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 --> 00:00:59,920 yourself and see where you need more of God. 14 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,720 I didn't expect to be under the bus so quickly in the day. 15 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,360 Gaishan just threw me under the bus. 16 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,080 So he spoke on honest hope and decided to be very honest. 17 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,360 So I'm going to be speaking today on the topic of healed 18 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,520 hope. And I knew when we were crafting 19 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,440 the sermon that I will get stuck with this and that God will 20 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,320 first train me in it before I can speak on it because I'm not 21 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,120 an expert on it. I'm a person who feels a lot. 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,720 I get heavily held up with my feelings, with the struggles of 23 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,040 relationships. And so for me, my hope had died 24 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,480 out over the past few months. My hope had got a beating. 25 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,880 And I didn't know it until two weeks back, God literally 26 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:49,880 unraveled the strings of my heart. 27 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,800 He showed. So when I spoke on fertile 28 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,400 faith, I was speaking from a place of where my heart had had 29 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,040 barren places that God was pointing out. 30 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,080 And today I'm speaking to you as someone who has had to walk the 31 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,680 journey of my hope healing. And I hope that as we we go 32 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,680 through the text today that you will identify the parts of your 33 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,560 life where your hope has died. Let's not kid ourselves. 34 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,560 These are all Christianese words, hope, faith, love, and 35 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,840 all of that. But many times we're lacking it 36 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,240 as followers of Jesus. And I really want to bring us to 37 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,080 a place of saying, Lord, my hope kind of died, and I want you to 38 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,920 revive it, right? So can we just say a quick word 39 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:31,280 of prayer? Father, we pray that you will 40 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,880 make us very aware of our need this morning. 41 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,360 And Holy Spirit, I pray that you will meet each person at the 42 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,800 point of their need. You are so individual, you are 43 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,360 so personal and I pray that you will meet each of us right where 44 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,120 we are at. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 45 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,840 Amen. So while we know hope is not 46 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,440 tangible, we don't see it physically. 47 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,880 It's very real. It's what keeps us going. 48 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,480 It's like the under girder of our lives, right? 49 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,080 But unfortunately, many times we find our hopes dashed to the 50 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,280 ground. Maybe you didn't get the job you 51 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:06,840 wanted. Maybe you didn't get the results 52 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:08,360 you wanted in that health checkup. 53 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,520 Maybe your marriage is not going as you had hoped. 54 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,400 Maybe your children are disappointing you more than your 55 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,200 wildest dreams. And then you find suddenly hope 56 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,720 is just something that people are talking about, but you're 57 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,720 not able to relate to it. And that is where the writer of 58 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,120 Proverbs, right, is Proverbs 13, verse 12. 59 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,600 He says hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing 60 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,160 fulfilled is a tree of life. What is hope deferred? 61 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,320 When you study that word deferred, it is basically hope 62 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:43,600 that is drawn out like a rubber band that is stretched to no end 63 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,120 and you're waiting and waiting and waiting. 64 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,640 That is what hope deferred is. How many of you are in that 65 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,000 season right now? Yes. 66 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,400 And so that's what hope deferred is. 67 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,760 And what does it say? It makes the heart sick. 68 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,280 So you won't know that the condition of your heart is sick, 69 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,840 but you will know the feeling of hope being deferred. 70 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,920 And God wants to meet us there. And you know, when I was 71 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,640 thinking about why does our hope get deferred, the three reasons 72 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,360 that I kind of broadly classified as one is we get our 73 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,520 hands burnt in relationships. Am I right? 74 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,079 People can be difficult, and So what happens when people let us 75 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,720 down, our hope diminishes. The second thing is when the 76 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:29,320 circumstances of life let us down, that that firing, that 77 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,720 being excluded, those situations can Causeway hope to feel 78 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:35,680 deferred. Now, the third thing is when our 79 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,640 prayers, you know, our spiritual life, when prayers go 80 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,120 unanswered, that's another reason when our hopes get 81 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,920 dashed. But the beautiful thing is that 82 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,760 we're not alone in this journey. We have an incredible example in 83 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:53,160 the Bible, someone who walked very closely with Jesus, who 84 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,360 also experienced hope and effort, and we're going to look 85 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:57,960 into his life today. I'm talking about John the 86 00:04:57,960 --> 00:04:59,680 Baptist. Picture this. 87 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,040 He's the cousin of Jesus. He was brought to earth to 88 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:04,680 foretell what he was going to do. 89 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,800 And he's not a prophet like Elijah, who lived thousands of 90 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,640 years before. He is a contemporary. 91 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,920 He is. He was birthed just before 92 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,720 Jesus. He's being launched into 93 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,040 ministry. He's doing things, and yet 94 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,880 somehow he finds himself in jail. 95 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,960 And that's where we're going to pick up Matthew Chapter 11, 96 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,640 verses 1 to 6. It says when Jesus had finished 97 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,920 his charge to his 12 disciples, he left there to teach and to 98 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,080 preach in their cities. Now, when John in prison heard 99 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,520 about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his 100 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,000 disciples and asked him, are you the one who was to come? 101 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,600 Or should we keep on expecting a different one? 102 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:49,160 And Jesus replied to them, Go and report to John what you hear 103 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,960 and see. The blind receive their sight, 104 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,360 the lame walk. Leopards are cleansed by healing 105 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,720 and the deaf here the dead are raised up, and the poor have 106 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,360 good news breached to them. And blessed is he who takes no 107 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,480 offence at me and finds no Causeway for stumbling in or 108 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,200 through me, and is not hindered from seeing the truth. 109 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,760 Look at this line in verse 3. Are you the one who should come, 110 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:17,040 or should we expect someone else? 111 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,960 The word expect, there's the word for hope and the, the Greek 112 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,400 connotation is basically this stretching your neck out and 113 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,960 anticipating and waiting. Imagine you're in a, you're in 114 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,560 the airport, you're waiting for someone who you love to get off 115 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,200 and come out of that gate. You're stretching your head over 116 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,560 the crowds to look at them. That is the posture of 117 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,440 anticipation. And, and John is saying, I have 118 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,600 been waiting, but somehow Jesus seemed like a disappointment to 119 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:43,320 him. Why? 120 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,560 Because who did John preach about? 