1 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,640 Hi and welcome to the We Are Zions sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,880 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,320 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,480 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,200 We continue our series titled All Roads Lead to Rome, which is 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,000 a study in the book of Romans. As we study this letter written 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,200 to the Jewish and Gentile believers in the city of Rome, 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,560 we ask that you put yourself in their shoes, for our context is 9 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,200 not that different after all. Our hope is that through this 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,320 series you would experience the fullness of knowing who God is, 11 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,880 what He did for you through Jesus, and how you can live a 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,360 life that honours Him and blesses others. 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,080 High Church, such a joy and a privilege. 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:55,640 To be bringing God's word to you. 15 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,960 Even as you started a new series. 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,640 Called All roads lead to Rome. A study on the book of Romans. 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,280 I believe God is wanting us to dive deeper into his word so 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:06,640 that he can work in and through us. 19 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,600 There are so many areas of our life that he wants to, you know, 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,120 really cut through, really want us to deal with it so that we'll 21 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,520 be transformed to his image and so that we'll be able to do all 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,840 that he's called us or to do. And I believe when Paul was 23 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,160 writing this book to the Roman churches, I believe that there 24 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,720 were many congregants there, a lot of people who had moved in. 25 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,440 And even as you heard last week, there were few who actually were 26 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,720 participants and recipients of the Holy Spirit in the upper 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,200 room. And from there, as they 28 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,400 dispersed into different parts of the world, I believe he was 29 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,040 talking to a church. And this church is resembling 30 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,600 the times that we are living in right now. 31 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,240 I pray that even as we dwell into the second part that his 32 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,640 words will come alive because I believe he wants to set us free 33 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,640 in the book of Romans in the first party saw that some 34 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,880 recurring teams that keep coming along, which we need to really 35 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:00,000 look into and allow his word to, you know, penetrate our hearts 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,360 because we can easily be used to these words, that the weight of 37 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,400 these words will just be just passed through it. 38 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:08,880 And some of those words were the law. 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,200 We saw righteousness and faith are some of the key words of the 40 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,440 book of Romans, which probably occurs time and again. 41 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,000 And when we see the law, because we are living in this new 42 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,360 covenant in the New Testament, the law sometimes seems, you 43 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,280 know, it's something which we can overlook because we feel 44 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,640 it's only for the Old Testament. But God wants us to keep our 45 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,040 eyes on that, because some of us are still. 46 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,800 Holding on to so many patterns that the law brings about 47 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,280 righteousness. This is our standing with God, 48 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,280 and Paul emphasizes this a lot because he wants us to be 49 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:42,960 conscious of the righteousness that. 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,680 We need to have and many a times we take it for granted. 51 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,520 And I believe as we read and meditate in the book of Romans, 52 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,760 he wants us to move towards righteousness. 53 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,360 It's not we move away from, but we move towards. 54 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,200 And faith is something which he stresses a lot, that a lot of 55 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,200 times faith occurs in the book of Romans. 56 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,680 And I believe anything we have to participate in with regard to 57 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,720 this has to come from a place of faith. 58 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,280 We have faith for so many things in our lives. 59 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,160 And I believe if this area in our lives is where we need to 60 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,440 see God come through, He wants faith in our lives to be 61 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,360 exhibited time and again. It's not a one off thing, it's 62 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,920 not a seasonal thing, but it's an everyday thing. 63 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,920 And last week we saw from the book of Romans, Tina put this 64 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:29,240 beautiful word with regard to faith. 65 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,080 She said that you have to have this gradient of faith happen. 66 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,880 And I don't know which aspect of the gradient you are in. 67 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,760 Some of us, you know, when you see a gradient, it's usually 68 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,000 from dark to light. And some of us have those 69 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,120 portions where we've encountered the light and we sometimes get 70 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,000 comfortable and we stay there. But God's wanting us to. 71 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Move more towards the other side of gradient where we will see 72 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,200 all of His glory. The first thing we saw is that 73 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,240 faith grows. When we live our lives in faith, 74 00:03:57,720 --> 00:03:59,400 we don't just live it. OK, you know what? 75 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,640 OK, this has to happen because this is the course in which life 76 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:05,760 happens. No, we live in faith where we 77 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,080 trust God, we believe in His Word, we take Him at His word. 78 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,080 The promises we hold on to. It takes time to come through, 79 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,880 but we still hold on to it. The second thing we saw is that 80 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,959 the faith that that we want to exhibit in our own lives has to 81 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,080 be tested and it grows in community. 82 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:25,640 You rub your shoulders against others. 83 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,000 You do life with others. You participate in others life 84 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,400 stages. Be it happiness, joy, grief, 85 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,080 sorrow, strength, worry, it all happens and that's why the week 86 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,240 to week time and we get to spend time with one another. 87 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,040 And you know, rubber shoulders is so important because it's 88 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,240 that encouragement which causes us to move. 89 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,000 Further, to take that step of faith further. 90 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,800 And so today we're going to be looking in to Romans chapter 2 91 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,680 and a half of Romans chapter 3. And the key was that I've taken 92 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,960 is from Romans chapter 3, verses 21 to 23. 93 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:03,000 And this is what it says. But now apart from the law, the 94 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,320 righteousness of God has been made known, to which the law and 95 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,440 the prophets testify. This righteousness is given. 96 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,360 Through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe, there is no 97 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,040 difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and 98 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:23,360 fall short of the glory of God. I'm reading verse 23 again, it 99 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,680 says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God 100 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,200 and when we read this was a lot of us probably have read it. 101 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,720 The prelude to this in 22 second-half. 102 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,080 It says there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. 103 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:42,320 We see in verse 21 it talks about the prophets testify about 104 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,200 this. We see that the law testifies 105 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,600 about this because at one point God wanted to demarcate his 106 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,520 people. But he soon realized the very 107 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,440 law that he'd given them to follow so that it will benefit 108 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,120 them, so that they'll be blessed, stifle them. 109 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,600 And I believe a lot of us today are in the same place where we 110 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,680 believe being a Christian is stifling, being a Christian is, 111 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,560 you know, it's, it's putting a. Lid over what I can achieve? 