Speaker 1: Welcome Just hand Away Tagalog Sermon Podcast, your daily dose
Speaker 1: of inspiring from heartfelt tagalog sermons from different pastors and
Speaker 1: speakers all over the Philippines. We hope that this podcast
Speaker 1: finds you in good shape. And now here's your message.
Speaker 1: Welcome to our five PM service. My name is Pastor Francis.
Speaker 1: Thank you Pastor Larry for reminding us that it is
Speaker 1: the God that we have who is in charge not
Speaker 1: only of our finances, but our entire being. We are
Speaker 1: continuing our series entitled The Gospel Explained, and we are
Speaker 1: starting chapter nine. We're actually going through three chapters today
Speaker 1: and that is a lot to cover, but I believe
Speaker 1: this is a very timely word for all of us Romans.
Speaker 1: Chapter nine to eleven. You know, when we talk about
Speaker 1: a book of Romance, we know this, and we've been
Speaker 1: preaching about this for the past fifteen weeks, almost majority
Speaker 1: of our year. We have told you that this book
Speaker 1: is actually a way for us to understand what the
Speaker 1: gospel really is. Chapter one to eight talks about how
Speaker 1: God has intervened in our lives. It's our personal walk
Speaker 1: with Him that we cannot be saved to our own
Speaker 1: efforts and as Paul, the author of this book, transitions
Speaker 1: not only for what we have experience in Christ, our
Speaker 1: personal walk with Him. Now he begins to talk about
Speaker 1: how God can use us. From chapter nine onwards, it's
Speaker 1: a discussion on how it is to be a believer.
Speaker 1: Not only that we are believers with a personal relationship
Speaker 1: with God, but we are also believers that God can
Speaker 1: use for the glory in the advancement of His kingdom.
Speaker 1: I always say this in a lot of my preachings,
Speaker 1: that Christianity is personal, but it's not. And so I
Speaker 1: believe that this world is for all of us. You know,
Speaker 1: the life that we are living today is all about ourselves.
Speaker 1: The world has been pushing and teaching us that we
Speaker 1: need to take care of ourselves, that we need to
Speaker 1: make sure that we have settled in in this pandemic.
Speaker 1: But you know what, we can be a blessing to
Speaker 1: people around us. And so Paul starts chapter nine with
Speaker 1: this very passionate chapter. For me, it says, with Christ
Speaker 1: as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness my conscience
Speaker 1: and the Holy Spirit confirms it. What was Paul talking about.
Speaker 1: He's saying that I am not lying. This is very important.
Speaker 1: This is a serious matter. And I know that God
Speaker 1: is the one who has given this burden to me.
Speaker 1: And what is he talking about? Verse two, It says,
Speaker 1: my heart is filled with bitter sorrow and an ending grief.
Speaker 1: What are the things that would actually give you bitter
Speaker 1: sorrow and then and ending grief? Probably for you, just
Speaker 1: like what Pastor Larry was sharing a while ago. It
Speaker 1: might be a loss of a love and a loss
Speaker 1: of a business, a loss of something that is personal
Speaker 1: to us. But we see here Paul actually tells us
Speaker 1: that the feeling of that bitter sorrow and an ending grief,
Speaker 1: he gives us the reason. Verse three, it says for
Speaker 1: my people. He is going through that grief, that sorrow
Speaker 1: for his people, not for what he is going through.
Speaker 1: It says, for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters,
Speaker 1: I would be willing to be forever cursed. Imagine Paul
Speaker 1: was saying this all Wai Land, that I will be
Speaker 1: forever cursed, cut off from Christ if that would save them.
Speaker 1: Although Paul knows that this is not the way to
Speaker 1: save people. It's not a negotiation between God that he
Speaker 1: would not say, Lord, I will give my life for
Speaker 1: my brothers just to save them and mean not to
Speaker 1: be saved. What he's saying is that this is the
Speaker 1: emotion that he would do anything, in everything so that
Speaker 1: his brothers and sisters, the Jewish believers, would be saved.
