Brixton SDA Online Worship Service II Running Life's Race

good morning happy sabbath welcome to brixton seven day adventist church and this morning you are joining us for our sabbath school lesson which is sabbath rest let me introduce to you this morning my panel i have pastor boldo our very own pastor good morning pastor happy sabbath good morning sabbath el delaine good morning happy sabbath happy summer sister cindy good morning and happy sabbath happy saturday elder fritz good morning and happy sabbath good morning to you and happy sabbath lovely as always you can get involved by going on our facebook page at brixton sda or our youtube at brixton sda church there will be questions that we'll be throwing out so you our online viewers and those that are in the congregation you can comment so please get involved but before we go into our lesson study i'm going to ask elder lane to open and pray for us please yes thank you shall we pray kind father and we're grateful for the opportunity we have to come into your courts and to use this platform to exchange ideas about your word we have studied this week and as we have come to digest these ideas together and to share one with the other may your holy spirit continue to breathe upon us the things you want us to learn the things you need us to learn for our own soul salvation i pray that interaction we will have will be beneficial to all involved at the end of this sharing experience we all be drawn closer to you in jesus name i pray amen amen amen sabbath rest so the memory text was taken from leviticus chapter 23 verse 3 six days shall work be done but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest a holy convocation you shall do no work on it it is the sabbath of the lord in all your dwellings and that is taken from the new king james version so we see here that the sabbath is a special day set aside so i'm going to come to pastor who's going to take us through sabbath and creation and the first question that i want to throw out to you all is looking at genesis chapter 1 verses 26 27 and genesis chapter 9 verse 6 what do these verses teach us about how special we as human beings are and how radically different we are to the rest of god's early creation why is it so important that we understand this distinction pasta thank you very much thank you very much and uh i think we've been studying some really wonderful lessons this this quarter and seven adventists it is you know um it is important it is critical that we understand um the whole concept of the server um one of the the the um sad things would be you know um not understanding the sabbath and um and you know we come to church on that day i think the the most important thing here is to get to understand the god of the sabbath as well so if we we look at sabbath rest and um you know when i looked at that and of course you talked about genesis 1 26 and 27 where god made man and so forth i observed that god made man on the sixth day right um and then the seventh day the sabbath followed and so the question i asked myself what kind of rest therefore is the bible talking about is it that man was tired i mean god made man on the sixth day you know in my opinion man could not have been tired then you know and sabbath was the first full day the first full day that man experienced you know i always like to look at the sabbath as god's family reunion day that's lovely you know i mean i think most of us know what a family reunion day is sometimes you have your grandmother who might be celebrating 100 years and two years before you know we get in contact with all the family members and say hey listen this is going to be granny's special day so we want you to be there and people begin to book the holidays early and then begin to save because this is a very special day yeah right now think about it if if a member of the family may be um let's say mistaken uh it would have been let's say the 20th of january and the member of the family got a booking for the 24th of the of january what do you think would happen i mean by the time he gets there all the the the joy and the love and the laughter and everything is over you know so it's it's it's a day when god has set aside so that he can meet with us remember adam was not tired if they were not tired but god after god made them he made the sabbath so he can have time to rest and they can get to know each other better and that's why it is so important to know the god of the sabbath yeah it is you know there are some people who uh man they they they can tell you every day every friday what time the sun sets and so forth and you know we come on the sabbath and then you know we just find ourselves doing a whole set of things that are not even uplifting to god so it is important that we get to know the god of the service yeah as we rest you know god wants our attention remember he gives us six days we can do a lot of things with that but god says make all the preparation and i love how god prepared for the human race if you notice day one what he did and did two one day three and he made fruits and he made vegetation and he made everything else and god was just ready when when when the sixth day came on to make man you know after god made man god didn't say oh you know but man has nothing to eat god did all the preparation well so that when he made man um you know man was placed like in a beautiful home with food around him and and so forth and god is saying to us that you know if we should really understand that we should really enjoy the sabbath rest we should take the time to prepare prepare some people say well friday is the preparation the yes we learn that in the bible but sometimes you leave all the work for friday and and then you begin to race with the sun you you you're pressing your clothes and you're um is it sunset already you know that can do that kind of thing right we should start preparing you know as soon as the week starts so come friday we have the final bit and you're not tired but you can now sit down even before the sun sets i was sharing with somebody last week that when i was studying in mexico i had a good ghanaian friend his name ernest and he was sharing with me what happened in their home on friday evening they said listen all workers be must be finished early and 15 minutes before the sun sets they would sit down together family and then the father would come around and put his hand on every child's head and pronounce a blessing that's nice that's nice and you know i'll listen to him when i really say you know something this is something that i need to practice in my own home you know and pastor yes so you know it must be preparation must be done early it must be done in a way if we if we prepare for the sabbath um you know during the week we would not have the bulk of work that remains on a friday so by the time sabbath comes on you sit to worship and you're falling asleep you know this is not the kind of rest that god that got that that god is saying here that we should we should enjoy it's a time when we should be refreshed and you know and it's a time when we need to spend with god i mean think about think about you know there is someone who says that he loves you all right and he comes to see you and you're so happy and you're so you know you you're excited and you're not talking and and you're talking and you're in the middle of a nice little speech and then falls asleep on you yeah could you imagine am i boring [Laughter] so as we look at as we look at rest you know how we benefit from the sabbath we need to to look at all those things and um we have to remember as well you know the bible says remember remember the sabbath day some people say well you know yes god made this on the first day and that on the second day and it came right up on the same day but god didn't call it a sabbath some people say well you know it's in in exodus chapter 20 god mentioned about the sabbath but if you go back in your bible and real carefully you realize that the sabbath was mentioned even before exodus 20 in fact you will pick it up in exodus what chapter 16 you would you'd pick it up when you know during the time of the manner when moses i think it was what was for 23 when when moses said to the children of israel listen this is how you know you ought to order your life on friday make sure and collect a double portion and then sabbath nobody should be outside you should be resting this should be a time when you you sp you're spending time with god yeah you're spending time with god and finally they talk about final arrests uh some of the rest here um you know i'm amazed especially during this pandemic time people tell me well pastor i don't want to come to church i could steal my rest it's a day of rest one day they say well i like the zoom church because i could stay in my in the 90s you know i could be i could be in a bed and i can switch from station to station you know to enjoy that um some people say well i've walked so hard during the week i'm going to stay home and start but then rest is a day of rest i don't believe as i look at god's you know what god has said here what god says yes sorry and and how the sabbath is is set up god doesn't honor that kind of rest and god says remember he says remember the sabbath day to keep it holy two things one god must have spoken about the sabbath before to say remember you you don't tell somebody to remember something if that thing was not addressed before or if they weren't familiar with it right isn't it good so remember and secondly and secondly god knew that with the passing of time the sabbath would be forgotten god knew that people will do things to cause you to forget the sabbath or maybe don't even know which day the sabbath is well you know you know um i always tell uh people that listen you know your child please try to keep an old calendar an old calendar close by that says sunday is the first day because we would have a big challenge to to to try to uh uh you know to try to correct your children later on because right now the school system um affords for monday as the first day once monday the first day sunday is gonna be the same day so we need to keep that calendar we need to keep that calendar to show children hey listen this has been a plan by the devil this is as far as we are we need to remember which day is the sabbath day so god wants us to remember it's the only it's the only commandment that starts with remember and god did not say remember not to commit murder remember not to steal god says remember the sabbath day because the sabbath day means a lot to him it reminds us who created us it reminds us that we have come from the hand of the creator when we forget about the sabbath we we have no bearing no moorings that's why some people say they come from animals and they come from this and that and the other because they have refused to accept the fact that god is creator and the sabbath commandment is the one that spells who god is his domain you know so yes so this is what i gathered from the sabbath rest and i i hope that this would be of some help to somebody and i hope that it would help us to when the sabbath comes around uh in fact to prepare for this but much better and when the sabbath comes around to enjoy the rest with christ and be blessed and rem you know and and we are reminded that the sabbath is a sign of redemption we have been redeemed from sin we cannot have a rest we can we are liberated from sin every day this every weakness ever comes around it's our liberation day yeah it reminds us that we have been redeemed by jesus christ amen thank you pastor um i do have an additional question i'm going to throw it out to you and the panel and our online viewers and the members in the church so besides honoring god as the creator in what ways can sabbath keeping help us to be more conscious of our need to be good environmental stewards well it reminds us of a number of things um one it reminds us as well that we need to reach out to our community reach out to people who are in need yeah right um i have a little problem in that area now i i believe if there's a need to be addressed on the sabbath you address it but i don't believe but let's take a church setting for instance we have six days to feed the hungry right i don't believe we should say well brethren let's set aside sabbath for feeding hungry no because as you feed the hungry listen you lose sight of of christ you lose you know so i believe as jesus did when we are faced with emergencies we deal with it but we should not deliberately plan well every fourth sabbath two sabbaths in the month we're going to feed the the thing and you know you have pot on the fire cooking and your people running up and down and things like that and in the same breath i believe that we have too many meetings on sabbath i believe that too many things happening in sabbath it distracts us we don't even get disturbed blessing that the sabbath is men amen on the same point yes i think as past outline the concept of the sabbath and creation are interlinked integrated you can't you can't separate them and in that same creation story god gave man dominion over the earth and told them to take care of it to dress the garden at the time and to keep it and i think that responsibility still is is for us our stewards yeah we are responsible for taking care in the same way that we honor the sabbath and honor god and we talk about our family and so on god expects us to do the same with you know the things that he has given us in the earth to take care still to dress and keep and so as the world is talking about environmentalism now and so on but god had given that responsibility to the church long back and took to mankind and we are still our stewards of the earth and we're to take care of it deal with our rubbish recycle all the things that people are saying that are good to keep us safe and healthy we have to practice that as well that's a part of being a good steward thank you any of the comments system did you have something to say was specifically saying how special are we compared to god's creation the rest of god's creation so there's humans and then there's the rest of the creation we realize that there is none of god's creation whether it was animals that have breath like us or plants there is none that god put this special blessing on them created a day to for rest or for them to get more blessing but then we realize that god recognized that we are special today so we do not um reduce ourselves to plants or to animals and put us on the same level and i think i'm i'm blessed when i help my dog and then i leave elder lane while god as god gave us a responsibility to look after his creation he wants us to recognize that humans are more special to me amen thank you elder fisher do you have anything that you want to add yeah i'll say this yeah god spoke to adam as an intelligent being above the animals and above the creation so he speaks with him you know in a way that he should respond as a caretaker of the world and then the sabbath comes and the sabbath says that everybody should rest the maidservant the manservant the ox the ass everybody everything needs that rest and when you are coming from um the community that i lived in i understand what it's like to have an animal to help me because the the the us was the one that carried the load and the burden and if you wear him out then you will have to carry it yes so i'm saying that it makes sense yeah to take care of the maidservant the manservant everything needs rest thank you thank you yes so we understand that the animals are the rest so elephants i mean me too we come from agricultural areas suppose uh your neighbor comes to your sabbath morning and say listen um whoever they call it just broke and um i have some work to do in my in my field today when you dress and you go to church what would you do does that need rest out of the fridge does it need rest the machete or the cutlass does it need rest too [Laughter] i think that the lord made us intelligent beings and we have the opportunity to understand the scriptures yes so the household even the neighbors everyone should be keeping the sabbath it's a distinguishing mark to separate the people of god from the world yeah so yes tell him to go and have a rest thank you elder thank you panel um pastor mentioned earlier about sabbath being a liberation