112 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:11,440 Being Christ like is tough. Being Christ like is God. 113 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:16,160 Why should I be doing this? But it's that beautiful tension 114 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,400 that we live because it's in this tension that we learn to 115 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,680 submit to Him. It's in this tension we learn to 116 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,400 submit to our God, the Creator. It's in tension that we realize 117 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,800 that we have a maker up above who has far bigger plans for us. 118 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,520 And so today, when when Paul was writing this, he was talking to 119 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:39,920 an audience which probably had a mix of Jews and Gentiles sitting 120 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,600 within the church. And there were probably problems 121 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,440 that were rising time and again because of these differences. 122 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,000 Because let's face it, where we go, we take our baggage with us. 123 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:51,400 Where we go, we bring our history with us. 124 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,440 Where we go, we bring our lineage with us. 125 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,200 You know, it's one thing to look into our Indian sub context and 126 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,640 you'll see that wherever you go in the world, you know, when you 127 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:05,000 meet a fellow, if I'm speaking Tamil, if I find another person 128 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,480 speaking Tamil, we'll first ask a set of questions that go in 129 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,880 one particular order. Hey, you speak Tamil. 130 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,800 Which part of Tamil Nadu are you from? 131 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,000 OK, if you're from there, which town are you from? 132 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,360 And if you're even more curious, you might even go down to which 133 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,640 part of forecast are you? And there is some joy in finding 134 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,480 that comfort knowing that this person is from the same time 135 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,800 that I am. But Jesus said we have to break 136 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,440 free of that because when? He came, he came. 137 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,720 For all, one is not about the other. 138 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,600 And that's what was 23 establishes for all of us have 139 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,680 sinned. Anyone who's born into this 140 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,400 world is sinned. And we've fallen short of the 141 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,520 glory of God. And which means if you've fallen 142 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:54,000 short of the glory of God, which means we need to rise up to see 143 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,120 the glory of God, which means we need to understand that we are 144 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,000 in desperate need of a Savior because we are in a sinful 145 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,360 state. The amplified there are some key 146 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,040 things which I have underlined and I've kept the righteousness 147 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:07,920 of God has been clearly revealed. 148 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,760 So for us to see this righteousness in our own lives, 149 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,280 for you and me to experiences in our own lives, we need to 150 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,040 understand that it's been revealed to us. 151 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,160 This righteousness comes through faith in Christ Jesus. 152 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:23,640 It doesn't come through anyone else. 153 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,840 If you go under anyone else, you'll definitely be mark it. 154 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,040 You'll definitely demarcate between a Jew and a Gentile, 155 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,440 between who you are and who others are. 156 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,679 But if you find righteousness of God, which comes through faith 157 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,440 in Jesus, you will see that there's no partition. 158 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,919 All He came for everyone. And that's the beautiful work at 159 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:47,280 the cross, that when he died, he didn't die for a select group. 160 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,560 He just died for all of mankind who are all sinners. 161 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,960 The perfect Lamb, the perfect Saviour died for you and me. 162 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,720 And so when Romans 2:00 and 3:00. 163 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,680 But what does Paul really emphasize? 164 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,400 On all this. He emphasizes to a group of 165 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,480 people who actually had a Jewish heritage, who believed in the 166 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,600 law and who had lived their lives by that. 167 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,320 So anyone who came outside of that fell short. 168 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,200 You know, it's one thing to fall short in front of God. 169 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,720 It's another thing to fall short in front of people. 170 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,400 And a lot of us today are governing, are making sure we're 171 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,600 making life choices or doing things the way it has to be done 172 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:31,240 because we're scared we'll fall short in the eyes of people. 173 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,360 We are not scared of falling short in the eyes of God. 174 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,120 We're so scared of falling short in the eyes of people. 175 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:42,480 And so when we start living this faith out, when we start living 176 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,360 this faith and say, Lord, this righteousness that comes through 177 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,400 you because I have faith in you, what are you wanting me to do? 178 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,520 And so God has his guard rails. He's wanting us to see it. 179 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,560 And what he wants us to see is that if all I've sinned, which 180 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:59,200 means I need to understand that there is a certain amount of 181 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,200 grace that I'm receiving from God to actually stand here and 182 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,320 worship him. Which means you who sitting 183 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:09,080 there have a certain amount of grace which God is giving to 184 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:10,680 you. I love this song by Graham 185 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:13,360 Kendrick. Even as I was, as we were here 186 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,080 yesterday and as we were praying, I was reminded of that 187 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,480 song. It says only by grace can we 188 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,880 enter. Only by grace can we stand, not 189 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,800 by a human endeavour. And the problem is the law 190 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:30,240 causes us to always do it out of our own sense. 191 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:35,320 So we think we've earned it. No, it's only by his grace, but 192 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,960 by the blood of the Lamb is how we stand. 193 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:40,640 We cannot stand in our own strength. 194 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,480 So today, if you're looking at someone else who's seated next 195 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:45,520 to you or if you're probably seated there and you're 196 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,680 thinking, you know what? I think these other Christians 197 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:49,120 are like this. Oh, that's because they're 198 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,960 coming from this background. God is asking us to revisit that 199 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,360 thought. He wants us to say, hey, all of 200 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,040 you in the equal plain, when I saved you, all of you in that 201 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,680 same debt, all of you were in that same zone, everyone 202 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:06,720 entirety of mankind was in sin and I've redeemed all of you. 203 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,360 And the reason why Paul, as I mentioned, there were two groups 204 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,120 of people were the Jews who grew up thinking, you know what, that 205 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,720 they, if they followed the laws of Moses, as we heard last week 206 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,960 from the Torah, from the Pentateuch, they if they stuck 207 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,720 to that they lived, right? But we see time and again, 208 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,400 Israel couldn't live right. They couldn't just follow the 209 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,160 God of Israel. They had to bow down to 210 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:29,920 everyone. They had to intermarry. 211 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,480 They had to do everything because that's what our heart 212 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,200 desires, that's what our flesh desires, that's what our body 213 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,640 desires. And we see that's where God 214 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,240 comes in. The Gentiles, who are they? 215 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,440 They're the ones who lived in their own culture, but somewhere 216 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,960 down the line they got impacted by the love of Jesus or they got 217 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,880 impacted by what God has been doing through the Israelites 218 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,120 that they started following the God of Israel. 219 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,080 And it's in this context when. Jesus comes into the world and 220 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,040 when his disciples start taking his message. 221 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,320 The church which meets is collective of everyone of Jews 222 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,160 and Gentiles. And Paul is telling he's 223 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,200 addressing them. He's telling them, hey, one is 224 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,240 not about the other. You all are same. 225 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:13,840 You all are same. And as you read some of the 226 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,760 episodes of Paul, you'll see that time and again he's 227 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,280 addressing different groups. He's addressing the group who 228 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:22,520 are masters, the other group who are slaves. 