1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,120 In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:04,440 Spirit forever. Amen. 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:09,200 Glory be to the everlasting mercies which sent you to us, O 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,880 Christ, the Light of the world and the life of all. 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,960 Give us wisdom by your law and enlighten our impulses by your 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,960 knowledge. Sanctify our souls by your 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,800 truth, and grant that we may be obedient to your words and may 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:24,800 fulfill your commandments at every hour. 9 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:34,160 O you who enlightens the rationale with the knowledge of 10 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:39,000 your greatness, do enlight, O my Lord, our thoughts that we may 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,360 meditate upon your holy and divine scriptures at all times. 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:01:01,880 O Lord of all, In this episode we will continue 13 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,440 our discussions on Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 to 18, 14 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,960 which we commenced last episode. Concerning and concentrating on 15 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:15,120 the armor of God, we are instructed, encouraged, urged by 16 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:21,480 Saint Paul to put on in their entirety to avoid giving Satan 17 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:28,200 the foothold and why we read in verse 13 so that we may be able 18 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:33,480 to meet, confront the evil one, that is when he acts on attempts 19 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,600 to sneak in and being in all respects prepared so that we're 20 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,960 prepared and we may stay, stand firm. 21 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,600 Last episode we focused on girding our loins with the truth 22 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,720 and that is empire empowering ourselves with a true faith and 23 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:58,120 doctrine. Teachings creeds as far as the 24 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,760 faith is concerned. It is the belief, the obedience, 25 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,560 the life in the one God, the Father of Truth, of whom all 26 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,640 fatherhood in heaven and earth is named. 27 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:17,760 As we pray in the liturgy of the Holy Qurbana, believe the 28 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:23,880 obedient and a life in the one everlasting sun, by whose hands 29 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,280 all things were created. Believe, obedience, and life in 30 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:33,840 the one Spirit of holiness, or the Holy Spirit who sanctifies 31 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:39,000 all and as far as the teachings and the doctrines are concerned. 32 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,920 Believing and being obedient and having a life in the One Holy 33 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:50,120 Apostolic Catholic denoting universal complete Church to 34 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:55,760 whom God promised through His Holy Prophets, hope and life to 35 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:02,920 all humanity through her that is His Holy Church and only through 36 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:07,200 her. And that promise of God was 37 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,200 fulfilled, and has been fulfilled through His Beloved 38 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:17,400 Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, belief, obedience, and life in 39 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,200 the Church and for the salvation of mankind. 40 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,680 He told her that is His holy Church, that her doors. 41 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,920 Now this is a prayer that we pray during the sacrament of 42 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:35,720 baptism. God told her His holy Church, 43 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,280 that her doors will be open forever, day and night, and 44 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,920 won't be closed, that kings may come to her brilliance, and the 45 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,640 nations may bring forth their sons and daughters to worship at 46 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,680 His footstool. For in her that is His Holy 47 00:03:52,680 --> 00:04:00,960 Church, That is the sacraments of the priesthood, the Church's 48 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,480 priesthood, the faith, the doctrine, the theology, the 49 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,120 liturgy, the sacraments, the traditions. 50 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:11,360 And only in her in them is her God and all of His provisions 51 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:17,680 and gracious gifts. This the armor of truth, true 52 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:24,040 faith in one God and his Son, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ 53 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,280 and His Holy Spirit and His Holy Church. 54 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,840 But wait, there's more grace upon grace, or grace for grace, 55 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,400 Jesus instructs in John chapter one, verse six. 56 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:42,800 We're then told that we must also gird ourselves or put on 57 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,480 ourselves, put upon ourselves, and to wear the breastplate of 58 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:53,320 righteousness. Now by righteousness, writes the 59 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,440 Blessed Theophilac. And he comments that by 60 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,800 righteousness the apostle means the virtuous way of life and its 61 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,320 entirety. You know, we speak about these 62 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,000 things, we mention these virtues, good deeds, manners, 63 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,040 ethics. But the world is so distant, you 64 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,000 know, some people may say, well, you know, we know that, yeah, we 65 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,840 need to live a modest life. We need to live a virtuous life. 66 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:22,400 But, you know, we are so far away from that virtuous life 67 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:28,160 that God has called us to. So the the blessed Theophila 68 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,400 goes on and says by righteous the apostle means the virtuous 69 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,680 way of life in its entirety. He is telling us in so many 70 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:42,200 words to embrace and accomplish every righteous deed. 71 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,800 Because we spoke about faith, now we're talking about the 72 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,440 deeds. Just as a breastplate protects a 73 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:55,560 soldier from deadly wounds, so does righteousness and all other 74 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:00,400 virtues protect the Christian from evil or every evil. 75 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,960 And hence St. Paul instructs and urges us. 76 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,800 You put on the breastplate of righteousness, put on 77 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,960 righteousness. Very Simply put, righteousness. 