Moments of Hope - Romans 12

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how to do it but we thank you for your forbearance and we assure you that as we continue it becomes easier as we progress however we've been looking at the book of romans uh we've come a long way you know yeah 12 chapters down the line we have seen a lot of theology a lot of deep stuff a lot of doctrine and now paul is coming into what we call practical christian living or what you'd call the practicality of theology you know one of the things that we always have to understand is that uh the bible or any any any form of of teaching needs to have doctrine the core of the message and the application what we derive from it that is why after we have heard doctrine how then should we proceed to apply of the things that we have heard and and that that is now what makes the gospel you know alive in us you know because the gospel is not just about the teachings of christ but also how we are able to apply those teachings in our day-to-day life and paul is doing an amazing job he's come all the way talk to us about you know justification sanctification glorification and now he's coming to tell us now after all these things how then are we supposed to carry ourselves as this customer will begin with the word of prayer father in the mighty name of jesus we thank you for your word we thank you lord that indeed from your word we draw substance and we also draw instruction for living and i pray tonight as we begin to look at the pages of scripture and and interact with the instructions that you give for life that we are able to apply this instruction and as james says in his book that we shall be doers of the word and not just hearers of the word i thank you and i give you praise in jesus mighty name we pray amen and amen so yesterday we read romans chapter 12 we read from veswan all the way to verse eight and uh we we were able to look at the other spiritual gifts we looked at prophecy uh these are the gifts of the father we said that the gifts of the father the gifts of the son and the gifts of the holy spirit they're all 21 about 21 in number and in the gifts of the father you have the seven and these seven are given to everyone both are born again and unborn again and that's why there are people even before they were born again they were able to see things and they would come to help you know i i always have uh get those questions you know pastor i see things and then they begin to happen what's happening and ideally it's just a manifest a slow manifestation of the gift of prophecy and this happens to those who are born again into those who are not uh you know ministry that is service there is uh teaching there is exhortation or encouragement that is giving there is leading or administration and there is mercy now i have to point out something here that's very important and for me to point it out before i go to verse 9 i need to go to first corinthians chapter 12 because there's something we're gonna see there that will help us understand first corinthians 12 verse one the bible says now concerning spiritual gifts brethren i do not want you to be ignorant so there seem to be ignorance and as these even in our day are concerning spiritual gifts then it says you know that you were gentiles carried away to these dumb idols however you are led therefore i make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of god calls jesus christ no one can say that jesus is lord except by the holy spirit the number four says there are diversities of gifts by the same spirit so when we talk about the gifts of the spirit we talk about diversities he says there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit then he says there are differences of ministries but the same lord so when i talk about the gifts of the spirit we're talking about diversities of gifts when i talk about the the gifts of the son we talk about differences in ministries and then there are diversities of activities by the same god so the gifts of the spirit we talk about diversities of gifts the gifts of the sun we talk about diversities or differences in ministries it's not even just in fact the word there is not diversity is differences of ministries and then when we talk about the gifts of the father which we read yesterday we talk about activities another version calls it administrations so the gifts of the father are activities or rather enablances that come to for people to function in various activities in the body of christ that's why uh paul uh connotes these differences that number one is diversity of gifts and that are the gifts of the spirit number two is diverse these differences of ministries when you talk about the gifts of the sun number three is diversities of activities or diversities of administrations when we talk about the gifts of the father and and it's it's important that i highlight that so the gifts of the father which you just read these are activities of their administrations and the bible says is the same god who works all in all that's what we said yesterday that something that's very outspoken about the gifts of the father is they just need to be done because paul writes and says having their gifts differing according to the grace has given to us let us use them let us become active the more active we are in administration of the gift the more uh we become uh grounded in the place of the gift the more frequent uh you prophesy the more prophecy becomes a reality to you the more you you teach the more teaching becomes a reality to you the more you serve the more service becomes a reality to you welcome pastor t thank you let me confirm my mind my life is on yes yes thank you thank you thank you yeah i just wanted to read now from verse 9 all the way to 21 and then maybe you can look at the text okay so you've read from verse 9. i've not read that i just now wanted to read okay so now you can you can manifest the one thing let love be without hypocrisy abhor what is evil cling to what is good be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit serving the lord rejoicing in hope patient in tribulation continuing steadfastly in prayer distributing to the needs of the saints given to hospitality bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep be of the same mind toward one another do not set your mind on high things but associate with the humble do not be wise in your own opinion repay no one evil for evil have regard for good things in the sight of all men if it is possible as much as depends on you live peaceably with all men beloved do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath for it is written vengeance is mine i will repay says