121 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,000 John preached about this man who was coming, who is God in the 122 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,400 flesh, who whose sandals he would not be worthy to untie, 123 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,080 who was going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? 124 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,880 And yet Herod Antipas and his wife had got John put in jail 125 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,200 because John had come face to face with his immorality and 126 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,000 said what you're doing is wrong. So John the Baptist probably 127 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,400 assumed, hey, Jesus is probably going to bust me out of jail. 128 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:14,240 There's going to be this miraculous jailbreak. 129 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,600 I'm going to be out. I'm going to be preaching again 130 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,800 and preparing the way for him. And yet it felt like his 131 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,480 assignment was over and there was no breakthrough insight. 132 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:24,800 How many of you have felt that way? 133 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,040 And Jesus is addressing him straight and saying, blessed is 134 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,320 he who is not offended by me. How many of you have been 135 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,440 offended by Jesus in the recent past? 136 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,760 The gospel is offensive. Jesus can be offensive when he 137 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,600 comes straight up to us and in love, points out what's wrong 138 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,960 with us. And he says blessed is he who is 139 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,480 not offended and is not hindered from seeing the truth. 140 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,720 One of the translations says that Jesus didn't answer John's 141 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,400 disciples immediately. He said he kept them with them 142 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,080 the whole day. He went about his day of healing 143 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,280 people, restoring them, delivering them, and then says, 144 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,280 did you see this? Tell John what you saw. 145 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:09,040 But yet John is sitting in this dungeon with no miraculous 146 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,480 things happening to him. No wonder he's saying God. 147 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:14,880 But what about me? Have you forgotten me? 148 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,280 Have you felt that we got? Everyone else is having their 149 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,880 breakthrough. What about me, God? 150 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,760 When will my turn be? That's what the definition of 151 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,400 hope deford looks like. And I want to tell you because a 152 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,560 lot of us punish ourselves in that position. 153 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:30,960 Or maybe I'm a worthless Christian because I'm not able 154 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,039 to feel hopeful at this moment. I want to encourage you that if 155 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:36,960 John went through it, those of us who are seated here, it says 156 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,799 we are greater than him. Those least in the Kingdom are 157 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:42,600 greater than John the Baptist, it says. 158 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,000 What is your assumption of Jesus that has offended you today? 159 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,120 It's OK to come clean with it. It's OK to say, Jesus, I thought 160 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:53,680 you were going to answer it in this way. 161 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,560 I thought you were going to come and give me the breakthrough at 162 00:08:57,560 --> 00:08:59,560 this time because I was ready at that time. 163 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,880 But I want to just give you this breakdown that Jesus is giving 164 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,400 us a heads up of what the Christian life looks like. 165 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:10,520 He's basically saying you will not get every prayer answered, 166 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,760 but every prayer will be heard. You will not always be able to 167 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,840 make sense of what's happening to you, but I see everything 168 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,440 that is done to you. Our timeline and his will not 169 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,840 match, but he's always on Cairo's time. 170 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,280 We run on Kronos. Well, like God, I'm getting 171 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,360 older. My biological clock is ticking. 172 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,080 My husband's not getting younger. 173 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,080 We're saying, God, I'm in the right position for this 174 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,840 promotion. Now would be a great time. 175 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,080 But he's thinking of Kairos. He's not thinking of Kronos and 176 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,680 God is calling us into a place of being realistic about what we 177 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,320 are hoping for. Matthew 11, verse 7, continuing 178 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,040 to read it says as they departed, Jesus began to say to 179 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,200 the multitudes concerning John, What did you go out into the 180 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,600 wilderness to see? A Reed shaken by the wind. 181 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,880 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments. 182 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,400 Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in King's houses. 183 00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:11,640 But what did you go out to see? A profit, yes, I say it to you 184 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:15,360 in more than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is written. 185 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,720 Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will 186 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,080 prepare your way before you. Fundamentally, Jesus and John 187 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,120 had different assignments. John knew the assignment. 188 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:27,640 He knew I'm only preparing the way. 189 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,120 I must become lesser. He must become greater. 190 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,920 He knew that here, but it's somehow this is the longest 191 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,320 distance, right? And therefore, he was struggling 192 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,880 with it. And fundamentally, before we go 193 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,480 further, I want to ask you, do you know your life's purpose? 194 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,040 Do you know your assignment? Because that makes the weight a 195 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,920 little bit better. A little bit, not much, but lots 196 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,960 more better if you know the purpose. 197 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,480 And the interesting thing about here, it shows why John was 198 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:55,440 actually persecuted. Did you see that thing? 199 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:58,720 What did you go out to see? Did you see a read in the wind? 200 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:00,880 What does a read in the wind do? It bends. 201 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,240 John was unrelenting in his integrity. 202 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,360 He went up to Herod, who is a ruler of Galilee and told him 203 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,120 what you're doing is wrong. You have taken in your brother's 204 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:13,640 wife. This is incest. 205 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,800 God is not happy. Herod and his wife. 206 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,280 Herod, yes, not really wife, brother. 207 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,520 Philip's wife whom he has brought in was so mad at him 208 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:24,760 because he is demeaning his leadership publicly. 209 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,040 And John had a loud voice and so they took him and put him in 210 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,200 jail to silence him and eventually they beheaded him. 211 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,560 I was reading up on a Herod Antipas and Herodias. 