1 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,760 We welcome you to the VI Zion Sermon Podcast. 2 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,640 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,520 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,680 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,000 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,640 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:37,640 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,160 our promise. We start a new sermon series 9 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:45,600 called Rekindled where we look closer at our own lives and ask 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,720 the Holy Spirit to revive and restore things that have gone 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,920 dormant in the dry seasons of our souls. 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,200 We pray that this series will help you dive deeper into 13 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,920 yourself and see where you need more of God. 14 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,760 We looked over the past couple of weeks on how God wants to 15 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,440 rekindle our faith, right? We looked at how He's calling us 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,760 to have a fiery faith, a fertile faith, and a fragrant faith. 17 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,240 We looked at hope, how we need to be re established in our 18 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,920 hope. We saw how the hope needs to be 19 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:25,560 honest, healed and hearty. And this week we begin on love. 20 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,160 And both of us were laughing to ourselves, Oh my gosh, God is 21 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,320 going to test us in this, right? And when you say God, I want to 22 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:35,880 love more, He brings harder situations for us in which we 23 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,360 have to demonstrate love. But I got the easy part today. 24 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,880 I got limitless love and I was just thinking of, oh gosh, 25 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,720 limitless love. How do I preach on that? 26 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,160 And I just realized how limited love is that I have to offer. 27 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,960 And so I checked myself out of that bracket and found the only 28 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,080 one that we can talk about when it comes to limitless love is 29 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:57,040 our God. Amen. 30 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,200 None of us, the ones who love our spouses the most, love our 31 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:02,600 parents. We have the best parents. 32 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,560 We love them so much. It is limited. 33 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,680 There is a point, you know, parents tell us, tell us when 34 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,800 we're growing up, don't cross the limit with me. 35 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,120 That just demonstrates how limited our love is. 36 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,920 But God thanks be to God for his unlimited love towards us. 37 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,680 And for the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at how 38 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,400 God wants to rekindle this love. Today we're going to be looking 39 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,920 at the love that he has for us. Have you noticed how sometimes 40 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,200 we're trying to love people from a place where we have not fully 41 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,160 actually accepted how much God loves us? 42 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,360 And so today we're going to be looking at what this limitless 43 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,320 love looks like, what it means for each of us. 44 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,440 How do we actually accept this? How does it translate into a 45 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,560 being? And we're going to be looking at 46 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,160 our theme was for the year. The theme was for the year. 47 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,960 If you were not here at the beginning of the year, the theme 48 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,840 was positioned to possess the promise. 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,360 It was based out of Hebrews chapter 6 verses 11:50. 50 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,920 It says God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and 51 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:06,240 the love you have shown him as you have helped His people and 52 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,320 continue to help them. We want each of you to show the 53 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,680 same diligence to the very end so that what you hope for may be 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,560 fully realized. We do not want you to become 55 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,320 lazy, but to imitate those who, through faith and patience, 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,480 inherit what has been promised. This was the baseline for what 57 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,560 we chose as the theme, and we've already looked at faith and 58 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:28,640 hope. Today we're going to look at 59 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,000 love and we're believing. It's not coincidence that Abby 60 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:33,720 would have picked this song. Fresh Wind. 61 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:36,720 We are believing that the next five months we'll all have a 62 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,880 second win for the year. Amen. 63 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,080 How many of you are tired after six months? 64 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:42,840 Well, I got so many things didn't happen. 65 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,760 I thought it would happen the first six months. 66 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,480 It hasn't. It's OK, we have a fresh wind 67 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,080 and this we're going to be calling on God to help us 68 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,920 actually root ourselves today in his love. 69 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,320 If you're trying to root ourselves in man's love, we will 70 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,800 be sorely disappointed. God is calling us to position 71 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,160 ourselves in his love. And so the passage for today is 72 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,360 Ephesians chapter 3, verse 17. I'm reading from the Amplified 73 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,160 Ephesians 317. It says may Christ through your 74 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,720 faith dwell in your hearts. May you be rooted deep in love 75 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:22,040 and found it securely on love. It's so interesting that our 76 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:26,440 Christian war, our lives, our salvation started off in love, 77 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,880 correct? We accepted God's love for us. 78 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,520 We said yes to Jesus, and it will ultimately culminate in 79 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,520 meeting the God of love face to face. 80 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:37,680 Everything in our life is held by this thread of love. 81 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,320 We cannot distance ourself and say, well, I felt God's love 82 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,720 back in 1983 when I was born, but after that, I don't know. 83 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,680 His love is what sustains us. It holds us. 84 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,880 It's so unconditional. He pursued us when we were still 85 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,320 sinners. He didn't need to love us. 86 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,240 We had nothing to offer Him. And yet His love has been, has 87 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,160 been what pulled us to Him and keeps us there. 