come out and in fact, one 112 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,120 of the songs that resonates very deeply with me with regards to 113 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,560 God holiness is about holy forever. 114 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,120 And that word holy forever, kind of like just stuck with me 115 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,160 because if God's wanting and preparing us to be holy here, 116 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:42,520 eternity is going to be all about holiness. 117 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,280 You know, when you read the Book of Revelation, you see the 118 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:48,480 elders, you see the angels, you see everyone who's gathered 119 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,520 who's saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. 120 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,000 And there's this beauty about His Holiness. 121 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,760 And the more we as his created beings out of the free will that 122 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:02,480 he's given us when we move towards that holiness, he's 123 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,120 delighted. And so as we look into this, God 124 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,680 is reminding the Israelites to say I am a holy God. 125 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,800 And that's why I want you to faithfully practice it every 126 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,400 day. That's why I want you to 127 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,840 faithfully follow my commands and practice it every day. 128 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,040 As we read Leviticus 22, you need to go back a few chapters 129 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,360 to realize what are these commands that he gave you in 130 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,440 Leviticus 18, He talks all about sexual relations. 131 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,280 He talks about what is permissible, what is allowed. 132 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,160 Don't you know? He gives a whole set of 133 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,160 instructions and those become the guardrails for everything 134 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:39,400 with regard to our everything that could our lustful eyes are 135 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,840 physical beings and he's giving a guard over there saying these 136 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:44,720 are things you shouldn't do. These are things you should do. 137 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,480 These are things which will bring unholiness and these are 138 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,640 things will keep you holy. And so he says that in Leviticus 139 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,400 19, we see how we need to live our everyday. 140 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,760 In fact, the relationships that we have outside of our spouse 141 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,640 with others around the neighbors and do not covet and all those 142 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:06,080 other different laws he gives. And then we see in Leviticus 20 143 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,040 the consequences of those sins and how it has to be dealt with 144 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,160 is what he talks about. And in 22, he talks specifically 145 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,040 to the priests of how they have to serve. 146 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,520 And so with all these commands given, one of the bigger themes 147 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,440 that come out of this, which any person who listens to this or 148 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:29,080 reads this will be that the holiness that he's requiring us 149 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,640 is not possible. I don't qualify for. 150 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,120 That's why I'm the, the immediate thing I'll feel is 151 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,039 disqualification. And this word kind of caught my 152 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:42,200 attention as I was preparing because today a lot of us are 153 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,160 disqualifying ourselves in running the race. 154 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:49,360 God's called us to do running the race or instead of running 155 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,600 the race, we're trying a lot of other things. 156 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,920 And I want us to come to a place of when we meditate on God every 157 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,320 day, when, as I mentioned earlier, when we faithfully 158 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,960 follow his commands and when we practice every day. 159 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,320 What we're doing is we are moving. 160 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:09,800 We are pivoting our eyes and our gaze solely to His Holiness, 161 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,720 which will say, which will cause us to realize why we're doing 162 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,480 what we're doing. And today I want us to come to a 163 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,440 place. If you've been disqualifying 164 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,240 yourselves, no, you have a part at this. 165 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,000 God's asking you. Will you be able to join with me 166 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,840 on this journey? The holiness should not scare us 167 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,120 away, but rather should draw us to hurts Him. 168 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,680 And it's interesting a lot of us are trying to find these things 169 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:34,720 that will work for us. Take your step, give up what 170 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,080 God's asking you to give up and move towards it. 171 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,120 Don't worry what others are doing, don't worry what others 172 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:45,120 around are thinking. You move towards this, you know, 173 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,800 the when I think about the wear and tear of Christian life, you 174 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,840 know, we, for those of you who have already been on the 175 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,840 seasoned Christian journey, it's like these cars that we have. 176 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,120 You know, for those of you who are used to changing the tires, 177 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,720 if we change, we change them in sets. 178 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,840 We don't just change one tire at a time and the wear and tear 179 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:08,880 that happens usually is because you are travelling on roads that 180 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,600 are different. If I have to use it as an 181 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,080 analogy, you'll see that in life, our pathways all have 182 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,920 different Rd. structures. Some are good to drive at, 183 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,640 you're able to cruise through, you're able to go at a 184 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,320 particular speed. Some are bumpy, some just have 185 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,320 potholes and you have to be very careful. 186 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,360 And so you're, it's like this and, and the weight of it, what 187 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,440 is the weight like when you're going in a full car, you realize 188 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,880 you can't just go past these speed bumps and the potholes at 189 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:40,920 that speed. You need to really slow it down. 190 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,480 You need to really maneuver correctly. 191 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,840 And I believe that this wear and tear that happens, we always 192 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:51,120 have to come back, move it, move our gaze to God and say, God, I 193 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,040 am moving towards you. I want to faithfully follow your 194 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:55,760 commands. Yes, it is getting tiring. 195 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,280 Yes, it's getting hard. Yes, some of the things that I'm 196 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,400 walking through seem difficult, but God saying, you know, I want 197 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,920 to move, come along with you. And so we suddenly see, even as 198 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,880 the weight in the car increases, the journey becomes enjoyable. 199 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,560 And so a lot when even as I was reading up what has to do with 200 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,760 these wear and tears and especially with cars and these 201 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,560 heavy trucks, 1 is the weight. Second is the road conditions. 202 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,960 You know, with different road conditions, the tires tend to 203 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,520 have it's and the the other one is frequency of stops. 204 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:35,280 And so as they're travelling, you can see a lot of damage 205 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:40,760 happens on the road, pebbles and other things, scratches and the 206 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,000 different road conditions. And in all of that, I came to an 207 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,760 understanding that our Christian walk goes through a lot of wear 208 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,080 and tear. But if you have to faithfully 209 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,840 follow His commands, which means we'll have to move to a place of 210 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,000 solely looking at God and no one else. 211 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,440 As I talked about the word disqualify, I want us to come to 212 00:11:58,440 --> 00:11:59,720 a place. For those of you who are already 213 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,240 on this Christian journey, probably you've been in this for 214 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,560 some time and now you're feeling the heaviness of it and you're 215 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:06,680 thinking, you know what, this journey is not for me. 216 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:08,600 I would rather just disqualify myself. 