1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:03,400 Please, let's pray. Let's pray together. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,960 Father, we want to thank you so much for a glorious opportunity 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,040 in Your presence. Whenever Your word has gone 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:18,400 forth, there has always been the manifest evidence of Your 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,720 presence. And so we ask that once again 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,280 you give us that presence that accompanies the preaching of 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,720 Your word. And we ask that, as You have 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,080 always done, that you bless your word and that you cause your 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,920 word to bless your people. We give you prayers, we give you 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,240 glory in Jesus precious name, Amen. 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,360 I'm truly, truly excited to be here to to preach the word of 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,840 God to, to wonderful people like you. 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:49,960 It's been a while. It's been quite a while since I 14 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,760 I took the restroom to preach the gospel. 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,920 So I'm excited about the opportunity more especially 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,000 because I get to preach to wonderful people like you. 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,800 You know, the Bible actually says of us, those of us here, 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:08,000 the Bible says that you are a chosen generation, a royal 19 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,720 priesthood, a holy nation. And it says you are God's very 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,400 own special people. Think about that. 21 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:19,200 The Bible calls those of us here God's very own special people. 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,840 And so whenever I have the opportunity or any of us have 23 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,120 the opportunity to be here to minister to God's very own 24 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,280 special people, you know, it goes beyond just a task. 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,840 It becomes a privileged opportunity to get to speak to 26 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:36,760 wonderful people like you. So I'm truly excited. 27 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,520 I'm honored and I'm thankful to the leadership of the church for 28 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,320 for this privileged opportunity. Amen. 29 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,760 I have been asked to speak on a subject entitled The God who 30 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,320 calls, the God who calls. And the moment I saw the 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:59,320 subject, you know, it, it, it tells me that the emphasis more 32 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,720 than just being on the call, the emphasis is on the person behind 33 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,960 the call. So lots of us are here right now 34 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,840 and there are certain people when they call your phone right 35 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,840 now, you know, it elicits a different kind of joy in your 36 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,160 heart because you know that particular person, you know, you 37 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,760 hold that person in a very different esteem than you would 38 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,680 others. So when it says the God who 39 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,720 calls is referring to the person behind that call. 40 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,440 You know, some some years ago, I, I used to play soccer for my 41 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:37,120 university. I'm not sure when my soccer 42 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,320 career took me to anyways, but I used to play soccer for my 43 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,480 university. And whenever a major tournament 44 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,560 was approaching, one of the ways you would know that you've been 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,240 drafted into the team is when you're the team coach picks his 46 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,800 phone and gives you a call and tells you, hey, Ransford, you're 47 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:57,920 part of my team for the upcoming tournament. 48 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,880 If you don't receive a call, you know you're out. 49 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,080 So there was a moment while I waited, and while I was there, I 50 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:08,320 saw calls from my teammates. You can imagine the anger in my 51 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,920 in my when I was trying to pick the phone call because what I'm 52 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:15,040 expecting is to receive a phone call from my coach, giving me 53 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,800 the positive news to say, hey, you are part of the team and my 54 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,520 team mates are calling me. So I would answer the call. 55 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,560 There was some, you know, an appreciable level of joy, if you 56 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,720 like, in, in that, in picking that call. 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,680 But another moment when I saw the coach himself calling me, 58 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:32,560 you can imagine I was already dancing before picking the call 59 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000 because I appreciate the person behind the call, even even, you 60 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,480 know, without hearing the details of the call. 61 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,320 I just know that with a call from him, he's got what it takes 62 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,200 to even take someone else out of the squad and put me in the 63 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,760 squad. So the person behind the call is 64 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,800 very, very crucial. And, and if you remember 65 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:54,000 carefully, let's let's go this way. 66 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,680 If you remember carefully, in the book of Genesis, the 41st 67 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,440 chapter and the 14 verse, the Bible says there was a man 68 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,320 called Joseph. I'm talking about Joseph, the 69 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,240 one who who had brothers who who hated him and put him in a pit 70 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,040 and sold him and all of that. The Bible says there was this 71 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,200 man called Joseph. Now Joseph was kept in prison. 