Sandton SDA Sabbath LIVE Service - 25 September 2021

[Music] we're so fortunate to still be able to live stream this so please subscribe please send your comments please let us know what you think feel free to follow us as well on our social media pages on instagram on facebook as well as on twitter and subscribe to our channel so that you never miss a beat as we seek to bring you content live and direct from santan sda church and also please do not forget to wear your mask to social distance and sanitize at all times see you soon stay safe i greet you in the wonderful name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen it's wonderful to be in change today and it's good to have the congregation back it was a bit difficult to speak to david on the camera but i see a couple of familiar faces here and it's it's good to have the congregation back uh today is a special day not only is it a sabbath but we also celebrating heritage day i can see a couple of us are dressed a bit different today it's also a special day in that it is a special guest day so we're celebrating those functions today today we have a fully packed program for you oh we have a uh praise and worship team uh brave i also dressed to the t today i'll be laid by our brother situni uh they're going to give us a couple of songs and also to uplift our spirits as we go through the service cyber school today is led by [Music] interest coordination team led by my brother uh sakele who's seated over there he's also got a fully paid program for you the man that has been chosen today to break the bread is one of our own my brother and elder andrew sengosho i can't wait to hear what he has in store for us today our verse for consideration today comes from ii chronicles chapter 7 verse 14. it is a very familiar verse but i'll read in your hearing verse 14 reads if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i will hear them from heaven and forgive their sin and heal the land those that are familiar with the church building pro program will remember that there were three things that we're doing for that we are still doing the church is still not complete there were three things that we were doing we were talking about it we were praying and then we were acting but today as we go through the service there are four things that i would ask the church and those that are at home to do for us today as the verse reads we are asked to humble ourselves that is the first thing secondary we are going to pray and we are certainly going to be doing that as we go along the service and we are going to be seeking god's face lastly the fourth one a bit of a difficult one we asked to turn from our wicked ways sounds a bit heavy but that is what god is asking of us today the bible says if we do those four things then god is going to do three things for us firstly he is going to hear us from heaven secondly you forgive our sins and lastly you'll heal the land [Music] so we look forward to god hearing our prayers today and forgiving our sins and hopefully that we shall be healed will definitely not be the same that we came in when we go out so as we travel through this journey i ask that you travel with us and without wasting too much time we now ask the praise and worship him to come up and give us a couple of songs thank you [Music] i greet the living church of god in the wonderful name of jesus christ amen ah yo it feels like i'm virtual yeah i greet you all in the wonderful name of jesus christ amen it is nice to be here um and welcome to the audience live uh we are happy to be here um as you can see we are robed in our traditional attire some were very stubborn inside here but i know they're in your bedroom somewhere you are wearing something that is traditional welcome and we pray that you will enjoy our praise and worship session today in front of me here singing with me is uh on soprano we have fe on alto we have lindy lay on tenna and whatever else she's always everywhere tenna bass don't be surprised we've got chiron on keys we have my friend karabo who i call pudi on the base we've got the drum master sam and i pray that you may be edified and that you will join us in praise amen [Music] together now [Music] [Music] get up and greet somebody in jesus name tell them that you love them in jesus name [Music] everybody smile everybody's smart everybody's smart everybody's smart smile everybody [Music] somebody in jesus name tell them that you love them in jesus name jesus loves you everybody jesus loves you everybody [Music] again thank you for joining our praise and worship session and we pray that you will be blessed by the renditions that we share today as you will see on your screen if you want your picture of your smile to be boomed up there please submit it to smile stantonchurch.org you will see another page as well where you can participate in our praise and worship if to get the right hymnal that we use or hypno that we use um just scan we're moving our head with times just scan the barcode there and you will get the details [Music] we're going to start with the first chorus [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] hey [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] sometimes we forget how important calvary was [Music] and we know there's a power in that act that retains us and saves us and we are ever grateful for it amen in the same spirit maybe let's remind ourselves again the blood of jesus shall never ever lose its power it shall never lose its power it's up to us to say much amen [Music] is [Music] is [Music] shall never lose [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] amen amen what does the church say to that singing i see a lot of us miss church but it's great to have you back our next segment is a sabbat school and it's ably going to be led by our sister combo i'm poor who's our leader of the sub school and my brother sakele was leading interest coordination this year the stake is yours [Music] i greet the church in the wonderful name of jesus christ amen happy service in the light of being a heritage month i thought it'd be proper to introduce myself so my name is zakhela was named by my late aunt for a reason and if i go to my clan's name so the good i mean who's easy that's where my heritage is my client's name as well but today i'm here to share a little story that's we found in the bibles um a beautiful story actually and that reflects us as christians and if you think if i'm think of titling it our my sharing it will be it will be on transformation and be transformed in christ so when i was thinking about be transformed because there's many practical examples and we found in the bibles and stories as well so one of the protocols story that i thought of it's the story of the women of samaria the women of samaritan women and it's a beautiful it's a familiar story but it's beautiful and i would like us to point on some key points on there if we go back and remember how the story started that uh if we remember that jesus christ was traveling to galilee back again and he left judea and when he was traveling back to he he passed by the samaria city the town summary city so while he was there and then while he was there he went to the well and there was a woman who went to the well as well and while the woman was there the jesus asked water from the woman and the woman was shocked and amazed the reason is being she's submarine and then she asks jesus that how can a jew ask a water from samaritan and then but the conversation went on in terms of between the woman and jesus the conversation went on that the jesus explained some facts about this woman woman was shocked and she was asking are you a prophet what's happening why would someone tell facts about my life like this uh who many people don't know about the effects of my life but the story continue and then disciples if even john 4 the disciple came and the disciples were amazed as well to see jesus talking to the woman but the woman went back to the world to the village when she left and went to the village she was transformed she was not the same person she was before now i'd like us to ponder some points in this story firstly if you notice first of all christ breaks all barriers when he wants our lives if you remember in second kings chapter 17 there was a huge division between submarines and the jews to an extent that people didn't want to and to to to be next to each other these nations they want to be next to each other it was a division that was beta and it was and christ broke that barrier because if you remember at that time people were not even going to the area of samurai because of the jews were not even allowed always they will take a long route just to avoid samaria but christ broke that barrier when you went to galilee again he passed through samaria for a reason to break the barriers same goes to us you know in at times we have as christians we we eliminate ourselves in terms of christ break barriers we're going to the people that we never thought that would be part of the members of church people who are who drink alcohol people who smokes are on your au pairs and all of this and at times in the professional in the professional or in the corporate world we tend to belittle ourselves to to approach the executives or the rich people and yet christ breaks all those barriers so that we can evangelize them and then we see the light so that they can see the light that's the first point that we see the in in the lady in this story secondly what you realize that was when the lady left the wells she when she went back to the village she she was transformed she asked the people she told the people that come and see the messiah people as a person who who actually talks about my life and have never been and and people didn't know about her life as well so the village was amazed and village believed her they believed that this lady is really transformed and he's been parallel he's been he have seen the messiah and they said we have heard that so that means that when we meet christ our life try to get transformed we are transformed in a positive manner and everyone has opportunity is given opportunity actually by christ to be transformed when we meet christ in our lives so it is important that we meet christ in our life and we see the transformation that is positive that influences the surrounding us and the community as well and the interesting about this woman that when she went to the well she was carrying something but when she went begging when she transformed and went back to the village suddenly she left everything she left like what she was caring because she found a fulfillment in her life immediately when she was experiencing life with christ she found fulfillment with her that's what happens in our lives as well at times you know we always wondered how we can find fulfillment day one life sometimes some of us we empower ourselves with education to find fulfillment some of us they do business entrepreneurship so to be rich to have wealth so that we can find fulfillment in our lives but if we have come to christ that's the only soul that we can find improvement into if we come to christ that's the fulfillment in our lives that we can get so we need to come closer to christ so that we can see the fulfillment of our life and to find peace in our life and find riches in him so today i'm sharing with you church i'm sharing with you the people in the visual that we need to come to christ and we