212 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,160 What happened to them? I was like, there should be some 213 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,520 justice, right? So what happened was this power 214 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,440 hungry couple, according to history, tried usurping a 215 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,960 greater throne and Caesar heard of it. 216 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,880 And Caesar eventually exiled both of them to the land of 217 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,800 Gaul. Was justice meted out? 218 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,600 Yes, but not on John's timeline. John didn't see it with his 219 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:02,480 eyes, but God was right, and this is a man for his voice, for 220 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:07,880 his unrelenting, uncompromising position was called out, was set 221 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:13,200 apart, and yet suffered for it. It's no surprise that John went 222 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,920 through what he went through. If you're going through a season 223 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:21,560 of hardship, persecution, if you are like John, unmoved by things 224 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:22,600 that are around you, you know this. 225 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:24,640 We live in the time of the new age. 226 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:26,800 We live in the time when anything goes. 227 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,400 Are you living like a Reed, bending with every wind of 228 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,040 doctrine and thought, or are you looking at the word of God and 229 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:35,880 Jesus and saying, I will live like this for you? 230 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:41,840 Continuing to read verse 11, assuredly I say to you, among 231 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:46,280 those born of women, there has not risen one greater than John 232 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,000 the Baptist, but he who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is 233 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,360 greater than he. And from the days of John the 234 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,360 Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and 235 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,200 the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law 236 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,360 prophesied until John. And if you are willing to 237 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,760 receive it, he is Elijah who is to come, He who has ears to 238 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,000 hear, let him hear. But to what shall I like in this 239 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,320 generation? It is like children sitting in 240 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,920 the marketplaces, calling to their companions and saying, We 241 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,080 played the flute for you, and you did not dance. 242 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,000 We mourn to you, and you did not lament, For John came neither 243 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,280 eating nor drinking. And they say he has a demon, the 244 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,320 Son of man came eating and drinking. 245 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:35,000 And they say, look, a glutton, a wine bibber, a friend of tax 246 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,240 collectors and sinners. But wisdom is justified by her 247 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,840 children. Every verse in this passage can 248 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,400 be preached on. It's so heavy. 249 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,000 But we're just going to look at one thing. 250 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,040 He says, what shall I like in this generation? 251 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:49,720 I believe he's speaking to us today. 252 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,720 Jesus is talking to us because we come under this generation. 253 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,720 You know what we are like. Let me see, Let me what I'm 254 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,120 like. I think because I pray for my 255 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,640 family that God must dance to my tunes. 256 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:04,320 God, I'm telling, you know, give my husband the job. 257 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,400 We need the money. God, I'm playing the flute. 258 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,880 God has to do what I'm saying. But God is not here to dance to 259 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,000 my tunes. I serve at his pleasure. 260 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,440 I have somehow got this mixed up. 261 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,120 I think that because I'm a child of God, I can control Father. 262 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,200 But the point is not that he says this generation basically 263 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,800 needs to be entertained. This generation needs things to 264 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,560 happen on their time in their way. 265 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,760 But it doesn't work like that. This generation finds it very 266 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,000 hard to be satisfied. So when I think about my life, I 267 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,520 want a miracle now, but I somehow have forgotten that last 268 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,200 year I experienced a miracle in this very same realm and I have 269 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,320 forgotten. And God is calling me into this 270 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,320 place of stop being so critical of God. 271 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,400 I'm so critical that He's not doing what I think He is. 272 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,360 When I pray with people, sometimes I go, God, when are 273 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:57,840 you going to give them their breakthrough? 274 00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,400 I don't see you doing anything, Lord. 275 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,720 But his job is not to dance to my tunes. 276 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,720 My job is to be submitted to Him, to see Him as He truly is. 277 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,520 These sets of people that were around John and Jesus were 278 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,920 judging them completely wrongly. One lived a minimalistic life. 279 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,200 One sat and ate a lot with friends. 280 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:25,280 They had misjudged both. He says wisdom is proven by our 281 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,920 actions. What I speak of will be 282 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,400 demonstrated and how I live 9:00 to 9:00 every single day by my 283 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:34,680 family. I can preach up a storm, but if 284 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,320 I live a double life at home, it's a big zero. 285 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,800 You can give this impression impression at church to others 286 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,560 that you and your wife have got it together, but what happens 287 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,440 behind closed doors? God knows that and God is 288 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,400 calling us to a place of living in such a way that what we 289 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,200 preach, what we speak as our wisdom, and how we behave add 290 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,800 up. God is calling me to a place 291 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,840 where I'm preparing the way for myself to receive Jesus, to meet 292 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,840 Jesus and also prepare a watching world for him. 293 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,280 God is calling us into that place of being preparers of the 294 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:10,960 way, making a people ready for God. 295 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:12,520 You believe Jesus is coming back. 296 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,400 How many of you want Jesus to come back ASAP? 297 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,560 He will come when he chooses to come, but what we can do is to 298 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:25,440 prepare the way for him. And this interesting thing that 299 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:30,600 he says, Jesus says the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence. 300 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,840 Now you have to understand, John was preaching the Kingdom of 301 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,760 heaven is near, repent. He was preaching a baptism of 302 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,320 repentance. They would come to him and 303 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:41,320 repent and then John wouldn't keep quiet. 304 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,280 Even then when the Pharisees come, what did he say? 305 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,200 You brood of Vipers, why have you come? 306 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,520 Are you scared? Now go keep fruit in keeping 307 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:50,560 with your repentance. He was saying your repentance 308 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,760 has to show and he gives them practical outworkings. 309 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,960 He said you have an extra coat, give it to the poor. 310 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,800 Stop extorting money. Be content with what you have 311 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,160 and the practical outworkings of living in this repentance will 312 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,319 be seen by all. And John was calling us into 313 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:08,040 this place. He was inviting us. 314 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,440 But Jesus, when he arrived, the Kingdom of God arrived, and the 315 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,839 minute Jesus came in and proved everything that John was saying, 316 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,960 the Kingdom of God had come and taken its place. 317 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,440 And the thing about the Kingdom of God is as much as it is all 318 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,440 good, it's the Kingdom of light. It invites the Kingdom of 319 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:28,960 darkness like nothing else. How many of you have seen the 320 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,360 minute you leave here and you're thinking this week, I want to 321 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,480 really work on this particular aspect. 322 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,280 You feel like hell breaks out in that particular aspect. 323 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,000 I decide to be more peaceable with my husband. 324 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,600 He'll say the wrong thing on the way home. 325 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:46,040 I decide not to lose it with my kids, but boy do they trigger us 326 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,160 that very day. It is interesting because the 327 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,480 Kingdom of heaven comes in, but so does the enemy. 