1 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,760 We welcome you to the We Are Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,680 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,080 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:20,840 be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,040 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,760 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,120 During this year of a divine takeover, we are discovering 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,120 that there are a few essentials that we cannot overlook. 9 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,320 One of these is the fear of God. To live in awe and reverent fear 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,200 of God is imperative in order for God to take over our lives 11 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,520 and lead us in His ways according to His will. 12 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,000 We pray that as you listen in, you would invite the Holy Spirit 13 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,640 to give you a fresh revelation of God and that you will live in 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:03,880 the fear and wonder of God. Even as we get into God's word 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,960 this year we have been on, you know, just seeking God for 16 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:09,400 different things. And one of the things that he 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,000 told us was this a year of divine takeover from the book of 18 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,600 Zechariah, chapter 8, verse 12. It talked about how the seed 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,080 will grow well, there will be a sowing of peace. 20 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,080 And this month we want to specifically look a little bit 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,800 at this word, the seed. Last week we had Pastor Vasu 22 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,360 with us who shared to us about from the parable of the sower 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,840 and how the word of God has to take root in our hearts. 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,760 And when it takes root, it begins to transform us. 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,280 And he talked about certain things that make our hearts 26 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,400 rocky, which choke out the seed from taking root and bearing 27 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,440 fruit. And today I want to look at 28 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,960 another part of the same parable, which is the the seeds 29 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,920 that fell on the. Pathway Matthew chapter 13 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,920 verses 3 to 4 says then he told them how many things in parable, 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,800 saying a farmer went out to sow his seed. 32 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,480 As he was scattering the seeds some fell along the path and the 33 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,760 birds came and ate it up. Going down to verse 18 of the 34 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,320 same chapter. Listen then to what the parable 35 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,360 of the sower means. When anyone hears the message 36 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:16,000 about the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil 1 comes 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,520 and snatches away what was sown in their heart. 38 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,280 This, this is the seed sown along the path. 39 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,360 Now when you look at that word over there, it says the person. 40 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,760 Who? Heard the word but didn't 41 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,400 understand it. That word understand the the 42 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,480 word for it actually in a broader context means someone 43 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,000 who didn't comprehend or perceive or act on it. 44 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,080 So basically there was inaction, there was disobedience, and 45 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,480 therefore the word was lost. And today I've titled my sermon 46 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:51,080 as retrieving Lost Seed. Is it possible to retrieve 47 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,240 something that is lost? You know, in our schools, in 48 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,120 colleges, we have something called the lost and found 49 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:56,800 property. And I remember some of my 50 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:57,720 friends you. Actually used to. 51 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,200 Do a bit of shopping in the lost and found property because you 52 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,360 find so many interesting things that people have lost and never 53 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,880 wanted again. But here we're looking at the 54 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,720 word of God many times in our life, in earlier seasons, and 55 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,080 maybe when you were a child or when you were an adolescent or 56 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,160 maybe early days of being a Christian, you received a word 57 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,960 from God, maybe through a person, through a trusted 58 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,760 friend, through the word directly. 59 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,360 And then somehow along the way we forgot about. 60 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,800 It we let it drop, we let it slide and eventually we didn't 61 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:29,960 act on it. We didn't understand the depths 62 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,840 of that scripture and the enemy took it away. 63 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,080 He took over territory that belonged to us by right. 64 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,480 I want you to take a few seconds, if you can just close 65 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,040 your eyes and try and remember one such scripture, one such 66 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,200 word that God gave you. It could have been from the Old 67 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:48,240 Testament. It could have been from a 68 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:49,760 prophetic book. It could have been from the 69 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:50,960 Gospels. It could have been from the 70 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,280 episodes. It could have been a word of 71 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,080 mouth, a gift from someone in terms just as a word of 72 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,920 knowledge to you. And you probably kept it with 73 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:01,680 you for a while and then you dropped it. 74 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,280 But can we just close our eyes for a second and say, Lord, can 75 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,560 you bring to mind over this next half an hour something that you 76 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,280 gave me as a treasure, but that I dropped along the way? 77 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,040 Last week, Pastor Vasu was teaching us about how the word 78 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,240 of God, one of the Hebrew words for it is jewel. 79 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,120 When it's given to us and when it's spoken over a situation or 80 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,440 a person, it's like a jewel. It's so valuable. 81 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:28,880 It adds so much wealth to someone's life. 82 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,040 And so many times the jewels that we have received overtime 83 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,640 in the, in the sense of the word of God, we have lost it. 84 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,840 I remember I think it was a few years back when I received this 85 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,080 Zechariah chapter 8 verse 12 over us as a. 86 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,200 Family and I will be in the middle of a very weird 87 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,960 transitional season and I just when I was sitting and reading 88 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,040 the word, this just jumped off the page at me. 89 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,400 The seed will grow well, the wine will bear its fruit, the 90 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,920 ground will yield its harvest, and the heavens will drop their 91 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:01,920 dew. And God dropped this word saying 92 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,520 tandem blessings. And so I took it down. 93 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:07,440 I have a journal. I wrote it down. 94 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,560 I wrote tandem blessings on it, and I began believing for it. 95 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,080 But one month into actually standing on this promise, 96 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,080 believing it, it felt like all hell broke loose. 97 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,600 And so somewhere along the way I. 98 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,240 Ditched the word. I said, you know what, this 99 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,280 doesn't make sense. Maybe it was not for me, maybe I 100 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,160 took it wrongly. Maybe I misunderstood God and so 101 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:32,200 I let it go. Imagine my surprise when 2025 102 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,880 December. Actually not December, it was 103 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,400 around October. I'm reading the book of 104 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,880 Zechariah and the Lord is telling me to read this passage 105 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:42,920 again, and this time I'm reading it in the NIV. 106 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,680 And in the NIV 2 words jump off the page at me, which is inherit 107 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,000 and possess. And interestingly, last year's 108 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,440 theme was positioned to possess the promise and God had been 109 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,400 talking to us about inheriting up and possessing. 110 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,240 And so imagine my surprise. I'm reading Zechariah 8 three 111 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,080 years after I first received that word. 112 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,400 I'm reading it. And at this time I'm reading it 113 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,240 and saying, and this is the inheritance for that the people 114 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,560 of God are to possess. And the minute those words, you 115 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,640 know, jumped off the the page of the Bible at me, I knew God was 116 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,840 speaking again. And so I immediately quieten 117 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,400 down to look through the whole chapter once more. 118 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,960 And that's when God gave us the word divine takeover. 