1 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,960 Hello, a big welcome to the We Are Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:13,960 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,360 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,480 be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:24,160 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,840 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,720 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,440 our promise. As you listen in to today's 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,760 sermon, a surgery and a christening, you will be drawn 10 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,240 deeper into Abraham's life and the big destiny that God 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,600 unveiled to him. We pray that you would be moved 12 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,960 to give God greater access to your heart and that you will 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,360 allow Him to breathe afresh over every area of your life. 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,520 Hi Church, What a joy it is to bring God's word to you. 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,720 We continue to look at the life of Abraham. 16 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,800 As you know, the theme for the year is positioned to possess 17 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,560 the promise. And we've been looking at 18 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,960 Abraham, the original promise receiver from God, someone who 19 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,160 got such a big promise, and yet the unfolding and the unveiling 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,400 of that took years. And God was with him every step 21 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:17,760 of the way, just like he promised. 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,760 And today we're going to be looking at Genesis chapter 17. 23 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,240 It's a very pivoted passage because it's literally the cusp 24 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,280 of Abraham and Sarah receiving their promise child. 25 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,200 They were just on the horizon, though they didn't know it yet. 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,720 Isaac was just around the corner. 27 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,360 And it must have felt felt interminable, the wait, you 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,440 know, because they've had like 24 years of following God out of 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,680 their comforts, his, you know, zone. 30 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,080 And it says that now Abraham is 99 years old when he left, or he 31 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,800 was 75 and here he is at 99. And and what has happened in the 32 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,880 intervening time is that Sarah got, I'm guessing, tired of 33 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,440 waiting. And so 13 years before this 34 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,680 moment, Ishmael was conceived in, Ishmael was born. 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,040 And how was Ishmael born? He was born to Isaac through 36 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:11,440 Sarah's handmaid, who was Hagar. And so was this God's plan for 37 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:11,880 them? No. 38 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,040 Was it His will? No. 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,880 But they chose to do this because I'm guessing like any 40 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,480 human, the way it got too long and Ishmael happened. 41 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,000 And so Ishmael is 13 years old, Isaac is 99. 42 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,680 And that's when God brings this fresh promise to him. 43 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,320 Now, is it fresh? Yes, it is because there's more 44 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,360 direction and clarity that God is giving to the original 45 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,040 promise. If you notice in the beginning, 46 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,040 he just gives him a sevenfold blessing and says this is what 47 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:37,240 I'm going to give you, follow me. 48 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,800 And it says Abraham followed. And then we saw how God promises 49 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:46,280 him land, the land of Canaan, and he confirms it to Abraham 50 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,520 because Abraham is unsure how will I actually take up this 51 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,480 territory? And then God gives, you know, 52 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,000 makes this covenant with him where he himself sends this 53 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,160 torch. And you know, through the 54 00:02:55,160 --> 00:03:00,040 sacrifice, God moves it to show that he is marking his standing 55 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,160 as as a guarantee for this entire covenant. 56 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,440 And now we come to Genesis 17 where Abraham doesn't know it 57 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,840 yet, but but his promise is just about to come through the 58 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,800 promise of this child. And yet I'm guessing Abraham had 59 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,200 come to this place of just saying, maybe this is my life. 60 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,480 Maybe you know, Ishmael is the one who will carry the promise 61 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,880 forward. Maybe this wealth that I have, 62 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,040 this is what I have and this is where God is taking me. 63 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:25,320 Maybe that's what he had come to. 64 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,600 And so God comes with this fresh word of promise. 65 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,920 And that's where we're going to take up our reading from Genesis 66 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,520 chapter 17, verse one onwards. When Abraham was 99 years old, 67 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,920 the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty, walk 68 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,840 before me faithfully and be blameless. 69 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,440 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will 70 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,200 greatly increase your numbers. Now if you look at this, there's 71 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,440 so much more specificity. Specificity. 72 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:58,640 God is telling him if you would do two things, then I will make 73 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,960 my covenant and then I will greatly increase your numbers. 74 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,040 It didn't feel so conditional up until now, but you have to 75 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,680 understand a detour had been made. 76 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,200 Ishmael had come into the picture and so there was a 77 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,080 position that he needed to take and the position was a 2 fold 78 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,800 thing. 1 He had to be faithful to God and he had to be 79 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,920 blameless. And God does it so beautifully 80 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,600 when he's not pinpointing his sins or his faults, but he's, 81 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,800 he's giving him his overarching guardrails and he's saying, Hey, 82 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,080 I, I will keep my word, but you need to be faithful and 83 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,320 blameless. And when we look at through this 84 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,800 year, when we look at position to possess the promise, we need 85 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,440 to remember that the promise that God has given you and me is 86 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,600 real. The promises he makes, the 87 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,080 promises and his word that we stand on and we claim for 88 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,760 ourselves are real. But there is a position we need 89 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,520 to take up spiritually, physically, emotionally. 90 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:52,120 And that in this case was one of faithfulness and blamelessness. 91 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,440 God calls us in his place of being positioned so that we can 92 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,080 actually receive what he has promised. 93 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,480 Many times we become unfaithful. We say, you know what God, maybe 94 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,000 this is not it. We turn our backs on Jesus. 95 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,520 We we go the other way. We choose what is comfortable. 96 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:10,440 We choose the old roots. We choose to live a life that is 97 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,920 less than blameless. We we we indulge in things we 98 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,240 absolutely shouldn't. We live a lifestyle that is 99 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,600 detrimental to ourselves and to generations to come. 100 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,360 We spoil our legacy intentionally thinking, well, 101 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,480 nothing's anyway happening. But I want to encourage you that 102 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:26,760 these conditions are actually guard rails. 103 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:28,960 They they help us know the heart of God. 104 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,080 They help us know the character of God and they help us to live 105 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,200 in a way that aligns ourselves with him. 106 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,360 And so if you have to understand that this season for Abraham was 107 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,480 one where Ishmael had happened, 13 years of enjoying this little 108 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:43,880 son, he's now freshly a teenager. 