1 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,760 We welcome you to the VI Zion Sermon Podcast. 2 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,640 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,520 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,680 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,000 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,640 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:37,640 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,160 our promise. We start a new sermon series 9 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:45,600 called Rekindled where we look closer at our own lives and ask 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,720 the Holy Spirit to revive and restore things that have gone 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,920 dormant in the dry seasons of our souls. 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,200 We pray that this series will help you dive deeper into 13 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,880 yourself and see where you need more of God. 14 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,880 God has been very faithful during this series of rekindled. 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,400 I know for a fact many in our in person service have been saying 16 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,880 how they have been touched by different aspects of these 17 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,320 message is not because you know, that the message was so great. 18 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,360 Not at all. It's because of the fact that 19 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,280 they were walking through something and a part of their 20 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,680 faith or their hope had died. And God has been so faithful in 21 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,280 reviving those parts of our lives where it's felt like the 22 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,040 embers were starting to die down. 23 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,120 He's brought back a fresh fire and we are so grateful to God 24 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,520 that he has done this. And today we're looking at the 25 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,360 last part of the series. It's called lasting love. 26 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,760 We look last week at what it looks like to have a lived love, 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,040 a love that displays the hands and feet of Jesus in the in 28 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,720 person service. Pastor Geshwan gave each of us a 29 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,240 nail that was painted red as a take away, as a keepsake to ask 30 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,760 ourselves if we are living cruciform, to live in a way that 31 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,440 actually invites people to experience Jesus from our lives. 32 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,440 And it was amazing because each. Week. 33 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,120 It's literally like a puzzle that fits in, and today we're 34 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,560 going to be looking at lasting love. 35 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,280 Last week we looked at how when we begin to live the love out 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,160 that God has poured into us, it literally splashes on to others 37 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,280 and it's hard to keep it to ourselves. 38 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,480 But when we look at a lasting love, we're living in a time 39 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:28,040 when everything seems so temporary. 40 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,320 Things are done mostly for the short term, not for the long 41 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,640 haul. I was reading this interesting 42 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,000 story about this young, this old couple. 43 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,240 They've gone to a diner where they both sat at this table. 44 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,680 They looked well over 85 years old. 45 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,080 And when they walked into the diner, they sat together, they 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,400 ordered together, and then their order came, which was one plate 47 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,680 with burgers and fries and one milkshake with two straws. 48 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,920 And so the people in the diner were watching and especially 49 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:59,840 interested in them was this other couple sitting at a close 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:01,880 by table and they were watching the whole thing. 51 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,320 So this old. Gentleman cut the burger neatly 52 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,920 into two halves, and then he put the two straws in the milkshake. 53 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,240 He split the fries down the middle and then he proceeded to 54 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,360 watch as his wife ate her share. And so the whole diner was 55 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,720 quietly watching. And, you know, this particularly 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,760 this young couple was so intrigued and so touched at how 57 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:28,640 this old couple were obviously so in love still and making room 58 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,120 for each other. So they were watching him watch 59 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,680 her. And this young man suddenly felt 60 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,120 a pang of conscience. So he said, Sir, if you don't 61 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,520 mind, I'd like to buy you a separate plate of burger and 62 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:42,680 fries. You know, why do you have to 63 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,400 wait for ma'am? I could buy you something 64 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,880 yourself. And the old man laughingly 65 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,760 looked at him and said, son, it's fine, you know, don't worry 66 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,640 about it. I'm just waiting for her teeth. 67 00:03:55,240 --> 00:04:00,360 So they were sharing dentures. Now as as weird and a little 68 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,440 gross as it sounds, love like that is hard to come by 69 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,760 nowadays. You really don't see a love that 70 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,400 has lasted 5060 years. Now the the statistics on 71 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,680 marriages ending are much very alarming to be to be honest. 72 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:18,640 And there's also these relationships. 73 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,240 Now my husband and I were reading an article about 74 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,680 homosexual relationships and what are these? 75 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,640 Basically is people coming together to be in a sexual 76 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:31,480 relationship just for food and shelter. 77 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,880 So one person needs a place to stay and they come and live with 78 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,280 someone else. In layman terms, they mooch off 79 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,920 them for food, for bored and all of them but and they pretend to 80 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:43,520 be in a relationship, but it really isn't. 81 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,000 It's an illusion of a relationship. 82 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:46,840 This is the time we're living in. 83 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,160 We're living in a time when nothing seems permanent. 84 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,680 Marriages are on the rocks. Relationships are so 85 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:54,840 conditional. There are strings attached, 86 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,520 sometimes very invisible strings that people don't know about. 87 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,280 Connections and networks are so temporary. 88 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:04,360 Lasting love seems a distant possibility. 89 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,520 It seems a distant reality. And yet in the midst of that, 90 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,000 the reminder is that God's love lasts forever. 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,240 Like the psalmist repeatedly says, his love endures forever. 92 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,120 Now what are the implications of this? 93 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,040 What does it look like for God's love to live forever, that his 94 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,720 love endures? I think there are two 95 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,080 connotations to it. The first thing is that this 96 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,640 eternal God, El Olam, everlasting God, a God who out 97 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,680 last time lives outside of time. His love doesn't change. 98 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,160 He's like the rock. He doesn't move, he's immovable, 99 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:40,360 He doesn't change. His love is not conditional. 100 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,640 So no matter how far we wander, His love for us and magnitude. 101 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,400 Stays the same. That's the first implication. 102 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,120 The second implication is it doesn't end with me, but it 103 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,120 follows the generations after me. 104 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,000 Should I choose Jesus and should I choose to? 105 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,360 Pour my love on him. He remembers this love and pours 106 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,360 it out over generations. That's what it looks like when 107 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,640 we talk about a lasting love. And in Deuteronomy Chapter 7 108 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,160 verse 9, we read a little bit about it. 109 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,400 It says know therefore that the Lord your God is. 110 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:11,920 God. The faithful God who keeps 111 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,160 covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His 112 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,120 commandments to 1000 generations. 113 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,360 We plan, you know, companies, we plan our organisations, we train 114 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,960 our children for 1-2, maybe 3 generations. 115 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:29,480 God is saying I will be faithful to you for 1000 generations. 116 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:34,640 Should you show your love back to me to those who love Him and 117 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,760 keep His commands. Isn't it amazing? 118 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,880 And today we're going to be looking at the life of David and 119 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,480 his descendants to understand the actual practical outworkings 120 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,920 of such a love. You have to understand in Second 121 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:53,880 Samuel Chapter 7 God is speaking to David when David wanted to 122 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,320 build a temple for him for his worship. 123 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,240 First Nathan the prophet says go ahead. 124 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,760 But that night God appears to Nathan and says no, I don't want 125 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,120 David to do it. I want David's son to do it. 126 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,600 And that's when this conversation ensues between God 127 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,080 and David. But God tells David, I promise 128 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,280 my way of demonstrating my love to you is that I'll make a 129 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:18,320 covenant that every son from each generation from your family 130 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,640 will be sitting on the throne of Judah. 131 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,080 That was the week God ratified it. 132 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,640 God said, this is my promise to you. 133 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,440 That's how you'll know my love endures. 