229 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:24,840 He's telling they all exist within the church. 230 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:26,760 They all have received the love of Christ. 231 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,720 But how do I still do? And Paul tells the masters, 232 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,840 treat your servants like how God would treat them. 233 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,160 He tells his slaves work like how you would work unto your 234 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,880 master who's in heaven. Not when someone is watching. 235 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:43,440 Even when someone is not watching. 236 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,280 As we keep reading through Romans two and three, I want us 237 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,440 to keep our eyes open because God wants to do something in it 238 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,720 through us. This entire book of Romans is 239 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,240 literally a surgery. You know, it's like between a 240 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,600 surgery where he's opening and he's wanting to he's wanting us 241 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,200 to investigate ourselves to see what area of our lives should he 242 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,920 really work. And we see Paul draws certain 243 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,120 themes out and I want to draw these certain themes out so that 244 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,560 God can work in and through us. The first thing that we see is 245 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:19,720 we are in Romans chapter 2. We see God alone is the judge. 246 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,360 Even as we read in Romans 2, it says that sin takes us through 247 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,360 this dark spiral. The Gentiles felt that they were 248 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,360 being judged by the Jews who were there. 249 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,600 The Jews felt that the Gentiles are not matching up to what they 250 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:35,600 are committed to following Jesus in. 251 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:37,920 And so this is what he goes on to say. 252 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:40,520 He tells the Gentiles this in Romans chapter 2 verses three to 253 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,720 four. You didn't think, did you, that 254 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,680 just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God 255 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:47,840 from seeing all your misdoings and. 256 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,800 From coming down on you hard? Or do you think that because 257 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,520 he's such a nice God, he let you off the hook better? 258 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:57,360 Think this one through from the beginning. 259 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,360 God is kind, but He's not soft in kindness. 260 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:05,120 He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life. 261 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:10,160 Change and I love how Eugene Peterson had titled this God is 262 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,680 kind but Not soft. And the interesting thing is the 263 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:16,320 fact that a lot of us want a God who's soft. 264 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:22,080 A lot of us want a God, you know, who, so that we can soft 265 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,440 pedal so that, you know, if there are bigger issues, we can 266 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,480 just touch God. And, you know, there, there's no 267 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,440 firmness. So Oh yeah, I think God won't 268 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,160 mind. And we just brushed through that 269 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:35,160 statement that he passed out or you know what, we start seeing 270 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,040 one thing, but we are doing something as thinking, OK, you 271 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:38,200 know what? I don't think it matters. 272 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,440 You know, my convictions are strong, but I that's OK. 273 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,800 It doesn't matter. Or we come on hard because 274 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,160 thinking, you know what, I think they are more liberals. 275 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,560 I'm more conservative. I think I have the favorite, but 276 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,040 no, God's asking is you cannot judge. 277 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,960 You don't get to judge because the grace that's been extended 278 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,400 to you, it's out of my pure mercy and grace. 279 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:01,120 And he goes on to say, if you point this finger out, we take 280 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,320 God's kindness for granted. There's a certain amount of 281 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:08,280 kindness God's shown towards us when we went with us and with 282 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,160 our brokenness, when when we went to his throne room and 283 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,000 said, God, this is who I am. I'm people pleasing. 284 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:15,280 I'm always making sure you know what? 285 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,240 I don't want to hurt anyone. And I've not been and I've I've 286 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,440 been wearing this mask so well. And when we realized that when 287 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,960 we go to God, he's kind enough to forgive us, but the same 288 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:27,440 thing when someone else is doing it. 289 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:32,160 We are so harsh with our judgement and I would ask you, 290 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,240 would we allow God to work in and through them? 291 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:39,080 Because this God who is kind yet not soft, is wanting a radical 292 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,200 life change and He wants us to change inside out. 293 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,640 He just doesn't want to change our outside appearance. 294 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:46,000 Today. You can change your outside 295 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,120 appearance all you want. You can do all of that outside, 296 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:53,760 but it will not fill everything that is so desperately broken 297 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,360 inside. And I would ask, would you allow 298 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,840 God to come in? You probably are thinking, you 299 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,480 know, all my life have been judged by people, but just move 300 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,400 to a place if you're following Jesus, I love God alone to judge 301 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,320 you. Don't don't take people's don't 302 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,520 equate people to God because people can their words can tear 303 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:15,800 you down and everything, but God is the only one who can build 304 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,320 you up and he'd set you free from all of that. 305 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,880 He goes on to say in Romans 2, verses five to six that there is 306 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,800 two things that causes us to be in the space where we pass 307 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,000 judgment to others, and that's one thing is stubbornness, and 308 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,680 we have an unrepentant heart in Romans 25 to 6:00. 309 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,000 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you 310 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,960 are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's 311 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,840 wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. 312 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,040 God will repay each. Person according to what they 313 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,440 have done. We somehow our pride gets the 314 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,160 better of us. We become stubborn. 315 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:52,680 We say in order, we can't change. 316 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:58,120 This is how we will do things. But Paul is telling people, hey, 317 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,800 and the final day, God is going to judge us. 318 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,000 You can judge. You can be harsh. 319 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:07,240 And so even as the world is going today in the direction it 320 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,800 is God's raising up a generation who will be people of 321 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,200 convictions themselves with them, but will be willing to 322 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,319 offer grace because they know only God can change that other 323 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,000 person was on the receiving end of that. 324 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:24,960 And so today, even as we get up and rise up as a church, maybe 325 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,440 be a people who are hard on our own selves, we will go back to 326 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,640 the throne room and say, God, work in me, do this in me. 327 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,880 But when others come, Lord, let me offer grace and point them to 328 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,600 you because you're the one who can fix things for them. 329 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,360 And he goes on to say in Romans 2 verse seven, there is a way 330 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:46,600 where you can be persistent and overcome the sin in our lives. 331 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,040 Because when we think about it, this whole idea of us thinking 332 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,120 that you're better off than someone else, we automatically 333 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,880 devalue that person in the image that God's created them to be. 334 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,240 Romans 27 says to those who by persistence in doing good see 335 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:06,040 glory on an immortality, He will give eternal life. 336 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,240 And this is a beautiful verse because our goal at the end of 337 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,800 the day is eternity. Our actions here will have 338 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,840 consequences here, but we also realize that our actions tend to 339 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:22,080 go beyond our lifetime. If we decide to not follow 340 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,960 Jesus, we can be assured my generation or the immediate 341 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,680 thing, my entire family will be away from the faith. 