217 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:10,840 I would rather just go with what others are doing around. 218 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,560 Or probably you've not even started this journey and some of 219 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,800 you are listening to this and like what you're talking seems 220 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,160 so heavy. Why should I enter into this 221 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,360 path? You enter into this path because 222 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,240 you love God. You enter into this path because 223 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,720 you solely are amazed in the fact that he has saved you. 224 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,560 It says that in that verse, verse 33, it says because I 225 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:33,640 brought you out of Egypt. I was the one who brought you 226 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,000 out. And so I am your God. 227 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,440 And so as we move towards that, we should move to a place of not 228 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,640 disqualifying ourselves, but moving to a place of saying God, 229 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,880 I'm here. I I feel totally unworthy, but 230 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,520 as I pursue you, can you give me the joy that is needed for this. 231 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:59,520 The problem with a lot of us, why we tend to why we a lot of 232 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,480 us disqualify ourselves in our minds in our heads, even before 233 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,760 we had disqualified physically in running and living out this 234 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:09,040 Christian life is because when you look at these Olympic races, 235 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,640 you know there's a set of rules that they have to abide by these 236 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,000 athletes. One, they have a regiment health 237 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,640 check up. They need to, you know, all 238 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,960 their vitals have to be good, their vitals have to show that 239 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,480 they have not taken any supplements. 240 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,520 So there's definitely a inside check that happens. 241 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,200 There's also an exterior check that happens where they are 242 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:31,920 required to wear certain kind of shoes. 243 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,400 You know, I was just watching article about a video about how 244 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,040 they it's, it's as it's a big industry. 245 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:45,880 They had the shoes, which gave a bit of an acceleration for these 246 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,440 runners who were running. And the committee had to come 247 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,560 back and ban it because it was not fair on others who had to 248 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:53,640 run. And so there's this constant 249 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,840 movement up in there with regard to the what they wear and how 250 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,040 they run and all those other aspects. 251 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,320 But nevertheless, they're called to run in their own track and 252 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,360 not on another person's track. So the minute they move to 253 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,080 another person's track, they get disqualified. 254 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,960 And so as these, as I was just seeing the different things that 255 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,840 can disqualify an athlete, I realized the race that your 256 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,920 culture is similar to this. God wants us to run our tracks, 257 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,080 just our tracks. What does that look like as we 258 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,040 run that? God's also doing an internal 259 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,480 work in and through US. He's checking what are you 260 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,760 taking in? Because where I spend my most 261 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,000 time is what I'm feeding off is what really is nourishing me. 262 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:35,360 And that's what I'm acting out of. 263 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,720 And so if I'm taking these other kind of shortcuts thinking this 264 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:42,640 will benefit me, it may not. I might be disqualified from 265 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,800 this race. And then this other aspect of 266 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,920 wearing wrong things just to take those shortcuts. 267 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,280 And we we soon realise we're just burning out way too fast. 268 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,960 And I pray specifically that as we all make this effort to run 269 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,880 this race, which God's calling us to run, that disqualification 270 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:10,480 primarily happens because we want to run and finish on our 271 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,040 terms within a particular stipulated time, within a 272 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,520 particular framework, and we want to enjoy the merits of it. 273 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,160 But God saying, I have a season marked out for you. 274 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,600 And as you follow this, I want you to know that in that every 275 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,880 step, I am your God. Every step, I am your God, every 276 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,840 step, I want to acknowledge my holiness. 277 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,520 And the reason why this emphasis is even more is because if we 278 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,040 don't realize that you're pursuing His Holiness, we will 279 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,960 soon realize you're pursuing so many other things that may not 280 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,200 even fit the bill that you're called to follow. 281 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,360 The Israelites came out of Israel wanting freedom. 282 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,000 God gave him the freedom, but it came at a cost of following His 283 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,640 ways because He's the one who brought them out. 284 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:03,840 But they constantly were going back to saying, God yours. 285 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:05,600 What you have doesn't seem like freedom. 286 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,560 And the biggest battle isn't that we have been saved today by 287 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,320 Jesus Christ. And as we walk, maybe rise above 288 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,200 from those pleasures that cause us to discount the freedom that 289 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,640 we've received. So even today, there are a 290 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,520 couple of things that we see that are happening here in this 291 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,000 entire chapter. There's this offering that's 292 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,120 been offered. One is it's intentional. 293 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:34,800 The offerings that God's calling the priests to offer is one of 294 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,280 intentionality. When they had to choose a 295 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,280 particular animal, he just didn't ask them. 296 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,200 In fact, when you read the start of Leviticus 22, it talks 297 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,080 entirely about what animal had to be brought in. 298 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,040 You know, they couldn't bring a handicapped animal, they 299 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:50,960 couldn't bring one which is diseased. 300 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:54,200 They couldn't bring something which was which had gotten hurt. 301 00:16:54,800 --> 00:17:00,040 It had to be an animal which was clean, which was in good health, 302 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,760 which was flourishing. And there was a lot of 303 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,839 intentionality as they brought that animal for sacrifice. 304 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,240 The second thing was it's time consuming because when you want 305 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:15,040 to offer something to God, it involved being the best, which 306 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:19,240 means you had to grow a herd in a particular way. 307 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:24,200 You had to keep watch over it. You had to give time and effort, 308 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:26,800 you know, and all this for a sacrifice. 309 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,080 That's where God is asking us. It was time consuming. 310 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,400 And the third was it would it, the cost of it was quite a lot 311 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,880 like for example, when you have a good stock in cattle and when 312 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,280 they don't have any blemishes and they are sturdy, strong, 313 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,720 they actually become good breeders. 314 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,920 Literally they, you could use them for breeding more. 315 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,440 But God said those are the ones which I want and those often 316 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,960 times are the ones which could have been kept for those other 317 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,400 purposes. They were the ones which are 318 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,600 getting ready for sacrifice. And so the God was telling the 319 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,840 reason why I'm asking you to do all this is so that you will be 320 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,120 able to acknowledge me, acknowledge me and me. 321 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:14,080 And it's, it's like putting a price to holiness. 