Pastor John Fundano | Turning fear into purpose | Sunday 12th September 2021

a blessed day to all of you oh what a wonderful day it is today i'm thanking god for this privilege to be able to share god's message to all of you today one big thing is this we miss you all we miss our creepers family in new zealand and from all over the world it is just unbelievable that we have not seen each other since 2019 and my how we miss you all so from our church here in manila into your living room or to your respective houses wherever you are we are sending our creeper's hug to all of you so can i request all of you to comment below and tell us where you are watching from oh awesome and if you're invited to be with us today we welcome you to our church of in any way you accidentally came across this service through any social media platform well then let me welcome you if this is your first time to be here we welcome you and if it's okay with you please comment below and write new here so that we can connect with you and we pray that you would be blessed today well i will be sharing with you today something from the bible that i believe is very relevant especially during the season of pandemic or lack town here in the philippines we have experienced several different levels of lockdown already and we have actually been in lockdown since last year 2020 so it's been running for two years now but one thing that i saw and one thing that we experienced is this that the church can never be stopped by this come on in fact we have risen in the midst of this the church is unstoppable this is why we keep on worshiping the lord and this is why we keep on preaching the word oh i'm excited today for the word that we're gonna be reading today the message will be coming from the bible of course from john chapter 20 verse 19 to 23 john chapter 20 verse 19 to 23 and i'm gonna read it because something here is amazing and something here is really relevant to all of us here's what the word says that sunday evening oh just as perfect sunday evening for our 5 p.m service right now and it says the disciples were meeting behind locked doors i want to emphasize those three words because this perfectly describes our present situation behind locked doors and let's continue reading and it says the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the jewish leaders i want you also to take note of that that the disciples were afraid or scared but then this happened and this was an amazing thing it says suddenly jesus was standing there among them and he said peace be with you he said and as he spoke he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side and they were filled with joy when they saw the lord and again he said peace be with you as the father has sent me so i am sending you well today allow me to share to you god's message for you through those three words mentioned in the verse which is behind locked doors behind locked doors right now we can all relate to this kind of situation in one way or another because we are all in our homes right behind locked doors and behind those locked doors the disciples were hiding in fear because of the jewish authorities they may not been hiding because of kovid but they were facing the same fear the fear of knowing that their lives were in danger because if the jewish authorities were able to crucify their leader jesus it is very probable that they will do the same to them and so they gathered inside that house and the word says that they locked all of the doors of that house and as we read from the verse behind those locked doors there was fear indeed fear if allowed to control our lives as the power to lock something in our lives and i'm not just talking about the literal doors of our houses but the doors of our lives fear once you allow it has the power to lock your vision fear has the power to lock your aspirations fear is the power to lock your dreams maybe you are declaring you're saying nowadays oh what shall i do now with my dreams or what shall i do now with what i have planned for this year fear has the power to lock your passion fear has the power to lock you from your calling but i want to clear this out for you today fear only has power when you allow it to have power over your life and so behind those locked doors were the disciples in their lowest morale these disciples were so scared these disciples were not at the best version of themselves in fact these the disciples were at their worst they were panicking and they were so scared but this isn't amazing i want you to take note of these guys hey that they were still called disciples well isn't it amazing that god could be fully aware and that god could fully know that you have fear and that you feel fear but he also knows that your fear doesn't determine who you are in god or praise god well who among you knows that fear also has the power to reveal who you truly are you will agree with me that fear can help reveal if you are really tough or not right observe that behind those locked doors were the disciples who were scared i want to tell you that the grandeur the image and achievements seemingly were all suddenly stripped away from them at this very point they were so vulnerable remember these disciples already saw and experienced many kinds of miracles with jesus in fact they have personally been with jesus they witnessed people getting healed they witnessed for themselves thousands gathering to hear jesus preach and suddenly it all changed at this juncture they were totally different at this point in time they were in their lowest of law scared frightened and fearful for their lives but it's so amazing because even in this account that we have just read jesus still wants to come inside of their home yes inside that home with all of those scared disciples it's so interesting to note that jesus would still want to get inside of that house knowing that they were afraid it just shows one big truth here come on guys hear me out jesus desired for the real them jesus wanted to see them even though they were scared well discovered this today i want to tell you today that god doesn't only care for the sacred version of you but even for the scared version of you jesus wants you not only when you feel sacred but