119 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,960 Because none of these things, there's four seed wine ground in 120 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,280 heaven, all of the things that are required for them to respond 121 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,080 to us are supernatural. It has nothing to do with us. 122 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,800 And so this week when I was preparing this sermon, I was 123 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,640 asking the Lord, did I drop the ball three years back when you 124 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,960 showed me this passage, when you spoke to me? 125 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:44,640 Did I miss it? Did I? 126 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,800 Did I drop it too early because I didn't see answers? 127 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,520 Did I give up because the kind of pushback that came was was on 128 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,320 another level and God was reminding me that there is a 129 00:06:55,320 --> 00:07:00,160 keros time for the fulfillment of certain words, But our job is 130 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,320 to take that word, hide it in our heart and let it. 131 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,800 Grow. So that our senses become tuned 132 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,640 to what God is doing all around. And so 2 1/2 years back, I think 133 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,120 I possibly. Gave up too soon at the first 134 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,240 sign of trouble. When the Word started testing 135 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,680 us, I couldn't handle it. But now, 2026, I believe it's a 136 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,680 careless time for the tandem blessings of God to come upon 137 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:22,840 His people. Where people are going to 138 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,000 experience recompense for the stuff they've been through. 139 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,320 Where there's going to be reward given for the people who held on 140 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,800 in endurance and there is a time when it has to be fulfilled. 141 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:37,880 But what did we let go of? What did we forget that God 142 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,720 spoke? To us about years ago in John 14 143 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,560 verse 26, Jesus says the Holy Spirit is the one who will come 144 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,640 and teach you all things and remind you of what I taught you 145 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,360 this week. When I was going back and 146 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,120 remembering how three years back God gave me Zechariah 8. 147 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,560 It was the Holy Spirit who was joining the dots and saying 148 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,760 there were certain things in that in in that passage that you 149 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:01,720 missed. There were these conditions in 150 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,320 order for the blessings to be unleashed. 151 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:06,560 You missed that. And so God was bringing me into 152 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:08,720 a place of teaching me. Again. 153 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,560 So why should you and I retrieve the lost seeds of God's work? 154 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,280 You're probably saying, well, the Scripture's full of other 155 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,040 promises, I can just claim something else. 156 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,440 I can just look for God to speak to me through something else. 157 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,800 Why should I retrieve it? I want us to read Isaiah 55 158 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,320 verses 10:50. As the rain and the snow come 159 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,480 down from heaven and do not return to it without watering 160 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,840 the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed 161 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,679 for the sower and bread for the eaters, so is my word that goes 162 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,720 out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, 163 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:44,880 but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose 164 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,720 for which I sent it. Why should you and I receive 165 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,120 lost seeds just as this rain hits the earth? 166 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,320 Changes everything. The Word of God never returns 167 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,440 void. What does that look like? 168 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,000 Something will happen when God's word is released into our lives. 169 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,560 Something changes when we start believing it and declaring that 170 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:12,960 scripture anything is possible. Just as within a sea there are 171 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,040 infinite possibilities for north number of plants to happen. 172 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,960 In the same way, the Word of God never returns void the the IT 173 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:25,800 will grow, it will bear fruit in ways you and I never imagined. 174 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,480 And the reason for that is because the fruit that is borne 175 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,600 as a result of the seed will be evidence of God's power, God's 176 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,520 faithfulness, God's steadfastness, His compassion, 177 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,720 His might, his miracle working power. 178 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,120 And this fruit that is born in our lives will be tasted by all 179 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,400 around us. I personally, when when God gave 180 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,120 us this promise for this year, I got excited because there's so 181 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,400 many people we are. We are believing God is going to 182 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,920 come through on multiple levels. We are believing that tandem 183 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,000 blessings are going to break out in people, in people's lives, in 184 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,440 our church. And we've already begun to see 185 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:01,840 it. Babies are being birthed. 186 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,120 We're starting to see marriages get arranged. 187 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:10,080 And we can see that God is on the move, but it's important 188 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,600 that we remind ourselves to go back and say, Lord, did I miss 189 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:19,400 something you were saying to me? The word of God never returns 190 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,200 void. I remember almost 13 years back, 191 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:25,800 God gave me the scripture, Isaiah 58, and he gave it. 192 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,880 I thought it was just for me. I thought, well, it's my life's 193 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,120 calling, which was basically being a repairer of the broken 194 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,400 breach or a gap standard and all of those things from Isaiah 50. 195 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,040 It is great. But today, when I look at it in 196 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:44,520 the light of 13 years later, seven years into a church plant, 197 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,080 God is reminding me that was just not a passage for you. 198 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,480 It was for your family. It was what I was going to take 199 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,080 you on the journey where 5 of you stand in the gap for people, 200 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,760 5 of you help prepare the breach in some area of society. 201 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,640 When you look back, you realise that not a word from God remains 202 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,680 void. It never returns void. 203 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,000 It will accomplish something. The second reason why you you 204 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,560 and I should retrieve seeds is that the Word of God establishes 205 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:15,840 God's will. For our life when you read 206 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,600 Isaiah 58 it talks and 58 and 61 it talks about restoring beauty 207 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,720 from ashes. And I remember 13 years back, 208 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:28,040 God telling me when we were on a hiatus, we were in in US Gesham 209 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:29,920 was studying, I was at home with the children. 210 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,120 And I remember God meeting me in that that season and saying I 211 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:37,200 need you to step into the space of, of helping people overcome 212 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,080 trauma. And when he gave me Isaiah 58 213 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,400 and 61, I didn't understand the magnitude of it. 214 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,520 But what I did was this. I took the scripture. 