78 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:13,400 If you're asking what is righteousness? 79 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,680 Righteousness is not justification. 80 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:22,120 Righteousness is being right with God in the eyes of God 81 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:24,960 according to the measures of God. 82 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:29,520 Let's give some examples. In Romans chapter 12, verse 2, 83 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:34,000 Saint Paul instructs that we are not to be likened or fashioned 84 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,960 onto this world or do not conform to the patterns of this 85 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,000 world. This is when when I read from 86 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,080 the the version in the English version is the translated from 87 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,720 the Shukla, the Aramaic language. 88 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,560 We are not to be likened or fashioned onto this world, but 89 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,800 be changed by the renewing of your minds that you may discern 90 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,640 what is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect. 91 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,160 We're using this as an example. Now let's go backwards with this 92 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,480 verse. To be right, to be righteous, to 93 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,480 be deemed righteous by all the measures of God which is one of 94 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:13,360 the armours of God. To deter Satan form taking a 95 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,600 foothold, we need to discern what is the will of God first. 96 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,040 And if we read verse one of Romans chapter 12, Paul is 97 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:23,800 urging us. He's begging us. 98 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,000 I beg you therefore my brethren, by the mercies of God, that you 99 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,240 present your body's living sacrifices holy and acceptable 100 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:37,280 to God by a logical service. So our bodies being offered as a 101 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:42,240 holy and pleasing sacrifice to God, acceptable to God, we are 102 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:46,440 made righteous. That means we've put on the 103 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,840 breastplate, the breastplate of righteousness. 104 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,960 How? That we do not conform or be 105 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,320 likened or fashioned onto this world, but the changing and 106 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,920 renewing of our minds. We need to change our mindset, 107 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:08,200 beloved. We need to change our outlook on 108 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,600 life. We need to look at life through 109 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:18,320 the eyes of Jesus Christ. We need to have a mindset on 110 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:24,440 life, just as Christ mindset. When they came to make him king, 111 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,680 he walked away when they were waiting for a earthly Kingdom 112 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,080 and authority and government, he said. 113 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,840 This is not me. This is not the I'm come for 114 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,400 that the earth is mine. The heavens and the earth 115 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,600 proclaim my glory. I don't need to claim that it's 116 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,320 mine. I'm here to put your minds and 117 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,680 to take your focus of the earthly and put it on the 118 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:58,800 heavenly, the Israel that is above the new Jerusalem, the 119 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,320 Israel which is the Church of Jesus Christ, the new Jerusalem 120 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:10,360 which is the Kingdom of heaven. Now let's clarify, Beloved, When 121 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,520 Saint Paul, as a side note, is instructing us to offer our 122 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,720 bodies as a sacrifice, he's not promoting suicide because some 123 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,520 people take the scriptures literally. 124 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,280 You know, some people, when they read that Jesus says unless you 125 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,800 become like children, they go and sit and play in the dirt, 126 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,760 oh, you know, adults. And they think that they need to 127 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,040 start buying match matchbox cars. 128 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,440 Is that what they call and start, you know, booming on the 129 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,000 table and whatever? No, no, that's literal. 130 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,040 What Jesus, what Saint Pauli's telling us is not promoting 131 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:47,480 suicide. No, but he wants us to think of 132 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:54,360 how we can offer the body, how we conduct the body, how we, how 133 00:09:54,360 --> 00:10:00,720 we present our bodies in life. That is contrary to the world. 134 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:06,680 That means I sacrifice what the world claims to be good and 135 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:08,720 righteous. I don't want that. 136 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,720 I'm sacrificing all of that comfort. 137 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,160 Maybe sometimes, you know, a little bit of temptation. 