322 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,480 But the truth is it won't even come close. 323 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,960 And the, the ask was so heavy. That's why if you notice the 324 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,680 people's stance always towards God was not forward, but rather 325 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,040 take a step backward and send someone else. 326 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,600 They said, Moses, you go and talk and they always took a step 327 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:33,120 back. The reason being they felt was 328 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:34,960 way too much. But God's here in the new 329 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,120 covenant, He's saying, come towards me. 330 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:39,520 Come. All those of you are weak and 331 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,080 heavy laden and I'll give you rest. 332 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,880 Come towards. He's wanting us to draw near Him 333 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,960 so that we can let go of all these things. 334 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,480 Reading through all this is a reminder that the weight of 335 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:55,400 following God is truly heavy. As we are reading through, it's 336 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,000 a reminder the weight of following the true and living 337 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,080 God is heavy. Following Jesus comes at a cost 338 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,880 and it's tough, but God's saying, can I walk and journey 339 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,520 with you? The first thing I wanted us to 340 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:13,080 kind of like emphasize over here because I taken the theme of 341 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,640 disqualifying because I strongly feel a lot of you today are 342 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,400 disqualifying yourselves, even me. 343 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,880 Many times I tend to disqualify myself and God has to remind me, 344 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,000 no, I am with you and so I've chosen you. 345 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,320 And so I want to address that theme because this can seem too 346 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,120 heavy that we disqualify ourselves. 347 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:34,120 So the first thing is when there's a defect, it gets 348 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,600 disqualified. But Jesus bought everything and 349 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,400 that's why we are qualified. And that's the first thing which 350 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,960 I wanted to emphasize. The reason is because when the 351 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,000 Levitical priests were actually getting ready for sacrifices, 352 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,640 anything that had a defect was disqualified and couldn't 353 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,160 participate in worship. And in the new covenant we see 354 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:59,080 when Jesus comes in, because he bore all of our sin, we get 355 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,920 qualified to commune with him. And so today I don't know what 356 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,240 what are some of the defects that you think you have in your 357 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:12,360 life? And when I say defects, these 358 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:15,080 are probably some of the things that you think God made a 359 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:19,440 mistake. Could be with regard to who you 360 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,440 are, the way you are physically, the way you the family you were 361 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,960 born into or the way you look, the, the, the some of the skin 362 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,640 ailments you're having or the, some of the struggles that you 363 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,640 personally have been going through physically in terms of 364 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,720 your health. And you're probably thinking, 365 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:37,160 you know what? God, I think made a mistake. 366 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:43,000 And then God is going to remind you that all of that was what 367 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,360 you feel is real, but that's not to disqualify you, but rather to 368 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,360 move you towards Him. In Leviticus chapter 22, verses 369 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,120 20 to 21, this is what it says. Do not bring anything with the 370 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,760 defect because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 371 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,560 When anyone brings from the heart of a flock of fellowship 372 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,400 offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or a free will 373 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,200 offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be 374 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,880 acceptable. As we read through this, we are 375 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:08,600 able to see that there's a clear theme. 376 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,160 The priests were allowed to offer only a select group. 377 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:14,480 Outside of this, there was no participation. 378 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:18,120 But what we see happening with Jesus is everyone could 379 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:21,120 participate. When we see Jesus in the New 380 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,040 Testament, it looks like he just came for those who are sick, for 381 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:25,760 those who are broke, and he came for everyone. 382 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,840 But his heart was moved towards compassion for that because he 383 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,800 wanted them to realize that they're not disqualified without 384 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,400 blemish was only the requirement which God had actually given 385 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,520 them as a command to be accepted. 386 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,040 And Jesus came in and said you guys all come because when I set 387 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,440 right your hearts, you are ready to participate in everything. 388 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,640 Jesus became that sacrifice once and for all. 389 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:54,160 Just imagine every time they had to go and offer a sacrifice that 390 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,320 equates to Jesus becoming the true sacrifice once and for all, 391 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:04,400 all of the world's sin, not only till his but till the end of the 392 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,240 world. He's taken that and he's broken 393 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,360 the yoke of sin today. So without blemish, if you have 394 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,480 to look at ourselves without blemish can only happen because 395 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,920 Jesus is in us, the one who was without blemish, who walked on 396 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:20,280 this earth, who died on the cross. 397 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,840 He came into our lives and because of him being that we now 398 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,680 can participate today. What does it say in One Peter 399 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,560 chapter 1 verses 17 to 21 it says, since you call on a father 400 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,440 who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time 401 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,680 as foreigners here in reverent fear. 402 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,640 For you know that it's not with perishable things such as silver 403 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,800 or gold that you were deemed from the MTV of life handed down 404 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,360 to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of 405 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,160 Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 406 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,280 He has chosen before the creation of the world, but was 407 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:55,360 revealed in these last times for your sake. 408 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,240 Through Him you believe, who raised Him from the dead and 409 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,760 glorified Him so that your faith and hope are in God. 410 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,760 It says you'll live in reverent fear in this temporary place. 411 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,160 This is temporary. And so as we live here, we live 412 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,600 well. I'm not saying, you know, you 413 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,760 just go by living in a cave. No, live well. 414 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,880 Live it for God because you were just not bought at a price that 415 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,920 was of negligible cost. You were bought at a price that 416 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:32,680 cost the entirety of mankind. And so as you and I accept Jesus 417 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:37,320 into our lives, whatever offering, he's paid it all. 418 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,640 And so today we can participate. And when we go to God, we are 419 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,080 going to him with full access in God. 420 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,640 I'm here. Do with me what you may. 421 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:50,960 A lot of us today have just stuck to certain rhythms of God 422 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:52,800 because we're scared of His Holiness. 