1 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,960 Hello, a big welcome to the We Are Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,000 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,520 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,040 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,720 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,120 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,720 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,480 our promise. Today's sermon gives us the 9 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:42,160 necessary courage and grit needed to endure seasons of 10 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,600 testing and trying that God walks us through in order to 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,480 receive the fuller picture of His promises. 12 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,720 How prepared are you to embrace God and His promises so that you 13 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,160 are ready to possess your promised inheritance? 14 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,640 Hi Church, What a joy it is to bring God's word to you. 15 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,080 Today we complete our series on Abraham. 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,200 He was the OG promised receiver, the one who just took God at His 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:08,840 word. We've been looking at him over 18 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,920 the span of two months and I know at least for. 19 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,840 I don't know about you, but for Geshom and I, this has been such 20 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,880 a eye opening season, a season of what God is actually calling 21 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,120 us into and the posture and stance we need to maintain. 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,600 And I even as I was preparing for today, we're looking at 23 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,200 Genesis chapter 22 today. But even as I was preparing for 24 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,720 it and I was, you know, thinking of what to title the word, this 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:37,880 is what I titled it. I said a promise, tested is a 26 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:39,960 promise. True, right? 27 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,720 And I was just reminded of the days when, just before we got 28 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,640 married about 17 years back, my mum would take Ghashram and me 29 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,200 out shopping for furniture for our house, our first, you know, 30 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,400 house. It was a very cute place and we 31 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,280 wanted furniture. We wanted a particular kind of 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,840 sofa and a centre table and all of those things. 33 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,320 And so we would go to different furniture shops. 34 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,120 And I remember Ghashram had this interesting habit of testing the 35 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,080 strength of all the furniture we touched. 36 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,080 So if it was a dining table, if it was, if it was a sofa or 37 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,560 whatever, the cupboards that we were looking at, he would press 38 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,600 it with a certain amount of force to see whether it would 39 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,280 withstand, you know, anything heavy. 40 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,520 And I remember being tense in the shops because I was like, 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,080 what are you doing? Are you trying to break it in 42 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,520 the shop? But I realized then that unless 43 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,760 you test something, it's worth its strength is not proven 44 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,360 right. And it's no different with God's 45 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:33,480 word. It's no different with the 46 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,640 Kingdom life. When God entrusts something to 47 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:39,040 us, unless it is tried in our lives, unless it's proven 48 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,640 worthy, it actually won't stand the test of time. 49 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,920 And I was reading Psalm 105 and this verse just jumped out at 50 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:48,480 me. This is what it says until the 51 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,720 time that his word of prophecy regarding his brothers came 52 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,640 true, the word the Lord tested and refined him. 53 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,840 It's talking about Joseph. It's talking about Joseph. 54 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,680 Let me read that to you again with Joseph in context until the 55 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,760 time of his word of prophecy regarding his brothers came 56 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,280 true, the word of the Lord tested and refined him. 57 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,240 Joseph had a word many years back of how his parents, his 58 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,160 brothers, would bow before him and he would be in a position 59 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,160 of, of being above them and they would bow down to him. 60 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,160 And it took many years for that to unfold. 61 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,840 And until it did, he had a series of tragic setbacks, 62 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:34,080 things that refined him, things that tried him until the promise 63 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,400 came about. And today we're going to be 64 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:41,280 looking at Abraham being tested at the very place of his 65 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,040 greatest fulfilment of his promise. 66 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,000 Like we saw last week. God tested him at that point. 67 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,680 And I want to ask you if you've had a word of promise that was 68 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,240 spoken over you or God gave you a word from the Bible that you 69 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:58,440 have been clinging on to, and yet you feel that the battles 70 00:03:58,440 --> 00:03:59,640 have been more than the blessing. 71 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,880 And maybe you've been feeling the pressing has completely 72 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,000 wiped out the scope of the promise. 73 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,000 I want to encourage you today that the process is worth it 74 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,120 because without it, without a process of trying it and testing 75 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,920 it, the worth of that very promise will be missed. 76 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,120 Nothing which is not tried is worth possessing. 77 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:23,880 I want to just leave that with you. 78 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:29,200 Think about even as we get into today's reading, starting off 79 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,680 with verse one and as I read, I just want you to follow along 80 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,920 because I believe God has something very big in store for 81 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,880 us today. Genesis chapter 22, verses 1 to 82 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,440 19. I'm starting with verse one. 83 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,000 It says sometime later God tested Abraham. 84 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,040 He said to him, Abraham, here I am. 85 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,000 He replied. Then God said, take your son, 86 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,880 your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of 87 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:59,760 Moriah, sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain. 88 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:02,840 I will show you. We need to pause there because 89 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,160 this is such a momentous ask. This is not something small. 90 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,240 Look at the way God describes Isaac to Abraham, your only son, 91 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,520 the son that you love, Ishmael has left. 92 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,080 This is the promised son. This is through whom the promise 93 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,400 will come through. And he's saying take him, go up 94 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,280 to the mountains, offer him as a burnt sacrifice. 95 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:28,160 Even as we in the coming weeks begin the season of Lent, we're 96 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:31,120 going to be looking at finding Jesus in the book of Leviticus, 97 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:33,080 right? Because there are overtones of 98 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,280 Jesus throughout the Bible, but the book of Leviticus highlights 99 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:39,520 the need for a saviour to save us from all these intense 100 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,720 sacrifices. And when you look at this burnt 101 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,120 offering, what was he being asked to do? 102 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,440 He was asked to take his son and keep him as the sacrifice on an 103 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,720 altar. And the thing about the burnt 104 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,000 offering was nothing was remaining. 105 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,120 It was just ash. It was just charred remains. 