215 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,400 I would read through it every day. 216 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,360 I would just read it out loud and say, God, I don't know what 217 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:53,920 I'm called for, but I can confidently say this over 13 218 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,520 years, God has put me into spaces where I had to equip 219 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:59,560 myself. God has taken me into rooms 220 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,800 where I learnt of others and he has expanded my understanding of 221 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,760 what I was created for and he's been expanding the purpose, the 222 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,720 plan of my life like a blueprint which he keeps unrolling every 223 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:13,960 year. Even this year I happened to 224 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,960 meet someone who had mentored me almost 16 years back in the 225 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:23,280 space of dance and movement and worship, and I had the chance to 226 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,000 reconnect and I could see where God was moving me in this next 227 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,440 season. So I want to ask you, when you 228 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,720 lost a word, was it possible you lost an important part of the 229 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,000 blueprint for the God's purposes in your life? 230 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,760 God has a very unique plan for you and me, Mike. 231 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,200 The plans he has for me are not the same as the plans He has for 232 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,080 you. The plans he has for Geshwam is 233 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:46,640 not the same as what he has for me. 234 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,240 It's very unique because it's tailor made. 235 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,600 To our giftings, our talents, our upbringing, our experiences, 236 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,600 our talent, opportunities, all of them. 237 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:59,560 But the Word of God is so powerful that it activates the 238 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:04,640 purposes of God in our lives. So I want to ask you again, can 239 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,120 you close your eyes for a second and say, God, did I miss 240 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,280 something? Was there some seeds of your 241 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,160 word that fell on the pathway that the enemy took away? 242 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,440 Maybe I didn't believe, maybe I didn't obey. 243 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,400 Maybe I looked the other way because it felt too hard. 244 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,240 Maybe I tried applying it and then I just gave up. 245 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,240 Why should you and I consider what? 246 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,920 Consider retrieving what the enemy stole, Because I believe 247 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:32,920 this. The Word of God endures forever. 248 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,320 Isaiah 40 verses 6 to 8, it says, a voice cries out, and I 249 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,040 said, what shall I cry? All people are like grass, and 250 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,720 all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 251 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,400 The grass Withers, the flowers fall because the breath of the 252 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,280 Lord blows on them. Surely people are grass. 253 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,040 The grass Withers and the flowers fall, but the word of 254 00:13:54,040 --> 00:14:00,080 our God endures forever. You and I, we are frail, we have 255 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,880 a time period on earth, but the Word of God is it endures. 256 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,480 Past. Generations because our God is 257 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,600 eternal and His word never fails. 258 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,920 So there is no expiry date. So even if you're in your 80s 259 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,560 and God reminds you of a word he gave you when you were 17, I 260 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,640 believe you can bring it back and say, Lord, breathe the fresh 261 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,920 upon this. What do we do with this word 262 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,880 now? Because nothing, no word of God 263 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:30,160 ever fails what God gave me two years back, three years back 264 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,440 with Zechariah 8 and the tandem blessings word is still 265 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,600 applicable because now I brought it back and now I have a greater 266 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,760 realization of where I messed it up, where I dropped it, and 267 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,840 where I need to step up in my obedience. 268 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,560 I remember about 16 years back, we were just about making the 269 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,000 choice to get into full time ministry, you know, and we were 270 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,960 in between. We were, you know, quitting our 271 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:54,920 full time jobs. We're going to get into a full 272 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:56,560 time ministry at our local church. 273 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,080 We had a little baby and I told God, I need to hear from you 274 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,480 before we make such a big shift. Both of us come from families 275 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,280 where our parents were full time, you know, they worked in 276 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,960 the corporate spaces. And so we needed to know if this 277 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:10,240 was something God was calling us. 278 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,360 There was no precedence. And so I remember sitting with 279 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,440 the Lord and this was 16 years back. 2 Corinthians 9 jumped off 280 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,000 the pages at me one afternoon when I was I just put my baby to 281 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,560 bed. I was just sitting there and the 282 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:24,440 Lord spoke to me from 2 Corinthians 9. 283 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,640 And interestingly, it was not a passage which said you are 284 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,600 called go out there, do this. No, it was a passage on 285 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,200 generosity. And he said he who sows much 286 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,800 will reap much, And he said that. 287 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,640 God will. Provide you all that you need so 288 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,640 that His grace abounds in you. And that was a passage. 289 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,240 God gave to me and said this is your calling. 290 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,480 This is for your family. This is for you, Geshom, and the 291 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,560 children I will give you. And so I made a note when Geshom 292 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,840 came home that evening, I showed it to him. 293 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,800 And to double check, I ran it by both our parents. 294 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,560 Both our parents are praying they're godly. 295 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,080 So I ran it by them. I said, you know what? 296 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,320 This is what God gave me. Is it possible this is a? 297 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,720 Calling and I love the fact that both our families spent time in 298 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,160 the world and got back and said we believe God is calling you 299 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,200 to. This Here's the deal. 300 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,680 You don't understand the depths of that word. 301 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,760 We didn't 17 years into full time ministry, both of us. 302 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,680 There have been seasons when generosity has cost us. 303 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,160 It's cost us. You know, our heart is broken. 304 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,440 People have sat on us, people have walked over us, we've lost 305 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,640 things. We've been maligned and all of 306 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,920 that is OK. But when I look back every year 307 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,760 I go back to Two Corinthians 9 because I am going to this place 308 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:43,960 of God. You called us. 309 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,640 Has generosity cost us? Yes. 310 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,080 Lord, do I feel like not being generous sometimes? 311 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,240 Absolutely. But when I go back and retrieve 312 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,200 that word, I'm telling God I'm bringing it a flesh to you. 313 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:56,720 Will you breathe a flesh upon it? 314 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,960 It is so important to understand that God's word to you didn't 315 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,640 have an expiry date. It didn't just end. 316 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,560 When you drop the ball, it didn't just end. 317 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,000 He still has purposes that He wants to fulfil. 318 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,480 So today we're going to be looking and how we can actually 319 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,880 retrieve the word of God and live in the fullness of its 320 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,440 fulfillment. And the person that I think 321 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,960 about is King Josiah. King Josiah was the grandson of 322 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,480 King Manasi. Manasi was one of the worst 323 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,960 kings in Judah. He had he dragged the nation to 324 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,280 such a low level of apostasy and depravity. 325 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,680 People were sacrificing their children to, you know, Kimosh 326 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,480 and Molech, things that God never asked of them. 327 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,960 He had, you know, got male shrine prostitutes instituted on 328 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,600 the temple. The temple did no longer had. 329 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,720 It was not dedicated just to the one true God. 330 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,400 It had Ashura and Balb poles and things inside. 331 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,360 He had defiled the temple. He had defiled the land. 332 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,160 And God's anger was burning against his people. 333 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,320 And then lo and behold, Manasseh's son Amin comes in. 334 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,680 But Amon doesn't last long. He's just there for two years. 