WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Prevailing_church_PeaceMakers Publishing Date: 2018-07-08T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/prevailing_church_peacemakers/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.240 minutes and make sure you speak slowly. So if I'm speaking too fast, let me know. If 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:20.240 I've crossed 10 minutes, let me know. I just thought I'd share something quite simple about 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:24.880 grace. Now we're familiar with grace from the point of salvation, so I'm not going to 00:00:24.880 --> 00:00:32.720 go there. And it's one of those topics that really fascinates me. And the more I understand 00:00:32.720 --> 00:00:38.800 it, the more I see I'm able to function in it, you know? So I think it's a given for 00:00:38.800 --> 00:00:43.480 most of us here that when it comes to accepting Christ, or when it comes to being saved, we 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:48.200 know the function of grace. We know where grace stands in the overall picture. And I 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:53.200 like the definition that you may be familiar with as well about grace. It says grace is 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.760 God giving himself fully to us. I think you might be familiar with that, right? So when 00:00:57.760 --> 00:01:01.680 it comes to salvation, God did everything that needed to be done for us, so he gave 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:06.800 himself fully in the form of Christ so that there was absolutely nothing left for us to 00:01:06.800 --> 00:01:13.800 enter into salvation. And I don't think most of us here disputes that, so that's great. 00:01:14.160 --> 00:01:21.160 So I'm just going to leave that aside because we know it. What I want to focus on is probably 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:28.400 the lesser talked about aspect of grace. Now that we have this salvation, now that we have 00:01:30.600 --> 00:01:37.600 this Christ in us, how do we usually function in grace? How do we usually grow in grace? 00:01:38.380 --> 00:01:44.200 Where I come from, or where I've lived in the past 17 years of my life, typically the 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:51.200 phrase by the grace of God, I love it. What he's basically saying is, I don't know how 00:01:52.360 --> 00:01:56.680 my life has not collapsed, some of the walls have not caved in, I'm just getting on by. 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.140 I don't know if that's the same connotation here, but usually when you say I'm getting 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:07.140 on by the grace of God, it means that things are still standing. I'm still standing. And 00:02:07.220 --> 00:02:14.220 I found that quite contradictory to what the Bible says. If that definition of grace being 00:02:15.660 --> 00:02:21.260 God giving everything to us, or God giving himself fully to us, then all we're supposed 00:02:21.260 --> 00:02:26.140 to do is not just get by. So I just want to focus on grace from the point of view of how 00:02:26.140 --> 00:02:32.380 do we use grace to grow instead of just getting by? That's the whole point. How do we use 00:02:32.380 --> 00:02:39.380 grace to grow instead of just getting by? 00:02:40.540 --> 00:02:47.540 A very good example to start off with would be looking at what Paul spoke about in response 00:02:50.440 --> 00:02:54.580 to Father take this thorn in my flesh. Let's just be very careful, just stay with me. Don't 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.660 get into what the thorn in the flesh could have been. That's a debate for a later date. 00:02:57.660 --> 00:03:02.660 Let's just focus on the response that Paul got. Father take away this thorn in the flesh 00:03:02.660 --> 00:03:07.980 from me. Three times I pleaded and three times God said my grace is sufficient for you. So 00:03:07.980 --> 00:03:14.980 here's the question. What was that grace sufficient for? Enduring that thorn in the flesh or going 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:21.260 on to father greater things? Asking what was Paul called to do? Speak the gospel to the 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:28.740 Gentiles. We mostly look at that statement from the point of view of God said don't worry 00:03:29.540 --> 00:03:33.260 about the thorn in the flesh. I will give you grace. So the grace was not so much as 00:03:33.260 --> 00:03:39.220 it was for overlooking or getting by the thorn in the flesh or overcoming that specific circumstance 00:03:39.220 --> 00:03:44.020 but it was more from the point of view of my grace is sufficient for you to fulfill 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:51.020 your calling in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles despite this. If you focus on the 00:03:51.380 --> 00:03:56.860 just getting by what usually happens in our cases we use grace just to overcome the circumstance 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:01.220 just to deal with the circumstance forgetting that the grace was not meant just to deal 00:04:01.220 --> 00:04:08.220 with the circumstance but to help us not let the circumstance stop us but fulfill our calling. 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:15.780 The point of grace is that it helps us walk towards our calling. So here's a few things. 00:04:16.580 --> 00:04:23.580 Just a couple of things that I just want to focus on. I mean if you look at 2 Peter 3.18, 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:39.660 if you're there if somebody wants to read it out, 2 Peter 3.18. 00:04:45.780 --> 00:04:52.780 Or I can just flip it up. 