106 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,680 There was nothing that you could, you know, take back from 107 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,440 that. To read Leviticus chapter 1, it 108 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,520 says there was a process to which the burnt offering was 109 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,600 placed. And this was way after the time 110 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:09,760 of Abraham. It was where they had to take 111 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,720 the animal. You know, the lever, it's the 112 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,560 priestly clan would actually take it, slit its throat, drain 113 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,800 the blood, sprinkle the blood on the altar, take out the inner 114 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,840 parts, wash it, arrange the animal on the altar in the fire 115 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:26,760 and, and you know, let that be offered up to God. 116 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,880 That was the process. And look at this, God is asking 117 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,120 Abraham, who a couple of chapters back, which a couple of 118 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,440 years back had learnt how to actually offer something before 119 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,320 him and God came and made a covenant with him. 120 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,640 He's now saying, put your son on the altar. 121 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,520 And as I was reading this, this whole week, as I was meditating 122 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,080 on this, it was just such a heavy thing for me because I was 123 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,280 like, God. I don't know if I could do what 124 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:56,440 you're asking him to do, to lay the very thing that God gave him 125 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,800 back on the altar. Let's see what he does next. 126 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,360 Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. 127 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,520 He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. 128 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,600 When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out 129 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,760 for the place God had told him about. 130 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,960 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the 131 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,920 distance. He said to his servants, Stay 132 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,320 here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. 133 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,480 We will worship and then we will come back to you, you know. 134 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,080 But the interesting thing is this is the first time in the 135 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,240 Bible that the word worship is mentioned. 136 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,720 Up until now, the 21 chapters of Genesis worship was never 137 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:45,840 mentioned, but here it's mentioned and it's mentioned in 138 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,240 conjunction with obedience, with sacrifice. 139 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,520 And it really begs the question, how are we looking at worship 140 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,200 today? A lot of times we we give 141 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,960 worship just the, you know, the limitations of singing, 142 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,440 worshiping with our hands lifted up, with music, with the words 143 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:05,600 coming up. That's what we limit worship to. 144 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,280 But every act of obedience to God is worship. 145 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:15,800 Every little thing we do in the midst of hardship, when we still 146 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,520 choose to lift him up, when we still choose to keep him as our 147 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,440 focus is worship. And it's interesting, the word, 148 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,080 the Greek word for worship is prosecutio, from which we get 149 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,840 the word prostate. It is basically a posture of the 150 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,960 heart and the body, which is basically saying, God, you are 151 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,159 so awesome. It is a position of complete 152 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:39,240 reverence and a laying down and submission and surrender. 153 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,919 And that was what he was telling his servants. 154 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:45,680 Abraham was saying, you stay here, I'm going to go worship. 155 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,160 But the interesting thing, which I think I've seen this for a for 156 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,640 a long time was the way he actually prophetically spoke 157 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,200 about what was to come. He said, you stay here while the 158 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,000 boy and I will worship. Then we will come back to you. 159 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,120 A lot of times in those moments of testing, what we speak with 160 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,120 our mouths is very important. What we declare and proclaim 161 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,880 over ourselves, over the situation is all important. 162 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,800 He did not say stay here. I don't know what's going to 163 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,160 happen. We might come back, we may not. 164 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,640 It may be just one of us. He didn't see any of that. 165 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,400 The reality looked hard, but there was something that he 166 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,680 trusted beyond himself that he could make these simple 167 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:32,800 declarations. And the word will there, me and 168 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,040 the boy will worship, and then we will come back. 169 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,680 That word, when you look at it from a, you know, grammatical 170 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,760 standpoint, is basically an imperative. 171 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,320 It's a future imperative. It's basically saying I'm 172 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,920 certain of something that will happen in the future. 173 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,680 How many of us in the season of testing that you may be in right 174 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,520 now are speaking out words of affirmation from the word of 175 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:00,920 God? God will rescue me from all my 176 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:04,960 foes. He will not slumber or sleep. 177 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,880 He is with me all the day long. He will restore me. 178 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,000 He will recompense me for everything that the enemy has 179 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,080 stolen. What are the declarations you 180 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:17,760 and I are making? Are we making those will 181 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,880 declarations or are we making those declarations which says I 182 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,120 never get a break, this will never change. 183 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:30,400 My spouse can never ever know what he actually does to upset 184 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,680 me. This person is always like this. 185 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:39,120 This is always my lot in life. What will be declared in a 186 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,040 season of testing Abraham is a model of how to declare in faith 187 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,720 that this is what we are going to be doing. 188 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,160 We will worship, we will come back. 189 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,800 Continuing, it says Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, 190 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,880 placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and 191 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,000 the knife. As the two of them went on 192 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,440 together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, Father, yes, 193 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,960 my son, Abraham replied, The fire and wood. 194 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,560 I hear Isaac said. But where is the lamb for the 195 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:12,480 burnt offering? Abraham answered, God himself 196 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,280 will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. 197 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,040 Another declaration full of faith. 198 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:21,760 Full of faith. Was his situation hard? 199 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:23,800 Yes. Did it look like he had his back 200 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:25,200 up against a wall? Yes. 201 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,000 But there's something about him and his relationship with God 202 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,040 that could enable him to say these rather wise things to his 203 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:35,560 son in those very pivotal moments. 204 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,680 These were the moments that he was shaping Isaac's faith. 205 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,560 He was shaping Isaac's destiny by the things he was saying, by 206 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:47,040 these exchanges. God himself will provide the 207 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,440 Lamb, and I just want to interject here that this is 208 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,880 almost a foreshadowing of what would happen thousands of years 209 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,080 later when Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, was sent. 210 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,000 Reading on, the two of them went on together. 211 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,160 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham 212 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,080 built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. 