88 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,520 And when you look at this Ephesians 317, the word for love 89 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,240 is agape. And we all know what agape. 90 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,200 It isn't filio, which is brotherly love. 91 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:10,880 It isn't Eros, which is romantic. 92 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,520 Agape is a heavenly love. But interestingly, the word for 93 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:19,600 agape actually means love feast. In VBS, we do this one day where 94 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,200 everybody brings food. We all sit together and eat. 95 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:23,480 Correct. That's called, we call that a 96 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,680 love feast. What does this love feast look 97 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,680 like, Caleb? If you can, Alan, if you can 98 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:33,200 just put that picture of the feast that I you have it. 99 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,880 Yeah. Look at this, a love feast and 100 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:42,720 what is the implications of this for God and me or God and us? 101 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:50,320 Imagine you, each of you sitting at this table with God and all 102 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:55,160 these delicacies laid out and you decide to just eat 1 grape 103 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:00,120 or you decide just the skin of the chicken like one of my 104 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:01,280 children. They don't like the chicken, 105 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:02,560 they only like the skin of the chicken. 106 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,920 You just opt for that one bit, but he's saying the banquet is 107 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,360 yours. And many times when we come to 108 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,200 God. So the interesting thing about 109 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,200 this imagery is when we come to God, we're so content to just 110 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,200 get that snippet of His love and go back. 111 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,440 I experienced your love, Lord, when you help me pass that exam. 112 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,160 I experienced your love when I didn't get beat up for doing 113 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,480 something stupid. But when you sit at that table 114 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,320 long enough, you just realise the varied expressions of God's 115 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,720 love for us. And it's amazing because as I 116 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,640 was reading this, as I was reading this passage and trying 117 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,520 to understand Agape as a love feast, I realised why we as 118 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,840 humans are so suspicious of love. 119 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,320 So this past week our hospitality team discovered 120 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,240 there was a rat in the church, an unwelcome guest. 121 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,280 And so yesterday, Joyce and Shweta, they got some rat 122 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,680 poison. They made a feast for this rat. 123 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,960 They put peanut butter on the bread and in the middle of it 124 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:10,240 they put the poison right. So during worship is when the 125 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,240 Lord reminded me. He said This is why so many of 126 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:17,320 you are so suspicious of my love because the enemy packages love 127 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:21,560 very differently to us. He says, oh, you know what, I so 128 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,320 love you. You should try this particular 129 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,520 lifestyle habit. It'll keep you hooked. 130 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,800 It'll keep you numb also. And he lures us in with this 131 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:35,840 artificial feast, which is why when we have access to the real 132 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,840 thing, we're like no way. There must be a string attached. 133 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,000 If Jesus says he loves me, there must be hidden, hidden agenda. 134 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,400 Like all these insurance thing says offer document has hidden 135 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:49,800 things. Read the offer document 136 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,120 carefully. So we think God's love comes 137 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,600 with hidden agenda, but the Bible says there is no agenda. 138 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,360 Everything. He's the alpha, the Omega, He's 139 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,440 everything in between, no agendas. 140 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,280 Can you believe it? There is no hidden cake of 141 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,120 poison in the love that God offers you and me. 142 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,960 It's as is. Now, what is the implications of 143 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,240 this? If it is a love feast, it means 144 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,720 some theologians call His love multidimensional. 145 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,400 It means how I experience love and how Geshom experience love. 146 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,520 Completely different. Gary Chapman came up with five 147 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,360 love languages. It is nothing in comparison to 148 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,760 the love languages of our God. You just have multiple children 149 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,559 at home. Those of you who have more than 150 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,000 one, you will know how each child's love language is 151 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,080 different. You cannot communicate to the 152 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,320 next one as you do the first. Imagine God, the millions that 153 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,640 are image bearers. He's communicating his love 154 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,880 differently to us, and we are receiving it differently. 155 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,240 Multidimensional. And so today we're going to be 156 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:01,280 looking at one person in the Bible who God used as a living 157 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,120 parable to describe his love for his people, and that's the 158 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:08,320 prophet Hosea. His job was not easy. 159 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,920 Imagine God calls him and says, go marry a prostitute, marry 160 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,560 someone who's wayward so that I can tell my people just how much 161 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:17,720 I love them because they are wayward like her. 162 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:21,080 And he obeyed. And it's beautiful. 163 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,160 If you read Hozier, we're not going to read all the chapters. 164 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:24,920 I'm just going to pick a few chapters here and there. 165 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:30,400 But one to 14 is this explanation of God's immense 166 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,600 love. Just like Hosea keeps calling 167 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,040 this girl back home. He has a child with her. 168 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:37,720 She goes wayward. He calls her back. 169 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,680 Theologians say her second child may not have even been his, but 170 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:43,880 he still takes her back. They have this child and then a 171 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,920 third child is born. And each child is named to 172 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,640 indicate God's love towards his people, God's desire to be 173 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,400 reconciled. And God was using Hosea as an 174 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,680 example of saying, I am like that. 175 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,160 I will keep saying yes to you even if you say no to me. 176 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:03,760 And so we're going to be looking at Hosier today. 