138 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,320 No, no, no, I don't want that. We're going to give some 139 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,400 examples. I want to sacrifice this body 140 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:28,400 for God to look at me and say, wow, how beautiful, how adorned, 141 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:35,200 how precious. And not for the world to give me 142 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,960 wolf whistles. No, no, I don't want that. 143 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:45,200 Not for the world to call me. Hey, Spunky, hey, you look hot. 144 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,880 No, no, no. I want the Lord to look, look at 145 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,360 me and look upon me in my misery. 146 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:56,040 That is by the way, but out of His grace and love and mercy and 147 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,280 out of His kindness to look at me and say I am pleased with 148 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:07,160 that, I am pleased with you. And then obviously you know and 149 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:12,320 and by the way to to so that we don't take these verses as 150 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,840 literal and you know, promoting suicide. 151 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,960 He says, he adds living sacrifice, so we continue to 152 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,600 live. So suicide is not a way of 153 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,160 sacrifice, just a side note. And then to distinguish that 154 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,920 sacrifice from the sacrifice of the law of the flesh and the 155 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:37,200 Judaic sacrifice, Paul calls it acceptable to God, meaning that 156 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,280 really there is only one sacrifice, that God was pleased. 157 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:46,800 God the Father was pleased, and through it he atoned, and 158 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,080 through it he forgave, and through it he reconciled with 159 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,640 man was the sacrifice of his son Al or Jesus Christ. 160 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,000 We don't need to commit suicide. We don't need to crucify 161 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,520 ourselves. We don't need to shed blood. 162 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,320 We don't need to shed the blood of animals. 163 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,840 No, we don't need to do that. It's in vain now. 164 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:08,280 It has no purpose whatsoever because Christ has done that for 165 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,560 you and I. But what God wants is that 166 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:17,200 living sacrifice, that sacrifice of obedience, of love, true, 167 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,800 genuine love. You love the Lord, my dear 168 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:25,000 brother, You love the Lord. You need to please the Lord in 169 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,400 every aspect of life, every aspect, your work, your 170 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,200 marriage, your relationship, when you know you're going in 171 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,440 and coming out. You need to please the Lord with 172 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:41,240 every aspect of your life. My dear sister, you love the 173 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:43,480 Lord. Loving the Lord doesn't mean 174 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,760 during Good Friday you post a a, a verse from the scriptures and 175 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,080 and you know with a smart a a tearful face and Jesus died for 176 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:53,800 me. Of course we know Jesus died for 177 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:54,760 us. We yes. 178 00:12:54,760 --> 00:13:03,440 I mean how we reflect that that appreciation, that that love, 179 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:08,480 that obedience, that Jesus died for me, how I express my 180 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:15,160 appreciation is how I conduct, conduct myself in life, not only 181 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:20,320 that one day on a Good Friday or the Sunday of the resurrection 182 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:23,720 or the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 183 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000 And how is it that the body is to become a sacrifice? 184 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:35,840 Let's give some examples. And this is how we become 185 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:40,680 righteous. This is how God claims us, 186 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,960 declares us righteous. Meaning made right. 187 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,000 OK, one more time. Meaning made, right. 188 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,160 You know when you're when you type a document in Word? 189 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,600 And then you have the indentations, right? 190 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,360 You have the the centered indentation, The left. 191 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:00,240 You're making it right. You want, you wanna you wanna 192 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:01,520 center it? Make it right. 193 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:10,240 OK, so we are to be made right, to be indented. 194 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:15,200 You want to call by God according to how we live and how 195 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:20,000 how we conduct ourselves. Matthew, chapter 18, verse 9, 196 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,640 some very amazing examples. And you know, again, taken 197 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:30,360 literally, it's very dangerous. It's it's metaphoric. 198 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,040 But there's a a, a, a great emphasis and a message in there 199 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,920 if your eye, which is the body of your, your a part of your 200 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,920 body. Actually it's a precious part of 201 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,080 the body. If your eye causes you to send 202 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,160 gouge it out, right, Cut it out, one of the fathers writes. 