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:08.300 If you want to just read the words just before that also so you get the context of it. 00:05:15.780 --> 00:05:22.780 It's so fundamental that we understand why we have grace because if we don't have 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:32.180 that and if we relegate it just to the aspect of salvation what happens is we miss out on 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:39.180 a lot of things that God intended for us in his calling for us. So here's something, 00:05:39.780 --> 00:05:46.780 here's two things. When it comes to grace it's kind of like an inheritance that God 00:05:52.940 --> 00:05:58.060 gave to Israel in Canaan. The inheritance was always theirs. The whole of the land was 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:04.820 always theirs. But they got it portion by portion according to their ability to manage 00:06:04.820 --> 00:06:10.980 it and govern it and steward it. And just like that it is with us. So here's a few 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:17.420 examples in terms of how we can look at grace, how it applies in a life from the perspective 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:23.740 of using grace to grow. Think of an example and I can use some examples in my life because 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:28.100 I know that best and you can correlate it there. 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:35.100 My wife, being a mother to four kids is no easy task. I sometimes feel parenting is a 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:39.900 little more heavily burdened on the woman than it is perhaps on men because we at least 00:06:39.900 --> 00:06:45.220 get a few hours away from family because of work or because of other commitments. But 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:50.860 it tends to be a little more heavier on women, right? And here's one way that blessi can 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:57.860 look at grace. One way to look at grace would be, well I've got four kids to take care of. 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:03.460 Give me the grace to take care of these four kids, which means having the energy to feed 00:07:03.460 --> 00:07:08.080 them in the night, having the energy to cook for them, having the energy to sometimes deal 00:07:08.080 --> 00:07:14.420 with a difficult husband. And all the other things, the innumerable pamper changes, all 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:21.420 of that. And she definitely needs the grace of God to be able to function in that. And 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:28.420 she can limit it to that. Or she can say, well I have the grace of God now to deal with 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:33.940 this large family, but now that I have the grace of God, I'm not just going to limit 00:07:33.940 --> 00:07:38.020 it to just to use it on this family, but I'm now going to use it for what else God wants 00:07:38.020 --> 00:07:41.420 to do with my life. So I'm not going to use the excuse of my four kids to stand in the 00:07:41.420 --> 00:07:46.340 way of me having to function in my role in church or in any other thing that God wants 00:07:46.340 --> 00:07:52.380 me to do. So when you start dealing with that one by one, then you realize that God is 00:07:52.380 --> 00:07:57.580 not going to show the entire domain for her out in the front. The first part of it might 00:07:57.580 --> 00:08:01.740 be, well now that you've dealt with those four kids on a difficult day, using grace 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:07.460 to grow would mean, now let me see how I can probably apportion a little bit of time to, 00:08:07.460 --> 00:08:14.460 I don't know, pray or study the word or do something else. And once you have functioned 00:08:14.940 --> 00:08:20.740 in that, then what God does is, it actually shows you, now that you've functioned in this 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:27.500 area, here's a little more that you can reach. With every level of grace that you've functioned 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:34.500 in, God gives you grace to do more and more. In a difficult relationship, if you're in 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:43.540 a family with a difficult relationship, you definitely need grace just to endure that 00:08:43.540 --> 00:08:50.540 relationship. And the closer, the more grace you would require. But how about looking 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:58.180 at it from the point of view of, if I have to now grow in grace, enduring the relationship 00:08:58.180 --> 00:09:03.940 is not the end of that. Now that I've endured it, God is going to give you the opportunity 00:09:03.940 --> 00:09:09.820 to say, now do you want to grow in this grace? How about now that you can endure it, go a 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:16.820 little further and see if you can do something to love that person. I mean, in an argument, 00:09:17.420 --> 00:09:23.460 the first point of grace would be not retaliating. And now the level will be, well, now that 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:29.940 I've not retaliated, Father, help me grow in the grace so that I can now forget it, 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:36.060 so that I don't play it over. And now that you've got it, now do you want to still grow 00:09:36.060 --> 00:09:43.060 in your grace? Well, now how about starting to do something in love to that person? And 00:09:46.020 --> 00:09:50.180 you realize that the more you go into this, the more you're willing to take the lead that 00:09:50.180 --> 00:09:55.400 God says, grow in the grace, you'll see that there is no end to that. You keep on growing, 00:09:55.400 --> 00:10:00.140 you keep on growing, because what God is doing is he's inviting you to participate in the 00:10:00.140 --> 00:10:06.420 fullness of the work that he's doing in you. Do you hear that? He's inviting you to participate 00:10:06.420 --> 00:10:12.420 in the fullness of the work that you're doing in you. And grace is the fuel, is the encouragement, 00:10:12.420 --> 00:10:19.420 is the springboard that he gives us. In generosity, in forgiveness, in every area, if we use grace 00:10:19.420 --> 00:10:26.420 as a measure by which we can, grace is the