213 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,040 He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the 214 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:12,960 wood. Then he reached out his hand, 215 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,120 took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called 216 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,360 out to him from heaven. Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he 217 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,320 replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he 218 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,680 said. Do not do anything to him now. 219 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:30,560 I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me 220 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:36,600 your son, your only son. What a moment. 221 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,200 What a pivotal moment for Isaac and Abraham. 222 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,960 It was not just a, you know, life defining moment for 223 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,960 Abraham. He was walking in faith all his 224 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,760 life, or at least for the last 30 years. 225 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,560 But this moment for Isaac must have been etched in his memory 226 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:55,400 forever. My father chose to obey God and 227 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:57,760 God came through. Isn't that amazing? 228 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,440 And the thing here is, you know the word for fear Do not do 229 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,360 anything to him. Now I know that you fear God. 230 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,720 And when I was reading it, I was thinking, really, Lord, did you 231 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,000 just figure that out? Now? 232 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,760 Didn't Abraham follow you faithfully these 3035 years? 233 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:18,360 Why did you say, Now I know that you fear him, but this fear is 234 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,200 just the sense of awe and respect. 235 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,080 You have to understand. Abraham and God were like 236 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,760 friends. They spoke to each other like 237 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,960 they were friends. But this friendship was was 238 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:35,000 grown on the soil of trust, was grown on the soil of love and 239 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,080 understanding. And so Abraham knew that God, if 240 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,400 he asked him to do this seemingly terrible thing to his 241 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,640 son, would have a plan. It was built on trust. 242 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,000 And yet God had to test Abraham's heart to see if his 243 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000 posture had shifted in all these years. 244 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:55,480 And it's beautiful because it says here now I know that you 245 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,360 fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your 246 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,360 only son. The interesting thing is that 247 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,800 this withhold is something a lot of us do. 248 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,560 God has given us everything we have, but when we have to 249 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:11,840 dedicate these things back to God, to surrender them back to 250 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,000 God, it's hard because we somehow think we were 251 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,920 responsible for it to begin with. 252 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Abraham knew on every level that Isaac was given to him, and he 253 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,600 had to relinquish Isaac back when asked. 254 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:30,960 What a beautiful relationship of trust and love and honour. 255 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,880 I want to ask you, how tightly have you been holding on to the 256 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,600 things God has entrusted to you? You know, the the hard thing 257 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,240 about being entrusted with things in this earth is that 258 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,080 it's entrusted to us for a time. And there will come a time when 259 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,720 God says, let go, I'm taking it back. 260 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:50,680 How ready are we? Because I myself, I've been 261 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,520 asking myself that. And I said, I don't know God, I 262 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,680 don't know. Abraham looked up and there in a 263 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,440 thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. 264 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,200 He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt 265 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,800 offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place. 266 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:12,160 The Lord will provide, and to this day, it is said on the 267 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:16,680 mountain of the Lord, it will be provided the name that Abraham 268 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:18,880 called on. We looked at El Olam last week, 269 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,160 the eternal God, but this week we're looking at Jehovah Jaira, 270 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,360 our provider. And the other intonation of that 271 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,640 is the God who sees. We saw how he saw Hagar and 272 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,640 Ishmael in the desert. He is the God who sees and 273 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,600 provides. He saw that this man Abraham, 274 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:43,400 his beloved friend, had literally placed his precious 275 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,320 promised child on the altar out of fear and reverence of him. 276 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,880 And in seeing that he provided the substitute. 277 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,320 And this is what I want to leave with you. 278 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,320 When God sees you, what does he actually see? 279 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,600 It's easy to put up a facade with friends, with family, but 280 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,880 what is God seeing in the inner workings of your heart that he 281 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,160 needs to step in as Jehovah Jireh? 282 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:14,680 I saw that God observed Abraham's obedience and came 283 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,000 through. What does God see when he sees 284 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:18,520 you and me? When He watches us? 285 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,880 When no one else watches us? Does He say she's being faithful 286 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,560 with the little Let me give her more. 287 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,520 She's been faithful to do the things that no one gives her 288 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,800 accolades for. I want to bless her. 289 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,480 She has not complained. In the midst of severe struggle 290 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,320 and tragedy, I'm here. I'm ready to step in. 291 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,520 She has fought the battles marked out for her, and now I 292 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,200 will step in and bring the victory. 293 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,960 What is God seeing when he sees us? 294 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,640 Some of us are demanding things from God, but what would God see 295 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,600 in the quietest moments of your life? 296 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,640 What would God see when no one else is watching Jehovah Jireh? 297 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:07,520 God provides. He will provide the Angel of the 298 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,480 Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I 299 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,040 swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done 300 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:18,240 this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will 301 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,079 surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the 302 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:25,440 stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. 303 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,359 Your descendants will take possession of the cities of 304 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:32,080 their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth 305 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,000 will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. 306 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,840 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off 307 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,080 together for Beersheba, and Abraham stayed in Beersheba. 308 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,800 I want you to highlight this one word which makes such an 309 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,600 apartment ending to our entire series. 310 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:54,280 It says your descendants will take possession of the cities of 311 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,000 their enemies. He's literally speaking 400 312 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,480 years down the line. He's literally saying this is 313 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,480 what's going to happen to your generations. 314 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,560 They will be in a place where they'll be able to dispossess 315 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:07,600 the enemy and take over those lands. 