328 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,480 He doesn't let us go. So The thing is, John became a 329 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,080 victim, it looked like of an assassination attempt. 330 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,920 He was killed. It felt like the Kingdom of 331 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,720 darkness had won, but that was not finished because Jesus had 332 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:09,360 arrived on the scene and he was bringing in a huge change. 333 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,720 He was bringing in grace. He was bringing in redemption. 334 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,440 He was bringing in restoration and renewing. 335 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,240 And so it didn't end there. Jesus knew had hadn't ended 336 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,400 there. John didn't know that. 337 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,800 And so it comes to us now, if you want to experience the 338 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,160 fullness of the Kingdom, you need to take it by force. 339 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,920 And when we say that doesn't mean we take a gun, it doesn't 340 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,040 mean we take a knife. No, we take it by force, meaning 341 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,280 we stand up and get intentional about our Christian life. 342 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,360 We can no longer sleep on the job. 343 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,680 We can no longer be like, it's OK, eternity is sorted. 344 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,960 I'm going to just sneak into the narrow gate at the last minute. 345 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,960 No, God is calling us to intentional living every day 346 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,440 because we don't know when our last minute is. 347 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,120 I remember in, in when we lived in the US, there was a car that 348 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,600 went ahead of us which had a sticker which said for those of 349 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,960 you waiting to pray, that waiting for the 12th hour to 350 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,520 accept Jesus, he may come at 11:59. 351 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,800 We cannot hope to get by. We need to be living every 352 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,320 minute very intentionally if we're following Jesus. 353 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,640 And so the violent will take by force. 354 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,640 What does that look like practically for us? 355 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,800 What does it look like as we mature in our walk with God? 356 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,040 I believe that as we look at Hebrews chapter 12, we're going 357 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,080 to dwell there for a bit. If we want to take the Kingdom 358 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:44,680 by force, our broken, destroyed hope has to be restored to a 359 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,760 healed hope. I'll tell you why. 360 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,200 If I try to take the Kingdom by force, if I try to live this 361 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,280 life in my own strength with a broken heart, I'm not able to 362 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:56,760 actually accept the things that God does. 363 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,200 I'm not able to accept the weight. 364 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:03,000 I'm not able to accept the stuff that He allows into my life 365 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,280 because I think He should do things on my terms. 366 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,560 But when I start to allow my heart to heal, I'm saying, God, 367 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,720 you know what? I'm just going to let you heal 368 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,040 my hope. This is my hope. 369 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,120 It's in shambles. I'm bringing it to you. 370 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,320 Can you heal it? It enables us to move into 371 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,240 greater maturity. And here's the thing, if the 372 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,640 violin take the Kingdom by force, right, we are going to 373 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,280 take back what the enemy stole. How many of you know for a fact 374 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:31,560 the enemy has stolen joy from us? 375 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,520 I remember my my granddad in his 60s would watch me and my 376 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,960 brother giggle a lot and he would tell my mum they have so 377 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,080 much to laugh. No I do, I'm not able to laugh. 378 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,120 And now at 40 some days when the kids are doing funny things and 379 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,520 laughing I I laugh intermittently but I realize I 380 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,840 don't laugh as much as I did in my 30s. 381 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,240 He has stolen our joy and we need to get it back. 382 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,680 How many of you believe he's stolen your peace? 383 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,960 Yes, we want to be in a place of tranquility, but the stuff that 384 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,920 life is throwing at us, well, just catching our breath. 385 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,560 And God is saying, I want to restore peace. 386 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,280 The only way we can receive this if our hope begins to heal and 387 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,520 we're never going to arrive yet. So we're going to go into our 388 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,840 80s also saying this part of my hope is still wounded. 389 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,640 I need healing, but I think we can start today, am I right? 390 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,560 Amen. So we're going to go on this 391 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,960 journey together right now. Three things that I believe God 392 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,640 wants to do in us to heal our hope so that we take back 393 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,160 everything the enemy stole. Hebrews chapter 12, verses 12 to 394 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,560 13. Therefore, lift your drooping 395 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,680 hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths 396 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,520 for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of 397 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:52,480 joint, but rather be healed. Did you notice the three 398 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,160 different things that they're showing us? 399 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,240 Therefore, lift your drooping hands, strengthen your weak 400 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:02,000 knees, and make straight parts for your feet so that what is 401 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,800 lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. 402 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,120 It's interesting. The same connotation of prepare 403 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,840 the way for your feet is mentioned here, just like what 404 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,200 John the Baptist did. But the little bit of an 405 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,400 introduction to Hebrews 12 Hebrews tells starts with the 406 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:23,720 writer saying, cast off every sin that entangles you, throw it 407 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,480 aside and run the race marked. And then it says, those of you 408 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,360 who are enduring hostility, hostility from fellow people, 409 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,800 believers and non believers, the hostility we receive, you have 410 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,120 endured nothing compared to what Jesus endured. 411 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,800 So he points our focus to Jesus. He says because you have not 412 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,800 resisted it to the point of blood shedding. 413 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,960 And then he moves into this next part where he's talking about 414 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,840 the discipline of God. He says end your discipline, God 415 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:52,520 loves you, therefore he corrects you. 416 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,320 We have a joke in our family, Geshom and I, we sometimes see 417 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,040 other people doing such weird stuff and getting away with it 418 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,600 and we say, my God, we do one stupid thing. 419 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,640 God gives 1 fatak very fast. I think he loves us that much. 420 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,960 Have you felt that like the discipline is so quick some days 421 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,240 that's a sign of your maturity because he loves you so much, He 422 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:12,800 can hold you to account so quick. 423 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,200 And so I talk. This is the preamble to Hebrews 424 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,120 1212 to 13. He's basically outlining the 425 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:22,240 very same three things I told you, the reason our hope dies. 426 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,760 People are sin, unanswered prayers. 