1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,720 You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,440 We pray that you enjoy the message. 3 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,600 If you brought your Bibles, we're going to be going back 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,240 into Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 3. 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,600 And because today's Palm Sunday, I'm just going to talk a little 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:30,200 bit more about that because Palm Sunday marks the beginning of 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,480 the week of God's mysterious plan being unfolded before 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:38,320 humanity. It's being revealed Jesus entry 9 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,600 into Jerusalem like a king caught the attention of the 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,960 Roman Empire therein in Jerusalem. 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,480 For sure there's things like that that aren't going to escape 12 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,720 the attention of the the Roman government in Jerusalem. 13 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,920 It also caught the attention of of the religious leaders, the 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,600 Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem, but it also caught 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,880 the attention of the devil. Later in the week, Jesus held 16 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:08,920 his Last Supper with his disciples, and after that supper 17 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,640 he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, to spend 18 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,960 some time because he knew what was about to come. 19 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:17,520 He knew full well was about to transpire. 20 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,720 He didn't go into this week and even his ministry without 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,720 knowing what it was that he was doing. 22 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:30,200 Jesus knew all along that he was going to be sacrificing his life 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,600 for you and I. And while he was praying in the 24 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,880 garden, Jesus was arrested. And then he was stood trial, was 25 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,120 found innocent by Pontus Pilate, right? 26 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,360 But then the religious leaders demanded that he be crucified, 27 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,240 and they stirred up the crowds of the people against Jesus. 28 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,000 And Pilate gave into their demands, didn't he? 29 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,800 And Jesus was whipped and he was beaten till near death, 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,880 fulfilling Isaiah 53. I want to read that chapter 31 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:01,560 here. We won't have it up on the 32 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,360 screen there. So you can either listen to me 33 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,320 or you can follow along. We're going to read the the 34 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,320 whole chapter in Isaiah 53 because this is a prophecy about 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:14,680 what Jesus was going to endure for you and I starting in verse 36 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,520 one. It says he who believed our 37 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,840 message, To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm? 38 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,600 My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green 39 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,560 shoot, like a root in dry ground. 40 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,040 There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, 41 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,560 nothing to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected. 42 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,760 A man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief. 43 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,960 He turned, we turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. 44 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,640 He was despised and we did not care in verse 4. 45 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:49,160 Yet it was our weakness He carried. 46 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,400 It was our sorrows that weighed Him down, and we thought His 47 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,080 troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own 48 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,560 sins. Verse 5 But he was pierced for 49 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,640 our rebellion, crushed for our sins. 50 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,800 He was beaten so that we could be whole. 51 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,600 He was whipped so that we could be healed. 52 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,080 Verse 6. All of us, like sheep, have 53 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,120 strayed away. We have left God's paths to 54 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,680 follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the 55 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,320 sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated 56 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,680 harshly, yet he never said a word. 57 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,280 He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is 58 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,320 silent before the shears, he did not open his mouth. 59 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,400 Unjustly condemned, He was led away. 60 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,440 No one cared that he died without descendants, that his 61 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,600 life was cut short in midstream, but he was struck down for the 62 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,600 rebellion of my people in verse 9. 63 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:50,160 He had done no wrong, and he had never deceived anyone, but he 64 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,560 was buried like a criminal. He was put in a rich man's 65 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:58,440 grave, but it was the Lord's good plan to crush him, to cause 66 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,200 him grief. And yet, when his life was made 67 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,880 an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. 68 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,880 He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's good plan will 69 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,000 prosper in his hands. And when he sees all that is 70 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,680 accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. 71 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,279 And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make 72 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,680 it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will 73 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,840 bear all, all their sins, verse 12. 74 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,720 And I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier. 75 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,520 Because he exposed himself to death. 76 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,600 He was counted among the rebels, and he bore the sins of many and 77 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,680 interceded for the rebels. Isn't that amazing? 78 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,360 That whole chapter is prophesying about Jesus. 79 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,320 Today I'm going to be talking about a mystery made known that 80 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,040 the apostle Paul talked about in Ephesians chapter 3. 81 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,040 We're going to read Ephesians 3 and verses 3 through four or 82 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,440 three and four. OK says as I briefly wrote 83 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,120 earlier, God Himself revealed His mysterious plan to me. 84 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,080 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight 85 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:19,560 into this plan regarding Christ. What's interesting is all 86 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,200 through Scripture, from the very beginning Genesis all the way to 87 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:29,160 the end revelation, it's Jesus the in God's redemption plan 88 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,640 like being revealed to mankind in the Old Testament, it was 89 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,840 shrouded by by mystery. We just read Isaiah 53 right? 