the lord therefore if your enemy is hungry feed him if he is thirsty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap cause of fire on his head do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good that's the word of god amen you know the amazing part is that paul was deep in spiritual matter but he was real in practical matters yes sir uh one preacher said something very powerful that i've been meditating on and he said there are people who have no problem with faith but their challenge is that they don't fear god and that's why he was arguing it out from a point of relationship that don't just look for a man of faith but also look for a man that fears god and don't just look for a man that fears god look also for a man that is a man of faith that's true because it is possible to have a person who reveres god but he's not in faith but it's also possible to have a person in faith but does not reveal god and one of the ways we know that a person honors god it comes by how we interact with those that are called of god and these are different points but very practical you can imagine the depths of what we are trying to under analyze propitiation sanctification justification and the conclusion of the matter is not how deep you can pronounce these words it is how practical your christian work is and how visible and and you know your work in god god is what ministers even beyond your communication and your conversation that's true john maxwell one of the greatest leaders in writing rotary say this is a common phrase in leadership that men don't care how much you know until they know how much you care that's true meaning that we have people who carry information but they don't carry practicality of that information and we have people who don't have depth but at the end of the day you can analyze their lives and see god and he says now let love be without hypocrisy because you know you can do something but you don't mean it and it is only god who knows the intention of our hearts because jesus was the only one who had the ability to see the heart of men there's an amazing story whereby jesus goes to this house of a pharisee and it's in the gospels and this is where mary magdalene comes and washes the feet of jesus and then the pharisee said in his heart if this man knew who this woman was this man would have not allowed this woman to do this thing and then later jesus asked the guy i think his name was samia yes let me ask you the parable but when he said simeon he said yes master but you see in his heart he was saying if this man knew who this woman is but when jesus calls upon him he responds and said yes master but in his heart it he was not a master it was this man and that's why i say let love be without hypocrisy because god sees the heart of man um you know abhor what is evil that simply means avoid and keep away that which is evil in fact the word abhor there means hate hate yes there is this common statement of pastor how far is too far and the question should be you have to be very far before you ask how far because the closer you are to the cliff the risk it becomes when it comes to falling so the farther you are from the cliff the better for your survival so ideally christ has called us into a place where we ought to hate evil and it is not um a void because you have to cling to what is good that's true and be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another um and and this for me is very you know the practicality of this the language of kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love you know one day i was meditating and i was asking myself you know as a pastor and i was saying god has not given me a perfect church that one i know and and and i'm like when you go to our normal houses and settings of our houses you'll discover that at the end of the day we we see vu milliana there are people literally we are praying that they are going to change and god begins to tell you know this is not just a church this is a family and and there are people who celebrate when others fall and one of them by the one of the signs to know you don't have brotherly love is when you take joy when you hear something bad about a fellow brother any time you know there is this culture of gossiping and always tell people if someone comes and tells you pastor so and so has done so and so and you can see the anointing the potential the grace if it doesn't grieve your spirit then ideally possibly the spirit of god is not even in you because you shouldn't look necessarily at the mistake it should be grieving to see the caliber of man the same way we look at our own brothers you know this was an a he ended up in alcohol you don't look at that brother and feel good there is a sorrow that comes knowing the potential and knowing the deposits in him that never materialized and that's the brotherly love and there's also this paradox i remember one day my wife came to my house and told me okay she came to she was we were in the house and she came and told me pray for me and i remember i prayed for her and when i say the man she looked at me and told me the way you have prayed for me is not the way you pray for members in the church and she told me you know as i look at you praying for members you are so affectionate you are so passionate and all that and guess what i picked it is natural for men to be very good with other people's matters but they are not good with matters that affect people that are very close to them i tell you we see it as pastors the way we advise you about marriage we give you 10 points we tell you forgive one another and maybe as you are giving that counsel you are not even talking to your wife and you sit back and ask yourself the advice i'm giving this person do i give it in equal measure and when it comes to brotherly love it means that there is a burden and there is that language of we are a family no matter how far you go i don't think i'm going to celebrate you because you're at the top i'm going to celebrate you and be with you no matter the place where you are i remember one day i was asking some people in church and i was just saying i don't know whether where you go to church i don't know if the man of god will still say hi to you if you are a house help or the people who associate with you assume you are and i'm not saying households are bad i'm just saying today you are here you're driving and all that you have all that imagine you are you know just or even jobless would anybody bother to be your friend or are people surrounding you because of the shadow of the things that you have because that's not you you're not your car you're not your job you're not your career these are just