1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:05,320 Welcome to Three CR. Thanks, Matt. 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,240 Very kind of you. Yeah. 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,960 So we've been in Zimbabwe and had an amazing time there 4 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,760 through a friend of ours who's a friend of ours who's a friend of 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,840 ours. And actually it all starts with 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:21,120 a man in this church called Rhone who got saved in Zimbabwe, 7 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:27,720 and a man called Tom Dishell. And they have a building 10 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,160 times the size of this. And so it's so nice to walk into 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,600 places and you realize we're just a little blip on a radar 10 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,520 somewhere. And I said to them, they've got 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,240 more people, they've got more influence. 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:40,280 They've got. I said, I don't know why I'm 13 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,760 here, but it's good to be here. I said, how did you earth did 14 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,480 you build this thing? Because I know when we built our 15 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:47,840 thing, it wasn't easy. It was a miracle of God. 16 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,000 And they said, oh, that's quite easy. 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,360 A few people came and gave a million U.S. dollars. 18 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,920 I said, oh, it's easy to build a church, you know, so million 19 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,600 U.S. dollars. I can build a church with a 20 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,960 million U.S. dollars, he said. And then one day a Zimbabwean 21 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,880 man walked in here and gave us 20 million U.S. dollars. 22 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,800 I said, you lie. He said, I can't, I'm a pastor 23 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,120 20 million. I've I've got a financial friend 24 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,480 in in the church. So it's a mess. 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,240 And I said, what is that in today's terms? 26 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,240 He said 600 million Rand. So so we're very humbled. 27 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,200 I've got a choir of 100 people. It's probably the most amazing 28 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,200 worship I've ever seen. And they they want to be 29 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,520 friends. They want to be our friends. 30 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,760 And so they invited us because they want to be our friends. 31 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,280 So we've got friends all over the world. 32 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,760 It's nice to see you. If you're in the overflow room, 33 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:43,360 it's awesome. If you're in the over other 34 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,160 overflow room, it's awesome. And then I got a message from my 35 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,400 friend Philip Smith and his wife Melani in the Carew saying we're 36 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,720 watching you online and she shouted the background and we've 37 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:58,280 got your bank details. So for all of you in the Carew 38 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,800 and my friend Richard and Elis Russ, it's so nice to have you. 39 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:09,600 We're doing a series called No for you guys NIA or most of you 40 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:15,920 guys NIA, say NIA no. So we're just going to start the 41 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,640 year with no, just the ability of God to teach us no. 42 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,840 And we're just going to do it for this. 43 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,760 This will be the last week. It's just a little against the 44 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,720 grain reminder that there are choices in our heart that if we 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,160 make them, it has a deep impact down the line. 46 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,080 Amen. So let's read Titus chapter 1. 47 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,120 If you went here last week, we just introduced it and we 48 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,040 realized it's surrounded by such very beautiful words. 49 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,160 And today I'm going to look at some of the practice of that. 50 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,440 It's really, really good to see you for the grace of God. 51 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,120 Say the grace of God that brings salvation. 52 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,240 Say salvation, beautiful word. It's a, it's a spacious word. 53 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,520 And so God is going to teach us to say no, but he introduces it 54 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,080 amongst grace and space. So most people think, well, if I 55 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,840 come to church, everything's just going to shut down on me. 56 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:13,480 But actually, before God even shuts anything down, he just 57 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:15,600 opens it up. Let's always remember that. 58 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,400 It teaches us to say no. Say no inverted commas. 59 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,520 That's like quite a strong no. Say, just say no. 60 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,800 Yeah. Or they're more English. 61 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,880 Either that or you guys have forgotten what Loftus is like. 62 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:38,040 Let's try it again. 123 near 123 no, I said 123 near yes. 63 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,920 Yellow Mainsa listening Markley follows that one mains that 64 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,600 one's weird prove here in two year three. 65 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,360 Don't forget. It teaches us to say no to 66 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,880 ungodliness and to worldly passions and to live self 67 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:02,320 controlled, upright and godly. Lives in Pretoria in 2026 at 68 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,080 Tickeys University, surrounded by this government, in these 69 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,440 economic crises, in this present time, it teaches us to say no to 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,760 ungodliness while we wait. Say wait, wait. 71 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,120 Not easy to wait, eh? Not easy to wait for sex when 72 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:25,880 you're 19 or 20 years old. Not easy to wait for the blessed 73 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:31,040 hope, say blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great 74 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:35,000 God, say great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 75 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,480 So when it says great God and Savior, it's like saying he's a 76 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,120 great husband and father. What it means is a great husband 77 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:46,160 and a great father. So our great God and great 78 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,200 Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself us to redeem us, say, 79 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,880 redeem us from all wickedness and purify for himself, for 80 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,760 people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 81 00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,800 These then are the things that you should teach. 