day so we're going to come to celebrating freedom and elder lane's going to take us through that but the question that i want to throw out once more is what other forms of slavery do we face today and that's looking at genesis chapter 4 verse 7 hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 and 2nd peter chapter 2 verse 19. elder lane celebrating freedom thank you very much um so i think the lesson does a good job of of outlining the intention and purpose of the sabbath last weekend this week part of what pastor mentioned was about recognizing you know that we are creatures um god created us and therefore the sabbath gives us that rest reflecting on creation and exodus 20 does that what the second thing part of what we're studying this week does is that he talks about this about both not just as from a creation standpoint but as a space for redemption the sabbath is a reflection or sign of of our liberation of freedom so i think what the point here is we can't only see the god of the sabbath as just our creator he's also to be seen as a redeemer or deliverer it's two parts he created you yes he created all of us but he also saves us he redeems us by his blood and i think in the story of the children of israel as they came through um you could see that in deuteronomy chapter five that is the emphasis that the passage was speaking about where he talked about the fact that the same commandment being repeated to them now is speaking about them coming out of slavery and that slavery that analogy of slave is an alleged we can apply to ourselves now many of us are from parents of african descent or families we're slaves you know our families were slaves and that understanding of you working without any limits is an awful thing to recognize we don't know what it is um today to be working in this way like the donkey without the limits to be whipped if you ever seen those movies and see the experiences your heart would pain what slavery is and how awful it is there is modern day slavery as well where people are taken into homes they're not fed they're not giving them you know food enough rest there's just work work work without limits and so what the bible is saying to us in deuteronomy god took them out of egypt in the context of slavery and they were still working when he took them out of egypt out of a slavery context they still worked but the difference was this work had limits and so if you're working today and there's no limits on the work you're doing you're in slavery yes if you're working without limits there's no rest there's no break there's no you're in slavery and many of us unconsciously are in that kind of mood where you work 24 7. even on sabbath your mind is so active overcharged it's slavery the economic system that we are reinforces us to work we're told business means productivity and there's no rest so if you're in any kind of work today and you're going going going and not stopping it's slavery and that is what god is saying he wants to take us out there is good work and there's bad work the children of israel had bad work on their slavery no limits but god gave them same work they were building the temple and all of things but they had limits there was a sabbath rest and i think that that slave but the slavery could also be um other things you know slavery from sin the passage here tells us very clearly that sin has dominion over us sin can control you you have every thought there's no limit everything you just keep going over and over you're caught in a very devious web you can't get out it's it's it's slavery when you're slave to your appetite and every time you see that particular food or drink you have to get it or pornography or you know there's so many things that we can be slaves too yeah that is why the sabbath is still relevant today you can find yourself a slave to almost anything but it needs that limiting and that's what it's about the idea of the summit does but i want to go a little bit further to underscore that jesus came and so i'm fast forwarding now from exodus and deuteronomy to the fact that you know moses said they were to observe the sabbath jesus came and jesus himself observed the sabbath and in luke he is one of his very first things when he started his ministry in luke chapter 4 and verse 16. he went into the into the synagogue and he opened the passage to read and what did he read he read a very clear passage he says what what he was all about he said the spirit of the lord is upon me and what did the spirit want him to do very clear verse luke chapter 4 verse 16. he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor to proclaim that the captives are to be released you see those who are in bondage he wants to be released that the blind will see and that the oppressed will go free so he woven in his idea of what his own mission statement was was to set people free and i think that responsibilities for us as christians too to see that the world a lot of people are in slavery and what jesus did we are told was his followers to help to set people free and this idea that jesus you know you notice all of his activities on the sabbaths a lot of them were about freeing someone from the bondage of of some sickness or releasing the mind we'll study later about how he healed the man on the sabbath i did a lot of that liberating the deliverance work on the sabbath and it's interesting that he did that because he's sending a message to us that the sabbath is a day of freedom not just about creation it's about jesus as our redeemer the idea also of um redemption or liberation is a is a doctrine is a philosophy that is woven into the all of the bible and if you go back into leviticus as jesus picked upon it in his own work he's tried to wove this idea of being set free into into the whole economy of the kingdom of god so if you remember when jesus came on earth he was coming to the people who were under the dominion of the romans so imagine jesus speaking the first days first serb his first message in the sanctuary to say to them listen i've come to set captives free the people must have been thinking he's going to free us from the romans but actually what he came to do was to set up a different kind of kingdom a kingdom of god a kingdom that would be free from sin free from addiction free from you know the kind of thing that keeps holding us back free from all of these things a freedom which we and it's it's interesting because it's woven throughout all of this scripture if you go back to leviticus the concept of um the jubilee is a concept again where you know god in his wisdom gave the economic system at the time the fact that you know after after 49 years the land should be we should rest you know why is he doing this he's trying to keep us needs the rest and and he's saying that because that the year of jubilee not just the land rested but all slaves were allowed to go back our slave all persons who were slaves at the time it was finished again that freedom if you order any debt a lot of us are in a lot of financial burdens and stress on the on in the year of jubilee all those debts are are forgiven so he won this whole idea of the sabbath of that jubilee that that that 50th year after seven seven 49 years of seven sevens that you would be free this idea and that is the right through scripture if you go to one half the time you will see that the sabbath has a liberating influence who is woven to and some would even argue that this is the big idea that god wants to cheer us um when he talks about in daniel that daniel chapter 7 in prophecy now where we're expecting a great day coming in in history we're expecting in salvation history a day when jesus will free us all from sin and death and that is the great day of liberation the great sabbath that we are looking towards a sabbath where you know jesus jesus who would have come and he would have lived daniel tells us his story we track the story we study all the passages coming through in history and then one day the bible says one day that freedom day will come and that's the day we're all looking forward to not just emancipation day when we know about what it means for slaves today or history or back in the day for the children of israel coming out of slavery but we're looking for a grand day when we will be free of sin the great day of freedom freedom glorious freedom which jesus wants to give us i want to to say we will not in conclusion we will not fully appreciate this concept of sabbath if we only stop at the creation point we have to see christ our savior not just as our creator but more importantly as a redeemer or deliverer or liberator that's right thank you as always i do have an additional question so how can we learn to appropriate ourselves the promises that we have been given in jesus of freedom from that slavery yes i think the the the i think the lesson is very clear the bible teaches us that we really get to understand this better if we understand the concept of grace so how we're going to do it we have to understand ourselves in light of who god is it's the same when we talk about the creation when we understand who we are in the context of god we were created in his image it changes how we see ourselves in relation to god in the same way when we are sinners now on the redemption side on the liberating side when we understand who we are in relation to who god is he's our redeemer now then we see ourselves as sinner then what changes for us what changes in our mind about that is that we are sinners but only by but only saved by the grace of god and so to understand and to appreciate that blessing we have to understand the concept of grace and that means i didn't work for it and some wouldn't even say i didn't deserve it but god extends that mercy that grace towards me and i think once you keep reminding yourself of that that is then it allows us to appreciate the concept of freedom that we are only free by the grace and mercy of god and i think that is what if you keep going back there i am as soon as say by grace i'm not i'm but not better than my sister my brother here my day will come if but if not for the grace of god i could be like that man on the street that's the way that that grounding is necessary if you have to really appreciate what this sub of um liberation and grace means for us as christians amen thank you thank you any of the comments from the panel oh yes we we are blessed enough to not be slaves as in literal slaves have to live under a master and beg somebody to have the time to rest and may not get that rest but we may all agree how sometimes it feels like slavery when we go from shift to shift every single day and you think when will we be free from this we need the money we can't choose to just sit at home but then when we get to sabbath we then get to appreciate that god did not want us to be slave of shift slave of work the fact that surely we have to live off our sword did not mean that god now has forgotten or hates us to a point where he wants us to be slaves of the fact that we sinned god then gives us that liberation to say rest my children and we realize we are indeed free in jesus name amen thank you pastor did you want to say something um thank you very much panel um i've got a couple of comments online happy sabbath sister april sister morris sister maureen colleen macleod says happy sabbath everyone man could have been tired god gave adam a job to do by him naming all the animals and everything that he created thank you for your comment and we're going to look now at strangers in your gates upon entering a formal agreement with god the israelites had the responsibility and high calling to be examples to others selected by god to reach the world preaching and teaching the gospel exodus chapter 19 verse 6 tells us that the israelites were affluent in their relationship with god and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation the israelites were to be moral and spiritual they were set apart from other nations called to be an example to be the light bearers the status of the israelites is afforded and offered to us today through jesus christ first peter chapter 2 verse 9 but ye are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation peculiar people that ye should shoot forth praises to him who have called ye out of darkness in to his marvelous light and we're enjoying that marvelous light sabbath is part of that marvelous light a chosen generation god has assigned the privileges and the responsibilities to the christian community to share the word of god royal priesthood as christians we are to offer spiritual sacrifices as a body of believers completely dedicated to god and again the sabbath helps us with that dedication to god that day that's set apart from all the rest of the the other days as a holy nation as church as church members we are to represent god on earth we are to be particular sorry peculiar people god has acquired us for himself we have been purchased with the blood of jesus as christians we are to be in the world but not of the world sharing love being kinder just being caring and loving as our father is to hold is towards to be helpful we are to observe the sabbath recognizing that the sabbath has brought us into his marvelous light there is a special relationship to be had with god the sabbath gives us the opportunity to replenish to rejuvenate in his word and top up our spirituality the vision that came to my mind when i was going through this lesson was quite strange i must admit i was just thinking about when you're when you're going shopping and you constantly see that the shelves are empty the shelves have to be replenished and at times if we just keep going and going and going and going eventually we also are going to run on empty the sabbath gives us time to replenish to rejuvenate and top up our spirituality the lockdown taught us so much we've we found grace in the lockdown it gave us the opportunity to build and connect further with god we had the time to read more to spend time in his word to share with others the word of god to do good deeds to those that were less fortunate to take care of the environment there were so many people that were looking after gardens that were doing shopping for other people we really saw what the lockdown did for us in terms of reconnecting us with god acknowledging and including the stranger in your gates exodus chapter 23 verse 12 six days shall you do work and on the seventh day thou shalt rest six days you shall do work but on the seventh day you will rest the bible tells us that when the israelites were leaving egypt to go to the promised land there were a mixed multitude there were strangers among them so the israelites were to be that example they were familiar with the sabbath they knew what the sabbath meant so they were to be that example to those strangers so as long as the strangers chose to remain with the israelites they were to conform to the requirements of god set for his own people ellen g y in the sda commentary bible volume 1 says most of the foreign population of the holy holy land were engaged in hard labor a fact that explains why the stranger is particularly mentioned here they may not have been familiar with the sabbath rest they were used to hard labor as elderly for mentioned about that slavery they were under that so they may not have known about that freedom the israelites were used to show and teach them about that freedom verse 9 of exodus 29 also speaks about the oppressing of the stranger we know as again elderly mentioned about the modern day slavery that we're going through god does not want any of his children to be abused or to be used he wants them to fully know and understand that there is a relationship a special relationship to be had god is making a clear and direct statement that no one is excluded from the promise of rest he is letting us all know that the rest that he has to offer isn't short term because sometimes we talk about respite and respite is short-term god is not talking about short-term rest it is everlasting as christians we are to carry the status the very same status of the israelites into our communities and into our social environments we have been chosen to represent god on the earth we too are required to share the gospel as royal priests as peculiar people my question to the panel how can our own sabbath-keeping become a