Speaker 1: He is a Jew and we know this. He is
Speaker 1: a Roman citizen as well. So as he continues this letter,
Speaker 1: we know that there's that compassion. We know that he
Speaker 1: is thinking about the people who are lost. We say
Speaker 1: this the people who are outside the walls of church,
Speaker 1: the people who do not know Jesus Christ. And so
Speaker 1: a good question to ask each and every one of
Speaker 1: us today. And this is my prayer. Now, if you're
Speaker 1: watching this live, I want you to be honest with me.
Speaker 1: Have you asked this question for the past few weeks,
Speaker 1: or past few months, or even during this pandemic? And
Speaker 1: this is the question, do we have compassion for people
Speaker 1: outside the four walls of church? Do we still have
Speaker 1: compassion for the people who do not know who Jesus is?
Speaker 1: You know I moved from and a lot of you
Speaker 1: know this. For the people who attend my service before,
Speaker 1: I always share this that there was a season in
Speaker 1: my life that I am on ofw I didn't work
Speaker 1: here in the Philippines. I was based in Cebu, so
Speaker 1: we were Me and my wife are based in Sibu,
Speaker 1: and so we moved back SA Philippines. No, and I
Speaker 1: hope you know that that's only a joke. We moved
Speaker 1: back to Manila, and as soon as we got here,
Speaker 1: the only people we knew were friends from church. I
Speaker 1: was part of Victory Ortiga's way back, and so the
Speaker 1: people that I know in church are the people I
Speaker 1: used to know. And so I got reconnected with the
Speaker 1: Jason and Kat, I got reconnected with a lot of people.
Speaker 1: They introduced me to a lot of new friends here
Speaker 1: in Victory Green Hills, and I realized I was living
Speaker 1: in that bubble. You know, the concept of the bubble
Speaker 1: is very famous now as NBA is living in that bubble.
Speaker 1: Nobody goes in and out. They are protected in that bubble.
Speaker 1: That people should come in are the ones who are
Speaker 1: uninfected with this virus. And so me, during that time,
Speaker 1: I was living in this church bubble that all the
Speaker 1: people that I interact with our people from church, I
Speaker 1: wasn't able to build with or make new friends in office.
Speaker 1: Why because I have my own set of church friends.
Speaker 1: And that's what I was living in this bubble. But
Speaker 1: I realized I have a lot of friends. My high
Speaker 1: school classmates are there. My friends when I was working
Speaker 1: in Manila before I moved to Sebu are here. And
Speaker 1: a lot of people I know do not know who
Speaker 1: Jesus is. Are we still concerned that the people outside
Speaker 1: are friendships in church do not know Jesus? Are we
Speaker 1: actually concerned that they have not experienced this kind of
Speaker 1: life that Christ wants to give us, that life to
Speaker 1: the fullest? Are we concerned that a lot of people
Speaker 1: don't know Jesus? I remember one of my very good friends.
Speaker 1: He's my college friend. He's one of our Victory group
Speaker 1: leaders here in church in Green Hills. His name's Mark Salasar.
Speaker 1: And we got reconnected here in our church in Victory
Speaker 1: green Hills. And Sabina Bro come to church Camataga Kenn
Speaker 1: Kabana say this is his question, Sar, and this is
Speaker 1: what I said. Actually, Bro, I think around my two
Speaker 1: thousand and one or two thousand and two, and this
Speaker 1: is his reply. Impossibly impossibly bad might be possibly saving
Speaker 1: a con Christian alone. But Demman Sag and Sana and
Speaker 1: Dina want to go to ya. Is a boygo as
Speaker 1: people of God. Are we still concerned about people who
Speaker 1: do not know Jesus? Do we have compassion for people
Speaker 1: outside church, just like that compassion that Paul has for
Speaker 1: his brothers, for the people he grew up with, for
Speaker 1: his community, and probably his family. How many of you
Speaker 1: that in your life today you still have family members,
Speaker 1: your best friends, your colleagues, your neighbors, and even your enemies.
Speaker 1: How many of you still believe that they will be
Speaker 1: saved one day? I believe all of us have these
Speaker 1: people in mind. But question is are we moving in
Speaker 1: compassion or are we just saying? Are we just waiting
Speaker 1: for an answered prayer? Lord, save Mozilla, Coundebalad? Do we
Speaker 1: still have that heart for the people around us? As
Speaker 1: we continue verse eight, we have to know and understand
Speaker 1: this reality. In verse eight it says this means that
Speaker 1: Abraham's physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only
Speaker 1: the children of the Promise are considered to be Abraham's Chill.