90 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,440 And in that doesn't mention the name of Jesus at all, does it? 91 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:50,160 It doesn't doesn't signify and show exactly who it is that that 92 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,800 scripture that chapter is referring to. 93 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,840 Of course, now we know looking back in hindsight, exactly who 94 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:00,040 it was talking about, right? We know it was talking about 95 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,120 about Jesus Christ in the New Testament. 96 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,040 This mystery has been revealed. We can see it clearly. 97 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,920 But those living in the Old Testament times, everything 98 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,760 about Jesus and God's plan was in shadow and that was by God's 99 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,520 design. And what's interesting is we 100 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:22,560 have over 300 prophecies about Jesus in Scripture, in the Old 101 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,840 Testament, well over 300 prophecies. 102 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:31,280 And these were revealed over 1000 year, a span of time by 103 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:34,960 about 40 different authors at different time periods through 104 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,640 those thousand years, right? So there's no corroboration 105 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:43,120 between those authors. These are all independent people 106 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,080 who were given these prophecies, and writing these down by the 107 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:51,160 inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the mathematical of odds of 108 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:57,960 of any one person fulfilling over 300 scriptures is literally 109 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,320 mathematically impossible. Is there anyone here who's a 110 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,720 mathematician? The odds of someone fulfilling 111 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:13,880 over 300 prophecies is 1 to 10 with 157 zeros after it. 112 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,720 This is mathematically impossible for one person to 113 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:25,160 fulfill all of those prophecies, and yet Jesus did. 114 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,680 Isn't that amazing? It's really nothing short of 115 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:32,720 miraculous, just looking at things in a natural standpoint, 116 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,000 looking going back and looking at the natural recorded history 117 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,760 of Jesus, going back and looking at all the books throughout the 118 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,480 Old Testament and all the prophecies and things. 119 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,080 The Dead Sea Scrolls, you know, scriptures that they copies of 120 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,760 scripture that they found, you know, from a long time ago, 121 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,320 right? It's amazing how God set up all 122 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:59,200 these different things to show us how amazing not just His word 123 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:04,240 is, but how amazing Jesus is that He is the only way to the 124 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,400 Father. When Jesus said no one goes to 125 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,280 the Father except through me, well why is that? 126 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,080 It's not because God is being narrow minded, right? 127 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,600 It's because Jesus is the only one who could possibly fulfill 128 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,480 all those prophecies. No one else fit that bill. 129 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:25,840 It's impossible and even if Jesus were were someone who 130 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,680 looked at scripture and said, OK, I'm going to try to to make 131 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:34,400 myself fit all of these things like he could not have worked it 132 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,400 out for him to be born in the city that he was born in, the 133 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,360 time frame that he was born in the people that he was born to, 134 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:43,880 right? There's so many things that 135 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:48,040 would be impossible, still mathematically impossible for 136 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,880 him to be able to accomplish. The only the only thing 137 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:57,160 conclusion that you can possibly come to is that Jesus is who is 138 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,040 being prophesied all throughout Scripture. 139 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:03,760 It's miraculous. Let's continue reading here. 140 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:09,600 In Ephesians chapter 3, verses 9 through 12, it says, and I was 141 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,120 chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God 142 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,280 the Creator of all things had kept secret from the beginning. 143 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,080 God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display His 144 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,800 wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and 145 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:27,720 authorities in the heavens in verse 11. 146 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:32,880 And this was His eternal plan, which He carried out through 147 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,920 Christ Jesus our Lord in verse 12. 148 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:40,720 Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly 149 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:45,520 and confident, confidently into God's presence. 150 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:48,360 I'm going to talk about three things this morning. 151 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,160 The first thing is the mystery that was hidden. 152 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,960 The second thing is the power that's available to you. 153 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,480 And the third thing is how to receive from God. 154 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:02,520 That's a good one, isn't it? How many of you want to receive 155 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,000 from God? I think all of us want to 156 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,080 receive from God, but sometimes we're, we're not quite sure how 157 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,080 it is that we can or should receive from God. 158 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,880 So let's talk about this first thing, the mystery that was was 159 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,600 hidden. In verse 9, Paul says that he 160 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:21,240 was chosen to explain something that God had kept secret from 161 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,320 the beginning. What an amazing privilege that 162 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,880 God would use. Someone like if I were the 163 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,440 apostle Paul, I would consider it the highest honor and 164 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,240 privilege that the Lord would reveal some revelation to me and 165 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:39,000 then I would have the privilege of revealing that to his church. 166 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,920 What an honor. And for thousands of years, God 167 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,240 had a plan that nobody could fully see it, and that was 168 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,640 intentional. Immediately following Adam and 169 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:56,120 Eve's fall into sin, going way back to Genesis, the very 170 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,080 beginning, God let us know that he already had a plan. 171 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,160 God wasn't taken by surprise right by Adam and Eve falling 172 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,400 into sin. He wasn't like, Oh no, what are 173 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,800 we going to do now? Jesus, Holy Spirit, what are we 174 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:11,680 going to do? They're up there. 