blessing to those who don't keep the sabbath and how can we use the sabbath to witness to others i'm going to go to elder fritz cool i'm asking you that question oda all right yeah um you see the sabbath is beneficial to all once we understand that um the principle that is there in the sabbath yes is for all humanity now it is irresponsible for a christian to call himself a christian and not to care for the population and individuals that are suffering so god um allow israel to go into captivity into slavery yes that they might learn because at the end of the day we are all human beings and we all need rest so it's for me as a christian to think about my life to think about the pains that i suffer and so forth and then relate to others yeah the way god says god says love your neighbor as yourself yeah so the sabbath is to teach us about humanity about oneness about suffering and about deliverance not just from sin but from this hard world that we live in because it all ends in glory thank you thank you very much yeah just quickly no so i think in the in the exodus account of this story you know it says even the stranger in your own home and my experience is when i have family members who have come home who are not 70 adventists and when sunset comes on friday we all go into you know it's they benefit they feel that they've never experienced it before they've never lived it but when they come into your home and you're start with worship and then you go to church and you have potluck and they really find the blessing and they said to me this is nice you know it's nice they really enjoy it one is like christmas it's like christmas every week and that's a beautiful thing so one of the simple ways is when you're family you know family it's a stranger in your gate or your people coming home you take care of them another one is every sabbat when you step out of your house i'm going to church and people who are walking the dog drugging and i wonder what are you doing you are witnessing you wouldn't have done it if you were in your home but by going out to church they see you and there it's a witness already you have a bed in your hand where are you going why are you so dressed up you can then share the gospel children in school they ask you oh we're having a party this week for my child and why can you come no i can't come why i'm going to worship or are you a jew no you can begin a conversation about no it's not jews but god wants and little even little children so you end up nowhere because you're accepting the sabbath and you're honoring the sabbath it and you're doing it well it's people begin to see it and that is what the lord wanted us to do by observing another one last one your business your business is closed on sabbath but you're still making profit how are they wondering how are you still making profit we are working flat out six days seven days a week and our business are failing but you close your answer but that's a weakness yes that is the weakness and that's what i've always found in the market from us growing up the women who close that don't go to market on sabbath still surviving and the people wondering how the blessing of the sabbath the sabbath is a witness if you honor it well and do what the bible says it will be a witness you don't have to open your mouth amen yes yes just a quick one i remember the hypocrisy that i i grew up seeing in the adventist home in south africa many people have the pleasure of having a helper in their homes and most times the helper is not a sabot keeper or may not be an adventist and you find that we would want we keep the sabbath to the t sunset not even sunset before sunset everybody is ready except the helper who keeps doing things who keeps working you wake up in the sabbath morning they have to serve you breakfast they have to wash your car because it has to look good when you go to church then but then that's the stranger within our homes they have to make our beds i remember one day on the one of the women's ministries retreat we decided that on sabbath let's all put a do not disturb sign on the dole they don't have to make our birds on a sabbath morning we can give the the housekeeping stuff a rest because it's not really necessary but we enjoy the privilege but that's the stranger that we can witness to by because they all ask why is it that no one wants their room served and then we have the opportunity to say because god gave us the sabbath to rest amen i do think it is about being visual as well being visual in your community being visual like you were saying other than when you're out walking the dog or you're there just speaking with those that you come in contact with it is about being visual in our community and demonstrating how we keep the sabbath it can be inviting somebody to share the sabbath with you and i agree with you again old elena there has been times where when my mum's been around come on it's sabbath and everybody that's in the household you've got to participate and you did the like it is such a blessing it is such a blessing even the gardener would get it come come come join us so it is about being visual that we should share the blessing of the sabbath that can be a word of encouragement that can be in prayer and that can be spending time with others again panel thank you very much we're going to move on to serving others honors god's sabbath sister cindy yes serving others honours god sabbath now we find that the lesson begins by introducing the fact that in the new testament the religious leaders had the sabbath keeping to a t they had rules you do not do this you do this and you find that you could almost read there seems to be this sabbath-keeping manual you're prohibited from even with tying and untying things separating threads extinct extinguishing a fire there was a you cannot do this much on a sabbath transporting an object from a private domain to a public domain even walking i always wondered today how many miles do we do coming to this church we would all be probably disfellowshipped by now but then they had everything to the tea and you didn't have to guess or to think for yourself or to allow yourself to keep the sabbath uh according to what god said but they would give you so many restrictions it sounded more like just restrictions but i just want to look at this story found in john 5 7 2 16. so in this in this story jesus meets um this man at the pool of but said testa and the sabbath so verse 7 says this man says sir when he asks him why he's still there he says sir i have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred before i read down i just want us to not that this man has been sitting there and he says his reason is because no one is helping you yeah so no one helps me so no one is helping him on a monday on a tuesday on a wednesday so it wasn't just a question just on sabbath first but that people were just not helping him he says i am here because no one is helping me they're all thinking about themselves so he then says then jesus said to him get up pick up your mat and walk so from the rules that already have so jesus is asking him to break the sub pick up your mat on sabbath and walk that that that's not allowed according so they they're all already have their ears popping out that what is he asking to do and this man is healed and he teases a sabbath and the religious leaders think what have you done and they think of persecuting jesus they lose the whole blessing of the miracle of a man who has been healed who has been sitting here not only by his fault but by therefore too yes because they could have helped him yeah and then jesus not only heals him but he delivers him from this bondage of disease and they miss it because they were only interested in ticking the boxes yeah you've done right you've done wrong you've done right to a point where they missed the blessing on sabbath the vers always pops up in my head of thinking the sabbath was made for men sometimes i wish we could put it up in front of all the churches the sabbath was made for man let's remember that we cannot ignore people's need because we are trying to keep the sub if you look at this case this was a case of disease somebody is in pain somebody is in this bondage and everybody is ignoring because they want to look holy but is that what god requires a face of value holiness or god requires something different and there is a text again that that that we've been given in this lesson which is isaiah 50 58 verse 12 to 14. actually verse 13 says if you turn away your food from the sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holiday note whose holiday is it god yes it is he says on my holiday and call this sabbath the delight the holy day of the lord the holy day of the lord honorable and shall honor him not doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasures nor speaking your own words then you shall delight yourself in the lord and i god will cause you to ride on the high heels of the earth and feed you with the heritage of jacob your father the mouth of the lord has spoken so on top of those rules that they had then jesus comes and says and oh now this is isaiah god says to them if you turn away from doing your own pleasures so they were more worried about ticking the boxes what you have done for another but he's saying note don't do things that give you pleasure not only doing in the conversations that you have saying your own words that is breaking the sabbath yeah but then he says if you make it a delight because according to those rules it was no longer a delight it was now rules who's done wrong how do we punish them who did wrong how do we punish them and then so i could almost see people confessing i'm sorry i've i've i've seen i'm sorry i've said my own words and i'm sorry and you probably will be scared i'm sitting with elders and pasta here and i'll be thinking i'm in real trouble says what have i done to offend the sabbath of the keeping of the law but then we find that in this lesson it says note your own interests sometimes our interests can look good and we may justify them but god is saying the sabbath is his note the people around you the people that don't have a name the people that no one recognized the hungry the naked and it says honor them recognize them that will pleases the lord so serving others does honor god on the sabbath it is not breaking the sabbath amen thank you sister cindy any comments from the panel yeah yeah um i was just listening and i remembered my wife and i we were in israel and we traveled in the ramada hotel that was owned and run by the jews now of course the hotel is open on sabbath but so we we try to find out well how come because you know with the jews how they are you know how they operate and what we were told was that on sabbath they put aside a special offering they put aside a special offering to cover for the sins you know but what was interesting and i thought uh even people can can be drawn to that was that you know we were uh there were seven seven levels seven floors and they the the the shrine the tabernacle sorry the sanctuary was in the hotel on the fifth floor so on sabbath the elevator only stops on the fifth floor if you're going up two bed two three four five you gotta walk two three four you gotta walk on the fifth floor that's where the sanctuary is it stops you come off and so forth if you're coming down it stops on the fifth floor uh you know you've got to walk the other floors um and that in in in some sense would arouse curiosity just as you're going to church somebody else where he's going here you know it's going to witness um in terms of the operating and sabbath you know some people might say well it's the same like the nurse is in the hospital i don't think it's the same but you know people have all kinds of excuses but it was interesting you know um as sister cindy was talking i remembered our own experience in in in israel but it is it is so important that we we serve others we serve others when god blesses us he bless us to bless others but but i think this is a real challenge i think we have to acknowledge that the idea of what is work and not work on sabbath is a problem people always said to me what about if you're taking the bus to go to church that man has to work what's that conflict why are you taking the bus why don't you walk you know so there are a lot of issues that to be honest we probably need to spend more time to study yeah and even you know i remember i was a young child going to um to school at one one non-seven event is asking the question what do you do with this passage jesus said to the pharisees i am working and my father is also working on the sabbath but exodus 20 verse 10 says but the same day at the sabbath of the lord and that you should do no work but yet here jesus is saying in the passage i am working it's a direct breaking of the sabbath if you go by the letter of the law right because exodus 20 said you are not to work and jesus is saying i am working and my father are working keeping the sun and the moon and the stars in place god is working on the sabbath so it needs to be understood now what type of work are we talking about it's not just and this is just it it's the work of liberating is that work so i but i do think the point here is we have to spend more time because it can be confusing for children and others growing up in a very confused society about how do we as no modern day save their dentist under this issue of the sub but we go to a hotel go to go for vacation and all these things take the plane to travel people are working all around you how do you then as a christian explain that it does need a bit more time and i don't think we have the time today it does definitely thank did you want to play somebody but it seems like everybody wants a prescription how many times should you breathe on sabbath but do you realize when we read this chapter that's how the the leaders got into trouble they prescribed everything and so they were now ticking the boxes and say you did that you walked that and that's how they missed the blessing of the sabbath but somehow now we are here and we're saying let's go back to the prescription and then start again there is that danger of us ticking boxes and when we see from this day we recognize i'm glad pasta brought the idea of the elevator so they were more interested in giving the elevator rest more than the people rest the people had to walk more and break this up according to the miles they walk but the elevator was resting what kind of hypocrisy thank you for your points it's such a deep conversation isn't it that we could take all day discussing this elder fritz the sign that we belong to god right yes um ellen white makes it clear in testimony's volume 6 that anything that uplifts humanity is permissible work on the sabbath day okay so there is a work that should be done and must be done on the sabbath day yes anything that um uplift humanity is permissible work on the sabbath day now when it comes to the sabbath as a sign there are the controversy in this world is about satan and is about christ and the sabbath is a distinguishing mark of loyalty to christ because anything that god sets up satan sets up account of it and we will look at it in a little more detail because and anything that happens in the old time will happen again in modern times yes so god created adam and eve yeah he created adam from the dust of the earth but adam as a body of clay could not do anything the only thing that brought him alive is the um the power of god the breath of god that brought him back to life yes and as we look at the creation story and look at all that was created so wonderfully and beautifully the sabbath was a sign to adam that all thing that you're enjoying is from god yes and that same power that created adam give him life is the same power that is required in um taking a sinner who is dead in trespass and sins and make him alive that's why when you read in john chapter 20 and verse 22 when jesus was about to go he says to his disciples receive ye the spirit the holy spirit and he breathe on them because what is required is that breath of god that we can overcome sin and appreciate the sabbath because there are principles in the sabbath that we need to get to grips with and understand yeah so the sabbath is a sign of your allegiance and loyalty to jesus we're because