335 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,920 And then Josiah comes in. He is sworn in as king at age 8. 336 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,040 But it's amazing because he did what was right in the eyes of 337 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,680 God, even though he had a granddad who was so wicked. 338 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,880 The interesting thing is, Manasi did turn towards the end of his 339 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,840 life. He was taken into captivity and 340 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,080 all that, but he came back and he repented. 341 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,080 He repented and God heard his cry. 342 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,240 God forgave him, but Joash is a bit different. 343 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,400 Joash started seeking God from the age of 12. 344 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,240 He was instituted at 8, started seeking God at 12. 345 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,920 At 16 was making reforms. And at age 18, an interesting 346 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,880 thing happens. His officials were told to go 347 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:48,880 rebuild the temple. The temple was in disarray. 348 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:52,000 So they, he sends a temple, you know, the officials, his 349 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,080 secretary, all the assistants and all of them, they go in 350 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,880 there and one of the guys, the high priest, he finds the book 351 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:04,000 of the Law inside the temple of God where it should rightfully 352 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,880 be. But unfortunately from the time 353 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,480 of Solomon, the word of God was no longer central to the 354 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,160 governance of the land. What was required ideally when 355 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,720 Samuel instituted Saul was that every person, I think it was 356 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:23,240 even in Joshua's time, anyone who had the Book of the Law, any 357 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,320 kings who were appointed had to copy that that down and make a 358 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:31,080 manuscript for themselves. But guys, right from the time of 359 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:36,240 Solomon, this was not followed. And so gradually the book of the 360 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,800 Law became obsolete. Well, this was the thing that 361 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,120 was to be central to keeping their hearts and minds on God. 362 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:48,400 So imagine a surprise in 2 Kings chapter 22 when these officials 363 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,800 find the book of the Law and then bring it to the secretary. 364 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,520 The secretary then takes it to King Josiah and says this is 365 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,080 what we found. I want you to read 2 Kings 366 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:04,480 chapter 22 verses 11 to 13. It says when the king heard the 367 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,080 words of the book of the Law he tore his robes. 368 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,720 He gave these orders to Helkaya, the priest Ahikam, son of 369 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,440 Shafan. Akbour, son of Micaiah, Shafan 370 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,680 the secretary, and Asiah, the King's attendant. 371 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,480 Go and inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people and for 372 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,000 all Judah, about what is written in this book that has been 373 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,360 found. Great is the Lord's anger that 374 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,760 burns against us because those who have gone before us have not 375 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,440 obeyed the words of this book. They have not. 376 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,040 Acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning 377 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,720 us. The important thing to 378 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,160 understand is as soon as the book of the law is presented to 379 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,400 King Josiah, he recognizes their faults. 380 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,600 They start reading it to him and he goes, Oh no, we've messed up. 381 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,600 Step one in retrieving the word of God is retrieve is actually 382 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:58,240 recognizing our fault and error in in failing to listen and obey 383 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,080 to God's, listen and obey God's word. 384 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,400 He was very sensitive to where they had messed up. 385 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,880 And you have to understand they were not reading the accounts by 386 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,000 Isaiah and Jeremiah because those were contemporaries. 387 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:10,680 They were only reading the Torah. 388 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,800 So Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers in Deuteronomy was what 389 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,480 was in the book of the law. So in all possibilities, 390 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,760 scholars say that they were probably reading Deuteronomy. 391 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,680 And if you're reading Deuteronomy 28 or you're reading 392 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,840 Deuteronomy 7, you will know that it's laid out, prescribed 393 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,880 on text, that if you turn to any other God, I will abandon you. 394 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,080 I will send you into exile. I will punish you. 395 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,240 My wrath will pour out on you. These are the curses that will 396 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:39,760 follow you. It is prescribed. 397 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:44,680 It is written. And so the first thing that 398 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,520 Josiah did was he recognized their faults. 399 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:50,320 He'd recognized their failure to obey. 400 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,160 Continuing to read 2 Kings chapter 22, verses 14 to 20, 401 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,400 Heilkaya, the priest Ahikam, Akbar, Shafan and Asaya went to 402 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,440 speak to the prophet Haldah, who is the wife of Shalom, son of 403 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,840 Tikwa, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the 404 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,760 new quarter. She said to them, this is what 405 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,400 the Lord the God of Israel says. Tell the man you sent to me. 406 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,160 This is what the Lord says. I'm going to bring disaster on 407 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,280 this place and its people according to everything written 408 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,760 in the book in the King of Judah is read, because they have 409 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,680 forsaken me and burnt incense to other gods, and aroused my anger 410 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,440 by all the idols their hands have made. 411 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,560 My anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched. 412 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,440 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord? 413 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,560 This is what the Lord the God of Israel says concerning the words 414 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:43,040 you heard, because your heart was responsive and you humbled 415 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,440 yourself before the Lord when you heard what has spoken 416 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,400 against this place and its people, that they would become a 417 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,480 curse and would be laid waste. And because you tore your robes 418 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,080 and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. 419 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,000 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be 420 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,080 buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the 421 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,040 disaster I'm going to bring on this place. 422 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,760 So they took her answer back to the king. 423 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,080 Look at the posture that Josiah has taken. 424 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:14,200 It says because you tore your robes, you wept in my presence. 425 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,320 I have heard you. Your heart was responsive, and 426 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:23,240 you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I've 427 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,120 spoken against the place and its people. 428 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:31,000 This was a posture that was being moved because of 429 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,760 repentance. The second step in actually 430 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,960 retrieving lost seat is to repent in humility and honesty. 431 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,280 There was no falsity in this. Josiah was not putting up a 432 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,440 show. He was genuinely scared. 433 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,120 He was saying, Oh my goodness, we are in for it. 434 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,280 We have gone so far away from God. 435 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,520 The land is just steeped in idolatry. 436 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:54,480 People have no love for this God. 437 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,840 What are we going to do? Let me at least as the leader of 438 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,720 these people, repent. Repentance is so important. 