72 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:18,120 While he was in prison, Genesis 4114, the Bible says, and the 73 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,960 king sent for Joseph. Listen to this. 74 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,520 Now Joseph is in prison. There are other people in the 75 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,400 prison. There are people who clean the 76 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:30,680 prison. There are there are fellow 77 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,480 inmates in there and all of that. 78 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,040 Now the Bible says it was not any of them that called for 79 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,440 Joseph. Scripture says, and the king 80 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,400 himself sent for Joseph. Now hear this. 81 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,200 When the king sent for Joseph, there is a way Joseph reacted. 82 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,160 There's a way Joseph responded. Scripture says that he went and 83 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:54,360 took a very good shave of himself. 84 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,400 He went and changed his entire clothing because he understood 85 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,920 the person behind the call. You and I can agree that if a 86 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,200 fellow inmate was calling him hey Joseph, I doubt he would 87 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,720 even brush his teeth. But because a king was calling 88 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,040 him, he understood that the person behind the core and 89 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,800 because a king was calling him, scripture says he went he took a 90 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,720 good shave, changed his clothes and went to meet the king. 91 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:27,440 So the person behind the core is, you know, relatively even 92 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,560 more important and crucial for us to understand beyond just 93 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,200 understanding what the call is. Please come with me. 94 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,880 Let's go to the book of Genesis, the 12th chapter. 95 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,880 Let's go ahead, Ria. Yeah, this is the 12th chapter 96 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,720 and the first verse. As we look at how Abraham 97 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:49,520 responded to the call, the Bible says the Lord had said to 98 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:55,520 Abraham, go from your country, your people and your father's 99 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,200 household to the land that I will show you. 100 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:03,320 Now please realize that God does not even give an indication of 101 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:08,960 where Abraham is supposed to go. Abraham has been living his life 102 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,080 for an appreciable number of years at A at a particular 103 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:16,440 geographical location. And here comes God telling 104 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,480 Abraham, I want you to move out of this place that you are most 105 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,080 comfortable with that you are used to. 106 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,600 I want you to move out of the place, but I am expecting that 107 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,720 God would give Abraham a specific location. 108 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,880 I'm taking you from here to here. 109 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,680 But God is silent on that. It just says come follow me to a 110 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,840 land that I will show you. Imagine that right after church 111 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:45,440 today, as you walk past what the chance Centre or the nest, a 112 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:52,520 random person sees you and says leave UBC, follow me to a land 113 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,600 that I will show you. Think about that. 114 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,360 So I come, somebody comes and says let's get out of here, 115 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:02,840 let's go to a land that I'm going to show you. 116 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:07,040 Now I'm trying to establish that your ability or your intention 117 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,120 to follow that person is first dependent on what you know about 118 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,040 that person. So the person behind that call 119 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,720 is more important than the message being given now, 120 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,720 irrespective of all the promises. 121 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:22,240 Let's go ahead. I'll show you something in verse 122 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,760 2. This is God speaking to Abraham 123 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,560 and he's telling Abraham, look, come, follow me. 124 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:29,680 Let's go here to a land that I will show you. 125 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,040 And he begins to make promises. He says I will make you into a 126 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:34,960 great nation and I will bless you. 127 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,600 I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. 128 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,960 Hold it. I like the promises you are 129 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,400 giving me, but who are you to warrant what it takes to give me 130 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,880 this instruction to follow you to a place that I don't even 131 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,040 know about know about. So if you see it goes on to say, 132 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,240 you know, I will bless them that bless you and I will curse them 133 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,600 that curse you. But interestingly, you know what 134 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,640 the Bible does not give us an indication of whether or not 135 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,120 what kind of relationship pre existed between Abraham and God, 136 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:10,640 between Abraham and God at this time. 137 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,520 The Bible does not tell us that. However, what we know is that 138 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,920 when you