82 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,520 Why, Rory, are you starting this year like this? 83 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:04,960 Because the Bible says we must teach these things. 84 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,160 And if you're in this church, you should have the whole 85 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,120 council of God that after a season of being in this church, 86 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,560 you should actually have the full expression of God, the yes 87 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,040 of God, the Amen of God, the blessing of God, and also the 88 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:19,640 know of God. It's part of the teaching. 89 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,960 Encourage and rebuke with all authority. 90 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,440 Don't get up there like a war story, get up there and roar 91 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:37,690 like a lion. No, and you Afrikaans folks 92 00:05:37,690 --> 00:05:45,930 better not despise me. So the Bible says so. 93 00:05:45,930 --> 00:05:54,130 Let's have a look at these words surrounding no grace, salvation, 94 00:05:55,250 --> 00:06:01,720 blessed hope, glorious appearing, great God, great 95 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,200 Savior, Redeemer. No. 96 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,280 And how beautiful is that? How beautiful is that? 97 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:12,840 If you were in the tent, you'll remember the story. 98 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:14,160 If you weren't in the tent, you won't. 99 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,600 But I had the unbelievable privilege of going to the army 100 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,800 with the worst troop that was ever, ever taken into the South 101 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,680 African Defence Force. His name was David Lambert. 102 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,520 To this day, in the records of military history in South 103 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,240 Africa, he ranks as the very worst troop ever. 104 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,280 And he happened to be in the same escarder as AC. 105 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,360 So when they got there, the corporal said V Van Yella is von 106 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,080 Durban. So a few of us put our hands up. 107 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,880 He said dacha workers. So I don't smoke dacha. 108 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:47,760 He says, you Van Durban here dacha. 109 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,800 But Dave Lambert was unbelievably poor as a A troop 110 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,440 and so when we were doing our marching out parade, there's 111 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,200 always an RSM in the in those days, there's always Afrikaans. 112 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:09,680 He always looked grumpy at small eyes, a big moustache and a bad 113 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,880 attitude. And he used to shout and we had 114 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,680 to follow his instructions. He used to go something like 115 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:21,360 this and you have to do something. 116 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,040 You have to follow him. You had no idea what he was 117 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:26,320 saying, but you had to follow him. 118 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,000 It was basically lungs and Columa Francaise. 119 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,080 And then you would turn 90° and you would March towards the 120 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,560 front. Now there's 600 of us marching 121 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,800 in this direction on the parade ground of Valhalla here, 600 of 122 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,320 us marching in this direction. He's standing at the in the 123 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:46,240 front. He's crossed. 124 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,520 We have to do this properly because our parents are going to 125 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,640 come and watching us pass out. And he shouts, oh, look, sit 126 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,120 down of ourselves. Oh, kid. 127 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,000 And 599 of us turn this way. And Dave Lambert turns that one 128 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,720 and he starts marching. And you just hear this guy 129 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:14,880 shout. Useless and then he marches up 130 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,520 to the front. He gets his track wrong and he 131 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,000 you're RSM, you say? Yeah, you say. 132 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,200 He's so stupid. He says you're RSM. 133 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,240 This is my, I guess, picky dwarf in my in Word, RSM dwarf. 134 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:36,760 But right then, yeah, we're just and I on the Manchester and I 135 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,120 said let let's dry. We get rest dry. 136 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,360 And I said let's dry. We get looks dry. 137 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,520 You're LSM. So when he turned right that 138 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,440 Lambert now is in the middle of this whole 600 people and he's a 139 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,360 little bit off Cupid. And I turn right, he turns 140 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,040 right. It's a little bit like grace. 141 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,600 We are surrounded by grace and redemption and salvation and the 142 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,760 glorious gospel of Christ and salvation. 