in this world that we live living now you have so many um believers they say they believe in christ but yet they refuse to keep his commandments and when when you look at um individuals individuals of desires what god is saying to each one of us if i allow you to indulge your desire you will only come under the power of satan yeah and you can see that with um abraham he made a covenant with abraham abraham ended up where in egypt he reiterated this the covenant to isaac isaac ended up where egypt he reiterated the covenant to jacob and jacob ended up where in egypt and it's only the power of god alone could have freed them from that slavery that we were talking about so the lord is saying to us that the sabbath is a sign of your deliverance your freedom from bondage so as human beings we we have passions we have um feelings we know what it's like to hurt so the lord is saying to us that remember that it's only the power of god could have delivered you so now i am giving you the sabbath as a sign of your deliverance so what is happening up with the sabbath it is developing as god reiterates it it is becoming more important it's now a sign not just of creation but of deliverance yes and so in order that we might be sanctified we have to deal with the issue of sin yes so here comes now god gave his son to reconcile the world unto himself jesus is born in bethlehem manger and the first place he ends up egypt he had to go to egypt because he became sin for us that he might destroy the power of sin yes so he's showing an object lesson there so the the the sabbath is now not only a memorial of creation a memorial of deliverance from sin sanctification can only begin with jesus amen because there is only the blood of christ alone that can cleanse from sin so our journey begins with jesus yes so as the sabbath goes on it is also now looking forward to recreation so we keep the sabbath to distinguish us he took israel out of egypt and took them to the promised land he took the seventh-day adventist church out of the world right and gave them the sabbath to distinguish them above all other religions that's why we can say to the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them because there is two leaders satan christ and your you show your loyalty to god by the outward sign of the sabbath he gave them the the um the ceremonial circumcision right as a covenant but the new covenant is circumcision of the heart yeah yes so god is the one that is working in the heart to recreate the image of god in man if you don't surrender to god and allow him to work his will in you it will never be done and the sabbath is also a promise of recreation of the earth yes we have people who are saying that they are you know they're looking at climate change and so forth but i can tell them from ii peter that the earth is reserved unto fire and what they are trying to save will only be burnt up just like how jesus god destroyed the earth by a flood is going to destroy this time with fire and in revelation chapter 21 and verse 5 it says behold i make all things new and in isaiah chapter 66 from verse 23 he says for as the new earth and the new heaven which i shall make shall remain before me so shall your seed and your name remain and from one new moon to another and from one sabbath to another shall all flesh come and worship before me so the sabbath is a sign of creation of redemption of sanctification and of re-creation and it's all going to end in glory so there is two sets of people up on the earth those who are following satan and those who are following jesus and it is a sign of your loyalty to god he says it says in revelation 22 14 it says blessed are they that do his commandments that they might have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the city if we can keep the sabbath in its principle then the other nine commandments you will keep them easily god bless you amen thank you i am going to take your closing comments i know like i said this subject is so there's so much more to talk about pastor i'm going to come to you first your closing comment please well i just give god thanks for the sabbath because it reminds me that god won amen thank you no thank you what's our name brixton seventh the adventist church this concept of the sabbath is written in the name of this church right our identity we have to spend time studying it more and more and understanding it but a takeaway point for me from this lesson that jesus is the lord of the sabbath you want to know how to keep the sabbath look to jesus amen and what he did that is the way to find out how to do it and the principles of which you are upheld you make that a part of yourself keeping and you'll be fine amen sister cindy mine comes from the last comment actually is the question that that question says every sabbath we are reminded that all humanity was created by god it helps us see people through the eyes of god so our racial differences our ethnic differences social economy everything all the differences but may be there but then we are reminded that every single person those who know about the sabbath and those who do not we're all created by god amen elder friends yes for me the comforting thing as i fight the good fight of faith is to know that it ends in glory the second coming of jesus will put an end to all satan's activity and we shall rest in that glorious land yes in the heavenly canaan forevermore thank you amen ellen g white states in testimonies for the church volume 6 page 353 all through the week we are to have the sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment we are not merely to observe the sabbath as a legal matter thank you panel thank you online and viewers for your comments i'm going to ask sister cindy to close in prayer for us please let us pray kind and heavenly father above i just want to thank you dear lord thank you especially for the sabbath day i recognize dear lord how important this was to our life and the fact that you thought of us from the very first day you created us i thank you dear lord for the wisdom of discovering the sabbath truth i pray dear lord for many of us who are still struggling with the sabbath that father you may give us a better understanding and help us dear lord to do your will even on the sabbath day in jesus name i pray amen amen enjoy your sabbath rest and by the grace of god we will see you here next week [Music] thank you it's such a [Music] hey there is today your first time here or maybe your first time in a while if so maybe you're wondering exactly who we are and what this church is all about well we'd like you to know that we're a group of ordinary people who are on an amazing journey together following christ our guide is the bible because it's the divinely inspired word of god and it will never take us in the wrong direction along the way we hope you'll see that we are welcoming and spiritually passionate and that getting to know you is a big deal to us we know that the road is rough sometimes but we'll work really hard to bring you practical and relevant messages to equip and encourage you through life's ups and downs we want you to know that we care about this community and we believe that it's our job to make it a better place so no matter who you are or where you've been we're glad you're here with us today and we hope that you'll join us on our journey following christ and living out his plan for us so welcome to church [Music] so [Music] it was french journalist and philosopher albert camus who said life is a journey not a destination how well are you enjoying the journey of your life are you fulfilled frustrated whatever your experience join me dain fletcher and the team from the 7th day adventist church brixton september 4 to 11 sunday to friday 7 pm and on saturdays 11 a.m and 6 30 p.m it promises to be epic life-changing changing learn how to rise if you fall come back from your setback and how to reap the rich rewards of fulfilling your dreams even after you cross the finish line of success i look forward to join you as you with me will run your life's race god bless you we have so many reasons to be thankful so many reasons to celebrate to worship and that's what we've gathered to do here today to honor a god who never stops loving us no matter what to empower one another to be stronger followers of the king of kings to make this world a better place by spreading god's love and you're invited to join the fun you see the bible teaches us that we have a new covenant with god a new lease on life courtesy of jesus christ and that alone is worth celebrating but the lord wants to partner with you and i to bring peace hope and love into our hearts and into the world around us and how do we do this well that's what we're going to talk about today but before we do let's join in celebration of the fact that through christ we are free free to escape a life of sin and instead pursue a life of spiritual growth free to sing praise and worship with thankfulness in our hearts no matter who you are or where you've been you are free free in the name of jesus christ to pursue a personal relationship with god and as we enter into a time of worship and praise we encourage you to rejoice in that freedom come everyone clap your hands shout to god with joyful praise for the lord most high is awesome he is the great king of all the earth let's glorify the name of our almighty god let's worship so good to see you all this morning so good to see your smiling faces so good that we can come here to worship so let's stand as we sing our theme song running life's race we're running this race called life obstacles weird and strife may come in your way but hear god say my child just hold on god will give you strength and victory through every test you got here by faith keep running last race until you have one we're gonna say that one more time we're running this race called life obstacles fear and strife may come in your way but hear god say i shall just hold on god will give you strength and victory through every test you got here by faith keep running last race until you have one and the road may be long the road may be long there'll be mountains to climb but with god by your side you make it all over for in god's word that [Music] one more time from the top wherever i name this race called life obstacles fear and strife may come in your way but hear god say my child just hold on god will give you strength and victory through every test you got here by faith keep running life's race until you have one the road may be long there'll be mountains to climb [Music] nothing's impossible by cause grace keep running nice race there'll be mountains to climb but with god by your side you'll make it all over [Music] god's grace keep running this race [Music] [Music] keep running life's race [Music] [Music] happy sabbath church we can do better than that happy sabbath church let us get into the attitude of prayer please or father we just want to thank you for bringing us here today we pray that as we're about to go into our worship that he will be with us keep us safe we ask in jesus name amen amen [Music] let's do our happy sabbath again happy sabbath everyone uh petra talk to me did you did you like that it sounded yeah they weren't too happy that was a bit dry let's let's let's do it again happy sabbath everyone are you happy to be here you're sure that's the thing they're all so unsure i mean i know we have on the mask and sometimes that can hinder the sound but can we hear that's true happy to be here we're happy to be in the house of the lord the lord aren't we do you want me to ask them again just ask them again let's go again are you happy to be here are you happy to be alive that that sounded a little bit better i i mean you know we are here to praise and to worship and to sing and to just have a wonderful temperature and and it's not just going to be today it's going to be from today until next week saturday right on tuesday saturday so let me set the hands up those who are here to spectate you're here just to sit and just to look nice in your suits and and in a nice dress petra i mean nobody raised their hands so let me see those who are here to participate [Music] thank you let me see the hands of those who are here to participate come on raise those hands yes if you're here is that everyone yeah just that wasn't everyone no it wasn't okay so let's let's work it if you're here to participate just lift your hands and say praise the lord praise the lord and say thank you jesus thank you amen amen thank you jesus thank you jesus can we just say hallelujah if you're happy to be here church hallelujah amen amen we want to welcome you into the house of the lord we have so much to be grateful for i mean we've come through so much this year and for us to be seated in the house of the lord we really must show that we're happy and thankful and we just want to welcome the online visitors as well to reek we can't leave them out if you're watching with us on youtube facebook or even on the brixton church website we just want to say welcome so you can say amen back to us as well if you're happy to be alive if you're happy to um to be listening from wherever you are from the comfort of your own home then we just want to welcome you and we want to thank god that you're able to also do that you know what i'm thinking peter i think i want to throw a challenge out to our online viewers if you are watching just just tell us where you're watching from if you're watching from jamaica if you're watching from here in the uk just throw it in the chat and we we should be able to see it we want to see you interacting with us and we want to share with them as well petra or or hashtag for the week what will it be it will be rlr so running last race 2001 right 2021 2021 sorry that's six see they say that's how we work well together we make a good team but it's going to be hashtag rlr 21. so i want to be seeing you putting um putting those in and of course we can see um comments coming in from from clifton welcome clifton and even jeremiah is there as well i've amazed here as well so we're here somewhere from portugal that someone from portugal is here so we're just saying welcome to you all and of course jeremiah told us that he's here at home in the uk and that's shams as well so we're getting quite a bit from our online viewers so let's see the hashtag as well let's see the hashtag so that's hashtag rlr 21. so we are waiting to see that amen and for those in our congregation please remember that on the sabbath we can invite people out to our worship service so please don't hesitate we do have the capacity so please invite your friends invite your family members don't allow this program to go by and it's only you that receives a blessing for yourselves i i agree but you know petra i hear that something spectacular will be going on all week do you want to tell us a little bit more about what will happening i i mean it's it's i i keep hearing it i keep seeing the vid the video but what will be happening each night um what would be happening so we've actually got the running live series that is starting from today with pastor dane fletcher um he's coming he's speaking from us speaking to us sorry from jamaica so that will be going on from the 4th to the 11th that's next week's sabbath yes and each night you can join us online on youtube or on facebook from 7pm to also catch that program so don't feel that if you're working and maybe you're rushing home from work you're going to miss out it will also be recorded so please feel free to join us each night and share the link as well so i'm just thinking pressure what what what can i expect why why should i tune in i mean we've got some amazing programs we've seen some titles and i'm intrigued they're ready so if you're interested i mean we're all going through life right and we all can do better at learning how to operate better as we're running last race you may face challenges from day to day or just in our families at work and i feel like this series will actually equip us to know how to take on those challenges and run it well not just run the race but run it well that's true and you know petra you said that and and i'm thinking that so it means that this program is not just for you know those who are are here and are part of the race and are run it's also for those who are standing