175 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,920 Ah, well, bring out the whiteboard. 176 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:15,680 Let's come up with a plan. Quick, quick, quick. 177 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:17,720 You know what do you have Jesus, What do you? 178 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,120 No, Jesus, God wasn't taken by surprise by this. 179 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,640 We just read in in Ephesians there in in three how this was 180 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,760 his eternal plan. He knew exactly what was going 181 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,640 to happen. He wasn't taken off guard. 182 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,000 He wasn't surprised by Adam and Eve falling into sin and 183 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,880 immediately when they fell into to sin, he his plan already was 184 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,160 in motion. In Genesis chapter 3 and verse 185 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,920 15, God said this. He said, and I will cause 186 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,680 hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring 187 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,200 and her offspring. He will strike your head and you 188 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,320 will strike his heel. We can see this plan coming to 189 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,280 fruition through Jesus death, burial and resurrection, right? 190 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,520 The devil thought that he had caused Jesus death. 191 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:07,800 It was really just a prick on his heel. 192 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,880 Just a little, just a little, nib, right? 193 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,800 But Jesus, through that death, burial in resurrection, 194 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,600 completely crushed Satan. All of his plans, all of his 195 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,840 ambitions, everything that he wanted to do, Jesus completely 196 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,680 destroyed it. Through that death burial in 197 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:29,800 resurrection. The prophets of the Old 198 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,320 Testament times glimpsed it, the angels wondered about it, and 199 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,720 the devil attempted to stop it many times. 200 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,280 But that plan was hidden, wrapped in the promise of shadow 201 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,120 and symbol and waiting for the right moment. 202 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,000 And what is that mystery? What is the mystery that that 203 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:51,640 God kept hidden, kept in shadow? It's this, that all peoples who 204 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:56,480 accept Jesus by faith would be brought into God's family. 205 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:01,480 Isn't that amazing? Not as second class members, not 206 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:08,440 just as honorary members, but as full heirs, full errors with 207 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,960 Christ receiving the full inheritance. 208 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,760 That's what we read about in Ephesians chapter 1 earlier in 209 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,680 the series, right? And this is what God wanted. 210 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,360 This was His plan all the time to make each and every one of us 211 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:28,240 His children and to give us everything that He has. 212 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,840 In Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 6, it goes on to say, and this 213 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,560 is God's plan. Both Gentiles and Jews who 214 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:41,720 believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited 215 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,480 by God's children. Both are part of the same body, 216 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:50,480 and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to 217 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,960 Christ. That's you and that's me. 218 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,600 You're not Jewish, you're a Gentile, right? 219 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,040 But we've been brought into, because of what? 220 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,000 Christ. And we've been brought into 221 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,200 what's called the New covenant, right? 222 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,760 You had the old covenant, and the old covenant was exclusive 223 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:10,000 to Israel, to the, to the Jewish people, right? 224 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,440 But through Jesus, he established a new covenant where 225 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:18,000 the rest of the world who wasn't Jewish was brought in so that we 226 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:23,520 could become full heirs of God. Isn't that amazing? 227 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,720 And here's the part that I think is fascinating. 228 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,400 I want to look again at verse 10, Visions, chapter 3 and verse 229 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,120 10. It says that God's purpose in 230 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:42,400 all this was to use the church to display His wisdom and it's 231 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,720 rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the 232 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,000 heavenly places. God's purpose in all this was 233 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:55,080 that through the church you and I are part of Jesus Church, 234 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,520 right? All of us together make up 235 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,680 Christ's body. Our church, the church down, 236 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,680 down the street, the church in the other county, we're all part 237 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,560 of Christ's body. But Scripture says that God uses 238 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,800 his church. Part of his plan is to display 239 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,880 what had previously been a mystery. 240 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,800 He's using his church to display that. 241 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:29,320 I want all of you in my family. Triumph Church is a part of 242 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,280 that. When we come together to to 243 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:37,840 worship, we're the display that we are Christ's body. 244 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,920 He's using us, this church, each and every one of us to display 245 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,480 this wondrous mystery. That's no longer a mystery, is 246 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,160 it? When we come together at Triumph 247 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,000 Church to to hear the word taught, we're a part of that 248 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,120 display. Isn't that amazing? 249 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,680 How many churches are there around the world? 250 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,880 I don't that would be probably impossible to to even count. 251 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,040 There's a lot of churches in some places that are that are 252 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:12,200 like underground churches. They're secret churches because 253 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,960 if they come out and worship openly in the in the public 254 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,160 square, right, they'll either be imprisoned or they'll be put to 255 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,240 death, right? It's hard. 256 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,720 It's impossible for us to be able to tell exactly how many 257 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:29,040 churches, but all of us are a display of this mystery being 258 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:33,440 revealed that we can all anyone who calls on the name of the 259 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:38,000 Lord, anyone who repents of their sin and makes Jesus Christ 260 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,160 their Lord. They are part of God's family 261 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 and as children in God's family, we have full access. 