423 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,440 I would say move to a place of enjoying His Holiness. 424 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,600 Move to a place where it's like a outlet where he'll be able to 425 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,800 deposit. He just keeps dropping in those 426 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:02,880 things. What are some of the things 427 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:04,800 he'll show you? What are some of the things 428 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,840 generationally has plagued your family? 429 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,320 He'll show you What are some of the things that you can course 430 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,760 correct from some of the things you've actually allowed into 431 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,800 your life early on in your life. He'll be able to His Holiness 432 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,040 will move into you seeing things for your future so that you'll 433 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,920 be able to say, Lord, this is what I desire. 434 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,680 But as I'm meditating on you, thank you for giving much 435 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,040 clarity. He will His Holiness will will 436 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,480 cause you to pace. His Holiness will cause you to 437 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,040 understand what is temporary and what you don't have to, you 438 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,480 know, run after. His Holiness will show you what 439 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,240 some of the things are precious for him that you will need to 440 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:44,520 hold it close to your heart. Jesus nullified sin once and for 441 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,440 all. He conquered sin today. 442 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,280 What happened on the cross for you and me is one done. 443 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:56,640 The man who knew no sin when he was crucified on the cross, he 444 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,080 bore the entirety of sin and he broke the power of sin. 445 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,480 Even as we saw last week, the power of the blood is because 446 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,560 innocent blood was shed and it breaks everything. 447 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,440 God himself in human form when he died. 448 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,120 No other person here in this earth has ever done that where 449 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:19,680 they have laid down their life for the entirety of humankind. 450 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,880 Hebrews chapter 4 verses 15 to 16 says this. 451 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:29,000 He understands humanity for as a man, a magnificent king priest 452 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,280 was tempted in every way. Just as we are in conquered sin. 453 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,520 So now we draw near freely and boldly to where grace is 454 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,720 enthroned to receive mercy's kiss and discover the grace we 455 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,320 urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness. 456 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,560 So today, if you're like, I have a whole bunch of weaknesses, 457 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:52,440 invite His Holiness in, invite the power of His Holiness in. 458 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,800 What will happen? It'll tell you that you can 459 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,080 overcome this. It'll tell you what to cut off. 460 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,280 It'll tell you how to move next. It'll tell you what the next 461 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,120 steps are. Because he has overcome sin and 462 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,800 the power of sin, you can no longer say that governs it. 463 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,320 That, that, that that's the thing which is causing me to do. 464 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,920 Because the very person who's inside now is one with grace, 465 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,480 with confidence. When we read in an IV, it says, 466 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,400 let us approach God's throne of grace with conference so that we 467 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:25,000 may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 468 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:30,240 So I pray today that if you've disqualified yourselves because 469 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:36,000 of some of the sins you've committed, move to the place of 470 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,320 saying, God, here I am. Give your whole heart to him 471 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,160 you're like you know what, but the the the offering that I have 472 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,680 the very body that I have the very I've my body has gone 473 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,000 through sin, My heart has gone through sin. 474 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,800 I've conceived a lot of evil. My mind has gone through sin 475 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,160 because I've I've I've I've coveted I've my mind is just, 476 00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:59,720 you know, for time and again has been in that place. 477 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:04,360 Take everything. When Jesus came, he came for you 478 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,480 and me. When Jesus died, he died for you 479 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:08,840 and you and Jesus rose again. He died for you and me, which 480 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:13,000 means he can handle everything. Take everything, your heart, 481 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,040 your mind, your soul. As you take it there, your 482 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,760 spirit will yield to him to say, Lord, I receive your forgiveness 483 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,760 today. I receive your forgiveness and 484 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,760 move to a place of living it out with His grace. 485 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:29,760 Every weakness will be turned to strength. 486 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,600 The only problem is we aren't moving in that direction because 487 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,040 we are discounting ourselves. We are disqualifying ourselves. 488 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,120 And today, let's let us not break under the weight of what 489 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:45,920 His Holiness looks like. A lot of us sometimes have been 490 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,400 discounting His Holiness because of what backgrounds we've come 491 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,000 by. Lot of us are having a wrong 492 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,760 idea of His Holiness because it felt imposed, it felt, you know, 493 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,480 it talked down, it felt like it was unachievable. 494 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,560 No holiness is something where you enjoy being at in the 495 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,200 presence of God. And so today as we see from 496 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,520 Leviticus 22 and when we see 18/19/2020, 1:22 that entire 497 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,040 series, the whole book of Lord Jesus saying follow me, the 498 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,960 rules are there, I will work alongside with you. 499 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,800 I will work alongside with you. I love what it says in Isaiah 53 500 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,000 because this is where it talks about who Jesus was and why he 501 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,960 was coming to the world. Yet it was Lords will to crush 502 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,160 him and cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his 503 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,200 life and offering for sin, he will see his offspring and 504 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,680 prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his 505 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,880 hand. After he has suffered, he will 506 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,360 see the light of life and be satisfied by His knowledge. 507 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,160 My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear 508 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,680 their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a 509 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,320 portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the 510 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,040 strong, because He poured out his life unto death, and was 511 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:01,160 numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many, 512 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,440 and made intercession for the transgressors. 513 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,760 So today, as you and I look to Jesus, He's the one who bore the 514 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,880 sins of everyone and he's caught, moved to a place where 515 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,720 he's interceding on our behalf. So today when you go to Jesus, 516 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,400 you're just not going there to say God, but he's going to 517 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:21,040 intercede on our behalf to the Father saying help this person, 518 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,920 help this child of mine who's asking me to help. 519 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,320 If it's any addiction, if it's anything, he wants you to move 520 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:31,120 to a place If the outcomes of those are causing you to not go. 521 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,360 I would say take a step in faith because it's in that when you 522 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:41,640 move with boldness, with the call that Jesus gives you, every 523 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,480 disqualification will turn to a place of realizing God, I'm 524 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:48,680 here. Let your Holiness move in and 525 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,640 through my life. As we Live Today, we are those 526 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:56,280 who were defected because of sin, hence we feel disqualified. 