134 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:28,920 Whatever. That's why David could 135 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,760 confidently say that even though David didn't see the outworking 136 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,440 of it, he believed God and God was true to his word. 137 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,840 So we're going to look at David's life and sometimes, you 138 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,240 know, looking through Second Samuel and kings, there's a lot 139 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,640 to read. So I was reading through the 140 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:48,160 different kings of Judah. You know, what happened was that 141 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:52,280 David was faithful to God. He did have his mess ups, he did 142 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,400 go off track, but he kept coming back. 143 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,720 And then his son Solomon takes the throne and Solomon deviated 144 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,200 quite a bit. He started out really well, but 145 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,240 he deviated quite a bit. And then when it came to Rehu 146 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,440 Boam, the apostasy was at its heights. 147 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,440 And So what God did was he ripped. 148 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,760 The Kingdom away from David's family, he gave them just one 149 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,640 tribe to govern over that was just Judah. 150 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,360 And then they were they formed the southern Kingdom and then 151 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,280 the northern Kingdom was given to another ruler called Jeroboam 152 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,440 and he got to control 10 tribes. The Levites were not considered 153 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,320 in this. 10 tribes were given to Jeroboam, one was given to 154 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,159 Rehoboam to rule. Because of the waywardness of 155 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:37,720 the king, this split happened and God had promised to do this, 156 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,120 and we're going to read it not from the Book of the Kings. 157 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,600 We're going to read this from Psalm chapter 89, and as we read 158 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,440 it, I just want to start with to give you the background of what 159 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,840 the promise was. Psalm 89, verses 3 to 4. 160 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:52,080 This is what the psalmist writes. 161 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,480 He says, I heard the Lord say my covenant has been made and I'm 162 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,120 committed forever to my chosen 1 David. 163 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,400 I have made my oath that there will be sons of David forever, 164 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,600 sons that are kings through every generation. 165 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,760 So this is the promise of God to David that the psalmist is 166 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,840 recollecting and bringing to the table, right? 167 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,920 But when you go further down, I'm going to read from verses 19 168 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,840 to 37 of Psalm 89. You understand a little bit more 169 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,120 of why God chose David and why he was a man after his own 170 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,040 heart. He says this once you spoke in a 171 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,200 vision to your faithful people. You said, I have bestowed 172 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,240 strength on a warrior. I have raised up a young man 173 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,160 from among the people. I have found David my servant 174 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,240 with my sacred oil. I have anointed him. 175 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,360 My hand will sustain him. Surely my arm will strengthen 176 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,160 him. The enemy will not get the 177 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,280 better of him. The wicked will not oppress him. 178 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:48,160 I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. 179 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,120 My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his 180 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,120 horn will be exalted. I will set his hand over the 181 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,480 sea, his right hand over the rivers. 182 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,160 He will call out to me. You are my Father, my God, the 183 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,840 Rock, my Saviour, and I will appoint him to be my first born, 184 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,000 the most exalted of the King's, the earth. 185 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,440 I will maintain my love to Him forever, and my covenant with 186 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,880 him will never fail. I will establish His line 187 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,320 forever, His throne, as long as the heavens endure. 188 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,000 If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if 189 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,440 they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will 190 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,680 punish their sin with a rod, their iniquity with flogging. 191 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:33,280 But I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my 192 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,040 faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant 193 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,680 or alter what my. Lips have uttered once for all, 194 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,000 I have sworn by My Holiness, and I will not lie to David that his 195 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,080 line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like 196 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,480 the sun. It will be established forever, 197 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,240 like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. 198 00:10:55,560 --> 00:11:00,560 What a beautiful, poetic, you know, way of talking about what 199 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,000 kind of favor David enjoyed with God. 200 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,240 But the interesting thing that we have to look at here is that 201 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:09,920 God is reiterating again and again his faithfulness. 202 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,320 He's saying, no matter what David's sons do, I will punish 203 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,920 them because I'm righteous. I'm just, but I will not take 204 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,920 away my love from them. And I feel like that's a good 205 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,000 thing to remember for all of us, even in the midst of our 206 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,240 harshest discipline. When God needs to discipline us, 207 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,960 when God needs to course correct for us, he will do it. 208 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,040 But his intentions are so pure because he's so righteous. 209 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,240 He's so just, and he's so loving. 210 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:40,320 His motives are always spurred on by his love for us. 211 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,080 And the truth is that when you look at this thing he says, he 212 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,400 talks a lot about adversaries, about his enemies, about his 213 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,800 foes. The truth is that you and I are 214 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,360 going to face so many adversaries in the spiritual 215 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,360 realm, on the natural realm as well. 216 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,160 We're going to face so many adversaries. 217 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,160 But the beautiful thing is, the whole gist of it is that God 218 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,800 promises to give victory. God promises to lead you 219 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:04,760 through. He promises to bring him through 220 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,640 safely. And God did that for David. 221 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,000 When David lay down in death, finally, he had faced every 222 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,600 enemy he had to many times. The enemy was himself. 223 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,880 He had to come clean with God. He had to move forward and take 224 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:19,840 up the next thing that God entrusted to him. 225 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,120 So this journey I have to give you the statutory warning is 226 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,680 going to have it's ups and downs, but God's unfailing love 227 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,160 never ever gives up on you. You're never too far. 228 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,680 For God's love to reach you and pull you back. 229 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:39,400 And as I was studying the the stories of the kings of Judah. 230 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,000 Right, you look at the. Different kings, the sons of 231 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,120 David. So David's son was Solomon, 232 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,160 Solomon's son was Rehoboam. Rehoboam had a heja. 233 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,280 And it went on. And every king that came in, 234 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,200 they were human, they were frail, they were flawed. 235 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,880 But when they sought God, if they sought God, God was 236 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:00,520 faithful to deliver on his promise. 237 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,800 God was right there to help them when they went astray. 238 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,320 God and his goodness brought them back if they repented, if 239 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,400 they changed. He used every situation for good 240 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,760 for his people. That's the beautiful thing. 241 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:16,880 And you know, it's it's interesting that so many of 242 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,400 those things, starting with even David himself in his sin with 243 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,880 Bathsheba killing an innocent man like Uriah, and then what 244 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,160 happened with his son Amnon raping his daughter Tamar, the 245 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,160 way he overlooked it. These were huge mistakes that 246 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:33,720 David had. They were flaws in his 247 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:35,160 character. And yet. 248 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:37,640 God called him a man after his own heart. 249 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,640 And then you look at Solomon. Solomon was led astray from God. 250 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:47,160 He was known to be loved by God, Jedediah, and yet his love for 251 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,360 women superseded his love back for God. 252 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,000 And those women led him astray, because he began worshipping the 253 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:59,360 gods of his wives, and that triggered God's anger towards 254 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,120 the generations that came. I want you to read 1 Kings 255 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,760 Chapter 11 verses 11:50. Although he had forbidden 256 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:11,000 Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's 257 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,080 command. So the Lord said to Solomon, 258 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,920 since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant 259 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,720 and my decrees which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear 260 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,120 the Kingdom away from you and give it to one of your 261 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,040 subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of 262 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,760 David, your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. 263 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,040 I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 264 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,400 Yet I will not tear the whole Kingdom from him, but we'll give 265 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,400 him one try for the sake of David, my servant, and for the 266 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,880 sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. 