427 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,440 He's addressing the very thing. Sometimes God disciplines us in 428 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,280 the way he just allows us to wait in the hallway while just 429 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,600 around the door is our answer. But he's like, you wait for a 430 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,920 little more, my darling, just wait a bit. 431 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,280 God disciplines us through people, He disciplines us 432 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:46,640 through our situations, but the beautiful thing is that there is 433 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,560 that this follow up, while this is our reality, He's saying now 434 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,680 I want you to do something. This involves our 435 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,160 intentionality. Therefore, lift your drooping 436 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:57,920 hands. The first thing I want you to do 437 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,360 is if you want to take back what the enemy has stolen, first you 438 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:04,240 need to lift up your drooping hands. 439 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,880 If you watched people in an airport for very long, if you're 440 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,320 there for a long layover, when people come in first sit from 441 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,240 their one flight, they look really energetic. 442 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,440 They're all brisk. Watch them. 443 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,600 After five hours, what has happened? 444 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,840 Body has drooped, exhausted, tired. 445 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,600 Some have just slept. Our Indians and foreign airports 446 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,480 will lie down on the floor and sleep because we think it's like 447 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,160 one of our train stations. But you notice that the long 448 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,200 wait causes a drooping of our posture. 449 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:36,960 But God is saying enough, enough. 450 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,880 I we don't know how long the wait is, but your posture 451 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,160 matters. And the first thing he's saying 452 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:44,520 is you need to lift up your drooping hands. 453 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:50,720 Drooping hands are hands that have forgotten how to worship 454 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,640 God. Why do I say this? 455 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:59,080 When the Nazi Party came into power, right, they had this one 456 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,840 gesture which they created, which was this, What do they 457 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,000 say? Heil, Hitler, Zieg, Hell, that's 458 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,240 what they would say. Now when they do this, what they 459 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,240 were saying was they were basically saying we attest to 460 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,800 your party's values. We are coming in alignment with 461 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,240 it. And there's books written about 462 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,920 this one gesture because they say it literally marked nations, 463 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,280 right? If a gesture is so powerful in 464 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,920 our seasons of hopelessness, why are we not raising our hands in 465 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,160 worship? We have both been part of the 466 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:33,960 Pentecostal church for years on end. 467 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,640 The one thing I'm so grateful I learnt was to worship because it 468 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,160 has been my weapon. I don't have many more weapons, 469 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,200 but worship has got me through everything. 470 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,120 It continues to get me through stuff. 471 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,200 If you're unwilling to lift your hands, you need to go back to 472 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:52,280 the root of what that is, because it is important, because 473 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,360 the gesture tells the heavenly realms, wow, I the enemy is 474 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,080 looking at you and going. I thought I squashed her hope. 475 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:00,440 What is she doing lifting her hands? 476 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:05,240 Still, the enemy is confounded when you clap your hands. 477 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,520 There's a passage in in the Psalms which says every clap is 478 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,960 to the drum of the the army against the enemy. 479 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,840 This is how powerful and yet can you see how hopelessness moves 480 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,400 and paralyzes us and cripples our movements? 481 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,440 It's time to start to worship the beautiful thing. 482 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,280 When you look at Ephesians 6, it talks about the armor of God, 483 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,560 and there are two things in the hands of the warrior. 484 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,080 What are the two things swear to the Spirit Shield of faith. 485 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,960 When you lift your hands, you're basically lifting up the shield 486 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,080 and saying you can throw anything at me, but nothing's 487 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,440 going to get to me. The second thing you're doing is 488 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,680 you're declaring God's Word into situations even though you don't 489 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:49,720 know how it's going to turn out. It it actually shows abandoned. 490 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,800 It actually shows abandoned. And the beautiful thing is that 491 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,120 arms that are lifted are arms that are strong. 492 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,320 If you ever do functional fitness, a lot of the fitness 493 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:01,920 they teach you is with your arms lifted. 494 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:03,360 Why? Because it's above the heart. 495 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,760 It's being strengthened. Your heart is more strengthened, 496 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:07,880 but more than that, it gets stronger. 497 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,400 Have you been wondering why you've been so hopeless? 498 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,920 Maybe it's time that you lift your hands in worship. 499 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,440 Maybe it's time you start declaring God. 500 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,920 I don't know when this is going to change, but I believe that 501 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,040 you are good. Your love endures forever. 502 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,200 You're going to believe that Lord, you will sustain me. 503 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,760 If you've been worried about your old age, you have said you 504 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:32,040 will sustain me. Even to my grey hairs, this is 505 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,520 what it does. Worship is powerful. 506 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:37,600 And when I was thinking of this image, I've decided to use AI 507 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,480 finally, and Caleb and I came up with this image. 508 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,680 Can you play that for us? Just put that image of the. 509 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,840 Do you have it? Yeah. 510 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:46,760 No, no. First one. 511 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,440 Sorry. The sword and yes, women. 512 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,600 Your arms are this powerful. It's not just men. 513 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,000 The warrior's hands, which are lifted. 514 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:00,480 We can do so much. Hope begins to heal when the 515 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,120 right things are in our hands. For too long we have been unable 516 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,960 to praise and worship because the hopelessness of our 517 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,240 situation, the length of the weight has got us drooping. 518 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:15,880 But God is saying, will you have this life altering stance and 519 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:16,880 justice? Lift it all up. 520 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,160 Nothing can be held in hands that are opened like this. 521 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:24,400 Notice that nothing. My finances have to be emptied 522 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,320 out, my expectations. Instead I'm saying God, I will 523 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,720 stand here. I will worship till I drop. 524 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,680 I will worship till things change. 525 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:39,760 It's a powerful technique in receiving your healing for your 526 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,400 hope. Thank you. 527 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,080 Thank you for that image. The second thing that I believe 528 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,840 God is calling us to strengthen our knees. 529 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,360 Max Lucardo says this about worship. 530 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,600 He says worship is the act of magnifying God, enlarging our 531 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,320 vision of him stepping into the cockpit to see where he sits and 532 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:05,440 observe how he works. Too many of us are so slouched 533 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:09,480 in our spiritual position that we have let the enemy control 534 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,480 the details in our mind and we have forgotten to see what God 535 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:18,800 is doing in every situation. The position you stand in 536 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,640 matters. It's so interesting how marriage 537 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,920 is so good. I'm generally a downer, so when 538 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,080 I look back, I look at all the negative things that have 539 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,240 happened. Geshuma, on the other hand, look 540 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,920 consistently at the light at the end of every tunnel. 