need to be transformed so that we can do things that christ ought us to do all of this none of you jesus christ amen amen we are talking about the transforming power of the holy spirit this morning sorry about that we are talking about the transforming power of the holy spirit is it possible that when i have been transformed when i've met the lord i don't share him with anyone is it possible to be transformed to meet god and after that not evangelize so in other words if i find myself still struggling to share christ still struggling to evangelize it means that i have not met christ am i right we find the samaritan woman like my brother has said the bible records that when that conversation ended she went straight to the city running from house to house too excited to keep it to herself because she had met the lord so in other words the transforming power of the holy spirit it always leads to the sharing of the gospel so in other words there is no need for the church to be pushed all the time to evangelize if really the holy spirit is working in the church so the fact that there's still some pushing happening for people to share means we have not met christ we look at another life that was transformed and let's look at what happened after the the person met the lord turn with me to the book of acts the book of acts um i'm going to start with a few verses from chapter 8. chapter 8 we find the killing of of stephen the bible says that in verse 1 and saul was consenting unto his death and at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at jerusalem so we find saul who is later changed to paul we find him very aggressive against the church in fact verse 3 of chapter 8 says that as for soul he made havoc of the church entering into every house and helling men and women committed them to prison the bible actually uses the word havoc the man was on fire for the death to persecute the church but now come with me to chapter 9 and saw this one yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord went unto the high priest and desired of him letters to damascus to to the synagogues that if he found any of this way whether they were men or women he might bring them bound unto jerusalem and as he janet he came near damascus and suddenly they shined round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and had a voice saying unto him soul soul while persecuted without me verse 5 says and he said who art thou lord and the lord said i am jesus whom thou persecuted it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks versus and he trembled and astonished said lord what will thou have me to do and the lord said unto him arise and go into the city and it shall be told thee what must do what must you do what you must do we find saul whose letter changed his name to paul he meets the lord on his way to persecute christians the bible says that he had a voice those that were with him they had a voice but they didn't see anyone he fell to the ground and when he rises from there he says lord what would you have me to do and the bible records that ever since that moment his life was never the same the only thing that you wanted was to spread the gospel we know how many churches that he planted according to the books that he wrought the kalashans the philippians the thessalonians he afterwards was on fire for the lord so in other words ever since the moment that you met the lord there is no way you cannot be on fire for god so when we look at your life now my brother my sister are you on fire for the lord if not are you sure you have met the lord are you sure of that moment when you met christ one on one it's possible that yes you're part of the church but you've never met the lord before that transformation happens before the holy spirit can do something to the heart my brothers and sisters there is no mission there is no evangelism there is no spreading of the gospel that we are going to do we will enjoy sabbath in subway out coming here to sit and enjoy and go home but there is no power no transforming power in the life the heart is never the same before i sit down in the book of deserve ages it is recorded when we are talking about when the bible was talking about nicodemus that you know the holy spirit we may not see him we may not touch him but just like the wind we see its effects in your heart in my heart my brothers and sisters do we see the effects of the wind of the holy spirit are you on fire to tell everyone that you meet about jesus we're talking about evangelism church this morning as the sabbath school department the personal ministries department the interest coordinating department we're talking about outreach enough church of us enjoying on our own here when the world is dying out there we're talking about standing up going to tell someone about jesus because i'm on fire for the lord i've been transformed what i used to do before the song says the things i used to do i do them no more those that used to to to to to to to to cause appetite in me that used to excite me they excite me no more because there's a power that has transformed me this morning my prayer our prayer is that just like the samaritan woman the life she was leading before we all know but ever since that moment ever since that day at the well she was never the same she went throughout the city turning the city upside down paul ever since that moment that damascus experience his life was never the same he was on fire for the lord this morning our prayers that may we have our damascus experience this morning may we have our our well moment with christ otherwise we will not need to be pushed to evangelize to someone may god bless the readings of his word amen uh thank you very much uh sis kombu and brother sakele for for that message definitely food for thought for each and every one of us are we sharing christ out there or we're just keeping what we've received to ourselves um thank you very much for for the subscription uh this time i'd like to call again the praise and worship team to give us a couple more songs thank you so [Music] so oh [Music] hello [Music] foreign m [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] so [Music] we move on to the next one [Applause] is [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] foreign my [Music] oh me amen [Music] we move on to the next one sumandra cleaning [Music] [Music] we [Music] [Music] my [Music] foreign [Music] okay [Music] okay [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] okay [Music] okay [Music] thank you uh praise and worship for those heartwarming songs i did promise you that the program was going to be fully packed today and they and they dress beautifully church praise and worship team thank you thank you [Music] it's now time for announcements and we do have quite a number of them so please bear with us as we go through the first announcement concerns the nominating committee we're going to do the second reading my sister is going to help us with the process thank you good morning and happy sabbath i'll be going i'm going to be doing the second reading of the names of the people who've been selected to serve in the nominating committee in 2021 we have selected 15 members i'll start with the brothers and then followed by the ladies we have brother mike biela daniel chuandamira brighton jambi pula mojadi and essay 2 talented i'd like to move that the church accepts these names of the center members to serve in the nominating committee in 2021 thank you our church it has been moved i think we've heard the names do i get anyone to second okay i see a couple of hands say a couple of hands thank you uh all those in favor of the names that have been read uh should ensure by show off show by raise of hands thank you very much it has been and it has been moved and accepted is there anyone against i do not see any name any hands so it has those names were then served this year in the nominating committee thank you sister nahi last week sister nelissa's my banker's name was read for transfer from church in soweto to sentence church today we're going to do the second reading and then then we'll vote for that name to be transferred sister nangan i please ask you to move that name i would like to move that we accept the name of sister nelizua to be a member of the center in sda church it has been moved anyone second the name thank you uh sister hd all those in favor to see a number of hands anyone against that stan eliza becoming a member of sentence church do not see anyone who would like to officially welcome sister nelisa wenger as a member of center in church thank you very much okay just going to carry on with the with the announcements the second announcement concerns holy communion as we all are away holy communion is going to be held on the 2nd of october that is next sabbath and this year we doing it a bit differently because of the pandemic so what's going to happen is that the church has ordered the bread and the wine and we're expecting the package to arrive anytime soon early next week so collection for those that would like to partake uh collection is going to start on wednesday the 30th the 29th sorry wednesday the 29th and thursday the 30th and also on the friday the first and also on the sabbath will be distributing the times for distributing for those that would like to come and collect so what's going to happen is the iconet will be waiting for you in front there so for those that are going to drive you drive through and then you collect your package and then you drive away foot washing is going to be done at home so before the second and we all ensure that we've washed our feet at home for those that are single we trying to make a plan for them so for collection the times are as follows we'll start at 12 to 1400 hours it's 2 pm and then we'll start again at 6 00 pm um sorry at 4 pm and then up to 6 pm so those are the times for the collections on the wednesday thursday friday and will also be distributing on the sabbath but we encourage you to please collect on those days so that on the sabbath because we've got a lot of packages to distribute so if we all come and collect on the sabbath then we might not be able to cope with the numbers so we're all encouraged to please come and collect from the wednesday the 2nd of october is a busy day [Music] we also going to have a church business meeting after vespas the numbers are not encouraging at the moment at the moment only 49 people have registered for the business meeting and i think on the screen there you can see the numbers and what you are supposed to do if you don't have if not uploaded zoom on your phone or your laptop you're encouraged to do that there's a instructions that are there if you know you haven't used zoom before because the meeting is going to be held over zoom so we all encourage please to to register there is an email that comes through to all the members of sentence and then the email will take you through the instructions of what you're supposed to do so please please register for the church business meeting i would like now to call upon the comms team for the promotion of the channel morning church it's advertisement time um i'm here to promote um a couple of things so for all of those that are watching on youtube i'm sure you're enjoying the service that we're offering you guys so there's a couple of instructions i need to give you the first one is i need you guys to subscribe to the channel which is when i looked it's on the