267 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,080 When you look at this whole thing, what happened? 268 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:49,160 God's grace even covered the king who would take over the 269 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,360 northern Kingdom. The guy was Jeroboam. 270 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,280 He was a subordinate to Rehoboam. 271 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:55,960 He was in charge of the forced labour. 272 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,640 He was, he was an overseer and God told him, called him out and 273 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,800 said I want you to take up 10 tribes, big task. 274 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,160 And in the midst of that, God says to him if you are faithful 275 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,080 to me, if you love me, if you honour me with your life, I will 276 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:13,120 enable your dynasty to grow as well. 277 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:17,720 Your lineage will grow. Unfortunately, Jeroboam had a 278 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,240 huge faith issue. He was afraid the people would 279 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,320 turn away back to Rehoboam. So what he did was he led the 280 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:30,400 whole of Israel into idolatry. He created 2 calf idols, called 281 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,040 all the people to Dan and Yeshiva and said you know what, 282 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:34,840 worship these, these are your gods. 283 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,280 And so, right from the get go, Jeroboam LED Israel into 284 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,080 idolatry, but on the side of Judah. 285 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,720 There was that spark. Of a. 286 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,320 Flame that David had left with them there was a passion in many 287 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,480 of the kings to know God There was a passion to do that which 288 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,360 was right and please God There was a passion to lead their 289 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,880 people towards God. Majority of the kings were good 290 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,320 kings. Were they human absolutely good 291 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,120 in the sense that they desired to know God a little bit more 292 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,880 good in the sense that you know what they knew where they were 293 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:09,520 sinning. They knew their frailty. 294 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,360 And today we're going to be looking at how God's enduring 295 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,920 love, His lasting love, is demonstrated in three ways to us 296 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,800 many times. You know when as a mum of three 297 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,040 children, I found that the way each child receives love is 298 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,400 different. For one, it's words of 299 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,000 affection, of appreciation, telling the child, you know 300 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,720 what? I'm so proud of what you did. 301 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:33,840 Thank you so much. Being grateful. 302 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:35,640 That's that child's love language. 303 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,560 The other child's love language is gifts. 304 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:40,800 I can raise the child all the live long day. 305 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,560 It will not go past the armor. But the minute I get the person 306 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,360 a gift, I have the person's heart right? 307 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,640 And there's this other one who's heavy on physical touch, needs 308 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,480 hugs because that's how the child feels affirmed. 309 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,680 And I realized that as God's children. 310 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,720 Each of us have a certain language or a frequency at which 311 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,160 we absorb God's love. And many times we miss out on 312 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,000 His love for us because we're looking for something different. 313 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,160 But today I want to give you 3 broad categories so that as you 314 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,000 go through the coming weeks, the last few weeks of this year, you 315 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,079 begin to identify God's love for you. 316 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,720 Because His love is so evident, we just sometimes miss it 317 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:22,400 because we're looking for something else. 318 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,640 We're so used to receiving love in a certain way. 319 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,920 We miss that His love is everything that's holding our 320 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,160 lives together. We miss that His love is like 321 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,560 oxygen to our souls. We miss that it's because of His 322 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:35,280 great love that we have not perished. 323 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,560 And I want to bring us today to this place of saying that this 324 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,160 love, that enduring love is so big. 325 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,360 It can handle your frailty, it can handle your weakness, it can 326 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:50,280 handle your mess ups. And not just that, when you 327 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:55,600 begin to reciprocate that love to God, it starts to trickle 328 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,040 down through generations, 1000 generations. 329 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:03,560 So the first way in which God's lasting love is demonstrated is 330 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:07,720 by unusual outcomes. You know, many times you ask an 331 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,840 earthly parent for something for your birthday. 332 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,600 You expect them to get you exactly that. 333 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,840 Recently we were having this conversation with my daughter 334 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,640 and her birthday is coming up. And so she was asking us, you 335 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:18,840 know, what are you guys going to get me? 336 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,880 So I asked her, you know, I know how she would prefer certain 337 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,600 things, So what would you like? You tell us that and she said 338 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:25,680 this interesting thing. She says. 339 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,360 I tell you guys one thing, but you guys. 340 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,360 Get something completely different for me. 341 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,400 And here we were thinking we were pampering this child, we 342 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:35,800 were spoiling her. But. 343 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,120 Her point of view was was right, she says. 344 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,400 I ask you for something, you get me something totally different. 345 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:42,960 But it's OK. I know you guys love me, you 346 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,760 care for me, I get it. But could you this time give me 347 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,720 exactly what I asked for? And I realized. 348 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,680 That this is a problem that all of us have when we come to God. 349 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:53,800 We're like, Lord, I need this miracle. 350 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,240 I need this miracle in my job. I need this miracle in my 351 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,160 marriage. I need this miracle in my 352 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,600 health. Do it like this for me. 353 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,720 This is how I foresee the miracle unfold. 354 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:06,880 This is how I foresee me meeting my future life partner. 355 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,680 This is how I foresee my boss behaving and giving me this 356 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,320 promotion. But the beautiful thing is I've 357 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,480 surrendered. Life enables us to actually 358 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,000 trust God's love to such a degree that the outcome, as 359 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,160 unexpected as it is, is in effect God's showing us. 360 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:26,600 I love you this much. Look at what I'm doing in you. 361 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:31,840 When you look at Psalm 989, you realize what I read was just the 362 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,200 beginning. It's a lot of verses after that. 363 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,440 And one of the the themes of the Psalm is actually a lament 364 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,960 because he first reminds God of his covenant to David and then 365 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,680 says, but God, you've let us down. 366 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:46,720 He says, you said all this about David, but what? 367 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,000 You've not done what you said. Now we're in ruins. 368 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,840 We're in exile. We our walls have fallen down. 369 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,240 We don't have protection. Our foes have overrun us. 370 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,960 Where are you, God? Did you keep your covenant? 371 00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:59,080 You haven't kept it. You've forgotten us. 372 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:04,160 But what the psalmist didn't have was the New Testament 373 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,480 perspective that we have. Because the beautiful thing is 374 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,200 that while it looked like God had gone back on his word when 375 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,640 he sent them into exile, what was happening was the setup for 376 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,400 the coming of Jesus would be in the lineage of David. 377 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,560 He's called Jesus son of David. When you look at the lineage 378 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,440 both in Matthew and in Luke, you find that there is such a 379 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,360 connection that Jesus came from this line. 380 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,160 God was not done. The exile was not it. 381 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,240 There was so much to come. And while the psalmist is 382 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,640 writing it, in his moment of hardship, he didn't have the 383 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,280 view that we have. He didn't have the view of 384 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,720 redemption. He didn't have the view of a 385 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,200 whole whole thing of, you know, oh wow, these are the things 386 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,560 that God is doing while he's working on my miracle. 387 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,640 He's doing all of these things around me. 388 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,280 Jesus was the fulfillment of that covenant to David, because 389 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,640 when Jesus came to earth, when he died, when he rose again and 390 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,640 ascended into heaven, he sits at the right hand of the Father. 391 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,160 He's the king of kings. He's the Lord of Lords. 392 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,800 He's the king of a Kingdom that never fails. 393 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,680 His throne is never vacated. He's the permanent king, a king 394 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,800 forever. It's the fulfillment of the 395 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,920 covenant with David. The psalmist missed it, but we 396 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,840 get to look at it and say, wow, this Kingdom never ends. 397 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,760 The king is on the throne. I want to ask. 398 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:35,080 You What is your struggle with receiving an unexpected outcome? 