262 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,720 We talked about this last week, right? 263 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,600 Full access to everything of God. 264 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,760 He's not withholding from us. I don't withhold anything from 265 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:58,960 my children. Anything they want, anything 266 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,560 they need, they have full access, right? 267 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,440 We were in Switzerland this last week and, and you know, to just 268 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,800 to bless my kids, like I just bought them some things, bought 269 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,240 them some souvenirs, bought them some treats. 270 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,599 You know, I want them to be happy. 271 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,920 Our heavenly Father wants us to be happy. 272 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,960 Doesn't mean he's going to spoil us, right? 273 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,359 And just give us everything because sometimes that's not 274 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,440 good for us, is it? But the Bible says that he will 275 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,480 provide all of our need. Anything and everything that you 276 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:35,000 have need of you have access to through God, right? 277 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,000 Do you need healing in your body, right? 278 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,600 We just read in Isaiah 53 that by his stripes, by those, him 279 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,320 being whipped before he was crucified, by his stripes, you 280 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,880 are healed, right? That's God's promise to you. 281 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,440 That's part of his inheritance to you. 282 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:59,760 If you need mental healing, if you need emotional healing, if 283 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:04,120 you need finances, like whatever it is that you have need of, you 284 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:09,960 have access to that as a child of God, God wants to bless you. 285 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,920 Amen. The second point here is the 286 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:18,440 power that is available to you. Now, Paul starts to pray in this 287 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:23,560 portion of Scripture in verse 14, and he starts to pray in a 288 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,400 way that tells us something profound about what he declares 289 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,120 is available to us. Let's read this in Ephesians 290 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:33,640 chapter 3 verse 14 through 19. It says, when I think of all 291 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:39,120 this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator 292 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,720 of everything in heaven and earth, and I pray that from his 293 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:49,520 glorious unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner 294 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,920 strength through His Spirit. Isn't that amazing? 295 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,040 Let me just pull out a few keywords there for you. 296 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:00,480 All right, unlimited resources. That's our heavenly Father. 297 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:09,680 He is unlimited and as His child you have access to those 298 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,200 unlimited resources, right? The apostle Paul prays in verse 299 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,760 16, and I will pray that from his glorious unlimited resources 300 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:24,400 He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. 301 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,760 And verse 17, then Christ will make His home in your hearts as 302 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:33,480 you trust in Him, and your roots will grow down into God's love 303 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:38,440 and keep you strong. And verse 18 And may you have 304 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:44,520 the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, 305 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:49,560 how long, how high, and how deep His love is. 306 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,000 And verse 19 it says, And may you experience the love of 307 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,080 Christ, though it is too great to understand Foley and then you 308 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,720 will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power 309 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,960 that comes from God. I want you to notice something 310 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,200 here. Paul doesn't pray for the 311 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,200 Ephesians church, who he's writing this letter to, that all 312 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,760 of their problems would go away, does he? 313 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,480 He doesn't pray for better circumstances, although that 314 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,200 would be nice, right? It would be nice for all of our 315 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,040 problems to go away, for all of our circumstances to be nothing 316 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,080 but perfection. We would all love that, right? 317 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,680 But that isn't what the apostle Paul prays here. 318 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,840 He prays for inner strength, doesn't he? 319 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:40,280 He prays that from God's unlimited resources that we 320 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:46,080 would be empowered, empowered with inner strength through the 321 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,800 Holy Spirit. Paul is both praying and 322 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:55,640 revealing that you have access to strength that you need to 323 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:00,320 overcome every adversity in your life. 324 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,800 Whatever it is that the devil tries to throw your way, you 325 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,640 have been given power not just to endure that. 326 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:13,640 You've been empowered to overcome that, right? 327 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,200 The Bible says that we've become overcomers. 328 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,600 We've become conquerors more than conquerors. 329 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,880 It says right in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. 330 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:29,360 It says that greater is he who is in you than he who is in the 331 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,280 world. You have been empowered. 332 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,080 The problem so many of us have is that we don't realize that 333 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,120 we've been empowered. We don't realize the access that 334 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:44,760 we have as children of God. And so how do a lot of people 335 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,320 live? They live like they're 336 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,920 impoverished, right? Oh, I'm so thankful for my 337 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,520 salvation, Lord. And then they live the rest of 338 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,480 their life just being beat up and knocked about by the devil, 339 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,240 right? But that's not how God wants us 340 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,520 to live. He wants us living from that 341 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,440 position of access in Him, right? 