opportunity that we have now to grow in it, 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:31.300 not just to look at a financial circumstance and say, Father, give me the grace now to 00:10:31.300 --> 00:10:37.100 just manage my house this way, that's one. Then the next level will be, Father, now with 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:43.300 my resources, help me now to be able to look at the next level. Be generous, be generous, 00:10:43.300 --> 00:10:50.300 now with my resources, help me now to be able to look at the next level. Be generous 00:10:50.300 --> 00:10:57.300 in my giving. Or whether it is work, not just deal with a difficult work environment or 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:02.740 difficult boss or a low payer, whatever it is, that will be a basic point of grace, a 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:06.820 basic entry-level point of grace. But moving a little step further, Father, now help me 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:12.380 start seeing this work as from this point of view of everything I do, I do it for you. 00:11:13.380 --> 00:11:19.380 And then another level thing, Father, now help me to see my work as if, like Paul said, 00:11:19.380 --> 00:11:24.380 I work so that the needs of my fellow believers, my fellow co-workers and mine can be met. 00:11:24.380 --> 00:11:31.380 And there is no end to how much we can plumb the depths of grace. I have no track of time, 00:11:33.380 --> 00:11:36.380 guys, how far have I gone? 00:11:43.380 --> 00:11:54.380 You know, I love this aspect about grace. Some of us are called to do incredible things. 00:11:56.380 --> 00:12:01.380 And sometimes what stands in the way of those incredible things are the fears that we have. 00:12:01.380 --> 00:12:06.380 And grace is one of the things that God says, guys, I am giving you this grace called springboard. 00:12:06.380 --> 00:12:12.380 There is a springboard so that you can now attempt these impossible things that I have given you. 00:12:13.380 --> 00:12:20.380 So you not only get the grace to attempt it, but if you fail, grace covers you so that you can hide 00:12:20.380 --> 00:12:24.380 the shame and get past all of that, get past the guilt and get past the waste and say, 00:12:24.380 --> 00:12:31.380 let me attempt it again. When was the last time we used grace to look at some of the 00:12:31.380 --> 00:12:33.380 impossible things that God asked us to do? 00:12:36.380 --> 00:12:48.380 It helps us attempt the seemingly impossible standards and the calling of God. 00:12:56.380 --> 00:13:03.380 So just, if you have one takeaway, just look at grace this week from the point of view of 00:13:03.380 --> 00:13:12.380 how am I using grace to grow in my life instead of as a way by which I just get by? 00:13:14.380 --> 00:13:17.380 What have I used grace to grow this week? 00:13:23.380 --> 00:13:27.380 And the other aspect of grace is from the point of view of the righteousness of God, guys. 00:13:27.380 --> 00:13:33.380 I won't have time to talk about that today, but once we start looking at grace from the point of view 00:13:33.380 --> 00:13:37.380 of God giving himself fully to me, here's what I need to ask. 00:13:37.380 --> 00:13:44.380 If God has given himself fully to me in this situation, is this what the situation would look like? 00:13:47.380 --> 00:13:53.380 What have you situation is? Your health, your relationship, your finances, your purpose, your career. 00:13:53.380 --> 00:13:59.380 If that phrase is, if God has given himself fully to me, if I am now living in God's grace, 00:13:59.380 --> 00:14:01.380 does that situation reflect that? 00:14:09.380 --> 00:14:16.380 And once we get a sense of it, I really believe we will attempt more and more things because of God's grace. 00:14:16.380 --> 00:14:21.380 And because of that, we will walk every day a little more closer into the calling of God. 00:14:22.380 --> 00:14:24.380 Yeah. 00:14:24.380 --> 00:14:27.380 I still got more stuff, but maybe for another day. 00:14:31.380 --> 00:14:35.380 Let's all say hi to our friends and you can... 00:14:51.380 --> 00:14:53.380 Let's start. 00:14:53.380 --> 00:14:55.380 Let's start with a prayer. 00:14:55.380 --> 00:14:59.380 So that everyone can be on the same page. 00:14:59.380 --> 00:15:01.380 Heavenly Father, thank you so much. 00:15:01.380 --> 00:15:05.380 Thanks for this wonderful sound system. 00:15:05.380 --> 00:15:10.380 So that everyone can hear and that everyone can start listening to you. 00:15:12.380 --> 00:15:16.380 Lord, we praise you. We give thanks to you for the blessings of your presence. 00:15:17.380 --> 00:15:24.380 Lord, we praise you. We give thanks to you for this wonderful opportunity, this time you have given to us 00:15:24.380 --> 00:15:29.380 to come together as a body and worship you and also to learn from you, Lord, 00:15:29.380 --> 00:15:34.380 because you are the source for our lives. 00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:37.380 That's where our life comes from, Lord. 00:15:37.380 --> 00:15:41.380 And thanks for teaching us about the grace. 00:15:41.380 --> 00:15:43.380 And today we are here, Lord. 00:15:43.380 --> 00:15:45.380 We are here as a body together. 00:15:45.380 --> 00:15:50.380 And then our Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, help us to open our ears and eyes, 00:15:50.380 --> 00:15:53.380 to see the things that are unseen, Lord. 00:15:53.380 --> 00:15:58.380 To hear the things that cannot be heard by the physical ears, Lord. 00:15:58.380 --> 00:16:01.380 Open our eyes and open our ears, Holy Spirit. 00:16:01.380 --> 00:16:05.380 And prepare our hearts to sense your heart, oh God. 00:16:05.380 --> 00:16:08.380 Thank you so much for your wonderful love. 00:16:08.380 --> 00:16:10.380 We are ready, Lord. We are ready. 00:16:10.380 --> 00:16:12.380 I'm ready. Speak to me. Speak to us. 00:16:12.380 --> 00:16:16.380 Speak to us, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:16:18.380 --> 00:16:25.380 So, as a church we started to learn, we started to learn about the Prevailing Church. 