527 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:01,320 Jesus, who conquered sin, is now qualifying us so that we can 528 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,240 walk this Christian life to receive mercy and grace and help 529 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:11,560 us in time of need. Don't let anything out of sin 530 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:16,000 that's come out of sin disqualify you because sin does 531 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,360 not have the final say. Jesus has the final say. 532 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,000 Sin is defeated. If sins power was broken with 533 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,320 the cross, it doesn't have the final say. 534 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,600 The one who's living today has a final say. 535 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,520 The second thing, you know, when we think about disqualifying 536 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:34,800 ourselves, as I mentioned, the first thing was when we realized 537 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,360 we're defected and we disqualify ourselves, we have to have a 538 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,480 renewed understanding of who Jesus is because he qualifies us 539 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,240 for this Christian life. The second thing is we will be 540 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,720 able to run this race and not disqualify ourselves if we have 541 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:49,680 a attitude of daily Thanksgiving. 542 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,720 There's this beautiful thing that have in Leviticus 22, we'll 543 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:56,320 talk about free will offering and you know, vows that were 544 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,440 committed and then we go and give an offering for that in 545 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,640 Leviticus. And, and it talks about what 546 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,360 kind of sacrifice you have to give and these things in terms 547 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,840 of Thanksgiving. And there were so many festivals 548 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:12,200 that the Israelites celebrated and they were periodically kept 549 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,840 just so that they won't forget. You know, it happened once in 550 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,440 three months, once a quarter, you know, and all these things 551 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,440 were done so that they will not forget who God was. 552 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:27,120 But the ask for us in the new covenant in Jesus time after he 553 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,040 came was to do it daily. And so my second point is daily 554 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,680 Thanksgiving. Leviticus 2229 to 30. 555 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,320 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice 556 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,560 it in such a way that is accepted on your behalf. 557 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,240 It must be eaten the same day. Leave none of it till morning. 558 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,280 I am the Lord. There's a clear indication of 559 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:48,320 when someone gives a tank offering to God. 560 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,480 It must be done in a such a way so that it's accepted. 561 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,560 But second thing, it was meant to be finished by end of day. 562 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,960 And today when you look at it, it's the same thing with our 563 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,280 Thanksgiving. We need to go to God every day 564 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,440 with Thanksgiving. So today I want to ask you, what 565 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:07,000 is it that's on your lips? Is it complaints or is it 566 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,200 Thanksgiving? Is it doubt or is it 567 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,040 Thanksgiving? Is it fear or is it 568 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,200 Thanksgiving? Because today you can turn 569 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,880 everything that you're feeling into a Thanksgiving and God will 570 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,240 work his way through. If is it lack, maybe 571 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,280 Thanksgiving. I won't tell you a testimony 572 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:28,880 even as I'm preaching this and I told you remind repeatedly the 573 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,200 this is going to be a third year as we've moved into the space. 574 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:38,520 And the way it works is we the space is rented by the church 575 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:44,320 for running the Sunday services, but we've taken the lease as a 576 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:46,800 company. And one of the things which 577 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,400 happened as I was thinking about this entire journey three years 578 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,000 back is we've never build something like this. 579 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:58,040 And so there was always this constant fear, constant God, how 580 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,600 do we do this? It felt like I had to strive. 581 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:03,000 It felt like I had to like plan all these things. 582 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:08,320 But I realized the more I sought after His Holiness, things 583 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,440 started happening. And so church, I'm here talking 584 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,560 out of just two years, three years of experience that I have 585 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,760 started seeking him. And as I've started seeking him, 586 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,240 I can only see he's taking my 10 picks and putting it farther 587 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:28,240 away to say accommodate more. He's only saying do this, he's 588 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,600 causing me because it has nothing to do with my strength. 589 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,280 It has nothing to do with my abilities. 590 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,360 It has everything to do with him. 591 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:39,440 And so daily Thanksgiving moves us to a place where we will not 592 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,680 just give thanks occasionally, but we'll give thanks every day. 593 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,360 What does that look like? Thanking him with our hearts 594 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,160 that we'll be grateful, which what happens every time we start 595 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:51,120 thinking about it, it moves to our hearts. 596 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,760 God, I'm so grateful. What moves from there is moves 597 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:55,720 to our lips. Lord, I'm so grateful. 598 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,680 I'm thanking you, God, thank you for everything. 599 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,080 What moves into that? It starts moving into our hands. 600 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,800 We start doing things, thanking God for what all He's done, and 601 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,120 before we know it, we are also moving places because our legs 602 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,840 have started moving. Legs have started moving. 603 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:14,159 So today, church, if anything, we will do a daily Thanksgiving. 604 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,480 We won't make it seasonal, occasional, but daily. 605 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:22,199 If the Old Testament it said it had to be consumed daily, which 606 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:26,639 means every day that whatever was offered had to be eaten and 607 00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:28,760 then the next day they have to burn it literally because 608 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,320 nothing could be, it will be dishonouring of the sacrifice. 609 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,480 I would say God wants a daily Thanksgiving sacrifice from us. 610 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,040 Proverbs 21 three says it pleases God more when we 611 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:44,159 demonstrate godliness and justice than when we merely 612 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:47,440 offer him a sacrifice. A lot of us must be thinking, 613 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:49,679 when I come every Sunday, I sing his praise. 614 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:54,000 I go back, yes, but then today, is it translating into your 615 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,840 hands? Is it translating into your 616 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,400 legs? Are you moving to spaces as your 617 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,680 hand, doing things out of a place of Thanksgiving? 618 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,280 One Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 16 to 22 says this. 619 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:11,320 Always be joyful, never stop praying, be thankful in all 620 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,480 circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to 621 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,840 Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit, 622 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,520 Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. 623 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,920 Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of 624 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,760 evil. Even as Paul is concluding his 625 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,240 first letter to the Thessalonians, he is telling 626 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:32,960 them always be joyful. What is always being joyful 627 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:37,720 means no matter what, seek God's joy in your life. 628 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:42,560 This happens only when you have His word in your in your hands. 