when you study the genealogy of Noah, you find out 139 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,360 that the descendant that the son of Noah, Shem, the descendant of 140 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:28,160 Shem is actually Abraham. So we know how God worked with 141 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,480 Noah, and if God had worked with Noah and a descendant of Noah is 142 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,559 Abraham, then it is likely that the knowledge of the God of 143 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,280 Israel might have passed through from generation to generation to 144 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,840 Abraham. So Abraham must have definitely 145 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:45,880 have, you know, a quantifiable, you know, level of knowledge of 146 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,920 who God is. But the degree to which his 147 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,800 relationship was, we have no idea what it was, whether he had 148 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,120 a relationship with him or not. We had no idea. 149 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,200 Yet when Abraham was given this instruction, look at what it 150 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:05,480 says in verse 4, verse three. He says, so Abraham went as the 151 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:10,120 Lord had told him and Lot went with him. 152 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,680 Now Abraham had an instruction, had a call from God. 153 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,080 We have no evidence of his intimate relationship with this 154 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,480 God. Yet Scripture says that Abraham 155 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,280 actually did obey. Scripture says that Abraham, 156 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,880 Abraham went as the Lord had told him. 157 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,000 Now please realize, recognize my choice of words as I say 158 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,200 Abraham, because at this time he had not been he had not, you 159 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,520 know, been given the father of many nations to become Abraham, 160 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,640 yet so he was Abraham. So Abraham went as the Lord had 161 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:45,880 told him. Now I want us to now understand 162 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:52,440 how was Abraham able to do this? How was now it was later on that 163 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:56,520 the the writer of the Hebrew of the book of Hebrews was exposing 164 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,480 some truths to us for us to understand. 165 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,760 Please come with me Hebrews 11 verse 8 please. 166 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,000 Now the Bible says here in the book of Hebrews the writer of 167 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:09,000 Hebrews does us so much good and helps us to understand how 168 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,560 Abraham was able to do this. Scripture says by faith. 169 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,640 How did Abraham do this? The Bible says by faith, 170 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:22,080 Abraham, when he was called to go to a place he would later 171 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,840 receive as his inheritance, he obeyed and went even though he 172 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:32,000 did not know where he was going. So how did Abraham respond? 173 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,880 How did he do it? Scripture says it is by faith. 174 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,040 You know all these, we have origin kids. 175 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,000 You're going to see them very soon when the church is about to 176 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:45,680 close. You see, origin kids come in 177 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:47,200 here and come make some noise here. 178 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:51,080 After church service, there was a time when I looked at my 179 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,440 brother, at the Baghdad brother, Sam, he had his daughter with 180 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,080 him. And as he held the child, he 181 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,640 just threw the daughter into the air, into the sky like that. 182 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:06,000 And the child was up in the sky and she was smiling. 183 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,920 Now up in the sky, anything can go wrong. 184 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:14,440 Anything can go wrong up in the sky. 185 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,320 But in the midst of being in the sky, in the midst of 186 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,880 uncertainty, this little girl was smiling and was happy. 187 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,280 Why? Because she knows that it is 188 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,840 impossible for the jealous hand of hand of his father, her 189 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,720 father, to let her go and fall down. 190 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,680 No, she knows that my dad loves me so much. 191 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,520 Whatever it will take him to ensure that I don't fall down, 192 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:37,480 he would do it to prevent me from falling down. 193 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,680 And the scripture says that if even you being evil parents know 194 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:45,920 how to give good gifts to your children, that when they ask you 195 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:47,240 for fish, you don't give them a snake. 196 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,400 That's when they ask you to catch them while they are in the 197 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:51,640 sky. You don't let them fall down. 198 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:53,640 He says, how much more your heavenly Father? 199 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:01,440 And so faith is that moment where you are like, I don't know 200 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,440 what is going to happen, but I trust the person behind the 201 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,680 call. I don't know what will happen 202 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:11,000 next from here, but I just I simply trust the person behind 203 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,920 the call. Were you not here a few weeks 204 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,760 ago when we had visitors from from the 24/7 prayer when they 205 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,760 came here and they were teaching US1 profound statement that came 206 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,840 out. The man preaching said he said, 207 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,200 God, the answer is yes. Now what's the question? 