bottom right hand corner of the screen next to that there's a bell icon press that bell now what that does is every time we prepare for a program you will get a notification a couple of hours or prior to that that will keep you um in the know then the second thing i want to do is i want you to comment on the page then after that i want you to share it i'm sure you guys are enjoying the program that we give you guys every sabbath so please just do that so remember subscribe press the bell icon like the page comment and share the other thing i want to promote is we've got an instagram page i'm sure you guys enjoy the service that is uh given to you guys by the praise and worship team so follow us on our instagram page the handle goes as follows it is music underscore at santan church um it is being flight on your screen but i'll repeat it it's music underscore at saturn church so guys remember like subscribe press the notification bell comment and share thank you thank you for those who are home i guess we've liked and we'll subscribe to the channel our next segment is the offertory which is going to be done by our sister sister aya salumbila i greet the church in the wonderful name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen um i just want to say thank you to the praise team you have no idea what difference you've made in my life this morning about a week and a half ago i was home to bury my cousin and this morning i got another note that the sister to that cousin which is also my cousin passed away so when i'm standing there singing yeah it's actually taking the pain away from me um this morning our tithe and offering devotional is brought all the way from the u.s we are focusing on the life of william a spicer okay who from the young age of 22 chose to put god first in his life spicer was one of the first ministry missionaries in the sda church he sailed to england to establish the church there and later returned to the u.s to work for the gc which is the general conference he was instrumental in securing the land where salusi solution university is situated in zimbabwe so he actually lived an impactful life and later on he went to india also as a missionary to establish the church there that was in the 1898s in 1898 and today we have the spica university church in india which was actually named in honor of this great soldier of the cross in 1902 he returned to the u.s to work as a secretary for the gs for the gc sorry and his key responsibility was handling missionary work um and he did this work faithfully for a number of years about 20 years and he later on became the president of the general conference i think you can see that this man chose god and he actually chose god in his life sometimes putting putting god first first putting god first involves a number of sacrifices that we have to make in our lives spicer's life shows us that um he actually dedicated his life to god and he really impacted the world and now i just want to say that we may not all be missionaries we need may not all be preachers of the world but there is one thing that we can do we can actually support the church through tithes and offerings the sda church still supports hundreds of missionary families across the globe and the least that we can do is to support this work jesus gave up everything to redeem us and his love compels us to put the kingdom of god first in our lives as the deacons will collect our tithes and offerings we are challenged to put god first in our lives [Music] as we collect our offerings we will do number three triple one no not one it's not available in there is the hymnal but triple one [Music] [Music] yes foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] see [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] dear heavenly father we worship you this morning with our tithes and offerings we pray for courage to put you first in everything we do please accept this tithes and offerings brought to you this morning so that your word may be spread throughout the world we ask this in the wonderful name of our lord and savior jesus christ and our soon returning savior amen [Music] uh thank you sister solomon those that are at home are also encouraged to continue to support the church some of the banking details were shared on the screen just one very important announcement uh pastor and the shepherds are celebrating their first anniversary they are away in cape town as we speak and would like to wish them a happy anniversary and we ask that the lord blesses their union amen um do we have a promotion for the elders roundtable no okay we've now entered the early hours the next segment would be the prayer garden [Music] our reading comes from [Music] the book of acts um starting from chapter 13 uh to chapter sorry acts 27 from verse 13 to verse 44 i will not read but i'd ask the media team to please share and follow as i go along we are asked to trust in the lord in the midst of disaster and turmoil so over the last couple of months this year we've all gone through a lot of difficulties in our lives mainly due to the pandemic others have lost jobs others have lost loved ones so when things wrong go wrong in our lives we are sometimes tempted to panic and i know that i'm one of those if everything is going well in our lives it is relatively easy to trust the lord however there are times when we face many major challenges to our faith among the many challenges trials and sufferings that paul faced was that he was shipwrecked three times in the passage we read one of these occasions at first it looked as if paul had been wrong in predicting disaster as the weather was perfect for our journey by then a hurricane began it must have been a terrifying experience look right they finally gave up all hope of being saved yet paul kept on trusting in the lord telling those on board to have faith in god and that god is still in control and that he had promised to rescue them it took disaster for them to listen to poor extraordinarily poor the prisoner appears to be completely in charge he tells them you really should have listened to me he is the one who stops the sailors from jumping ship this is a great example for leadership without title or position the best leaders are able to lead in whatever circumstance by influence and by persuasion the temple gave paul an opportunity to speak about his faith he takes the opportunity although he must have been suffering greatly from hunger and the effects of the storm paul saw himself as belonging to god he says the god whose i am and being his servant whom i serve but god was not only his owner and master paul trusted god and had a deep assurance of his love he knew that god wanted to the very best of him as he does for you and me today paul assured them [Music] not one of you will lose a single hair from his head and after he'd say this he took some bread and gave thanks to god in front of all of them then he broke it and began to eat in spite of disaster striking god was in ultimate control the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping but the centurion warned to spare paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan god gave paul favor in the eyes of the people as well as god's own eyes as a result everyone reached land safely nothing could stop god from saving paul and using him to work out his peoples and save lives this moment would like to thank the lord that he's protected us and that even when disaster strikes when things go wrong he helps us not to be afraid but rather to keep courage and to have faith at this time i would like to call upon my elder elda salombila to lead us in prayer those that are able to kneel we encourage to nail as he prays [Music] let us pray father in heaven we lift up our hands this morning giving honor and glory to you on this sabbath day our elder has read dear father a text from your word that tells us that sometimes we will go through the storms of life dear lord there are people who have come through to church today after facing storms this week some dear father have been facing storms for the past few years it's been difficult a tempestuous journey dear lord maybe for a number of months but lord we are here saying god is still in control thank you lord for the storms thank you lord for the difficulties thank you lord for the unanswered prayers for we have learned to trust in you not because of the benefits of knowing you but because of who you are lord i want to pray for each and every soul that is here today but as you did for paul you will also do for us yes we are going through difficulty yes we are losing families and friends yes we've lost parents we've lost loved ones we've lost a lot of people that matter to us but lord you are still in control thank you lord for taking us into the house of the porter that we may witness what you do with the potter all of us lord here this morning are still under construction you are working on our characters so that you make us ready for your coming lord it's not an easy process when the porter is pressing the clay lord it's not an easy process when the potter is thinning the clay lord it becomes difficult when the potter sometimes has to press the clay to remove that which does not need to be there and sometimes we forget that we too are the clay and you are the potter you've brought us here dear lord for we are broken some of us our lives feel like we have been shattered by the evil one the adversary of the brethren but lord we thank you that even though we may look fragile with all those bruises dear lord that we have gone through because of the trials of life the potter is able to put us to bed together again we can cry out after this service as your man's servant elder sangosha will be preaching lord as you will bless him and use him when the finish at the end of the service has come dear lord we want to praise you and honor you and say we know the hand of the potter once again lord work on us break us dear lord melt us if you have to mold us if you need to and put us together again oh lord there is an experience that some of us are going through it's a fiery trial that is not easy to come out of the endurance part is difficult but lord we thank you that we are in the hands of the porter once you are done with us dear lord we thank you that you're going to put us into the furnace yes it will be hot yes the temperature will rise but the hotter the temperature the finer the vessel we're going through difficulty right now but we will come out finer than we were before we went into the furnace and therefore lord we pray that as you are leading us as you are nearing the coming of jesus it will go it is going to be hot and difficult we're going to be feeling bothered dear lord by a lot of things happening to us but we will come out on the other side as fine of ourselves thank you for the privilege of being a clay in the hands of the porter thank you for the work of molding our characters preparing us for the coming of jesus thank you for the forgiveness of sins thank you for the intercession that you do for us forgive us lord where we still go astray but for now we surrender to you and say we know the hands of the potter bless us now as we listen to your word and may you use your main servant once more in order to say to us what the lord has brought to him this is our humble prayer and we also ask for the forgiveness of our sins in jesus name we pray amen [Music] thank you thank you my order of the prayer i do trust