203 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,240 Let the eye look upon no evil thing, and it has become a 204 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,560 sacrifice. Always spoken about this every 205 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,680 now and then. You may be saying, lovely harps 206 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,480 on the same thing. Yeah, because we're not doing 207 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,360 it. Because we hear it. 208 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,000 But we don't do it. We preach it, but we don't live 209 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,360 it. We preach it, but we don't 210 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,840 practice it. We agree to it, but we don't 211 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:16,200 claim it righteously. If your eye causes you to sin, 212 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,920 what causes you to sin? Your eye? 213 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,360 That means what goes into your eye, what your eye is perceiving 214 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,240 and seeing and has been exposed to. 215 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,680 Cut that out. Cut it out. 216 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,200 Because if you want to be righteous in the eye of God, 217 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,960 this is the breast of the the breastplate of righteousness. 218 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,120 Cut out what is causing you to sin. 219 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,520 If it's your eye, cut out what your eye is seeing. 220 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,400 Now as I said, it's a precious part of the body. 221 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,120 So one of the fathers, I'm sure is Saint John Chrysostom also 222 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,400 comments and says it's not just what you see, what you perceive, 223 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:03,000 but those beloved friends, family, friends and relatives. 224 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,240 If people are causing you to sin, cut them out. 225 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,360 Now it does not mean that you have no relationship. 226 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:13,960 You just don't talk to these people. 227 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,200 They're your enemies. No, no, no, have no association. 228 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,560 That's what Saint Paul writes in his epistles. 229 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:24,720 What relation is there between light and darkness? 230 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,480 You know, when you when sometimes you, you, you know 231 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,840 lack of a better term, you neglect people and you, you sort 232 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:36,120 of walk away from people that are causing you to sin. 233 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,200 It causes them to start thinking as well. 234 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,480 Well, what happened? Why are you so cold? 235 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,640 Why are you so withdrawn? What's wrong? 236 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,160 And you say, well, you know what, I don't agree with what 237 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,400 you're seeing. I don't agree with what I see 238 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:54,160 from you. It's causing me to sin, so I 239 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:55,720 need to cut that out. Why? 240 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,160 Because it's better for me to enter the Kingdom of heaven and 241 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:03,720 have no relatives, no friends, no BFFS, nothing by myself to 242 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,560 enter the Kingdom of heaven than to be burning in the fire of 243 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,480 hell and having so many friends and best friends and what have 244 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:17,319 you. What about the hands, beloved in 245 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:21,599 Psalm 134, Chapter 2? Lift up your hands onto holiness 246 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,720 and bless the Lord God. We need to be working holiness 247 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:30,480 with our hands. Charity, help, assistance 248 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,480 working with our hands to make an honest living, not thieving, 249 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,120 stealing, murdering, bashing people. 250 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:44,640 And I'll go As for you know and I, and I've always said as it is 251 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,760 right and not fulfilling our sexual desires with our hands. 252 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:48,960 You know what I'm talking about, man. 253 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,040 You know what I'm talking about. Don't blush. 254 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,480 Right? And my dear sisters, these are 255 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:02,680 not what hands were made for. Hands were made for blessing the 256 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,600 Lord God without holiness. Now holiness means not that your 257 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,600 hands have Halos around them. No set apart. 258 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,840 These hands are set apart to glorify God, always extending 259 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,560 the arm of reconciliation and peace. 260 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,880 That's what Israel and Palestine and all the Arab nations and the 261 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,280 United Nations. You know, everyone's coming out 262 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,120 and and giving their their what is it, what they call their 263 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,920 their concerns and their views? It means nothing. 264 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,120 It means nothing. All these people being 265 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:41,600 interviewed and one will point to the finger at Palestine and 266 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,640 the other will point the finger at at Jews. 267 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,600 While people are dying, innocent people are dying regardless of 268 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,000 what color, what race they're dying, what gender, Male and 269 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,440 female. They're dying, right? 270 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:59,560 Because let me tell you why. Because the leaders, those who 271 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:04,600 call the shots and bio what we see before our eyes are not the 272 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,160 ones that call the shots. The ones that really call the 273 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,320 shots, they're hidden. You won't see them. 274 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:14,320 Oh no, we won't see them, right. But I just want to be a family 275 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,080 on a wall when they see the Lord Jesus Christ return. 276 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,400 Oh, how I'd love to see that day and see their faces, right? 277 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:28,760 Because they don't have the obedience, the love of Christ. 