316 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,800 If you look at the promises given to Abraham right from 317 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,760 Genesis chapter 12 onwards, you'll find that there's a 318 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,080 gradual refining of the promise. The promise was first given as a 319 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,240 sevenfold blessing. He says those whom you bless 320 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:24,800 will be blessed. Those whom curse you will be 321 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,880 cursed. Through you I'll bless the whole 322 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,400 earth and all of that. Then he talks about, you know, I 323 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:30,960 am your shield and your great reward. 324 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,920 Your, your people will be, you know, foreigners in a land for a 325 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,640 time, but I will rescue them. He keeps refining the promise. 326 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:41,800 Then he talks about Isaac coming into the picture. 327 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,120 Through him, I will reckon your generations, he's further 328 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,760 exposing the promise, He's further explaining it to him. 329 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,280 But this is when there's clarity about the depth of the promise, 330 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,480 because he says they will actually take possession of the 331 00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,240 land. So while Abraham was just like a 332 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,000 wanderer through this promised land, his descendants will 333 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,680 actually take possession. And you have to understand that 334 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,800 you can only possess a promise after the promise is tested, 335 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,440 because only then the condition of your heart is known to God. 336 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,480 Only then the posture of your heart is known to God. 337 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,040 Only then the strength of your faith is revealed. 338 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,320 The test will display your obedience or your 339 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:30,000 insubordination. No word from God is left 340 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,560 untested in our lives, especially if the promise has to 341 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,040 do with your destiny. It will be tested because 342 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,440 whatever is tested will be proven true. 343 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,800 I want to just give you a couple of verses that I was reading and 344 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,120 which was alarming to say the least because I realized, Oh my 345 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:49,960 gosh, I didn't realize the power of God's word up until now. 346 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,760 It says in Psalm 12 verse 6, it says the words and promises of 347 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,600 the Lord are pure words like silver refined in an earthen 348 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:03,320 furnace, purified 7 times. It's amazing because in the 349 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,920 Passion translation, the people who actually translated this 350 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,360 version have written a small note and they said that the 351 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,160 vessel of our heart. Is the Crucible in which God's 352 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:18,960 Word tests us and it refines us 7 times over until the word is 353 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,560 purified and assimilated into our spirit. 354 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,800 So it's so important. That's why we talk about 355 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,480 biblical meditation. That's why we say read the word, 356 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,600 meditate on it, chew on it. It's not important to read huge 357 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,160 tracts of scripture and know nothing. 358 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,400 The important thing is to take that one word so that one 359 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,600 promise and justice. Mull over it. 360 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,040 Allow it to work in you, allow it to wear your defenses down. 361 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,800 Allow it to take away everything that's not of God. 362 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:47,440 S that what remains is pleasing to God. 363 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,760 Psalm 119 verse 140 says Your promises have been thoroughly 364 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,440 tested and your servant loves them. 365 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,080 You want more proof? Psalm Proverbs 30 verse 5, it 366 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,560 says every word of God is tested and refined like silver. 367 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,280 He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. 368 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,240 Psalm 18 verse 30 says As for God, His way is blameless. 369 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,000 The word of the Lord is tested, it is perfect, it is faultless. 370 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,200 He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 371 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:27,040 I have been in a season of testing for a while and I know 372 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,360 for a fact that the promise is just here. 373 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:31,440 I can almost touch it, I can almost feel it. 374 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,240 But the testing that God has walked me through has been 375 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,320 incredible. When I look back, hindsight is 376 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,920 2020, they say. When I look back, the promise 377 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,720 that He gave me, the word that he gave me has been literally 378 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:46,520 carried by me for almost 3 1/2 years. 379 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,920 Four years. I have carried the promise in my 380 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,960 heart, in my spirit. And while I have not yet seen 381 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,320 the fulfillment and the fruition of that promise, I know for a 382 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,160 fact what that promise is going to entail. 383 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,280 Because every season where it was tested, where it was put in 384 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,480 a refiner's fire, what has come out has been gold. 385 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,200 What was let go of was anything less valuable than gold? 386 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:14,600 And I was this weak, this, this, you know, metallurgy that was on 387 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,440 my head. And I thought, let me study up a 388 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,200 bit about it. And there's one branch of 389 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,320 metallurgy called pyrometallurgy, which is 390 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:25,840 basically the extraction of metal from its ores using heat, 391 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,840 right? And I was watching the process 392 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,200 of how this is done. So these metals, which are 393 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,760 maybe, you know, steel or carbon or, you know, whatever, these 394 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,520 huge copper ores, they're mixed. The metals are mixed in. 395 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,720 So there's a lot of impurities in this metal, this, you know, 396 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,120 this chunk of metal. So what they do is they put it 397 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:47,640 into the fire, it becomes liquid, it melts and at 398 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,720 different temperatures when as they are, you know, exposing it 399 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,880 to different temperatures, different impurities melt off. 400 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,840 And then at this ideal temperature, they pour this 401 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,040 molten metal into casts, right? And it takes the shape of 402 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,160 certain weapons or vessels or whatever. 403 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,640 So I was watching this one tutorial and as I was watching 404 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,280 it, the name of the, the person who runs the, the YouTube 405 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,400 channel was something around the word of sword engineering or 406 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,280 something. And that's when it, it struck me 407 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,280 as to why this happens with the word. 408 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,200 You know, when the word comes to us, it comes to us in seed form. 409 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,200 That's what the parable of the sower talks about. 410 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,960 Remember that the, the sower sows the seed and the seed goes 411 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,160 and falls on different soils. The one on the path gets taken 412 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,320 away by the birds. The one in rocky soil doesn't 413 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,800 have any kind of roots. The one in the thorns gets 414 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,520 choked and then there's the one in the good soil. 415 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,440 So when the word comes into us, it comes in as just a seed. 416 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,960 But the beautiful thing is when we are refined, the word causes 417 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,280 refining. Like in the life of Joseph, the 418 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:56,320 word that he received as a prophecy refined him, tested him 419 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,240 till he came out as gold, till he was capable of handling the 420 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,240 throne room of Pharaoh. And so just like us, the testing 421 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,760 and trying of the word in our lives refines us just like that 422 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,560 metal ore which all the impurities are being pulled off 423 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,200 and the pure metal is then being cast into something. 