and hope that we enjoying the service so far and as i mentioned when i opened that there are four things that i'd like us to remember at the back of our minds this time ask the praise and worship team to come on stage and give us a couple of songs thank you i greet you again in the wonderful name of jesus christ amen you know last week a couple of us sent in cyclists decided that we are going to cycle to sun city so we left for it cycled all the way to sun city 180 ks i'm bragging you don't have to give the we did it but along the way we got lost it got a bit strange our gps has just failed us and all we needed was that one individual there was one person who had done it before right and they were comfortable in telling us don't worry we are going this way all right follow me and lead me follow me i will take you there go this way and we made it to sun city and i'm hearing the despondency that we have with the current circumstances that we are faced with people are losing lives people are losing jobs people are just in a state of despondency but we know someone who's designed this thing before beginning to end who knows the pathway and all he needs from us is that we just need to follow him now one the one thing that i i i want us to just reflect on over the next few songs is is for the guiding hand because he said i'm here i'm available right but we also just need to lean into that so the the next few songs just ask us or is a plea is simply a plea that goes be with me guide me and we will follow amen [Music] okay [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] no [Music] [Music] oh oh [Music] foreign foreign foreign foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] is [Music] foreign [Music] oh oh oh oh [Music] is foreign foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] still sticking to the theme of being in the path all the way my savior leads me [Music] all the way my savior leads me to [Music] who through life has been my guide heavenly peace [Music] jesus [Music] foreign [Music] gives me praise for every trial [Music] [Music] [Music] of joy i see [Music] oh is [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] jesus jesus [Music] amen 136 number 136 [Music] number 136 i remember calvary [Music] [Music] is so [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] indeed [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] number 42 number 42. i see [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is is [Music] ones [Music] [Music] so one day mama you will see them again you will and we will not say goodbye [Music] but until we get there our simple ask is that he remains with us through it all through all the storms may he be with us [Music] [Music] foreign again foreign so [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] easy oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] say [Applause] [Applause] my [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh [Music] day [Music] too [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] what does the church say all right thank you thank you uh brothers to me and the ladies for that uplifting singing i did promise you that it was going to be a fully packed program before we go into the next segment of the program i would like to recognize um the visitors and guests that we might have today we've got some gifts that would like to give you if there are any guests or anyone visiting for the first or second time and i please ask you to stand [Music] any guests visitors coming here for the first time please remain standing my brother kelly has got some presents for you [Music] i'd like to thank you for attending sentence today you please remain standing is getting some more for you and we look forward to seeing you again next sabbath and the next and the next [Music] [Music] there's some there's one upstairs if someone please go upstairs it's two i should do upstairs [Music] thank you thank you very much brother sir kelly [Music] this time i would like to introduce speaker for the day the one who's been chosen to break bread for us is none other than one of our own it's my good friend and elder brother andrew manalushi singhosho brother andrew is married to sister charity and they are blessed with two sons and the little lady of the house i look forward to the message that brother andrew has prepared for us brother andrew the platform is used [Music] happy sabbath everyone happy sabbath everyone i would like to thank the praise team it has been worship we thank you very much for the talents that you have shared with us and we truly are blessed i'd like to thank the pastor to for giving me this opportunity to stand before his flock and share some impressions the lord has put upon me i know the time that we're staying in now i mean two years ago who would have thought of a pandemic who would have thought of a room full of people wearing masks who would have thought of retrenchments who would have thought of our loved ones dying it's been a difficult time for the church and the world at large statistics around us just as a snapshot in south africa alone it's known that 2.8 million people have either had have had coveted and of those 000 almost 87 000 have passed away these are sobering thoughts and this 87 000 doesn't it's not just a number to us because we know people we know close people that have died we are touched by this scourge brothers and sisters i would like to comfort those that have been at this time overtaken by death in the family many times we find ourselves at a loss of words to what to tell the families that are going through bereavement just this week we have heard of el databa's grandchild passing away and of brother sivander's uncle passing away but through the last months or so we have as a church experienced lots of tribulations we have experienced lots of trouble i'd like to take this time to read from the word of god a few verses just to comfort the family we do not want to be like jobs friends who come to him with their own words they come to him with their own reasonings we have to go back to the word of god and refer our brothers and sisters and ourselves as we go through these times of trouble so no one travels through life without some point experiencing a loss someone we love losing someone we love is the most intense challenges and we can be overwhelmed with pain but god does not leave us to suffer alone if you turn your bibles to isaiah 53 verse 4 if the media team can fly these verses please for me isaiah 53 4 i read in your hearing if you have found it he is despised and rejected by men a man of sorrow acquainted with grief we see that jesus is not just someone who theorizes about what we go through he experienced the pain that we experienced he came and lived as a man he came and became a man matthew 5 4 says blessed are those who moan for they shall be comforted the lord will wrap his arms around us he shall comfort us we should seek solace in his arms psalms 147 3 psalms 147 verse 3 it reads lean on god and allah it reads he heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds the lord is our physician he is the only one that can comfort us even the phenomenon of healing within the hospital once the surgeons are done cutting you up that healing process is only through the lord's workings and also the spiritual scars and spiritual hurts that we go through it's only god who can heal us of that second corinthians chapter 1 verse 3 says bless be the god and the father of our lord jesus christ the father of mercies and the god of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble god comforts us in all our tribulations that we also may be able to comfort those god's speciality is comforting us let us run to god isaiah 41 verse 10 says fear not it says fear not i know at this time there's anxieties there's troubles these tribulations we find ourselves in a place where we cannot think about tomorrow we might be in a position where we do not know what work we're going to have whether our jobs are secure it may be health and situation as we speak people are on the ventilators in the icu but the lord says fear not i am with you be not dismayed for i am your god i will strengthen you yes i will help you i will uphold you with my righteous right hand god promises to be with us and to get us through the times of intense disappointment psalms 23 verse 4 ye though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for you are with me your road and your staff are a comfort to me i think sometimes it's just good to just dwell in the word of the lord just to delve into it no commentary just read what the lord has to say to us and meditate upon these words here is the hope brothers i do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are falling asleep least you sorrow as others who have no hope for if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so god will bring with him those who are asleep in jesus that's first thessalonians 4 verse 13 and 14. we all look forward to that day i know we have all lost someone that we love we look forward to that day of reunion between those that are asleep and that us that are alive now going again first corinthians 5 15 52 and 54 it says the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed so that when this corruption has put in in corruption and this mortal has put in immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that death is swallowed up in victory don't we all look forward to that day that day when we can take off this mortality and put on immortality at christ returns those who belong to him will be raised and given thy food that will never end the last verse is from revelations 21 verse 4 it says god wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death no sorrow no crying there shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away in the new earth that we all look forward to god has created a place of joy he's created a place of solace he has bring brought us back to where he needed us to be and where he originally planned us to be so today i just like to take comfort in those words and those that are going through tribulation and and sorrow uh i think uh my message today is is taken from the book of genesis we're looking at chapters from 20 from chapter 24 to 33. we'll be looking at the story of jacob and esau the title of my message is redemption and restoration redemption and restoration now to break down the words redemption is basically the act of saving or being saved from sin one may put it as the action of gaining regaining or passing something in exchange okay passing something in exchange restoration is the action of returning something to the former owner or to a place or to a condition in this discourse that we have today i'll be looking at six areas in what we are going to discuss turn your bibles to our key text which is genesis 33 verse 4 genesis 33 verse 4. are you there i must say it's good to be in the house of the lord to see a congregation we have missed fellowship we have missed being able to commune with one another so genesis 33 verse 4 i read in your hearing from the new living translation then esau ran to him and embraced him with an affectionate kiss and both of them were in tears our story starts with a marriage a marriage set up or formulated by a father this father is father abraham and this is his son isaac the heir of the promise in chapter 24 of genesis we see abraham taking concern with respect to the marriage partner for