541 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,240 And you need perspective like that because that shows the 542 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,560 postures in the right place. How many of you, when you're 543 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,720 very discouraged, the first thing you do is go sleep? 544 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:45,560 Thank you. You make me feel less alone. 545 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,280 Just the family will know if I'm knocked out or she's dealing 546 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,800 with something. And off late, as you get older, 547 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,000 have you noticed when you get up, you don't have more clarity? 548 00:29:55,040 --> 00:30:00,800 You're still waking up confused. But I realized, while sleep is 549 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,880 good, rest is important. When you need to be standing at 550 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,720 alert position, you need to be. Some of us are called to the 551 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,000 ramparts. We are called to the top of the 552 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,240 watchdogs to keep watch on our families, on the church, on the 553 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,360 things of God. Because as much as we have 554 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,960 overemphasized looking at what the enemy is doing, I want to 555 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,960 see what God is doing. I want to see what God is doing 556 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,600 in your lives. I want to see what God is doing 557 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,360 in my children's lives, in my husband's life. 558 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,640 How will I do that if I'm asleep on the job? 559 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,840 How will I do that if my knees are not strengthened to be 560 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,400 standing? Because the knees support 561 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,240 everything. We underestimate how great our 562 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,840 knee. How unimportant our knees are. 563 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,080 Sometimes we say, Oh well, you know what, the knees are weak. 564 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,160 But it's all right, no. So a couple of years back I had 565 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,840 a huge knee injury. I was cleaning the patio doors 566 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,560 and knelt down on the runner of the door and smashed my kneecap 567 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,760 and was so bad the pain I couldn't walk. 568 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,440 So I went to the doctor. He said if if you don't get it 569 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,760 treated, you might need a surgery, but it's up to you. 570 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,160 My mom told me there was another place on ECR called Spark and 571 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,400 she said why don't you just go there without surgery, They'll 572 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,960 treat it. So I went there and they just 573 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,800 looked at my X-ray. They checked my leg. 574 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:11,280 They did nothing. You know what they did? 575 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,360 They would make me lie down and they would do this thing called 576 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,480 deep tissue massage, which is they will press through the 577 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,760 thigh muscle, through the leg muscle, through the the glutes, 578 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,920 every every muscle other than the knee, they would press and 579 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,400 knead it. They would actually tear a 580 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,360 couple of those fibers which were so tight and repair the 581 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,920 wound. I went through that for a week. 582 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,280 You won't believe my knees are so strong because sometimes we 583 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,680 think the knee is. It's not impulse, it's not 584 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:40,960 everything. It is everything. 585 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,800 To stand in this posture, to be alert to what God is doing, you 586 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:47,520 need to strengthen your weak knees. 587 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:53,760 Too many of us have given up on the watch and gone back inside. 588 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,080 The enemy has run havoc on your life. 589 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,520 Wondering why your family is in shambles. 590 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:02,520 Did you give up your post? Can you put up that image of the 591 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:04,200 person standing on the watchtower? 592 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,960 It doesn't matter if nobody before you watched out for you. 593 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,640 Are you standing on the rampart? Habukuk says in Habukuk chapter 594 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,200 2. I will go and stand on the 595 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,240 rampart and see what God says to me and how He will answer my 596 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,440 complaint. You can stand on the rampart, 597 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,920 complain, but listen for what God wants to tell you. 598 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,480 Because like Max Lucardo says, it's when we step into the 599 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:31,640 cockpit of our lives and see the one who's driving the leading 600 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:36,360 the charge, you'll be amazed at what God is doing in you, what 601 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,840 God is doing through you, what God has been doing for you. 602 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,400 Even though it felt he was against you, he was actually 603 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:47,760 working for you. It's so important that when you 604 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,600 have this posture of standing that you don't sleep on the job. 605 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:52,880 Have you been sleeping on the job? 606 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,320 You're a single person. You think I don't need to pray 607 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,200 as much as these married people, like Pastor Geshram said, well, 608 00:32:58,200 --> 00:32:59,560 married people need a lot of help. 609 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:01,680 No, the single people also need a lot of help. 610 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,640 But are you in that posture of waiting in prayer and petition 611 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,200 and listening for what God wants to tell you? 612 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,320 Strong knees can be bent in prayer as well. 613 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,760 I remember seeing my granddad and grandma every afternoon in 614 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:20,600 their retirement being on their knees. 615 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:23,960 Eventually my grandma had such bad arthritis she couldn't 616 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,040 kneel. She would sit, but their prayer 617 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,800 journals were all around them. Until today, we're seeing 618 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:31,560 prayers answered for what they prayed. 619 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,280 If you don't kneel in prayer, how will you stand before 620 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,640 people? You're worried how you'll go and 621 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,840 face that boss, Get in your prayer closet and start praying. 622 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,000 You're worried how you will deal with that unpleasant situation. 623 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,920 Go and pray. Position yourself on your knees 624 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,400 so that you can stand before whoever God leads you to stand 625 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,160 before. That's the second thing. 626 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:58,520 The third thing of how we are consciously taking back our hope 627 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,240 is to make straight paths for our feet. 628 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:08,360 It's so interesting that if you go trekking in any place, the 629 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:13,280 path looks littered with stones and weeds and things like that. 630 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,080 And if you are the first one to go on a trek in a particular 631 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,040 place, it is your job to clean the clear the path out. 632 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,920 And as you clear the path with say a stick or whatever, as 633 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,480 you're clearing it, you will uncover snakes along the way. 634 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:30,760 You could uncover beehives, you could uncover pits that someone 635 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,360 else could fall into. Many of you are pioneers in this 636 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,400 room in the sense that you are standing for your generation for 637 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,880 the first time. No one stood before you, but God 638 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,040 values that you're standing there. 639 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,520 But as much as we must worship, as much as we must be stanced in 640 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,719 prayer, God is calling us to take those steps out and to keep 641 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:54,840 clearing the path ahead of us. Not just for ourselves, for the 642 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:59,160 ones who come after. It's so important that we begin 643 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,360 to make straight paths for our feet. 644 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,760 What happens when a path is not straight? 