177 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,960 And as we get into the book of Hosier, you will notice 178 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,880 something. Our love is likened to that 179 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,240 woman's love. Let's not get too judgy and say, 180 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,440 oh, well, I'm glad I'm not like Hosier's wife. 181 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,280 We are like Hosier's wife. We're like that, you know, 182 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,240 distracted person who goes, oh, something shiny. 183 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:24,000 God's here. I go for the shiny thing. 184 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:25,640 Oh, something with a lot of money. 185 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:27,640 I go behind that. That's how I am. 186 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,440 And yet God never shifts. He stays, he stays. 187 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,360 Someone said this. God's love is the medium and 188 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,320 measure of a Christian's maturity and what we hope to 189 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,080 achieve over the next 3-4 weeks is this, that as I become more 190 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,680 aware of God's love towards me, the fruit of love which is born 191 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:50,560 in me, others will enjoy. What happens is if I'm not 192 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:56,240 rooted in the love of God, the the love that I'm producing will 193 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,040 be corrupt. The love that I'm producing will 194 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:00,960 be carnal. It will be decaying. 195 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,640 What you experience of me won't be the real thing, but God is 196 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,720 asking me to be rooted in him so that the fruit that I produce, 197 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,560 it's the medium and the measure. No one's going to see where your 198 00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:12,960 roots are. They're only going to taste your 199 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,080 fruit. God knows where the roots are. 200 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,280 And God is calling us to root ourselves deeply in Him. 201 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,960 The problem with the people of Israel at Hozier's time was 202 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,560 their rooting was not in God's love. 203 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,440 Any person came. The Assyrians, the Egyptians, 204 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,320 they ran behind them. They worshipped the sun and moon 205 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,560 gods. They, they whatever tickled 206 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:34,360 their fancy, they went behind it. 207 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,160 And here was a God was waiting saying, I'm here for you. 208 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,360 Will you come back? And so today as we look at 209 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:45,920 Hosea, Hosea Chapter 11 verses one to four, God is describing 210 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,160 to the people his great love for them. 211 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:54,280 OK, when Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I 212 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,720 called my son. But the more they were called, 213 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,840 the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the balls, 214 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,160 and they burnt incense to images. 215 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:08,080 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms. 216 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,960 But they did not realize it was I who healed them. 217 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,400 I LED them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love to 218 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,000 them. I was like 1 who lifts a little 219 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,040 cheek child to the cheek and I bent down to feed them. 220 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:30,040 As we I re read this I want each of you to put yourself in Israel 221 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,680 shoes. How many of you can say that God 222 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,080 called you from darkness to light? 223 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,400 Amen that was an act of love. How many of you can say that He 224 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,680 called you out of an Egypt of your soul into freedom? 225 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,880 Amen. That was an act of love. 226 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,640 It says I taught Ephraim to walk. 227 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:50,840 We didn't know how to do the new life in Christ. 228 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:52,920 Did he teach you to do the new life in Christ? 229 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:57,960 That was an act of love. It says I let them by the arms. 230 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,280 They did not realise it was IO healed them. 231 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:04,080 How many of you experienced emotional healing, physical 232 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:10,160 healing, Yes, spiritual healing. That was God's love towards you. 233 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:13,720 I let them with cords of human kindness. 234 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,440 When you've experienced the smile of a stranger, the act of 235 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,480 goodness in the supermarket from some random person, that was 236 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,800 God's love. And it says over there to them, 237 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,600 I was like one who lives a little child to the cheek and 238 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:32,600 bent down to feed them. Have your needs been met? 239 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:36,200 Amen. Has he fed you with His word? 240 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,040 Has his spirit fallen on you like a drought stricken land on 241 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,400 which rain falls? He has loved you and he 242 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:45,760 continues to love you. This is the evidence of that. 243 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,400 God is telling them you can't see it, but I've been so loving 244 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,080 and I wonder if we need that reminder. 245 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,480 Maybe you're feeling like like Andrea rightly said, so many of 246 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,640 us feeling like God. You've forgotten me God. 247 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:01,920 You're answering others prayers. What about me God? 248 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,920 What about my healing God? When will mine come? 249 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,160 But he's saying, lift your head up, look around you, Amen. 250 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,640 And so today I want us to look when you think of that table, if 251 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,480 we can have that picture of that feast up. 252 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,360 Because for anyone who's not listening too much to me, if you 253 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,000 can just visualise yourself at that table with Jesus, I think 254 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,640 we're good, right? If you can picture you and 255 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,360 Jesus, I don't want you to picture others at the table with 256 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:27,680 you. It's you and him alone. 257 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,000 Because I believe when we sit with a multi dimensional God, we 258 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,640 don't just see God my saviour, we are seeing different aspects 259 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,560 of him at this table. What does that look like? 260 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,720 Hosea? When we look at the book of 261 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,280 Hosea, we cup see a couple of things which feel like 262 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:45,960 contradictions in the physical world. 