439 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,520 Many believers today don't believe in an act of daily 440 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,680 repentance because they're like, well, it was all covered on the 441 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,160 cross. True, But repentance is a gift 442 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,720 to us. Repentance is a gift where I can 443 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,240 come before my Father, come before him in all honesty, in 444 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,560 humility and say, Lord, I lay low before you. 445 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,520 I am a Sinner saved by grace. I still mess up. 446 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,960 I need your help. Forgive me, repentance is our 447 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,960 greatest gift and it is the second position that we have to 448 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,520 occupy in order to retrieve lost seed. 449 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,680 Continuing to read from 2 Kings chapter 23, verses 1 to 15 and 450 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:42,080 24, it says Then the king called together all the elders of Judah 451 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,960 and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the 452 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,960 Lord of the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 453 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,040 priests and the prophets, all the people from the least to the 454 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,680 greatest. He read in their hearing all the 455 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,040 words of the book of the covenant which had been found in 456 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,680 the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and 457 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,120 renewed the covenant in the presence of the of the Lord, to 458 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,160 follow the Lord and keep His commands, statutes, and decrees 459 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,360 with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words 460 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:11,960 of the covenant written in this book. 461 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,360 Then the king, then all the people, pledged themselves to 462 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:18,960 the covenant. The king ordered Hilkiah the 463 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,760 high priest, the priest next in rank, and the doorkeepers, to 464 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,480 remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for 465 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,760 Baal and Ashara and all the starry hosts. 466 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,880 He burnt them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron 467 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,560 valley, and took the ashes to Bethel. 468 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,360 He did away with the idolatrous priest appointed by the kings of 469 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,000 Judah. Coming down to verse 6, he took 470 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,040 the Ashara pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron valley 471 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,000 outside and burnt it there. He grounded to powder and 472 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,440 scattered the dust over the graves of the common people. 473 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,320 Verse 7 He tore down the quarters of the male shine 474 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,360 prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters 475 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:02,400 where women did weaving for Ashara was eight. 476 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:04,960 He brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and 477 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,720 desecrated the high places from Jibah to Beersheba where the 478 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,960 priests had burnt incense. He broke down the gateway at the 479 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,200 entrance of the gate of Joshua the city governor, and then 480 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:19,320 coming verse verse 10, it says he desecrated Tophet, which was 481 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,480 in the valley of Ben Hinnom, so that no one could use it to 482 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,080 sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech. 483 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,400 Verse 11, he removed from the entrance of the temple of the 484 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,600 Lord the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the 485 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,200 sun. Verse 12, he pulled down the 486 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,600 altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the 487 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,240 upper room of Ahaz and the altars Manasseh had built in the 488 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,000 two courts of the temple of the Lord. 489 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,760 He removed them from there, smashed them to species, threw 490 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,200 the rubble into the Kidron valley. 491 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,640 Verse 13 The king also desecrated the high places that 492 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,520 were east of Jerusalem, on the South of the Hill of Corruption, 493 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,280 the one Solomon, king of Israel, had built for Ashtarat, the wild 494 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:04,240 goddess of the Sidonians, for Kimosh, the wild God of Moab, 495 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,720 and for Molech, the detestable God of the people of Amin. 496 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,080 Josiah smashed the sacred stones, cut down the Ashtarah 497 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,560 poles and covered the sites with human bones. 498 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,240 Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jero Hoam, 499 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,480 which had caused Israel to sin, even that altar and high place 500 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:27,160 he demolished. He burnt the high place and 501 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:31,160 ground into powder, then burnt the ashara pole. 502 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:32,960 Also. Verse 24. 503 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:38,640 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the 504 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:42,200 household gods, the idols, and all the other detestable things 505 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,960 seen in Judah and Jerusalem. Why did I read all of that? 506 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,280 It felt tiring to even read it. When you have a sore throat, 507 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,360 reading so much feels a lot. But the reason I wanted to read 508 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:56,880 that to you is because step 3IN actually retrieving lost seed is 509 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,640 to renounce that which was defiling and demonic. 510 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,480 Many times we we stop it at the repenting place. 511 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,440 But John the Baptist talked about this. 512 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,960 He said you brood of Vipers. He talked about the Pharisees 513 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,160 who were coming for baptism, she said, who told Wandy of the 514 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,480 coming wrath. You need to bear fruit in 515 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,040 keeping with repentance. And so a bit of that is what 516 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,840 renouncing is. Renouncing is basically turning 517 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,040 away from the thing that defiled you or pulled you down or 518 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,000 dragged you away from God, and turning back towards God. 519 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:31,000 In this case, there was a violent cutting off of all wrong 520 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,600 associates. Medium Spiritus, they were moved 521 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,520 out. There was removal of the shrine 522 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,520 prostitutes. There was a clear demarcation of 523 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,160 this will work now this will not. 524 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,920 This causes us to sin. We don't want that. 525 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:50,320 We want this out, and I wonder if we actually are so serious 526 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:54,160 and strict about the things that cause us to sin in our lives. 527 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,720 Point #3 Will you renounce that which is demonic and defiling? 528 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,560 Because Josiah did it and it was visible to the whole land. 529 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,320 Imagine the kind of smoke that was going up from the land 530 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,200 because the number of Asherah poles he was burning, because of 531 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,360 the things he was desecrating, crushing into powder, throwing 532 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,760 it over graves. He was very clear. 533 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:19,480 No more he was saying this is it, this ends here. 2 Kings 534 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,080 chapter 23 verses 21 to 23 says. Then the king gives his order to 535 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,600 all the people. Celebrate the Passover to the 536 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,560 Lord your God. As it is written in this book of 537 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,680 the Covenant. Neither in the days of the 538 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,960 judges who led Israel, nor in the days of the kings of Israel 539 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,280 and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. 540 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:40,360 But in the 18th year of King Josiah, this Passover was 541 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,880 celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem. 542 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,920 What was the Passover? The Passover was basically what 543 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,960 happened when the the Jews were leaving Israel, leaving Egypt, 544 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:52,400 right? It was the last night they were 545 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,080 in Egypt. They were going to move out the 546 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,240 next morning and and Moses had given them an instruction. 547 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,640 Apply the blood of a lamb on your doorpost because the Angel 548 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,040 of death is visiting tonight. So all of them. 549 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:05,320 Had a meal at. Home. 550 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:07,640 They had a Passover lamb that was killed. 551 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,640 The blood was applied on the doorpost and then they were 552 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,520 inside the house. None of them were outside. 