Speaker 1: What was Paul talking about? Because during those times and
Speaker 1: sometimes until today, the people of Israel believe that they
Speaker 1: are the chosen One, and that is true, but some
Speaker 1: of them feel like yes, because they are part of
Speaker 1: that nation, or that they are descendants of Abraham and
Speaker 1: automatically they are saved. But the Bible says, and Paul
Speaker 1: begins to illustrate this in this chapter, that it is
Speaker 1: true the promised children. You have to understand, during the
Speaker 1: time when Abraham and Sarah received that promise that they
Speaker 1: will have children, they couldn't wait for God to answer
Speaker 1: his prayerings, so they did something on their own. Sabini, Sarah,
Speaker 1: you know parama fulfiledo. I'd like you to have this
Speaker 1: slave girl and you can have a child with her,
Speaker 1: and I could be the mother to that child. But
Speaker 1: you have to understand, God promised that the same time
Speaker 1: next year, Sabini, Lord Chanila, you will have a son.
Speaker 1: And so the promise of God choosing people was through
Speaker 1: the ones, the pin promise and Lord nineteen the glow
Speaker 1: and bio and so what am I saying? And Paul
Speaker 1: was actually telling us this and this is the reality.
Speaker 1: Not everyone will be saved. That is a reality that
Speaker 1: we have to confront, that we are confronted with every day,
Speaker 1: that not everyone will be saved. As we continue, I
Speaker 1: like this the letter of Paul in efficients chapter one,
Speaker 1: verse four, and unfortunately I couldn't read that part. Not
Speaker 1: attack pot that can I borrow a Bible? I want
Speaker 1: to read efficients chapter one verse four, yeh, not this
Speaker 1: orient oy, So stay with me. So if this is
Speaker 1: your first time, please say hi to us, comment cajan
Speaker 1: and so this is only idly, But I believe God
Speaker 1: is speaking to you as I read Efficient chapter one,
Speaker 1: verse four. It says, here, efhicient chapter one, verse four,
Speaker 1: even as He chose us in him before the foundation
Speaker 1: of the world, that we should be holy and blameless
Speaker 1: before him. In Love verse five, he predestined us for
Speaker 1: adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose
Speaker 1: of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace
Speaker 1: with which He has blessed us. In the Beloved Paul
Speaker 1: was talking about that God has chosen the children he
Speaker 1: will save, and I like the energy version. It ends
Speaker 1: in verse five it says this is what he wanted
Speaker 1: to do, and it gave him great pleasure. God chose
Speaker 1: you already, that even before he formed the world, that
Speaker 1: even before creation has been present, he has send you.
Speaker 1: Imagine that the God of the heavens and the Earth
Speaker 1: has already chosen you, has already the plan to save
Speaker 1: you and adopt you. And so a lot of questions arise,
Speaker 1: and that's why Paul discusses this in the entire chapter nine.
Speaker 1: He says, if God chose us already, and these are
Speaker 1: the questions of some of the believers during the time,
Speaker 1: or even the people in during the biblical times, in
Speaker 1: the Roman times, this is the question, if God has
Speaker 1: chosen already, why do we have to still preach the gospel?
Speaker 1: Kumerin and Pini lissi, Lord bindi, why why doesn't he
Speaker 1: choose them based on how they're doing? Panama and ibanam.
Speaker 1: Some ask is Lord, are you fair? Merciful? Cabatalaga, and
Speaker 1: Paul begins to address all these questions. He says in
Speaker 1: verse fourteen to fifteen of chapter nine, he says, and
Speaker 1: are we he saying then that God was unfair? And
Speaker 1: the answer, of course is this, of course not for
Speaker 1: God said to Moses, I will show mercy to anyone
Speaker 1: I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I
Speaker 1: choose verse sixteen. So it is God who decides to
Speaker 1: show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
Speaker 1: Aren't you glad that it's not up to you who
Speaker 1: God saves. Aren't you glad that it's not us? And
Speaker 1: based on our performance, who get saved? We can't come
Speaker 1: to God and say, Lord, go out to that parcel.
Speaker 1: I'm comforted that it is up to God and not
Speaker 1: up to us. And that's why Paul begins to exhort.