263 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,720 The first thing is you see God as father and friend. 264 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:57,760 Both father and friend when we were growing up my father was 265 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,120 our father for the better part of our 18 years but he is now a 266 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,680 good friend of us. But growing up I remember my 267 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,920 brother and I would joke around with him but suddenly we'll 268 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,960 cross this line with him and he'll say don't pull me down to 269 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,040 your friends level. He'll say not happen to anyone 270 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,880 else just my dad. OK and my granddad used to 271 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,120 advise him saying ma play meaning son-in-law. 272 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,360 Don't get too close to the kids. They'll cross a line with you 273 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,320 and make you their level. And so multiple times my brother 274 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:29,600 and I have got jacked with my dad. 275 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,840 We'll we'll say something stupid and he'll say, whoa, you crossed 276 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,040 the line, buddy. And the beautiful thing with our 277 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,760 God is he's both father and friend. 278 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,080 Both these roles require our obedience. 279 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,560 Look at this verse from Hosea 110. 280 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,840 He says, Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like 281 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,640 the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. 282 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,520 And in the place where it was said to them, You are not my 283 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,680 people, it shall be said to them, children of the living 284 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,520 God. No longer was he this God 285 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,240 looking down from on high. He was saying, I'm your father, 286 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,560 I'm your friend. And these two are not mutually 287 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,760 exclusive. You don't have to look at Jesus 288 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,840 as your father and forget that he's your friend. 289 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:12,880 He's beckoning you into deeper friendship. 290 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:18,200 And yet he's a father who's so embracing of you, who's so 291 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:23,360 loving, so forgiving. More so than earthly fathers, a 292 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:27,480 father disciplines, he embraces. Many times the earthly fathers 293 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,080 will only discipline and then go to work. 294 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,600 We don't enjoy the embrace, but this God disciplines and 295 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,040 embraces you. A friend confides in you. 296 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,160 He loves you at all times. He's an unconditional friend. 297 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,120 Second thing that we see in the book of Hosea is that he is both 298 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:51,400 punisher and restorer. Couple of months back I preached 299 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,360 about how God never causes harm to us. 300 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,960 He doesn't cause suffering. I've had to eat those words up 301 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,960 because he's sovereign even over destruction. 302 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,720 He is sovereign even over suffering and he says I bring 303 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,359 destruction. I will harm you. 304 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,680 It says in Hosea and that was a shocker for me. 305 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,440 Look at this verse Hosea 2 verse 13. 306 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,040 I will punish her for the feast days of the bars when she burnt 307 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,359 offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and 308 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,720 jewellery and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares 309 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,960 the Lord. He is the punisher, but he's 310 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,160 also the restorer. Look at Hosea, chapter 2, verse 311 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,600 15, just two verses down. He says, And there I will give 312 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:40,040 her her vineyards, and make the valley of Achor a door of hope, 313 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,760 and there she shall answer, as in the days of her youth, as at 314 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,640 the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 315 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,920 His punishment is always for restoration. 316 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,160 He always draws us back even through discipline. 317 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,240 So he's punisher and restorer. The next thing about him. 318 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:04,960 He's both husband and master this for feminists in the room. 319 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,760 You might get so offended when we say master in the context of 320 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,080 a marriage, but this is not what is taught, not even talking in 321 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,880 human terms. Let's look at Hosea chapter 2 322 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,280 verses 16 to 17. It says in that day, declares 323 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,480 the Lord, you will call me my husband and no longer will you 324 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,200 call me my Baal, for I will remove the names of the balls 325 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,320 from her mouth and they shall be remembered by name no more. 326 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,120 And I will betroth you to me forever. 327 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,080 I will betroth you to me in righteousness and injustice and 328 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,440 steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in 329 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,440 faithfulness and you shall know the Lord the truth is this for 330 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,640 Israel, for all of us, the chosen ones. 331 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,840 He is our master. You look at the when Jesus is 332 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,080 talking in the New Testament, he's very clearly saying the 333 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,200 person who's a servant is working there. 334 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:57,800 He doesn't know when the master will return. 335 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,640 Who is he talking about? Us and our returning Jesus. 336 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,920 So there's a clear demarcation. We serve at his pleasure, but 337 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:09,160 he's calling us into this intimate relationship of being a 338 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,680 spouse. I was listening to this podcast 339 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,480 recently where this person was talking about how she lost her 340 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,720 husband just as they had set up a business. 