the shadow of the success you have will people still connect with you and the moment they don't connect with you because of who you are then we miss the language of brotherly love it's no longer it's plastic it means when these things are not there nobody will care about you yes and and you know it still continues in honor giving preference to one another you know it doesn't mean that there is anyone who is higher than anyone not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit serving the lord rejoicing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instead of fasting prayer distributing to the needs of the saints giving to hospitality a whole cocktail of traits of people that can coexist as brothers and sisters and i like what it says there is a scripture that is very keen distributing to the needs of the saints given to hospitality do you know the early church when they brought their staff in one place they the bible does not say that they weren't feeding the street children the bible begins by saying that none in their middle east lacked and i'll say this and i'll say it with a lot of authority it is hypocritical for a ministry to help those who are outside whereas those who are inside are suffering and i'll bring it home imagine your father paying school fees to a stranger and you are home because you don't have school fees that father is not a good father so when we when we come even to the gifts of mercy and i tell you this for free when we come to the gifts of mercy and the language of charity if we begin from those who are in the household of faith and of course we don't just give them things because they say the hand that receives will never get tired of receiving so the hand that gives must also limit how much it is given us you must reach a place and say this is it and the best thing even as you give empower someone said don't give a man fish teach them how to fish but someone also said sometimes you have the skills of fishing but you live in an area where there are no rivers so also show them where there is a river so that at least you know he has the skills and he has the place so that person will be self-sustaining so what i wanted to bring clearly is that the language of needs they are first addressed from the household of faith before we even think outside there if their widow orphans and all these things it has to be well captured and it begins from the household of faith yeah i think what i'll just highlight especially from the text we've read is verse 9 says let love be without hypocrisy and and uh paul explains this love without hypocrisy in the book of fastimothy where he says he says in fasting one verse uh six sorry where do you just go yes verse five he says now the purpose of the commandment is love this says this love is from a pure heart is from a good conscience and is from sincere faith so anytime we love and and this love that that that paul is commanding us this love that is without hypocrisy needs to be from a pure heart from a good conscience and from sincere faith i tell you the truth and apostles you jimmy said this uh at one point he says if you take a christian who has who you know at the least he's a follower of christ and he's doing all that pertains to christianity and you pick another christian who is over opposite sex who is following everything that pertains to christianity and you put them together those people will leave for ages being married together and they will never have fights why because at times it's like it's like we get to issues in our life and we forget that we are christians you know you know you could have got a point that i'm doing is that statement already yeah this qualifies you know you know because at the at the bottom of your heart listen before all things you are a christian first you're not a christian last you're a christian first so because you're a christian first and a child of god first then you should exemplify what christ has called us to do if we become plain pure christians i tell you the world will be headed in the right direction and and i like the the language of pure appeal you know the bible says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god yes purity of heart is connected to your sight of god and you know i was just looking at the temptations and i discovered the first level of temptation is flesh that's the first level and by the way there are some of us our temptation is not in the flesh you you these things people call bad or immoral you don't drink you don't smoke um you you don't have appetite for you you're still a virgin you have no appetite for any secular thing but your heart is so bad you can't forgive and someone even began to tell me it's psychological you can know people who hold on to things it begins and the problem with the status of our hearts is that there is a level of intercession you cannot enter until your heart is pure there is a flow you see the river of god is pure and the moment it comes to a heart that is not pure it is defined that's true so that automatically tells you you you there is a level that's the point you stay in accession the whole night but in that night before to attack us in a kesha you are hot you are you don't have a problem with morality but now the status of your heart and i tell you this is a challenge to many believers it is a challenge they charge with unforgiveness they charged with bitterness they in touch with you know messed up depressed and elijah elijah was one of the one of the things that we miss there are dimensions of seeing and hearing god we can't enter when our heart is arrested elisha was high tempered by the way and one day these kings come to him and they want to get information and and they come to him and he begins to talk very bad he says why don't you consult the prophets of your mothers you know that one i tell you you read that statement in kikuyu bible daughter elijah young so he asked them and then he says because of this king i'm going to i'm going to seek the lord and then at that hour he said release a psalmist now what did the psalmist do the sum is created an atmosphere where his heart relaxed and his temperament came down and at that level he could hear god and many people of prayer intercessors and prophetic people you their main attack is always on their heart you will hear enemies you will hear people criticizing your prayer life you will hear all these things and sometimes the devil will permit you to hear some things so that your heart can be so messed up when you enter into prayer and by the time you discover as the river flows it comes into a defiled heart and so it's a very high level attack and that's why there are people