208 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:36,000 So, so God, listen to this God, I'm I'm here with you. 209 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,920 My answer is yes before you even ask the question. 210 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,800 I understand the person behind that question, and for that 211 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,000 matter, I already answered yes, because I know your thoughts for 212 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:52,440 me are good and not evil. People of God hear this. 213 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:57,320 Hear this in this Christian journey of ours, in this 214 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:06,120 Christian journey of ours, it is impossible to please God without 215 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:12,040 faith. I'll say that again, our 216 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:17,440 ultimate desire as Christians is to please God, but it is 217 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:20,640 impossible to please God without faith. 218 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,560 Now I'm, I'm not making this up, church, I'm not Hebrews 11 verse 219 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,240 6, please. The Bible says, and without 220 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,600 faith it is impossible to please God. 221 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,320 Clearly stated in Scripture that without faith it is impossible 222 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:41,440 at all to please God because anyone who comes to the Father 223 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,760 must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of them 224 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:52,600 that diligently seek Him. So this is the approach that 225 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,240 Abraham took. And you see what let me tell you 226 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:03,120 this. There is a limitation just by 227 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:08,600 the fact that we are humans. Being a human in itself comes 228 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:13,160 with a number of limitations that God does not have. 229 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,560 The first one is this. The Bible says for God is not a 230 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:23,080 man that he should lie. So as man there is a limitation 231 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,320 to be able to lie. As a human, there's a limitation 232 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,520 to be able to lie. But the Bible says for God is 233 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,640 not a man to lie. That means his, his divine, if 234 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,560 you like programming is not even wired to be able to lie. 235 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,000 Now, another thing that is a limitation for us as humans is 236 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,640 that we don't have the ability to see what is happening even in 237 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,720 the next minute. We have no idea, but God is an 238 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,440 all knowing God that knows what will happen in the next 10 239 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:54,080 years. But we as humans, we are limited 240 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,120 by our ability to see what will happen even in the next minute. 241 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,280 Look, recently there was a tragedy that happened in Ghana. 242 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,720 There were, I'm from Ghana by the way, So there were a number 243 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:09,040 of political authorities, government authorities that were 244 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,920 going for an event from one part of the region to another part of 245 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,680 the region. And eight of them, before they 246 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,760 boarded the helicopter, there was one of the ministers. 247 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:25,120 He stood outside and gave a wave and told them and told the 248 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:29,440 people standing there Mekwaba, which means I'm going and I'll 249 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,840 be right back. Can you believe that? 250 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,200 All eight of them crashed in the plane they burnt to ashes. 251 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:38,760 Not even one of them came back just recently. 252 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,440 My friends from Ghana can can relate to this, can understand. 253 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,640 But when this man was about to leave, there are video evidences 254 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,720 of him talking to people and saying I'm going, I'll be right 255 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,640 back. Because as humans there is a 256 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,680 limitation. We have no idea to see what is 257 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,120 happening tomorrow. We have no idea to see what is 258 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:03,680 happening in the next 10 years, but this is the reason why we 259 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,400 are told to trust in God, the one who has the ability to see 260 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,240 beyond tomorrow. So the Bible says Proverbs 3 261 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,120 verse 5 please. Proverbs 3 verse 5 to 6, it says 262 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,920 trust in the Lord with all your heart and it says lean not on 263 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:23,040 your own understanding. So as much as we are 264 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,080 intellectuals, you know, wonderful, excellent students 265 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,640 here, you know, having great grades and doing it all 266 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,760 academically and all of that, the Bible says that lean not on 267 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,560 your own understanding. And I'll hear this. 268 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,200 He says in all your ways, not some of your ways. 269 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,040 Some of us will think that, oh, you know, I let God handle my 270 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,600 academic path when it comes to my relationship path and who I 271 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,080 get married to and all of that. I can handle it on my I don't, I 272 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,720 don't need God. The Bible says in all your ways 273 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,440 acknowledge Him and he will direct your path. 274 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:59,840 And so banking our hopes fully on God is what will take us 275 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,280 through to the next stage because we have no idea to see 276 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,960 what is happening tomorrow. Even right from here. 277 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:06,560 We have no idea what will happen in the next minute. 