109 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,480 And as I have a teenager, I know just how pivotal that season is 110 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,160 when a little boy becomes a teenager, It's like, you know, 111 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,560 becoming a man. And I'm sure Abraham was 112 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,520 rebelling and enjoying that. And that's when God meets him. 113 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,800 And it continues in verse 3, Abraham fell face down, and God 114 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,320 said to him, As for me, this is my covenant with you. 115 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,600 You will be the father of many nations. 116 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,360 No longer will you be called Abraham. 117 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,680 Your name will be Abraham. For I have made you a father of 118 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,320 many nations. I will make you very fruitful. 119 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,440 I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 120 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,520 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between 121 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,680 me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to 122 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,120 come to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 123 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,520 The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner, I 124 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,360 will give as an everlasting position to you and your 125 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,080 descendants after you, and I will be their God. 126 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,960 So now he's actually confirming what Abraham is going to become. 127 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,640 Abraham on his own, his name meant exalted father, and he had 128 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:48,840 this. He was a Chieftain. 129 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,760 He was in later chapters, we'll see. 130 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,680 He's called a prophet by God. So he basically had this 131 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,800 influence right in his home, in his household. 132 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,320 He was the lead leader of his pack, so to say. 133 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,120 But here God was giving him a new name and saying you're going 134 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,560 to be Abraham, father of many nations. 135 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,560 And it's interesting because the when you look at this passage, 136 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,760 you realize that God is giving Abraham. 137 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,680 He's moving him from a local destiny to a international 138 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,760 global destiny. He's moving him from small town 139 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:24,120 impact to large scale impact, all in the change of a name. 140 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:25,840 You may think, You may think, what are you saying? 141 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,320 Is this Abraham to Abraham? No, the addition of this one 142 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,000 letter of the Hebrew alphabet changes his complete destiny. 143 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,160 And the letter that is being added in is the 5th letter, 144 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,600 which is he. HEI, it's just said like a 145 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,040 breath. If you can just pronounce it 146 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,840 with me. Hey, it is the most effortless 147 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,280 gentle letter because you literally don't have to move 148 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,080 your lips to say it, but this letter adds this precious 149 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,800 syllable into the word from Abraham to Abraham and it 150 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,560 changes his destiny because now this letter has just so many 151 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,800 intonations and, and meanings to it. 152 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,360 OK, now you have to understand that the Hebrew lettering, 153 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,240 apparently each letter doesn't is just not a letter, but it has 154 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,680 so many deeper meanings, so many spiritual meanings. 155 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,440 And basically this letter in the Hebrew alphabet represents 156 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:20,960 gentility and spirituality, OK? And it's it's meaning is to look 157 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:22,920 or to behold. So basically it indicates 158 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,280 spiritual revelation. And basically what God was 159 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,760 saying was I'm breathing into you Abraham. 160 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,120 Abraham, I'm now giving you, making you Abraham. 161 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,679 And it was for it was such an important thing that this letter 162 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,799 was being added in because it was literally God breathing 163 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:47,240 newness into Abraham and Sarah. They were Abraham and Sarai. 164 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,840 They were being changed to Abraham and Sarah. 165 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,440 What did this actually mean? So when you say the word, when 166 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,360 you say the letter, hey, you're actually breathing out. 167 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:03,400 And interestingly, this letter actually denotes spiritual life. 168 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,120 It denotes the breath of God. It is the essence of all 169 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,360 creation. Can you believe it when we read 170 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,960 Psalm 33 verse 6, this word feed this letter features there. 171 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,560 It says by the word the Lord the heavens were made their starry 172 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,800 hosed by the breath of his mouth. 173 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:21,720 The power of God is in his mouth. 174 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,920 He spoke the words into existence. 175 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,680 When you see in in Genesis chapter 1, he spoke and said let 176 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,120 there be light and there was light. 177 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,240 He spoke and said let that, you know, let the earth team with 178 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,520 livestock and it happened. The breath of God is so powerful 179 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:43,160 and God was literally breathing upon Abraham and saying now is 180 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,200 when I'm going to give you your larger destiny. 181 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:50,080 It came after 24 years of following God faithfully. 182 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:51,520 Did he make mistakes? Yes. 183 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,800 Did he take his own vetoes? Yes. 184 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,040 Did he, did he fall off the wagon of faith now and then? 185 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,640 Maybe we don't know, but this is what God did. 186 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,720 God was breathing afresh into him and I want to just go down 187 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,920 to where he actually talks to Sarah, especially Genesis 188 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,760 chapter 17 verses 15 to 17 says God also said to Abraham. 189 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,080 Abraham, As for Sarai, your wife, you are no longer to call 190 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,560 her Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. 191 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,920 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. 192 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,600 I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations, 193 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,600 kings of people will come from her. 194 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,240 Think about Sarah's plight the last 24 years. 195 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:31,840 Her husband gets a promise that he's going to have a child. 196 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:32,960 He's going to have more children. 197 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,440 And I think at this point Sarah thought maybe I'm not the root 198 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,280 for those children because there was no mention explicitly that 199 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,840 it would come from Sarah. And here is this beautiful 200 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,040 confirmation of God saying it's coming from Sarah. 201 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,560 She's the one who's going to bring the promised child forth. 202 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,000 And I want to just encourage us that those of us who are feeling 203 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,360 forgotten by God, God, you're answering everyone else's 204 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,600 prayers. They are having the healing they 205 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,320 want. They're having the family that 206 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,560 that I wanted. I want to encourage you today 207 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:06,600 that God doesn't forget you. Sarah may have felt forgotten. 208 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,240 I'm sure when she watched Ishmael run and play in the in 209 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,760 the camp, her heart must have ached because heart of hearts, 210 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,360 Hagar was his mother. And I want to just remind you 211 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,000 that none of us are forgotten. Every promise he has spoken over 212 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,440 you, he remembers. He remembers. 