342 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,240 We don't have to live getting beat up and punched by the devil 343 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,880 every single day. We've been empowered. 344 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,440 Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. 345 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:21,120 Remember Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4 in the amplified classic 346 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,280 version, it says, but God so rich is he in his mercy because 347 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,600 of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense 348 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,560 love with which he loved us. God's love for us is so big. 349 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:36,840 The apostle Paul is saying, listen, I pray that you 350 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,120 understand the length and the width and the breadth and the 351 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,800 height of God's love because it's so big, it's so vast. 352 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:46,240 You know what's really amazing here in Klain, you know, if you 353 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,800 go, if you lived in Dublin, you know, you'd have a lot of light 354 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,840 pollution, right? And you'd have a difficult time 355 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,120 on a clear sky. Whenever we have that on a rare 356 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:56,240 occasion, right, where you could see like all the stars. 357 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,120 But here in Klain, what's amazing is there's not a lot of 358 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,680 light in the evening time. And so when the, when the sky is 359 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,720 clear, when we don't have those clouds, it's like the, the, the 360 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,480 sky is just like beaming. You see all these amazing stars, 361 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,760 right? And it's so big and it's so 362 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,840 vast, and you're looking around and in all directions and you 363 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,280 can see stars like everywhere. And you're like, how big is 364 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,920 this? Is this place that that we live 365 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,600 in? Like we have this earth, but 366 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,280 outside of that earth, everything is so big and so 367 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,280 vast. Well, God's love is so much 368 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,120 bigger than that. It's really difficult for us to 369 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:37,120 fathom God's love, but his love for us is so big, right? 370 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,320 We have the love of a earthly father. 371 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,840 I'd lay down my life for my children, right? 372 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,920 Well, God's live it. Love is so much bigger and 373 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,840 broader than that. He laid down His life for all of 374 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,120 us. I love my son, but I might have 375 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,120 a difficult time throwing my throwing myself in front of a 376 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,280 bus for you, right? I'd have don't take that 377 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,880 personally, right? I'd have no problem doing it 378 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:03,560 for, for my son or my wife or, or either one of my daughters, 379 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,200 you know, but for a split second, you know, like I might 380 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,680 just hesitate, you know, if you were there in front of that, 381 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:11,880 that bus, because I'd be, you know, well, I'm going to be 382 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:15,800 leaving my, my wife and my children behind to, to save this 383 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,560 person. Am I wanting to do that, right? 384 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,280 I love you. I might just hesitate a second, 385 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:29,280 right? But God didn't he sent Jesus to 386 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,120 die for each and every one of us. 387 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:35,680 And it was his plan always before, before the Bible says in 388 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,280 in Ephesians chapter one there it says before all of this 389 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,600 creation, before this world was created, before, you know, 390 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,720 humanity was created, before everything in creation, God 391 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:50,600 already had a plan. And that's this mystery that's 392 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,800 been revealed through Jesus is that we are able to, if we will 393 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,560 submit our life to Jesus Lordship, that we have unlimited 394 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,600 access to our heavenly Father because we become children of 395 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:03,840 God. Isn't that amazing? 396 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,560 And then it says this in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 397 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,920 20. Ephesians 3 and verse 20 says 398 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:18,960 now all glory to God, who was able through His mighty power at 399 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:24,000 work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we might 400 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:29,600 ask or think. I want you to understand that 401 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:37,720 His power within you is able to accomplish infinitely more than 402 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,240 you could possibly even think to ask in your life. 403 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,080 Like we have some great ideas, right? 404 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,720 There's a lot of great thinkers in the world, but the greatest 405 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:55,240 thinker of all humanity still pales in comparison to God's 406 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,760 thinking. And Paul is trying to reveal to 407 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:04,560 us here in Ephesians 320 that God is able to work through his 408 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:10,000 mighty power to accomplish infinitely more than we might 409 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,800 ask or think. That's the power that's living 410 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,640 in inside of you. If you're a born again 411 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:24,360 Christian, as Jesus said we must be in John chapter 3, then you 412 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,480 can tap into that power in your life. 413 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,640 This is the same power in Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 414 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:36,120 19 and 20 that raised Jesus from the dead. 415 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,960 That's the power living inside of each of you. 416 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,240 You have that power living on the inside of you. 417 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:49,800 Are you a child of God? Have you made Jesus Christ your, 418 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,440 your Lord and Savior? You've submitted your your life 419 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,160 to him. If you have, then you've become 420 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,920 born again as Jesus said in John chapter 3, and your spirit has 421 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,800 been recreated and connected to the heavenly Father. 422 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,800 And as a result of that, the Holy Spirit was given to you as 423 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,360 a guarantee of this inheritance. Read the first chapter of 424 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:16,440 Ephesians, right? We talked about this a number of 425 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:17,920 times. I don't even know, this is like 426 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,400 week 10 of our Ephesians series. We're on chapter 3. 