341 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:21,840 They were doing so well. She was bringing up three kids 342 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:23,840 alone. She had told her husband many 343 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,120 times he was sick. So she kept saying, teach me how 344 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:27,960 to run the business. I don't know how to do it after 345 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,040 you're gone. He didn't have time to teach 346 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:31,160 her. He passed away. 347 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,080 After his death, she was left with this business not knowing 348 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,520 what to do. And so the person was 349 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:38,880 interviewing said, what did you do? 350 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,520 She said, I started calling on him as my husband. 351 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:44,000 Jesus, you said, you're my husband, man. 352 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:45,720 Will you help me run this business? 353 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,520 She said the lack that she had had completely got covered up 354 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,680 and God would wake her up with instructions on how to do 355 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,040 things, how to run the business, how to manage home. 356 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:03,120 He is both husband and master. Master servant has a kind of 357 00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:06,840 formality to it. But husband, spouse is such an 358 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,600 intimacy. It's an intimacy by knowledge. 359 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,160 You know the person, you know them inside out. 360 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,240 You know what they love you, what they don't love before you 361 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:16,320 do it. You know this is going to 362 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:21,000 probably displease the person and God is calling us so Master 363 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,280 holds to account. But her husband is intimately 364 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:28,640 close and knowledgeable and God is calling us to experience him 365 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,960 at this feast like this. He's then the judge and 366 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,080 Redeemer. The judges of the world don't 367 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,200 redeem a situation. You go to court, they give you a 368 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,840 verdict and they send you off. You're either in jail or you're 369 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:45,160 out free with, you know, your acquittal or whatever. 370 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,960 But when our God sits at the judges table, he judges us 371 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,960 correctly, righteously, but he redeems us henceforth. 372 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,920 Hosea Chapter 7 verses 12 to 14. It says, as they go, I will 373 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,120 spread over them my net. I will bring them down like 374 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,200 birds of the heavens. I will discipline them according 375 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,120 to the report made to their congregation. 376 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,160 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me, destruction to 377 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,440 them, for they have rebelled against me. 378 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,400 I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. 379 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,160 They do not cry to me from the heart. 380 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,080 They wail upon their beds for grain and wine. 381 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,840 They gash themselves. They rebel against me. 382 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:29,000 As you see the story evolve. Hosea's wife, Goma goes back to 383 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,040 one of her lovers and God says go redeem her back. 384 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,080 Go and redeem her. And that's the picture of what 385 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,480 our God does for us. You may have strayed, you may 386 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,760 have wandered off. He has redeemed you with his 387 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,640 blood. You are bought back at a high 388 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,080 price. He is a judge. 389 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,680 You know, many times we talk about God as this loving father. 390 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,720 We forget to say he's a righteous judge and we can call 391 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:56,480 on him. We can experience him at the 392 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,840 table to be both the judge and the Redeemer. 393 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:05,040 I was reading about the prison fellowships founder Chuck Olson. 394 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:10,080 Chuck Olson was part of the Watergate scandal, right? 395 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,600 With President Nixon. Yeah. 396 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,840 And this man was he was accused of something. 397 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:23,240 He went into jail. And in jail he met Jesus and 398 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,840 eventually he turned it around to actually start the prison 399 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,800 fellowship where he has made encountered Jesus in so many 400 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,560 people's lives. He goes into prisons, prisoners 401 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,080 meet Jesus and they're turned around. 402 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,400 Many of them continue to stay in prison, but their lives are 403 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,160 radically different. And the interesting thing that 404 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,480 he said is my eyes and mind and heart were opened as I began. 405 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,520 This is written by Chuck's closest friend and confidant. 406 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,240 He said he watched Chuck closely, and this is what he 407 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:52,960 said. My eyes and mind and heart were 408 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,560 opened as I began to understand the significance of Chuck's 409 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:01,080 story and message, which was all about God's love embracing a 410 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,320 broken world in the person of Jesus Christ. 411 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,520 This man would go with Chuck into prisons and watch Chuck hug 412 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,440 sweaty inmates. He would watch them speak life 413 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,400 over them. He would watch them pray over 414 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:16,560 them. In the worst, they would have 415 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,600 come into the worst crimes, but Chuck had been there, so he knew 416 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,200 what it was like. Initially this man said it just 417 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:26,240 felt like a lot of humbug. But as I worked with him and he 418 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,400 wrote this after Chuck Colson's time when he died, he wrote 419 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,680 this, he said there was nothing except the evidence of God's 420 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,040 love. So Chuck experienced the 421 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,320 righteousness of God. He was convicted, he was in 422 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,080 jail, but he also experienced redemption. 423 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,480 We will experience the boats. If you're feeling you're under 424 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,280 the hand of God, I want to encourage you. 425 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,600 It is not a dead end. He never leaves us in a pit. 426 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,800 He redeems our story, and finally He is the Lion and the 427 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,960 Lamb. Hosea chapter 5, verses 14 to 428 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:02,600 15. For I will be like a lion to 429 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,800 Ephraim, and like a young lion to the House of Judah. 