00:16:25.380 --> 00:16:30.380 That's the teaching, a series that Jacob started a couple of weeks ago, 00:16:30.380 --> 00:16:34.380 and then we started to learn about different aspects of the Prevailing Church. 00:16:34.380 --> 00:16:38.380 And then recently the last two weeks of teaching on like the Prevailing Church, 00:16:38.380 --> 00:16:44.380 how can we be fearless people? How can we live a fearless life? 00:16:44.380 --> 00:16:46.380 How can we be fearless people? 00:16:46.380 --> 00:16:51.380 Because God has not given us the spirit of fear, but he has given us the love, power. 00:16:51.380 --> 00:16:58.380 And also last week we learned about the church, the people of overcomes. 00:16:58.380 --> 00:17:01.380 How can we live a life of an overcomer? 00:17:01.380 --> 00:17:06.380 How can we live, how can we be the church, how can we be church as an overcomer 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:10.380 and then live in the aspect of the Prevailing Church? 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:13.380 And I've been asking God about, now Lord, what is the next step? 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:17.380 What is the next aspect of the Prevailing Church that we should learn? 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:21.380 And I've been praying about it and then God gave me a specific word for all churches. 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:32.380 I've been in Canada for the, this is my fifth year. 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:39.380 When I came to Canada and then I started, after meeting Jacob two years ago, 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:43.380 I started to talk to him and then I started to meet him one on one. 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:47.380 And one day we were in a discussion and that discussion I cannot forget because he, 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:51.380 I asked him, Jacob, you have come from the same country that I've come from, 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:55.380 like he's from India, right? So you come from the different part of the world 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.380 and then you have came here and then you started to live here. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:04.380 And God started a church for you. I asked him, how do you feel? 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:10.380 What is the one thing that you miss from that background? 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:17.380 And then he said, this culture will make you calm down. 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:24.380 This culture will limit you. This culture will succumb you into comfort zone. 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:28.380 Pardon? Yeah. 00:18:31.380 --> 00:18:40.380 This culture will put the fire in you, will slowly decrease the fire in you 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:46.380 and then tells you that everything is okay. It's awesome life. This is the way it should be. 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:54.380 And he said, John, one thing I want to retain is that the fire, the passion, 00:18:54.380 --> 00:19:01.380 do not get settled into this culture, but let's create a culture of kingdom. 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:08.380 Let the people know that there is a different culture, that yes, it is possible to live in that culture 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:11.380 and that is the way we should live. 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:17.380 And I was asking the Lord, and this is the word that came to me. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:20.380 Let's read Matthew chapter 5. 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:32.380 So we've learned to become fearless people and we've learned to become overcomers. 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:40.380 And today we're going to learn something that is to be a people of Matthew chapter 5 verse 9. 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:48.380 Can someone help me with this one? 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:54.380 Blessed are the peacemakers for they are called children of God. 00:19:55.380 --> 00:20:05.380 Yes. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God. 00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:11.380 So that is the base verse and also I'm going to change the title for this sermon. 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:16.380 I'm going to call it as Preventing Church Solution Experts. 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:21.380 Yes. 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:28.380 Preventing Church Solution Experts. 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:37.380 That's a wonderful calling, right? We are the solution experts. You and I are the solution experts. 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:44.380 You and I are solution experts whom God is sending into the world. 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:47.380 And that's what this verse is like. Blessed are the peacemakers. 00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:56.380 You and I are sent into the world to make peace, to bring solution to the problems that we are in, to bring solutions to the situations that we are in. 00:20:56.380 --> 00:21:04.380 Daniel came and he started to explain about the grace and in fact that's one of the strong pillars for today's teaching. 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:09.380 Because grace helps us to, we have to learn to grow in grace. 00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:18.380 Not only get away with the problems of the current situations that I am personally fighting, but step out of it and then live for the calling that God has given to us. 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:28.380 And that needs to be extended. The calling, the life with the grace, with the abundant grace, that life needs to be extended till Romans chapter 8. 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:30.380 Let's read Romans chapter 8. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.380 Romans chapter 8. 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:40.380 And verse 19. 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:52.380 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 00:21:52.380 --> 00:22:04.380 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 00:22:04.380 --> 00:22:08.380 The whole creation is waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:11.380 The world is waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:14.380 Your work is waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:17.380 Your relatives are waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:17.380 --> 00:22:21.380 Your situation is waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:24.380 Your problems are waiting in eager expectation. 00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:31.700 expectation, your workplace, your church, wherever you are going, your family, even 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:36.460 if your wife is also waiting in eager expectation, eager expectation for the 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:44.180 Son of God who is in you, for the Son of God to be revealed to them. The creation 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:50.780 waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. When the Son of God 00:22:50.780 --> 00:22:57.780 is revealed in any situation, that's where the peace comes in. As a church, that's what we need to learn. 00:22:57.780 --> 00:23:18.780 As a church, we have to grow into the grace to not only get rid of the current situation of our personal battles, but step out of that and then ask for the grace and be filled with the grace, experience the grace to reach to the world and then make God reveal it to us. 00:23:18.780 --> 00:23:27.780 That is why, that is why God has chosen us, that is why God has called us and chosen us and he sent us into the world. 00:23:27.780 --> 00:23:45.780 It has been his plan since the beginning of the earth. I was praying and I was looking through the window and I was praying and then all of a sudden I saw a rainbow. In fact I took a picture and posted it on social media. 00:23:45.780 --> 00:23:57.780 Rainbow! Immediately I went to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis chapter 9 I started to read a couple of verses that God spoke about rainbow. 00:23:57.780 --> 00:24:25.780 Genesis chapter 8. Genesis chapter 8, he said, the worst of all, never again will I curse the grounder because of man even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his childhood. 00:24:25.780 --> 00:24:45.780 And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. And be fruitful and increase in the number till the earth and fear and dread of you will fall upon all of this and then you keep on going and then he reestablishes the promise of God. 00:24:45.780 --> 00:24:57.780 And then verse 16, whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures of every kind on earth. 00:24:57.780 --> 00:25:04.780 This is the sign of the covenant that has been established between me and all the life on the earth. 00:25:04.780 --> 00:25:17.780 That rainbow reminded me, that rainbow not only reminds me, it's also a reminder for God, like it's a covenant between God and human beings, covenant between God and the life on the earth. 00:25:17.780 --> 00:25:42.780 And then into that covenant, into that covenant, Jesus Christ, when he came as a human being, he called us, he did not call us slaves but he called us to be friends, he called us to be sons, he called us to be friends where we can share the yoke, where we can carry the yoke of kingdom, where we can carry the mandate and walk into the world and be the peacemakers and be called as sons of God. 00:25:42.780 --> 00:25:56.780 It's so easy for us, it becomes so easy for us to be, to spend all of our life, to look at our own life and look at our own problems, look at our own struggles and miss this calling. 00:25:56.780 --> 00:26:11.780 That's the best trick that the enemy is doing. That's why in fact Jesus, when he was speaking about the, sharing about the paradigm of the soul-seeking seeds, that's what the third one, yes there is a seed and yes there is a seed, 00:26:11.780 --> 00:26:21.780 the seed started to grow and there comes the all the life problems and issues and then they suppress the seed, suppress the plant. 00:26:21.780 --> 00:26:30.780 It's for us, it's very easy to become, very easy to spend all of our day, all of our week struggling here and miss the calling of God. 00:26:30.780 --> 00:26:49.780 But we are called to be the solution experts into the world and today we are going to learn how can we on the one hand face the problems of our own life and battle, walk through these battles but at the same time be the solution experts for the world. 00:26:49.780 --> 00:27:04.780 What this world has taught us, this world has changed us, in fact it's started to change the minds of the people and especially millennials that Christianity is the problem for the community, society. 00:27:04.780 --> 00:27:11.780 That's what the world is picturing about Christ and the church. The church is the problem of the society, Christianity is the problem of the society. 00:27:11.780 --> 00:27:21.780 That's how it started to picture the world. In fact church is never the problem, in fact church is the solution of the problem. 00:27:21.780 --> 00:27:32.780 Church is the solution of the problem. You align on the solution of the problem. Be it any issue, be it diversity or be it slavery or be it any issue. 