427 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:22,600 Don't worry. We're, we're going to do chapter 428 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,960 4 and then chapter 5 and we've already done chapter 6 and then 429 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,360 we'll be be all done here. But there's still some really 430 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:32,160 good things that we need to get to in Ephesians, and I don't 431 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,840 want you to miss out on that. But the very same power that 432 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:41,360 raised Jesus from the dead is at work within you. 433 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:47,160 You're not a hopeless 'cause sometimes we may feel like that, 434 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:49,200 right? We have all this mess in our 435 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:51,000 lives. We have all these these things 436 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,080 happening. Listen, we didn't get in a mess 437 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,120 overnight, right? Sometimes it makes make take 438 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:01,880 some time for that power to work within us to get us out of those 439 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:03,800 messes. But there's hope, right? 440 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,120 Because you're a child of God, right? 441 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:09,720 If you will lean on God and not on your own, your own 442 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,240 understanding God is working within you. 443 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,400 He's working in your life to cause all these things to turn 444 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,800 out for your good. Amen. 445 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,480 My point is this, that you don't have to try to drag God into 446 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,000 your circumstances. Sometimes we feel like, well, 447 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,800 I'm not, I'm not good enough, I don't feel good enough. 448 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,720 You know, we try to make ourselves feel good enough 449 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,320 before we invite God into a circumstance and into a 450 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,920 situation. But the Bible says that Jesus 451 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,560 died for us while we were still yet sinners, right? 452 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,040 It's not about you. It's not about what you can do 453 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,080 to receive from God. It's all on Jesus. 454 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,080 It's all on God, and He's already done everything that 455 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,320 needs to be done. You don't have to drag him into 456 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,760 your circumstance or situation because He's already there. 457 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,600 Greater is He who is in you. He's right there in the middle 458 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:13,040 of all that with you. You just have to access your 459 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,600 heavenly Father. And that brings me to the last 460 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,040 point. How, how to receive from God? 461 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,880 How do we actually access this power that's been given to us? 462 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,800 How does this go from a, a beautiful prayer that the 463 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:33,040 apostle Paul is praying in this letter to a lived reality like 464 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,600 in your life? How do we practically access 465 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:42,360 this power from God because he seems so intangible sometimes, 466 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:43,320 right? Where is God? 467 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:48,680 Do you see Him right? Where is He right? 468 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:53,040 But he's into each of us, and His power is present in each of 469 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,080 our lives. Well, how do we access that in 470 00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,360 our lives? And this goes back to the same 471 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,440 pattern that runs all the way through Scripture. 472 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,520 And we've talked about this many times before, but let's look at 473 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,720 Romans chapter 10 and 9:00 and 10:00, because this is the 474 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:14,200 pattern all throughout Scripture on how we receive from God in 475 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:19,000 our life, how we access that unlimited resources. 476 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,840 In Romans 10/9 and 10, it says, if you openly declare that Jesus 477 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:28,280 is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from 478 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,880 the dead, you will be saved, right? 479 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:32,920 You're, you're aware of that Scripture, right? 480 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,280 I guess it's the scripture that we use all the time when we're, 481 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:41,520 when we're inviting someone to become a member of God's family, 482 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:45,920 to become born again, right? Romans 10/9 and 10 if you openly 483 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,880 declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God 484 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,840 raised him from the dead, you will be saved in verse 10. 485 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,520 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right 486 00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:01,720 with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you 487 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,480 are saved. So believe in your heart, 488 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,440 declare with your mouth, and receive what God has promised 489 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,400 you. In this case in Romans 10/9 and 490 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,920 10, it's that you will be saved, right? 491 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,120 That's what you're receiving from God. 492 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:21,120 You're receiving salvation. Well, this pattern for receiving 493 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:25,240 salvation is the exact same pattern for receiving everything 494 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,960 and anything from God. Everything that you have need 495 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,120 of. This is how you access that. 496 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:36,080 You believe it, you speak it, and then you receive it. 497 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,040 That's all there is to it. Receiving from God isn't 498 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,920 complicated. A lot of people, they spend 499 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,840 hours and hours and hours toiling in prayer and beating 500 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,440 themselves up and crying and and snotting all over their place, 501 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,840 trying to move God by their emotions. 502 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,440 But that's not how we receive from God. 503 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,880 It's very clear how it is that we receive from God, right? 504 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,160 You believe in your heart. Do you believe His promises in 505 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,400 His Word, right? When you come across the 506 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,280 Scripture like Philippians 419 And my God shall supply all my 507 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:12,960 need. I like to use this scripture 508 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,440 because our need can be very varied, right? 509 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,640 My God shall supply all my need according to His riches and 510 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,280 glory, those unlimited resources, right? 511 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:31,320 And He will provide all that I have need of, right? 