213 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,200 And it is at that moment, at that time that He comes through 214 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,360 so beautifully, so powerfully coming back up. 215 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,680 If you notice, both of them have this syllable, hey, this letter 216 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:36,360 being added. It was like God was breathing 217 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,800 upon Abraham and Sarah and saying, now is the time when I 218 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,000 am giving you your destiny. And when God breathes upon 219 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,440 things, something changes. Imagine if He created the words 220 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,200 by just a breath of his mouth. How much He can do with our 221 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:50,920 lives if we just would allow Him to breathe afresh upon us. 222 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,480 I remember that a beautiful hymn that we have sung in our old 223 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,280 Methodist Church, Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life 224 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,440 anew. And that is what God's the 225 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,760 breath of God does. God was literally breathing into 226 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,720 them and saying now you're going to live out this bigger destiny. 227 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,280 You know, so many of us are living these very small minded 228 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:14,720 lives. It's all about us. 229 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,920 It's about our job, it's about maybe our family, and it's about 230 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,800 establishing ourselves. But God wants us to move from 231 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,640 the selfie culture where it's just about me to this panoramic 232 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,800 view. I was just this week out of town 233 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,600 and I was in the airport of this state and there was this 234 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,960 beautiful frontage. And so I thought, well, you know 235 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:35,640 what, I'm alone. I should take a picture and send 236 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,120 it to the kids and my husband. So I stood in front of the 237 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:39,520 frontage. I took a selfie and it looked 238 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,160 terrible. I first of all, looked terribly 239 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,080 tired, but then also I didn't do justice to the view. 240 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,600 So what I did was I got out of the picture and I took a regular 241 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,440 snap, you know, in a, you know, wider frame. 242 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,200 And it looked so beautiful. And that's when I realized so 243 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:54,640 many times our lives are like that. 244 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,280 We, we want to be the center of our own lives. 245 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,760 We make ourselves the center, my plans, my dreams, my ambitions, 246 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:05,200 my purposes. But then I forget, forget that 247 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:06,800 I'm actually part of a larger plan. 248 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,560 God has a huge destiny. I play a role in it. 249 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,440 And sometimes we need to get out of that picture, take a step 250 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,320 back and ask Him to show us the bigger picture. 251 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,760 And that is what happens when God breathes upon us, when God 252 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,120 breathes upon our lives. One breath, one syllable 253 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,200 representing a spiritual life, a new spiritual life, the essence 254 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,200 of God Himself changed their destinies forever. 255 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:32,760 No longer was she called Princess. 256 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,040 She was now a mother of nations. God was speaking into their 257 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:41,600 destinies. We continue with verse 9 in 258 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,280 Genesis chapter 17 and we see what God is now asking of 259 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,760 Abraham. Now up until now, God stood as 260 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:49,440 the guarantee. God met him. 261 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,360 Abraham sacrificed those creatures, but God sent the 262 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,360 torch and He sealed the covenant. 263 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,800 Now God is going to ask something of Abraham, Genesis 264 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:02,080 chapter 17 verses 9 to 14, after changing his name, this is what 265 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,040 happens. Then God said to Abraham, As for 266 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,520 you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after 267 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,000 you, for the generations to come. 268 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,360 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you. 269 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,760 The covenant you are to keep. Every male among you shall be 270 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,360 circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision 271 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,560 and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you for 272 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,600 the generations to come. Every male among you who is 8 273 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:28,360 days old must be circumcised, including those born in your 274 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,920 household are bought with money from a foreigner. 275 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,720 Those who are not your offspring, whether born in your 276 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:35,240 household, are bought with your money. 277 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,960 They must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to 278 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,840 be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who has 279 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,160 not been circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his 280 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,360 people. He has broken my covenant. 281 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,360 What is the deal with circumcision? 282 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,640 But I didn't, I had to read up so much to understand this more 283 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,760 from a ritualistic standpoint, from a, you know, a Mesopotamian 284 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,400 culture. What was what was the need for 285 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:04,560 this? Now, whatever the need may have 286 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:10,560 been, God was doing something wherein he was actually making 287 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,160 this covenant and God had already stood guaranteed. 288 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:18,080 Now he was asking Abraham to step forward and do his side, 289 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:19,960 you know, fulfill his side of the bargain. 290 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,760 And the way he did it was that there are these two parties. 291 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,480 God is on one side, Abraham's on the other. 292 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,120 Abraham now had to literally put skin in the game. 293 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,760 Forgive the terrible pun, but that's what it was. 294 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:34,840 Many times we talk a great game, but we don't actually put our 295 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:36,880 money where our mouth is. I see. 296 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,480 I love you, Lord, but would I give up certain things to serve 297 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,120 Him better? Would I give up certain ways of 298 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:45,320 thinking? Would I give up certain 299 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,160 lifestyle choices in order to love him more, to demonstrate my 300 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,760 love for him? God is calling us into a place 301 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:53,680 where it has to cost us something. 302 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,520 The circumcision would cost Abraham and the men of his 303 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,160 household something. There was going to be bloodshed. 304 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:00,520 There was going to be pain, there was going to be 305 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:01,760 discomfort. There was going to be a season 306 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,600 of healing and just resting and God was calling him into it. 307 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,280 Verses 15 to 17 talks about God said to Abraham. 308 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,000 Like I just read it's about Sarah's, Sarah's name changing 309 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,240 to Sarah. But then it's an interesting 310 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,440 response that Abraham has for this. 311 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,040 He says Abraham fell face down. The guy who fell face down 312 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,040 before God in worship right at the beginning of this 313 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,160 conversation now fell face down. He laughed and said to himself, 314 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,800 will a son be born to a man 100 years old? 315 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,200 Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90? 316 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,160 So before we go any further, I want to highlight one of the 317 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,240 most common struggles we all have in our journeys, in our 318 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:50,680 walk with God, is doubt. We doubt and our unbelieving of 319 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,480 what God has spoken to us. For 24 years, God has been 320 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,000 telling him, I'm going to make you a great nation. 321 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:57,320 I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. 322 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:58,600 You're going to inherit the earth. 323 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,600 Your your children are going to be as countless as the sand on 324 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,840 the seashore. And yet when he says, no, 325 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,400 Sarah's going to have a child, he laughs. 