278 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,160 You never know. By tomorrow I can become a 279 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,400 professional soccer player and I'll be we're making some good 280 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,280 money. But you see, there are some 281 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,520 characteristics that typify the call of God, and I want us to 282 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,960 walk through that. There are some characteristics 283 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:33,080 that typify the call of God. The first thing is that God does 284 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:40,200 not consult our past to call us. God does not consult our past to 285 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:46,280 call us. See, as Christians, it is 286 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:54,160 sometimes, indeed most times very common for us to think 287 00:17:54,160 --> 00:18:00,280 that, you know, God still remembers the sin or the evil 288 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,800 thing that I did few months ago, 10 years ago or few days ago. 289 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,040 But I tell you what, even with Abraham whom we are discussing, 290 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,760 did you know that Abraham was even born in a polytheistic 291 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:17,520 culture? A polytheistic culture is a 292 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,480 culture where, you know, many people there are serving more 293 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,200 than one God. They don't believe in serving 294 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,840 just one God. Remember in the, in, in the, in 295 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,560 the Old Testament dispensation, the Bible, the Bible has told 296 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,760 the people of Israel, only the God of Israel shall you serve. 297 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:37,280 But Abraham grew up in a, in a polytheistic culture where they 298 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:38,800 don't believe in just serving one God. 299 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,800 As a matter of fact, as a matter of fact, in the book of Joshua, 300 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,680 we are told that Abraham's father was an idol worshipper, 301 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,280 yet God is looking for someone to give him his call. 302 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:56,080 He says it's Abraham. I want Paul. 303 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:57,800 I'm talking about Saul who became Paul. 304 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,240 Paul was going about, you know, persecuting Christians, the 305 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,960 people of God. God is looking for someone to 306 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:05,920 spread the gospel. He says, I need that guy. 307 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:12,520 This God we serve, you know, is a specialist in making the most 308 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,120 out of nothing. This God we serve is a 309 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:20,000 specialist in using the most unlikely people to do what he 310 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,760 wants to do. So when God wants to call us 311 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,560 God, God does not. As a matter of fact, in the book 312 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,560 of Micah, the Bible says that for He has cast our sins into 313 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,480 the depth of the ocean. Think about this. 314 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,880 When I when I take something that belongs to you and I throw 315 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,760 it in the depth of the ocean, and I ask you to go find it for 316 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:46,160 me, I wish you all the best in finding it. 317 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,920 The Bible says that He has cast our sins into the depth of the 318 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,200 ocean. That means it's so far away from 319 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,240 Him He's not even going back to remember it before He decides 320 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:00,640 whether to call you or not to call you. 321 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,960 So Abram from a polytheistic culture, born to an idol 322 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:13,160 worshiper, yet God chose him. And so God does not consult our 323 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:17,920 past to call us. The next thing is that God calls 324 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:24,960 us to bring us into his light. God calls us to bring us into 325 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,920 his light. If God is calling us and he's 326 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,320 going to leave us in isolation, then the call in itself was 327 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:39,040 needless because the whole in the, in the, in the days of the 328 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,200 Old Testament when the people of Israel were in captivity. 329 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,920 Now God's instruction to Pharaoh was very clear. 330 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:52,480 He said Pharaoh let my people go, but that statement was not a 331 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,360 statement in isolation. He said, let my people go for a 332 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,680 purpose that they may worship me. 333 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,240 So there's a reason why God calls us from from one place to 334 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:05,920 the other. In the book of Colossians, it 335 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,040 says that you have been translated from the Kingdom of 336 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,840 darkness into the Kingdom of his own dear son. 337 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,280 But when God calls us, God calls us to bring us into light and 338 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:15,840 not just to leave us in isolation. 339 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:22,760 First Peter, please. First Peter chapter 2, verse 9, 340 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:30,080 the Bible says, but you are a chosen people, a royal 341 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,840 priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. 