629 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,480 You're looking at it, you're meditating on it. 630 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:47,920 Pray at all times. What does it mean? 631 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:49,600 Everything can be committed to prayer. 632 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:52,880 Even when you look at the Greek word here, it says pray without 633 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,920 ceasing in fact, which means the Greek word here means 634 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,920 uninterpretedly without omission, which means you don't 635 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:02,440 have to omit certain things. Everything can be brought into 636 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:04,880 prayer. If it's too personal, bring it 637 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,080 to God. If it's too wide, bring it to 638 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,440 God. If it's too insane, bring it to 639 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,520 God. Bring everything to God and 640 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,120 according to his will, it'll happen. 641 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,400 Be thankful in all circumstances. 642 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,480 Everything that happens in our life happens because God is 643 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,440 sovereign. Nothing happened because God was 644 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,920 not sovereign. Or you might say this happened 645 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,560 and I think I have a no God was sovereign over everything, the 646 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,880 good, the bad, the ugly. He is sovereign over everything, 647 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,280 and I want us. Therefore, this is God's will 648 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,760 for all those who belong to. If you look at the early church 649 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,520 and their response to what was happening, they didn't. 650 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:46,640 Their idea was not to pursue the wealth of the They knew this 651 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,440 life was temporary as we read, But what did they pursue? 652 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,640 They pursue Jesus and they lived out their life knowing that when 653 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:56,480 they close their eyes, they'll see Jesus. 654 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,280 When they close their eyes, they'll be with Jesus. 655 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,800 When they close their eyes, eternity was secure with Jesus. 656 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,800 And I want to come to the place where it says do not stifle the 657 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,160 Holy Spirit. Don't box him in. 658 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:14,440 Move away from all the different markers that have marked you in 659 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,360 your life. For those of you from 660 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,440 Pentecostal backgrounds, for those of you from evangelical 661 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,920 backgrounds, whatever your backgrounds are, don't let this, 662 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,480 don't stifle the Holy Spirit. Let him have a clean rain. 663 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,800 It says here, do not scoff at prophecies today. 664 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,520 I know we're living in a time and age where prophecies are 665 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,200 being spoken over and told. Be discerning, and that comes 666 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:36,560 only when you're reading the Word. 667 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,440 You're reading the word. I've had a lot of people come 668 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:43,600 and prophecy over us and some of them were direct continuity to 669 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,680 whatever happened in my life. But that still doesn't discount 670 00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:49,520 the Holy Spirit. Learn, come to a place of 671 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:56,280 knowing what you need to do. Hold on to what is good, hold on 672 00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:00,000 to what is good and stay away from every kind of evil Today, 673 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:05,240 move to a place of asking God for discernment in daily 674 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,000 Thanksgiving. He'll give you clarity of 675 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,920 thought in daily Thanksgiving is where you'll be able to 676 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,120 appropriate His blood over you and everything that you have so 677 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:18,080 that you can experience God. As I conclude, I want us to come 678 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:22,560 to a place as Leviticus 22 comes to a close it you can see that 679 00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,640 the ask for the people was something heavy. 680 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,160 I mentioned it that it can be like a heavyweight of men 681 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,800 following God. He's brought us out of Egypt. 682 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,440 He's saying I am your God and this all feels heavy. 683 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,520 The Israelites missed it because they thought it was performance 684 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,440 driven. But God's asking would you be 685 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,640 God honoring and relationship driven? 686 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:52,080 God honoring and relation, which means I honour God, I love God 687 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:53,520 and because of that I'll do this. 688 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:57,640 Because of that, I'll do this. There are so many instances in 689 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,400 my life when I go back and I realize why have I done certain 690 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:05,480 things is because I had a deep love for God and yet did I fail? 691 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:10,200 And so many things I did fail. Did I have did I make decisions 692 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:11,000 wrong? Yes. 693 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,640 And I had to go back to God and ask for forgiveness. 694 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:18,320 But it's in that relationship that I'm able to do that, else I 695 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,240 would have discounted myself, disqualified myself way long 696 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:25,520 back in this journey, Billy Graham says is the thing that 697 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:28,280 has hindered the progress of the church is not much of our talk 698 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,800 and our creeds, but it's been our walk, our conduct, our daily 699 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,240 living. We need a revival of Christian 700 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:37,520 example. And that can come when professed 701 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,440 followers of Christ begin to practice Christian discipline. 702 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,160 Christian discipline, what God's called us and given to us. 703 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,920 It is not something for us to say, this is too difficult to 704 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:53,760 follow, but to say, Lord, this is so that you will be God and 705 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:58,080 no one else. This is so that you alone can be 706 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:01,520 at your rightful place. Not my career, not my wishful 707 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:04,680 ideas and my wanting to be an entrepreneur. 708 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:11,840 No, it'll come to a place of realizing this is who God is and 709 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:16,600 I'm God honoring him. Leviticus chapter 22, verses 31 710 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,800 to 33 says he must faithfully keep all my commands. 711 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,760 We're putting them into practice as I read earlier, for I am the 712 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,200 Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy 713 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,520 name, for I will display my holiness among the people of 714 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:29,600 Israel. I am the Lord who makes you 715 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:31,840 holy. It was I who rescued you from 716 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:35,280 the land of Egypt that I may be your God. 717 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:39,520 I am the Lord. And as I conclude, I just wanted 718 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:43,680 to leave a few thoughts with you because I believe a lot of us 719 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:46,880 are disqualifying ourselves because of certain limitations 720 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,800 in the physical. This Christian life has nothing 721 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:52,120 to do with our physical limitations, but rather has 722 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:56,240 everything to do with who God is doing what he's doing in and 723 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:59,520 through us. In verse 31, it says live what I 724 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:03,560 tell you I am God. So today, if we have to move 725 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,240 into this place, we just have to live. 726 00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:09,000 As for what God's telling us, what has been God telling you to 727 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:10,480 do? What has he told you to give up? 728 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:13,040 What has he told you to hold on to do? 729 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:17,280 That holy reverence, which means we realize anything we do 730 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:21,040 because of him, following him, that presents him, showcases 731 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:24,600 him, speaks of him. So maybe have a holy reverence. 