Speaker 1: Paul begins to remind all the readers of this chapter,
Speaker 1: and I believe it is also a good reminder to
Speaker 1: all of us. In verse twenty, it says, it says,
Speaker 1: here for the questions that we have in life, for
Speaker 1: the questions that we ask God, Lord, are you faithful
Speaker 1: with your word? Are you fair? Why won't you save
Speaker 1: this person? Why won't you save that person? And this
Speaker 1: is his answer, don't say that? Being in Who are
Speaker 1: you a mere human being to argue with God? Should
Speaker 1: the thing that was created say to the one is created,
Speaker 1: why have you made me like this? Who are we
Speaker 1: to say? Lord? And I believe this is a very
Speaker 1: good reminder to all of us. Why because sometimes we
Speaker 1: act as if maruno pataki, Lord, let that sink in, Lord,
Speaker 1: impossibly lang lao. When we see someone who has hurt
Speaker 1: us inside the church and you go up a mos
Speaker 1: zoom kanper Sometimes you say, Lord Church to a signed
Speaker 1: this person should not be imagine that. Sometimes we base
Speaker 1: it on our own mathematical equation at this person, Dinna
Speaker 1: Hying saved me learn to a this person. It's based
Speaker 1: on the performance of that person, on the things that
Speaker 1: we know. But you have to understand it is the
Speaker 1: Creator who decides and who knows everything about us. I
Speaker 1: just want to remind you, and this might hurt you
Speaker 1: when I say this, and this is also a reality
Speaker 1: in my life. Okay, you have to understand that God
Speaker 1: saved us at our worst. He has saved us and
Speaker 1: chosen us even though he knew we would do all
Speaker 1: those things. But God saved us anyway, and so thank God.
Speaker 1: It is up to him. And so sometimes we have
Speaker 1: to reflect, Lord, is it about me knowing who deserves
Speaker 1: who will be saved? As you continue verse thirty one,
Speaker 1: it says, but the people of Israel, who tried so
Speaker 1: hard to get right with God by keeping the law,
Speaker 1: never succeeded, succeed never succeeded. Yeah, never be succeeded, and
Speaker 1: he succeeded union to me ceased then succeed No, but
Speaker 1: they did not succeed because of their hard headedness, Brian.
Speaker 1: They did not succeed. Why because it was about their performance.
Speaker 1: And Paul was saying, sometimes we are we have our
Speaker 1: own convictions. Some people in our lives are sure that
Speaker 1: they will be saved for as long as I do this,
Speaker 1: for as long as I attend church, for as long
Speaker 1: as I give, for as long as I feed the poor,
Speaker 1: for as long as and these are all religious works,
Speaker 1: and some would actually say almo, para and parana. But
Speaker 1: of kay God, A lot of people in our lives
Speaker 1: have their own concept on how to be saved. A
Speaker 1: lot of people in our lives are convinced that they
Speaker 1: are good people. I was convinced that I was a
Speaker 1: good boy in comparison to the other person. But the
Speaker 1: reality is we are all fallen, we are all sinful.
Speaker 1: The Bible says nobody is good, not even one. Nobody
Speaker 1: is good, not even one. And so Paul was saying
Speaker 1: people were blinded Verse thirty. She says, why not because
Speaker 1: they were trying to get it right with God. The
Speaker 1: people his brothers were trying to get it right with
Speaker 1: God by complying with the law. They were doing this
Speaker 1: and that sabiditol lordo. But instead of trusting in God,
Speaker 1: they stumbled over the great truck in their path. Nobody
Speaker 1: can get through God with personal works. And this is
Speaker 1: sad because a lot of people are fully convinced and
Speaker 1: fully sincere that this is the right way. But unfortunately
Speaker 1: they are fully wrong as well. They are also sincerely wrong.
Speaker 1: Why because it is only through Jesus that anyone can
Speaker 1: be saved. And so for Paul, this is what he's saying,
Speaker 1: regardless of the past of my brothers, regardless of their
Speaker 1: heart headedness. They were hard headed because they did not
Speaker 1: believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They believe that the
Speaker 1: only way to be saved is to do the law.
Speaker 1: This is the ending of Paul that regardless of the challenges.