278 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,720 They may proclaim it and claim it. 279 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,360 They don't have that love. They don't have that 280 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:38,520 relationship with God, the creator of heaven and on earth 281 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,560 to extend the arm and make peace. 282 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:44,920 It's simple. It's simple. 283 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:50,160 Stop, stop. Let's talk, you know, glory to 284 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,440 God in the highs. Praise me to his name says to 285 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:54,720 Job. I believe it is. 286 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,720 Let us converse. Come, let us talk to one 287 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,120 another. This is God, the creator of 288 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:04,360 heaven on earth, who sits in heaven and mocks those that are 289 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:06,440 on earth. Not literally. 290 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,000 That means he looks at us as though, like, look at this. 291 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,000 Look at this person. Look at humankind. 292 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:20,680 They want to go against me. Extend the arm for peace, for 293 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:26,480 goodness, and we must do good. We must not be lawless with our 294 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,920 hands. Charitable work, extending help, 295 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:37,640 assistance, That's how you're offering your hands. 296 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,080 As a sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. 297 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,400 Giving. What about our feet? 298 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,760 Hebrews chapter 12, verse 13. Make straight paths for your 299 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,920 feet. Your word is a light to my feet. 300 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,240 Where we go beloved. How we go. 301 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:03,480 Where is you know we have a we have a a tradition where when a 302 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,680 when parents have a child. When the mother has a child 303 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,360 sting, we say bratta akhla. Right now as always just think 304 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,160 why are we blessing only the feet What about the head, the 305 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,760 hands you know? But it dawned on me that when we 306 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:23,640 say, may his feet be blessed, meaning may his walk in life be 307 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:32,480 blessed, may his walk in life be a be influenced, be guided, be 308 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:37,680 protected by the will of God and the righteousness of God. 309 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,400 But you know what? When the child grows and the 310 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,520 child knows nothing about God because the parents have been so 311 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:52,240 lazy, the parents laugh and and and ridicule the truth and the 312 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,560 the significance of coming to church and bringing their 313 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,720 children to church and to children's ministry so that they 314 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,560 can be taught and groomed and nourished. 315 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,480 You see the child's walk becomes distant from God. 316 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:12,080 And then when the child, grown up adult falls into some serious 317 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,320 mischief, who do we run to? We run to the church. 318 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,680 Of course, that is absolutely right because the church is 319 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,920 there to always for assistance and help. 320 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,400 What about the tongue? You know, we've spoken about the 321 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,200 F bomb. The F bomb is so now normal. 322 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,080 You know when you when, when you know. 323 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:38,200 Sometimes you see these news clips and when someone is 324 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,280 cussing you, there's always a blip, blip, blip. 325 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:41,840 That's not happening anymore now. 326 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,640 So man is now free to use whatever word he want, he or she 327 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,080 wants. Whether it's offensive, 328 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,720 insulting, it doesn't matter. Whether it's a sin, it doesn't 329 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:53,040 matter. It's my choice. 330 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:57,720 I will use it. And I remember going back when I 331 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,600 was a young boy, it was about five years ago and when I was a 332 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:07,800 young boy or a or a or a young child, and even at school, even 333 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,160 our high school day, St. John's Park, St. 334 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:15,160 John's Park High School, Rey issue, we wouldn't cuss in front 335 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,280 of females. I mean, it was bad to cuss. 336 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,080 We wouldn't, we wouldn't swear we wouldn't cuss in front of the 337 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,240 females. It was always respecting the 338 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,640 females. Right Now, nowadays, the 339 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,040 females, you know, they don't hold back because it's cool. 340 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,320 It's it's expressing your expressing your anger, it's 341 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:39,200 expressing your frustration. And sometimes it's out of 342 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,480 context. Sometimes you don't need, even 343 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,680 need to say it, right. So it's becoming a norm. 344 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,400 We say it's like a a gum in the mouth, you know? 345 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,560 Yes. And if you're laughing and you 346 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,680 do it, you need to quit. You need to offer your tongue 347 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,800 and your mouth as a sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. 348 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:04,640 The mouth has been created obviously to eat, to breathe. 349 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,000 When you have a a sinus infection. 