430 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,840 I even I, will tear and go away. I will carry off, and no one 431 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,880 shall rescue. I will return again to my place 432 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,720 until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in 433 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:18,880 their distress earnestly seek me. 434 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,960 Coming down to Hosea. 6 verses one to three. 435 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,880 Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has told us that He may 436 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,560 heal us. He has struck us down. 437 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,640 He will bind us up after 2 days. He will revive us on the third 438 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,000 day. He will raise us up that we may 439 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,520 live before Him. Let us know, Let us press on to 440 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,840 know the Lord. He's going out to sure as the 441 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:42,880 dawn. He will come to us as the 442 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,560 showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. 443 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:52,120 God is the lion and the Lamb. I don't know if you've ever read 444 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:54,960 the books by CS Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, but 445 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,240 there's this one line that always impacts me. 446 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,640 It's about the Beaver talking about Aslan, the Lion. 447 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,320 Aslan is Jesus, and he says Aslan is not safe, but he's 448 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:10,000 good. The lion is ferocious. 449 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,280 The Lion of Judah. He rolls over those who are 450 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,400 trapped in the clutches of the enemy. 451 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,120 He will rescue everyone of us who are caught in the mouths of 452 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,480 the enemy and bring us back. But when he brings us back like 453 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,280 a lamb, he tends to our wounds. Isn't that amazing? 454 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,600 The Lion and the Lamb, He's both. 455 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:31,920 Now, why am I saying this to you? 456 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,680 Why did I tell you? He's father and friend. 457 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,120 Master Husband, because when I sit at this table of the feast, 458 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:43,520 not this fake feast, but the real feast, the agape feast that 459 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,720 He has laid out before me, I am experiencing all these elements 460 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:51,080 of who Goddess. I cannot be content with just 461 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:55,080 one element of Jesus. I want him to be my Master. 462 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,640 I want him to be my husband. I want him to be my friend. 463 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,720 I want him to be my Redeemer. I want him to be my judge. 464 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,720 I want Him to judge things that need judging. 465 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,440 I need all of this. And so I want to go back to the 466 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,480 first verse that we looked at, Ephesians chapter 3, verses 17 467 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,360 to 19. I want you to highlight it if 468 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,920 possible in your Bible. So we keep going back to it over 469 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,160 the next month. Ephesians 317 to 19. 470 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:26,160 I'm reading it from NIV now. It said so that Christ may dwell 471 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,440 in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted 472 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,240 and established in love may have power together with all the 473 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:40,800 Lord's people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is 474 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,720 the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses 475 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,400 knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the 476 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,840 fullness of God. I want to just go back to that 477 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:53,800 quickly. Three things that I want to 478 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,400 leave with you before you go. OK, you've sat at this feast. 479 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,640 But the problem is many times we aren't rooted in the right 480 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,680 things. I was just I, I do quick 481 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,840 evaluations of my life every month or so. 482 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,360 So I just kind of see where I'm at. 483 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,680 And I was just looking at 7 years of a church plant. 484 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,360 And I can honestly say sometimes my roots have gone into the 485 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,760 wrong things. The root of bitterness sometimes 486 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,920 creeps up. The root of exhaustion sometimes 487 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:24,920 creeps up. You're not rooted in love. 488 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,640 And I speak this for my my own life. 489 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,680 I had to re evaluate and I know my routing and establishing has 490 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,360 not been many times in God's love and so the first thing I 491 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:38,920 want you to do is keep a constant check on your routing. 492 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,800 Where are you rooted? What is the evidence of bad 493 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,760 routing? You're spouting poison. 494 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,680 You know the fruit you're bearing is not good. 495 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,280 The state of a root is seen in the fruit. 496 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,400 If the fruit is not good, you need to recheck where you're 497 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,120 rooted. It's very interesting when our 498 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,240 roots are not in his love, our identity gets shaky. 499 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,120 Because when I'm not rooted in how loved I am, I'm thinking how 500 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:09,360 hated I am, how God, you've probably forgotten about me. 501 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:10,920 You know, you don't even Remember Me. 502 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,440 I go down this road, my identity gets hit, my purpose gets hit, 503 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,720 my pursuits change. Everything stems out of where my 504 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:22,320 roots are. So while your, your seeds of 505 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,600 faith are in this fertile soil. If the roots are not love, 506 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:29,960 there's a problem. So keep constantly checking 507 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,800 where your roots are. Sometimes you know, another sign 508 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,840 of for me when I know my roots are off is when I'm trying to 509 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,800 earn God's favour or if I go to open heavens, God will check box 510 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,200 me. God has given me this enormous 511 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,520 grace of saying, I know how exhausted you are. 512 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,520 In fact, this Friday I had that moment. 513 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,560 I had this moment of God. If I just go, I've done what I 514 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,120 need to do, but the body was not willing at all, and I had to 515 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,000 give myself the grace of God. Even here, the Spirit of God can 516 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,800 meet me on this bed. And that night, Geshan came back 517 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,640 from prayer. He prayed over me as I slept. 