143 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,240 And we're a little bit deaf to hear God when we start, but 144 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,760 eventually, when we understand who we are surrounded by, when 145 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,640 grace turns left, we turn left. When salvation turns right, we 146 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:12,920 turn right. And all of a sudden you realize, 147 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,680 yo, they're marching together and they're following the 148 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,480 instruction. Not from a Sergeant major, from 149 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:24,200 a beautiful Christ, commander of the armies of the Lord, giving 150 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,920 instructions about freedom and inheritance and salvation and 151 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:29,880 kindness. And all of a sudden, when I keep 152 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:35,240 in step with him, I realize, wow, my wife is blossoming, my 153 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,360 children are thriving, my friendships are igniting, my 154 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,120 inheritance is coming. And all of a sudden that voice, 155 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,560 which is external starts to become internal. 156 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,520 And actually I start moving before the command even comes. 157 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:52,000 Does that make sense, friends? It's beautiful, eh? 158 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,680 So if you're backing to say no, get amongst the group of people 159 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:03,160 that can and learn. It says he teaches us to say no 160 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,040 to ungodliness. We'll be passions. 161 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,640 So I want to just give you 3-4 examples. 162 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,880 The first one is in Genesis 39. It's the story of Joseph. 163 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:23,200 You can put the screen up now. Joseph had been taken down to 164 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,600 Egypt. Remember, Joseph got the 165 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:30,280 Technicolor dreamcoat from his dad Potiphar, an Egyptian who is 166 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:35,000 1 of Pharaoh's officials. The captain of the guard bought 167 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,640 him, say, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him 168 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,800 there. You know how he would have 169 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,320 bought him? He would have been taken with a 170 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,600 shackle around his neck, shackled to the man in front of 171 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,600 him, with shackles on his arm and shackles on his feet. 172 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,360 And he would have been marched into the slave market and there 173 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,000 would have been an auction that took place and the highest 174 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,680 bidder would have bought him. But we spoke last year that the 175 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,360 word redemption last week. The word redemption means I have 176 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,360 been bought from the slave market also with the chain 177 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,680 around my neck and my hand shackled and my feet shackled to 178 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:16,400 my past and my stupidity and to my sinfulness and to my 179 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,480 brokenness. And somebody asked me today, why 180 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:20,480 do you preach off the floor? I preach off the floor because I 181 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,360 don't feel like I can stand on the stage because I'm a Sinner 182 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,440 just like all of us. But we Saints, yes, we are 183 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,720 Saints, but the reality is we're redeemed Saints. 184 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,240 We got bought for the price. We were shackled. 185 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,000 And so actually we said it for those who weren't here, there's 186 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,800 a bidding war that took place over my life and it gets pushed 187 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,360 up higher and higher and higher and the devil says trillions 188 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,160 gazillions. And Jesus said I'll settle your 189 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,440 life with my blood. I'll settle it with my blood. 190 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:48,760 I will buy you, Sir, with my blood. 191 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,040 Now your shackles have come off. But now he gets bought again 192 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,640 because most of us work for two bosses, don't we? 193 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,520 We have our boss Jesus, who's bought us with his blood. 194 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,880 And then you have to report for duty of which you are in 195 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:08,360 shackles many times because you have to produce so many hours, 196 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,640 so much Rand, so many cents. You've got it produced, don't 197 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:13,440 you? And so we actually caught 198 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,960 between the two authority systems and we have to ask the 199 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,440 question, what am I going to say yes to and what I'm going to say 200 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:23,920 no to? Because if I realize that I'm 201 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,960 bought by the redemptive blood of Christ, then I don't have to 202 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,600 come under the slavery of my earthly master. 203 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,600 I do have to serve him. But when he asked me to do 204 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:41,720 things that I'm not meant to do, I can't say no in a world I've 205 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,360 just been in Zimbabwe, in a world that works with bribery 206 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,040 and corruption, Born again people are being forced to say. 207 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,600 If we learn how to say no to that which is ungodly, we will 208 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,880 start to see a revival coming to our nation. 209 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,960 Don't build your businesses on bribes and underhanded stuff. 210 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,320 Let's keep reading. He bought him from the 211 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:07,520 Israelites he had taken in there. 212 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,720 The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the 213 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,360 House of Egyptian master. I believe, Lord, they'll just 214 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,880 keep going back there. I pray Lord God, that every 215 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,880 person in this auditorium will prosper in the houses in which 216 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,440 they work, even if it's an unsaved house or unsaved boss. 217 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:29,120 I pray mighty God, if we understand redemption, that we 218 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,360 would not only prosper ourselves, but we'll bring 219 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,360 prosperity to the people that we work for. 220 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,640 I pray Lord God, for every school that has a headmaster 221 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,640 where we are a teacher, or every medical practice where you might 222 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:44,440 be a secretary, or every organization that you work for. 223 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,920 I pray that not only would you prosper, but the people you work 224 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,480 for will prosper to. Let's keep reading. 