732 00:41:25,240 --> 00:41:29,000 He's the one who makes us holy, not a doing and a showing up. 733 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:33,000 No, He makes us holy. And so as he makes us holy, we 734 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:36,880 we move towards him, we do our life with him. 735 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:44,840 And so as I, I'm concluding, I, I thought of this parable, I 736 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,200 thought of this incidents that happened in Jesus life. 737 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:48,560 And he was here when he was ministering. 738 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,720 He healed this man who was blind in John Chapter 9. 739 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,040 And I want to read that verses one to four. 740 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:57,640 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 741 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:01,000 His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sent this man or his 742 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,400 parents, that he has been born blind. 743 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:07,120 Neither this man nor his parents sends to Jesus, but this 744 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:10,880 happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 745 00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:15,480 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. 746 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:17,640 Night is coming where no one can work. 747 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,800 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 748 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:27,040 And this understanding that a lot of us have and we think is 749 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,840 you know what probably my sin has caused me this, my sin has 750 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:32,920 caused me this ailment, my sin has caused me this. 751 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:36,720 We don't. There are certain aspects which 752 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:41,840 are outside the bounds of sin. There are consequences of sin. 753 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:43,240 What are the consequences of sin? 754 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:48,800 If I who am married, if I intentionally go and break my 755 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:52,800 marriage vows by doing something else with someone else outside 756 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:56,520 of my marriage than my spouse and running after that, I am 757 00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:01,360 willfully breaking the the the vows and I'm sinning and what 758 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:03,520 happens because of that Because of that, I have to face the 759 00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:05,880 consequences of that. What are the consequences of 760 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:06,880 that? That could be different 761 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:08,800 consequences that happens because of the same thing 762 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,040 happens because of my selfishness I or because of my 763 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:17,640 unability to curb my desire for certain things I wound up in 764 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:19,840 debt. These all happen because of 765 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:24,840 consequences of my own choices. But this didn't have to be dealt 766 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:28,320 with something that we may be all are sinners, yes, but when 767 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,720 we have these physical limitations, all of us have 768 00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:33,280 certain limitations. There's no one in this world you 769 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:35,280 can say does not have any limitation. 770 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:39,040 We always have thought of this narrative where, OK, if you have 771 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:41,160 enough money, if you're like a billionaire, probably there 772 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:43,000 won't be any limitation. No money can buy. 773 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,960 Money can definitely get you certain things, but it can't get 774 00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:49,800 you everything. And so today when we look at 775 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:54,080 this understanding, we look at Jesus from a perspective that he 776 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:58,120 alone can see us. He alone can heal us, He alone 777 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,160 can give us and qualify us for something. 778 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:05,080 This very man was disqualified in that day and age by the 779 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:09,880 people who are religious, were disqualified thinking that he 780 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,720 was what he happened, what happened to him. 781 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:16,040 His blindness was because of his parents sins and the sins of his 782 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:21,120 generation. The truth is Jesus rewrote that 783 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:23,040 and said no, it's for the glory of God. 784 00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:26,800 And I pray that we'll be available like that for Jesus to 785 00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:31,600 come and expose us to his glory. His our physical limitations 786 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:34,160 will expose. And so today if if you are 787 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:37,560 having a physical limitation, I would say move to a place of 788 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,720 exposing it. Don't disqualify yourself from 789 00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:41,360 that. What happens here? 790 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:44,280 He Jesus had compassion. He spat on the mud. 791 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:46,400 He applied the mud, told him to go wash it in the pool. 792 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,960 He washes it. He's able to see the very people 793 00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:51,960 who are around that pool said isn't this guy who was a beggar 794 00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:53,880 who was there before who was blind. 795 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:55,240 Someone said this looks like him. 796 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:57,480 He tells him no, it is me. They don't believe him. 797 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,520 And So what happens he's been called to the Pharisees and then 798 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:03,680 they question him. They turn to the blind man. 799 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:06,040 What have you to say about him is what they ask him verse and 800 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:10,360 he says it was your eyes he opened the man replied he's a 801 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:12,720 prophet. His eyes were only open. 802 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:15,560 That's all he knew he did. He probably heard a lot of 803 00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,520 commotion a lot of things around, but all that he knew was 804 00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:21,160 God opened his eyes. His parents response. 805 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:22,720 What was that they called him to check. 806 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:26,520 Is this true they and what happens they they says they were 807 00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:30,400 scattered. They'll be, you know, removed 808 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:35,280 from their group of being there in the in the temple that they 809 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:39,080 just said he he was born blind, but now he can see anything. 810 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,520 He's come of age. You can ask him they they 811 00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:47,760 spawned him off there. The man's second response is 812 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:52,000 what caused he said now this is remarkable verse 30. 813 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:55,520 You don't know what he, you don't know where he comes from, 814 00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,360 yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen 815 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:00,880 to sinners. He listens to the godly person 816 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:04,680 who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening 817 00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:08,240 the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, 818 00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:13,280 he could do nothing. And I love to the sailor Pride. 819 00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:15,120 You were steeped in sin at birth. 820 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,000 How dare you lecture us in through it. 821 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:22,400 So today I want us to come to a place where we are not a loving 822 00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:30,120 people to dictate what qualifies us before God or where we move 823 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:34,080 to a place of saying God. I want to come to a place of and 824 00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:38,000 this is purely because of the physical limitations that he 825 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,920 had. It's been talked about sin and 826 00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:45,720 the very nature of sin that he's born into, but he has a clear 827 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:48,960 understand that God opened my eyes, I can see. 828 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:52,520 And so the very person people that disqualified him today 829 00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:56,000 Jesus says you're qualified now go live and Jesus meets him. 830 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,440 He asks who do you think this man is? 831 00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:01,560 Is he the Son of man? And he says, yes, he is the Son 832 00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:02,880 of man. I would like to see him. 833 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,520 You're seeing him right in front of me is what he says. 834 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:09,920 So today the gospel does not disqualify us. 835 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:15,080 It rather renews us so that we can experience the wholeness of 836 00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:18,240 Jesus and in turn, we too can experience whole. 