his son isaac he charges his servant to go forth back to his homeland and seek a bride for his son as a progenitor of the future nation and also the messiah abraham was concerned about isaac's choices in life as we should all be concerned with respect to the choices when it comes to marriage isaac subjected himself to his father's will and advice isaac allowed his father to guide him in the process of choosing his life partner isaac was highly honored by god in being the inheritor of the promise through which the world was to be blessed he was 40 years old but he submitted to his father's will god fearing to choose a god-fearing servant for him and we see the picture of rebecca and isaac coming together we know what happened when rebecca met up with this with the servant at the watering well she showed generosity she showed hospitality and that led the servant of of abraham to find the choice the angel of the lord walked before the servant of abraham and the choice of rebecca was made we see in the union of rebecca and isaac one of the beautiful pictures of a marriage in the bible as it depicted in genesis 24. now when we contemplate marriage we know that it is one of the major decisions that we make in our lives and should not be taken hastily we must be guided by our good our guardians our parents and our elders first corinthians 6 14 says what fellowship has darkness and light what fellowship has darkness and light many a times we find the decisions that are made in haste or made without consultation of the lord might lead to a life of suffering it might lead to a life of of being pulled away from what god has intended for us and we can see examples of that in the bible now during this time isaac and rebecca had problems in terms of bearing a child and we see isaac offering a prayer for his wife isaac prayed for his wife rebecca and she con conceived and while the babies were still in the womb there was strife in the womb and she went to inquire and she went to inquire to the lord what is this all about what is this all about so in verse 25 chapter 25 of of genesis verse two but the two children struggled with each other in the womb so she went to ask the lord about it why is this happening to me she asked the lord told her the sons in your womb will become two rival nations one will be stronger than the other the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son i'd like us to draw some points here with respect to isaac and rebecca their marriage we see isaac offering himself as a priest as a mediator for his wife husbands fathers we must stand in the gap for our children and for our wives we must stand in the gap for our children and our wives we must have a prayer closet in which we go and bring and lift up our children and our wives our spouses to the lord we have a responsibility and we have a blessing that the lord has bestowed upon us to act in this stead the lord has seen it fit that husbands be able to bless their wives and their children we see in the life of eso and jacob when they are born a stark contrast in terms of their personalities eso was a boisterous very spontaneous person given to wild travelings he liked the early life of a hunter he went out into the world not too taken with the future he was a person that was very impulsive in this while jacob was a man that was very calm and patient looking forward to the future these two sons born to rebecca and isaac though brothers had very different characteristics we see because of their natures and personalities each of the parents had their own favorites because of the adventures that eso had when he would go out into the wild he would come back and tell his father about these stories of how things adventures came through or whatever happened as he was traveling and traversing the dangerous wilderness isaac him also a shepherd thought akined to this remember that rebecca had told isaac about what the angel had told him with respect to the prophecy of these two being two nations with the older serving the younger he did not take this into account or did not hate this we see in rachel also having an affectionate affinity towards jacob jacob being the one that will stay at home tend to the sheeps and be in the tents he was more kinder more attentive to her needs brothers and sisters as we raise children in our homes favoritism is not to be tolerated or to be practiced we see the disastrous effect in this family and also in jacob's family when you think about joseph and his brothers we must take heed of the warnings that are in the bible such that we do not repeat them ourselves we see in esso esau that at this time he would go out into the world he would do his own things jacob would be at home now both esau and jacob were given or were told the promises of the birthright the birthright that was given to abraham in genesis 12 and also repeated in genesis 17. we know that esau loved instant blessings he discounted the inherent inheritance of god and he would seek worldly gratifications do we find ourselves as christians behaving like israel do we find ourselves discounting what the lord has presented to us as heirs of the throne and use or choose worldly goods and pleasures are we christians who would rather spend time away from the word of god and not hold on to the promises that is given to us do we spend our life do we spend our health do we spend our our time chasing things that have no eternal relevance we must come to acknowledgement that we must know who we are we are a royal priesthood called by god to live according to his word jacob on the other hand though not in line as a birthright was going to go to the firstborn had been told by his mother about the angel's message with solemn consideration and concentration he studied he took into account all that isaac had told him with respect to the birthright and what it brought with him now the birthright was twofold it had a spiritual aspect to it it also had a material aspect to it the spiritual aspect of it was that you would find that there was a promise of the offsprings that whoever was going to hold the birthright would have children as many as the sand a nation would be born from them number two is that the land was to be given to them they will be the possessor of the land promised to abraham and then there's a blessing upon themselves with respect to prosperity and the lord's hand upon their lives and the nations all nations of the world shall be blessed through them through the messiah that was going to be the line that was coming through them the birthright was by tradition due to the firstborn and the one who received it would be the priest of the family of the family will be in line for his prosperity and the redeemer in which the redeemer of the world will come and there were obligations to this one had to be a priest one had to rely on god one had to be obedient to the divine requirements and also in all aspects of their life in their marriage in the families in their family relations in public life he would have to consult the will of god a self-indulgent unrestrained freedom and feasting and reveling whether happiness were happiness to esau and he did not see any benefit in the birthright we see in genesis again if you turn your bibles to me in genesis 25 verse verse 27 that esau became a skilled hunter as i have said he as the boys grew up eso became a skilled hunter a man of the open field while jacob was the kind of man who liked to stay at home isaac loved eso in particular because of the world game he brought home but rebecca favored jacob one day verse 29 when jacob was cooking some stew lisa arrived home exhausted and hungry from the hunt eso said to jacob i'm starved give me some of that red stew you've made jacob replied all right but trade me your birthright for it verse 32 look i am dying of starvation esau said what good is my breath right to me now so jacob insisted well then swear to me by now swear to me right now that it's mine so iso swore an oath thereby selling all his rights as a first born to his younger brother then iso gave him so some of their bread and little stew he saw it and drank and went about his business indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright now when you think about it how hungry was iso to give up his birthright for a bowl of lentils how hungry are we to give up the eternal things that god has provided for us for those of lentils that are around us today it might be a job that requires you to work on the sabbath it might be a job that doesn't require you to work on the sabbath but to compromise your principles it might be a tender where you have to pay someone in a brown envelope under the table it might be a compromising situation for worldly gains what do we exchange our eternal life for our birthright as heirs to the throne eso could have easily gone into his father's tents and gotten food but this shows that he had so much indifference to this his birthright he swore he swore to give it to jacob but we'll see later that this that even his word of oath was not binding to him now when we go into verse 20 chapter 27 of genesis we see that isaac is now old and almost blind and he calls to his son esau and he says now in verse 2 of 27 i am an old man now isaac said and i expect any day to be my last take your bow and quiver of arrows into the open country and heart some wild game for me prepare it just the way i like it so it's savory and good and bring it here for me to eat then i'll pronounce a blessing that belongs to you my first born before i die now take into cognizance that three things were demonstrated to isaac before he made this statement statement number one was the prophecy that the lord had given to rebecca the older shall serve the younger the second one was a demonstration of the life of esau isaac was not unaware of the behavior and patterns of esau remember after esau sold the birthright he went and married two canaanite women which is contrary against the the the birthright holder he chose to live a life that was to self and not to god isaac ignored that the third aspect was the interest that jacob had shown with respect to the birthright and concentration to that so bearing all of these in mind he decided to call his son in secret normally the birthright was conferred upon the first born son in a big ceremony it was not a secretive matter it was a big ceremony but in this case isaac wanted to do something in secret because he knew that jacob and east and and his mother might protest with respect to that eso goes out to go and do the hunt and rebecca overhears this now i'll take some time to read through this because this is the key text and this is the burden that jacob carried through as he came back once he was in exile verse 5 says but rebecca overheard the conversation so when iso left to hunt for the wild game she said to her son i overheard your father asking esau to prepare him a delicious meal of wild gay meat he wants to bless eso in the lord's presence before he dies now my son to do exactly as i tell you go out to the flock and bring me two fine goats i prepare your father's favorite dish from them take the food to your father then he can eat and bless you instead of eso before he dies i'll leave that there there's a point i like to bring across i think i touched on it before that we as fathers bless our children and these blessings can only be bestowed once your life dead people cannot bless bless you verse 11 but mother jacob