to the side and they want to be a part of the race so we it's for everyone for everyone it's for everyone it's for all ages all ages wherever you are as long as you've got access where you can even come together with someone else and view the program online then you can join it sounds like it's going to be spectacular picture i can't wait you see come on petra you say i i'm going to make sure now because i'm not someone who can run very well but i shall be and and can we tell them that this race is a special race it's not just a race that you're running as a matter of fact it's not who comes first win right does that make sense it's not just the person that comes in first win we can all be winners and of course we'll be running together we'll be here together and we invite you to come on out with us worship with us and we want to pray together we want to strengthen each other along this race that we call life we have some other special events happening i know we'll be supporting um you know we will be talking about about mental health and we do know especially during a time like this mental health is very important a lot of us are affected in in one way or the other and sometimes we don't even realize that we're affected right right petra and so we are going to be looking at that and we are also going to be supporting a charity that deals with mental health what's the name of the charity pedro the charity is called mind and it's the mind for lambeth in southwark so the link should be shown um and it will also be available on our website but it's just to be mindful as well as adventist we preached a health message that's true and we say that we believe in holistic health mental health is some sometimes missed out of that and i think it's very good that we're now kind of getting on the the bandwagon and actually embracing the importance of good mental health so please um as you tune in please also remember that there is an opportunity to share and to contribute or donate to this charity as well right so you will have we'll have a lot more details during the week so don't worry you'll you'll see a lot more information coming forth and we act that we support as a church and we support each other and we pray for each other as well no we we we we we should have um because you know they're looking a little bit cool you see today is going to be a special day and it's it's it's a day where we're going to be interacting because i can see you're sitting and you know the faces look a little like like you're a bit sad it's the sabbath we should be happy in the lord right yes we should be so i want you to just look across to someone and just give someone a smile i mean you can't shake hands you can't hug but just just give them your eyes smile with your eyes let it feel a little warm and while we're doing that we can invite the praise team just with a song so that we can kind of get into the worship we could definitely let's do that [Music] [Music] i can't greet but just look across and wave come on smile with someone even with your eyes you want to pull the marks down and smile come on just smile let someone feel warm and welcome yes [Music] in come on everybody [Music] amen amen just before you sit i want him to do one more thing for a special just turn to someone if they're near our far just say neighbor come on we are running life's race pressure probably i want to hear your voice go ahead and say i don't think i don't think they they heard it properly probably they didn't go ahead and say can we can we can we try that again please can we just turn to our neighbors and can we say neighbor neighbor we are running last race we are running life's race amen amen amen amen we pray that you will have a wonderful day as we worship together you may be seated [Music] amen that was some good energy did you feel it all right all right we are so happy we have young people in our midst who can take this church forward we give god thanks and praise for them uh just to remind you of a few things the first is we want you to uh keep inviting your friends and your neighbors and your loved ones to this running life's race campaign as you have heard um you know we we meet this this this evening at 6 30 and uh um tomorrow evening at 7 30 and uh monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday we're going right through this week and we want you to please stay tuned in um remind your neighbors your friends your work colleagues would it would be a wonderful experience so we are encouraging you to do just that now remember next sabbath this campaign ends with a glorious baptism amen this campaign ends with a glorious baptism and that's going to take place right here right after the sermon next week and uh come the 25th would be our communion service our communion service what a way to celebrate the month of september campaign baptism communion service right so um at this time ladies and gentlemen uh we want to introduce you we want to welcome um our guest speaker um who is live from jamaica pastor den fletcher are you there with us yes great brother pleasure come on yes man it's a joy to connect with you possible than the brixton church family and all those who are watching online man it's so it's it's it's i'm delighted to be walking with you another time we had a good time when we walked in balaam and and uh here we are in brixton i'm i'm looking forward to pastor fletcher uh for to spend a wonderful week together with you you know pastor fletcher is the youth director of the jamaican union and we are so happy pastor fletcher that we have a young person who would be speaking to us here pastor fletcher how many how many um young people you have in the jamaican union i know you you're looking after a whole bunch of young people down there in jamaica we have well over a hundred thousand young people in the seventh the adventist church and we pray that by god's grace they will continue to be on the front line because truly our young people in jamaica are front line workers for jesus good good good and we're so happy for you pastor we here at brixton i want you to know that we would continue to pray for you it's a tremendous uh job that you're doing and we give god thanks for you know are you excited to to be with us are you looking forward to this week's challenge i am looking forward to having a strong week this week a strong week as we are enabled and empowered by the holy spirit and i while i'm not live in the same space with you already i can feel the synergy already i can feel the warmth of the brethren and this power of this holy spirit moving through the songs and the activities of our worship service so i am excited to be with the church family and all those who are connecting online okay okay so just before i leave you just just in one or two sentences just tell us something about yourself i know we we have the whole week and uh night after night you'll be telling us a little more but just in one and two or two sentences tell us something about yourself the the more i live the more i come face to face with my own brokenness and i have committed my life to being an instrument in the hand of god even as i help others to rebuild their lives from the rules and rubbles of their lives as they focus on jesus so that's my passion in life and i by god's grace i want my family to be saved with me in the kingdom of god and i hope that every person listening their families will be saved in the kingdom of god as amen amen brethren i just want you to you know just just say a big amen to pastor fletcher as we uh um leave him to get ready for his presentation may god continue to be with you and bless you as we go through this sabbath it is my prayer that the presence of the lord will condescend and fill this place and that each one of you would live here with a very special blessing may god continue to bless you all [Music] [Music] [Music] matthew what are you doing mom today i'll learn what is the meaning of stewardship i didn't understand the meaning of it but now i know that it means care and gratitude and it's part of the four t's [Music] whoa it seems like you have learned something that needs to be shared let's go and find your dad so you can explain it to both of us it's so nice to see my three favorite people the children have something very important to share [Music] that looks interesting are you guys teaching us a new handshake and it's not a new handshake it's just that we finally learned what stewardship means every time i heard it at church it just sounded so complicated the first t is time in order to be a good steward i need to give time to god time to pray read the bible listen to god and teach others about him the next t is for talent god has given me the talent of singing and if i want to be a good steward i need to put my talents to praise god i'm liking what i'm hearing a lot and there's more the next he talks about the body which is the temple that god has given us god has given us sight defeat mouth neck yes matthew god has given us everything we are in therefore we need to take care of our body to be good stewards and eat healthy food like fruits and vegetables too matthew also sleep early so our body can always be at hundred percent earlier i saw that you were counting on separating kinds because i learned that in gratitude for all i have i need to give god the part he deserves and that is the last teeth dive i learned that time is a ten percent i'm separating the part to give i have been saving to buy a very nice coin purse but i'm going to do the same as matthew even if it takes me longer to buy the coin first and that is because i love jesus kids i really am happy because you have learned to be grateful you will be greatly blessed [Music] the bible says that the lord loves the cheerful giver [Music] keep these promises in your heart [Music] so pleasant afternoon uh sabbah sorry pleasant sabbath to everyone is anybody here um is there anybody willing to ask to admit that this week has been a bit tough maybe tiring for me it was a little bit sad too and uh i know sometimes life could be so unkind but i'm reminded that there's nothing too hard for god so whatever your problem is you can take it to him [Music] oh [Music] i've had enough heartache and enough headache i've had so many ups and downs i don't know how much more i can take see i decided that i yesterday listen it's either i'm gonna trust him or i may as well walk away cause stressing don't make it better don't make it better no way see i my decided years yesterday [Applause] [Music] oh yesterday [Music] i've decided yesterday [Music] hey cause there is nothing too hard for my god oh no cause any problems is [Music] last is yesterday [Music] yesterday [Applause] trust in you [Music] yesterday i realized that you would break me through [Music] [Music] is [Music] yesterday [Music] wow what a beautiful rendition sorry what a beautiful rendition very beautiful song indeed very very beautiful yesterday i think that was that was just so powerful yes and you see when we are running our race petra these are some of the songs that we need to listen to you know things that are are uplifting things that are that are motivating what what do you think church no i think you're going to sleep again and again again again what do you think church amen amen listen let me just let me just take just just a moment to speak to my audience here listen you see when when we have individuals standing here you know you see just like when you're running a race and you have people on the sideline that's that's cheering them on you are know the people on the sideline so let me let me say something to picture again what a beautiful song picture it was amazing well hola let's try it again what a beautiful song [Music] do you picture um that was that was much but i think we're getting there we're getting there right you know i'll give you a little clap for that but it's it's it's true you know if you if you are led to say amen say amen if you are led to say praise the lord say praise the lord if you are led to say hallelujah give your praises to god he has been good indeed to all of us and there's one way that we can also return to to god what he has blessed us with petra and that's that's in what entire zone can now deakins please come forward for our titan offerings and we can at this time picture also just to remind you about um the charity that we're supporting as well uh the link will be shared you can just uh click on the link you can make note of it no you should see it on screen you can make note of it so that you know at any time feel free to do your donations and to read just a reminder as well for our online viewers that you can do your ties and offerings and also support the charity that tariq is referred to online via our website that's that's true and for for those who are online we we have not forgotten you so please continue to interact with us as well deacons you may proceed amen hasn't the law been good to us all right so we're going to sing a song that josh is going to lead the lord is blessing me right now oh right now [Applause] let's sing the lord [Music] is blessing me right now oh right now he woke me [Music] [Music] is the lord [Music] the lord is blessing me right now oh right now the lord is blessing me right now oh right now he woke me up this morning and he started he's blessing me he's blessing me he's blessing me he's blessing me he's blessing me he's blessing me he's blessing he's blessing me is [Music] he's passing and we're gonna continue with praise and worship we're going to sing hymn number 88 i sing the mighty power of god that made the mountains rise him number 88. blessing i sing the mighty power of god in the mountains rise that spread the flowing and through the skies [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] creatures [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] but god is [Music] how great is our god the splendor working let's see [Music] let all the earth rejoice let all the earth rejoice he wraps himself in life [Music] tries to hide and travels and his voice and shambles that is is [Music] [Music] the key [Music] he wraps himself [Music] sing [Applause] how great is [Music] [Music] the next verse says [Music] and time is in his hands beginning at the end beginning at the end the body has green one the car [Music] is [Music] how great how great is stay with me how great is our god and always see how great how great is blessing then sings my soul let's sing dance [Music] [Music] then sings my soul my sentence [Music] sings my soul [Music] how great thou art how my savior god to [Music] [Music] create me a clean heart and purify me cast me not away from thy presence let your holy spirit stay with me [Music] me [Music] created [Music] [Applause] [Music] i [Music] please don't take your spirit from me and restore the joy of salvation [Music] [Music] [Music] so i may worship [Music] please don't take your spirit from me and restore the joyous salvation so that i may worship you cast me not away from thy presence please don't take your spirit from me and restore the joy of salvation so that i may worship thee [Music] so that i may worship [Music] amen [Music] good morning and happy sabbath church we're going to stand for prayer but i want to welcome all of you here and abroad all you online wherever you may be this morning good morning and happy sabbath to you pastor fletcher back in jamaica and your team your families each one so now may we stand for prayer please [Music] good morning our heavenly father hallowed be your name we thank you for waking us up this morning to come to praise and give you thanks together thanking you as our one god and heavenly father we thank you for health and strength renewed in our bodies for journeying mercies and bringing us here we thank you for every member that's here that you have caused to be here we thank you for those online happy sabbath to all of you online again and i pray that you will have a sub of this blessing i pray for the sick ones that cannot be here this morning lord that you will renew their health and strength and heal them and as they listen online they will get satisfaction they will feel good through your holy spirit bless god god and keep each mind sanctified and in tune with you i pray for a pastor of this church and his family for all the members those that can be here for