342 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,600 Remember that now that you may declare the praises of him who 343 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:45,000 called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 344 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,760 So God calls us out of a place. Now, if if, if somebody calls 345 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,800 you and says we are going to a destination and does not take 346 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,760 you to any destination at all, then the call in itself was 347 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,440 needless. But the Bible says he called us 348 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:05,000 out of darkness into his wonderful light. 349 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:11,680 Please come. Let's go to the next points 350 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,200 there. Yeah. 351 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:18,920 God calls us into relationship with him. 352 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:21,000 Now, for those of you, can I drag this? 353 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:22,600 OK. For those of you who are here 354 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,400 for the first time, for those of you who this is your first time 355 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,160 here, we welcome you. Thank you for coming here. 356 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,040 Let me just give you a heads up that from next week when you 357 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,920 start hearing Pastor Craig preach one particular thing, you 358 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,960 are very, I can assure you on that you're very likely to hear 359 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,480 from him from now to the end of the year and even beyond is this 360 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:43,800 thing. Watch me as I go to the board. 361 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,200 Now, if you see Pastor Craig walking to the board like this, 362 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,200 you're very much sure he's going to do this. 363 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:54,520 He's going to take a chalk and start saying that we are created 364 00:22:54,800 --> 00:23:01,360 as humans for relationships and he will do this and say we are 365 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:10,320 created for relationship with God, with others, with self. 366 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,720 Not sure if I got it right Pastor Craig, but my drawing is 367 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,040 not the best. And then he does something here 368 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,200 and says you know what, this is right. 369 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,840 Say it's staff of earth. So Pastor Craig says that we are 370 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,160 created for relationships and we are created for relationship 371 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,440 with God, with others, with ourselves, and with staff of the 372 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,400 earth. People of God hear this. 373 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,960 This God we serve is a relational God. 374 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,760 He does not he, He has not called us or He does not call us 375 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,400 again to stand in isolation. He calls us to have a 376 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,080 relationship with us. Listen to this. 377 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,440 The end point of every communication is response. 378 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:56,960 So for instance, in the Book of Revelation, Revelation the 3rd 379 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,200 chapter, I don't think you have that one. 380 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,080 Revelation, the 3rd chapter and the 20th verse, the Bible says 381 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,040 behold, I stand at the door and I knock. 382 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,320 So that knock is representative of God's call. 383 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,760 Behold, I stand at the door and I knock and he says, if anyone 384 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,440 hears and response, OK, because the endpoint of the 385 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:15,840 communication must be a response. 386 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,720 If anyone hears and responds by opening the door, the Bible says 387 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:24,160 then I will come in and dine with him as he dines with me. 388 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,840 So what God is interested in is not just about, you know, 389 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,720 calling just because there's fun in, in, in calling. 390 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,880 But God calls because he wants to build a relationship with us. 391 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,080 In the book of Matthew, the 11th chapter, the 28th verse, the 392 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,240 Bible says come unto me all those that are heavy laden and I 393 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,000 will give you rest. Now God's God is interested in 394 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,560 what is happening in our lives, so He wants to relationally give 395 00:24:52,560 --> 00:25:00,480 us rest and so God calls us into relationship with him. 396 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:05,440 Let's move on please. Now God calls us the point. 397 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,600 I think that's the last point. It says God calls us into 398 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:14,400 purpose in the future. God calls us into a purpose and 399 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,840 a future. Jeremiah chapter one verse 5. 400 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:26,360 Please church, please hear this. The Bible says before I formed 401 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:28,960 you. Jeremiah one verse 5 Before I 402 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:35,200 formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born. 403 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,760 I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to 404 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,720 the nations before I formed you in the womb. 405 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,960 Now, church, please, please pay attention to this. 406 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,480 Listen to this. Recently, a few months ago, 407 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,080 there's a good friend of mine here who just gave birth to a 408 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:57,240 beautiful baby girl. Now I think she's here. 409 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,240 Maybe she's outside. Yeah, there's a good friend of 410 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,320 mine who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. 