Speaker 1: First one of chapter ten, he says this, dear brothers
Speaker 1: and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer
Speaker 1: to God is for the people of Israel to be saved,
Speaker 1: regardless of the challenges, regardless of how they think, regardless
Speaker 1: of people who are saying Sagrad nazila, have you experienced
Speaker 1: that I encounter that mero romana even lately, sabos agrad
Speaker 1: pavilion la one impossible, and I would actually be more
Speaker 1: challenged and have that faith in saying, Lord proved this
Speaker 1: person that nobody is a challenge compared to your love
Speaker 1: and kindness. And this is the heart of Paul's having
Speaker 1: a m a save to brothers call for Paul, any
Speaker 1: challenge was nothing compared to this kind of love for others.
Speaker 1: This is the burden that God has given us. Who
Speaker 1: are the people that God is impressing to you right
Speaker 1: now where you are, the people that are close to
Speaker 1: you that don't know Jesus yet. You know, this is
Speaker 1: who we are. This is the church that we belong
Speaker 1: to victory. And what do we do? Two things? We
Speaker 1: honor God with our lives and we make disciples and
Speaker 1: that is our mandate. But more than a mandate, this
Speaker 1: is who we are as people of God. We embrace this,
Speaker 1: that your Christianity, that your walk with Jesus Christ does
Speaker 1: not end with you, That He wants your life to
Speaker 1: be an image of him. He wants your life to
Speaker 1: be sought in light for us to speak up and
Speaker 1: share the love of Jesus to the people around you.
Speaker 1: You know, this church is not an exclusive membership club.
Speaker 1: Indeputaio abasta. We do this o Macfeitaian and get into tag.
Speaker 1: We do this for the people outside and then we
Speaker 1: enclose it with members. Not Tha Thailand. Unfortunately, we are
Speaker 1: not that kind of church that shouldn't be a church
Speaker 1: because a church is a is a place where we
Speaker 1: welcome everyone, regardless of their background, regardless of what they've done.
Speaker 1: They say, the more the many here, the more the
Speaker 1: many year Masaya and why because we celebrate every soul
Speaker 1: that is encountered, that is saved by God. And so
Speaker 1: this is my question. Not only is it important to
Speaker 1: have compassion for others on compassion, No, when you translated
Speaker 1: into germ a burden American parent, you want them to
Speaker 1: know this. And I always have this dream whenever I
Speaker 1: remember people. Not only a dream, no, I not just
Speaker 1: a dream, also a reminder that picture that one day
Speaker 1: when we get into heaven, I will see a few
Speaker 1: friends and say Christian sign Aloneland senas in heavy Moo.
Speaker 1: Are there people in our lives that matter to us
Speaker 1: who don't know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Are
Speaker 1: there still people that we want them to get to
Speaker 1: know who Jesus is so that they can experience that
Speaker 1: life to the fullest. That no pandemic can stop them
Speaker 1: from living a life to the fullest. The more the
Speaker 1: men here. The question is do we have passion to
Speaker 1: share the gospel? Do we have that fire in us
Speaker 1: that we want to share that nobody can stop us?
Speaker 1: The naku sin Jesus in our lives. What's stopping you
Speaker 1: from having that passion in our lives? Is it rejection?
Speaker 1: Is it the mindset that I am possibly neto? What's
Speaker 1: stopping you from inching people closer to God? And how
Speaker 1: are we to be saved? We have to always remind
Speaker 1: ourselves of this. Verse nine of chapter ten, it says,
Speaker 1: if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe
Speaker 1: in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
Speaker 1: you will be saved. And for it is by believing
Speaker 1: in your heart that you are made right with God.
Speaker 1: And it is by openly declaring your faith that you
Speaker 1: are saved. It's not by our own works, it's what
Speaker 1: Christ has done on the cross, and we receive that.
Speaker 1: You know, how will people know this truth? In verse
Speaker 1: nine and ten if nobody preaches to them. Aren't you
Speaker 1: glad that God save not only the people that he
Speaker 1: promised salvation to the people of God, the chosen people
Speaker 1: of God, but even the gentiles tie you put you
Speaker 1: on that He has opened it, that He is saving
Speaker 1: all of those He has chosen Gentiles and Jews. We
Speaker 1: need to take this to heart, that God has chosen
Speaker 1: you and that God is the only one who can
Speaker 1: save you through Jesus Christ. You know, it's good that
Speaker 1: we continue to pray for people. Am I continue to
Speaker 1: pray for the people in your lives, but it's also
Speaker 1: good to start speaking to them about the good news.