those that cannot be here bless them and give them a sabbath day's blessing i pray for the worship of the day i pray for the prayers tame the prayer team i pray for the platform party on a whole that your holy spirit will be with each and every individual baptize them with the holy spirit lord give them the unction of your holy spirit and teach them how to praise you teach us all how to praise you bless the word that will should be spoken this morning to us through pastor philip and stain and i pray that through the guardian angel you'll keep them all surrounded from all accident harm and danger i pray you'll give them all travel and mercies because their time is different to us and as they travel to church lord surround them with your garden and just protection but fill us with your word give us ears to hear what you are saying to us through your man's servant give us understanding to all that is being said and done and help us that we'll have ours to receive it all i pray for the sick once again you know who they are where they are i put them all into your hand for your healing not only physically but spiritually mentally emotionally and socially i ask that you will give us sabbath day's blessing and hope that as we listen to your manservant speak your word to us we will be educated in the right way lord have mercy upon us save us for your kingdom baptize us all with your holy spirit grant us this blessing that we need so badly teach us how to pray or write how to depend on you help us to know that we are not ourselves we can do nothing without you so we are calling on you for your help i pray will educate each and every one of us in your way according to your commands fall fresh upon us through your holy spirit guide and keep us our minds focused on you but lord once more i pray that the words that we shall hear today from your will take roots in our hearts and that we will carry them with them as we go out as we come in give us the strength of faith to trust and believe in you and let the preceding of the day be done to thy names honor and glory give us that faith and that strength and the endurance and the continuance to worship you this morning it was said it's not the one who won the race that is a winner but i believe it's those that have the the strength and the faith and the endurance to hold on and keep holding on to you dear god through jesus they are the ones that will win the rest never give up so feed us with your love your life and your endurance in us to carry on to do what we need to do in the name of jesus bless us all and bless our worship together and help us to hold fast to you and look forward to your coming when that day comes help us to live our lives in readiness for you to call us and to be with you in jesus name i pray through amen [Music] oh worship [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is presents fill this room [Music] this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] holy ground [Applause] [Music] so calm and down [Music] okay so can you guys hear me yes okay so we're just gonna check that everyone is still warmed up before we go into the main meet of the service i think we should as a matter of fact i want you to check if your neighbor is warmed up just turn to someone again and say neighbor no no no no no you see you're getting cold on me again petra listen listen i i i think you know what we'll see with them i understand there's a lot of distance between you it's not when we used to be close and warm and together i forgive you yes i i forgive you but still let your voices be heard say neighbor we are running life's race we're going to do it again pressure but i want you to do it this time go ahead so can we say neighbor we are running life's race and for our online viewers can you guys just do the hashtag rlr 21 for us yes go ahead and and might i just added picture that we have people tuning in from america we had quite a few people uh who said they're from they're in new york they're in america jamaica jamaica was there portugal other places in the caribbean and also here in the uk keep sending your comments in and you can just send your flags as well wrapping where you're from and please remember to keep tuning in each and every night from this evening onwards right yes and also as well to reek i'm mindful that maybe some people may have walked in a little bit after our welcome true um and also the viewers online some people may have joined a bit later as well so my name is petra and i am terry and we are your co-hosts for this series of running last race yes so make sure you uh are here you're warm and you feel welcome and feel free you know just to we commented in the chat just feel free to say a hello to tariq or hello to petra we'd appreciate it amen amen all right but you know we are down to the main meat of the matter that moment that we have waited for petra is here long awaited long awaited and we pray that as we're about to introduce the speaker that you get into that attitude of worship and of reverence now as you were told our speaker he is from jamaica and he originates from the cool hills of rejoin hanover no pastor fletcher is the product of strong adventist upbringing now when the call to serve came at a very young age actually of 18 he accepted he is a mentor and a friend to young people he connects well with all ages and is devoted to god he is passionate about salvation and his fellow human beings amen and pastor fletcher he's an ambassador of god's kingdom who's fully committed to official assignment of sharing god news to the kingdom of god he's inspirational he's consecrated he's committed he's a young man who continues to avail themselves to be used by god a man of prayer and godly devotion our speaker holds a certificate in architecture from montego bay jamaica he also has a degree in religion from the northern caribbean university he has a masters degree also in theology politics and faith-based organization from king's college he also he a pastor teacher for over 19 years so he's been teaching for 19 years so he's not inexperienced he's not new he knows what he's talking about he knows the word um and also as well he's practicing chaplin sorry chapliancy at the moment and he he hopes to go forward and bring that um across jamaica where he can actually teach others and open his own um organization as well yes might i also add that he is happily married to kadesh pastor i hope i got her name correct and someone i met um before as well lovely lady and together they have the first of six sons caleb yes and definitely as he comes he solicits your prayers and he's hoping that we will all go with a purpose amen however go ahead petra before pastor comes we'll have another rendition from um janet and that was a beautiful one this morning so please can you give us some a warm amen as she she comes forward again amen present sabbath again indeed we have full knowledge that our forefathers fell from the beginning but i thank god for the redemption plan that meant that christ would die but the good news is he's alive the moon and stars they wept the morning sun was dead the savior of the world was falling [Applause] his body on the cross his blood poured out for us the weight of every curse upon him thank you lord [Music] one final breath he gave as heaven looked away the son of god was laid in darkness his body in the grave a war on death was waged the power of hair forever broken when the ground began to shake the stone was rolled away his perfect love could not be overcome now dapper is your sting our resurrected king has rendered you defeated forever he is glorified forever he is lifted high [Music] forever he is [Music] when the ground began to shake the stone was rolled away god's perfect love could not be all overcome now death where is your sing my resurrected king has rendered you defeated forever he is glorified [Music] forever he is [Music] is [Music] [Music] we sing hallelujah we sing hallelujah [Music] we sing hallelujah the lamb was overcome we sing hallelujah we sing hallelujah we sing hallelujah the lamb was overcome [Music] forever he is glorified [Music] forever he is is [Music] [Music] appraisal is alive forever he is glorified we give god glory for all the wonderful things he has done for us through jesus christ and now i ask you to assume an attitude of reverence as we pray or father we glorify you because you are god and there's none else your god and there's none like you and so today we need to hear from you i pray that my sinful self will not be an obstacle in the way of the cross but that we will see jesus in the fullness of his glory is our prayer with thanks in his name amen amen amen we are here to have a strong week this week as we focus on running life's race yes for this week we will be focusing on running life's race and again i am grateful to pastor boulder and the team here at the brixton seventh day adventist church for extending this privilege to me to connect with you wherever you are it is my joy to connect with you if you are live in a house at the church in brixton it's good to connect with you if you are connecting from online whether it be facebook or youtube it is my joy to connect with you and guess what you know even though things are are are beyond what we would desire that is we are living in trouble sometimes at least we can thank god for the ability to use technology to connect hadn't it been for kovit 19 perhaps i would not be preaching with you or speaking with you this morning live from jamaica so we give god thanks even for the blessing of technology throughout this crisis it is an exciting yet challenging and if we are not careful it can also be a depressing time to be alive but for this week we will learn how to run life's race so for later this evening we will be looking at bewear and prepare and come tomorrow come tomorrow we will focus on we will focus on uh how you finish so that that's just a a preview of where we will be going for this week going until tomorrow night and then tomorrow night i'll share more of some of the subjects which we will be covering for the rest of the week how are you feeling today however you're feeling i pray that god will show up and he will minister to you as only he can i pray that right where you are in sanctuary online that you will experience a fresh anointing of the holy spirit now for today's message we are looking at the all-important subject of all naked yes we are looking at the subject all need the theme text for this series is wherefore seeing we are on and sorry it's hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2. wherefore seeing we also are compassed above is so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily visit us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto jesus the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god so if we are going to run this race successfully we should do so patiently as we look to jesus look to jesus but why do we look to jesus now it is of essence that we focus on today's message with a view of hebrews chapter 4 verses 13 to 16 and the bible records and there is no creature hidden from his son but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens jesus the son of god let us hold fast or confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with or weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need and genesis 2 verse 25 the book of beginnings shares and they were both neat that you should assess yourself so for today we're we're going to assess ourselves and we're going to observe that we can get help and if help is available we should make the best use of the help which we can get running life's race all naked how are you feeling this morning i don't know how you're feeling but for me it's been a testing and trying period i've seen people dying to my left and dying to my right i've lost loved ones during covet 19 to the hands of covid19 and who died otherwise whatever the experience is even if you yourself would have lost loved ones i cannot imagine exactly how you're feeling but while you are here today whatever you are experiencing if it is that you are overwhelmed afraid alone even if it is that you feel abandoned rejected forsaken you may even feel unappreciated and and sometimes when we are alone the guilt of the misdeeds of our lives stand loomingly large before us and sometimes we are disappointed disappointed with others other times disappointed with ourselves and if we are not careful this appointment can lead to discouragement how are you feeling this morning are you feeling unfulfilled are you feeling sad are you feeling angry sometimes as we run the race of life we are born and tired and weary and if we are not careful we are tempted to quit we are tempted to give up but this morning i've come by here rather this afternoon wherever you are this afternoon i've stopped by here to tell you that everything is naked before the eyes of god and as everything is naked before the eyes of god we should know that god experiences and god knows exactly how you're feeling i may not know how you're feeling for some of you you may be going through the phases of grief as defined by elizabeth kubler-ross or david tesla for some of you may you may be in denial of your situation i must admit since covet 19 has gotten so rampant i have wondered how real this is or if those who have passed away somehow will just return even before the resurrection i've wondered about the reality of death and it may very well be that i have been going through my own phase of denial it could be that some of you right now are feeling angry if you're angry perhaps because somebody you believe would have been alive he or she took more precaution you're angry perhaps even with yourself you may also be at a place where you are bargaining as defined by these great experts and and you're saying if that were done or if i did this things could have been otherwise you may be at that place of bargaining and you may even be so severely affected that you are at a place where you are experiencing depression i don't know how you're feeling uh you may not be at a place of acceptance of all that is happening in your experience i just do not know exactly how you're feeling but according to the text in hebrews we have a high priest there is somebody there's someone someone who is all-powerful there's someone who is sympathizing there's someone who can identify with your feeling and i pray today that you will be so aware that you are not alone you do not have to bear your burdens alone be open to the fact that help is available i don't know how you're feeling but someone does let me look at all naked within the context of the text which have been shared in genesis the word translated naked means to be nude partially or totally or simply knee you know the story of adam and eve in the garden of eden and remember i'm saying we should be aware of where we are we should assist ourselves so adam and eve in the garden of eden if you read genesis 2 verse 7 you know that the lord god formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life so adam and eve were created as top of the order here on planet earth uh we talk about the human race when i was a little boy growing up i i i would hear persons asking who came first in the human race who is the fastest man ever and then they would joke about it we would joke about it we would say that adam is the fastest man ever because he came first in the human race i i submit to you that adam the first man was formed in the image of god we too bear that image of god but somehow as a result of adam's fall the image of god is lighted in us we are not as strong as god intended us to be our muscles are not as big and bulgy as god intended us to be we are not as tall as god intended us to be yet we have fallen from the image where god wanted us to be but it doesn't mean that all is lost so we read in genesis that god after he made human beings he he gave them everything to eat genesis 2 verses 16 and 17 so so god provided for adam and eve and god said of everything you may freely eat but do not touch or eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden yes adam and eve had everything they needed to eat they had no need to worry about starvation they had no need to curry go go go to sainsbury or tesco they had no need to go to any supermarket adam and eve had their