who are known to be prayerful but we don't when we look at their prayer level and the results level it doesn't match and their main battle is the battle of the heart of the harvest and some of them you realize the people who hurt you either your children or people very close to you even your own husband because the devil doesn't go very far the devil knows their people you know they are haters so answer this man and it won't hurt me because i already know my opinion and his opinion i've never agreed but if today i was told this is what pastor william says about you it will break me because he's in the inner circle i wouldn't expect him to say some things so the devil doesn't use people outside he will use a peter who says you are the christ that one is the one who will tell you you can't go through you can go to the cross among the three in the inner circle so we have to be very sensitive very sensitive and that's why you begin to see the next thing here it is the the next portion of scripture if you don't have a sober heart this one looks like impossibility that's true bless those who persecute you how bless and do not curse rejoice with those who rejoice and whip with those who weep now how do you bless those who persecute you how it takes a heart that cannot harbor grudges to look at a person and say i bless you and i forgive you and have nothing against you is it easy of course it is very hard for a man who does not have a pure heart and this is what i'll say you will never see a mango tree in makueni struggling to produce mangoes during the mango season because one it's a mango tree producing the fruit of a mango it's it's nature so the moment the holy spirit interrogates and deals with your heart some things you don't struggle you don't even prepare to forgive jesus it will not be an agenda it will be so natural that even people will be wondering okay how comes you don't get offended how comes you don't keep these things and i tell you it takes a dealing it's not easy and especially um when you have a position and i remember one day there's this young man who used to come to fellowship and at that time the fellowship had grown we used to meet in the in a sequel chambers it was basement and and the young man used to come there and they gave him responsibility over praise and worship and he came the first day i think he saw the number of people who came he gave up so he decided to quit and he didn't tell me so after quitting he disappeared by the grace of god the fellowship grew we came from 12 members to 400 now this time when kenya cinema then he came now at that time when the fellowship had grown and i remember i made that joke i told him and we laughed about it and we left and then he later complained and said maze villa passion so i'm here number one i i look at the situation and i'm like it is true you abandoned us at the time we needed you you didn't even say you are leaving and then you come back and i see you in the praise and worshipping and you don't have the courtesy of saying i'm back i look at the whole scenario and then the holy ghost tells me go and say sorry to him so i look at him and anamiya i'm the pastor this is the guy who should come and say sorry and and i was joking i was not serious so i looked for him and i said if i said anything i was not right with you i'm really sorry and guess what hearts are not tested just in ordinary circumstances it is in a place where god will see you humble yourself that's true it is the simple things that you know these are people who don't like you you know bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse rejoice with those who read this they of course these are different contexts we rejoice with those who rejoice and whip with those who weep be of the same mind to one one another the way you see a brother you know be of the same mind you know let there not be preferences and putting people in classes and all that and this was one of the challenges of the church of corinth that's why paul said mama whatever because there are some women who will dye their hair and they will associate with people of a certain class and the poor women of corinth dying the hair was it was a status and they will adore golden attires and you know they will you will come to church and you know these are from roonda and these ones are from these are ghetto guys so paul said standardization so that we don't form in cliques we are all sons in the kingdom do not set your mind on high things but associate with the humble do not be wise in your own opinion do you know what this means prof uh it means your opinion is not final it is the point of accommodating other people's idea being wise in your own opinion is to mean that anything else these are tendencies of dictators it means it's either my way or the highway and anyone in leadership if the best way to know if you are a good leader is when things run in your absence and people didn't even notice your absence the day you want to know you have not established anything is when you are absent and nothing runs because you didn't give others if that's your form of leadership you are running a military barracks but the dead things will run in your absence and things comfortably and this concept also gives men the idea of of by the way people come loaded creative but we sometimes hinder them because they want to run with what we are saying but we deny them the ability to be themselves and create what they are supposed to do and one of the ways is to accept you're a pastor and or you're a leader and you have your area of gifting and begin to ask people what else you know we gather people and always tell people mikas young kobe mini i don't even know about keyboard that's your area be the best and this is how graces are launched out and this is how they they are they are manifested yes one of them senior preachers this could be off a little bit but it just come in my spirit one of the senior preachers said he had a very gifted key buddhist but not displayed so the key buddhist whoa he will get the keyboard and play chords but anytime sometimes he will he was in need of him the guy was not there ever busy he used to work in his terms then he found a guy not gifted but displayed and he says this guy has traveled with him all over the world he has dealt with the spirit that when the man of god begins to preach he's like he plays chords that communicate to his spirit and they connect so much so he was talking to that place of their gifted and not disciplined and they are disciplined and possibly not gifted but the advantage is that their discipline can be trained to be gifted but the problem they gifted discipline is it's it's a product