424 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,480 God is doing something in us when the refining process is 425 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,800 happening. And the refining is important 426 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,720 because it's evidence that the world is doing its work In your 427 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,880 life. If you're not going through a 428 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:29,240 refining, you need to be worried. 429 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,080 If you're not going through a season of justice, going through 430 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,960 this, you feel like everything is against you for a season, you 431 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:39,560 know, you know for a fact, God, you're refining something in me 432 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,600 so that I can handle the promise at the end of this tunnel. 433 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,520 And I just want to encourage you that the testing will shake you 434 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,160 to the very roots. But when it does, the things 435 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,600 that are unshakeable in your life will be left standing 436 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,160 beautifully. Like I was saying, for me, this 437 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,880 refining season has been so good because God has been true to his 438 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:00,200 word. When he said, I will restore 439 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,560 your health, he's restoring it. When he says I will heal wounds, 440 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,920 he's healing wounds that I didn't even know I had on the 441 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,000 surface. He's healing stuff deep within. 442 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,760 When he says I will recompense, he means it. 443 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,200 He's not kidding. But he will carry you through a 444 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,280 season of testing so that the promise gets clearer. 445 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,480 You have to understand that when something is planted in seed 446 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,640 form, when God refines it in these refining fires, the word 447 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,920 becomes a hammer like Jeremiah writes. 448 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:33,840 The word becomes a sword like the apostle Paul writes. 449 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:35,680 It is powerful. It's double edged. 450 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,800 It is so, so clear as to its effect in battle. 451 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,240 And I want to encourage you. Maybe up until now you just have 452 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,320 these promises as seeds, but you feel like, Oh my gosh, the gates 453 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,760 of hell have opened against me. I want to encourage you. 454 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,840 God is in a process of shaping those seeds into weapons. 455 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,240 He's shaping them into the sword that you will need for the next 456 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,800 season to fight those giants. He is shaping it into a hammer 457 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,000 which will destroy every stronghold that you have 458 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:04,560 believed and allowed in your life. 459 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,040 The refining process is all important. 460 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:12,840 We cannot do without it. When you look at Abraham's life, 461 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,400 a cryptic promise, different promises, they all took shape in 462 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,880 this final promise given to him after the testing. 463 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:25,840 Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies. 464 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,360 And it's important to understand to possess something that 465 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:30,680 someone else already has, you have to dispossess them. 466 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,720 And you will need these weapons to dispossess. 467 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,680 And as we close up, I just want to leave a New Testament 468 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:44,400 perspective with you. Hebrews Chapter 11, verses 17 to 469 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,720 19. It talks about Abraham in 470 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:51,200 hindsight, right by faith. Abraham and God tested him, 471 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,120 offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises 472 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:59,240 was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God 473 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,520 had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will 474 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,200 be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could 475 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,360 even raise the dead and so in a manner of speaking, he did 476 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:14,960 receive Isaac back from death. What I want to highlight here is 477 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:20,040 a very interesting thing that there was a two way St. on this 478 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,960 relationship between Abraham and God, right? 479 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,960 Abraham according to God and we look in the book of Romans, 480 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:33,160 Romans chapter 4, verse three, it says Abraham believed God and 481 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,840 it was credited to him as righteousness. 482 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,160 And here it says Abraham reasoned that God could even 483 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:44,680 raise the dead. Abraham, the word for reasoned 484 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,240 is the same word as the word for credited. 485 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,680 So if you have to put an equation as this, OK, it's a 486 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:56,400 very simple equation, it's basically that Abraham was 487 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:03,320 credited as righteous by God. God was credited as faithful by 488 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,880 Abraham. Their relationship was on par 489 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,280 because each of them looked at the other and credited to them 490 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,200 something way beyond their imagination. 491 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,640 Abraham looked at God and said you are capable of resurrection. 492 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,400 God looked at Abraham and said you are righteous because you 493 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,080 trust me. What a beautiful relationship. 494 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,320 And that's a New Testament perspective when we look at it 495 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,320 in hindsight. God counts you and me already 496 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,440 righteous because of what Jesus did on the cross. 497 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,560 You and I are counted righteous, but how do you count Jesus? 498 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,320 What do you impute to Jesus? And that's where I want to leave 499 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:44,280 two things with you. How do you and I handle the 500 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,640 season when the promise is being tested? 501 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,160 And this I want to share from my life. 502 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,280 This I have seen it come to pass. 503 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,240 The first thing is you have to embrace your promise tightly. 504 00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:00,360 OK, first thing, embrace your promise tightly. 505 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,880 Too many people, when the testing has gotten too hard, 506 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,040 when the refining has gotten too intense, have let go of the 507 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:12,960 promise, he says over here, by faith, Abraham and God tested 508 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,520 him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. 509 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:19,640 He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one 510 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,280 and only son. Before he could release his son, 511 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,560 he'd embrace the promise. All these chapters that we 512 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,880 looked at was actually Abraham progressively embracing the 513 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,720 promise tighter. Was there a mistake of Ishmael 514 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,320 along the way? Yes, they were human. 515 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:38,960 But sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the promise is 516 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:43,120 worth holding on to. You need to embrace the promise 517 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,720 tightly. The word for that, the Greek 518 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,880 word for embrace, is Anna dekho Mai, which actually means to 519 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,200 willingly take up responsibility, to receive or 520 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,720 accept. And when you take up the promise 521 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,680 that God gives you, you're actually accepting the 522 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,600 responsibility that comes with that promise. 523 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,080 You're telling God, I take this promise as my own. 524 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,160 I'm willing to walk through the fire to get to that promise 525 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,640 because that's what the refiners fire will look like. 526 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,600 But if you give up prematurely, it means you are not holding 527 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:17,400 onto it tight enough. Matthew chapter 13 verses 2021 528 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:21,720 says the seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who 529 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,080 hears the word and it once receives it with joy. 530 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,640 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. 