342 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,320 And it's easy to do that because we can get so caught up with 343 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:33,720 everything that's happening in the world. 344 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,240 But then when we receive his truth, when we understand what 345 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,560 eternity is, when we have faith and we've seen God come through, 346 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,880 we are persistent. We are constantly working 347 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:46,920 towards overcoming sin in our life. 348 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:52,320 As as we see through Romans two, we see sin is a is the clear 349 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,040 indicator which causes us to always step back. 350 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,920 Sin is the clear indicator which always causes us to see someone 351 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,160 else less than and see us as doing better off. 352 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:09,280 We somehow think because of that, that sinful nature, we can 353 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,600 we have this way of, you know, putting ourselves on a higher 354 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,200 pedestal. So today, if there's one thing I 355 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:17,760 would ask, can we replace our stubbornness? 356 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,560 If there's an area in your life where you've been struggling, I 357 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,400 pray that you would have a repentant heart and not an 358 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,320 unrepentant heart. Would you be persistent that 359 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,960 you'll be able to push through that you'll be able to do it in 360 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,960 the small things? Start daily, start daily, do 361 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,720 things daily. You know, we use this word a 362 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,320 lot. In fact, one of our friends came 363 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,600 home last week and he was just joking. 364 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,440 You know, whenever I come to you, you always tell me to focus 365 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,920 on the mundane. And the true thing is we need to 366 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:51,840 build grit for the mundane. If we can capitalize and master 367 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,440 the mundane and have that grit to face every day, we'll be able 368 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,920 to do far bigger things for Christ when he starts expanding 369 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:03,560 us, he tells in the Passion translation. 370 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,440 For those living in constant goodness and doing what pleases 371 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,880 him, seeking an unfading glory and honor and imperishable 372 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,720 virtue, will experience eternal life. 373 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,600 Living in constant goodness and doing what pleases Him. 374 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,560 What is constant goodness? Constant goodness comes from a 375 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:24,480 place of knowing what His Word says. 376 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,720 Taking Him at His Word, where faith is exercised over His 377 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,080 Word. You take it, you believe it, you 378 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,640 know this is your sustenance. And that's why we emphasize a 379 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,320 lot reading God's Word for yourself. 380 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,080 If you're tuning in here just once a week, you will receive 381 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,800 something, but it won't sustain you for the weak. 382 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,520 Your daily sustenance has to come from His Word. 383 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:48,000 And that's why we have the Word of God in every digital form. 384 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,400 We are living in 2024 and you can never say we don't have 385 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,960 access to God's Word. Take it in. 386 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,480 There are different formats. For those of you who love 387 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,320 listening, listen to His Word. Let it speak into you, the very 388 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:07,160 fragment of your Spirit. So even as we move towards 389 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:11,960 persistence, maybe seek for unfading glory, which comes only 390 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,720 when we keep our eyes locked onto Jesus, we will be judged by 391 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,320 him. God alone will judge us. 392 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,160 And that's what we read in the Book of Revelation, chapter 20. 393 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,520 We will all be standing face to face one day with Him, where 394 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,320 he'll open the book, and accordingly we'll be judged. 395 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,600 You know, a lot of us have been growing up at homes where they 396 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,320 have traumatized us, probably saying every little thing will 397 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,360 be played back as a movie for us and every wrong thing we've 398 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:44,280 done. But, you know, with that fear, 399 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,760 we sometimes may not live the life God's called us to live. 400 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,680 And I want to push you to a place of living it in fullness, 401 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,000 in that constant goodness. And that will come to knowing 402 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,560 that you're forgiven, that you can live the life that you're 403 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:02,040 called to live, which means you're constantly opening your 404 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,800 life up for His grace to work in and through you. 405 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,920 That stubbornness that you have, God's willing to start start 406 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,760 wiping it down. He starts working on you every 407 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,080 day. That relationship that is 408 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,400 causing you to break, He's starting. 409 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,040 Hey, you know what? You don't need to get angry. 410 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,360 This place. Let me start working on you, the 411 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:24,400 sin area in your life. I want you to be an overcomer 412 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,200 and not be defeated by it. So today as we move towards 413 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,840 that, let's remember that we are not called to judge anyone. 414 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:34,920 He will judge us. We are called to live the life 415 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,040 that he's called us, which is one of constant goodness and 416 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:45,320 doing what pleases him alone. The second theme that we see in 417 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,760 Romans chapter 2 is God has no favorites. 418 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,280 God has no favorites. Him in Romans chapter 2 verse 11 419 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,280 says for God does not show favoritism. 420 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,280 You know, the problem with favoritism is 1 receives it, the 421 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,920 other doesn't and no one it's like the seesaw effect. 422 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,600 You know, you can't, you can't have a perfect balance with 423 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,840 favoritism. And so today we need to 424 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,680 understand that God does not show favoritism and Paul 425 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,760 emphasizes this. And this is probably the crux of 426 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:19,000 the church, because everyone who walks in receives grace from 427 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,560 God. God doesn't favor you extra and 428 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,960 gives you extra grace. Just because I'm standing on 429 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,600 this side of the pulpit and talking to you doesn't mean I am 430 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,040 favored and you're less favored. No, we all are favored in 431 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,280 Christ. We all are favored in Christ. 432 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,160 You are marked for a particular journey. 433 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:37,960 I am marked for a particular journey. 434 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,520 In the Roman church, the Jews and Gentiles thought one was 435 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,760 favored over the other and as much as God. 436 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,560 In today's context, if you have to see with all that's happening 437 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,400 around, it looks like one is favored over the other. 438 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,240 But God loves everyone that He's created. 439 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,680 Everything falls under His sovereign plan. 440 00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,720 You know, why does bad overcome good? 441 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,680 Why do good people suffer? Why do things happen that falls 442 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,480 under His sovereignty? But He's a God who shows no 443 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,800 favouritism. And what does that mean, 444 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,480 especially for all those who are coming into the four walls of 445 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,160 the church? He's wanting to say this, God 446 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,360 shows no favoritism. You know, for those of you 447 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,000 seated there in the online who are listening, I want to 448 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,760 challenge you. If you felt, you know what, I'm 449 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,040 actually unable to be plugged into a church because I was not 450 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,360 favoured, I would ask you to rethink it because our 451 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,720 favoritism would have been from a man. 452 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,640 But God shows no favoritism. So boldly walking knowing that 453 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,360 you're favoured by God and everyone is favoured along with 454 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:42,600 that. He shows no favoritism in the 455 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,800 amplified. It says for God shows no 456 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,680 partiality, no arbitrary favoritism with him. 457 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,680 One person is not more important than another. 