of attitude you cannot train discipline you can't train this plan it's not a gift of the holy spirit people keeping time is not in the ninth gift that will pray you receive it's a culture you cultivate and it comes with an attitude that you have to bring forth yes no i just wanted to highlight something when you when you look at uh verses 14 all the way downwards they they they speak about something that jesus says jesus talks about and says what defines a man it's not what goes into the man but what comes out of him this is bless those who persecute you because persecution cannot defy you but when you curse those who are persecuting you it then defiles you you know it's not all about its com what's coming to you because you know you can decide you know and this is one of the things that i normally tell people anytime i'm talking to people you can decide what effect something has on you and and that you know that soul decision is something that god has given you that makes you you know you can choose to be better that i can say i know this is what has come to my plate but i choose to be bigger than this what happens is we we at times because of human nature want to be pettier around things you know you want to to it's it's it's human nature to always want to also receive by reciprocation but what we've just read in the previous verses also begin to tell us get to a place where it's pure you don't expect back because when jesus died on the cross he didn't expect you know for us now to come and choose if that's why anyone that chooses him they enter his joy but anyone that does not choose him then again they enter into damnation so we have to come to a place where you you have choice over what affects you that you you don't you don't allow uh negative things to drain your emotions to drain you so that you're able to respond to matters as ought because what will defile you is not it's not that way that thing which has happened to you it is that thing that ha that will come out of you and and and someone said something that you are a sum total of everything that has happened to you up until this point and the mystery is some of these things don't just happen to you they happen for you however you get to choose what or how you respond to the things that happen to you and that's the conversation that paul is is trying to tell us here that it's not one about what happens to you it's about how you respond it's about the words you respond to it's about the actions you take after that it's about the decisions you choose to make after that because you know we're talking about blessed or super security we're talking about uh you know the words that you're gonna speak we're talking about rejoicing we talk about an attitude when we come to verse 17 repay we talk about actions all these things that you do are what dictate your state of defilement it's not what happens you see when when when uh when we're talking well in the natural if i have water here the clean water in this cup if an insect comes it's external if the insect comes into the water i will consider the water defiled but in the spiritual it's not the insect that has landed on the water but rather what comes out therefore from inside the water that makes the water impure and that's what paul is telling us you know be watchful over your actions because those are the things that will define you repay no one evil for evil have regard for good things in the sight of all men if it is possible as much as depends on you live peaceably with all men allow me to say this this is a very fundamental principle in life the concept of living peaceably with all men and i'll give you a secret that will help you be able to live peaceably with all men the first one is there is this assumption and and sorry to say ladies always have this conversation that connie hang off kirya you know that that language of hunger it automatically tells you the way you are thinking is how you expected the other person to think yeah and some people even go further and say but it is common sense but you know someone said common sense is common but not common to everybody yes sir so there are people who want to make it look like both this is so obvious you ought to have done it and that and communicated expectation is what makes people either react or retreat because i i'll give a good example you come to church the church is not washed you know the people who ought to wash the church and in your mind you're saying couldn't they think that we have a service and they didn't watch the church and you don't tell them you don't ask them and maybe you go the first thing you might do is confront those in charge of washing the church the second thing you might decide to do is do it yourself but you are doing it hard because those are the two options you you either confront or you do it but now the third option which is not the most applicable is to try to understand why and treat everybody differently unique you didn't grow in the same background you are not raised by the same mother you didn't go to the same school so the way you see things prophet said you're a subtotal of the things you've gone through the way you see things someone else will see the same thing differently so we have different analysis we have different personalities we have different uh values and preferences and this will help you because when you understand that you are unique and everyone is not like you you will strive to understand who are these people so that you are able to interact because peace is not the absence of conflict but the peace is the presence of managed conflict so anywhere you see peace it doesn't mean that there was no conflict or there is no conflict it is the wisdom of managing that conflict that makes peace prevail and more so if you're a leader people are not like you people don't think like you some of you are smart we bless the lord some of you are aggressive we bless the lord some of you are focused we bless the lord some are very slow some it is their nature and their attitude and you can't change them you just need to know this guy is like this this guy is like this like you see um my wife she has what they call the ocd it's a it's a it's a it's a orderly dessert you know she will put she will put this cup like this and feel like okay this one needs to be like this and she wants them like that now you see one of the things i did i had to understand that this is her and this is how she does her things so i didn't push me in her but i had to understand who she is so that our coexistence can be peaceful and there are things i know there are things she knows about me and slowly we are able to know here you can cross