531 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,680 When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they 532 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:36,120 quickly fall away. Trouble or persecution comes 533 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,760 because of the word. The word that is implanted in 534 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:44,040 you will trigger the refining. It will Causeway you to receive 535 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:48,960 a refining. Will you fall away or will you 536 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,760 hold on to the word? I love that it continues to say 537 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:56,120 the seed falling on good soil is those who receive the word, 538 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:01,040 understand it and bear fruit. We sometimes think bearing fruit 539 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,960 happens in the best of seasons. It can happen in the midst of 540 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:05,560 pruning. It can happen in the midst of a 541 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,440 dry season. It can happen no matter what 542 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,920 because of the fact that what we have received is on good soil. 543 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,840 We are understanding it. We're receiving the refining. 544 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:19,040 We're coming forth as gold. When trouble or persecution 545 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:23,400 comes because of the Word, we sometimes assume I've got a 546 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,240 word. Now God has to do what He said 547 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,480 He has to do. God will test us. 548 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,040 He will try us so that we are made capable of carrying that 549 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,360 promise. So that's the first thing. 550 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,320 Embrace the promise tightly. What has God promised you? 551 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:40,520 Has He promised you a family? Has He promised you increase? 552 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,200 Has He promised you restoration? Has He promised you a payback? 553 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,480 Has He promised you a settling of accounts? 554 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:49,640 What has He promised? Will you hold on to that 555 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:51,200 promise? Something that I do as a 556 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:56,400 personal habit is I revisit the promise almost every other day. 557 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,560 On discouraged days, on the highest of days, I open my book, 558 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:03,160 the the journals in which I've written. 559 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:05,760 I relook. I've stuck the promises around 560 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,680 my house and I keep looking at it. 561 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,120 I keep believing it. And I think, Lord, I know this 562 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,360 is the promise you've given me. I know you're coming through. 563 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,960 Embrace the promise tightly. The second thing that I want to 564 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,120 leave with you is embrace the promise giver tighter. 565 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,640 So what happens many times is that we embrace the promise so 566 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,080 tightly, we forget that there's someone who gave us the promise 567 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,320 to begin with. And he's the one who's faithful 568 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:37,200 to his word. He's the one who gives because 569 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,560 he loves us so much. He's the one who has such pure 570 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,400 motives and intentions. He is the one that I need to 571 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,280 focus on. And like I said, the word that 572 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:52,640 that is used for reasoned Abraham reasoned that God could 573 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:58,800 raise the dead to life. Same word used for God credited 574 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,480 righteousness to Abraham because he believed it. 575 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:07,800 Same word, Logi zomai. What are we saying? 576 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,080 God, I trust you with this promise. 577 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:12,760 You've given me the promise. The promise is great. 578 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,840 But more than the promise, I adore you. 579 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,760 I love you. I will hold on to you. 580 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,280 Because what happens in a season of testing the promise feels 581 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:22,840 more distant. You know, it's like a 582 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,280 smokescreen. You know, the fires are opened 583 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,240 out around you. The promise seems distant and 584 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,080 blurry. But the beautiful thing is when 585 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,040 you are embracing the promise giver tighter, it's literally 586 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,400 like you're holding on to him and still keeping the promise in 587 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,440 view. And it becomes much easier to 588 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:43,280 walk through the fire. And I want to encourage you that 589 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,040 you would embrace the promise giver tyter the seasons of 590 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,160 refining are real. But it's even better when you 591 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,680 hold on to him. See, when you embrace the God 592 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,880 who gave you the promises, when he tests the promise, you have a 593 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,760 number holds barred situation. You're saying, God, you gave it 594 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,320 to me. Here it is. 595 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,360 Do with it as you will. I love this that the psalmist 596 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:08,639 writes in Psalm 85, verses 8 to 10. 597 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,679 It's a life that is marked by someone who's holding on to the 598 00:34:11,679 --> 00:34:13,000 promise giver. This is what it says. 599 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,440 I will listen to what God the Lord says. 600 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,520 He promises peace to His people, his faithful servants, but let 601 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:22,960 them not turn to folly. Surely His salvation is near 602 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,040 those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. 603 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:28,320 Love and faithfulness meet together. 604 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:31,080 Righteousness and peace kiss each other. 605 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,800 What is he talking about? It sounds so abstract and 606 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,040 poetic, right? What he's actually saying is 607 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,480 that when you have embraced God to this extent, you know that 608 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:41,639 you're going through a hard season. 609 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:43,320 You know that there's a promise that is to come. 610 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,600 But when you have embraced God, you know that salvation is near. 611 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:48,120 You know that He's carrying you through it. 612 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:52,719 You realize that every attribute of God that you didn't even know 613 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,960 about is coming on display. If God says He'll give you 614 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,240 peace, you'll find that in the midst of chaos you'll be so 615 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:00,680 peaceful. If God said that love and 616 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,400 faithfulness will be around your neck, you will find that you 617 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:07,280 will experience God's love from the most difficult situations. 618 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:10,320 You will find people's faithfulness will astound you 619 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,840 because they are mirroring the faithfulness of God, 620 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:17,440 righteousness, and peace. You will see the goodness of God 621 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,920 in every little situation, even in the hardest season. 622 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:25,480 And I want to encourage you that you would embrace God tighter 623 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,760 than you embrace your promise. Because as you embrace him in 624 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,080 the testing, in the trying, you will start to uncover new facets 625 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:38,200 of God himself. You start to see him in all his 626 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:40,520 goodness. You start to see his attention 627 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,840 to detail, that nothing is arbitrary with God. 628 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,480 You start to see how he keeps time. 629 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,600 He's never late. He's never late. 630 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,440 You start to see his intelligence, how he sees things 631 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,240 that you never see, how he plans for things you could have never 632 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:59,360 planned. So it's important that you 633 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,240 embrace your promise tight. Don't let go of it because 634 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:04,400 that's what the enemy wants you to do. 635 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,400 He wants you to relinquish the control over that inheritance 636 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:10,160 that is marked for you. He's saying let it go. 637 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,320 It's not worth it, this fight not worth it. 638 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,040 But you need to say no. This was a promise given by God. 639 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,760 I hold on to it. But then even tighter than that 640 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:21,080 is you need to embrace God Himself, the promise giver. 