458 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,320 We tend to, you know, show favoritism to those or 459 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,080 partiality to those who lean into US, who do, who run 460 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:01,240 alongside us, who do things with us, who who have the same 461 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,080 frequency, who who have the same get go attitude. 462 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:10,240 But God saying everyone is the same, I show no favoritism. 463 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,840 So which means I can do 10 different things for God. 464 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,040 I'm favoured by him. There's another person who can 465 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,640 do two different things for God. He's favoured and I need to come 466 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:26,680 to a place of being secure in that Comparison kills favoritism 467 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:32,120 breeds comparison. Favoritism breeds jealousy. 468 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,960 It breeds selfishness, it breeds malice. 469 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:39,880 So today, remove that narrative saying, no, I think God favors 470 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,040 someone. No, God does not favor anyone. 471 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:45,800 God shows no favoritism. And the reason why I want to 472 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,040 emphasize this is because we as a church are moving into a 473 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:53,360 season where if we have to have impact in what God's calling us 474 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:59,320 to do, the four walls of our church have to be one of being 475 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:05,280 secure in Jesus, which means anyone who walks in has access 476 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,080 to his grace. And we'll also see that this is 477 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,120 a community that shows no favoritism. 478 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,960 So if God shows no favoritism, which means I should not show 479 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,280 any favoritism? Jew or Gentile, I shouldn't show 480 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,560 any favoritism. I can't show for those who are 481 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,080 probably from a Christian family or those who are new to faith. 482 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:28,640 Everyone are recipients of that. Paul wants us to be centrally 483 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:33,320 drawn to this realization. Because the minute we start 484 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:39,440 doing that, we start forming groups in different categories, 485 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:46,120 and God wants us to see that that's not what he's created. 486 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:49,480 As you know, the beautiful thing about going into God's presence 487 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,440 is we are seen and we are heard. And one of the things I've been 488 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:57,560 talking to our youth and even to our discipleship teams is the 489 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,680 fact that we as a church, when anyone who walks in, have to be 490 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,080 seen and heard. Because that's the very nature 491 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,800 we get to experience when we are with God. 492 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,520 When we are with God, when we enter into His throne room with 493 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,880 praise and Thanksgiving and with prayer, we are seen and we are 494 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,800 heard. And what does that cause us to 495 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,000 do? It causes to receive from Him. 496 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:23,520 And so we who are partakers of His body, when we are when we 497 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,640 carry Him within ourselves and we are called to be the salt and 498 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:31,160 light here on this earth, we too have to be people who will be, 499 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,840 who will allow others to be seen and heard so that that's a 500 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,560 direct reflection of who God is in and through US. 501 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:43,120 You know, theoretism has a ugly way of manipulation. 502 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,360 And I still remember when, as I was preparing, I was reminded of 503 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:52,160 the situation in my. 3rd, 4th, 5th, you know, I was, I was the 504 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,600 same height of my youngest Calvin, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm 505 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,440 more on the darker side of the colour tone. 506 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,480 And you know, as you entered the school bus, these guys were the 507 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:04,360 bullies. And I still remember their names 508 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,320 very clearly. And you know, there'll be these 509 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:11,160 seats where you can 22 of you can sit and these guys will sit 510 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,200 and they'll put their leg on the other seat and they won't allow 511 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,040 you to sit and they'll tell, hey, you know what? 512 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,000 Don't come and sit next to me. You know what? 513 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,520 I don't want your colour to rub off to me and things like that, 514 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,800 you know? The the typical being bullied 515 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,320 scenario in school. And for some reason that group 516 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,600 seemed to be such an in thing that I wanted to be in that 517 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:36,160 group, but just they just kept bullying me with my color, with 518 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,360 my color, with my weight and with everything possible. 519 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,840 And they used to call me an 8 ball because if you play 520 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,520 billiards or snooker, the 8 ball is a black ball and. 521 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:46,760 That's how they used to call me and. 522 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,080 I still remember. Fast forward three years into 523 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:54,240 it, by seventh I've had a growth spot. 524 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,160 I'm taller than all of them. And then suddenly when I came 525 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,000 back after for my summer holidays, I remember them 526 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:09,920 including me into their groups because I had height and I and 527 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,320 they knew that I can help them even though they were a year 528 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,920 older to me. And also they knew that they 529 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,320 needed someone else who's a little taller to play football 530 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,640 with them. And it got me thinking that if 531 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,520 we favour certain people, it'll be based on certain 532 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,400 characteristics which may be appealing to us or be it it 533 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,960 comes out of a selfish place. I worked my way through, I used 534 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:36,760 my height to work my way through into that group so that I can be 535 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,400 part of it. They had a selfish motive of 536 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,600 having me so that I can play right now because I was a head 537 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:46,320 taller than them. So today we realize the minute 538 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,400 we start showing favoritism, our hearts are fragmented. 539 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,680 And so today I want to ask you, what is it that area of your 540 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,480 life that God's called and showing you that you've been 541 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,320 favoring someone else? Because when you read the New 542 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,240 Testament, God wants to break that very pattern, especially us 543 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:03,440 as a church. Why? 544 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,440 Because we can be Hindus, we can have roadblocks to the very 545 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,400 revival that God has to make happen in the days to come. 546 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:16,080 We see in one Samuel, you know, when David was being anointed by 547 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,280 Samuel, Samuel in this human nature, and it's human nature, 548 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,000 we are fighting our very own human nature. 549 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:26,560 Samuel an anointed Saul. One Samuel chapter nine was 20. 