399 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,480 You've been praying for this, but this happens. 400 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,000 And then you dismiss it as if you know what God, you don't 401 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,880 know what I really need. But. 402 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,840 What if God knows exactly what you and I need and therefore 403 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,720 gives us this? I want you to put down a 404 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:53,080 tabulation of your life over the past one year, over the last six 405 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:57,640 months even, and look at unexpected, unusual outcomes. 406 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,800 You know, things that you didn't anticipate happening. 407 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,320 You looked for this job, but you got this opportunity. 408 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,280 You will. Standing outside, there's one 409 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,960 open door, but he opened another door for you, which was way 410 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,280 better. Or maybe he closed the door. 411 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,200 You were disappointed but then you realise you were able to 412 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,840 accomplish so much more in this place. 413 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,960 I love unusual outcomes. At the moment I don't like it 414 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,360 because I'm thinking, well this didn't fit in with my storyline. 415 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,040 As a writer, I'm always storyboarding, I'm always 416 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,320 scripting. This didn't go according to 417 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,000 script. Lord, you went off script. 418 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,400 But I'm finding that a surrendered life is one that 419 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,320 prays. Lord, let your will be done. 420 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:39,320 I have started making it an everyday practice. 421 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,000 When I start to threat, when I start to worry, when I start to 422 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:48,080 micromanage, I quickly shift my my focus and say Lord, I'm 423 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,360 taking my hands off this. I have no control of this, but I 424 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,400 know that you love me. I know that you see the 425 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,480 situation. Let your will be done. 426 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,640 That's how you actually begin to experience this lasting love 427 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,960 because then you start to accept those unusual outcomes. 428 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:07,120 You start to see it for those God opportunities, and then you 429 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:10,160 begin to see the the sliver of heaven on earth. 430 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:16,280 So that's the first thing. Practice praying, let your will 431 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,520 be done. Those prayers are so important. 432 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,560 Remember Jesus in the garden. He was afraid of what was 433 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,040 coming. He knew how much he was going to 434 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,000 suffer. He, he said, Lord, take this cup 435 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,480 from me, yet not my will but yours be done. 436 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,040 What is it you're so afraid of? Do you think maybe you'll come 437 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,520 to this brink and sing Lord, what if I never get married? 438 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,360 Lord, what if that medical baby never happens? 439 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,200 Lord, what if my parent and I never I can say? 440 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:47,360 What if my finances never get better, yet not my will yours be 441 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,440 done? And you'll be surprised at the 442 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,280 miraculous outcomes that come out of it. 443 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,120 It will look nothing like you imagined it, but it will be 444 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,160 evidence of a faithful God. It will be evidence of a God who 445 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,280 is interested in the smallest details of your life. 446 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:06,920 The second thing is that lasting love, the demonstration of it, 447 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:09,960 lasting love brings undeserved favour. 448 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,400 When you look at these stories through the Book of Kings and 449 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,480 Chronicles, you find that many of these kings didn't deserve 450 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,800 God's grace and favour because they did such terrible things. 451 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:26,680 And yet throughout their stories is woven this beautiful thread. 452 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,240 Thomas seems invisible, but it's the thread of grace, it's the 453 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:34,280 thread of favour. The king Jehoshaphat, he had a 454 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,880 son called Jehoram, and he married a daughter of Ahab, 455 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,600 Atalia, and two kings. Chapter 8, verse 18 to 19 says 456 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,880 Jehoram followed the ways of the kings of Israel as the House of 457 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,560 Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. 458 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:51,960 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 459 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,480 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was 460 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:00,800 not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a 461 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,640 lamb for David and his descendants forever. 462 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,160 Look at that. Jehoram was evil. 463 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,120 He was doing nonsensical things. He was married to the wrong 464 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,000 person. He had married into the worst 465 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,360 family possible, Ahab and Jezebel's daughter, and yet it 466 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:19,560 said for David's sake, God showed him grace. 467 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,680 You look at 2 Kings chapter 19, verse 34. 468 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,840 Hezekiah is faced with his army that looks like an ocean. 469 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,640 Senek Rib, the Assyrian king is standing ahead of him and he 470 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,480 attacks them, lay siege. They are threatening them, and 471 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,200 this is what God says through Isaiah to him. 472 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,720 He says I will defend the city and save it for my sake and for 473 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,880 the sake of David, my servant, enduring love. 474 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,280 He made the promise to David, but for David's sake. 475 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,960 He preserves it. Even though many of these kings 476 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:55,080 were not 100% devoted to God because of the promise to their 477 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,680 ancestor. He stuck on his faithfulness. 478 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,520 He never let them go. He came through for him. 479 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:07,320 I want to encourage you. You can walk in your humanness, 480 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,520 you can party favour with people, you can create 481 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,520 situations where you set yourself up for favour, but it 482 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:18,640 will not last. But when you stand completely 483 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,240 submitted to the King of all kings, when you come to this 484 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,160 place of saying Lord I, I trust that you love me. 485 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,720 I trust that even this hard situation is from you. 486 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:28,880 You are, you are working in the midst of it. 487 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,240 I invite you in. There's something beautiful 488 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,960 which shifts because then grace unmerited favour. 489 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,920 You don't deserve it, but it's given to you. 490 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,360 That's the evidence of God's love for you. 491 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:45,520 When we were still sinners, Christ died for it. 492 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,880 If we were saved by grace through faith, it is grace. 493 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,560 Grace is a gift. You and I can do nothing to earn 494 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,040 His love. He loves us irrespective of 495 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,600 ourselves and the beautiful thing is that when we begin to 496 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,600 receive His lasting love, we realize that this undeserved 497 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,520 favour just follows. You walk into rooms, you have 498 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,880 favour with people you never thought you would have favour. 499 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,160 You walk into hospitals for treatment, you have favour in 500 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:17,720 the eyes of people. It's unbelievable how God will 501 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:22,320 set things up so that He can bestow His favour upon you. 502 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,160 You would not have earned it. You would have not planned it. 503 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,320 You didn't account for it. You walk in scared and God just 504 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,000 shines his face upon you. It's amazing. 505 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,120 You are never too far gone for God's grace. 506 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,040 But the mistake many times we make is when you look at these 507 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:42,360 kings in in the line of Judah, many of them messed up so bad. 508 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:43,880 King Manasseh was one of the worst. 509 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,560 His father was Hezekiah, and yet somehow he went off track and he 510 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,760 did the worst things. And yet in the midst of that, 511 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,920 Manasseh turned to God. It says that Manasseh repented 512 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,240 so so completely that God's heart changed towards him and 513 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,080 restored the throne to him. Like I said about Jehoram, 514 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,160 Jehoram married Italia, and after his time, Italia took over 515 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,640 the land and she almost ruined it, like the way her parents 516 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,520 were ruining Israel. And yet in the midst of that, 517 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:22,320 God raised up with Joash, and Joash restored so much of 518 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,040 worship and, you know, so much of morality into the Kingdom. 519 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,360 And then there was Josiah. This was a time when the land 520 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:34,720 was about to go into exile. The land was prepping for it 521 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,800 because of the amount of idolatry and paganism and all of 522 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,640 that. God was getting ready to punish. 523 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,880 When Josiah and his men discovered the temp in the 524 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,600 temple, the book of the Law, the temple had been closed down. 525 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:48,960 They discovered it and Josiah, it's amazing. 526 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,040 He takes it, reads it and. Makes the whole. 527 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:56,240 Nation listen to it. And even though punishment was 528 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,680 not stopped completely, did eventually come. 529 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:03,360 He tried his best. There's grace evident constantly 530 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,320 and I want you to look back at your life so far, however old 531 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:11,720 you are. 20 years. 