00:27:33.780 --> 00:27:58.780 If we read the history, God has raised a people and the solution has come from the church. And as people of God we need to arrange, we should block the thought, we should block the media, block the thought that creating an image that yes you are the problem, yes you do not accept that, yes you say like this, yes you judge this. 00:27:58.780 --> 00:28:12.780 And then you started to picture a great picture, paint a great picture for the millions, for the next generation that yes being a Christian is a problem. And then how can I defend myself? How can I not become a real problem but at the same time I enjoy God? 00:28:12.780 --> 00:28:28.780 That's where we are struggling. And I pray for the church, I pray for us that we block all the thought and then say yes there is a problem and I am the solution because Christ lives in me and he wants to be the solution to me. 00:28:28.780 --> 00:28:48.780 And church is the solution for the poor and church is the solution for the problem. If church was not the solution of the problem, I would never accept Christ. I would never be knowing about God. I would be still struggling as a matchmaker. 00:28:48.780 --> 00:29:00.780 But the word of God came alive in my life and revealed the truth in me and it has the word of God, the church, the people, the people of God have become solutions for my problem. 00:29:00.780 --> 00:29:20.780 I pray that we get that. Every time that we go out into the world, I pray that God gives us boldness, be a fearless people and step into the workplace, step into the situation, step into our friends, step into our relatives and thinking that yes I am the solution for the problem that they are having. 00:29:20.780 --> 00:29:32.780 Yes, I am the solution for the problem that they are having. Yes, because God is going to deliver the solution and I get to be the part of the solution. So we are part of the solution. 00:29:32.780 --> 00:29:56.780 That's what Lester the Peace Plakers. That's all for the next generation. That's what we need to teach. That's all for the next generation. That's what we need to teach that yes, Jesus Christ is the solution. 00:29:56.780 --> 00:30:08.780 But the culture is always dominating us. The culture always dominates us and creates a future that no, no, no, no, no, no, you guys have judged like this, you guys have done that, you guys have made that. 00:30:08.780 --> 00:30:20.780 But at the same time, when you start reading the scriptures, when you start opening your heart and then ask God, what is this? And God will reveal to you and then you start to speak to you that this is the solution. 00:30:20.780 --> 00:30:38.780 This is the solution. And we and I, you and I have to go into the world and then we are the solution experts. How can we do that? How can we battle our own battles and at the same time be a solution expert? 00:30:38.780 --> 00:30:45.780 It only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. It only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:45.780 --> 00:30:49.780 Yes. 00:30:49.780 --> 00:31:03.780 You know, I have told you that you go to the truth. You have only to give us guidance, to give us the power. 00:31:03.780 --> 00:31:15.780 Just by the power of the Holy Spirit. For me, our best example is Jesus Christ. In fact, I spoke this concept, this word in our homesteads last time. 00:31:15.780 --> 00:31:35.780 How can we all, how can we battle our own, how can we have the struggle but at the same time, how can we walk through this, our own individual, the valleys, the heights and at the same time be a solution expert, be a peacemaker, at the same time be the light, at the same time be the sound of the word. 00:31:35.780 --> 00:31:55.780 The best example is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, even though he was being crucified, even though he was on the cross, even though people were speaking on him, even though he was experiencing this agony, even though he's been physically tormented, even though he's been having the greater, the greater pain of the Lord, 00:31:55.780 --> 00:32:15.780 but yet, but yet every word that came out of his mouth is a life-giving. Every word that he spoke on the cross is a life-giving. Every word that he spoke out of the, he spoke from his mouth is a life-giving and love and compassion and forgiveness. 00:32:15.780 --> 00:32:31.780 He was, he, even though he was experiencing that pain, but yet he started to say forgiveness. He started to speak life for the people and he started to take care of his mouth. He was, he started to fulfill the, fulfill the scriptures. 00:32:31.780 --> 00:32:51.780 And if Jesus can do that, the same power lives in us, the same, the same love of God lives in us and we can also do that. Yes, yes, of course we have a throne in the flesh, but yet his grace is so sufficient that we can be a blessing. 00:32:51.780 --> 00:33:11.780 to people. We can be a blessing to people. May the God, may the power of the Holy Spirit fill us and enable us to be, to be solution experts at our work, to give us, to give bonus. I want to give a few points and then I'll finish. 00:33:11.780 --> 00:33:27.780 How can we be a solution expert? How can we be this, go into the world and then put this heart to bring peace to them, to bring, to bring Jesus to them, to reveal Christ, to reveal Christ in other areas of our life. 00:33:27.780 --> 00:33:41.780 The first thing that we need to do is remember that God remembers the covenant. We have to remember the covenant that God has given to us. That's the beginning of everything. That's the beginning of everything. 00:33:41.780 --> 00:33:57.780 He has given us the covenant. He has given us his promise. He has given us his covenant and that to the end he will be with us. And at the end, he is going to lose the world. He's going to be sitting on the throne and you and I are going to see every knee is going to bow down. Every tongue is going to confess. 00:33:57.780 --> 00:34:13.780 Remember the covenant. Remember the promise because that is the base for our existence. In fact, if we start to read the story of God of this Bible, God called Abraham and he said, I will give you the promise of the covenant. 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:29.780 And then after that, he was then called by God of Joseph and then, so he is the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob. And then after that, he was then called by God of Joseph and then, so he is the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob. 00:34:29.780 --> 00:34:45.780 The promise of God, the covenant of God was passed from Abraham to Jacob, Jacob to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob. And then even though Joseph was all in the covenant, he was still in the covenant. 