512 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:36,160 So do you believe that? Do you believe that God is able 513 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,600 to provide all your need, no matter what it is, no matter how 514 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,160 big it is, no matter how small it is? 515 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:47,160 Do you believe that God is able to provide that need? 516 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:51,160 That's the first thing, right? Believe in your heart and then 517 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:56,280 you declare with your mouth. You have to say out loud what it 518 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,760 is that you're declaring, what it is that you're receiving. 519 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:03,240 If you have a promise, you know, like not just some random thing, 520 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,800 you know, thank you God that I'm going to win the Lotto. 521 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,320 The odds of you winning the Lotto is as much as you know, 522 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:13,640 one to 10 to with 157 zeros after, right? 523 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,280 It's silly, but you have scripture that my God shall 524 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:22,080 supply all your need. Well, maybe your ESB bill was 525 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,760 more than you thought it was going to be. 526 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,240 Well, my bank account is a little short, right? 527 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,080 Well, do you believe that God will supply all your need? 528 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,600 Well, you speak that out. Thank you, Lord, that your word 529 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:39,280 says in Philippians 419 that you shall, you shall meet all my 530 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,760 need according to your riches and glory by Christ Jesus. 531 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:44,720 You're declaring that out, right? 532 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,280 And then you're going to receive it. 533 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,160 Thank you, Lord Jesus, thank you, Heavenly Father, that I 534 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:54,600 receive that provision to my need, that my board, gosh, my, 535 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,800 my ESB bill, whatever it may be that it is paid. 536 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,320 I don't know how that money is going to come, whether it's just 537 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,920 going to appear in my bank account, whether someone's going 538 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:04,840 to give it to me, whether I'm going to get some kind of 539 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:08,239 inheritance or some puppy dog is going to walk up to my front 540 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:12,080 door with a bag full of euro. However it is, I don't care how 541 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:13,360 it is. You're going to meet my need, 542 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,400 Lord. I have your promise. 543 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,679 I believe it, you believe it, you declare it and you receive 544 00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:21,520 it, right? It's that easy. 545 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,040 Anyone can do it. My daughter who's 8 years old, 546 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,920 Aveleen, can do that. I'm not going to ask who's the 547 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,760 oldest person in the room, but from the youngest to the oldest, 548 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,040 we can all do that. It's that simple. 549 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:37,239 That's how we receive from God anything and everything that we 550 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,560 have need of. And I know there's probably a 551 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,239 lot of different needs that each of us have. 552 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,960 And the Bible says that you can pray for one another, right? 553 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:49,679 But what I, what I endeavor to do all the time in our church is 554 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:55,159 I want to teach you how to receive from God because I'm not 555 00:34:55,159 --> 00:34:58,280 around you all the time. That would be weird, right? 556 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,920 Pastor Bread, why you keep following me? 557 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,600 I'm just there just in case you need me, just in age, just in 558 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:05,920 case you need me to pray for you. 559 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,560 You know how you feeling? I heard you sniffling a little 560 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:09,520 bit earlier. You got a cold. 561 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:12,080 You want me to pray for you so you can receive healing from 562 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,480 God? No, you can do that yourselves. 563 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:17,760 Isaiah chapter 53. Thank you, Lord. 564 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,560 I believe that you sent Jesus, that he took those stripes so 565 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,920 that I can be healed. I know that is true, Lord. 566 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,200 I believe your word and so I'm just speaking that out right 567 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,800 now, that by Christ's stripes my body is healed. 568 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,160 That headache that I have, that pain that I have in my body, I 569 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,120 just speak to that pain in Jesus name. 570 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:40,200 You have to go. You have to line up with God's 571 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,400 word. It's the supernatural, right? 572 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,960 God's word that changes our natural circumstances. 573 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:49,160 Faith isn't the denial of circumstances. 574 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,320 It's not the denial of of any adversity in our lives, right? 575 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,920 Faith is believing. I'm going to choose instead that 576 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,080 God supernatural can affect my natural. 577 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:02,360 The world may think that's crazy. 578 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,160 Even other Christians may think that's crazy, but it's God's 579 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,320 word, right? How did we all receive 580 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,640 salvation? Listen, according to a lot of 581 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:12,840 different Christian denominations in the world, that 582 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,960 is absolute lunacy. How do you believe that you can 583 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:20,680 have eternal life by simply believing what Christ did and 584 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,360 confessing him, declaring him as your Lord. 585 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:25,560 It doesn't matter what they believe. 586 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,280 One day when I'm in heaven, I'll say see told you so right. 587 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,960 Hopefully you listen to me and come along with me. 588 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,160 Amen. We're here some practical steps 589 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,400 for you on how to receive from God. 590 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:42,280 All right, I just gave some some simple demonstrations for you 591 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,640 there. But spend time reading God's 592 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,000 Word daily. You know, it's, it's hard to 593 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,200 believe in something if you don't even know what it is 594 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,840 you're to believe for, or if you don't even know what the 595 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,080 promises of God are. How Can you believe in those? 596 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,640 Sometimes our ignorance is our worst enemy. 597 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,600 So it's really important that we're each spending time in 598 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,640 God's Word every day cover to cover. 