326 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:12,119 Will a son be born to a man who's 100 years old? 327 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:14,960 He's discounted himself. He's discounted the wife. 328 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,880 Even though God is clearly talking now. 329 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,760 No more in riddles. God is talking directly to him. 330 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,000 And sometimes, you know, the wait gets so long. 331 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,119 The wait for that spouse, the wait for that child, the wait 332 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,000 for that increase, the wait for that restoration, the wait for 333 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,520 that recompense, the wait for, for, for healing physically wait 334 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,080 for that mental healing. And we come to this breaking 335 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,520 point where we start to laugh ourselves out of the promise. 336 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,280 We start to make jokes and, and make light of what God has 337 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:48,240 seriously promised to us. I want to ask you, have you been 338 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,960 doing that with because your weight has seemed so long? 339 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,040 I want to encourage you to hold on. 340 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,280 I want to encourage you not to make light of what God told you 341 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,640 in all seriousness, Maybe you've come to this place or just being 342 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:01,840 so cynical. Like, you know what? 343 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:03,800 Yeah, God says these things, but he doesn't come through. 344 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:07,960 Coming to verse 18, this is what it says. 345 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,560 And Abraham said to God, if only Ishmael might live under your 346 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:15,840 blessing, then God said yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a 347 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:17,560 son, and you will call him Isaac. 348 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,640 I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting 349 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:22,760 covenant for his descendants after him. 350 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:24,840 And As for Ishmael, I've heard you. 351 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,680 I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful. 352 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,480 I will greatly increase his numbers. 353 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,200 He will be the father of 12 rulers, and I will make him into 354 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,680 a great nation. But my covenant I will establish 355 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,880 with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year. 356 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,160 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from 357 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,240 him. It's incredible this whole 358 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,440 conversation, because Abraham is on. 359 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,920 He's a friend of God and I think after 13 years of having this 360 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,000 little boy Ishmael in in his camp, Abraham's so content with 361 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:00,760 that. He's like, if if the promise has 362 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:02,400 to come through through this boy, I'm good. 363 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,600 And so the second struggle we all have, one is doubt. 364 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,680 One is unbelief. But the next thing is sometimes 365 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,080 we just settle for the formula and the plan we have. 366 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,320 Well, this is going well. The status quo is nice. 367 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,800 I don't want to rock the boat. Let's just go with this. 368 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,560 Sometimes we have this, you know, well made plan for our 369 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:22,240 for, you know, our future, for our carrier, for our family, for 370 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,480 the generation to come. And we try to squeeze God into 371 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:26,920 our plan. We're like God, this is going 372 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:28,760 well. So you come alongside me and 373 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,600 bless this. But God is very clear. 374 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,520 He hears Abraham, he says, I hear you. 375 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,160 I'm going to bless Ishmael because for no fault of his, he 376 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:41,200 was brought into the world. He was engineered into this into 377 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,600 this situation. And so God says I will bless 378 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,000 him. I will make him mighty. 379 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,680 And when you look later on in the New Testament, we understand 380 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,160 how these, and I think it's in the book of Galatians where he 381 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,680 talks about two kinds of covenants and he explains it 382 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,280 using Ishmael and Isaac. He talks about the new covenant, 383 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,280 the one with grace where it comes through Jesus alone. 384 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,960 And it talk compares that to Isaac, the promised child. 385 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,880 And when you look at that, you realize how necessary the season 386 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,320 was. But then the important thing is 387 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,160 to not settle with the plans we have made. 388 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,960 It is important not to settle with the status quo and be like, 389 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,080 you know what? This plan I have made, it seems 390 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:21,400 to be working out for me. This lifestyle choice I've made, 391 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,000 it's working out. I wanted a family. 392 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,480 I didn't get it. I, I wanted a spouse. 393 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,440 I didn't get it. So I choose to live in you. 394 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,040 You decide that this I, I don't have the intimacy I'm looking 395 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:34,840 for. So pornography replaces that. 396 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,480 It's fine. We have conditioned ourselves to 397 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,520 settle for what we have made our choices. 398 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,640 When God is saying no, I'm going to ask you to rearrange things. 399 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,960 I'm going to unsettle you. And so God was saying Ishmael 400 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,280 will be blessed, but no, the promised child will come through 401 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,440 Sarah. I'm going to bring that child 402 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,880 forth and I'm going to establish the covenant through him. 403 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,960 And it says when he finished speaking, God went up. 404 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,080 I don't know what form God came and spoke to him. 405 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,600 But look at the length of this conversation where God over a 406 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,400 series of years has become more and more clear in his 407 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,720 communication. It's not like he was wanting to 408 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,920 be mysterious. It's just that there was a need 409 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,680 to know basis at the beginning. Abraham needed to know this 410 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,760 much. After 24 years of following God, 411 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,880 he gives him Full disclosure. He's almost Full disclosure 412 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:27,880 because he didn't tell him what he was going to do with Isaac a 413 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,880 couple of years later. But Ishmael was a Plan B option 414 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,040 that they took. It wasn't God's original will or 415 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,400 plan, but God obviously knew this was all going to happen. 416 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,360 And so God didn't reject Ishmael. 417 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:40,600 And I want to encourage you if you've been walking with guilt 418 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,480 and shame, oh, I made this D2. I took that decision. 419 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,760 I stepped out of that commitment, whatever it is. 420 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,120 I want to encourage you that, you know, he's a God of 421 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,000 decompense. He's a God who redeems. 422 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,760 He can redeem anything. But the call on our lives is to 423 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:03,040 live deeply circumcised. Before you get scared, let me 424 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,920 explain that. See, circumcision when it was 425 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,560 asked of Abraham was a way of proving Abraham was actually 426 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,160 demonstrating when he obeyed. And it says Abraham and his 427 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,880 whole house were full of men that very day, got circumcised 428 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,840 that very day. And it says Abraham and Ishmael 429 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:21,920 got circumcised on the very same day. 430 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,720 Ishmael was 13. Abraham was 99. 431 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,520 Look at the obedience. Look at the implicit obedience. 