00:34:45.780 --> 00:35:11.780 The promise of God, the covenant of God was passed from Abraham to Jacob, Jacob to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob. And then even though Joseph was all alone, Joseph was separated from his entire family, even though Joseph was the only guy, all alone, he was taken to in a different country and in a different circumstances. 00:35:11.780 --> 00:35:37.780 But he started to remember the covenant. He remembered the covenant that God has given this promise to my great great fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And that's why in Genesis chapter 50, when Joseph was leaving his body, he said, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, he has given the promise that he will give us this promise that and take my bones and bury there. 00:35:37.780 --> 00:36:05.780 What helps us, what helps us to live for our calling is to remember the covenant of God, is to remember the covenant of God. Keep remember it, keep have a reminder for it. And say, Lord, this is the covenant that you have given to me. This is the covenant that you have made with me. You have made with my father and you and Lord and I need this one. 00:36:05.780 --> 00:36:19.780 I need to walk through this one. Each and every covenant that God has given to us, he remembers it. And if you remember that he remembers, that gives us such a wonderful courage to walk through it. 00:36:19.780 --> 00:36:41.780 Sometimes things won't go the way you planned, but yet hold on to it. Hold on to it. Hold on to it. You will know. You will know that God is good. You will know that God, our father is good. That's the first one. Remember that God remembers that I am with you. 00:36:41.780 --> 00:37:02.780 The second one. The second one. When you remember the covenant, it produces boldness in us because it creates faith in us, faith on God that yes, he has given the covenant and he is going to know it. 00:37:02.780 --> 00:37:21.780 The second one is to show obedience to what the Spirit told you to do. We are very glad hearing his voice, hearing what's his plan, hearing what he wants to do in this situation. But the problem is that doing what we heard. 00:37:21.780 --> 00:37:38.780 Doing what we heard. The second one, in any situation, if you hear that yes, this is what the God's plan, this is what the Lord wants you to do, step out. Step out and then act on it. 00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:49.780 Step out and act on it and then experience it. Experience the protection, experience the power, experience his wonderful grace in that situation. 00:37:49.780 --> 00:38:08.780 Take anyone in the Bible. That's what they did. They heard. They heard what God wants to do and then they stuck them and then they have become solution experts for the situation. 00:38:08.780 --> 00:38:27.780 Noah, Abraham, Jonah, Joseph, everywhere they went, every valley that they walked through, there you see God's miracle. There you see God's miracle. There you see God's miracle. There you see the power of God. 00:38:27.780 --> 00:38:39.780 So act on what God said, on what God told you to do it. And the third one, this is important, the third one, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 7. 00:38:57.780 --> 00:39:11.780 1 Corinthians 1 verse 7, Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the Lord to be revealed. Paul's prayer is that we do not lack any spiritual gift. 00:39:11.780 --> 00:39:34.780 The third one is we have to desire spiritual gifts. We have to desire God's gifts, the spiritual gifts that he wants to give to us. When was the last time you have asked him for a gift? For a spiritual gift. For a gift so that you can operate in that and then help the world. 00:39:35.780 --> 00:39:40.780 Help your friend, help you to help the family. When was the last time you asked for? 00:39:40.780 --> 00:39:59.780 As a born here, as a prevailing church, we need to ask this, we need to desire, Lord, fill me with a new gift. Help me to operate in this gift that you have given to me. 00:39:59.780 --> 00:40:14.780 Because you can ask him, right? There is no limit for it. You can ask him, he will do it. And that's what Paul's desire is. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift. Because every spiritual gift is a blessing to someone. 00:40:14.780 --> 00:40:34.780 Be it wisdom, be it healing, be it prophecy, be it detailing. Every spiritual gift is always a blessing for someone and also it's a blessing for you. Desire spiritual gift, desire to grow in that environment. 00:40:34.780 --> 00:40:57.780 Lord, can you fill me, can you give me with this gift? I remember when I started my life with Christ, I was 15, 16 years old one day. We were having a youth meeting under a tree and then my mom was teaching and then my mom, she asked everyone of us that, if you want to ask God any spiritual gift, 00:41:04.780 --> 00:41:22.780 you guys ask him. There is no limit for you. You just ask him. You can ask him. And then we started to ask him, give us. Lord, fill me with this gift, fill me with this gift. Each and everyone has asked a gift of God. 00:41:22.780 --> 00:41:43.780 And then years later, now the people who are there under the tree are the ones who are doing ministry with each gift that God has granted them. Ask him, Lord, give me a new gift. Fill me Lord, fill me with this gift and help me to operate in this and then come to the body and then grow in it. 00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:53.780 Because each gift that God gives you will help us to benefit the world because you and I are hard for it. 00:41:53.780 --> 00:42:05.780 The last one, the fourth one. Let's see first Peter 1, 2. 00:42:05.780 --> 00:42:10.780 First Peter 1, 2. 00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:25.780 First Peter 1, 2. 00:42:25.780 --> 00:42:34.780 I want to ask a new gift today, but I can't find First Peter. 00:42:41.780 --> 00:42:45.780 Thank you. God bless you. 00:42:45.780 --> 00:42:50.780 Yeah, alright. 00:42:54.780 --> 00:42:57.780 First Peter 1, 7. 