550 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:29,480 So what it talks about Saul, a choice handsome man among the 551 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,200 sons of Israel. There was not a man more 552 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,200 handsome than he from his shoulders and up to his head. 553 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,800 Other than every other people, he was a typical Samuel had 554 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,040 anointed him as. King. 555 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:44,800 And when Saul didn't fit the bill, when God had his hearts on 556 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:50,600 someone else, you can see Samuel being having the doubt God is 557 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,280 this guy going to fit the bill because he doesn't look anywhere 558 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:57,120 close to that. But God tells Samuel so one 559 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:01,280 Samuel 16 seven. Therefore the Lord sees not as 560 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,880 man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Lord 561 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:06,760 looks at the heart. And I'm reminded of the 562 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,400 Scripture which God Jesus says, for my ways are higher than your 563 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,280 ways. The way that God sees it is 564 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,080 entirely different. So don't we have to fight our 565 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,200 very nature? If we have to be the church 566 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,880 Jesus is wanting us to build, Jesus has to be central in it. 567 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,720 He wants us to come to the place where we show no favoritism, 568 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,000 because God shows no favoritism. So no favoritism in what? 569 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:32,880 Because when favoritism is shown, contempt comes into 570 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:33,920 place. What is contempt? 571 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,880 Contempt is disregard for something that should be 572 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:42,240 considered. We have contempt maybe based on 573 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,920 the way they look or the way they appear, the way they carry 574 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,160 themselves. Oh, they're not wearing this 575 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,960 brand of clothes. Oh, they, they come dressed in 576 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:50,800 the same thing pretty much too often. 577 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,440 Or their social standing. Oh, they don't have a car. 578 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,760 Oh, they don't have a bike. Oh, I think they're not well to 579 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:57,760 do. Or their economic standing. 580 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,320 Oh, what kind of a job is he in? Is he able to make his ends 581 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:01,480 meet? Oh, why is he? 582 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,400 Why is he staying in that part of town? 583 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,720 It's so no colour. Oh, you know what? 584 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:12,040 I only mingle with those who are of the same skin texture because 585 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,680 if I take selfies, we all look same cast. 586 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:18,760 You know what? I want to grow up to a place 587 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,680 where, you know, I'll just marry this same person on the same 588 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,520 cast. And for a long time that's been 589 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,880 happening. But the more we see and read 590 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,920 God's word, you'll soon realize God didn't show favoritism in 591 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,360 that when he came, He came for all. 592 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,000 So let not cast For those of you who've been holding on and 593 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,720 holding off, your man is based on caste. 594 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,040 I would encourage you to go in prayer and ask God. 595 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,240 God help me to break out of that nature. 596 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,480 Don't look at other people's scenarios and think, you know 597 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:47,680 what? It doesn't work for me. 598 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:49,960 So I think this is not a place I can handle it. 599 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:55,400 God wants us to move and rise up from, you know, favouring and 600 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,520 having our own brackets. God wants us to break free of 601 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:04,600 that so that we will be able to see what he is building in and 602 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,800 through US. You know, in Acts 10, which is 603 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,040 very pivotal in the New Testament because this is where 604 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,400 Peter encounters Cornelius. And Cornelius was a man who 605 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,520 prayed, who did good. He lived, right? 606 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,520 But still there was something missing. 607 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,800 And God heard that, and he causes Peter to have a dream. 608 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:27,400 And when Peter says I won't touch these clean, unclean 609 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,040 animals, God says, haven't I created everything? 610 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,080 And Peter comes to that place in Acts 1034 to 36. 611 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,800 This is what it says. Then Peter replied, I see very 612 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,480 clearly that God shows no favoritism in every nation. 613 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,680 He accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 614 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,280 This is the message of good news for the people of Israel that 615 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,960 there is peace with God through Christ Jesus who is Lord of 616 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:52,760 fault. And even as I mentioned earlier, 617 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,400 especially with that life stage when you feel you know what, why 618 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,440 am I not enjoying when when God is a God who shows no 619 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,680 favoritism? Why is someone else having 620 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,200 something and me not having it? It also comes down to the same 621 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,000 thing which he says here. It comes down to in every 622 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,920 nation. He accepts for those who fear 623 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:13,960 Him and do what is right. Look introspect within yourself. 624 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,159 Do you fear Him? Are you doing what is right? 625 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:20,080 Are you doing what is right According to him, not according 626 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,480 to you. Because my right can change 627 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,400 tomorrow. My right can change a year from 628 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,560 now. Do what is right based on what 629 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:31,080 God is telling and what His Word is telling. 630 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:40,560 He wants us because His place of moving us towards this third we 631 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,920 will rise up so that the church will be one where we'll be to 632 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:48,199 live the life to its fullest. Just imagine a church not 633 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:51,480 showing favoritism for accepting everyone. 634 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,000 Hate to tell everyone I'm so glad you're here. 635 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,240 Even you've received salvation, even you've received this grace. 636 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,640 We are all recipients of it. Remember one thing that if we 637 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,840 don't extend grace to people, we will never receive grace from 638 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,440 people. It's the same thing as we 639 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:13,120 received grace from God. We are called to X give it out, 640 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,600 extend that, extend that. And so I want to also draw some 641 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,560 put some guardrails around that. Don't extend it so much to a 642 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,880 place where you know you're trampled upon. 643 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,800 Have God reads. I love the Holy Spirit to shape 644 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,960 that for you because in that you'll be able to see his 645 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:36,600 fullness come through. And I want to move to a place of 646 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,480 understanding. How can we apply this into our 647 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:41,680 lives? When we read in Romans chapter 2 648 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:45,920 verse four, it says that in the last, it says God's kindness is 649 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,360 intended to lead you to repentance. 650 00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:52,880 One of the ways we can overcome all this that we've seen in 651 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:56,920 chapter two and three where he contradicts time and again, he, 652 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:00,080 he tells the Jewish and the Gentiles, hey, the Gentiles 653 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:02,680 think they're better off. No, you are spiraling down. 654 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:04,880 Rise up. God, there's no favoritism. 655 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:06,320 God is the only one who can judge you. 656 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,640 For the Jews who thought they've lived their lives and they're 657 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,480 making the best choices because they're coming from the right 658 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,720 tribe. Hey, you think you're doing 659 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,560 right, but you're still stealing from that. 660 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:16,880 You're teaching whatever you want. 661 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,360 You are misusing things. It all comes down to that. 662 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:23,480 How do we live this life? For those of us who've showed 663 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,360 favoritism all our lives or we've been brought up that way 664 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,280 and now that this becomes a revelation, we need to see that 665 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:35,360 God's kindness that's extended to us is one of repentance and 666 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,480 we see how do we overcome. This is when we go and allow the 667 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:40,320 Spirit of God to work in and through our lives. 668 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,640 It says here when He works in and through us, the first 669 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,360 application we see is the circumcision of our hearts. 670 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:52,560 The Jews believed that they had to be circumcised to be one, to 671 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,360 be known as God's people, that they have been set apart. 