645 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,840 Because let's face it, when we all describe our lives, how do 646 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:09,760 we describe it? Oh you know, it's like a windy 647 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,040 Rd. UPS, downs. 648 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:16,480 But Jesus was completely the way he was prophesied about in the 649 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,320 Old Testament says it's a highway to the Lord. 650 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:22,280 It's highway to Zion, a straight Rd. 651 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:23,880 Why? Because the way is Jesus 652 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,600 himself. Jesus is not a windy Rd. 653 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,600 Jesus is a straight Rd. The gate to that road is Jesus 654 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:31,600 again. He's the door. 655 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,800 But what happened was in the Garden of Eden, it was this 656 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:39,360 beautiful heaven like set up where man and God were in 657 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,880 perfect communion. There was complete access. 658 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,400 Sin marred it. And throughout the Bible we see 659 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:51,440 how the sins of mankind, our brokenness, our flawed nature 660 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:55,840 kept creating bends in the road. The road didn't get bendy 661 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:57,840 because of God. The road got bendy because of 662 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:03,880 you and me, because of our complete ability to mess things 663 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:05,840 up, because of our tendency to sin. 664 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,040 And therefore the road got more bendy. 665 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:13,160 And then with the Jews and their teachers and their the Herodians 666 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,080 and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they added weights on 667 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,400 people. They called something that teach 668 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,120 elders teaching in addition to the Torah. 669 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:24,120 They had given them this. So people were burdened by man 670 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:26,280 made laws and the road got more windy. 671 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:31,840 And so when Jesus comes, there's 400 years of silence. 672 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,960 God has not spoken. John the Baptist comes on the 673 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,840 scene and he starts saying, guys, it's very easy. 674 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:42,400 Repent, be baptized, keep fruit and bear fruit in keeping with 675 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,560 repentance. Jesus comes, he makes it even 676 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:46,920 easier. He says I'm the way, the truth 677 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,200 and the life choose me. You have it on a life. 678 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,840 The problem is when we all come to Jesus, most of us in this 679 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,840 room know Jesus as our personal saviour. 680 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,400 Our roads are still a bit windy because of our tendencies to 681 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,760 sin, because of our tendency to complicate our lives. 682 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,760 And God is coming to us in this moment and saying, will you 683 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,440 start making the path easier for yourself? 684 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:14,080 There are some some of us who live to make other others 685 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:15,880 comfortable. And God has been talking to me 686 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,240 about that. He's been, you know what? 687 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:20,280 You don't do anything to make anyone else comfortable. 688 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:22,040 I love you so much, you can chill. 689 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,840 He's taken a huge load off my back to be honest. 690 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:29,760 What is it that you have been putting in your life that has 691 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,600 been inducing stress? Simple thing, some of you have 692 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,080 complicated your housekeeping to the level where everything has 693 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:38,680 to be so perfect. If someone sits on the wrong 694 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,360 cushion, they had it. Make it easy. 695 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,120 Host the presence of God more than you. 696 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,040 Host your questions and your portraits. 697 00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:51,720 What have you been doing in your marriage that has been a 698 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:54,360 stumbling block to your spouse or your children after you? 699 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,360 Very simple. It means addressing the 700 00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,960 blockages. It means deleting an app, which 701 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:05,440 is possibly leading you astray. I was thinking about last year, 702 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,920 May Kesham turned 40. So I decided to throw him a 703 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,840 birthday party. And I used to do surprise 704 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,120 birthdays very well, and I think I still do. 705 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,120 So I surprised him. He had no clue, planned up with 706 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,720 a bunch of his friends and our family and got everyone to 707 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:24,160 secretly come home. And I told him, let's go to 708 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,320 Starbucks and let's just, you know, have coffee. 709 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,760 And he was not even suspicious. Like, I've been texting people 710 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:33,160 from his phone and deleting the chat so that he knows his 711 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:37,280 friends are on his phone, right? So two weeks of planning, 712 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,600 everybody's come home. Guys are coordinating with me 713 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:41,760 and saying, Akka, this is reached. 714 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,120 That is reached. And we're actually, he's 715 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:46,120 actually telling me at Starbucks, hey, it's time. 716 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:47,920 The kids will be alone. It's getting dark, let's go. 717 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,360 I said, no, it's OK, chill, let's have a little more coffee. 718 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,000 And he didn't even believe it. He, I mean, he didn't even doubt 719 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,080 me. We get into the car and the 720 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,400 worst is we're driving back home and my brother's in the car next 721 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:00,520 to us. He's coming to our house and he 722 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,800 said, what is Vivian doing here? I'm like, oh, I have no idea. 723 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,080 Be very careful if you marry someone who teaches drama. 724 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,400 They're very dramatic. So I don't know. 725 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:13,040 Thankfully, we got stuck in traffic. 726 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:14,640 My brother went ahead and went home. 727 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,280 But that night he said how did you plan it? 728 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:22,800 How did I not know a thing? And I realized I'm being very 729 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:27,240 upfront with you here. If we were to cheat on each 730 00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:29,240 other, it's the easiest thing in the world. 731 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,840 With delete chat, just archive things. 732 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:36,760 Neither of us are suspicious of the other, so we never check 733 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:40,600 each other's phones. And I told him that day, babe, I 734 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:45,240 pray I never, ever cheat because it's so easy. 735 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:48,480 You would not. You trust me to that extent. 736 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:53,120 But the beauty of it is this. I have safeguards in my life 737 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:56,120 here, safeguards in his. Those are the things that could 738 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,480 potentially be a pitfall to our lives. 739 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,080 Have you been mindful about the pitfalls? 740 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,240 You have a tendency to text someone. 741 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,680 Delete the app. Jesus said cut the eye out if 742 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:10,280 it's causing you to sin in today's world, throw the app 743 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:11,280 out. You don't need the app. 744 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:15,360 Have you been overtly shopping? Delete Myntra. 745 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:18,440 Delete Amazon. Go to the shop and buy stuff. 746 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,400 It's still there's such a charm. Yesterday we went to this pooja 747 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:24,360 and we just bought stuff. So nice to look at racks and 748 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:25,760 pick things and put it in the cart. 749 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:30,560 Find out what is causing you to stray. 