he wants you even when you feel scared i hope that comforts you jesus wants and loves you even when you don't carry your titles your achievements your glory your talent your influence and status jesus just wants the real you why i'm saying this or hear me out it's because you might agree with me that inside our houses we are nothing but the real us come on you will agree with me with this when i'm at home you know i'm not carrying my title from my business or even my role as a pastor i'm not carrying my image or even the achievements that i have outside of my house well in my house i'm just a plain husband and a father you might even agree with me that when we go out come on we make sure that you know when we got we look good we dress up come on but inside of our homes in our house we don't really care what we wear right well we just sit there in the sofa they're thinking about who might judge us come on i bet that even now come on what you are wearing is totally different from where when you were attending the in-person church gathering right why because you are at home your home and in your home you are nothing but the real you we don't pretend in fact we can't pretend in our own homes come on well just like the disciples at that time in that house they were vulnerable but isn't that the thing that jesus wants the real you will the real you is still sick after god even when you are afraid will the real you is still hope in god even when you are scared oh if the disciples felt what it's like to be scared then maybe you are feeling that way too oh i want to confess to you something today come on when covid first hit manila last year and we were in total lockdown honestly even though i'm a pastor i want to confess to you i was scared this is why this verse was so comforting to me to know that if the apostles could feel and experience fear then it's all right for me to get scared sometimes too oh on the first month i will never forget i could not sleep and i was worried about so many things to the point that i almost was paranoid you know what i mean that even with the little things like you know a fly getting inside of the house because i was so scared thinking that that fly could be carrying the virus oh come on that's uh you know that's crazy but you know what good thing i checked the fly and praise god i found out it was wearing a mask [Laughter] oh but i tell you i was so scared but that but all those things hear me out but all those things it all changed when what i'm reading in the verse when jesus came inside of the house yes that's what the word exactly said it says jesus came inside of the house come on somebody that's why i want to tell you right now that in the name of jesus i pray that you will be comforted and jesus i want to tell you jesus wants to come inside of your house regardless of what kind of house you are in jesus doesn't care about what your house looks like he cares more about you who is inside the house and no matter what your situation is inside of your home hear me out he wants to come in it is because behind those locked doors is a family did you know that jesus wants to know all about your family all of the stories good stories bad stories the highs and the lows the joy and the sadness the celebrations and the conflicts the stories filled with love and even the painful stories the faith and the fights the love and the lot the grace and the idiosyncrasies the laurels and the quarrels the growing up and the changes you've experienced oh everything god desires the real you that's why he came inside the house jesus came inside of the house and jesus wants to come inside of your house because even when the doors are locked here's the promise of this message hear me out behind locked doors god's still able to unleash something great oh i want you to believe it with me that behind locked doors god is unleashing something greater inside of your homes i that's good news well stay with me and it says in the word follow me now all of a sudden jesus entered the house suddenly he appeared inside of the house in the midst of the disciples who were afraid oh god can appear in the midst of and appear in the places where you are most scared never think hear me may never think that just because you are afraid jesus cannot be where you are god was not only with you when you were on stage or when you were receiving awards or promotions or when you were working at your office or at your business or hear me out god can be with you even in the places where you are most afraid this is what i come to know even though i'm scared i know that i'm loved it happened one time with my son cloud we were walking through this dark alley and there were dogs barking and then clouds said dad i'm scared well my reply was you know as a strong father and you know brave father i say don't worry i'm scared too no just kidding what kind of father am i what i'm thinking my reply was actually was this i said don't worry don't worry cloud i'm here i'm holding you but when i say run run no i'm just kidding oh no just kidding guys well instead i should what i did was i assured him that i am with him now through this situation i saw the father's love for us as parents we don't ever punish our children just because they feel fear instead we comfort them we embrace them we assure our presence with them and it is the same thing that our god has promised for us that he will never leave us nor forsake us even when we are afraid i want to remind you today that god is not panicking in this situation that we are facing god will never run away from anything instead it's the devils and all the evils who will run away from him in fear of him so yes even though i'm scared knowing that jesus desires to be where i am right now and knowing that i'm love makes a difference it's so comforting to know that god doesn't only want the successful version of me but even the scared version of me oh praise god hey i want you to take note of something here in this account or what we are reading jesus entered the house right well take note he didn't call them to go out and meet them outside he didn't say and shouted hey guys i'm here outside go out and come here but instead jesus understood their situation it's as if he was saying