and this is how you live peaceably be a student of people be a student of character i tell you the truth there are people as i meet them i always know this is where my barrier begins i can't go further with this person i'll go to this level there are people i meet and i feel this one i'll put my body on this level and the people i meet and i feel this one is more than a brother this one i'll just be open with everything so and that is life because you must draw your lines your limits and your levels of engagement that has to be there so that because if you don't live peaceably with everybody you might end up with what i call unmet expectations that's true you know you've done so much for people and you thought these are your friends if you feel catholic or no one does anything because you thought they were your friends but deep down they were not your friends and so you carried their burdens but they never carry yours so take time to know people character sometimes even it is formed by their background this is wisdom it will help you live peaceably and you see when we don't live peaceably this is the door that opens gossip that's true because gossip is when we share our preference versus the other person preferences gossiping and i'm trying to share my preference and my preference is not his preference that's a preference you know and it bothers you because you have failed to understand that this person is unique different their taste their values their perception it's all different so you accept them as they are and you accept yourself as you are and never force anyone to be you and never force anyone to see things in your way that's true otherwise it would be very easy to live peaceably and this is something that paul highlights here he says if it is supposed if it is possible and then he says something very important this living peaceably with all men depends on you as much as depends on you so you know it's a choice yeah it's a choice and then what we said yesterday in the mathematics your your how well you live peaceably with men is dependent on you so if you choose you don't want to live peaceably with men then ideally you won't live peaceably with men but if you choose that you always at times lay i used to be the kind of a person you know you're giving an example to godzika i used to be the kind of a person where meaning would you find it i would do it but i would do it angry sooner or later the job would get done but the state of my heart well the job is being done will not be good and i remember one day said god told me watch because now what are you doing you know you yes the job is being done but the state of your heart is the problem and and uh you know it took a lot of time for me to to work on that because i used to get pretty angry so i understood that it's it's about at the end of the day it's a decision you can choose to be happy someone can do something to you hit your car you you choose to you know to be happy about it because part of the reason why you have all the things that are happening right now is you know people make choices to go the extra mile in the wrong direction so if those people can also choose to say hey that would reduce a very big percentage of conflicts that we have because as much as depends on you that's true that's true you know there's a lot of wisdom here yes it looks like one statement but if you ask me it's a it's a life principle yeah just you know where we bought the tiles for the church that guy is not even a believer he's an he's a i think he's is he was he an arab and the guy and i was asking the people asking there and they said these guys are so good he will harass you the whole day and then he will come during evening and say if i harassed you so much i'm sorry this is business just bear with me at least the boss and they were like who does that in kenya you know like you are the boss your sales have to be made and in the evening you have to apologize to your people and say i think i spoke badly at 11 i was a little bit angry and i'm sorry you know and it is the language of living peaceably and and i tell you the truth if you are able to live peaceably with all men there will be so much joy in your life and this will kill the cliques this will kill people it will kill the gossip because you will just view everyone as the children of god beloved do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath for it is written vengeance is mine i will repay says the lord thereof now you see these are very powerful statements one preacher told me pastor vitamin has kept me and you know when the bible says vengeance is mine it you see when when when when people think vengeance they think that you've done to me this thing and i need to do the same thing to revenge yeah now listen and i'll give you the system of god how he he avenges god does not avenge with the very action sometimes it may be but god will permit the very pain you have gone through the other person to go through that very pain in the same intensity let's assume you are dealing with an employer it's his company you know and he fires you no one can fire you you know in that equation but the pain you go through because of being fired and fairly being intimidated that intensity he will also face it sometime in his life as in kosovo and his attempt was meditating on this scripture that says whatsoever a man saweth in fact he says god is not a man to be mocked or deceived yes sir now that begins to tell me you cannot live your life wickedly and then you sense i'm about to exit the scene now i need to get born again i've had that when you get born again uh you you go to heaven god gives you a new start so you lived your life wickedly intentionally wickedly tortured men frustrated people and then now you expect you'll come to faith and it will be the oldest gone and behold the newest come to some level there is a face you might enter and it will be the vengeance of god working in your own life because if the salvation was not genuine the repentance was not genuine unto god it was just a transition to look good then it's a lie because i remember there's a lady who used to use witchcraft she was wicked and then when things began to go down in her life she decided to go to church now for her church was the other option because of what she had that if you go to church and you're using witchcraft god will preserve you when she went to church everything she earned by witchcraft left and her going to charge was not genuine because later she left church so it was more like therapy yeah and there are people who come and they are not genuine so we can't deceive god and when god says vengeance is mine allow me to tell you he