350 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,040 Yes you breathe from your mouth to speak, to communicate to 351 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,760 speak truth to speak words that are profitable. 352 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,800 You know Saint Paul writes. You know before you you let go 353 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,200 of the word examine it. Make sure it's like salt that 354 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,000 will season. You know that would that has a a 355 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,480 save it has a flavor to it not bland party right. 356 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:32,160 The mouth has been, has been created to glorify the Lord. 357 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,800 Our Heavenly Father prays be to his name in James chapter 3, 358 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,760 verse 10. He writes From the mouth 359 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,800 proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought 360 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,840 not so to be done. This is the scriptures. 361 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,440 This you know when we say we want Bible studies, I'll be Why 362 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,840 don't you do podcasts and why don't you preach? 363 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,840 And the church is not preaching. The church should be preaching 364 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:57,560 gospel. The church should be preaching 365 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,560 the scriptures. I mean, I'm preaching now. 366 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:05,560 If you are one of those who uses your mouth for anything other 367 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,440 than to live in this world and to praise God, it's a sin. 368 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:11,800 You need to repent. There's my preaching of the 369 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,280 gospel. Maybe you should be listening to 370 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,680 the Gospels then, you know, And Jesus says the light came into 371 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,120 the world in the Gospel of John. But those who are evil did not 372 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:23,800 come to the light because they knew that once they come to the 373 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,960 light, their sins would be exposed. 374 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,560 Well, it's good for their sins to be exposed because then they 375 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,880 would repent. What about looks and beauty? 376 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:40,080 Beloved, You know, I I think, I think I've, I maybe have turned 377 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,360 off a few people because I constantly hammer this message. 378 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:50,960 Why? Because when you send me a 379 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,240 friend request for those who are listening, when you send me a 380 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,600 friend request on Facebook, or you follow on Instagram and what 381 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:05,720 have you, and then your profile picture is not of a a Christian. 382 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:13,080 It's not in a manner that is befitting the Gospels and is not 383 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,280 offering a holy and pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. 384 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,960 What do I do? You put yourself in my position. 385 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:25,720 What do I do? Do I accept or do I reject and 386 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,560 send a message? And I do sometimes. 387 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,080 And then I don't hear from these people. 388 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:30,800 They block me. God bless you. 389 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,360 Why do I keep talking about this? 390 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:41,720 Because we continue, and I see my brothers and sisters continue 391 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,200 in this era. Saint Peter writes in his first 392 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,360 epistles, Chapter 3, verses three to four. 393 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:55,920 And what Saint Peter is writing, that's you know Allah, God rest 394 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,440 your soul saying, pray you're in paradise. 395 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,720 Pray for us beseech your Lord to have mercy upon us. 396 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,760 I'm content, what with what He is complaining about. 397 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,240 I'm content if that's the only case today. 398 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:13,120 Do not be adorned with outward ornaments of your hair, braid, 399 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:17,600 or of gold jewelry or fine clothing, but be adorned, be 400 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:23,120 adorned in in the secret person of the heart and in a humble 401 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:26,800 spirit which is uncorrupted. An excellent ornament before 402 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,880 God, so you know gold and silver. 403 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:39,200 Now, I have no issues with that, but when the outfits are getting 404 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:46,080 shorter from the from the hems and from the neck, and they're 405 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:53,120 becoming tighter to reveal, and the clothes are only to reveal, 406 00:27:54,440 --> 00:28:01,240 only to show the the the gift that God has given us, but not 407 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,920 in a way to praise God. What should I preach? 408 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:06,760 You tell me. You message me. 409 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:11,120 You tell me. Listen, we're talking about the 410 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,320 breastplate of righteousness. We're talking about 411 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,600 righteousness, meaning being right in the eyes of God. 412 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,720 And we're talking about the the Scriptures telling us that to be 413 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,600 right with God we need to know His will. 414 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:30,040 And his will is not for you and I to parade ourselves. 415 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,040 That is not His will, is that we are all obedient to him. 416 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,240 And why? You know I always ask the 417 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,120 question and you should ask your question and you should know 418 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:42,520 this. Just because you're going to be 419 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,240 obedient to God doesn't mean you increase God's glory and 420 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,400 righteousness. God is glorified from the mouths 421 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,560 of babes and sucklings. You made your glory. 