225 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,880 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the 226 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,920 Lord gave him success in everything, he did. 227 00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:01,160 What a what a unsaved man. Hey, imagine if that's the 228 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,920 report. Joseph found favour in his eyes 229 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,080 and became his attendant. Pot of him put him in charge of 230 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,440 his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 231 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,480 From the time he put him in charge of his household and 232 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,160 already owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian 233 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:22,320 because of Joseph. Just open your hands like this. 234 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:32,920 May God bless your boss because of you. 235 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,640 May God bless your boss because of you. 236 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,920 May your boss. I know how you work hard. 237 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,000 I know, I know. You're one of the hardest 238 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,000 working men I've ever met. May God bless your boss because 239 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,120 of you. And when you take the controls 240 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,200 of the aeroplane and fly, May God bless your boss because of 241 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,920 you. And God sent you to work for a 242 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,400 company. It was given to a man when he 243 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,680 was 16 years old at a Christian camp to build an insurance 244 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:11,200 company that will change the world. 245 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,640 And God sent you there as the cultural director to bring in 246 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,520 his name. And May God bless your boss 247 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:28,880 because of you. The blessing of the Lord was on 248 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,800 everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 249 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:34,840 So he left in Joseph's care. Everything, say everything, 250 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,000 everything he had With Joseph in charge, he did not concern 251 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,480 himself with anything except the food he had. 252 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,360 Now Joseph was well built and handsome. 253 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:48,640 Oh big problem. And after a while, his master's 254 00:15:48,640 --> 00:16:00,720 wife took notice of him. After a while, after a while. 255 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:11,880 Can you imagine Mrs. Potiphar, Foxy lady, she didn't go virgin 256 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:16,400 in. She went to Virgin in mainland, 257 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,840 Special virgin. The one at the top there extra 258 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:28,840 fees, the one with the sunbed and the sorbet outside. 259 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,440 You know the sorbet, there's a sorbet there where you can 260 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,440 sorbet for the cream and for the for the legs tan. 261 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,040 And then Dr. Teeth whitening is just down the it's all all 262 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,840 happened in mainland. Mr. Potiphar gave Mrs. Potiphar 263 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:53,880 a gift voucher for Mainland Sorbet and Mainland Virgin, and 264 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:59,800 Mrs. Potiphar was financed by a company in Los Angeles called 265 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,160 the Silicon Valley. So Mrs. Potiphar was a foxy 266 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:08,000 lady, and after a while she took notice of Joseph. 267 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,520 Come to bed with me. You can put whatever you want to 268 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:21,200 say. Come to bed with me and my 269 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,680 business. Come to bed with me and my Come 270 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:25,839 to bed with me and my brokenness. 271 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:28,240 Come to bed with me and hope. But he refused. 272 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,200 Say he refused with me in charge. 273 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,000 He told her. My master does not concern 274 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,720 himself with anything in the house. 275 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,120 Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 276 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,960 No one is greater in this house than I. 277 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,600 My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you 278 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,480 are his wife. You must remember this God is a 279 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,480 God of big. Yes, God has withheld nothing 280 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,760 from me. God is a God of big yes and 281 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,280 small no. He's withheld nothing from me 282 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:06,400 except you. We think when we come to the 283 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,880 church, God is a God of big no and small yes, and that's why 284 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:11,320 some people won't come to church. 285 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,440 God is a God of big yes and small no. 286 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,560 And when he says no, he means no. 287 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:29,400 Lambert. Because you are his wife. 288 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,400 How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against 289 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,360 God? Next verse. 290 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,920 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, say day after 291 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,320 day, he refused. Say he refused, he refused to go 292 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,360 to bed with her or even be with her. 293 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:50,000 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties and none 294 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,040 of the household servants was inside. 