518 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,000 And I just want to encourage you, if you're trying to earn 519 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,360 his favorite means, the roots are in the wrong place. 520 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,440 You are already loved. You are already cherished. 521 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:19,480 You were bought at a high price. You're redeemed. 522 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,440 Rest in that love. The second thing that you need 523 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,520 to do is keep a constant check of what you're grasping onto. 524 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,200 Go back to that verse. It says, I pray that you will be 525 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,240 rooted and established in love, that you may have power together 526 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,120 with all the Lord's whole people to grasp how wide and long and 527 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:42,400 high and deep. Many times my hands are busy 528 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,360 grasping other things that I am not, allowing the Holy Spirit's 529 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,360 power to help me grasp just how loved I am. 530 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,720 How many of you agree with that? If I'm grasping onto things, how 531 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,720 will I be able to grasp onto the love that God gives me and shows 532 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,600 me even in the absence of those things? 533 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,840 If I'm grasping onto relationships so tightly, how 534 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,440 will I grasp onto that one relationship that changes 535 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,160 everything? So it's so important that I come 536 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,080 to this place of checking. What am I grasping onto? 537 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:19,760 What am I holding onto so tightly when I look at the 538 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,720 multidimensional love of God, that feast that he has for me? 539 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,920 Am I grasping onto these elements of who God is or am I 540 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,760 grasping onto the things that I can physically see and touch? 541 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,440 This past week, one of our friends they're going through a 542 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,520 season of ill health and she was one of my friend was just 543 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:43,680 sharing with me how God met them at this hospital and see she 544 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:45,880 didn't know I was going through a bit of my own ill health. 545 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,640 She didn't know I was a bit discouraged myself, but she was 546 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,920 just sharing with me how they've gone to this Hindu hospital and 547 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:58,600 two nurses pray over her prophecy over her speak life 548 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:04,600 into her loudly Hindu hospital. These two women boldly declaring 549 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,240 of faith over her. All the things that they see God 550 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,000 is going to do into her life and you won't believe. 551 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,840 For me, what it was doing, it was stirring up faith in me, 552 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,760 saying see how I love my people, that I would meet them in this 553 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:19,760 place where they don't expect to meet me. 554 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:22,800 And I'm encouraging them from the mouths of people that I'm 555 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:26,120 blessing around the city. He has people around the world 556 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,560 for us just to bless us. But will you be that kind of 557 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,520 person to someone else? It is important what we grasp. 558 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,640 Had I missed that moment when that friend shared that with me, 559 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,760 I would have lost the ability to understand the depths of God's 560 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,560 love for His people. When she was sharing it with me, 561 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,240 I had goosebumps everywhere because she told me. 562 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,320 They did this for about 2025. They made one of the ward people 563 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,000 stand outside and keep God. They were going to pray over 564 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,840 her. Let no one come in. 565 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,880 This is our God. He's so mindful of you. 566 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,240 He will locate you in the midst of billion and tell you I love 567 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:06,640 you. I'm watching out for you. 568 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,560 You are not forgotten. That is our God. 569 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:16,120 Will you grasp the depths of His love, the depths there? 570 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:18,680 There's no measurement to how much He loves us. 571 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,520 Finally, will you keep a constant check at which feast 572 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:27,000 you are sitting at? Many of you are sitting at this 573 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:33,280 fast food with a bit of poison added when He has a feast 574 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,840 waiting for you. He's saying if you would just 575 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:37,920 throw this in the dustbin where it belongs. 576 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,520 And if you come to me and sit at this feast, you will experience 577 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,200 the magnificence of my presence and what I have to offer you. 578 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,920 But you need to keep checking whose feast you are at. 579 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,440 Pastor Louis Giglio talks about have you got the enemy at your 580 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,080 table? Many times when I'm sitting and 581 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:02,920 wallowing in self pity and and constant feelings of just oh I'm 582 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,960 not enough, I can't do this. The one at your table is not 583 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,080 God. You're hosting someone else. 584 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,120 And so many times thank God for marriage. 585 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,160 When one of us is in the doldrums, the other one 586 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,240 immediately identifies and say, hey, we are so blessed. 587 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,040 We were not where we were back then. 588 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,000 Let's remember that. Pick each other up. 589 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,120 You're not married. Have friends that hold you to 590 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,120 account. Don't be friends with the other 591 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:28,840 ones who pull you in the pit and cry with you. 592 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,800 You need the friends who will say I'm here, I'm waiting to 593 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,000 pull you out. God's got this. 594 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,640 Check which table you are at. Check if you're at the love 595 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,520 feast or at the poison table. Check yourself out at the wrong 596 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:46,040 table. So even as we close, even as we 597 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,920 close, if I could just ask us all to close our eyes. 598 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,480 If you don't know Jesus, I first want to offer this to those of 599 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,600 you who have not said yes to Jesus. 