it's okay guys you don't have to go out i understand you're in quarantine you're in luck stay at the home but here's the thing hear me out here's the thing just because you are staying home doesn't mean that jesus cannot come inside of your home why because oh this is lovely because if you cannot go to where he is he will come to where you are listen jesus doesn't fear what you fear jesus is able to come to you right where you are and turn that space where you are scared to become a space where you can be safe oh thank you jesus yes behind locked doors god is unlocking something greater inside and what is that first of all it is his presence he went inside of the house and i don't know how he did it maybe by teleporting himself or was what many believe maybe he passed through the walls take note he didn't even need to touch the locked doors because not even locked doors can stop him from going inside or nothing can stop jesus from coming inside of your house and i will say it again i will say it again it doesn't matter what kind of house you are in it doesn't matter what the state of your home is you don't have to get everything sorted out in your house before he can come inside you don't have to get it all perfectly right in your family before he can move in your life it's because hear me out the answer to your family is not perfection but presence his presence i guarantee you that there is no perfect family but one can have a person-centered family why because imperfect people do not actually need perfection what imperfect people need is salvation take note of this he was able to just suddenly appear inside of that house with the disciples why because presence you will agree with me presence is the greatest antidote against fear you might have experienced this in times where you most afraid right in those moments you just wanted somebody to be with you right to accompany you to be with you because when you know that you are not alone fear vanishes in that space well hear me out jesus and fear cannot occupy the same space oh jesus and fear cannot occupy the same space so when you allow jesus to come in fear runs away when jesus is present fear is absent he appeared and take note of how he appeared not through the door that was slot because they are this is beautiful not through the door because they thought that people could only enter the house through that door but jesus appeared to them by passing through the walls oh he didn't enter by choosing the natural road which was through the doors and maybe right now you have confined god because you started believing that there was only one way for him to be able to bless you well here we are when actually god has millions of ways to prove his presence to you oh he can defy anything and if that means passing through the walls then he will do it for you well hear me out the natural passes through doors but the supernatural passes through the walls what are this was i'm talking about well walls are anything we have built by ourselves to prevent anyone or anything from coming in to approach us maybe we have built a wall of rejection a wall of religion a wall of hate a wall of bitterness because of traumatic experiences a wall of angst a wall of independency a wall of greatness a wall of pride i don't know what that wall may be but it is the world you have built so that no one can come close to you but let me tell you this there is no wall you can build that can prevent jesus from passing through he is able to come to where you are but why would he because jesus knows that behind those locked doors behind those walls is a person who needs help a person who needs rescuing a person who needs saving a person who needs freedom a person who needs love and he comes into your life instead of just giving something to you he appears in your life oh right now i believe his process is in every house his presence right now is in your house oh thank you jesus well after he appeared inside of their house he spoke and the first words he spoke where peace be unto you earlier i told you that behind locked doors jesus is unlocking something greater and he is unlocking the second one and that is his peace take note that he said peace he did not reprimanded them he did not blame them he did not shame them he did not guilt-trip them he said peace because there's no use of reprimanding a person who is already scared right well take note of the flow in this situation he first appeared and then he spoke of peace so here's the thing hear me out peace comes from his presence oh no presence no peace behind locked door is peace because jesus presence is with you oh behind locked doors jesus is unlocking something and here's the next interesting thing which i thought was so crazy and i want you to emphasize this from the verses after he spoke of peace this is what the bible says he then showed them his wounds that were on his hands and on his sides i don't know about you but what jesus did here for me was a double jump scare you know what i mean because imagine this imagine that you were there with the disciples you already scared and worried that the jewish soldiers were coming to break your door any time and all of a sudden jesus appears of nowhere i don't know about you but for sure i would shout jump scare and then to follow up with another jump scare you know what jesus did he just suddenly appeared and then suddenly he shows you his ones oh i got a shot what a way jesus to comfort his disciples oh come on and speaking of jump scare i remember when i was there in new zealand i will never forget this pastor bruce just had this uh his knee operation one day he called nelson eye and said hey guys oh come on pastor bruce he said i want to show you something and then suddenly he showed this freshly operated knee kneecap with all the bandages and all of his fresh blood yikes but you know what oh that's crazy oh come on pastor bruce way to go but you know what i think that jesus showed his wounds not to scare the disciples thank you pastor bruce but instead he was trying to show us oh you will love this he's trying to show us in the disciples something else here don't miss this why did he feel the need to show the disciples his wounds because he already resurrected right so