replied he will not be fooled that easily think how hairy eso is and how smooth my skin is what if my father touches me he'll see that i'm trying to trick him then he'll curse me instead of blessing me verse 13 let the curse fall on me my dear son rebecca said do do just what i tell you go and get the goats so jacob followed the mother's instructions bringing her the two goats she took them cooked a delicious meal just the way isaac liked it she took isa's best clothes which were in the house and dressed jacob with them she made a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats and fastened the strip of the gold's skin around his neck then she gave him the meat with its rich aroma and some freshly baked bread verse 18 jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said my father yes my son he answered who is it he saw o jacob jacob replied it is eso your son i've done i've done as you have told me here's the world game that you've cooked cook the way i like it sit up and eat so that you can give me your blessing isaac asked in verse 20 how were you able to find it so quickly because the lord your god put it in front of my path jacob replied then isaac said to jacob come over here i want to touch you to make sure you're really eso so jacob went over to his father and isaac touched him the voice is jacob's but the hands are eso isaac said to himself the voice is jacob's but the hands are esau's we have the words and the actions we have the words and the actions in john first in john chapter one in the beginning was the word in the beginning was the word and the word came and wrote among us that's the first chapter in the first the same chapter verse 14. okay so we see here at economy we see a distrust or a disconnect in the terms that we have the voice and the hands being different the voice is that of jacob but their hands are that of eso are we having a christian voice at the hands of something else do we find ourselves professing to be christians but our actions are otherwise what do we hold on to do we hold on to the voice only or do we take on the actions too like jesus he came as the word what he professed to be is what he was he came and died for us on the cross of calvary galatians 5 19 talks about the the fruits of the flesh and we see now that what are we demonstrating in our lives do we find ourselves tied down to the old life do we find ourselves in a way always going back to our old deeds and actions i pray that we may be delivered and that our actions and deeds may speak the same thing and they may not be disconnected his hands and his voice may our hands and our voice be one may they not be disconnected then jacob came then i'll read from 23. but he did not recognize jacob because james hams felt hairy just as eso so isaac pronounced a blessing on his son are you really my son he asked of course jacob replied then isaac said now my son bring me meat i will eat and i'll give you my blessing okay so j isaac at the food and then he jacob isaac gave jacob the blessing and this is a blessing before that he healed him close and to smell him and he says in verse 29 may many nations come from your servant may you be the master of your brothers may all your mother sons bow lord before you all who curse you are cursed and who bless you are blessed as soon as i get isaac had blessed jacob almost before jacob had left his tent esau returned from his hunting trip iso prepared his father's favorite dish and brought it to him and said i'm back father i have one game sit up and eat so you may give me the blessing but isaac asked him who are you who are you why it's me of course he replied it is your son esau it is eso your eldest son isaac began to tremble uncontrollably he realized the trickery that had gone through with rebecca and jacob but he also realized that this was the will of god to bestow upon him as a prophecy had been given your brother was here and he tricked me he has carried away your blessings esau said italy no wonder his name is jacob for he has deceived me twice taking my birthright now stealing my blessing oh haven't you saved even one thing for me i'd like us to turn to josiah josiah 12. verse 4 sorry not how they are let's go to let's go to hebrews 12 verse 14. hebrews 12 is 14 hebrews 12 14 to 17 it says working at working at peace work at living in peace with everyone and work at living a holy life for those who are not holy will not see the lord verse 15 look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of god watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you you to trouble you and corrupt many things 16. make sure that no one is immoral or godless like you who traded like iso who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal i'll read 16 again make sure that no one is immoral or godless like eso who traded his birthright as a firstborn son for a single meal you know that afterwards when he wanted his father's blessing he was rejected it was too late for repentance even though he begged with bitter tears so brothers and sisters let us not reject what god has put before us in terms of the promises of redemption the promises that are set before when christ came to die for us christ came as a savior of the world and we are inheritors we are brothers with him we sit with him in heavenly places but we see in this instance that esau now finds himself in a position where his blessing has been taken away do we find ourselves in places where we think we are in the right we look at jacob also having a knowledge of god and knowledge of god but he still thought by himself by his own trickery or by his own workings he'll be able to take matters into his own hands do we as christians though knowing that we are in the right do things in the wrong way do we plan do we make plans to help god achieve his word do we try presumptuously to do things that god has promised for us when we know we shouldn't we see this in in both we see this in in jacob in what he did for what in what he did by tricking his father now when we go through the text we see that eso very angry with this becomes enraged and makes a vow he swears that he's going to kill his brother as soon as his father dies esau swears he vows that he's going to have his vengeance upon his brother rebecca on hearing this decides she has to send jacob back to our hometown back to kanaharan now one thing we must take into account is that now you see a situation where the family is divided there's deception in the home there's division and jacob now is sent away but before he's sent away isaac comes and reconfirms the blessing upon him he comes to him and reconfirms the blessing upon him and prays that he may not marry any of the canaanite women and that he may hold all the principles of god through while traveling on the way he left bathsheba travelling towards haran at sundown he came to a place and set up camp now jacob was in a state of exile he felt like an outcast can you imagine everything that you knew you have left behind he knew that he had done wrong he had deceived his father the guilt weighed heavily upon him and he was now in the darkness in a place that he was not familiar with there were marooning tribes that were walking all around they could have attacked him at any time he felt the pain and the burden of his sin he felt ashamed to pray to god but he reached out to god and prayed to him and he slept and in as he slept he saw a vision verse 12 of chapter 28 of genesis says he slept and he dreamed of a stairway that reached from heaven to earth he saw the angels of god going up and down from it now we know at this point jacob had not experienced the lord for himself as sister kombu said sometimes we become familiar with word with with with heavenly things but we don't have a personal experience with them we don't have a bethel moment in which we cry out to the lord and seek his face we crowd to the lord in anguish knowing that there's nothing of us that we can bring to the lord everything that we have is but filthy rags but the lord is there to comfort us the lord is a faithful covenant keeper he keeps his covenants even though we don't and in this vision that he saw our reading you're hearing at the top of the stairwell verse 13 the lord stood and he said i am the lord your god of your father abraham and the god of your father isaac the ground on which you are lying on belongs to you i will give it to you and your descendants your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth they will cover the land from the east to the west from the north to the south all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants once more i'll be with you i'll protect you wherever you go i will someday bring you back safely to this land i will be with you constantly until i finish giving you everything i have promised jacob woke up and said surely this is a the lord is in this place and set up an and an altar there now do we have these moments in our lives where we can look back and reflect as christians where we have milestones in our lives and recognize where god has led us and where he is taking us from these milestones in our lives stand as anchors in our faith whenever we have times of trouble whenever we feel that we are disheartened or discouraged how do we as those called children of god hold up these better moments do we take time to be grateful to have gratitude towards god and what he's done for us remember the most grievous sin that the children of israel had when they are traveling from egypt to canine was the sin of ingratitude are we gracious are we grateful for what god has done for us in our lives do we have that breath of moment upon which we can see where god has led us now as god as jacob was was there in the vision he saw the ladder and revealed to him were snippets of the connection of christ to the earth as you'd know during the four at the four we were disconnected from god and christ himself says in john chapter 1 verse 51 that to nathanael that you shall see angels descending and ascending upon the son of man christ is that connection between us and the lord christ is our mediator christ is our brother for his affirmatives we have been made whole most assuredly i say unto you hereafter you shall see heaven open up an angels descending and ascending upon the son of man the whole plan the plan of redemption was given to jacob and he grew in earnest and realized that what an honor and a privilege he has having been chased away from home having been in despair carrying only a staff with him he set forth to the new land of haran to meet up with his mother's relatives but before he did that he said he could see that the lord was with him and with with the conviction in his hands in his heart he said to them that he's going to give a tenth of everything that he has we cannot enjoy the benefits that the lord has given to us without returning to him we cannot be vessels that only take but do not receive as we know the work of the gospel is done by men and we need the resources to bring everything together so that the kingdom of god the message of the kingdom of god may spread abroad and hasten jesus soon coming jacob was not seeking here to make terms with god god had already promised him prosperity and this vow was out of the outflow of the heart what shall i render to jehovah for all the benefits that is given to me psalms 116 12 we must recognize our sins repent and plead with god for our forgiveness and and be rested assured in their love