672 00:36:56,240 --> 00:37:00,160 But the Holy Spirit is saying, I want your hearts to be 673 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,480 circumcised. Romans chapter 2, verses 25 to 674 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,640 29. And this is what it says. 675 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,840 Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, 676 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,840 is great if you live in accord with God's law, but if you 677 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,120 don't, it's worse than not being circumcised. 678 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:18,080 The reverse is also to the uncircumcised to keep God's ways 679 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:20,960 are as good as circumcised. In fact, better. 680 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,240 Better to keep God's law uncircumcised than break it 681 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:26,840 circumcised. Don't you see? 682 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,960 It's not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. 683 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:35,080 You become a Jew by who you are. It's the mark of God on your 684 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:39,000 heart, not a knife on your skin that makes a Jew. 685 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:43,280 And recognition that comes from God, not legalistic critics. 686 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:48,840 And I'm saying this specifically because a lot of us have so many 687 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,560 things that we think we've got sorted out as Christians. 688 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:54,520 Oh yeah. Even baptized, we participate in 689 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,280 the communion, we do all that, but our hearts have not been 690 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,960 circumcised. And today God wants to put that 691 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,720 knife into our hearts to say these areas I want to remove. 692 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:06,720 It's OK if I do this. You know what? 693 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,680 I know I can ask for forgiveness when I go on Sunday to church. 694 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:13,440 No, but God wants to surgically deal with that so that He'll 695 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,400 make us a better person. He'll make us a person who's 696 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:17,920 impartial. He'll make us a person who 697 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,560 doesn't favour. And when we allow him to 698 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:25,280 operate, He is setting us up so that we'll be able to lead well, 699 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,800 so that many more will be able to follow Him. 700 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,640 I'm reminded from 1 John chapter 2 verses 13 to 17 it says. 701 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:37,040 In the later half it says don't love the world's ways, don't 702 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,480 love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out 703 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,160 the love of the Father. Practically everything that goes 704 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,280 on in the world, wanting your own way, wanting everything for 705 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,280 yourself, wanting to appear important, has nothing to do 706 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,200 with the Father. It just isolates you from him. 707 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:56,520 The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way 708 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,400 out. But whoever does what God wants 709 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,280 to set for eternity. So if there's a clear indicator 710 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:07,600 of what we have to do, why we have to have this surgical knife 711 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,960 upon our hearts is because our wants are always tied to that of 712 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,080 the world. Our wants are always tied to 713 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:19,480 wanting something that we squeeze it. 714 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,560 We can call it, it's the Lord's favor. 715 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,120 It's the Lord's blessing. It's a lot. 716 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:26,080 We, we, we have a ways of doing it. 717 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,040 Only we know whether we've squeezed it or not. 718 00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:33,000 But God's saying and nothing more can be more important than 719 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,360 for you to see me with all your heart. 720 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,920 And I pray that we will be ones who will live our lives, but we 721 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:45,120 will seek God. We don't want the world's ways. 722 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:48,880 We don't want the world's goods. We don't want the world to 723 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,640 squeeze the love of the Father out of us. 724 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,080 So today, what is it that's squeezing the love of the Father 725 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,320 out of you? Is it your work? 726 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,640 Is it the pile of EMI debt that you have? 727 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:06,680 Is it the the thrill of not having things that are latest 728 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:10,560 coming out? Is it the is it the fact that 729 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,640 you know what, I've worked hard, but I've not got the right 730 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,360 increment? And you see suddenly all these 731 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:21,480 pile up because when these pile up automatically, favoritism 732 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:24,240 piles up automatically, judgement piles up. 733 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,920 So let's go back to the root as. We allow his surgery to work in 734 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,280 and through US. He starts shaping. 735 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:36,880 He says, son and daughter, would you come back to what I love? 736 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:41,920 Meditate on his word. He'll show you how to embrace 737 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,400 people. You'll soon start realizing it's 738 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,880 beyond all that we have. And even as we see this wrong, 739 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:51,800 Paul takes us through this journey and tells the Roman 740 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:55,040 church, let your heart be surgically cleaned because he 741 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:59,400 wants to remove all the barriers of favorite favourites. 742 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:02,720 What are some of the barriers of favourites? 743 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,360 Only this particular people group needs salvation or 744 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:09,560 everyone needs salvation. Missions is not just to those 745 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:12,720 who can't read or write. Missions is just not just to the 746 00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:14,920 villages Mission is also to the cities. 747 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,040 If someone just tells you, you know, going to a villages 748 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:19,040 missions, you're you're hearing them wrong. 749 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,320 Missions is to everyone. It's not favouritism when it 750 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:26,520 comes to missions. It has to be done the Jesus way. 751 00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:30,640 Jesus was able to balance what he reached, those in the poorest 752 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:33,320 of rank and even to the people who are the learnt. 753 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:36,480 We too have to be like that. It's just not to the sick 754 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,120 people, but it's also to the healthy people. 755 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,520 Sick people need a healer. Sick people need hope. 756 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,240 The healthy people also need to understand that God is in 757 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:48,520 control of everything, that they are not in control of 758 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:50,720 everything. It's also to the settled and 759 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:52,280 unsettled. What is the settled? 760 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:53,320 The settled. Oh, OK. 761 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:55,280 You know, I think I have everything in control. 762 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,040 I think I've built my six month emergency fund. 763 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,520 I have a plan ready for my retirement. 764 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,040 You need to know that eternity is not in that, but it's secure 765 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:08,400 only in heaven into the unsettled who's grappling with. 766 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:12,280 OK, I'm just running from pillar to post to realize that the 767 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:15,200 peace that passeth all understanding comes from God. 768 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:22,200 So today, even as you work in this, we will soon realize that 769 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:26,720 the church that God's wanting to build will be people of all, 770 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:30,640 will be people of all these categories, rich, poor, healthy, 771 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:36,520 sick, settled, unsettled, all need Jesus, all our needing of 772 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:41,400 his grace. And may our favourites not be 773 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:43,560 the one which becomes a barrier over there. 774 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,200 You know, even as I close, I want to. 775 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:51,760 Close with this particular illustration, my boss back in 776 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,280 2019 when he was doing a presentation gave this 777 00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:57,720 illustration. And in fact, even before I spoke 778 00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:00,120 just yesterday night, I texted him to just to make sure I got 779 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,920 it right and he talked about these Aspen trees. 780 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,120 You'll see the image. They come on the screen right 781 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:09,080 now, and these trees have an extensive root system. 