432 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,600 But what circumcision actually represented was the cutting off 433 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,880 of an old way, the cutting off of unclean things. 434 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,960 It also represented no longer trusting in the flesh to bring 435 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,920 forth the promise, but actually trusting wholly on God. 436 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,240 It was demonstrating a dependency on God and not on the 437 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,400 flesh. That was what circumcision was 438 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,120 doing. It was basically Abraham saying 439 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,080 I trust you God. I don't control my destiny. 440 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:54,760 I don't control the coming of this chair. 441 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,160 You will control it. You will do it because up until 442 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,440 then, on so many levels, Abraham and Sarah had controlled the 443 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,880 narrative. But now it was coming to a place 444 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:07,440 of surrender. It was important that Abraham 445 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:12,960 there would be the spilling of blood to prove that he loved and 446 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,480 was completely loyal to God. And the beautiful thing is today 447 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,760 we don't live in this covenant, we live in the new covenant 448 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,880 where Jesus, his perfect body, sinless body, the blood was 449 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,760 spilled from that for yours and my sake, He has covered it all 450 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:33,600 for us. Jesus was, he became sin so that 451 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:38,360 we would be made whole, even though he was sinless, right? 452 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,800 And so we don't have to do the physical circumcision that is 453 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,440 not required of us. But there's something deeper 454 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,960 that happens when the minute we come into a relationship with 455 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:47,360 Jesus. And this is where I want you to 456 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,320 really listen in. We've looked at circumcision. 457 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:54,000 We've looked at christening. Abraham was rechristened. 458 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,600 He was given a new name. Sarah was given a new name. 459 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,480 And then there was an ask of them. 460 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:04,960 And Abraham obeyed, right? But in this new covenant that we 461 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,560 live, God is calling us to live with circumcised hearts. 462 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,320 And what does that look like? The prophet Jeremiah talks about 463 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,240 it as well, wherein you know, the hardened parts of our hearts 464 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,840 God will circumcise and remove so that we have hearts that are 465 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,080 softened to God. But what are the practical 466 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,200 implications of that in the book of Deuteronomy? 467 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,400 Interestingly, Moses speaks this to the people. 468 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,280 Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 6, it says the Lord your God will 469 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,480 circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so 470 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,880 that you may love him with all your heart and with all your 471 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:43,160 soul and live. It's so interesting because when 472 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,040 I come into a relationship with Jesus, he begins to do a heart 473 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,400 surgery on me. It's like an open heart surgery. 474 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,960 God in his boundless love and grace begins to work on me. 475 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,560 His spirits work is deep within me and my heart which was maybe 476 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,240 up until then broken, my heart which was scattered, my heart 477 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:07,560 which was just completely numb, now begins to have feeling 478 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,520 again. It's begin to actually pulsate 479 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,280 with joy, is able to feel emotions. 480 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,720 This heart that was so distant from God is now starting to 481 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,000 pulse in the direction of God. This heart which was so weakened 482 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,320 by loss and trauma is starting to regain strength. 483 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,160 All of that is the work of God deep within us. 484 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,440 And there's a 2 motives in which God actually circumcises our 485 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,200 hearts, right? When he circumcises the hearts, 486 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:35,920 when he does the heart surgeries for two things. 487 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:39,920 It's so that we can love him as he deserves to be loved and so 488 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,520 that we can live as we are required to live. 489 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,720 What does it mean to love him as he deserves to be loved? 490 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,640 God wants to be loved with all our heart, mind, soul and 491 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,520 strength, right? You know, you know, the the 1st 492 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,080 and the greatest commandment is that what does it mean? 493 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:57,560 A lot of times it's just lip service. 494 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,880 Oh, I love Jesus. I love Jesus, but you know, the 495 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,800 Hebrew understanding of this was it goes deeper. 496 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,560 It was demonstrated with every fibre of their being. 497 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,720 Their soul was committed to God, their mind, their emotions, 498 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,680 their will was surrendered. They spoke about it then they 499 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:17,880 lived it up. And so God is calling us into 500 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,600 place of loving him. And you know, coming back to 501 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,360 that original struggle that we often have when we are in the 502 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:25,320 throes of the weight, when the throwers of just seeing the 503 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:29,040 promise of how we tend to doubt, but it's hard to doubt the one 504 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:30,480 that you love with all that you have. 505 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,800 And so I believe that we need this heart surgery so that we 506 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,440 begin to love God as as he deserves to be loved. 507 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,560 God is is pure. His motives are pure. 508 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,600 Even the stuff that he carries us through sometimes is so that 509 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,480 all of the other drawers falls off so that he can circumcise 510 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,160 those hardened, deadened parts out. 511 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,080 And so that our heart is so fleshy that can actually accept 512 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,200 him for who he is. It's hard to be doubtful. 513 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,760 It's hard to be unbelieving of someone that you love so much. 514 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:05,560 And heart surgery is required so that you can love God. 515 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,160 And anything you do out of do for God comes from that deep 516 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,280 place of love. You know, a lot of times we 517 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,680 choose not to serve God because we don't actually feel that kind 518 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:20,640 of depth of emotion towards him. But I've seen over years of, of 519 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,880 serving God in different capacities, as I'm getting 520 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:27,320 older, I realise that I serve him because I just love him so 521 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,600 much. It is just the outpouring of who 522 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,880 he is to me. When I choose to serve someone 523 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,200 who is in need, I do it not because I have to or should, 524 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,760 because it's the right thing to do, but because God, you've done 525 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,040 so much for me. I just, I want to repay you in 526 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:42,880 some way. So I'll do it through this. 527 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,640 And you know, that is, I think a lifelong process. 528 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,760 There are days when we don't actually open ourselves up to 529 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,040 loving Him, and that's when we withhold ourselves from even 530 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:56,760 loving others, that that's when we actually limit ourselves in 531 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,640 how we express our love to people in the way we serve them. 532 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,800 Anything we do for God has to stem from a place of a deep love 533 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,200 for Him, and that's where the heart surgery is required for 534 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:12,080 God to remove the parts of us that are withholding us from 535 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:13,880 knowing Him and loving Him as we should. 