40 years, 70 years, look at that thread of 532 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,360 grace. The very fact that we are in the 533 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:20,840 spaces we are at with work, with family, with friends, just in 534 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,920 the spaces that we get to enter. It's only God's grace. 535 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,840 It's undeserved favour. If you've been thinking you 536 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:29,960 earned it, I would urge you to think again. 537 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,280 Because many of the things we enjoy today are not because of 538 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:37,520 our goodness, not because of our hard work, because someone 539 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:41,200 breathed life upon it. Someone loved you enough to open 540 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,440 those doors ahead of you. Lest we forget. 541 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,320 Lest we forget. And so I believe that there's a 542 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,480 requirement of us to experience this undeserved favour. 543 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,760 It's a gift. But in order to experience this 544 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:57,280 grace, there has to be a lifestyle of repentance. 545 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,440 So as much as we need to pray that pray Lord, let your will be 546 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,040 done. I need to also have a regular 547 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:07,640 time of spending time with God and repenting coming before 548 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:12,320 humbling himself because it says God gives grace to the humble, 549 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,240 which means when I go lower, he lifts me higher. 550 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,640 When I go lower before him and say, Lord, everything I have is 551 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,160 yours, everything I am is yours, Everything I I do is because of 552 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,800 you. As I humble myself, he lifts me 553 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,440 up. And it's unbelievable how 554 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,000 sometimes our pride keeps us from experiencing this favour of 555 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,120 God because we somehow think we are responsible for our success. 556 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,200 We somehow think we opened all the doors for ourselves. 557 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,400 We sometimes think we're responsible for opening doors 558 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,360 for people and God says no. I gave you the grace to have a 559 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,600 voice in those rooms to open it for others. 560 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,360 God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. 561 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,440 I would urge that you develop a daily habit, even if it's just 562 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,320 before you sleep. You just kneel beside your bed 563 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:01,760 or lie on the bed. You're looking up at the 564 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:03,240 ceiling. And if you could just say a lot. 565 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,600 I repent of the things that hurt you today. 566 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,880 I repent of pride. I repent of self righteousness. 567 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,000 It's a good daily habit. It's much like flossing. 568 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:13,320 You know, many times we just brush our teeth. 569 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,560 We don't floss. But sometimes the the the build 570 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:24,280 up of sins blocks off our recognition of God's grace. 571 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,680 His grace never stops. His favor doesn't stop. 572 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,360 Like His love, it's enduring, but the recognition of it gets 573 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:33,080 blocked up when there's no repentance. 574 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,760 God is calling us to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, 575 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:40,080 which means you repent and you move forward in fresh faith, 576 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,160 able to recognize His love again for you. 577 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,960 The third way in which lasting love is demonstrated is unending 578 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,840 transformation. And I find it interesting when 579 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,160 someone says, oh wait, you know, I went, you know, you know, 580 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,480 they've done something silly and then you, you give them a little 581 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,840 time to change and then they come to you in 2-3 weeks and see 582 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,880 what changed completely. That is not possible. 583 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,160 We are in the work of being transformed every day and to 584 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,480 eternity. Each of us, parts of our lives 585 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,280 that we have thought we have dealt with, we're completely 586 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,520 transformed. We're good, give it a month, 587 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,240 you're back and just have to have one trigger in that 588 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,200 direction. It goes downhill. 589 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:21,760 Transformation is a lifelong thing. 590 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,880 That's what I'm finding out. I may have dealt with something 591 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,920 in my 20s. It could pop up in my 40s. 592 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,320 It's just life. That's how life is. 593 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,200 But the beautiful thing is that the Holy Spirit, the agent of 594 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,800 transformation, never gives up on me. 595 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,360 He doesn't leave me in the 40s thinking you can handle it now 596 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,200 you've got it. He's. 597 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:40,280 More. Active in my life as I get older 598 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,760 because He has greater plans for me and He needs me to be in a 599 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,320 mold of being transformed and conformed to the likeness of 600 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,120 Jesus, the Son of God. And the fact is, when God, we 601 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:56,480 see God is eternal El Olam, he doesn't just transform us in the 602 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:00,800 now, He's transforming us for the future so that generations 603 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,000 are impacted. And when something impacts 604 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,120 generations, it actually doesn't end anytime quick. 605 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,440 So as much as our transformation is a lifelong thing, we are 606 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,640 getting better. We might regress we, but we 607 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,360 keep, you know, stepping forward. 608 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:16,680 We're changing, we're doing well. 609 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,760 It doesn't end there. It starts to impact those around 610 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,080 us. Someone said this. 611 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,520 Everyone needs a call and everyone needs a Timothy, which 612 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,040 means you have someone younger to impact and you have someone 613 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,280 older to learn from. And I'm not just. 614 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:34,720 Talking about you having children or having parents that 615 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,560 you learn from or impart to. I'm talking about your community 616 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:41,360 who is around you that you're receiving wisdom from, you 617 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:46,640 gleaning from and that you're pouring onto because the lasting 618 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,920 love, the love of God brings unending transformation. 619 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,360 It can't end with you. It can't begin and end with you. 620 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,800 You can't be a holder of God's love. 621 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,880 It has to be be getting splashed on everyone around you so that 622 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,680 their lives are being transformed as well and so that 623 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,120 this transformation power of God never ends. 624 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,560 I was reading the story of Jonathan Edwards. 625 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,159 He's a he was a revivalist. He was a preacher. 626 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:18,239 He was instrumental in bringing such a revival in Christendom. 627 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,800 And there's this interesting website where they had made a 628 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:27,600 comparison between the legacy of Jonathan Edwards, who was a 629 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:32,080 preacher, and the legacy of Max Jukes was a career criminal. 630 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:33,760 He was a criminal for his whole life. 631 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:38,360 And so the records in one of the, you know, these heritage 632 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:41,000 records had actually made a record of all their ants, all 633 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,520 their descendants. And this is what they said. 634 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,040 I'm reading it out. Jonathan Edwards was an 635 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:47,880 outstanding preacher and Christian. 636 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,920 Out of Edwards descendants came one US vice president, 1 Dean of 637 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,440 a law school, 1 Dean of a medical school, three US 638 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:01,720 senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 3 college presidents, 30 judges, 639 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:06,800 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 military officers. 80 public 640 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:11,360 office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen and 285 college 641 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:15,280 graduates. On the other hand, Max Jukes 642 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:19,440 family included illegitimate children, 7 murderers, 60 643 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:26,160 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 poppers, 440 644 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,400 were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol. 645 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:33,320 Of Jukes descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely, 646 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,440 at least 67 suffered from syphilis, and over 100 spent an 647 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,600 average of 13 years in prison. The crimes and care of the Duke 648 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:46,160 family cost the state of New York over $1 million, a lot more 649 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,680 in present dollars, while Jonathan Edwards never cost the 650 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,920 government a single penny. Instead, he and his family made 651 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:57,000 contributions of incalculable worth. 652 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,560 Now if someone wants to find fault of this legacy and say, Oh 653 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:05,440 well, you know, you're promoting one over the other, I don't have 654 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,640 anything to say for that. But the the record speak for 655 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,360 themselves. Our legacies matter. 656 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:16,280 The choices you make today don't just impact you, they impact 657 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:20,640 generations to come. Who you marry is very important. 658 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:25,160 How you bring up your children is very important. 