553 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,160 They were all inside. They stood around the table. 554 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,720 They actually had to, you know, wear their cloaks. 555 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:19,520 They had to tie it up because they were in a rush. 556 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,320 They were going to leave. They were leaving. 557 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:27,240 They were leaving Egypt. And this meal commemorated what 558 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,640 God was doing in their midst. What was God doing? 559 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,120 He had just shown up with these mighty signs and wonders. 560 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,440 He had disrupted the whole of Egypt. 561 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,240 And tonight, that night, the Angel of death was going to 562 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,760 visit and and take away every first born from the cattle to 563 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,520 the Pharaoh's son. Everyone was going to die. 564 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,280 Anyone who didn't have the blood of the lamb on their doorpost 565 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:55,880 was liable to lose a first born. And yet these people, the chosen 566 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,160 people, the people of Israel were kept safe. 567 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:00,720 So when they celebrate the Passover, they're basically 568 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,800 remembering how God came through for them, how God came through, 569 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,680 took them out of slavery, set them in a spacious place. 570 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,720 It was remembering that God vindicated them in the eyes of 571 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:15,440 their enemies. And so the fourth stage of 572 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,800 actually retrieving something that you've lost in terms of the 573 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,960 word is rejoicing the victory and vindication that God brought 574 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,440 in the past. Why is it so important to 575 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,520 celebrate? You know, if you, I don't trust 576 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,080 a Christian who doesn't celebrate because you know what, 577 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,840 we have so much to celebrate even in the hardships. 578 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:34,440 When you think about it, when you remember the hardships, you 579 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,400 remember how God came through and you cannot help but say, 580 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:42,120 wow, God, you are amazing. You are worth celebrating. 581 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,000 Even in the midst of struggle. I can say he is worth, worthy of 582 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,440 all praise. He's worthy of all glory because 583 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,800 he gave me Jesus. Jesus is the greatest reason to 584 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:52,360 celebrate. I can celebrate him for 585 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,880 eternity. And so we need to, when we're 586 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,560 retrieving that which has been lost to the enemy, we retrieve 587 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,840 it with the joy that God, you came through. 588 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,240 Then you will come through again. 589 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,840 So what do we do when we retrieve the lost seeds of God's 590 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:10,800 Word? Like Josiah, I want to reiterate 591 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:12,200 this. The first thing is we need to 592 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,960 recognize our faults and failures, to listen to God's 593 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:17,760 Word, voice and Word, and to obey. 594 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,200 The first thing is recognizing it. 595 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,240 Many times we go straight to repenting. 596 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,400 Sometimes we don't go to repenting because we're not 597 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,080 recognized where we failed. And it's so important that we 598 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,200 stop looking at the fails and the the faults and the failures 599 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,400 in someone else's life. And look at ourselves. 600 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,080 And say, Lord, you know what? I messed this up. 601 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,520 You did give me this word. You did encourage me, but I just 602 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:45,320 let the enemy take it away. It's important that we don't 603 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,840 pass the buck, but we take responsibility for the word that 604 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,240 is given to us. It's important to realize that 605 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,120 the word that is given is mine to hold on to, mine to receive, 606 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,600 mine to obey. If there's been disobedience, 607 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,680 it's important to say, Lord, I'm sorry I disobeyed. 608 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,920 I recognize that there's been disobedience in my past. 609 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,920 I recognize that there was inaction. 610 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,360 I recognized that I tried to bend Your Word according to what 611 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,920 fit me, and the minute it didn't work or I just ditched it. 612 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:21,520 That first moment of accepting is powerful because it begins 613 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,080 the process of reclaiming the seed of God's Word. 614 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,480 The second thing is to repent in humility and honesty. 615 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,360 You know, repentance, like I said, is the greatest gift. 616 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,640 One of the things that I do repetitively, it's just 617 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:35,280 something that's very therapeutic for me, it's 618 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,400 cathartic, is to clean my garden. 619 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,120 So we have a dog. And so she uses the garden for 620 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,920 her, you know, business to do her business. 621 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,200 So every day, almost every day, the kids were supposed to, when 622 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,120 we got the dog, their job was to clean the, you know, the 623 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:52,920 droppings of the dog. And then they, they just 624 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,040 somehow, you know, fantastically, they have a great 625 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:57,920 memory. I guess they've forgotten to do 626 00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:59,200 it. So I do it every day. 627 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,800 Now suppose I'm out of town for about four or five days. 628 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:06,120 The place is a mess because the dog has still been using it, but 629 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,120 nobody's been cleaning it. And so after I go out, if I've 630 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,600 been out of town, I was out of town last week and I come back 631 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,080 on a Monday. I was sitting at the dining 632 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,280 table and there's this terrible smell that was coming from my 633 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,440 sweet garden. So I went out and I noticed it 634 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:23,800 hadn't been cleaned over 4 days. And so I went out to the 635 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,800 newspaper, cleaned up all of the litter, and then took the hose 636 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,199 out and hose down the place. And as I was doing that, I 637 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:34,159 realized the gift of daily repentance. 638 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,960 You know, when we leave things hidden within us, it's like that 639 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,800 four days left litter. The smell starts to, you know, 640 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:48,239 corrupt the entire environment. And it's time that we start 641 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:51,159 taking responsibility to do a It's just a simple discipline 642 00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:53,320 when you lie down in bed or when you're just sitting. 643 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:55,800 With that green tea at the end of the day. 644 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:58,200 If you would just have that conversation with the Lord and 645 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:02,040 say, Lord, I repent, I am sure I'm mucked up in some way today. 646 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,800 I just want to say I'm sorry if you know where you messed up, 647 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,560 that one conversation that went offline, that bit of gossip, 648 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,880 that bit of slander, that bit of bitterness that you allowed in, 649 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:15,160 it might be good to say, Lord, can you just take it out? 650 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:20,320 I'm sorry because the place to be the gift of this Christian 651 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,280 life is that I can come to Him anytime. 652 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:27,040 There is no mediator required. Jesus stood in for me. 653 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:31,040 I can approach the throne of grace directly, lift up my hands 654 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,480 and surrender and say, Lord, I keep making this mess, could you 655 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:41,760 help me, forgive me? I love that God fully knows me 656 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,640 and yet fully loves me. There is no condemnation. 657 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,760 So when I take my my junk into the throne room, it doesn't 658 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,400 surprise him one bit. I in fact, I think that he 659 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:57,040 beckons me in with my junk so that I can come before him 660 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:58,880 honestly and say, this is who I am, Lord. 661 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:01,760 I struggle with bitterness. I struggle with unforgiveness. 