600 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:02,040 God is love, simple. There's nothing to complicate 601 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:03,880 it. He is love. 602 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,720 He loves you deeply, unconditionally. 603 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,600 He does not bother about what your past looks like. 604 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:16,080 He beckons to you and says I know it all and yet I want you. 605 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,360 And if you are saying, I have not said yet yes to Jesus, He's 606 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,360 the God of others in my life, but not of me. 607 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,520 I just want you to slip up your hands. 608 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,159 Everyone close your eyes. I just want to know who you are 609 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:31,440 so I can pray for you. If you can say I want Jesus, 610 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:38,199 even if you're one who wants to recommit to him and say, God, I 611 00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:42,560 turned my back on you, I'm coming back home, Amen. 612 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,040 I just want to say this prayer. I want you to softly say it. 613 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:53,000 It's between you and Jesus. Dear Jesus, thank you for loving 614 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,360 me. Thank you for accepting me as I 615 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:01,160 am. I accept that you are Lord and 616 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:04,480 Saviour. Forgive me for every sin. 617 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:10,960 Wash me clean. Thank you Lord, that I am now a 618 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,720 son or daughter of the Most High God. 619 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,160 I pledge to live my life to please you. 620 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:22,160 God, I'm yours. Can we just give a clap offering 621 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:23,680 for the people who put their hands up? 622 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,560 You are part of the family of God. 623 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:31,840 You are so loved. It says the heavens rejoice when 624 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,680 one person says yes. If you're someone who wants to 625 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:39,360 rededicate your life. He said, I've I've turned my 626 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,840 back on Jesus. I want to come back home to him. 627 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,520 He's waiting. You know what to do already. 628 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:53,640 He's waiting. If we can all just stand, I want 629 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:55,280 to just pronounce this blessing on you. 630 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:00,960 From Hosea 14 verses 4 to 8. He closes this book on this high 631 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:06,640 note where he says, I love you so much and I want to bless you 632 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:10,240 with something lasting. And I believe God wants to do 633 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:13,560 that for us. God wants to do that for us. 634 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:17,920 Hosea chapter 14, verses 4 to 8. It says, The Lord says, Then I 635 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:20,000 will heal you of your faithlessness. 636 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,800 My love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. 637 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:28,760 I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. 638 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,640 Israel will blossom like the Lily. 639 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:37,000 It will send roots deep into the soil like the Cedars in Lebanon. 640 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:42,160 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as 641 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,600 fragrant as the Cedars of Lebanon. 642 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,440 My people will again live under my shade. 643 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:52,440 They will flourish like green and blossom like grapevines. 644 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,920 They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. 645 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:01,360 O Israel, stay away from idols. I am the one who answers your 646 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,440 prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always 647 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,040 green. All your fruit comes from me. 648 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,760 I want you to replace the word Israel with your name when you 649 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,080 go home today, highlighted Hosea 14, four to 8. 650 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:20,520 And I want you to believe it. He is a dew to your dryness 651 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,080 today. Feeling spiritually dry, feeling 652 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,080 financially dry, relationally dry. 653 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,160 He is the dew. You and your children are going 654 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,480 to be established in the land and under your shade. 655 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:37,160 Many will come and be refreshed. And God, we're believing this 656 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,080 for our church, that you will make us flourish like grain, You 657 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,320 will make us blossom like grapevines, and that what is 658 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,400 brought out of us through the crushing will bless many. 659 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,920 And God, we're believing that each of us here will start to 660 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:57,320 bear so much fruit, so much fruit that many will taste it 661 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,240 and many will know that we are yours. 662 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:04,560 By your fruit you will be known, Jesus said. 663 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:09,080 And if that is your desire, can you just say, Lord Jesus, I want 664 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:11,080 that. I want that. 665 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:16,200 Even as we close, we're just going to ask God to root us back 666 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,040 in love. God, we just pray that every 667 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:19,800 bitter root be removed from our lives. 668 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:25,680 Uproot everything that is not of you so that our roots are pure. 669 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:32,080 Roots are in love. God, I pray for anyone who has 670 00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:35,440 been at the wrong feast table. The enemy has tricked them into 671 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:40,720 things, Forgive them. I pray that you would restore 672 00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:42,600 them to you. Bring them back to your table. 673 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,160 Bring them back. Father, I pray for those of us 674 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,040 who have been grasping the wrong things that will relinquish that 675 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:54,720 hold and hold on to you. Jesus, we pray all of this in 676 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:57,880 your mighty name, Amen. Amen. 677 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:02,640 Thanks for listening to this message. 678 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:06,480 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 679 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:10,840 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 680 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:13,160 episodes. If you like what you are 681 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:17,720 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 682 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:20,280 with friends. That would really help us. 683 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,600 For more content from Via Zayan and to connect with us, go to 684 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,760 Via Zayan dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 685 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:31,800 finds life.