641 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,280 So even as I close, I just want to reiterate on a couple of 642 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,160 things we talked about today. First thing is that the burnt 643 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:33,920 offering is significant. You know, our God would never 644 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,480 ask a person to sacrifice their child on an altar. 645 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:41,160 That was something that the Canaanite nations were doing and 646 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:47,600 Abraham probably knew that. But here he was willing to take 647 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,520 the thing he had longed for for 25 years and place it on the 648 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,440 altar and say, Lord, it's yours. He was yours to begin with. 649 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:58,040 I'm giving him back to you. And I love that in the New 650 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:02,120 Testament context, through Jesus, you and I are not 651 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,000 expected to offer these sacrifices. 652 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:10,480 But you know, a burnt offering symbolises a life of surrender. 653 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,120 Because when you give these things to God, a burnt offering 654 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,720 actually consumes it completely. I'm just going to share on the 655 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:19,320 screen something that happened this week. 656 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,360 My son decided to to bake bacon. I'm guessing he thought because 657 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,880 it's bacon, you should bake it. So he put it in the oven, put it 658 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:28,800 on high temperature and he was doing something else. 659 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:31,360 And suddenly both of us could smell something burning. 660 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,880 We go running and we had a burnt offering in the in the oven. 661 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,560 And the interesting thing about this is we took it out, you 662 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:43,320 know, and it was unedible. It was so crispy, we were scared 663 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,200 our teeth would break. And I was thinking about how 664 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,360 something that's offered on, on a, you know, in the, in the Old 665 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:55,000 Testament, the priestly requirements to offer a burnt 666 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:56,720 offering was just literally giving it all up. 667 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:02,000 You had to get this pure animal, no blemish, the best of your 668 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,880 flock. You gave it and you didn't get 669 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:07,160 anything in return. And a lot of times during the 670 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,400 testing and refining seasons of our life, God will actually 671 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:14,040 challenge us to release the very things that we have just held so 672 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,200 tightly. But I want to encourage you that 673 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,920 you will see the Providence of God when you release the things 674 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,480 that you're holding tightest. Because he sees your heart, He 675 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,040 sees your posture, He sees your faith, He sees your obedience. 676 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:32,200 The things no one sees, He sees. He will come through for you as 677 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,440 Jehovah Jireh. But would you release? 678 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,920 Would you release what you hold dearest to him? 679 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,280 Because it's so much safer in His hands than in US. 680 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:46,520 The second thing I want to leave with you is the refiner's fire 681 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:51,720 tests the quality of our faith. It tests the purity of the word 682 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:54,680 that we are receiving. Am I receiving the word for what 683 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,560 I want it to be, or am I receiving it for all it's worth? 684 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,840 Because God has a plan for you which that promise you're 685 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,240 claiming you don't even have a clue how big it is. 686 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:07,920 But with each refiner's fire, you come closer to discovering. 687 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,200 Discovering with greater clarity the extent of that promise, 688 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:15,680 right? God has a way through the fires 689 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:19,440 of the refining to reveal things without undoing things. 690 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:24,960 Earthly fires tend to destroy, but the fire of God, the 691 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:30,600 refining fire of God, reveals things just to you so that you 692 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:32,920 see, this is who you are. This is who I am. 693 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,520 God, I need help. It doesn't unravel all the good 694 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:41,240 work that God has done in you. So I pray that you would embrace 695 00:39:41,240 --> 00:39:45,200 the refining. You won't run from it, and it's 696 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:49,720 important that you allow God to purify you, to refine you 697 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:51,720 through the Word that He deposits in you. 698 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,880 And as you wait, as you are in the season of refining, what are 699 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,480 you declaring? Remember that word? 700 00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:03,240 The boy and I will worship. We will come back. 701 00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,840 God will provide. What are the will statements 702 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,920 that you are saying of late? It's a habit that I do. 703 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,960 Whatever passage I'm reading, I'm looking for those will 704 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,400 statements and you keep finding it throughout Scripture. 705 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:21,040 Psalm 23 says this. I will, surely, I will. 706 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,960 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my 707 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:28,040 life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. 708 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:32,880 Psalm 121 has this. He will not slumber nor sleep. 709 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,880 Indeed, he who watches over is red will watch over you. 710 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,280 You see these these will statements are everything. 711 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,760 This past week I haven't been well had a severe flu, terrible 712 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,680 throat infection. And as I was lying in bed 713 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,560 thinking about you know what I was going to speak, I remembered 714 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:53,560 this particular the declaration point. 715 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:57,200 And as I lay there with this terrible headache, terrible body 716 00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:58,480 pain, I kept saying this out loud. 717 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,000 I kept saying, Lord, I will overcome because I'm an 718 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,960 overcomer in Christ, because you have overcome everything I have 719 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,720 overcome, I will overcome. So the statements you make in 720 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:14,080 the season of testing are all important, all important. 721 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:19,120 And finally, remember this, that the ultimate aim of every 722 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:22,880 promise that is given to you in Christ Jesus, every single 723 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,200 promise has to do with your destiny, has to do with a 724 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:27,520 Kingdom based destiny. It's not about you. 725 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:31,880 You were not saved for yourself. You are not going through what 726 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,000 you're going through for yourself. 727 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,920 You're going through it for a larger Causeway, and I pray that 728 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:39,520 as you understand that, you will understand that the trying of 729 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:42,800 the promise is so that you will possess the promise. 730 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:47,320 Possession happens when you dispossess the enemy and every 731 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,280 word of God that is being deposited in you. 732 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:52,640 As it gets refined, I pray it'll become a weapon that you use 733 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:57,000 against the enemy, the spiritual enemy, to pull him down, to take 734 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:00,240 out strongholds and for you to occupy that territory. 