will he will do it he will do it sometimes we see people wicked men who live for long and they live for long like i remember where i come from there was a man in charge of and i'm giving this as an example this was my own analysis i can't say god told me but i was analyzing it the man was in charge of post-election violence financing he he was rich he never lost his wealth but i tell you the truth for more than 20 years he had a condition on his legs and i used to hear there was no medication but they used to carry him and take him outside and the pain was so much and he would cry the whole day he stayed with that condition for almost 20 years we will see him in prados and all those things and i and i began to conclude this could be the pain because families were kicked out my grandmother being one of them i remember my my grandfather hiding in a drum of water because men had come to invade our home and i said the tears that people were shedding when he was doing this thing for political mileage and paying people to frustrate other people now this could be the payment i even know a man in this city today he he used to engage in serious illegal business a lot of it entailing prostitution and all that today he's on a wheelchair diabetic and he's blind he has a property he cannot see and i look at him and i can tell this is the vengeance of god you can't mess up other children and do all these things and fail to understand and let me throw this one because one day i was in prayer this one may not sound very right with other people one day i was in prayer and the lord began to tell me there are people who are educated with stolen money or corrupt money you know that you know the dealings of your parents who are not clear and you went through school primaries very comfortable cleared the campus and you couldn't get a job and the law began to tell me those people need to repent on behalf of their parents because the money that was invested in the education was not clean money and so it stands as an opposition for them to get a job i couldn't believe it and i was looking at you know saying what do you mean and the lord began to tell me that's it this was not clean money and and this one should encourage us i know i've deviated but this should encourage us when we are doing our business someone sang a song and he said i will not raise my children and leave them with an inheritance that cannot be a blessing to them so you can imagine all your life you are corrupt and this sometimes even communicates why you live an inheritance to children and they kill one another trying to take that inheritance and nothing helps them and we engage and do the dealings of that inheritance only to discover it was not legit some blood was shed or it was a corrupt deal of someone else somali and you end up putting your family into chaos i know i've deviated but remember vengeance if your enemy is hungry feel him if he's dusty give him a drink for in so doing you will heap coals of fire from his head you know this okay jesus that you know and you see the bible says if you are so you know this guy is my enemy i know this guy does not like me i know this guy speaks ill of me but the guy is angry and he said bro you know let me just be a blessing to you you know that thing that thing communicates it communicates a lot it communicates a lot and and it's it's not as easy as it sounds written but i tell you the truth when you have a pure heart you will not struggle that's true when you have a pure heart you will not struggle and sometimes this is how we revenge that's true and i always say pro do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good good i always say if in life you have ever desired to be invisible in your mind i tell you the truth your heart needs interrogation it needs work yes yes and and and this is something capacity that's very important as we even come to a close you know even for us as christians one of the things that i've seen in this period of of of coffee is you know people get sick and then they say you know what i've experienced i would not even wish for my worst enemy to experience this one of the things that's very important for us also to understand as christians is even as much as the bible tells us that vengeance belongs to god it should not be in your place to go and pray and tell the lord revenge revenge revenge you know why the bible tells us that vengeance belongs to the lord is so that when you come to such an you know remember as you said percy that that that the heart should be pure which means forgiveness should be the order of our day when you forgive someone it does not mean that god has uh you know that that god will not be able to also do his part because that person's actions will also speak on their behalf but it means you also need to come to a place where someone has wronged you they have done evil against you yes ideally god is supposed to visit them with uh with you know with with with uh with judgment but it should not be you the one who is saying uh god do this go do that you should forgive then let go do his part because remember god cares about your heart so where come about when you go up on a wish vengeance on your enemies because the bible says it belongs to the lord and and what i'll say is they are matters in real matters you've gone through rape it hurts you and sometimes this person is still alive you can see them they've never apologized never repented um you are here you've stayed in this marriage 10 years the guy walks out cheats on you you know these are real things that happen in real life uh people in the office have gone undercover they've made sure you are fired or are these copies on the company is downsizing and people begin to push you as the sacrificial alarm so they can maintain their work and you know the heart of a man can be really messed up the first level you've said is very powerful is to forgive yes but there is there is something that will give back up to your forgiveness and this is when you surrender these people to god you see when when saul was pursuing david there's even a place david met solo and asked what have i ever done to you that you pursue me just tell me if it's something i will return if something i owe you i'll bring back just what did i ever do and you see that's the main thing that people ask why is this person you know i've been in such a situation you ask why is this person so so so dedicated and committed just to fight and frustrate me and and there is nothing i can see and i remember this was the prayer of david he said i commit you to god and it reminds me when we used to fight with my brother and because he was bigger than me i knew i can't