662 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:03,960 I'm blaming it on family history. 663 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:05,600 I'm blaming it on genes and this and that. 664 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,480 But no, this is who I am, Lord, forgive me. 665 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,760 And just like that hose which did the job, it could have been 666 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:15,320 easier had it been done every day. 667 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,640 It was a larger job and I had to do it after four days. 668 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,080 What if we came before God consistently? 669 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,000 Maybe it's not every day. Maybe every other day you spend 670 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,720 time and say, Lord, convict me of anything that's corrupting my 671 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:30,960 heart. The third thing is that we 672 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:35,760 renounce that which is demonic and defiling anything that is 673 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,800 not of God, anything that doesn't bring peace, anything 674 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,840 that does not bring joy, the fruit of the spirit is not being 675 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:43,760 birthed out of. It is not from God. 676 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,960 And Josiah was so ruthless about dealing with the things that 677 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,720 have corrupted the land. He didn't he was not trying to 678 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:52,920 entertain it. Or let's make another room and 679 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,400 keep the shrine prostitutes there. 680 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:57,960 No, he said get out. He he got the mediums out. 681 00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,880 The spirit is out. We don't need you guys. 682 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,840 We have to be ruthless about eliminating the things from our 683 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,560 life that defile us. What are the associations in 684 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:13,360 your life that lead you into a lifestyle of habitual sin? 685 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,360 What are those relationships where you know, the minute you 686 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:20,480 connect with that person or persons, you're just going down 687 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,000 a dark path? Maybe the conversations are 688 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,880 terrible. Maybe it's what you indulge in 689 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,400 together. That doesn't make for the godly 690 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,480 life. Jesus called you, called you to, 691 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:35,320 and God is calling us into a place of, you know, not just 692 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:39,120 saying sorry with our lips, but acting on it, actively turning 693 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,360 away from the thing that defiles us, actively saying no to the 694 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:47,000 enemy and saying yes to Jesus. There are many things that 695 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,720 defile us physically, spiritually, mentally, 696 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:56,160 emotionally, materially. It's time to get rid of those. 697 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,720 I want to ask you, what door have you left open in your life 698 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:02,680 for the enemy to come in and play havoc with you? 699 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:09,200 When I say open the doorway to all kinds of sin, imagine this. 700 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,280 There was male shrine prostitution. 701 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,360 There were child sacrifices to demon gods. 702 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:15,760 There was the worship of sun, moon and stars. 703 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:18,480 Fertility gods of Canaan were being worshipped. 704 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:20,680 When God, I said I'll make you fruitful and multiply you. 705 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:24,440 They were bowing before Asherah and Bal who were fertility gods 706 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,400 of Canaan, everything that Moses had warned them about. 707 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,280 I was reading Deuteronomy yesterday just to get a 708 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,640 background, and it's stunning how God gives a prophetic word 709 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:37,000 through Moses saying when you go into the land of Canaan, you 710 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,800 will see all of them worship their gods, but you're not to 711 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,520 get an alliance with them. You're not to give your sons to 712 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,560 them in marriage, not get give your daughters and to them in 713 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:48,560 marriage because when you get married, the association gets 714 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:51,400 tighter, The idolatry enters your bloodlines. 715 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,520 Everything was talked about and yet they went and did it because 716 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,640 the word of God had been stolen from them. 717 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:04,560 I want to ask you, are you willing to be ruthless with sin 718 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:08,200 in your life? Are you willing to renounce the 719 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,880 works of the enemy in your life? It's as simple as praying these 720 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,160 things out. It's as simple as maybe getting 721 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:16,000 rid of certain articles in your home. 722 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:19,760 It's as simple as as shutting the door on enemy in terms of 723 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:22,640 forgiveness, asking for forgiveness, forgiving those of 724 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,520 Sindhu, releasing them into blessing. 725 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:29,920 But it's time that we renounce that which is demonic and 726 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,360 defiling. There is no point in only saying 727 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:36,440 sorry to God, but not actually turning away from the thing that 728 00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:41,200 causes us to sin and finally rejoice in past victories and 729 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:44,960 vindication. When you look at the psalmist, 730 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,320 even if he's in the hardest season of his life, he keeps 731 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,520 saying, I lay on the bed. I thought about times past. 732 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,520 I thought about how the the my my ancestors walked through the 733 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:56,800 Red Sea and then you know you, you killed all king of Bastion. 734 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,040 And I wonder why they've been so historical. 735 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,360 Because here's the thing. When you're being historical in 736 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:05,360 your praise, you are remembering who God was then and who God is 737 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,160 now because the. God of God is very clear. 738 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:08,760 God doesn't change. We change. 739 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:13,400 God doesn't change. And if God did that, then he 740 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,160 will do more. So now, if God was powerful, 741 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,560 then he is still powerful now. He's unique, He's creative. 742 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,280 So he's not going to do the same miracle the same way this time, 743 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:27,880 but he's going to show up. And so when I rejoice, when I 744 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:32,840 celebrate, hope gets restored. Faith is stirred up and I start 745 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:36,040 believing for God to show up again in a fresh way. 746 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:41,160 As I close I want to read what was said about King Josiah. 747 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:45,840 It says in 2 Kings chapter 23 verses 24 to 25 it says this he 748 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,640 did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book 749 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:51,280 that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the 750 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:54,360 Lord. Neither before nor after Josiah 751 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:57,920 was there a king like him who turned to the Lord, as he did 752 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:00,800 with all his heart and with all his soul, and with all his 753 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,600 strength in accordance with all the law of Moses. 754 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,720 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him. 755 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:13,720 Why was he, you know, acclaimed for being different? 756 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,280 He turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and 757 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,600 strength. Now if you remember what Jesus 758 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,880 said in the New Testament, he when someone asked him, Lord, 759 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:24,520 what is the greatest commandment? 760 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:26,520 What did he say? He said. 761 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:30,400 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and 762 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:32,520 strength. That was Matthew chapter 22 763 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:35,320 verse 37. And then Jesus went on to 764 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:39,480 extrapolate that and say, so I'm calling you to first love me 765 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,000 with all your heart. And then of course, he said the 766 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,320 second greatest commandments, love your neighbor as yourself. 767 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:45,800 It was the 10 commandments. I literally wrapped up in these 768 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:49,800 two big commandments, right? But Jesus also said in John 14 769 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,080 verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. 