735 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:04,640 What is God giving you as a word that you believe is a destiny 736 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:09,040 changing word? If he's given you a scripture 737 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,440 about an enlargement of your territory, if he's given you a 738 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:16,440 scripture saying I will pay you back, if he's saying I will 739 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:20,800 strengthen you, I will help you, it is for more than just what 740 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:24,200 meets the eye. So as you walk through testing, 741 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:27,600 remember this that the testing makes things clear. 742 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:32,680 It pulls away the dross. It keeps behind the gold and 743 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,800 then it becomes a powerful weapon in your hands to takedown 744 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:41,600 the enemy and possess his land. The enemy for far too long has 745 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:43,880 taken up valuable territory. He's taken our joy. 746 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,800 He's taken our health. He's taken our children. 747 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,200 He's taken destinies. He's taken legacies away. 748 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,200 He's brought in rifts in families. 749 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:56,960 He's brought in divorce. He's brought about church hurt. 750 00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,320 He's brought about things that now we didn't know existed a 751 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,760 long time back. He brought in trauma. 752 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:04,680 He brought in abuse. But those territories belong to 753 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:08,600 God, and God wants to heal us so that we take back the things 754 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:10,600 that belong to us in the 1st place. 755 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:13,880 What is it? God is going to use you? 756 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,440 What is it that through His promise, He's going to wield a 757 00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:21,920 powerful weapon to take back territory that the enemy has 758 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:23,920 taken? Start asking God for that. 759 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,560 Even as we pray, I want to just invite you. 760 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:30,760 If you're saying someone asked me to watch the service, I don't 761 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:33,760 know who Jesus is. You know this story talked about 762 00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:36,400 a ram that was stuck in a thicket, right? 763 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:42,400 And just as Abraham was about to kill his son Isaac and offer him 764 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:44,920 as a burnt offering, the Angel of the Lord stopped him and 765 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:50,960 said, don't I know you fear me? And instead of Isaac, that 766 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:54,680 little boy who would have been put on the altar, God provided a 767 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,040 substitute in that lamb, in that ram. 768 00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:00,520 And Jesus is the picture of the substitute. 769 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:03,320 You and I, because of our sinfulness, should have been on 770 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:04,880 that altar. You and I, because of our 771 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:06,440 sinfulness, should have been on the cross. 772 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:10,800 But Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, was our substitute. 773 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,640 He came instead, moved us out of the pitch, said, don't worry 774 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,120 about it, I take your sin upon me. 775 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:20,040 And he was crucified. He was killed and dead and 776 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:23,760 buried. He rose again today. 777 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,480 He is alive. He lives in each of us through 778 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:29,640 his Spirit. And that's the Jesus we're 779 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:31,840 talking about. And if you are saying I want 780 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:34,720 that Jesus, I know how sinful I am. 781 00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:36,200 I know how I deserve to be punished. 782 00:44:36,640 --> 00:44:39,440 But if you're saying he's a substitute, I want to choose 783 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:41,280 him. Can you repeat the simple prayer 784 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:45,840 after me? Heavenly Father, I admit I'm a 785 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:48,480 Sinner. I need help. 786 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:53,480 I thank you for your Son Jesus, who is my substitute. 787 00:44:54,280 --> 00:45:00,240 I accept him into my life. I pray that he will forgive me 788 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:04,760 of every sin, wash me clean by his blood. 789 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:08,720 Thank you that I am now a child of God. 790 00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:12,800 I pray all of this in Jesus name, Amen. 791 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:15,240 Amen. Welcome to the family of God. 792 00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:17,640 It's the greatest decision you could have ever made. 793 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:21,560 Now that you are in the family of God, we encourage you to 794 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:24,560 start to read His word, to start to understand what God has in 795 00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:26,040 store for you because you're not alone. 796 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,040 You have a family of believers around the globe. 797 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,680 So many of us who are following Jesus, who are trying to figure 798 00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:34,000 out the things that he has for us. 799 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,520 And you are not alone. So we would urge you to get in 800 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:39,000 touch with us. If you were someone who made 801 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,320 that prayer, get in touch with us, we'd love to journey with 802 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:42,600 you. If you're in another country, 803 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:47,440 we'll connect you with someone. But welcome to the family of 804 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:50,000 God. Can the rest of us pray this is 805 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,000 you? You've been saying I'm in a 806 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,680 season of refining. I'm in a season of testing. 807 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:57,200 I'm exhausted. I want to encourage you. 808 00:45:57,440 --> 00:46:01,080 He's not done with you yet. Your promise is within grasp. 809 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:05,080 Father in Heaven, I just pray that each of your people right 810 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:08,120 now, wherever they stand on the spectrum, maybe some are just 811 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,760 receiving their promise. Maybe some are walking out the 812 00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:14,160 testing season. Maybe some are holding the 813 00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:16,520 weapon that has been refined but don't know what to do with it. 814 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:19,200 God, I pray for revelation like never before. 815 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:22,360 I pray for people to know what You are calling them to possess. 816 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:26,160 I pray that Lord, what you are testing you will prove to be 817 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,240 true. I pray that they will stand the 818 00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:30,680 test of time. For those who have not held on 819 00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:32,800 to the promise, who have not embraced it. 820 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:36,160 God, I pray today they would embrace that promise with all 821 00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:38,280 that they have. I pray for those who have not 822 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:42,840 embraced you, God, that they would embrace you and never let 823 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:45,360 you go. I pray that Lord, you will work 824 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:47,880 in them. You will work through them. 825 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,680 God, I pray that their declarations, the words of their 826 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,640 mouth and the meditations of their heart will be acceptable 827 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:58,280 to you in the season. God, that we will not declare 828 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:03,080 anything that is not of you. Help us O God, help us, 829 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:07,640 strengthen us and be with us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 830 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,080 Amen. God bless you. 831 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:13,040 Have a victorious week. Thanks for listening to this 832 00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:16,160 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 833 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:19,880 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 834 00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:22,560 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 835 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:26,360 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 836 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:29,440 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 837 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:34,200 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 838 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:38,680 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 839 00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:42,800 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.