fight this guy and what i used to do i will go and report my brother to mom and then i will come and tell my brother and i tell you whether mom acts or mom does not act this was what i used to know that i have delivered this person that i cannot fight and i cannot even handle i cannot harm i have delivered the person to an authority that can deal with the person and i will leave even if my mom will not punish my brother i will leave knowing the matter is being handled by a higher authority than me and i don't need to worry about it and that authority is a fair authority and sometimes i think that's why god calls us children sometimes you just need to go and tell god lord this is beyond me you know i can't kill i'm i can't do anything i love you i am hurting let your holy spirit heal me but this matter lord i have left it unto you you deal with it how you will deal with it i it's it's i don't know but i know you are a just god and you've told me vengeance belongs to you i hand over this matter to you and we can see the later the case of someone so the lord dealt with him and and david never celebrated the soul was dead but he said maybe god will judge him with the sword of the enemy or the man who died in war you know who knows but he knew that god has his way of dealing with people so that element of handing people and and in your heart listen to me that's the best place and that's where now forgiveness comes that's not the place of saying that i left this matter to god and please people that leave matters to god huh you better make peace with them ali because prof click [Laughter] it's a very serious matter and i tell you god loving us sometimes comes through in very very serious ways so today we never mentioned any greek word there was no hebrew interpretation but i tell you the truth these are the things that will make people miss heaven it's practical christian living and our time is well spent finish with a word of prayer father in the name of jesus we thank you for your word today we pray lord that may you may you help us at the very least to become true followers of you i pray lord may you uproot every evil that is etched in our hearts every form of bitterness unforgiveness malice envy anger jealousy all things that find expression in us that defile us father lord may you wash us with high soap make us clean with your word that when we stand before you as your children we will be incorruptible i pray lord may you help us and give us the wisdom to deal with the things of life that lord you may come to this place that paul writes and says that we may live peaceably not with some men not with christians only but with all men may this become our reality and this become part of our reason of life and lord for some of us who are struggling with with forgiveness and bitterness because of things that were done to us i pray lord may you heal our hearts and when you bring us the place that we are able to forgive the lord we may surrender it all to you that we may have a peaceful relationship with you a man that is etched in love thank you for today's bible study thank you lord for pastor t and myself and for all the viewers that we have when you continue lord to keep us in your ways and in your peace as we continue in the study of the word in jesus name we pray and believe amen amen well thank you very much today is the first day of the month of september and we will be we will on friday we'll be beginning our conference and so our prayers will begin next week that is um that will be our week of prayer and also the midnight prayers will begin the whole of next week we'll be having the midnight prayers so let's prepare the conference will be a heavy matter so after the conference will push in prayer all the way to friday where we'll be having the 24-hour prayer voltage so right now it's time to give your substance and time to give your offering and we bless the lord for those that have been a blessing to the ministry partnering with us praying for us and doing all that it's not in vain it's by your prayers that you're strengthened and by your giving that you're able to make strides and invest in the kingdom so never get tired every time we make this particular auto call so the details are there zero seven two six seven one four seven one three we are believing god before the end of september we'll be able to secure the three thousand seater tent we just have a small balance and i want to assure you once that is settled we'll be able to have a three thousand seater tent 20 meters by 60 meters this is for revival meetings in our high school so as you give always have that in mind for those who envision 2025 let's be faithful to redeem our pledges because that's where we get the resources to do what we do otherwise god bless you and have a blessed night i think just before we we go off uh it's important for us to highlight that uh i believe most of you guys have been with us for a very very long time and you know that as as pastor t monkey ministries as life church international immoral as truth mentorship society we do not ask for fun we don't come to people's inboxes we don't come to people's comments asking them to partner with a certain children's home you know these people have always been here trying to scam people and ask them for money to send to nigeria or or to tell them they have a special word of prophecy to them so that they can send money we don't do such kinds of gimmicks ours is truly simple to share the word and people out of the world spring of their heart they're able to send in their offerings our giving lines are very simple that zero seven two six seven one four seven one three uh till number eight one seven three seventy and you go over to the live chat side that is the number 3259.59 and zero seven two nine one two seven three six two so if you see anyone else asking for money and i'm putting a different number like this or asking you to you know to give them your details they want to prophesy to you and that we don't do such kind of stuff those are pseudo accounts there's one that we've noticed recently that has come out it it has pst our pages pasta full pasta p a s t o r t one g so this one is p s t t one you know these guys uh they go they get our pages they get what we've been posting lately and they pose us and ask if you find such people just tell them you are a pseudo person and we have handed you over to god may god bless you they're not nigerians we are kenyans amen [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] we

Channel: Pastor T Mwangi

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Length: 84min 30sec (5070 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 01 2021