837 00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:21,480 So I pray today we'll move to a place of renewal, renewal. 838 00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,160 And that's why the second point is so important, Daily 839 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:26,240 Thanksgiving, because it's a daily renewal. 840 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:30,720 The after effects of my pride have to go through a daily 841 00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:33,440 renewal because otherwise that'll keep creeping up. 842 00:47:34,720 --> 00:47:36,640 And I pray that we will find that. 843 00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:42,000 We will find that as this man found his eyes open, when his 844 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,560 eyes were shut, he was disqualified. 845 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:46,040 But when his eyes opened, when the light came, he was 846 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,840 qualified. And I pray we will all have that 847 00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:51,480 experience where we'll be qualified because of the light 848 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:54,480 of the world was Jesus. Pray I want to repeat this. 849 00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:56,440 The gospel does not disqualify us. 850 00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:02,360 It rather sets us up so that we can experience holiness with 851 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:04,840 Jesus because it renews us every day. 852 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:08,920 The gospel renews us every day. One Thessalonians chapter 5, 853 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:11,680 verses 23 to 24. May God himself, the God who 854 00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:16,920 makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put 855 00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:19,640 together in spirit, soul and body, and keep you fit for the 856 00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:22,840 coming of our Lord Jesus. The one who called you is 857 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:26,800 completely dependable. If he said, he'll do it, and I 858 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:28,360 want to leave that promise worse with you. 859 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:32,520 May God Himself, the God who makes everything whole and holy, 860 00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:38,280 make you holy and whole, put you together, spirit, soul and body, 861 00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:42,200 and keep you fit for the coming of our Master Jesus, so that the 862 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,760 one who called you is completely dependable. 863 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:50,480 If he said it, he'll do it. And the worst which ends in 864 00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:53,920 Leviticus 22, it says I was the one who rescued you from the 865 00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:57,760 land of Egypt, that I may be your God and I am the Lord and I 866 00:48:57,760 --> 00:48:59,840 pray today that he has rescued us. 867 00:48:59,840 --> 00:49:01,640 Where do you need rescue from today? 868 00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:04,160 Probably you're going through certain things in life where 869 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:07,160 you've not thought about it, but then suddenly this glaringly 870 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,320 thing has become obvious because you started following Jesus that 871 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:13,360 you need rescue from this. It probably from can be from a 872 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:15,240 negative mindset. It could be from anxiety. 873 00:49:15,240 --> 00:49:19,240 It could be from a dependency over dependency or people and or 874 00:49:19,240 --> 00:49:20,960 probably those couple of people that you have. 875 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:24,040 Or it could be things that are unspoken requests which you 876 00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:26,480 don't want to share about. But it's just between you. 877 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:32,480 God is saying I we can rescue you from that and be your God. 878 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:37,760 Would you allow him to do that because Jesus came to seek save 879 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:40,640 the lost and even as you've heard this message, I believe 880 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:44,600 he's seen you, but the response is left to us will be moved 881 00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:47,280 towards him. Can I close today's service and 882 00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:49,440 pray our loving heavenly Father. Lord, we thank you for this 883 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:51,560 time. Thank you, Lord, for all that 884 00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:53,640 you've been doing, Lord Jesus, in and through our lives. 885 00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:55,920 And even as we heard this, I pray especially, Lord, for all 886 00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:59,080 of us who constantly go through this battle in our minds where 887 00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:02,040 we are disqualifying ourselves. I thank you for your word which 888 00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:05,440 says so that you rescued us, Lord Jesus, as you rescue the 889 00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:08,400 people of Israel from Egypt, You have rescued us. 890 00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:10,600 And I pray that Lord you today you would rescue your people 891 00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:13,280 from whatever their list is right now, Lord, whatever they 892 00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:15,680 have put before them, which is saying that this is 893 00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:18,320 disqualifying them. Lord, I pray Lord, as the blind 894 00:50:18,320 --> 00:50:21,840 man was disqualified because of his sins, but you said that this 895 00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:24,560 is for the glory of God. I pray a light will shine and 896 00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:28,160 that blind eyes would be opened. Lord Jesus, lame will start 897 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:29,960 walking. People will be able to seek you 898 00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:31,680 with all their heart, Lord Jesus. 899 00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:34,520 Lord, I pray, Lord, the passage that we have as a church from 900 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:37,400 Malachi that everyone will come to the mountain, that they'll be 901 00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:39,640 able to see you, they'll be able to touch you, they'll be able to 902 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:42,320 know that you are the true and living God. 903 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:45,640 They'll be experienced about the river that runs from the 904 00:50:45,640 --> 00:50:48,320 mountain top to experience healing strength that comes from 905 00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:50,800 you. Go before a state charge, or I 906 00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:52,760 pray especially you'll be with everyone who makes this 907 00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:55,240 decision. I pray no power of sin will 908 00:50:55,240 --> 00:50:57,840 cripple them. No power of anything that they 909 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,680 have their minds are conceiving will be pulled down in the name 910 00:51:00,680 --> 00:51:03,040 of Jesus. And Jesus, may you be the center 911 00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,520 of their lives, your blood covering over them. 912 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:07,720 Take them. Lord Jesus, I pray that they'll 913 00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:11,080 be qualified to do this Christian journey because you 914 00:51:11,080 --> 00:51:14,240 are central in their life. I pray our mouth, our hearts, 915 00:51:14,240 --> 00:51:17,640 our hands will offer daily Thanksgiving to you to do all 916 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:20,440 that you've called us to do. Lord Jesus, be with us, go 917 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:24,120 before us. I pray your strength will be a 918 00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:27,640 portion, Lord Jesus to do this journey well so that when time 919 00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:31,480 comes, you'll be able to look to you face to face and worship you 920 00:51:31,720 --> 00:51:35,120 and say holy is the Lord. I pray your holiness would move 921 00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:36,880 in and through our lives. It will permeate through. 922 00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:39,560 It will make us whole. Keep us in the center of your 923 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:41,440 will. Now in your most holy name we 924 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:42,560 pray, Amen. Amen. 925 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:46,480 So church, even as you step out, I pray you'll step out knowing 926 00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:49,280 that as you move towards God, His Holiness will set you right. 927 00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:54,440 Keep Jesus at the center. Remember, no part of the gospel 928 00:51:54,440 --> 00:51:57,960 disqualifies you, it rather renews you so that you can be 929 00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:00,360 whole just as Jesus wants you to be. 930 00:52:00,800 --> 00:52:02,920 I pray that have a blessed week. God bless you. 931 00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:06,880 Thanks for listening to this message. 932 00:52:07,240 --> 00:52:10,720 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 933 00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:15,080 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 934 00:52:15,080 --> 00:52:17,400 episodes. If you like what you are 935 00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:21,960 hearing, consider rating us subscribing and even sharing it 936 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:24,520 with friends. That would really help us. 937 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:29,840 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 938 00:52:29,840 --> 00:52:35,000 viazion.in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 939 00:52:35,240 --> 00:52:36,040 finds life.