411 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,320 Few months before giving birth, I was having a conversation with 412 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,960 her outside and she was pregnant and she said to me that we went 413 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,200 to do some. They said they went to do 414 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,920 something in the similitude of of of an ultrasound they call 415 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,360 it. And they could see the face of 416 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,320 the baby and right from the womb they could tell that the nose 417 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:27,280 looks like the dad, the eyes looks like that person in the 418 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,680 womb. But hear this, do you know that 419 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,920 nine months before they did that ultrasound, they had no idea 420 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,680 what the child was like? Nine months before, they had no 421 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,040 idea what even the child's hair would look like. 422 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,680 But the Bible says nine months prior to this, God says before I 423 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:51,680 even formed you in the womb, he says I knew you. 424 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,160 So the child is now born and you have a name for the child. 425 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,440 But Scripture says that before that child was even in the womb, 426 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:02,400 before you could now do an ultrasound to see the eye of the 427 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:06,840 baby and the nose of the baby. The Bible says, God said I knew 428 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:08,520 you. And that was not just it. 429 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,000 I set you apart. I appointed you, I gave you. 430 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,880 There was a purpose for you even before your parents knew you at 431 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:24,840 all in the first place. And so when God calls us, God 432 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,400 calls us because he has a purpose for us. 433 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,200 And it is very, very easy sometimes, you know, when you 434 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,880 come, you know, as as you know, most of you here being new 435 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,440 students here, sometimes it is very easy to lose sight of the 436 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,680 fact that God indeed has a purpose for you. 437 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,760 Because when all is said and done, when when things are 438 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,200 going, you know, haywire and you have school problems and all of 439 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,520 that, you know, the mere remembrance that God indeed has 440 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:52,040 a purpose for you will kick you back and let you start running 441 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,240 again. Because God indeed has a purpose 442 00:27:55,240 --> 00:28:00,080 for us. Now when God was trying to even 443 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,720 go deeper into what it means to show that he has a purpose and a 444 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,440 future for us. Look at what it says Jeremiah 29 445 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,000 verse 11. Scripture says, for I know the 446 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,880 plans that I have for you, that this is God speaking. 447 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,760 He says, for I know the plans that I have for you declares the 448 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:22,480 Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give 449 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,960 you hope in the future. Oh, I love this. 450 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,960 This is God talking and you know, anytime you read the 451 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:36,600 scripture and you see when God talks and he there are specific 452 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,480 indications saying that for instance, I am the God that 453 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,160 heals you, drawing emphasis for you to understand the person, 454 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,360 the person behind who is talking. 455 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:48,480 He says I am the God that heals you. 456 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,240 I am the God that gives the power to make wealth here. 457 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,080 He says for I know the plans for you declares the Lord. 458 00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:01,200 I, the Lord have said it to prosper you and not to harm you, 459 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,600 plans to give you hope and a future people of God. 460 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,760 The God who calls us has a purpose for all of us. 461 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,280 The God who has called you has a plan for you and his thoughts 462 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,400 and plans for you are not of evil ones, but they are good. 463 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:20,680 As I end where? Please? 464 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,840 Where are my 5 people? Josh, where are the five people? 465 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,720 Yes, Michael, come, all of you. Come. 466 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,320 Let me do this quick illustration and then I can end 467 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:35,330 my sermon. So there are five people? 468 00:29:36,130 --> 00:29:41,410 Yes, in front here, one aside from each other. 469 00:29:41,690 --> 00:29:45,010 Who is the tallest amongst you? It's difficult to tell. 470 00:29:45,290 --> 00:29:46,930 OK, OK. You, you go there. 471 00:29:47,010 --> 00:29:48,970 Go to the other side, the far end. 472 00:29:49,010 --> 00:29:51,650 Good. And then you come here for me. 473 00:29:51,650 --> 00:29:53,570 Please. Mike, it goes exactly. 474 00:29:53,810 --> 00:29:56,970 Space out a little for me. No, you go. 475 00:29:57,090 --> 00:29:58,650 Go all the way to the communion side. 476 00:29:58,690 --> 00:30:01,090 You stand in the middle here for me. 477 00:30:01,090 --> 00:30:02,690 Stand here for me. Perfect. 478 00:30:03,250 --> 00:30:06,210 Now Now I want. You to imagine. 479 00:30:06,930 --> 00:30:10,290 That these five people, nice people, by the way, a clap for 480 00:30:10,290 --> 00:30:11,410 them. So they're fully energized. 481 00:30:11,650 --> 00:30:13,330 OK. Thank you. 482 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:16,330 Thank you. I want. 483 00:30:16,330 --> 00:30:19,690 You to imagine that these five people represent the five days 484 00:30:19,690 --> 00:30:23,970 of the week. So Monday. 485 00:30:25,010 --> 00:30:32,050 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday now. 486 00:30:32,290 --> 00:30:34,130 Now they're clapping already. They're clapping already. 