why would he keep his scars and wounds and then show them to his disciples well hear me out jesus was implying to them oh this is beautiful that if it's possible for him to get wounded it's all right for the disciples to get wounded too he may if it's all right for him to show his wounds then don't be afraid to show your wounds to oh that's beautiful but more than that he showed them this because he was unlocking something great in that place and i believe the great thing was the number three that he's showing is that the proof of his love hear me out what proof he is proving to them that he is indeed a recent christ and the god who paid for our sins all behind locked doors was proof oh oftentimes when we are facing hard times we ask for god for proof for whether he cares about us or not we cry to god in our prayers lord i pray that this would end lord i hope that things would change and we uh and we base the proof of his love on what he can do today or tomorrow and in the future not realizing that the greatest proof of his love was already done for us the greatest proof of his love was seen through his wounds oh are you doubting oh you want proof well here's the greatest proof that shows that god loves you his wounds jesus died for you and on the day he joined those scared apostles in their home hear me out jesus did not intervene so that the opposition and persecution would end jesus did not do anything to prevent the jewish authorities from persecuting them he did not cause anything to happen that day except that behind those locked doors jesus accompanied them jesus was with them and in your life right now things might feel like they are staying the same as if nothing is improving and nothing is changing well let me reassure you right now that jesus is with you and that the proof of his wounds are enough to let you know that god loves you jesus is accompanying you right now inside of your house and this should be the greatest assurance of your safety oh behind locked doors jesus i'm telling you is unlocking something greater his presence his peace and the proof of his love but more than this is the last one now hear me out the last thing that jesus unlocked behind those doors can be found in this words this is what the bible says he says peace i give unto you as the father has sent me so i send you well behind those locked doors he is unlocking your purpose during this hard times you will agree with me that people become more aware of their purpose in life it is in these times of crisis that you come to realize more and more what really matters in life it's in these times like this pandemic you know where i personally became more aware of my purpose and the reason why i'm here and that's because i have to fulfill the purpose what she has sent me for oh we may not oh don't miss this we may not be able to fully understand what is happening to us right now but believe me god has a purpose behind it all but i also want to clarify that the focus of the season should not be about knowing god's purpose about this pandemic but actually knowing your personal purpose during this pandemic just like with the apostles jesus did not actually explain to them the reason why there were those facing persecutions jesus did not really explain to them the reason why they were facing hard times instead he just laid down the mission that he had for all of them which is that they were sent to save lives oh these are the kind of times that draw us back to knowing and walking in our true purpose as a people of god which is that we are here because we were sent to share this wonderful gift of salvation to our loved ones and to the many people in our world this is an important time to share the gift of salvation to our loved ones and to our friends this is the purpose behind all of this that during this time you and the people around you would come to know how you can secure your life your soul your eternity and your destiny oh this is the purpose behind all of this we are sent here by god to save lives sin but wait a minute were those disciples scared you wouldn't send scared soldiers into the battlefield right but what this is what's amazing about my jesus he chooses not to look at who you were in the past instead he chooses to focus on who you can become oh god is not looking at your past failures he's looking at your potential god is not looking at your history he's looking at your destiny god is not looking at your past he is focusing on your purpose so in this season instead of perpetually searching for what god's purpose is behind this pandemic well go back to the original purpose god has personally given you that you have been sent instead of focusing on what is not working set your focus on what he is unleashing oh behind locked doors god is unleashing something greater his presence his peace the proof of his love and your purpose oh my prayer for today for this message may you witness and experience his presence in times like this may you experience peace that only jesus can give i pray that you will be thankful for the proof of his love for you and i pray that you would rediscover your purpose so behind your locked doors i want to reassure you you are going to be okay because jesus is with you oh father right now you are in every house right now you are speaking to every person and you are inside in every house lord you have passed through their walls you are defying what's normal and you are touching somebody today oh you are setting people free from their fears you are unleashing something today or somebody right now is feeling your presence and they're feeling a kind of peace that only you can give oh jesus somebody right now is witnessing the proof of your love the proof that shows that if you're willing to die lord jesus then you're able to take good care of us today well lord i pray somebody right now is rediscovering their purpose oh we are kept by you oh lord oh you are here lord you are unleashing something in the spirit right now in every heart in the name of jesus oh father god thank you lord for your presence today in the name of jesus amen and amen

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Length: 32min 30sec (1950 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 11 2021