536 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,240 The second part of this heart surgery, you know, it says so 537 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,600 that you will live. And when you look at the deeper 538 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,440 meaning of that word, live, it is not the Zoe life you were 539 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:24,240 talking about. It's a renewed life. 540 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,200 It's a revived life. And the interesting thing is 541 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:33,800 that, you know, when we live with this place of, of loving 542 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,880 God so much, it automatically effects how we live. 543 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,800 When I begin to love God, the way I live is transformed. 544 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,480 People begin to see that, you know, and and like I was saying, 545 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,760 sometimes we have these plan B's, we have these we've charted 546 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,880 out the course of our life because of disappointment. 547 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,560 We've taken D to us. We're living a certain kind of 548 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,240 life. We are we're making certain 549 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:56,960 choices. We are settled for certain 550 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:58,680 things. When we're living in the 551 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,960 confines of that, we're not able to actually live this renewed 552 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,240 and refreshed and revived life. But God is calling us into a 553 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,680 place when we allow Him to work in us, when He circumcises our 554 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,120 hearts, removes the things that are hardened and broken. 555 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,280 As we begin to love Him more, we begin to live in a way that 556 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,720 honors Him better. And you have to understand, the 557 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,160 circumcision that was done on all these men was done in a 558 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,520 place which was not visible to anyone, but they could feel it. 559 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,280 They knew it was done to them. And the thing about the 560 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,200 circumcision of our hearts is very similar. 561 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,680 It happens in the deepest recesses of our lives. 562 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,560 It happens in the moments you least expected. 563 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,120 It happens in the moment of disappointment. 564 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,240 It happens sometimes at the heights of success. 565 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,000 But as God is working on you, no one can see it. 566 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,320 But the evidence isn't the way you live. 567 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,200 The evidence isn't the way you love God and how that is 568 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,840 demonstrated to others. Because others will start to see 569 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,200 your renewed life God. Others will start to see. 570 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,320 She thinks differently now. She used to be cynical and 571 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,040 hardened and and complaining. But something has changed. 572 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:03,840 She's quieter. Or maybe when she speaks, she 573 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:07,520 brings out so much of faith. Or maybe he is no longer as 574 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,240 angry as before. There's something that has 575 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,920 changed. The renewal and the refreshing 576 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,440 and the rejuvenating of our inner man happens when God is 577 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,320 allowed to do heart surgery on us. 578 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,880 And I want to explain something deeper on this. 579 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,360 On this note, even as I start to wrap up, we have to understand 580 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:30,080 that as we accepted Jesus, for those of us who know Jesus, who 581 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,120 are walking in his ways, we have the Holy Spirit living in US. 582 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,160 But have you allowed the Holy Spirit to breathe afresh upon 583 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,560 him? It's like having those old 584 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,120 perfume bottles. You know those perfume bottles. 585 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,280 Only if you lifted the lid would the aroma actually fill the 586 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,680 room. And many of us have the Holy 587 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,200 Spirit in us by virtue of accepting Jesus, but we haven't 588 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,520 opened the lid on him, so he hasn't been allowed to permeate 589 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,520 every part of our lives. He's there, but he's put a 590 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,200 muzzle on and God is asking that we would experience the new 591 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,520 creation life, and the way we do that is uncapped the Holy 592 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,640 Spirit. We're saying Holy Spirit, no 593 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,000 holds barred, feel free to move in my life. 594 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,240 It's a surrendered life where He starts to breathe into our very 595 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,080 being. And it's incredible how He 596 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,280 begins to do that. He starts to breathe afresh upon 597 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,880 our ambitions. He starts to breathe afresh upon 598 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,880 our life. He starts to breathe afresh upon 599 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,040 our mind. He starts to breathe afresh upon 600 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,280 our relationships. He starts to breathe afresh upon 601 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:34,240 our decisions and it changes how we live. 602 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,920 It changes how we love God. But the call on us is to give 603 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:40,640 him that room to breathe upon us. 604 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,840 It's allowing the breath of God to come in and transform us 605 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,440 because we live the new creation life just as Abraham changed to 606 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,440 Abraham, Sarai changed to Sarah. You and I are a new creation in 607 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,320 Christ. The old has gone, the new has 608 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:57,480 come, but many times the old remains because we haven't 609 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,720 uncapped the Holy Spirit and said, have your way in me. 610 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:02,720 Feel free to circumcise my heart. 611 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,800 Lord, feel free to move as you see fit. 612 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,000 Feel free to to remove those dead end parts because you know, 613 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,520 many times we retain the dead end parts of our heart to 614 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,320 protect our hearts. Many times we retain the weak 615 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:15,840 parts because you know what, we can play to our advantage. 616 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,960 But God is saying that the Holy Spirit comes and he's a Spirit 617 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,320 of truth. He leads us into all truth. 618 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,560 He will remind us of things that we need to be reminded of in 619 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,080 order to heal us, in order to help us. 620 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,440 And I wonder if you and I would remove that cap and say, Holy 621 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:38,840 Spirit, just have your way, Breath of God, Ruach, take over 622 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,320 my system. Maybe you're someone who's been 623 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,160 going through a health issue and you've been so caught up with 624 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:49,120 just being treated, receiving treatment, treating yourself. 625 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,320 What if it's time? Did you allow the Breath of God 626 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,480 to come in and give you revelation about what's 627 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,360 happening, what you must do, where you need him to move? 628 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,800 Remember that letter here, The breath of God that created the 629 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,440 starry host today is available to us. 630 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:09,040 It just requires that we make room. 631 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:11,120 It just requires that we surrender. 632 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:16,600 So when I say close, I want to read this, this few verses from 633 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:19,800 Revelation chapter 1. It talks about Jesus in 634 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:22,520 Revelation as the most beautiful image of Jesus for me 635 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,240 personally. Revelation chapter 1, verses 12 636 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,040 to 16. I turned around to see the voice 637 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,480 that was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw 7 golden 638 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:34,520 lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like the Son 639 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,000 of Man, dressed in a robe, reaching down to his feet and 640 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,800 with a golden sash around his chest. 