295 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,000 She caught him by his cloak and said come to bed with me. 296 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,160 But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 297 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,880 Friends, he had been bought with the price. 298 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,160 He had the cloak given to him by his father, so he already knew 299 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,320 the price of his life. And if you know the price of 300 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,880 your life, then when the opportunity comes for you to 301 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,280 sin, you see what happens. The house was cleared. 302 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:14,720 There was no servant in the house. 303 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,560 We think only God clears things. The devil clears things. 304 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,720 The devil has got an unbelievable way of clearing the 305 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:26,000 office at 7:00 at night. So it's only you and that 306 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,240 beautiful girl with the fake tan. 307 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,560 I'm, I'm talking. I'm I'm talking to you deeply. 308 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,880 There's a man in this church, one of my very dear friends, who 309 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,280 lost everything for a bottle of whiskey. 310 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:52,040 And I wish he was sitting here today to say if I'd known the 311 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,160 price at which I'd been purchased, I would not have 312 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,680 taken that whiskey because that whiskey led to a bed that led to 313 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,560 bed led to a brokenness that brokenness has led to. 314 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,120 And he said, but God's grace can cover, and yes, it can. 315 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,000 But the effects of that sin has caused absolute devastation. 316 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,800 Are you with me? So am I putting the law on you? 317 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,200 No, I'm just giving you the wisdom to know that when the 318 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,200 office is clear, you must run. You must run. 319 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,400 Must run. Amen. 320 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,960 I'm not talking to 21 years old. I'm talking to 566580. 321 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,240 One of the greatest Christian authors in the history of 322 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:45,320 Christianity in the world got into a fair at 78, which 323 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,920 continued to 85 because the grace that he preached and wrote 324 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,800 about, he forgot that the devil hates that grace. 325 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,720 And so you'll set up traps for you and I to fall. 326 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,240 I say one word to you, Lombard. Yeah. 327 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:05,040 You got a frat. Hey. 328 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:11,440 Yeah, yeah, yeah. How are we doing? 329 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,080 OK, Let's have a look at Nehemiah chapter 6. 330 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,720 So Nehemiah's busy building the wall when word came to Saint 331 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,760 Ballot, Tobiah, Gersham, the Arab, and the rest of our 332 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,680 enemies that I'd rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in 333 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,920 it, though up to that time I'd not set the doors and the gates. 334 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:34,200 Sam Ballot and Gersham sent me this message. 335 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,200 Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain 336 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:39,480 of Oh no. Keep the Scripture up. 337 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,720 Say Oh no. So you've got a choice. 338 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:48,040 No or Oh no next verse. But they were scheming to harm 339 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,640 me so I sent messages to them with this reply. 340 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,280 I'm carrying on a great project. Say I'm carrying on a great 341 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,040 project. I'm carrying on a great project 342 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,880 and I cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I 343 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,440 leave it and go down to you? 4 times they sent me the same 344 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:06,520 message and each time I gave them the same reply. 345 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:12,280 I'm busy with a great project and the moment that you lose the 346 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,240 busy, my dad always used to say this, When little things start 347 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,880 bothering big people, then you know that you're in trouble. 348 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,240 When little things start bothering big people, you know 349 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,720 that you're in trouble. Don't worry about the little 350 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,800 rats and mice that are happening all around you, friends. 351 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,320 Get on with the project of God and I'll tell you what the 352 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,080 project of God is. He wants a people on this earth 353 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:33,920 that look like Him. That is the great project. 354 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,760 The project over my life and over your life and over your 355 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:41,160 life is to represent Christ on earth, not some legalistic, A 356 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,600 gracious, kind, gentle, saving, generous, amazing. 357 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:47,840 He's busy with a great project and friends. 358 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,240 I tell you, the greatest thing that I've seen in my life as a 359 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,120 pastor is regret. It's the greatest thing I've 360 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:56,760 seen. No verses. 