what can separate us from the love of christ what can separate us from the love of christ what shall we say about the wonderful things that god has given to us if god is for us who can be against us romans 8 3 as christians we need to have that bethel experience a place of reflection a place where we recognize what god has done in our lives we need to meditate upon the covenant choices of covenant promises that is given to us holding on to them all the time so jacob proceeded to laban and met up with rachel where he in contrast to 100 years past came with their staff he was not in an entourage like his grandfather's servant he was just a lonely wanderer he introduced himself to rachel and he was welcomed into the hand of laban it became pretty evident that jacob was blessed jacob was blessed he came with justice staff but ladman recognized within him that he had the ability to nurture and care for the flock we see jacob working for laban and laban in turn asking him what can i do for you they came to an agreement to betroth rachel for labor of seven years those seven years went by in the flesh and at the end of those seven years when the ceremony was supposed to happen we see jacob tricked by laban and leia was presented to him in the morning it came about that he discovered this deception now there are many things that come back to us and i know we we should be weary of what we do there is a tendency of things that we do happening back to us laban tricked her tricked him and leah was given instead he worked for another seven years for rachel so in total he worked for 14 years for laban now during this time with laban jacob's wealth increased he was blessed abundantly and this brought about jealousy from laban and from his sons we noticed that jacob's skill set as a as a shepherd is reflected in the bible in genesis 31 22. so laban pursues jacob in genesis 31 22 okay he goes in and tells him that he goes in and tells him why did you run away with your my children and my grandchildren he goes on and discourse of asking him about the idols that we're missing we know in a very special way that that that jacob was not an idolater he had no business or he had no inclination towards idolatry worship but at the end of the day when laban had failed to find the idols because rachel had been sitting on them in verse 36 jacob becomes very angry and demands what did you find he demanded what is my crime you've chased me as though i was a criminal you have searched through everything i own now show me what you have found and what belongs to you set it out here in front of us before our relatives so for all to see let them decide who's the real owner now in verse 38 he says 20 years i've been with you and and all that time i've cared for your sheep and your goats they produced healthy offsprings in those years i never touched a single ram i showed them all to you and you reduced i never reduced this the stock the count of your stock let me read that again 20 years i've had been with you all that time i cared for your sheep and the goats so they produce healthy offspring in all those years i never touched a single realm of yours if anywhere attacked and killed by a wild animal and i and i showed them to you did i ask you to reduce the count from your stock no i took the loss you made me pay for every animal stolen from the flock whether it was my fault or not i worked through the scorching heat of the day through this cold and sleepless nights yes 20 years 40 of them earning your two daughters and six to get the flock and you have reduced my you reduced my wages ten times in fact except for the grace of god the god of my father abraham the all inspiring god of my father isaac you would have sent me off without a penny but god has seen your cruelty and my hard work this is why he's appeared to you last night to vindicate you we see the blessing that god had bestowed upon jacob we see that laban had set out with evil intentions towards jacob but we also see that here we have a parallel with christ christ the good shepherd christ is the good shepherd and his sheep shall know him by his voice we know that christ says in john chapter 5 john chapter 10 i surely i say unto you anyone who speaks sneaks over the wall to a sheepfoot rather go through the gate must surely be a thief and a robber for a shepherd enters through the gate the gatekeeper opens the door for him and the sheep hear his voice and come to him he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them brothers and sisters we are all in charge of the flock as peter first peter 5 verse 1 says that we are all partakers in the shepherdhood of christ him being the chief shepherd are we looking after our flock are we taking heed like jacob would in the cold in the heat in times where things are tribulus are troubled and there's anxiety all around are we looking after those that are in our care are we looking after the flock of god those that do not know christ but you have a spiritual influence over them do we take into hearts that we are shepherds and we shall be held accountable for those that god places us we must take into cognizance that wherever we are at we are like the light we do not put the light underneath the basket we are supposed to shine so wherever we are we influence wherever we are we have sheep of god that need to be brought back into the fold brothers and sisters we need to be taking this serious time is short the world is about to end jacob the good shepherd christ the good shepherd speaks to us that we should be the ones to spread the gospel spread the word it's not upon ourselves to sit here in church enjoy the words and the message but not reach out to other people not reach out in a way where we can impact their lives asking the holy spirit to imbue upon them the heaviness of the state of the world where we're standing now are the last days when jacob set out to go back home his heart was troubled but the lord has reassured him in a dream that it was time for him to go he was troubled with the thoughts of eso he was troubled with the thoughts of eso's vengeance remember he had been in exile for 20 years now he did not know what eso's disposition towards him would be he did not know what he was going to find but he remembered bethel again an anchor in his face he remembered bethel and the promises that god had given to him these promises stated that he shall be brought back to the land and that he shall own the land he shall be washed over the lord shall kindly smile upon him now one of the things that we should know is that the lord fights our battles we see with laban before lebanon actually approached jacob he had a vision and the vision oh god spoke to him and told him do not speak good or evil to jacob do not harm him or do not persuade him to come back let him be many at times we find ourselves in situations where we reach out to the lord and we think that it's only our doing that is happening but the lord is working for us in the background he's speaking to that individual he's speaking into that problem he's speaking into that situation that you find yourself in he's opening doors he's closing other doors he's making a path smooth and straight for you times are difficult times are hard but let us rest assured in what the lord has provided for us he has given his promises that he shall be with us no matter what we know may not be dismayed watch our separate us from the love of god what shall separate us from the love of god nothing shall separate us now with the doubts and misgivings that he had and the sin of the deception of his father ever before him jacob with a heavy heart started to travel back to his homeland now it was not an easy thing if you would imagine now jacob had now amassed wealth he now had wives children so it was not on his own that he traveled now he traveled in an entourage or in a in a a camp of sorts we see in chapter we see in chapter 32 of genesis that jacob and his household started on their way again and the angels god encompassed them one in front and one behind when we walk in the lord let us rest assured that god sends his angels for us he is always there he'll be in front of us and behind us making the way for us and protecting us from behind now jacob's trepidation and his fear grabbed him and he gives and offers a prayer to the lord he offers a prayer to the lord but before that he tries to do everything in his power to appease esau he sends a messenger to eso and the messenger is given peculiar wordings very peculiar wordings or very specific wordings now jacob sends his messages to his brother and he says give this message to my master esau humble greetings from your servant jacob i have been living with uncle laban until recently and now i own oxen donkeys sheep goats and many servants both men and women i've sent these messages messengers to you to inform you of my coming hoping that you'll be friendly to us the messengers returned with the news that esau was on his way with an army of 400 men there was no reply there was just a report from the messengers we sent your message we said your message so the message jacob sent was there to appease esau to tell him that listen i'm not coming for the wealth that we had with our father i have my own wealth i'm not coming for that i am settled i'm sorted out and kindly look upon me but now the message that comes back is a non-verbal message it's 400 men traveling now think about it esau was basically jacob was basically a shepherd he had his wives he had his children he had his servants he had donkeys he had oxen he had animals he was not a warring party he had no way of defending himself against 400 men the message returned with the news that esau was on his way to meet jacob with an army of 400 men jacob was terrified at the news he divided his household along with the flocks and the herds and the camels into two camps he thought if eso attacks one camp perhaps the other can escape do we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place what's our first reaction do we try and make plan b plan c plan d or do we fall upon our knees and call on upon the lord jacob offers a prayer and in this prayer he says o lord of my grandfather abraham and my father isaac oh lord you told me to return to my land and to my relatives and you promised to treat me kindly verse 10 i am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown me your servant when i left home i owned nothing but a walking stick and now my household fills two camps oh lord please rescue me from my brother esau i'm afraid he's coming to kill me along with my wives and children but you promised to treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore too many to count jacob stayed there for the night and prepared a present to eso now i don't know how many of you have actually heard that cattle or been where there's livestock but there's an impressive list that's given here verse 14 8 verse 13 jacob stayed there and he was where he was for the night and prepared a present for esau 200 female goats 20 male goats 200 ewes 20 rams 30 camels with their young 40 cows 10 bulls 20 donkeys and 10 male donkeys he told the seven to lead them ahead each group of animals itself separated by a distance between them then he gave these instructions to the men leading the first group when you meet eso he will ask where are you going whose servants are these and whose animals are those you will be you would reply these belong to your servant jacob and their