659 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:29,400 What you imbibe as a family, the culture that drives your home, 660 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,280 the presence of God in your lives, the the commitment you 661 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,720 show to attending a community of faith and and being involved 662 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:39,120 there. All of that, all of that. 663 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,000 Mark my words, affects your legacy. 664 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:45,360 Too many people in today's life think that you know what? 665 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,000 Sunday church. It's optional. 666 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,520 If my kid has sports, I'm probably going to pick that. 667 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,600 You think that that's the day to brunch with Jesus. 668 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:54,840 You sit in a coffee shop with a journal. 669 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,120 But I would urge you, all of that can wait. 670 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:00,120 You need to be in the House of God, worshiping corporately like 671 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,000 the psalmist says, to raise your voice with the congregation. 672 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,600 Because the beauty of the body of Christ is that is where you 673 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,560 receive from the previous generation, and that's where you 674 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:15,240 impart for the next generation. Your commitment to the community 675 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:18,280 matters. How you plant yourself and are 676 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:21,360 in this position of receiving from God, not just for yourself 677 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:24,600 but so that you can pour out over others is all important. 678 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,080 If you are a family person, you you have a home, you have a 679 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:32,280 spouse, you have children. What is the legacy that you are 680 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,000 leaving? Have you been living in such a a 681 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,760 freeway where there is no guardrails? 682 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,400 Are your children watching you dishonour your marriage vows or 683 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:46,000 do they see you uphold it? When we got married, the person 684 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,200 who was the MC left this with Geshom and me. 685 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:51,080 He told Geshom, Geshom, the greatest gift you can give your 686 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:52,400 children is to love their mother. 687 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:56,960 Well, I ask you, is that what you do for your spouse? 688 00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,200 Is that the legacy you're leaving for your children? 689 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,080 Or have you left a legacy of divorce? 690 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:04,240 Have you left a legacy of quarrelsome being quarrelsome? 691 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:10,000 Have you left a legacy where you will be bitter against God and 692 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,400 His people, the Kingdom? Have you live? 693 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:15,680 Are you leaving a legacy where you live for yourself, for your 694 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:19,240 safety, for your benefit, without even looking outward to 695 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:22,760 the need of a suffering world? What is the legacy you are 696 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,360 leaving? It's a question that I have been 697 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,200 reckoning, being reckoned with. I it's been wrecking me. 698 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:32,240 God, what is my legacy if I close my eyes tonight? 699 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,160 God, what is the legacy I leave my children? 700 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,040 What is the legacy I leave the young people that I mentor? 701 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,680 What is the legacy that I leave that my husband would carry on? 702 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,320 Your legacy matters. It's not about you. 703 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:47,280 It is not about you. Many of us are making our 704 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:52,840 problems about ourselves. Maybe you've been so self caught 705 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,160 up in the things that have been tearing you down. 706 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,880 Maybe it's your mental health, maybe it's your physical health 707 00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,200 and you've just been so caught up in your own little bubble. 708 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,160 But I would urge you, ask God in the midst of the struggle, God, 709 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:07,680 how does this help someone else? How can what will come of this 710 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:10,440 that will bless someone else? How does this become part of my 711 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:14,240 legacy which will honor you? My legacy cannot be. 712 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,880 That I was caught up and bound down by this ailment or this 713 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:21,080 disease or this situation. But my legacy has to be that I 714 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,880 was an overcomer. She walked, she ran with horses, 715 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,880 she accomplished the things that God had marked for. 716 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:30,240 That should be the legacy we leave behind. 717 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:36,840 When I look at David's legacy, this at his genealogy, many of 718 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,400 the things that David started off which were a little off 719 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:44,080 track, Solomon magnified it. Saul had I think 2 wives. 720 00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:47,760 David comes in. David has eight wives. 721 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:50,440 Solomon comes in and has thousand wives. 722 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,760 These wives LED Sol LED Solomon astray. 723 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:58,280 David overlooked the rape of his daughter. 724 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,520 He didn't stand up and fight because, it says he'd never 725 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:05,480 corrected Amnon in his life. It said that his sons were so 726 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:09,240 beloved by him. David assassinated Uriah 727 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,440 publicly, but it was through a private stealth ploy. 728 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:16,240 Everything that David tried to cover up, Absalom did in public. 729 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:19,120 Absalom slept with his father's concubines in the presence of 730 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:22,000 all Israel. If you don't deal with the 731 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,800 things in your generation, it'll magnify in the next generation. 732 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,680 And they have to fight it. And if we have not given them 733 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:31,040 Jesus, if we have not shown them the love of God, if we have not 734 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:34,040 allowed them to experience it for themselves, they will be ill 735 00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:37,120 equipped to fight the giants that will face them. 736 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:41,120 There are some giants that we have to fight in our generation. 737 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,640 I love this verse from Acts 11. I think it says that when David 738 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:48,200 had completed his assignment for his generation, he slept with 739 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,880 his father's. And I pray that that is what is 740 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,280 put as the epitaph on our gravestone, that when Christine 741 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,920 finished her assignment for this generation, she slept with the 742 00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:00,840 Lord. I pray that we will be people 743 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,880 like David who love God so passionately that God comes to 744 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:06,840 us and says, I love the way you love me. 745 00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,160 And I want to promise you the 1000 generations of you guys 746 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,080 will follow me, that I will cover you, I will protect you. 747 00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:19,520 My question is, do we love him as passionately as David did? 748 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:21,920 David was like us. This is not a calling where you 749 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,000 get nervous and say, well, I'm nothing like David. 750 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,240 But David was ordinary. He was the youngest son. 751 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,520 He was probably a child who was illegitimate. 752 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,240 He was left with the sheep alone. 753 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,360 He was left to fend with wild animals. 754 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,840 And yet God saw him on those fields of Bethlehem. 755 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:42,440 He saw him and called him out. He anointed him for something so 756 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,200 big. You may be as inconspicuous as 757 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,640 David was. You may be the one the runt of 758 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:50,440 the litter. You may be the one that nobody 759 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,240 wants in a group. But God sees you where you are 760 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:55,400 and is calling you out. Would you respond? 761 00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:58,800 Would you respond? Will you start to see God's love 762 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,960 for what it is in those interesting outcomes that He 763 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,600 starts bringing? Would you begin to recognize the 764 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:08,280 undeserved favour in your life? Would you start seeing this 765 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:13,440 unending transformation? Would you start to see that as I 766 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,600 close, I want to leave these three things I want you to? 767 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,240 There has to be something tangible we take away with us 768 00:42:18,240 --> 00:42:20,280 because it has to start somewhere, correct? 769 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:22,800 Yes, we can recognize gods about. 770 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:26,600 What do I do with that, right? If I want to be someone like 771 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,640 David, that God, someone who God will come and make a covenant 772 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:31,440 with and say, hey, guess what? You don't need to build the 773 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,800 temple. But I want to promise you that 774 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,200 your people will sit on the throne, right? 775 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:39,560 And it extended up to Jesus. If you and I need to be like 776 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:42,320 that, I want us to. Go back to our theme verse for 777 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:46,200 the year, Hebrews chapter 6 verses 11 to 12. 778 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,480 It says we want each of you to show the same diligence to the 779 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:53,280 very end so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 780 00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:56,520 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who 781 00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:00,800 through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 782 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:05,160 The beautiful thing about a generational God and an 783 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:07,880 intergenerational church. A multi generational church is 784 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:10,640 just walking beside people who are in different parts of their 785 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,400 journey with faith. I love interacting with those 786 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,200 who have gone the roads ahead of us. 787 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:20,800 Married 50 years, 40 years, walking through the season of 788 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,840 having grandchildren, then walking with peers were a little 789 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,200 older and then the peers were exactly the same age, and then 790 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:29,240 the younger ones were just having their babies and then the 791 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:32,920 singles. The beauty is that we can spur 792 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:34,360 each other on and say don't give up. 793 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,600 Your miracle is coming, your promise is coming through. 