782 00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:13,120 Even when you look from the surface when you're traveling or 783 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:17,040 when you even have these drone shots grow above, you'll see 784 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:20,600 that they all look very similar. They all look like they're 785 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:25,960 thousands of individual trees, but they're actually a single 786 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:28,840 living Organism. They are the largest living 787 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,720 thing on the planet. Actually, they say they have 788 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:36,320 their root system, which are recorded up to 40 meters from a 789 00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,920 parent tree. They all received their 790 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:41,960 nourishments from the parent tree and that's what the Church 791 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:45,480 of God is supposed to be like. What Paul is writing to the 792 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:49,640 Roman church is not one where they they, they might have been 793 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:52,600 different sizes, they might be, but they all received their 794 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:54,480 nourishment. They are centrally connected. 795 00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,640 If we judge, we won't be centrally connected. 796 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:01,840 If we have favouritism, we won't be centrally connected. 797 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,040 And I believe today when we have to be centrally connected, we 798 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:09,280 are centrally connected through the Spirit in Christ Jesus who 799 00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,840 brings righteousness today. And as this tree lives, when you 800 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:15,960 look, it looks beautiful. And I think that's what the 801 00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:19,240 Church of God should look. Everyone who comes in gets 802 00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:21,680 plugged in. They get their nutrients, they 803 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:26,240 get everything that they need, they receive grace from him 804 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:29,400 alone and they live out their life to the fullest. 805 00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:35,200 So today may sin not have a seat at your table. 806 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:38,640 Sin is black and white. Sin is sin. 807 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,760 There's no grace in here. There's no a shade of sin. 808 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,640 No, there's no gradient in sin is the sin is sin big, small, 809 00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:49,800 it's a sin. But if you find sin at your 810 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:53,000 table, it says here, let's go with the repentant heart. 811 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,760 God's willing to change us inside and out. 812 00:44:57,320 --> 00:44:58,800 I just want to leave a verse with you. 813 00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:00,880 You might be like, OK, Geshrem, you know, you've spoken about 814 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:02,720 this. How do I live this life? 815 00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:04,640 You know, Paul told it to the Roman church. 816 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,640 But I'm coming from a background, you know, that this 817 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:10,200 is this is this is so tough to live by. 818 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,680 I would say Micah 68 has the answer. 819 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:18,560 It says no people, the Lord has told you that it is good that 820 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,960 this is what he requires of you to do what is right to love 821 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:25,320 mercy and to walk humbly with your God. 822 00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:29,080 Three things he requires you to do as follows of Jesus. 823 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:33,080 You know, to make sure that you're not judging and you know 824 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:37,280 being judgmental to make sure that you're not showing 825 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:42,760 favoritism to make sure that you know you're you're not moving 826 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:44,640 aside and orchestrating things around. 827 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:48,560 He's saying, do these three things that we'll do what is 828 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:53,400 right before God and we'll do what is right for people because 829 00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:57,800 God is watching, that we'll be merciful, that we will love 830 00:45:58,040 --> 00:46:03,120 mercy, that we will extend mercy, especially when we time 831 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:07,080 and again come to a place of why is this person doing this to me? 832 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,520 Why are they? We would extend mercy and pray 833 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:11,080 for them. Honestly pray for them. 834 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:13,280 Take it to God and say God, you can change them. 835 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,440 And the third thing is that we walk humbly with our God. 836 00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:20,360 We'd say, God, without you, this is not possible. 837 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,960 I need you. I'm desperate for you. 838 00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:27,360 And so church, even as we conclude and pray, I just want 839 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,280 to pray a prayer of blessing all your life because I believe even 840 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:33,520 this week God was working in my life and showing me, have I have 841 00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:38,560 I do I show favoritism? Because every time I show 842 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:40,360 favoritism, that is a selfish agenda. 843 00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:45,400 There's a selfish motive. Am I being judgmental because 844 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:48,200 because I've got two things right and another person has got 845 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:49,840 nothing right, Am I being judgmental? 846 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:53,440 And God reminded me I've extended grace to you. 847 00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:58,280 Would you extend and I would charge you Church, the church 848 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:03,040 that God's building is one where we're all the same and we will 849 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:04,920 all be in front of him in heaven. 850 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,560 So let's try with that, that even as anyone who's longing for 851 00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:11,280 him comes in, they will get a taste of that. 852 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:12,480 They will get a full taste of that. 853 00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:15,600 They will receive that. And this is the nature of God 854 00:47:15,880 --> 00:47:19,040 that He does. He alone can judge, and that He 855 00:47:19,040 --> 00:47:21,400 shows no favoritism. So let's pray our loving 856 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:22,760 heavenly Father. Lord, we thank you a lot for 857 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:24,800 this time. Lord, even as you've heard your 858 00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:27,440 word, I pray to sink deep into US. 859 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:31,680 Lord, I pray, Lord, there are so many areas that are hardened in 860 00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:35,200 our lives which we believe needs circumcision through your 861 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:38,640 spirit, Lord, and I pray that heart circumcision will happen. 862 00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:42,720 Will you come in Lord Jesus and remove those areas surgically 863 00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:46,000 remove those areas. Lord, I pray where our love we 864 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,960 forget that we all are living in glass houses. 865 00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:52,000 I pray that Lord, we, we've received that grace and I pray 866 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:53,360 we'll extend that grace to others. 867 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:56,080 I pray for those the pride is kept in and we've thought 868 00:47:56,080 --> 00:47:59,000 haughty and we've, we've, we've thought highly of ourselves. 869 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:00,560 Would you forgive us right now, Lord? 870 00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:04,560 Forgive us, Lord, I pray that Lord, you would work in and 871 00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:08,200 through US, strengthen us, Lord, Pray especially Lord, in this 872 00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:11,960 season that as we look through this, Lord, these, these words 873 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,800 seem so heavy for us. Lord, we've been growing up and 874 00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:17,600 certain things are so ingrained to us. 875 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,800 But I pray the kindness that you've extended to us that we'll 876 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:26,480 be able to repent, we'll be able to turn back and every step of 877 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:29,880 the way you will teach us that we'll be able to live this life 878 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:33,000 to the fullest. Go before us, Lord, your most 879 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:38,680 holy name, we pray, Amen, Amen. Pray that you step out in this 880 00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:43,280 week with boldness, knowing that God alone is our judge and God 881 00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:47,360 shows no favoritism, and that God's called us to go back so 882 00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:51,520 that His Spirit will work in and through our hearts so that we'll 883 00:48:51,520 --> 00:48:53,400 be able to live the life that He's called. 884 00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:57,720 And I charge you that even as you live this right, do what is 885 00:48:57,720 --> 00:49:02,560 right, love mercy, be merciful, and may we walk humbly before 886 00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,760 God. Pray that you have a blessed 887 00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:05,840 week. God bless you all. 888 00:49:06,440 --> 00:49:08,280 Thanks for listening to this message. 889 00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:12,160 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 890 00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:16,480 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 891 00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:18,800 episodes. If you like what you are 892 00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:23,360 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 893 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:25,960 with friends. That would really help us. 894 00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:31,240 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 895 00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:36,400 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 896 00:49:36,680 --> 00:49:37,360 finds life.