599 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,520 There's some great like one year study Bible plans and different 600 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:16,240 things, but it's important that we're familiar with God's 601 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:18,120 promises. That's what this Bible is. 602 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:23,520 It's God's promise to us, his redemption story to you and I. 603 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:29,520 So spend time in God's word daily and let the let that word 604 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:32,320 that you're reading the rest your thoughts and dominate your 605 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,640 heart. All right, but don't just stop 606 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:38,000 there. You also need to pray God's word 607 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,640 over your life. When you come across the 608 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:45,560 scripture like Philippians 419, pray pray that scripture over 609 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:49,160 your life. That word is going to change the 610 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,440 circumstances and situations in your life. 611 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,680 It's not a magic bullet that necessarily it's going to happen 612 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,760 like right away. Sometimes it might right, other 613 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,560 times it make may take some time, but stick with it. 614 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:06,360 You keep speaking God's word over your life and I promise you 615 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:11,160 that it will change things in your life and you need to 616 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,720 declare that over yourself loudly. 617 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,440 Once you begin to declare it as if it's yours. 618 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:21,880 And this isn't a self help. This is God's help, right? 619 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:26,800 You're inviting God into your situation and this is the 620 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:30,400 biblical way for his supernatural to alter your 621 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:34,040 natural circumstances. And then the final thing is 622 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:38,080 expect more, right? Sometimes our, our thinking, 623 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:43,120 our, our expectations is just so minimal. 624 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:46,960 You know, sure, this is good enough and this will be just 625 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,960 fine. Like that's our attitude, right? 626 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:50,640 You know, I can, I can deal with this. 627 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:52,960 If God can just do this, I'll be OK. 628 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,600 But that's not what God wants to do, right? 629 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,680 In verse 20, we read His promise that God is able to do 630 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,640 infinitely more than you ask or think, right? 631 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,800 So stop limiting your expectation to what you can 632 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:11,040 figure out on your own. The Bible says cast your care 633 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,480 upon the Lord because He cares for you, right? 634 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:18,160 You can't figure out a lot of things in your life most of the 635 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,240 time, and even if you are able to figure it out, you're just 636 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,920 figuring it out to a point where it's just met. 637 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:28,120 But God wants to do infinitely above and beyond what you can 638 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:32,360 think or even imagine, right? So let God think bigger, let 639 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:36,640 your expectations be bigger. Believe big and pray big. 640 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:40,040 Can you do that? So I'm going to close with this. 641 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:46,040 Don't settle for a small version of the life God has called you 642 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:47,960 to. Don't settle. 643 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,240 This world will try to get you to settle. 644 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:51,560 Well, fine. You can have this. 645 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:53,760 Just be quiet, all right? Sit still. 646 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,760 Just be OK here. Don't rock the boat. 647 00:39:57,200 --> 00:39:58,840 Right? Well, listen, I didn't move to 648 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,160 Ireland. I didn't uproot my family from 649 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:04,840 America to follow the plan and call of God to Ireland to just 650 00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:08,920 be still. I'm OK rocking the boat, right? 651 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:13,840 I'm OK pushing the boundaries with God's Word, right? 652 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:18,520 Because God's culture supersedes any other culture. 653 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:22,160 We have a lot of different cultures in this in this room. 654 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,280 We represent a lot of different nationalities, right? 655 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,360 And those nationalities are great and those nationalities 656 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,800 are beautiful. And the culture within those are 657 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:32,840 beautiful. God developed those things, but 658 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:37,960 where that culture causes a friction between God's culture 659 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:40,760 and, and the other culture, while we're we need to go with 660 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,400 God's culture every time, right? Because that's where the 661 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,320 heavenly Father is. That's where the where the 662 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:46,880 blessing is. That's where the windows of 663 00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,680 heaven are opened is within God's culture. 664 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:52,800 God loves all cultures. He's the one that created those 665 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:54,400 cultures. But there's part of every 666 00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:57,520 culture that the devil have tried to put things in there to 667 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:02,560 try to impede people from receiving these things from God. 668 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,960 So don't settle for a small version of the life that God has 669 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,360 called you to. You've been rooted in love. 670 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,600 You've been filled with power. Now you need to believe it. 671 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:20,280 Now you need to speak it, and now you need to walk in it. 672 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:24,240 Amen. Let's all close our eyes and bow 673 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:26,680 our heads. Now I want us to pray. 674 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:30,600 Pray this all together and declare this over our lives. 675 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:36,080 Dear Heavenly Father, I believe you have a plan for my life. 676 00:41:37,880 --> 00:41:40,920 I believe I am fully included in your family. 677 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,200 I receive your love into my heart right now. 678 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:55,560 Holy Spirit strengthen me from the inside out and I declare 679 00:41:55,560 --> 00:42:01,640 that Christ is at home in my heart and I believe you are 680 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:09,200 doing more in my life than I can ask or even imagine. 681 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:17,040 In Jesus name, Amen. Thank you for listening to the 682 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,240 Triumph Church podcast this week. 683 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,240 If it was a blessing to you, share it with someone you know. 684 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:28,400 For more information on Triumph Church, you can visit us at 685 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:32,200 www.triumphchurch.ie.