794 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:41,400 He is faithful. But then the onus is on each of 795 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:46,280 us individually to stand our ground, to possess what is 796 00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:48,160 promised. That can't be a community 797 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:49,600 effort. We can only encourage each 798 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:51,880 other, edify each other. But it's on you. 799 00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:57,920 David had to position himself correctly in order to seize the 800 00:43:57,920 --> 00:43:59,800 promise. You have to understand he was 801 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:03,080 anointed in front of his brothers and yet for about 14 802 00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:04,960 years he didn't even get to sit near the throne. 803 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:09,000 He had to serve Saul as his personal armour bearer. 804 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,080 He had to play music for him when he was, you know, being 805 00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:15,160 oppressed by an enemy. He had to go into battle with 806 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:17,840 him only as the armour bearer until he took that position of 807 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,680 killing the the giant. But even then, that spurred up 808 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:25,440 greater hatred and Saul against him and eventually they were at 809 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,600 loggerheads still. Saul died with his sons in 810 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:33,200 battle and David had to wait. David couldn't take a shortcut. 811 00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:36,120 There were many chances when his men said, he's right there, why 812 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:39,040 don't you kill him? David was a skilled man of war 813 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:43,440 and like Saul, and yet David never rushed it. 814 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:47,080 So three simple takeaways that I want to leave with you. 815 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:49,560 The first thing from this was Hebrews 611 and 12. 816 00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:51,760 First thing is be diligent to the end. 817 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:56,600 Too many of us are lazy. When it comes to the things of 818 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,160 that, you know, concern us, our mutual funds, our investments 819 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,920 and, you know, making sure all our ducks are in a row. 820 00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:05,280 We're very careful about that. When it comes to the things of 821 00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:08,160 God, when it comes to pursuing God and and, you know, you know, 822 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:11,480 standing and fighting with the enemy to reclaim the things that 823 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,800 we have been lost, we get lazy. We're like, that's OK. 824 00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:19,080 God is calling you to be diligent to the very end. 825 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:24,760 You have to understand, David was waiting 14 years and then he 826 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,800 was made king after Saul's death and he ruled in Hebron. 827 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,160 He was there for seven years. And then he decides that he 828 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,960 needs to move to Jerusalem and make it the city of David. 829 00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:37,520 But in Jerusalem we're living the the occupants, the original 830 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:39,640 occupants of the land with the Jebusites. 831 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:41,640 They're not actually the original ones, but OK, they were 832 00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:45,280 living there. Now David goes there to take the 833 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:48,160 citadel, to take the fortress, but these guys are living in the 834 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:50,160 land still. And they say to they're so 835 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:52,480 insulting. They know this is the king, but 836 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:53,760 they don't acknowledge him as the king. 837 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:55,720 They don't acknowledge the promise on his life. 838 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:58,480 And they say, you know what? You can never take the citadel. 839 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:01,200 Even the blind and the lame can protect it from you. 840 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:06,200 And the word that comes there is nevertheless, David took the 841 00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,960 stronghold and lived in Jerusalem. 842 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:13,920 And I want to ask. You Are you that diligent about 843 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,360 standing your ground, fighting for the things that the enemy 844 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:19,400 has stolen? Your marriage? 845 00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:23,240 Your health, your joy, your peace. 846 00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:26,600 Some of you have just given in. You're like, you know? 847 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:28,480 What? This addiction anyway, gives me 848 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:30,480 temporary relief. Let me just stick with that. 849 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,840 This relationship, as terrible as it is, it gives me some 850 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:35,240 comfort. I'll stick with it. 851 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,000 God is calling you to rise up, awaken. 852 00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:41,480 Put off your slumber. Get diligent. 853 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:43,560 Laziness will not cut it in the Kingdom. 854 00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:46,840 Kingdom people are diligent to the very end. 855 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:52,040 David had to push the Jebusites out and take up space. 856 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,600 What space have you allowed the enemy to overrun in your life? 857 00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:59,920 What place have you said you know what, He can coexist with 858 00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:02,760 me. God's calling you to be 859 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:04,040 diligent. Don't be lazy. 860 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,280 The second thing that I want to leave is to be patient. 861 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:09,560 You cannot short circuit your way to the promise. 862 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:13,080 If God has promised something, there's a process, There's a 863 00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:16,560 work that He does within us before the promise is reached. 864 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:20,040 Many of us short circuit that. We say, you know what, I need it 865 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:23,720 now and I'll, I'll do anything. The problem is that when we 866 00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:27,480 engineer our promises, the fulfillment of our promises, 867 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:30,920 it's not permanent. You get a lot more pushback than 868 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:35,240 you anticipate. David had to wait 14 years. 869 00:47:36,360 --> 00:47:39,360 He could have killed Saul prematurely because Saul was 870 00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:41,520 unrighteous. He was not a good king. 871 00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:44,800 He was all about himself. He was demon possessed many 872 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:49,120 times, he was unreliable with his people, He went through ups 873 00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:55,080 and downs, He was temperamental. He had every reason morally to 874 00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:57,640 have dethroned him. But he said this is the Lord's 875 00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:59,000 anointed. I dare not touch him. 876 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:01,720 The fear of God helped him stay patient. 877 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:05,360 If you have short circuited God's plans, it doesn't. 878 00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:07,240 Matter. His grace is sufficient, but 879 00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:10,960 would you come back into in alignment with his process? 880 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:13,800 Because the promise has a process. 881 00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:18,400 And for David, there was a promise that he was going to be 882 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:21,040 king. He was anointed in public, but 883 00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:25,240 the weight involved being in desert spaces, running in the 884 00:48:25,240 --> 00:48:27,480 wilderness, hiding in strongholds, being in the 885 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,320 Philistine camp and then taking his place on the throne. 886 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:34,680 He didn't short circuit it. Your promise will be fulfilled. 887 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:37,600 That's a given. But the process, would you have 888 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:40,120 patience for it? And the third thing that I want 889 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:45,160 you to notice from this is it says imitate those who through 890 00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:47,280 faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 891 00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:51,280 Who are you imitating? Who is in your community? 892 00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:54,920 Who is around you? Our community matters. 893 00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,880 The people we surround ourselves with matters. 894 00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:01,600 Who are you learning off? Maybe you've made mistakes in 895 00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:04,720 who you are leaning on, who you are gleaning off, who you are 896 00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:07,160 dependent on. And God is asking you to watch 897 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:11,800 carefully who you will imitate. When you look at David's life, 898 00:49:11,800 --> 00:49:15,480 he surrounded himself with people that were mightier than 899 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:17,800 him. He was a mighty warrior himself 900 00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:21,000 and somehow because of that courageous spirit and this 901 00:49:21,040 --> 00:49:24,640 indomitable spirit in him, it attracted like minded people. 902 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:27,960 So people were coming from around the land, even from other 903 00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:30,640 parts, not just from Judah, from other parts of Israel. 904 00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:33,800 They were rallying to him because they found that there 905 00:49:33,800 --> 00:49:36,560 was something about him. An anointed king makes all the 906 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:38,120 difference. And they began to come. 907 00:49:38,120 --> 00:49:39,720 And then he was able to unite the Kingdom. 908 00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:44,720 And the beauty of this was that he had 30 mighty men. 909 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:47,600 He had a mighty three. These were the guys who 910 00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:50,400 surrounded him, who went with him into battle, who conquered 911 00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:54,360 lands, brought back the plunder. These were the guys that were 912 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:56,000 around him. And then he had his inner 913 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:58,200 circle. His sons were priests, I said. 914 00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:01,760 But it also had he had a seer, he had a prophet, he had a 915 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:06,880 priest, he had a friend. Who is in your inner circle. 