needs met but look my friends you know this story adam and eve sinned against god and when they sinned the glory of god departed we read in genesis 2 verse 25 that the man and his wife they were both naked and they were not ashamed they were naked and not ashamed simply because they were partially covered with the glory of god i submit to you that if you are not careful if it is that you do something contrary to god's will then god's glory will depart from your life could it be that you had a wonderful past could it be that you had better days but right where you are now you're at a point of discouragement you know the way of righteousness you know how you ought to live could it be that you're at a place where you've had better days and right now you have experienced a loss of god's glory now i submit to you that even though you may have lost their coverage that divine coverage that special halo which speaks about the glory of god you should not be like adam and eve attempting to cover up when you go to genesis chapter 3 i'll just go through it quickly with you you can read it when you go home adam and eve sinned eve first it of that forbidden fruit because she heeded the temptation of that cunning devil and yes after they sinned god approached them and as god approached them god said adam where are you but god the god who knows everything god who knows where you are god who knows why you're where you are god who sees everything open and naked was not asking adam for confession for information rather god was asking adam for confession god was saying to adam adam why are you where you are and adam spoke about being naked god said who told you that you were naked and adam said you know god got asked further have you eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and adam said lord i have eaten but it wasn't me you know shaggy and that tune it wasn't me adam said it wasn't me lord it is the woman and god said what woman the woman whom you gave to me the right there in the garden of eden adam and eve was naked before god but even in how he responded to god he wanted to cover up he wanted to hide the fact that he himself was responsible for where he was could it be that like adam and eve somebody you my brother you my sister sitting in the congregation you online you are not willing to accept where you are could it be that you are covering up yourself could it be that you are hiding your sin could it be that right now you are not acknowledging that all things are naked before the eyes of god you know nakedness is essential for growth and development and i will speak a little bit more about what naked does a little later but you see nakedness can speak to the fact that we have some blessings for example instead of me having a six-pack because of some of the covet 19 blessings i happen to have a pack and by god's grace i have to do that which is necessary to flatten my curve so so when you are naked when you look at yourself you will know where you are can i ask somebody right where you are as you run life's race stop for a moment assess yourself find out where you are how prepared you are to run this journey and if it is that you have failed if it is that you have slipped up or messed up if it is that you have fallen do not attempt to cover up but keep everything open before the eyes of god so in genesis nakedness highlights the problem of man but in hebrews naked means uncovered nude or naked there's no partial covering everything is open bare before the eyes of god so yes in genesis nakedness identifies man problem but in hebrews nakedness speaks about god's solution i remind you this morning that even though you may be weak and weary i remind you this afternoon that even though you may feel like you're not at the right place i submit to you that god knows everything about you and the fact that god knows everything about you you need not be ashamed you need not be like you're hopeless or helpless all you need to know to know and do is to use the help that is available one thing about nakedness one thing about nakedness literally i would not expect joshua clark who sang with the praise team earlier to be parading down the streets of brixton literally naked because nakedness speaks about pride and shame so it is for this reason that people are tempted to cover up and and to be ashamed means to be disappointed of something that you would have done so so nakedness provides for vulnerability nakedness speaks of your weakness and your frailty can i tell somebody this morning that even though you may feel like you are not strong enough you may feel like you're not good enough you may feel like you should not even be alive i say your nakedness and your shame is not a problem your nakedness and your shame are not a problem to god but god covers your shame within the presence of shame there is forgiveness within the presence of shame there is freedom from worry guilt or fear right now you are ashamed of your sins and you feel like god yes you may even feel like god has abandoned you you may feel like you are forsaken or rejected and guilt is riding you like a parasite sapping your energy and stifling you with condemnation but in the midst of your condemnation know that there is a god who stands ready to take care of your natives there's a god who stands ready to take care of your shame therefore let us be authentic one with the other as we present ourselves to god who will forgive us of our sins and remove our shame let's know that everything is naked before god and so we should just be naked with him being naked with god calls for us to be authentic to share with god where we need help it is about being vulnerable being in touch with your true self knowing that you are not perfect and no one is naked takes time so so so the more you start to reveal or disclose to god the god who knows god is not waiting to find out anything about you god wants you just to assess yourself do a self-check to find out where you are to see how capable you are to finish life's race how prepared you are for life's race and how prepared you are to live to your full potential being naked takes time moment by moment just decide to go to god and be authentic and be vulnerable and just be in touch with your true self you know your weaknesses you know where you're having difficulty in running life's race you know where you are tempted to give in and to to quit you you know you know you know i don't know but you know but more importantly god knows the naked truth is that sometimes we do not even know everything about ourselves there are some things that others know about us that we don't even see each of us has blind spots and so even in our families we should be open to feedback we should be naked not just with god but we should be naked we should be authentic we should be sincere can you imagine how empowered our families would be if husbands would be naked emotionally how wives would be naked emotionally to their husbands and become vulnerable and you imagine our families would be if parents would become vulnerable to their children and state what it is that they had challenged with growing up and how it is that they overcame and and to share that there are sometimes they slipped up and they messed up but even though they slipped up and they messed up they they found grace to help in the time of need they found grace in the hands of sweet deliverance beware my friends yes assess yourself know that you are naked before god and know as the text says in hebrews 4 verse 13 all things are naked and open to the eyes of if we are abiding by the protocols no no no no let me share a little bit more about abiding by the protocols you would have known that the olympics just ended and a shining star in the united states of america never met made it to the olympics simply because she never decided to follow all the protocols i think you know what i'm talking about a female sprinter rising star in track and field she never made it to the olympics because she was not willing to follow the protocols similarly with the race of life if you are going to make it to the finish line if you're going to be successful you got to know how to abide by the protocols and can i tell you something this morning can i tell you something this afternoon there are some people who may not be social distancing themselves from others or physically distancing themselves from others within the context of the pandemic and there are others who are strict to adhere to the protocols now i submit to you that within the context of the race of life you should never forever see it as a need to social distance or physically distancing yourself from god never ever think that you can run or hide from god adam and eve decided to run from god in the garden of eden because they were naked but little did they know that all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account all things are open to the eyes of god you know your nakedness look at your nakedness look at yourself for who you are look at your situation observe the scars note the defects pay attention to the birthmarks do not neglect your deformities i i submit to you that your nakedness shares a story if you have scars your scars do not just suggest that you have been wounded your scars suggest also that you might have been healed i submit to you that as you pay attention to your naked experience as as you face your true self just keep being real with god there's a time is an urgent need for nakedness urgent need for nakedness urgent urging be naked with jesus be naked with jesus because he is the one who knows your feeling you may be brokenhearted be naked with jesus i know some of you have been broken at it you're suffering as a result of some of the wounds that you received even as a child you may have felt abandoned and neglected and you just feel like somebody could maybe even your parents never appreciated you enough and you're journeying a long life's race with the baggage of 10 15 20 30 40 even 50 years ago you're journeying with the baggage of your brokenness you're turning feeling alone you're you're journeying feeling disappointed and angry you make it with jesus you know one of the one of the challenges i have with many of us who profess to be christians is that we cannot be authentic with or feelings i once up on asking being asked how i felt i shared with someone that i was feeling fairly well no no no forgive me everybody but but but i thought that i was being positive to say that i was feeling fairly well not everything was well and and you know someone the person who asked me that said how could you say you're fairly well you should say you're fantastic you're fabulous and you're like on top of the world i said to the person if i were to tell you that then i would be lying and the person chastised me for feeling or owning my feelings can i tell you something my friends it is not a sin if you acknowledge how you feel you may feel disappointed can i tell you that it is not a sin even if you get angry with god but if you are angry with god do not pretend as though everything is all right with you and him you can be angry with god because even god says be angry and sin not own your feelings if you have if you have a challenge with god don't behave as though everything is okay you know you know you know this world as we run last race it's filled with and i want you to forgive me please forgive me and and you can type forgive me in the chat if you're willing to forgive me uh type forgiven in the chat and and if you are in the congregation you can say forgive me please forgive me but today's world is filled with hypocrisy hypocrites are all over there are people who pretend to be in so many different and varied ways and as i think about the reality of the hypocrisy in today's world i reflect on the fact that the word hypocrite was frequently used in the new testament church but we hardly use that word today simply because we are running from our true selves and we are not willing to face who we are we are not willing to make a true assessment of our situation and to identify the greatest of our needs lots of hypocrites around i saw it might have been on facebook i cannot spray mark hypocrite spray not not now if if if hypocrites pray were real and and we would have brought one to brixton church or we would have brought one to your homes how many of us if any would survive the use of the hypocrite spray i submit to somebody do not pretend today accept who you are own your weaknesses because we have a high priest we have a mediator we have an intercessor who knows exactly how we're feeling so when we own our feelings the bible says that he can sympathize with us and guess what he does not stop at sympathizing uh with us because when we when we show sympathy it is more being sorry for you i i submit to you that you you should not just accept sympathy because jesus christ is empathizing with you he's not just sorry for you but that he's sorry with you he's going through your sorrow with you you are not alone you may be grieving you're not alone there's someone who knows you're feeling there's someone who knows what you're going through jesus the sin loving the the the sinner-loving lord and the death conquering savior he knows how you're feeling he knows what you're going through all you need to do is to trust him and just go before him accept your weakness accept your flaw and when you go jesus will not just give you sympathy he will give you empathy and he will be compassionate towards you let's remember we all must give an account to god and while we remember that know also god cannot be surprised [Music] can anyone here surprise god can you in the congregation can you online if you if you believe you can't surprise god just say no in the chat no surprise for god you you just can't surprise god and i want you to know that you cannot impress god you know sometimes even when we pray to god we go before god pretending as though everything is okay with us when we are aching inside when we we just cannot survive on our own stop the pretense and go to god with sincerity no you can't impress god and guess what guess what though god is the truest of judges god will not be judgmental god will not condemn you because god already sees what you're going through everything is naked before him in fact god knows about your situation more than what you do god knows what is happening behind the scenes just go to god and be naked i submit to you that god stands ready to cover us but but while god stands ready to cover us he will not add another layer if we are already covering up ourselves god stands ready to cover us but he will not add another layer if we are ready to cover up where are you are you like the leodysian church in revelation let's say i am rich and increasing goods and have need of nothing and know not that you are rest and miserable poor and blind and naked are you like that church well if you are as jesus counsel the church i constantly to buy gold tried in fire that you may be rich and white raiment that you may maybe clothe and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear and to anoint your eyes with eyes all that you may see as you run life's race i pray that you will have a discerning spirit to be able to know when you're not performing at your best i pray that you will not be so self-sufficient or be contented with past successes but you are not willing to press on and to accomplish more to the names honor and glory question today is as your own lives race as you assess yourself as you seek to know where you are how do you deal with nakedness i submit that according to the texts you should hold fast your confession you know what confession is it is acknowledging that you are broken me acknowledging that i am broken that i have failed i have broken the protocol i have transgressed the laws of god it is me being naked to god before god to say hey lord you created adam and eve in the garden of eden they sin they rebelled against you likewise here i am a sinner but you who promised a savior in genesis 3 verse 15 when you said that the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman but that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent you who promised salvation from the very beginning it is to you i come and if we were to be true to first john 1 verse 9 and confess our sins then for sure he