641 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,440 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and 642 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,680 his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze 643 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,520 glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of 644 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,480 rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven 645 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,360 stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp double edged 646 00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:59,800 sword. His face was like the sun 647 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:04,240 shining in all its brilliance. I love this thing, it says. 648 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,880 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his 649 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:12,239 mouth was a sharp double edged sword. 650 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,800 We have to understand that from the mouth of God is the breath 651 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:20,560 of God which created life, but from his mouth is a sharp double 652 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:22,520 edged word. And I believe that's the word of 653 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,400 God. And remember that that verse in 654 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:29,480 the Bible which says the word of God is powerful, living, active, 655 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:34,880 powerful to dividing joints and marrows and revealing the 656 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,080 intents and attitudes of the heart. 657 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,719 And that is how heart surgery is performed on us. 658 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,639 If you're wondering, the process is very simple. 659 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,320 When God breathes upon us, when he speaks into our life, when 660 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,239 his Word is just being washed over us, it does the work 661 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,719 automatically. All I have to be is yielded. 662 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,719 All I have to be is surrendered. All I have to be is open. 663 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:01,440 A heart surgery requires that the surgeons can open the chest 664 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,840 cavity so that the heart is exposed and they can work. 665 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,680 Even in the case of laparoscopic surgeries, there has to be an 666 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,800 incision that is made, an opening that is made. 667 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:12,720 Have you given God an opening in your life? 668 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,840 Too many Christians are living today without the power of the 669 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,080 Holy Spirit. We go to church on a Sunday. 670 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,080 We do your 10% tithe. You think you've sorted it all 671 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,040 out. God is calling you into a deep 672 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,200 dependence on the Holy Spirit because you cannot do this new 673 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,280 creation life without the Holy Spirit. 674 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,840 Who's the agent, Who's the facilitator of that renewal? 675 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:35,360 He's the facilitator of transformation. 676 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:42,640 Jesus requires that we open ourselves up so that His word 677 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:46,160 will penetrate our hearts, breaking off the things that are 678 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,520 no more, no longer necessary. Maybe they were necessary in a 679 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,960 past season, but God is calling you into such a deep dependence 680 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:53,920 on Him. God is calling you to to live 681 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:55,960 with such a deep love and reverence for Him. 682 00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:00,120 God is calling you so that your life would be so different. 683 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:04,760 Your life would speak volumes. So let me reiterate, even as I 684 00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:11,160 close, what would it look like for you and me to undergo an 685 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:13,040 open heart surgery at the hands of God? 686 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:18,240 It would mean that before Him I would admit my struggles, that I 687 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:21,000 would admit the idols of my heart, that I would admit my 688 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,640 weaknesses, my automatic rude reactions, my responses, the 689 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:29,360 stances that I take, the opinions that I hold and 690 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,920 surrender them all to God and say Lord, this is who I am. 691 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,800 I'm human. But saying Lord, will you work? 692 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:42,200 It's I'm capping the spirit of God in my life and saying fill 693 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,880 my whole being up spirit, soul and body, Fill it all up Lord. 694 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,280 And as he does that, the word of God will start to work. 695 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,720 It'll start to do it's life work in our lives. 696 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:56,400 God is calling each of us to be blameless and faithful in a 697 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,280 crooked and evil perverse generation. 698 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:03,880 You may have made mistakes, you may still make mistakes. 699 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,760 We're human, that's OK. But God is calling us to His 700 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,480 position and posture in our heart where we keep turning back 701 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,600 to Him and saying, Lord, make me blameless. 702 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:14,240 Help me to live a life that is pleasing to you. 703 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:16,240 Help me to stay faithful till the very end. 704 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:21,080 Lord, it will require that you intentionally walk before God. 705 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,080 God is desiring for you to live the new creation life, to give 706 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,440 you that new identity in Christ. But for that, He needs to be 707 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:31,120 able to breathe into your situation. 708 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,080 Maybe you're holding the shambles of a marriage. 709 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,400 Maybe you're holding the the wreckage caused by the loss of a 710 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:39,760 loved one and you don't know what to do with the pieces. 711 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,000 Would you allow God to breathe upon it? 712 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,400 Because this breath of God is so powerful, it is so life giving. 713 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,760 It is so transformative. It is renewing. 714 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:52,240 Would you allow Him to breathe upon it? 715 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,120 And remember that when you allow God to do a circumcision of your 716 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:00,480 heart, it's for two reasons. So that you would love him as He 717 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,040 deserves to be loved for who He is. 718 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,640 And that you would live in the way that you are required to 719 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,160 live. You can't live in a way that 720 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,400 anything goes. Oh well, they live like that's 721 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,840 why I can do the same thing. No, God is calling you to live a 722 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:17,600 consecrated life. God is asking you to cut off the 723 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,000 things that need to be cut off so that He can bless you. 724 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:27,320 You cannot doubt a person that you love so deeply. 725 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,280 And so that's why the circumcision of our hearts is so 726 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:32,800 essential. You know, this year, as much as 727 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,360 we are positioned to possess the promise, and it feels like the 728 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,280 promise is the biggest thing, I believe that our love for the 729 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:40,320 promise giver has to be the largest thing. 730 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:41,840 That is the position we need to be. 731 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,600 We need to be in this position of deep love for Him. 732 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:48,200 Abraham on so many levels was like us. 733 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:52,840 But when you see the way he obeyed God that day, it's not 734 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,920 like he went back to his tent, probably mulled over it. 735 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:57,960 You know, sometimes when we're trying to delay, you know, our 736 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,360 delay tactic with God is God asked me to do something and 737 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,440 say, Lord, I'll pray about it. And you know, I'll take three 738 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:03,560 days to pray. I'll take seven days. 739 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:08,200 I'll pray for a month. Abraham and his entire family, 740 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:13,000 his whole household was circumcised that very day. 741 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,720 The way you obey God is evidence of how you love him. 742 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,880 And I want to ask you this, finally, has your life thus far 743 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,680 been all about you? You know that selfie picture I 744 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,200 was talking about? Because the grand picture is 745 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:32,440 beautiful, and the minute we get ourselves out of it, we see it 746 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:38,320 with greater clarity. Abram, Sarai, God breathed upon 747 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:40,720 them, making them Abraham and Sarah. 