00:42:57.780 --> 00:43:13.780 First Peter 1, 7 is the same. 00:43:13.780 --> 00:43:42.780 The fourth one that we have, that we desire, that we desire is to have the authenticity in our faith. 00:43:43.780 --> 00:43:51.780 The authenticity in our faith. The genuineness in our faith. 00:43:52.780 --> 00:44:11.780 And that comes by the trials, by the tests of our faith. Every time when we pass the test and trial, our faith becomes genuine. We start to link the authenticity of our faith. 00:44:11.780 --> 00:44:18.780 We struggle, we stumble, but yet our faith becomes stronger. 00:44:19.780 --> 00:44:29.780 Authenticity of faith. We can talk a lot about authenticity of faith, the genuineness of faith. What a gift it is to please God with our faith. 00:44:30.780 --> 00:44:39.780 What a gift it is to please God with our faith. Just as there is an impossible situation, impossible situation, and yet what an opportunity we can see. 00:44:39.780 --> 00:44:48.780 Every impossible situation is an opportunity to bring glory, praise, and honor for Jesus Christ. 00:44:49.780 --> 00:44:59.780 Because in that impossible situation, if we are faithful, if we start to ask him with the faith, that's what an amazing situation that could be. 00:44:59.780 --> 00:45:14.780 So the authenticity of faith, the genuineness of faith is so important when we step into the world and start to minister to the world. 00:45:14.780 --> 00:45:19.780 We may not work in our lives on this. 00:45:20.780 --> 00:45:28.780 The last one. The same chapter we're studying. The same chapter we're studying. 00:45:29.780 --> 00:45:33.780 The same chapter we're studying. 00:45:34.780 --> 00:45:38.780 First, therefore prepare your minds for action. 00:45:39.780 --> 00:45:50.780 Prepare our minds for action. And be self-contained. Set our hope fully upon grace. 00:45:51.780 --> 00:45:55.780 The last one is we need to be prepared. We need to prepare our minds. 00:45:56.780 --> 00:46:03.780 Every day. This has to be the daily task. It's like every day when we, when we, every day it's like Lord prepare my mind. 00:46:04.780 --> 00:46:11.780 That yes, you have called me. Yes, I'm going. Yes, I am the solution. Yes, I am carrying you. Yes, you want me to go. 00:46:12.780 --> 00:46:18.780 Yes, you, yes, your grace is so amazing that you love the person that you gave you. You died for him. Yes, Lord, this is the situation. 00:46:18.780 --> 00:46:22.780 Yes, you want to show your grace. You want to show your miracle. 00:46:24.780 --> 00:46:31.780 It doesn't, it doesn't leave us for our only spiritual stuff, but also every area of our life. Every problem of our life. 00:46:32.780 --> 00:46:39.780 Every situation of our life. Yes, Lord, prepare my mind. Help me to prepare my mind that you're going to do this. 00:46:40.780 --> 00:46:45.780 That you're going to do this. That Lord, may you will be done. And I'm ready. And I'm ready for it. 00:46:45.780 --> 00:46:46.780 And I'm ready for it. 00:46:51.780 --> 00:46:55.780 There are a few, there are a few things that stop us doing this. 00:46:56.780 --> 00:46:58.780 The first one is the fear of culture. 00:47:01.780 --> 00:47:03.780 The fear of the culture that we live in. 00:47:05.780 --> 00:47:09.780 Our more alertness towards the culture, what they think and then what's going to happen. 00:47:10.780 --> 00:47:12.780 That actually stops us. 00:47:12.780 --> 00:47:17.780 But in fact, as a people of God, we should stand out in that culture. 00:47:18.780 --> 00:47:23.780 I read a quote, this is beautiful, that one bishop, he wrote a quote saying that, 00:47:24.780 --> 00:47:28.780 Every time, everywhere Paul went, there was a riot. 00:47:30.780 --> 00:47:34.780 But everywhere I went, they gave me a cup of tea. 00:47:34.780 --> 00:47:38.780 Everywhere Paul and his disciples, everywhere there was a riot. 00:47:39.780 --> 00:47:43.780 But yet there was a riot, yet people started to experience the riot. 00:47:47.780 --> 00:47:53.780 The second one that stops us is the fear of the world. 00:47:54.780 --> 00:47:55.780 The fear of the world. 00:47:56.780 --> 00:47:57.780 The fear of the world. 00:47:58.780 --> 00:48:02.780 The second one that stops us is, 00:48:05.780 --> 00:48:07.780 is first John 2.1. 00:48:08.780 --> 00:48:10.780 The last one, first John 2.1. 00:48:10.780 --> 00:48:12.780 The last one, first John 2.1. 00:48:21.780 --> 00:48:27.780 How great is the love of the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. 00:48:28.780 --> 00:48:32.780 And this is what we are, we are children of God because of his lavished love. 00:48:33.780 --> 00:48:34.780 And this is the reality. 00:48:35.780 --> 00:48:39.780 The reason the world does not know us is that they did not know him first. 00:48:40.780 --> 00:48:45.780 When we go into the world, the reason the world does not know us is because the world does not know Father. 00:48:46.780 --> 00:48:50.780 That is why we have to, that is why we are like odd men out. 00:48:51.780 --> 00:48:54.780 When we stand up for God, it is always odd men out. 00:48:55.780 --> 00:49:01.780 But when you keep standing and when they start to see Father through you, then that is why the family is born. 00:49:02.780 --> 00:49:04.780 That is why the body of God is born. 00:49:04.780 --> 00:49:07.780 That is how the miracle of God happens in their life. 00:49:08.780 --> 00:49:12.780 When we go into the world, we always stand, we are like odd men out. 00:49:13.780 --> 00:49:14.780 We are different than them. 00:49:15.780 --> 00:49:16.780 And then they do not understand us. 00:49:17.780 --> 00:49:20.780 We start to have experience persecution. 00:49:21.780 --> 00:49:23.780 They do not understand us because they do not know the Father. 00:49:24.780 --> 00:49:26.780 But once they know the Father, then they join us. 00:49:28.780 --> 00:49:33.780 If we do not understand the Father, then we do not know the Father. 00:49:34.780 --> 00:49:44.780 If we can overcome these two and obey the Holy Spirit and start to ask for the strength, 00:49:45.780 --> 00:49:47.780 what blessing would it be as a church, as a creating church? 00:49:48.780 --> 00:49:51.780 Everywhere we go, we become the solution experts. 00:49:52.780 --> 00:49:54.780 Let's pray.