will be faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness so yes we're to confess as we deal with our nakedness we have to come boldly before the throne of grace where we're not to hold back don't hold back go to god you may not be good enough but god is willing and ready to accept people who are not good enough you don't have to be good enough to go before god because god sees you already and he's willing and ready to receive you even if you feel like you're not good enough can i tell you something usain bolt never started out as a runner usain bolt was playing cricket and when his coach saw him the speed with which he ran to go his coach said bulls you seen why not try the chatty can i tell you something god is your coach today god is your coach you may be doing the best that you can you may be are you seeing both trying to pull in the game of cricket you're yes you may be a usain bolt [Music] but even though you may you you may be playing cricket god may want you to do track and field god is your coach god can redirect you god can take you and guide you along the path that you should go can you imagine what this world would have been like track and field without usain bolt he's retired i don't know what happened to his coach in cricket but i want to let you know that god will never retire from you your coach may have gone his way but god your coach in this race of life is standing with you so come boldly before the throne of grace today do not hold back and when you get naked god will cover you when we get naked god will cover us the text makes us to understand that we will receive mercy that is compassion the text says that we will receive grace grace is something that you don't deserve and we are reminded that we are saved uh by grace through faith in the book of ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 that salvation is not the is not it's not anything for which we should boast it is the gift of god but but when i look at the texts as we get naked before god and we come boldly before him go come boldly before the throne of grace what really strikes my attention is that we get help grace to hell in time of need and i observed that this special help in time of need must mean something significant and while we're talking about running life's race sometimes in life you may feel like you are lost and see you you just can't find your purpose but but while you can't find your purpose god who sees beyond your sphere beyond your circumstance he knows your purpose and it is this god who stands ready to send you help in your time of need right now you may feel like you're lost at sea you may feel somehow that you just can't make it you look around you you see nowhere and you are out in the deep blue sea and you are thinking you're sinking you're just about to go under you're just about to go under now now i want you to know that when i look closely at the text when i observe the health in time of need it is like a rope or chain connected to a propping trapping vessel it is like a lifeboat somebody today you are online your running life's race and you are just about to give up you are at that place where you are at your weakest and and you somehow have most of the courage you can't find the strength to go on i say the one to whom everything is naked bear open god the almighty yes all things are naked before him god is looking at you looking at your situation and though things may seem nice place hopeless or helpless god will send you a life boat somebody today needs a lifeboat you need a nice boat for your family you need an iceboat on your job i don't know who needs a lifeboat you may feel forsaken abandoned or neglected and you need a lifeboat god knows your name and he's sending you your life for today i don't know what you're going through you may be at that point that break point of depression yes you may feel like you just can't make it anymore of things my friends are naked before the eyes of god and he is willing and ready to send you your lifeboat i don't know who needs a lifeboat today but today god is sending a lifeboat your way everything is there naked before him you may feel broken but i say today everything is naked before the eyes of god he sees your brokenness he will send you a life quote you may feel abandoned god will send you a lifeboat you may feel abused god will send you a lifeboat you may feel forgotten god will send you a lifeboat you may feel guilty god will send you a lifeboat you may feel alone or frustrated god will send you a lifeboat you may feel afraid even overwhelmed god will send you a lifeboat you may feel helpless or powerless god will send you a lifeboat i submit to you that the god to whom all things are naked sees you at your weakest point god sees you with your helplessness god sees you being lost at sea and he will send you a lifeboat today god will send you a lifeboat today my beloved brothers and sisters today as you run nice race i ask the question is it that you're pretending to be at a place where you're not is it that you are not accepting your position if you have your blessings bulging if it is that you are not abiding by the protocols if it is that you do not get help you will not do well your running is like running lights race but today you're here you're here my friends you're online and you want help from god in the chat you say lifeboat in the sanctuary you say lifeboat all things are naked before the eyes of god all things all things are naked before the eyes of god just go to him and he will send you a lifeboat if you need a live boat today just a lifeboat if you need grace to help in the time of need just a lifeboat if you know that all things are naked before the eyes of god and you just don't want to pretend you just want to accept god's grace just say lifeboat you you believe that something is happening in your experience and and for some reason even your marriage is on the rocks and your marriage is on the line just say lifeboat for some reason your finances are out of whack and and you just don't know what is going to happen today just a lifeboat because god is sending a lifeboat your way he to whom all things are bear open the one whose resources cannot be depleted he sees you in the race you should not even be at the starting line but god will lift you up god will take you up and make you ready to run and to finish the race you may be at your break point today you'll see a lifeboat sister paul it will sing and even as she sings you will get the link you will get the link that will come on your screen for those who are online you choose click that link and make your decision for jesus [Music] express [Music] his eyes are mercy his word is [Music] to borrow for yesterday [Applause] [Music] are there burdens in your heart is a past a memory that binds you is there some pain that you've carried for too [Music] then strengthen your heart [Applause] [Music] and he's forgiven [Music] express his eyes are mercy his word is foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] our way [Music] is his word is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] always [Music] [Music] who lies [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen amen what a joy is the they were covered in the glory of god but the moment they rebelled against them that's the time that they realized that they needed help but they tried to help themselves and god approached them and he would have provided for them yes god would have provided for adam robe made from lambskin symbolizing the sacrifice of jesus christ himself and yes my friends god went to adam and he said adam where are you he wasn't simply asking adam where are you but why are you where you are god is asking you this question today as you run life's race where are you why are you where you are if you're not at the place you ought to be you don't have to be there right now because god is sending you a lifeboat god is sending you a life just be willing and ready to reach out and to receive even as you acknowledge that you are in need of help help is needed help is available god is your coach even if you are in need of redirection just indicate you have the link click that link you got that link indicate if you want prayer indicate if you want bible study indicate if you want to be baptized indicate using that your head's about even as you make that decision or father and or god we glorify you for the hope and the assurance that we have in your word we were reminded of god that in genesis nakedness reminds us of man's problem but in hebrews nakedness reminds us that you have a solution so today oh god we pray that you will help us just to come clean with you your children online help them oh god to be authentic to be sincere to acknowledge the points of weaknesses and to seek strength to seek help and i know that you are prepared you stand ready to send the lifeboat somebody needs life vote in his marriage or her marriage somebody needs a lifeboat on the job somebody needs a lifeboat in school somebody needs a lifeboat with his or her health somebody needs a lifeboat we all do need life force today you know the size of our lifeboats you know the need of every person on the platform online in the sanctuary you know or needs all great god do what only you can do you know our feelings you can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities you know what it is like to be tempted and yes sometimes we thought sometimes we fail but i pray to god that today almighty you will send the lifeboat send the lifeboat oh god send the lifeboat send the lifeboat so that we will run life's race looking unto jesus the author and the finisher of our faith this is our prayer with thanks in his high and holy name and let everybody say amen amen god bless you everyone and we will connect later over to the host who will guide you for the rest of this book amen amen amen tariq i don't know about you listen i'm a writer i take notes that's how i learn did you take any notes i did i did there were so many little treasures that i just had to jot down and and these i think will be will be carrying me through my week because picture you see the job i do you know we're just back at work i'm a teacher and trust me i need a life boat we all need the you know you know i sat there just before pastor rapper petra and i'm just thinking how amazing it would look to see millions of little lifeboats because your lifeboat picture isn't my life boat exactly yes specific trust me petra wow and tariq i'm gonna try something yeah i didn't actually tell you about it that's okay as i was sitting down and pasta was preaching i was thinking maybe for the online community if they could write what nakedness means to themselves that's true or naked means dot dot dot so i'll start all naked means to me being strong another one all naked means to me no more pretense what about you tariq and and and for me i'd say all nakedness means to me being real right because that's that's that's what we need to be and and i think that that's one other thing that struck me see in an attempt to cover up because we we're so used to putting our best forward petra that you know sometimes we forget you know even though i pretend with you i smile and you know i keep everything on the inside when we go before god we drop that guard and we tend not to do that right right so that's what it would be for me but i'm i'm hoping to see you know in the chat people um sending what it means to them is there anything else that you took from it picture so i said no matter where you are do not cover up covering up can look like isolation it can look like secrecy yes it can also look like shame guilt and it can also look like mental health that's true or poor mental health poor mental health right and and and you know that's just so powerful and you know pastors spoke about hypocrisy and you know it's it's something that is used so loosely but as a matter of fact we need to be mindful because in our or our our efforts to pretend we become hypocrites and so um you know i just want to just just just bring it in um no petra because i want us to remember that even though we feel like that he stands ready to cover us amen and that's one of the things that pastor highlighted and also you know you don't have to be good enough right you don't i feel that when we cover ourselves yes it prevents god from adding that protective adequate covering yes and that is so true so today i i just want to just remind each of us you know just remember as you leave what nakedness means to you and we have a few coming through in the chat um petra one person twelve tevin says nakedness means being vulnerable and we have margaret saying nakedness means total surrender to god withholding nothing and that's so powerful and someone else says all nakedness to me means trusting god and there's one also from from shireen and it says all nakedness to me means being kind no these are just some really good food for thought that we we should take tools there are tools that we will take on running last race this is just day one yes this is this is this is um the the first session so tariq can you tell the people what to expect for later and and and that's the thing i i want to know just tell them listen this is where we started and you you just got your feet wet because there's just so much more in store and just to let you know there's so much more about pastor that you have not known as yet yes did they know that better yes i knew that for sure and there's still things that we're going to be exploring so as we progress throughout the series please join us and um if you can tap into the online links our social medias you can find us on youtube and facebook not only for this evening but throughout for the rest of the week yes and i i wanted to throw it a challenge to everyone um petra we would love for you to share with at least five people on any social platform so i know you know most of our young people like to use snapchat i'm i'm getting into snapchat you know very soon i'm still at insta but however you know whichever social platform you use make sure that you share with at least five people and also we want you to share the poster and use the hashtag rlr21 yep that's it all right so that's it from us have yourselves a lovely sabbath take care and goodbye god bless as we make our way home just remember to keep running life's race [Music] we're running this race called life obstacles fear and strife may come in your way but hear god say my child just hold on god will give you strength and victory through every test you got here by faith keep running life's race until you have won we're running this race called life obstacles fear and strife may come in your way but here god save my child just hold on [Music] here by [Music] lights faith until you have won the road may be long there'll be mountains to climb but [Music] nothing's important by god's grace keep running life's great until you have won we're running this race [Music] may come in your way but hear god say my child just hold on god will give you strength and victory through every test you've got here by faith keep running life's race until you have walked the road may be long there'll be mountains to climb but with god by your side keep running life's race until you have won the world may be long there'll be mountains to climb but with god by your side you'll make it all but foreign grace keep running life's race until you have one god grace keep running livestreams until you have [Music] now there are three easy ways to stay connected with us if you're watching from youtube all you have to do is click that subscribe button to see all our sermons inspirational music and more and if you're watching via facebook then go ahead and like comment share and of course follow us so you can be updated with our weekly bible reviews and if you are browsing through instagram then hop on over to at brixton sda where you can follow us to hear and keep up to date with our events inspirational quotes and more we look forward to seeing you there [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Brixton SDA Church

Views: 2,699

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: brixton, London, church, christianity, worship, praise and worship, SDA

Id: 0UYQWgQ0dPE

Length: 215min 45sec (12945 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 04 2021