750 00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:33,760 I love that song that says prone to wander. 751 00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:36,840 Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I trust. 752 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:42,240 That is our human condition. Everyone of us, us included, are 753 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,760 prone to wander. And how much do we need God's 754 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:47,840 grace to identify the pitfall before I fall into it? 755 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:51,480 You know your weakness, so does your Maker. 756 00:40:51,720 --> 00:40:56,240 Will you be very mindful of preparing the way, knowing 757 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:58,040 beforehand? It comes with, you know, as you 758 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,200 start to grow in the Lord, He will show you a pitfall before 759 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,240 it happens. He will alert you to a weakness 760 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,520 and you'll be more real with yourself. 761 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:08,120 You'll be more real with your spouse. 762 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,600 You'll be real with your children. 763 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,840 It's so important that we begin to clear up what could 764 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:21,720 potentially cause us to stumble. So while we head into this place 765 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:25,400 of restoring our hope, healed hope, that's the desire, my 766 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,640 desire when I came prepared today, that was what I told God. 767 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:31,240 I said, Lord, as much as you've healed my hope, I want others 768 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,160 hope to heal today because I believe a lot of you are 769 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:37,040 wounded. A lot of you are going God, but 770 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:40,840 for me, when you're like John, you're feeling a bit offended. 771 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,360 Isaiah chapter 62 verse 10 says go through, go through the 772 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:49,000 gates, prepare the way for the people, build up, build up the 773 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:53,080 highway, clear it of stones, lift up a signal over the 774 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,560 peoples. God is calling you not just to 775 00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:00,280 work on your heart's pathways, but to begin to lay the ground 776 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,520 for others behind you. Who are you working with? 777 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:04,720 Who are the children you minister to? 778 00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:07,040 Who are the young people you minister to or work with? 779 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:11,280 Will you begin to clear the path for them so that they don't trip 780 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:15,040 over stuff, so that your lifestyle doesn't cause someone 781 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,440 else to fall? Would you begin to be so 782 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:24,480 intentional even as we close? I was just thinking of how 783 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:27,120 sometimes, you know, with the things that happened to us in 784 00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:29,920 our lives, hope, like I said, gets battered. 785 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,080 The reason, fundamentally, this is my discovery and you probably 786 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:35,720 already know this, but bear with me. 787 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:39,520 The reason our hope gets so battered is because our hope is 788 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,120 anchored to the wrong person or the wrong things. 789 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,600 How many of you have known that? Our hope, sometimes when it's 790 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:51,520 anchored to a human, gets jacked the minute the person lets you 791 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:54,840 down, correct? If your hope is anchored to this 792 00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:59,840 particular event happening, when the event doesn't happen, your 793 00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:04,400 hope goes under. But today my desire is that like 794 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:07,480 Hebrews 6 verse 19 says, can you put up the image? 795 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:09,680 I'm going to read the words so that you look at this and 796 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:13,320 understand what I'm saying. We have this certain hope like a 797 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:17,920 strong unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God 798 00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:21,600 Himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened 799 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:26,200 to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred 800 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,800 threshold. Like I said, you know God has 801 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,600 brought me to the season of unraveling the brokenness of my 802 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:35,920 own heart and has given me this very simple declaration that I 803 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:39,080 make every morning. Lord, no matter who lets me 804 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:41,840 down, because I know people will let me down no matter what bad 805 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:45,400 things happen. You are my hope, Jesus, You are 806 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,400 my hope. Do you know how it has changed 807 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,920 my heart? You know how it has brought back 808 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:53,120 love in my heart for people? Because I can walk into rooms 809 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:56,560 now knowing it's OK if things don't go as planned. 810 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,800 My hope is not in them or in or in what happens. 811 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:04,360 It's in Jesus. It's in Jesus and many times the 812 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,320 anchor has been in the wrong places. 813 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:10,520 I want my heart and soul to be buoyant. 814 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:15,680 You know what buoyant is light. Too often the anchor is in the 815 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,960 wrong place. The boy doesn't float, but God 816 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:22,400 is calling me back to a place of saying, hey, if your anchor is 817 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:26,960 in me, your soul is going to be light, your spirit will soar. 818 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:34,080 If you're in this room and you've been saying my hope is so 819 00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:38,200 injured, I want my hope to heal, could you just slip up your 820 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:39,600 hand? I want to pray for you. 821 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:43,840 Amen. Amen. 822 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:52,000 Father, I just pray right now, Spirit of God that you would 823 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:56,640 touch their hearts, touch their minds, that you would heal them 824 00:44:57,320 --> 00:44:59,120 in the deepest parts of their lives. 825 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:03,080 I pray where hope deferred has caused sickness of the heart. 826 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:05,680 I pray that you would heal their hearts in Jesus name. 827 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:08,840 Thank you God, we receive your healing. 828 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:12,800 If you said that I am so offended by Jesus because his 829 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,760 ways have hurt me, His ways of disciplining has hurt, can you 830 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:19,480 just lift your hand? I want to pray for you. 831 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:23,600 Amen. Amen. 832 00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:29,000 Lord, I just pray for a deeper revelation. 833 00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:31,960 Each of these brothers and sisters will have an 834 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:35,160 understanding that wisdom and knowledge will be given to them 835 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:40,440 to see you as you are, to understand you God, to know your 836 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,280 ways. We thank you that your ways and 837 00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:47,080 thoughts are higher, but I pray that God, you would give them 838 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:53,800 vision and clarity to see your hand at work, to understand your 839 00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:58,320 ways. God, for those of you who have 840 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:04,320 been unable to worship, I just want to decree over you, God is 841 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:07,520 removing those shackles. You are going to be able to 842 00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:09,560 worship again. You're going to be able to sing 843 00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:15,480 and praise and move because that is where your victory will lie. 844 00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:18,840 Thanks for listening to this message. 845 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:22,680 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 846 00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:27,040 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 847 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:29,360 episodes. If you like what you are 848 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,920 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 849 00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:36,480 with friends. That would really help us. 850 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:41,760 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 851 00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:46,960 Via Zayan dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 852 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:48,000 finds life.