916 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:11,360 They have to be distinctly those God has placed in your life, 917 00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:15,920 those who play a role of encouraging, correcting, holding 918 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:20,400 you to account, walking with you through grief, through the 919 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:24,120 highs, the lows. Who are you imitating and who 920 00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:26,200 are you impacting? Like I said, everyone of us need 921 00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:29,600 a Paul and Timothy. Who are you imitating and who 922 00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:33,080 are you impacting? You can't live like a silo. 923 00:50:34,120 --> 00:50:36,560 You are a fountain. That is blessing. 924 00:50:36,560 --> 00:50:41,240 All those around. If you are a person who's an 925 00:50:41,240 --> 00:50:43,320 overcomer, you will attract overcomers to you. 926 00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,400 If you're a person who is fearless for God and the 927 00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:49,040 pursuits of the Kingdom, you will attract such people. 928 00:50:49,240 --> 00:50:52,960 But if you are inward focused, if you are bitter of soul, if 929 00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:55,640 you are envious you have iniquity, you will start 930 00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:57,880 attracting people at that, and you'll think that's the best 931 00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:00,520 community you could find. But I encourage you to go into 932 00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:03,040 this deeper place to sing. Lord, I pray that You would 933 00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:06,640 cleanse what is not of you and bring the right people into my 934 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:10,480 life, the ones that I can imitate so that my faith grows 935 00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:15,600 stronger, my hope is more seated in You and my love overflows 936 00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:20,600 people who will help me identify God's love in my life. 937 00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:24,200 I have a couple of friends like that, amazing girls, way more 938 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:27,400 gifted than me, incredibly secure, and who God has called 939 00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:28,920 them. Their identity is hidden in 940 00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:30,920 Christ. They will hold me to account. 941 00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:34,040 They will remind me even if I'm in the midst of a bitter 942 00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,680 complaint, they will stop me and say, oh, wait a minute, that is 943 00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:40,080 God's blessing right there. You need people who will help 944 00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:43,280 you identify lasting love of God. 945 00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:46,880 You need people like that. Kingdom people. 946 00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:51,640 As I close, it's your choice whether you want to leave a 947 00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:55,560 dynasty or a legacy. A dynasty is basically you set 948 00:51:55,560 --> 00:51:58,360 up a business, you say, well this is for me, my son, after 949 00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:01,200 me, then his son, then his son. It becomes like the straight 950 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:03,160 jacket for whoever steps into that role. 951 00:52:04,240 --> 00:52:08,120 But a legacy is so much wider. A legacy is where you are 952 00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:13,040 inviting people to that table that God set for you, where at 953 00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:15,960 this place you are blessing others who are not just your own 954 00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:19,840 physical children, but spiritual children, spiritual friends, 955 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:23,200 those who come alongside you and you are able to bless them. 956 00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:25,480 You are able to leave leave them. 957 00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:31,080 Who are the ones that you are actually impacting in such a 958 00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:35,400 beautiful, God honouring way that a legacy is being left 959 00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:37,240 behind? Too many of us are concerned 960 00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:41,720 about a dynasty. We want control, we manipulate 961 00:52:41,720 --> 00:52:44,880 people into our circles, but God is saying, would you let me 962 00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:50,520 bring those people in alongside you so you can run this journey 963 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:54,200 so beautifully that you leave a lasting legacy? 964 00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:57,640 You have to understand you can be intentional about leaving a 965 00:52:57,640 --> 00:53:01,200 legacy, but the one who actually creates the legacy, who leaves 966 00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:03,120 that effect behind is the Holy Spirit in you. 967 00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:06,560 It's Jesus. He's the one who enables us to 968 00:53:06,560 --> 00:53:08,840 leave a legacy. If you're living without Jesus, 969 00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:12,200 if you have been trying to do this journey without Jesus, can 970 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:13,880 I just quickly lead you into prayer? 971 00:53:15,080 --> 00:53:17,640 If you are interested in accepting Jesus into your heart 972 00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:21,440 because this journey we've been talking Hebrew 6 talks about 973 00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:26,000 this life we live with a goal ahead where God promises these 974 00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:28,560 things to us. But it requires that we be 975 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:31,400 diligent and hard working. It requires that we be patient. 976 00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:34,000 It requires that we're careful who we imitate. 977 00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:38,840 But as we run this race, the one we keep our eyes on is. 978 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:41,360 Jesus. He's the author of our faith, 979 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:44,200 the one who treated us for a greater purpose, the one who 980 00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:47,000 calls us into our life's purpose. 981 00:53:47,320 --> 00:53:50,520 If you say I want Jesus because I can't do this life anymore but 982 00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:53,680 myself, can I just lead you in this quick prayer? 983 00:53:55,040 --> 00:53:59,520 Heavenly Father, I submit myself to you. 984 00:54:00,240 --> 00:54:06,400 Forgive me of all my sins. I repent and ask that your Son 985 00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:08,480 Jesus would come into my heart today. 986 00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:14,480 I ask that you would. Help me live with faith because 987 00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:20,680 I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he came to earth, 988 00:54:21,120 --> 00:54:25,600 he died for my sins, he rose again and he lives in heaven. 989 00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:30,840 Today I ask that the Holy Spirit would fill me so that I can live 990 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:37,120 a life that is worthy of Jesus. In Jesus mighty name I pray, 991 00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:38,680 Amen. Amen. 992 00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:41,800 This is the single most important decision of your life, 993 00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:45,000 not anything else. Accepting Jesus in. 994 00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:48,040 If you pray that prayer, I want to welcome you into the family 995 00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:50,560 of God. You are now a child of God. 996 00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:53,920 You can come before him with boldness and as you grow in him, 997 00:54:54,560 --> 00:55:00,200 ask God to bring you the people that you must imitate and then 998 00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:02,760 he will start giving you people that you can impart to. 999 00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:05,920 Even as we close, I want to pray for all of us. 1000 00:55:06,480 --> 00:55:09,880 If you've been seeing, I have been finding it hard to receive 1001 00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:12,200 God's love. I don't see it lasting. 1002 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,160 I'm a first generation believer. I don't know. 1003 00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:15,880 I don't have a generation before. 1004 00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:19,400 Maybe you're someone who is older and you're saying I don't 1005 00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:21,040 know if I'm leaving a legacy behind. 1006 00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:24,400 I want to just ask you to rest in the presence of God. 1007 00:55:24,600 --> 00:55:27,160 There is no proving of yourself necessary. 1008 00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:31,800 His love floods your life, whether you accomplished. 1009 00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:35,680 Anything or not but what I do want to ask you is that you 1010 00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:37,920 would be mindful of God's invitation. 1011 00:55:38,640 --> 00:55:42,600 You will see God I'm here. Let your will be done that you 1012 00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:45,640 would come into this place of daily repentance and that you 1013 00:55:45,640 --> 00:55:49,720 would keep going back to him for that transformative power 1014 00:55:49,720 --> 00:55:51,360 because it cannot happen on our own. 1015 00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:53,840 So can I just pray for your Father. 1016 00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:57,480 I just pray that you would help your people receive your love. 1017 00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:00,480 Lord so many times our frequency doesn't match yours. 1018 00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:03,600 We don't realize that the favour of our lives is from you. 1019 00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:07,560 We don't realize that those outcomes, those unexpected 1020 00:56:07,560 --> 00:56:09,960 outcomes are actually from you, and they're so good for us. 1021 00:56:09,960 --> 00:56:13,840 Lord, we thank you that you go go off script so often to do 1022 00:56:13,840 --> 00:56:15,720 your thing. And we're so grateful that you 1023 00:56:15,720 --> 00:56:18,400 are so creative. You're so wonderful. 1024 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,160 And Lord, I just pray that you will continue to transform us 1025 00:56:22,160 --> 00:56:24,320 and conform us into the image of Your son. 1026 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:28,000 I pray that you would help us to be patient, Lord, while you work 1027 00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:30,400 through us. That like David, we would be 1028 00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:32,000 called people after your own heart. 1029 00:56:32,240 --> 00:56:35,560 That our love for you would motivate you, Lord, to make a 1030 00:56:35,560 --> 00:56:38,680 covenant with us. God, we pray that we will not 1031 00:56:38,680 --> 00:56:42,240 build dynasties, but we will leave legacies behind. 1032 00:56:43,040 --> 00:56:45,400 I pray for those who are fretting that they don't have 1033 00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:48,760 their own children, that Lord Isaiah 54 one would be theirs, 1034 00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:51,560 that they would sing out loud knowing that the spiritual 1035 00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:54,000 children that they will birth will be way more than the 1036 00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,760 natural children of those who have them. 1037 00:56:56,040 --> 00:56:58,640 I pray that they will. Pour into people's lives as you 1038 00:56:58,640 --> 00:57:02,240 direct them. Continue to watch over each of 1039 00:57:02,240 --> 00:57:03,520 us. We pray, O God. 1040 00:57:04,720 --> 00:57:08,080 That you'd help us to be diligent to the very end, taking 1041 00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:09,880 the territories that are marked for us. 1042 00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:13,160 And that, Lord, we would be mindful of who we imitate. 1043 00:57:14,040 --> 00:57:17,360 And we'll be careful, Lord, to impart people, impart to people 1044 00:57:17,360 --> 00:57:20,480 the things that you have shared with us, the things that you 1045 00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:23,440 have taught us. We pray all of this in your 1046 00:57:23,440 --> 00:57:27,360 precious name, Jesus, Amen. Amen. 1047 00:57:28,160 --> 00:57:30,040 Thanks for listening to this message. 1048 00:57:30,400 --> 00:57:33,840 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 1049 00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:38,200 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 1050 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,520 episodes. If you like what you are 1051 00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:45,080 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 1052 00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:47,640 with friends. That would really help us. 1053 00:57:48,360 --> 00:57:53,000 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 1054 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:58,120 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 1055 00:57:58,360 --> 00:57:59,200 finds life.