487 00:30:34,570 --> 00:30:36,850 Why? What is the most favorite day of 488 00:30:36,850 --> 00:30:39,930 every one of us? Now that's not true. 489 00:30:41,650 --> 00:30:43,610 I've never heard anyone. Say thank God it's Monday. 490 00:30:44,730 --> 00:30:46,570 But I hear everyone say thank God it's Friday. 491 00:30:46,970 --> 00:30:50,330 So the ultimate, the ultimate, you know, dream and wish of 492 00:30:50,410 --> 00:30:52,610 every one of us is that we only get to Friday. 493 00:30:52,610 --> 00:30:55,170 Interestingly, I don't even hear Christian saying thank God it's 494 00:30:55,170 --> 00:30:57,730 Sunday. Is that not interesting? 495 00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,570 But thank God it's Friday because there's always a busy 496 00:31:00,570 --> 00:31:04,890 week and you want to make sure that you arrive at the Friday. 497 00:31:05,210 --> 00:31:08,090 Now watch this. The ultimate dream, the ultimate 498 00:31:08,090 --> 00:31:11,610 desire is to get to this place. OK, Please come with me. 499 00:31:11,610 --> 00:31:14,290 Romans chapter 8, verse 29 to 30. 500 00:31:15,330 --> 00:31:16,850 Just start from the beginning, please. 501 00:31:18,170 --> 00:31:20,810 Romans 829, Does it come all together? 502 00:31:21,410 --> 00:31:24,370 OK, watch this now please look at this now. 503 00:31:24,570 --> 00:31:30,130 The ultimate desire is to get to Friday, OK, Scripture says here 504 00:31:30,130 --> 00:31:33,650 look at the Scripture carefully. He says for the people whom God 505 00:31:33,690 --> 00:31:35,610 for new. So this my brother here 506 00:31:35,610 --> 00:31:40,490 represents God for knowing us. OK, Scripture says for the 507 00:31:40,490 --> 00:31:43,250 people whom God for new. Remember we talked about 508 00:31:43,250 --> 00:31:45,290 Jeremiah. He says I knew you even in your 509 00:31:45,290 --> 00:31:46,770 before you came into your mother's womb. 510 00:31:47,010 --> 00:31:49,050 He says for the people whom God for new. 511 00:31:49,410 --> 00:31:53,210 What did he do? He also predestined my Tuesday 512 00:31:53,690 --> 00:31:57,210 He also predestined So it starts from here. 513 00:31:58,090 --> 00:32:01,170 The ultimate dream is to get to that point and he says for the 514 00:32:01,170 --> 00:32:03,850 people whom got for new remember we are all caught by God. 515 00:32:04,050 --> 00:32:07,690 Can you we are all known by God. Can you look at somebody and 516 00:32:07,690 --> 00:32:11,330 tell the person God knows me good. 517 00:32:11,650 --> 00:32:13,890 So now if God knows you, watch this. 518 00:32:14,090 --> 00:32:17,410 If God knows you, the Bible says for the people whom got for new. 519 00:32:17,570 --> 00:32:21,370 What did he do? He also predestined to be. 520 00:32:21,370 --> 00:32:24,210 Predestined means that. He pre planned an agenda and a 521 00:32:24,210 --> 00:32:27,530 purpose for you so. He says for. 522 00:32:27,530 --> 00:32:30,170 The people whom got for knew He also predestined. 523 00:32:30,770 --> 00:32:32,850 Now God knows us as we have established. 524 00:32:33,090 --> 00:32:36,170 Now we know by the scripture that because He knows us, He has 525 00:32:36,170 --> 00:32:39,210 predestined us. Now Scripture says that for the 526 00:32:39,210 --> 00:32:41,650 people that He predestined, what did He do? 527 00:32:41,850 --> 00:32:47,090 He also called. So it starts by. 528 00:32:47,090 --> 00:32:49,850 Him knowing us even before we got into the womb of our mothers 529 00:32:50,330 --> 00:32:53,290 and then he predestined us. And then he gets to the point 530 00:32:53,410 --> 00:32:56,330 where he called us. Now the call does not end there 531 00:32:56,370 --> 00:33:01,170 because there's there is a point he wants to take us to Now He 532 00:33:01,170 --> 00:33:05,370 says that he also called the people that he predestined now 533 00:33:05,370 --> 00:33:08,890 for them that he called scripture says he justified. 534 00:33:12,330 --> 00:33:17,730 You are justified, my brother. In Jesus name scripture says for 535 00:33:17,730 --> 00:33:23,090 them who he he called he also justified and remember I talked 536 00:33:23,090 --> 00:33:26,490 about the book of Micah where the Bible says that God has put 537 00:33:26,490 --> 00:33:28,770 our our sins into the depth of the oceans. 538 00:33:28,850 --> 00:33:30,530 You are justified and you are set free. 539 00:33:30,970 --> 00:33:33,090 So Scripture says starting from the point where you are 540 00:33:33,090 --> 00:33:37,090 foreknown, God foreknows us all the way to predestination to the 541 00:33:37,090 --> 00:33:39,890 point where we are called. He says that those people he 542 00:33:39,890 --> 00:33:44,490 also justified now after. He had justified. 543 00:33:44,490 --> 00:33:48,970 Them thank God it's Friday. The Bible says in the end he 544 00:33:48,970 --> 00:33:56,530 also glorified. So so. 545 00:33:56,810 --> 00:34:01,130 When God told us in the book of Jeremiah that he knew us and we 546 00:34:01,130 --> 00:34:03,050 have become as we have established to understand that 547 00:34:03,050 --> 00:34:06,570 he predestined us and as we have known that God has called us 548 00:34:06,730 --> 00:34:08,889 people of God. The end is not to leave us in 549 00:34:08,889 --> 00:34:11,730 isolation and end here. He says for those people, 550 00:34:12,090 --> 00:34:15,650 including you and I here today, I'm going to justify you and in 551 00:34:15,650 --> 00:34:17,449 the end, I'm going to glorify you. 552 00:34:22,170 --> 00:34:24,090 These guys are so happy. They want to stand here forever. 553 00:34:24,090 --> 00:34:25,730 But please take your seats. The Lord bless you. 554 00:34:25,730 --> 00:34:26,570 Thank you. Please clap for them. 555 00:34:26,570 --> 00:34:27,810 Thank you. The Lord bless you. 556 00:34:28,730 --> 00:34:30,330 The Lord bless you. Thank you so very much. 557 00:34:31,489 --> 00:34:33,050 So people of God, I want to end this way. 558 00:34:35,610 --> 00:34:39,409 In the midst of the twists. And terms in the. 559 00:34:39,409 --> 00:34:42,929 Midst of the ups. And downs let. 560 00:34:42,929 --> 00:34:48,370 Us not lose sight. That this God that we serve the. 561 00:34:48,370 --> 00:34:51,330 One who? Who knew us even before we were 562 00:34:51,330 --> 00:34:52,810 clots of blood in our mother's womb? 563 00:34:53,530 --> 00:34:57,690 The one who has predestined us, The one who has called us, the 564 00:34:57,690 --> 00:35:00,850 one who has justified us. I want to assure you by the word 565 00:35:00,850 --> 00:35:05,610 of Scripture that this God is too careful not to glorify you. 566 00:35:06,250 --> 00:35:08,690 He will glorify you to his glory. 567 00:35:09,330 --> 00:35:10,970 The Lord bless you. Please put your hands together 568 00:35:10,970 --> 00:35:12,450 as I end my sermon. The Lord bless you. 569 00:35:14,090 --> 00:35:14,570 Let's. Pray. 570 00:35:14,730 --> 00:35:16,330 Let's pray together. Worship team, you can come. 571 00:35:18,250 --> 00:35:20,010 Father, thank you. So very much because you are a 572 00:35:20,010 --> 00:35:23,570 good God. Thank you for the privilege to 573 00:35:23,570 --> 00:35:25,370 be justified and glorified of you. 574 00:35:26,410 --> 00:35:30,850 Thank You that for us, even us. You knew us before we were clots 575 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:34,450 of blood in our mother's wombs. Thank you that for us, even us. 576 00:35:34,930 --> 00:35:38,530 You have called us by Your name and we do not take it for 577 00:35:38,530 --> 00:35:42,130 granted. We ask that you bring unto us 578 00:35:42,130 --> 00:35:46,090 remembrance, even when. It looks difficult. 579 00:35:46,770 --> 00:35:49,730 Guide us through and we shall be careful to return the glory to 580 00:35:49,730 --> 00:35:54,090 you and to you alone. We give you praise, we give you 581 00:35:54,090 --> 00:35:57,090 glory in Jesus precious name, Amen.