770 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:58,760 So today the onus is on us to come to God to turn to him out 771 00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:02,000 of love. He's not just saying, turn to me 772 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,360 with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 773 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,720 He's saying, love me with all your heart, soul, mind and 774 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:09,920 strength, which means that I come to him and say, Lord, I 775 00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:11,560 will obey you because I love you. 776 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:14,040 I will read your word because I love you. 777 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,880 Like I shared this, I think in in the last, I think it was in 778 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:19,800 November when we're talking about the Bible as the word of 779 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,040 God. The Bible Month. 780 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:25,280 Every time we sit with the Word of God, we're sitting with its 781 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:27,520 author. Can you imagine that? 782 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,800 I don't take that lightly. Every day when I sit with God at 783 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:34,040 my table, I picture Jesus seated opposite me. 784 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:36,800 He's the author of the Word. He's the One. 785 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:38,760 His Spirit is what inspired this. 786 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:45,160 And So what if obedience to His Word becomes just part of my 787 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,560 nature because I love Him so deeply? 788 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:49,480 There's no there's no obligation. 789 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:54,640 There's No Fear because His word says there is No Fear in love, 790 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:59,160 for perfect love casts off fear. So if I realize how loved I am 791 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:03,680 and I want to reciprocate that love, I begin to read His word 792 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:07,280 and I don't leave it abandoned. I begin to act on it. 793 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:11,960 I begin to act on it. I remember that three years back 794 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,320 when God gave me Zechariah chapter 8, I didn't read the 795 00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:16,600 whole passage in depth. I just read 8:00 and 12:00. 796 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:18,120 I got 8 verse 12. I got excited. 797 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:19,440 I was like, oh wow, tandem blessings. 798 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:21,080 God's is going to pour out stuff on us. 799 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,120 Nothing happened because I missed the subtext. 800 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:28,200 The subtext was love, peace, and speak the truth to each other. 801 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,320 There was so much subtext that I missed. 802 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:37,400 And over the last next three years, God has trained us in the 803 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:41,240 art of speaking the truth with peace as the outcome. 804 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:46,440 And only then, only when we live in obedience to His Word because 805 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:50,040 of our relationship with Him growing, has God come through on 806 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,720 the promise. Many times you've probably been 807 00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:54,800 asking God, you gave me this word, but it hasn't happened. 808 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:58,920 I want to ask you, can you retrieve that word, sit with it 809 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:02,560 and see where you need to actually comply with action? 810 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:05,440 You know the word agape in Greek? 811 00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:09,840 The Hebrew equivalent is Ahava, and both of these words mean 812 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,960 it's a love that's not an emotion, but it's actually 813 00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:17,400 action and commitment expressed. Which means if you and I say we 814 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:21,840 love God, it will be evidenced in how we obey His word. 815 00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:26,120 Many times we say how I love God as in how I love people. 816 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,240 I'm loving people in response to my obedience to God's word 817 00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:31,680 because in the Word, in the episodes, it's all about one 818 00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:33,600 another, love one another, forgive one another. 819 00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,240 If I'm able to do that, it means I'm living in obedience to His 820 00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:40,800 Word. And so as I close, I want to ask 821 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:46,080 you, what are those seeds of God's Word that you lost along 822 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:49,360 the way? Maybe it was your impatience. 823 00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:53,840 Maybe it was your stubbornness, your inability to actually 824 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:57,160 accept it and to obey it. Would you be willing to 825 00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:00,920 recognize your flaw in that, Recognize where you messed it 826 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,080 up? Will you be willing to repent in 827 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:05,360 honesty and humility and say, Lord, I'm sorry? 828 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:10,400 Will you be OK to renounce, to turn from that which has been 829 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:14,320 demonic and defiling in your life and say, Jesus, I turn back 830 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:17,240 to you? Will you be ruthless with sin in 831 00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:20,640 your life, ruthless with the things that have come into your 832 00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:23,880 life which have threatened to take you over and say enough is 833 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:26,040 enough? This association ends today. 834 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:29,280 This dependency, this addiction ends today. 835 00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:34,320 Will I be willing to rejoice in past victories? 836 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:36,480 Maybe you're saying in this season I don't have much to 837 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,040 rejoice in. That's OK. 838 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:41,360 Past seasons, remember where God came through. 839 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:44,640 Remember how he healed you. Then remember how he restored 840 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:47,160 you. Then remember how He he worked 841 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,200 to renew your heart and mind. Then he will do it again. 842 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:58,000 God's Word is alive, is active, it endures forever. 843 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:02,120 There is no expiration date. Every word of His nothing 844 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:05,480 returns void. It will accomplish the purposes 845 00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:08,440 for which He sent it out. So as we pray, I want you to 846 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:10,840 believe. And through this week, I want to 847 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:14,400 ask you if you would revisit. Look into old journals, check 848 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:18,120 your old online notebooks. Check what God spoke to you. 849 00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:21,160 Where did you feel like you missed out? 850 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:25,080 Maybe it's time you need to retrieve those lost seeds. 851 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:29,440 Can I pray for you, Father? I pray that you would help us re 852 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:34,360 examine our lives and detect the seeds that we dropped, the seeds 853 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:39,040 that the enemy stole, and we want, O God, to retrieve those 854 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:42,000 so that we live in the victory and the power that you have 855 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,960 marked out for us. I pray that your children will 856 00:46:44,960 --> 00:46:49,280 come in closeness with you, God. I pray they will renounce 857 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:54,680 everything that has defiled them and turn to you for strength, 858 00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:59,040 for healing, for restoration. Father, I pray you are the 859 00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:01,880 revealer of mysteries and the healer of everything that is 860 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:04,280 revealed. So I pray that your people, O 861 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,160 God, will turn to you. I pray that we will continually 862 00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:10,640 rejoice in what that all that you have done and all that you 863 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:13,760 are going to do. We love you, we thank you, we 864 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:17,160 glorify you. In Jesus name we pray Amen. 865 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:19,560 Amen. More than anything, I want to 866 00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:23,120 encourage you that this week you will go after those lost seeds. 867 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:26,480 You will find those pearls and you will retrieve it and you 868 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:29,080 will stand and believe that God is going to come through. 869 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:32,440 God bless you. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 870 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:34,400 finds life. Have a lovely week. 871 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:38,600 We hope you enjoyed today's message and we're blessed. 872 00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:42,400 If you liked what you heard and want to hear more messages from 873 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:45,920 us, you could rate US and subscribe to our podcast channel 874 00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:50,160 for more content from We Are Zion or if you would like to get 875 00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:56,000 in touch with us, you can go to We Are Zion dot In or follow us 876 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:58,800 on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. 877 00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:04,880 Most importantly, remember that whoever finds Jesus finds life.