361 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,840 Oh no, Because people go down and after they're done, they 362 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:06,080 think, Oh no, why did I do that? And I'm trying to teach you, you 363 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,320 know, when I handed over the church at Durban, I felt like I 364 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,080 felt this incredible guilt on me. 365 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,920 And the guilt was caused from two things, the things that I 366 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,960 did that I shouldn't have done and the things that I didn't do 367 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,280 that I should have done. And those two things carried a 368 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,600 heavy burden upon me. And I felt God say, put them 369 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,560 under my grace so that you can be free. 370 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,120 And I did that. And I'm absolutely free and, 371 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,840 and, and, and actually grace surrounds me and salvation and 372 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:35,480 the bliss of hope and all these things surround me. 373 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,200 So I can actually walk free. But then I actually start to 374 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,600 make choices where I live with less and less regret because I'm 375 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,920 busy with a great project. Beautiful, busy with a great 376 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:47,240 project. There's something small going on 377 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:48,400 the sideline. I say, I can't do that. 378 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,280 I'm busy with a great project. God's doing something deep 379 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,720 inside of my heart. He wants me to represent him. 380 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,760 So actually, I'm not going to get sidelined by other stuff. 381 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,880 And you will notice, friends, if you are caught up in the wrong 382 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,080 stuff, it's because you don't know what the great project is. 383 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,520 And you've got to be built in a great project, got to be 384 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:11,920 involved in a great project. The great project is called 385 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,840 Jesus on Earth, as, as Matt said, building a church, 386 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:26,080 building a church. You know that young guy you've 387 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,400 got baptized today? You know where he watched the 388 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,600 service last week? He watched the service on his 389 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:38,840 iPad in hospital because he wasn't well, he's an Afrikaans 390 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,640 young man. You know, he went and visited 391 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,800 him, a black pastor from this church. 392 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:50,640 And so a black pastor is talking to a young Afrikaans man in 393 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:55,640 hospital about baptism. And so when we watch that, you 394 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,360 think, what is going on here? A very, very great project, 395 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:03,480 Yvette. Don't come down from the wall. 396 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,480 Don't go down into the valley of Ono. 397 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:07,880 Stay on the wall and do what God wants you to do. 398 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:10,440 Amen. With me two more. 399 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:11,640 We've finished. I've got 5 minutes. 400 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,040 Not bad. Hello, Nick. 401 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:17,120 What else to see? How we doing? 402 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:19,080 We're nearly done. Next one. 403 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,440 The story of desire is an amazing story. 404 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:25,680 Desires. He becomes king. 405 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,440 You can go and read a two Chronicles 34. 406 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:32,680 The other one isn't 2 Kings 22, but Josiah becomes king at the 407 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:38,040 age of 8 and for 18 years he goofs around like some of you 408 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:42,840 have done for 18 years. He's just like, he's just the 409 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,560 king. He's just like goofs around. 410 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,120 This thing, that thing, wow, whistle. 411 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,640 People feed him grapes, couple grapes. 412 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:57,320 And then he thinks one day after 18 years, he's 26, He says, you 413 00:25:57,320 --> 00:25:59,000 know what I think we should do? I think we should do some work 414 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,880 on the church and we should fix the church up a bit, clear the 415 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,320 old bricks, maybe paint it out, clear the rubble, open up the 416 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,960 doors and and just give it a fresh lick of paint. 417 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,000 And so he says, OK, let's, let's renovate the church. 418 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,960 He renovates the church. And they find this like, dusty 419 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,840 book. And he opens the book as the 420 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,520 Bible. I haven't read it for 18 years. 421 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,040 And and he starts reading about things. 422 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:28,760 Yo, oh, Passover, the Passover God redeemed, saved free. 423 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:31,040 And he starts to, he says, hey, guys, we haven't been living 424 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,720 like this. And in 72 hours, after 18 years 425 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,720 of goofing around, he completely and utterly reforms the society. 426 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,560 In 72 hours, he turns the whole nation of Israel around. 427 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,160 So he's renovated, he's had revelation from the word, he's 428 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,120 bought unbelievable reformation take. 429 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,640 It's just like the whole place has turned around. 430 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,960 And then he's on a road. He's just walking and another 431 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,920 guy's walking and he and he says God has called me to go and 432 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,520 fight that battle. And Josiah says, but you and I 433 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,360 are going to fight. And he says to Josiah, Josiah, 434 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:05,360 please don't fight me because actually God's called me to 435 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:07,360 fight there and he's told you to fight there. 