present for his master eso he's coming right behind us jacob gave the same instructions to each of the herdsmen and told them you are to say the same thing to esau when you see him and make sure you say your servant jacob is right behind us with the presence before meeting him perhaps jacob hoped he will be friendly to us so the presence was sent ahead and jacob spent the night in the camp now you see again here jacob trying to do to put things in his own hands he sent a messenger with a message he sent gifts now he might call them a bribe of sorts to eso but then he still has the trepidation he still does not have the comfort in hearts he is still troubled at river jabock he sends his family across the river and remains to pray in the camp alone as he prays as he prays and agonizes with god he feels a hand coming upon him thinking it's the enemy he grabs on to the person and they wrestle the whole night they struggle and struggle neither of them getting the mastery of the other until dawn comes now jacob as you remember the name jacob is a name meaning trickster supplanter are we carrying names that define who we are and not what god tells us we are as dawn approached the man said let me go for it is dawn but jacob panted i will not let you go until you bless me jacob realized at the time the man disjointed his hip that this was not just a normal man for his superhuman strength would have overcome him but he realized that this was a messenger from god and he held on to this messenger of god before him was all his sins all his anxieties all his doubts everything that was in in in his heart that troubled him he came opening up having confessed his sins being reconciled to god he wanted assurances of his forgiveness in verse 28 it says your name will no longer be called jacob let me start 27 what is your name the man asked he replied jacob your name will no longer be jacob the man told it is now israel because you have struggled with both god and man and you have won what is your name what is your name we are called to be priests we are called servants of god we are called sons and daughters of god no longer shall the past have a grip on us we see jacob moving forth now with the new name and the assurances that god had given him remember bethel remember bethel remember what the lord has done for you where he has taken you and brought you back jacob was limping now but in that limp he had assurances of what god had done for him and he was ready now to meet esau having had the tributation of his sin always before him his his deception of his father stealing of the birthright he now knew assuredly that the lord was with him and that the lord would guide him in everything that he does moving forward he felt no fear as he approached esau and his band of 400 men he knew that the lord was with him in this time that we live here now with covet with the troubles that we face with everything that's going on in our lives do we know are we assured of god's grace for us have we come to a point where we've wrestled with the problems we've wrestled with anxieties we've wrestled with the mental anguish that we have experienced and come to a place of acknowledgement of god in our lives how we put christ as center in our lives him being the savior and only him he is the only one that matters think about it 100 years from now if the law does not return all of us will be asleep what would matter then would your job matter would the house that you have mata will the car that you drive mata the only thing that will matter will be christ and christ alone have you accepted him as your personal savior have you taken christ at his word that he will make a new creature of you if you accept him as your personal savior have you been redeemed and have you been restored to where christ wants us to be have you taken hold of the promises that god has for us in everything that is done the time of jacob's trouble is a time where god's professed children shall be in doubt of god's providence as revelations 21 verse 11 says he whose who he who was just remain just and he who is unjust remain unjust and the winds shall blow of tribulation the time is coming that we will find ourselves faced with challenges challenges that are not known to us now are we like jacob going to hold true to what he has given to us what the lord has promised us that he shall be with us he's promised us a crown of life he's promised to be with us to see us through the tribulations that will be going through there comes a time when us as children of god should come to a decision a pivotal decision in our lives and say who shall we serve this day will we serve man or will we serve god will we have our hearts invested in what god has told us to do or shall we still be tossed about by the waves of this world's troubles this brings me to our key verse of jacob of genesis 3 verse 4. we see esau running towards jacob it reminds me of the prodigal son we see the father running towards the sun that was lost the sun that went away to squander the wealth that had no disregard for the father the father's health he just wanted his wealth and go and do what he wanted to do with it are we like the prodigal son are we lost and know that we are lost we should come to recognition that god comes and he runs towards us no matter our situation no matter where we are at god runs towards us eso had been visited during the night he had been shown the troubles that jacob had gone through he had been shown the grief that he had had as you know the last time jacob saw his mother was when he was exiled she died without she died without him seeing her eso ran towards jacob that that was a threat that that was scary in his life becomes the welcoming party to jacob can you see how wonderful the lord is in terms of how he changes things around things that we think will prosecute us are the ones that actually come and welcome us we find ourselves thinking to this now that sometimes we look at individuals in a strange way they might not bless your life or there might be tribulations but remember they are all candidates of heaven they are all worthy for heaven's gates jesus died for those people so let us reach out to everyone that's around us with the love of christ let us not be like jacob before his conversion and seek and seek godly things in a wrong way jacob would have achieved his birthright through god's ways he did not need to trick isaac in conclusion i like to say that as christians as professors of the faith times are hard but the lord is with us he carries us through all the tribulations that we may go through he is there he is but a prayer our way we see that jacob took his problems to the lord in prayer and got a result brothers and sisters i pray to you that whichever tribulations you're going through take courage have joy know that the lord is with us is it not joyful to know that the lord is with us the creator of the universe and the earth he knows who you are he knows you by name he knows your cares he knows your worries he takes time to light your individual path in the ways of righteousness he has a plan for you and for me to come into his forward may we ask for the holy spirit to guide us in everything that we do may we turn our eyes upon jesus may he be our soul focus as we wait for his soon coming amen thank you elder andrew for that practical and timely message how does the church respond amen amen amen um as i asked the praise and team to come up front and give us a closing song i would also want to thank them for [Music] the service that they have rendered today and i think they've blessed us in song i think we all agree with that i'd also want to thank the team behind the scenes the cameramen the guys that are doing the production and the guys at the control i also want to thank the diaconate for the service that they've offered us and everyone else that has been of service today may god richly embrace your ministry amen number 286 286 in our in our christian song not available i'm being reminded that we need to stand you know when you haven't been in church in a long time you forget just then the dining room there [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] oh is [Music] [Music] shall we bow our heads in prayer almighty jehovah we thank you lord for this glorious day lord a day that we can call upon your name lord and be saved we come to you father lord asking for the outpouring of the holy spirit upon the congregants and those that are watching lord to strengthen us lord and lead us in your parts of righteousness lord we commit the congregation lord into your hands lord you are the good shepherd and your sheep know your voice we pray for the lord that we may heed your voice and come to you we pray in a special way lord for all those that are going through bereavements and troubles lord that you may be with them and draw closer to them lord we know lord that it's a joy that we counted to call upon your name and it's only through you lord that we are able to be saved we thank you for jesus christ our brother our savior lord that he came to show us the way the truth and the light he is the path that we must follow we pray father lord that those that have not committed their lives to jesus lord may make that decision today that they may come to recognition of the need the desire of nation's lord which is christ [Music] may you soften their hearts may they welcome him in as he knocks at their door father as we disperse we pray you may not disperse us from your blessings but be with us all as the programs further continue bless us today in jesus name we pray amen amen amen the bless service has been truly a blessing and i believe that the four things that god had asked us to do we've done and we look forward to the three blessings that he promises as we prepare to file out the dear connect with us ask that you please remain in your seats and then they will file you out um the team will sing a song as we file out but just a couple of reminders please remember to register for the business meeting you will get a whatsapp message and please follow the instructions there and then register for the meeting on the 2nd of october thank you very much for coming and may the lord bless you the compliance committee would also remind you to please not to congregate when you go outside when you go outside please go straight to your cars and drive off the stage site thank you very much and we hope to see you again next summer as we file out uh we pray that you were edified by the praise and worship and that uh you were edified by the sermon as well next week same time same place [Music] [Applause] [Music] do [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] god foreign [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] see [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] do [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Sandton Adventist Church

Views: 3,484

Rating: 4.96 out of 5

Keywords: Sandton, Seventh-day Adventist, Church, Adventist, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2021, African Hymns, Ndikhokele, I Remember Calvary, Nathan Sundayi, Aya Solombela, Setumo Seroka, Ayanda Bandla, Ofentse Togoe, Lindile Ngcobo, Sam Ibeh, Karabo Moeketsi, Chad Alexander, Andrew Singosho, Asisoze Si Valelise, All The Way My Saviour Leads Me, Bear Me On, Masibulele KuYesu, Tarhu Bawo, Konyana Ya Modimo

Id: WwyXxGn0kUQ

Length: 198min 45sec (11925 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 25 2021