422 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:59,040 I cannot affect God's glory, no. But what I do is when I do 423 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:04,120 things for the glory of God, it shows my true love and my 424 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:11,480 obedience to God. So that when he returns I am 425 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,080 seen right in his eyes. So that when Satan wants to come 426 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,280 and take a foothold, he has no place. 427 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:25,720 Because he sees that you and I are so clinged to the Lord with 428 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,040 the manner of life that we live that he just walks away and 429 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:30,280 says, you know what? Forget it. 430 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,800 This guy's too difficult. One of the Church Fathers writes 431 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:39,400 this and I'll conclude. But he who is both the head of 432 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:44,040 the men and the beauty of the woman, the bridegroom of the 433 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:49,880 Church, Christ Jesus, what sort of crown did he put on? 434 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,120 For both male and female? It was a crown of thorns, 435 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,200 beloved, a crown of suffering and ridicule. 436 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:05,280 Gentlemen, when you stand at the altar to be married, to be 437 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,960 blessed. And I pray that you're not 438 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,520 drunk. All right? 439 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,840 I play pray that you're in the right mindset to listen to the 440 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,200 words so that you know what you're saying when the crown is 441 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,000 placed on your head. My dear brothers and sisters, 442 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,440 it's not. They've got nothing to do about 443 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,680 being cute. Nothing. 444 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,040 It's got nothing to do about the pictures coming out, you know, 445 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,600 you know. So you have some nice pictures 446 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:32,720 and memories. No, no, no. 447 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:37,120 When you, when you lower your head and receive that crown, 448 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:41,640 it's a crown of sacrifice. The crown of sacrifice that 449 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:47,800 Christ received on His head before He was crucified. 450 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,240 And it's the crown of sacrifice that the Church receives, that 451 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:56,440 we will sacrifice our lives, offered to God a sacrifice that 452 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,440 is holy and pleasing with our lives, our minds, our hearts, 453 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:04,120 and our souls. And He goes on. 454 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:09,360 And He offered His body on the crucifix as a sacrifice pleasing 455 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,920 to God for the victory or the power and adornment of his holy 456 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:18,840 Church. So Christ received a crown, a 457 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:24,360 crown of ridicule. Christ endured suffering and 458 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,040 persecution and a death, a ridiculed death. 459 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,800 One who was cursed as though he was cursed, he took on the 460 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,960 curse. And he received that. 461 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:41,680 And today I want to show the world that I have a a beautiful 462 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,280 body. And I want to show the world 463 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:51,480 that I have a my physique is so amazing and I take pictures to 464 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:57,320 show the world. What happened to narcissism? 465 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:04,840 What happened to narcissism? I don't understand why I would 466 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:10,640 take a picture of myself and then post it so that the world 467 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:18,640 can see how beautiful I am, or the world can see that I am what 468 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,320 I am. No, beloved. 469 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:25,240 Because that's when we need to really wake up and really 470 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,920 consider where we stand with God, maybe. 471 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:34,320 And just maybe, Satan has taken that foothold and it's not the 472 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:36,840 end. It's not the end of the world. 473 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,000 Yet. There is time. 474 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:45,240 There is that one last hour that we come back and we repent, and 475 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,200 we ask the Lord to forgive us. And then after we receive the 476 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:53,240 forgiveness, we do truly offer our bodies as a living 477 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:58,440 sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, so that we are made right 478 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,400 and then we are rest. We rest assured that we have put 479 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,000 on the breastplate of righteousness, Praise and glory 480 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,040 be to the name of our Heavenly Father, His Son, our Lord Jesus 481 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,280 Christ and the Holy Spirit now, not all times and forever. 482 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:33,800 We hope you enjoyed this week's message. 483 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,040 Please don't forget to rate and review this podcast and share 484 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,400 with your friends and family for any future topics, suggestions 485 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,880 or to give us detailed feedback. Please visit our link in the 486 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:50,120 show notes linktr dot EE forward slash Double Edged sword Until 487 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:51,520 next time. God bless you all.