436 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:13,440 So you're not meant to fight. But Josiah, this unbelievable 437 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,080 reformer, this unbelievable man about Revelation, this 438 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,400 unbelievable man who's bought a complete change to our country, 439 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:25,240 can't say no to a good fight. So he ends up fighting with him 440 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,080 and he dies. As I read this, this is a phrase 441 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,320 that came to the unnecessary casualties of war. 442 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,640 If you do not know how to say no to the battles, you're not meant 443 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,520 to fight. You're going to die or get 444 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,720 wounded in circumstances that you should have absolutely no 445 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:53,200 pardon, It says in the book of Proverbs, my hands are scarred 446 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,840 by dog bites. It says in the book of Proverbs, 447 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:03,000 A passerby who meddles in the affairs of an argument is like a 448 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:12,560 man who grabs the ears of a dog. And now we've got 1,000,000 449 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:19,440 millions of hurt Christians who don't come to church sitting at 450 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:21,640 home. Cross with the system, cross 451 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,400 with the people, cross with the leaders, cross with everything. 452 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,480 You know why? Because they never said no to 453 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:29,520 battles that they weren't meant to take part in. 454 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,440 You young girls don't get involved. 455 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:45,160 And you old girls from Wake Earth. 456 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,520 Listen to me carefully, Listen to me carefully. 457 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,920 You've been bitten by dogs because you got involved in 458 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:58,720 stuff you should never have got involved. 459 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:06,040 The grace of God teaches me to say no to ungodliness and 460 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:11,080 worldly passion. I reckon 95% of the stuff we 461 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,480 involved, we shouldn't be involved. 462 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:27,440 It's not our business. You with me last one again. 463 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,080 The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all 464 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,360 the kingdoms of the world and they splendor. 465 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,360 All this I will give you, he said, If you'll bow down and 466 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,440 worship me. Jesus said to him, away from me 467 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,120 Satan. For it is written, Worship the 468 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:41,640 Lord your God, and serve him only. 469 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,160 And the devil left them, and angels came and attended them. 470 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,960 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned 471 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,560 to Galilee. Why did Jesus say no, you can't? 472 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:56,040 Why do you think he said no? Why do you think he said no? 473 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,280 Took him at the high mountain and he said I'll give all of 474 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:01,720 this to you all the world be splendor and and the bio says 475 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,760 the grace of God teaches me say no to you ungodliness and 476 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,160 worldly passions. Now all those bright lights that 477 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,960 flicker that flame that that that that and and the devil says 478 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:15,640 you can all of this the valleys of San Diego, the valleys of San 479 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,840 Francisco, the valleys of Las Vegas, you can have all of this 480 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:23,840 stuff. Why do you think he said no? 481 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:34,360 I don't know if my answer is right. 482 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:40,920 I read all the I read all the commentaries and it didn't give 483 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:45,160 me the answer. In my heart, I believe he said 484 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,640 no, because he knew that he was going to end up on a high 485 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:53,880 mountain, But he knew that before he could get there to go 486 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:59,080 down to the valley and pick up a very, very, very heavy piece of 487 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:06,160 wood and he had to drag that piece of wood up the hill, that 488 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:11,080 same high mountain. Our people spat at him, cursed 489 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:16,400 him, sword him, and that he would have to put that cross in 490 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,360 the top of that high mountain. And I realized Jesus said no 491 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,240 because he realized there was no shortcut to the cross. 492 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,920 And I want to say to you, we have to learn how to say no to 493 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:34,280 the shortcut because holiness doesn't come by taking a 494 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,680 helicopter and dropping us at the top of the mountain. 495 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:42,000 Holiness comes by following in the footsteps of our Christ. 496 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,280 And eventually we'll stumble upon the cross on the high 497 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,760 mountain, and we will receive the grace that is not by 498 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,320 shortcut, but by following in the steps of our Master. 499 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,280 You can say no or yes when there's a Pretty Woman in front 500 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:01,960 of you. But if you realize you bought to 501 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:03,840 the price, I trust you will say no. 502 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:12,360 You can say no or Oh no to opportunities, but I trust when 503 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,840 you get caught up with a busy project, you will say no to the 504 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:20,400 Oh no and not live with regret. You can say no or yes to battles 505 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,600 that you should not fight, but I pray that we'll have no more 506 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,600 unnecessary casualties of war because we'll not involve 507 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,400 ourselves in in things that we're not meant here. 508 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,480 And instead of buying into the world system and taking the 509 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:35,960 shortcut to holiness, we'll just follow the ways of God. 510 00:32:42,380 --> 00:32:55,000 Just close your eyes, Lord that Lord, I pray by your grace, by 511 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:00,520 your salvation, by your redemption, by your greatness as 512 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:15,330 God and Savior, by your second coming, your teachers to say no 513 00:33:16,330 --> 00:33:22,050 to ungodliness and worldly passions so you can follow in 514 00:33:22,050 --> 00:33:26,090 your ways in Jesus name, Amen.