748 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:45,680 It was a new season. It was fresh perspective, fresh 749 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,960 revelation of what God was going to do in them just around the 750 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,400 corner. Their promise was coming 751 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:54,080 through, but it's required a cutting away. 752 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:57,760 It required a cleaving and a dependency on God. 753 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,520 Are you willing for God to cut away the parts of your heart 754 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,040 that are? That are so broken, that are so 755 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,920 hard and that are so dead in that it's detrimental to you 756 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,280 growing in him. It is detrimental to you living 757 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:15,360 the fullest life possible. So even as we close, can we just 758 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,680 lean in and ask God, Lord, I, I need you. 759 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,840 I want more of you. I want to live completely 760 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:26,120 dependent on you. God, as much as I'm preaching to 761 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:29,720 you, I'm preaching to my own heart that I would not become 762 00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:32,480 doubtful, I won't become unbelieving, that I will not 763 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:37,440 diminish in my love for Him, that I won't settle for the 764 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:40,920 plans I have, but I will be open to the plans God has. 765 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:45,000 Can we just lay down before him? Lord? 766 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,960 Every dream, every ambition, every plan, every, every plot 767 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,480 that I have done, every dot that I think I'm joining Lord right 768 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,080 now. I take my hands off the drawing 769 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,560 board. If you said you will do it, you 770 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:03,120 will do it God, and the way you do it, you can do it anyhow you 771 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,520 want. Can you just take your hands off 772 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,880 and say, Lord, I'm going to stop planning it to the last detail 773 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:13,680 and allow you to do your thing. Can you just open your heart up 774 00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:17,680 right now and say, Lord, I just ask that you will perform a 775 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,840 heart surgery on me that you will work on the deepest 776 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,760 recesses of my life. You know the trauma that I have 777 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:25,680 walked through. You know the loss that I have 778 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:27,640 walked through. You know the hardships I have 779 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,720 endured. You know the the joys and 780 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:34,120 sorrows I have experienced. But God do with my heart as you 781 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,680 will. If my emotions have been leading 782 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:40,600 me, forgive me. If my will has been so stubborn 783 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:46,280 and unbending, forgive me. If my attitudes have been 784 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:47,920 displeasing to you, God, forgive me. 785 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,200 If I've been so biased that I lost the plot of the big story, 786 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:58,080 I'm sorry God, we just want this panoramic view of our life's 787 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:00,200 destiny. We don't want to live so small 788 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,360 minded that it's only about us. But God, give us the bigger 789 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:05,960 view. Give us the larger view. 790 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:11,680 God, we love you. We thank you. 791 00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:15,320 Spirit of God, breath of God, would you breathe upon us right 792 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:17,520 now? Breathe upon me. 793 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:22,320 Breathe upon every person who is here that you're renewing and 794 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:25,280 restoring. Transforming breath would just 795 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:30,640 fill our lives, saturate us. Spirits, souls and bodies will 796 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,800 be renewed, will be refreshed, will be rejuvenated. 797 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,200 God that lives and ambitions and dreams and desires that are 798 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:41,760 being breathed upon will take up fresh direction. 799 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,040 We'll have a fresh list like never before. 800 00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,840 And that Lord, you will direct us in this new season of God. 801 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,680 We love you, we thank you, we glorify. 802 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:54,880 In Jesus name we pray, Amen, Amen. 803 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:59,480 God bless you as you desire to live this life, this new life, 804 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:02,360 this new creation life, you will need to be very dependent on the 805 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:04,280 Holy Spirit. You cannot do it without him. 806 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:07,440 It's not enough that you just believe in him. 807 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:08,800 You need to actually activate him. 808 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:10,480 You need to actually unleash Him in your life. 809 00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:12,920 And when you do that, all you have to do is just say, Holy 810 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,120 Spirit, I'm giving you access. Do with me as you will. 811 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:17,960 It's a very simple thing. It's nothing complex. 812 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:20,200 I just want to give an opportunity for those of you who 813 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:23,560 don't know Jesus, those of you who don't know what we're even 814 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:24,960 talking about, and you're saying, well, you're talking 815 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:26,840 about the Holy Spirit, but I don't know who Jesus is. 816 00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:31,000 Jesus is the Son of God. We came to earth to save mankind 817 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,560 from their sins, because as you know, our sins are many, our 818 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:35,880 sins are huge, and these sins separate us from God. 819 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,600 But Jesus was sent to earth, He became one of us, died for our 820 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:41,560 sins, and then it didn't end there. 821 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:45,320 He rose again on the third day. And today he's alive and seated 822 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:48,760 in heaven. And he gave us the Holy Spirit 823 00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:52,680 to live within us, to guide us on our everyday so that we live 824 00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:55,680 a life that is honoring to God and live a life that blesses 825 00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:58,400 others in the world. And if you are saying, well, 826 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,600 that sounds like something I need, I would encourage you to 827 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,440 make this very simple prayer because it's as simple as 828 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:06,840 inviting Jesus into your life. It's admitting that you are a 829 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:10,000 Sinner, saying you need Jesus. He comes in and when he comes 830 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,240 in, he overhauls our life in the most beautiful ways. 831 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:16,360 Those of us who know Jesus, we are testaments to that. 832 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,080 He doesn't. He loves us too much to leave us 833 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:20,800 the same way. So if you could repeat the 834 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:24,520 simple prayer after me, Jesus, I believe in you. 835 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:28,760 Thank you for coming to earth. Thank you for dying on my 836 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:31,560 behalf. I believe that I'm a Sinner. 837 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:37,520 I'm in need of forgiveness. Thank you God, for dying for me. 838 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:40,440 Thank you for rising again from the dead. 839 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:43,480 Thank you for the gift of hope that I have in you. 840 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:48,400 I accept you into my heart. I thank you for your Holy Spirit 841 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,800 who now lives in me. I give Him full access to my 842 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:55,600 life. Help me God to live as a child 843 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:59,400 of God, knowing how loved I am, knowing how forgiven I am, 844 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:04,480 knowing how cherished I am. Help me to be a blessing in this 845 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,280 world. In your powerful name I pray, 846 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,160 Amen, Amen. God bless you. 847 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:14,080 Have an amazing week. Thanks for listening to this 848 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,200 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 849 00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:20,920 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 850 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:23,560 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 851 00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:27,360 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 852 00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,480 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 853 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:35,200 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 854 00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:39,720 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 855 00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:43,840 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.