Speaker 1: Mean said, no, say Lord, ohy, praise. I want you
Speaker 1: to speak. I want you to show. I want you
Speaker 1: to demonstrate my love for them. That is a challenge
Speaker 1: for us believers, because this is who we are. It
Speaker 1: doesn't end with us. We are a channel of blessing.
Speaker 1: We are the hands and feet of Jesus to this world.
Speaker 1: And I hope you guys are excited that God is
Speaker 1: impressing these people that wants or that needs to hear this.
Speaker 1: If that's you impress you learn you just type it
Speaker 1: there in our chat back. That's me God is impressing someone.
Speaker 1: Might be someone who have you have lost touch with.
Speaker 1: It might be your mom, it might be your dad,
Speaker 1: your siblings, someone that you know from the office, someone
Speaker 1: that you've encountered in the grocery. Now you want to
Speaker 1: go back and share the love of God. I know
Speaker 1: that this is not from you, but this is from God.
Speaker 1: You know. God's plan is for us to be his
Speaker 1: mouth peace to the world. God's plan is to use
Speaker 1: his children to preach the gospel. We're actually going to
Speaker 1: talk about this more next week. But this is his
Speaker 1: only plan. By the way, he is not well actually,
Speaker 1: and be the way for him to advance his kingdom
Speaker 1: is through his children. And that is you and me,
Speaker 1: And I hope you guys are excited. You know, in
Speaker 1: this world today, a lot of people are fighting for
Speaker 1: injustice and that's good. A lot of people are fighting
Speaker 1: for human rights. And I got reminded about the book
Speaker 1: of doctor Right Brooks, one of the founders of our church.
Speaker 1: The title of the book is this the Human Right,
Speaker 1: and even the tagline says what the human right is,
Speaker 1: and this is the basic human right in every nation.
Speaker 1: And this is the one to know Jesus and to
Speaker 1: make him known because all the things that we are
Speaker 1: encountering in life, the injustice, the lack, the sickness, whatever
Speaker 1: that is if we know who Jesus is and we
Speaker 1: make him known, that's having that human right because this
Speaker 1: is the most important thing we need in our lives.
Speaker 1: I want to share with you a story about how
Speaker 1: God moves, how God uses people, because some of you
Speaker 1: might think Lord sabidun sur bible efficient sabini pastor you
Speaker 1: have chosen people to save already, and so where does
Speaker 1: freedom of choice come in? But choice slamming to receive you.
Speaker 1: And that's also true. I can't explain it fully because
Speaker 1: this is one of the most difficult things that I
Speaker 1: can explain. But I can share a story that I've
Speaker 1: encountered recently. And this is very recent that this happened
Speaker 1: during the pandemic, I think two weeks ago or just
Speaker 1: last week or last Sunday. There's a story of my
Speaker 1: wife's victory group, Pam, and this is a picture of
Speaker 1: their group. You know, one of the newest members of
Speaker 1: her group who just got connected, messaged it was a schell.
Speaker 1: One of our campus missionaries. I have to make sure
Speaker 1: that my so buried me cell. One of our campus
Speaker 1: missionaries message Adriel and I think I'm nicknamed you know
Speaker 1: ad adrilpelling Adriel. Yeah, so she messaged Adriel. Now Adriel
Speaker 1: actually is part of the Victory family already. She comes
Speaker 1: from our catapun And church. During this time, I think
Speaker 1: she was praying to God and wants to be connected
Speaker 1: here in Green Hills because she's been watching our online services.
Speaker 1: And so she messaged uh cell message Adriel and asked
Speaker 1: her if she wants to get connected, and so she
Speaker 1: said yes. Eight Now Cell messaged Pam, pam Ma, and
Speaker 1: so Pam said, okay, I'll meet with her. I'll connect
Speaker 1: with her through Facebook. You know. As soon as they
Speaker 1: connected in Facebook, they realized they had common friends and
Speaker 1: common friends. And the common friend is one of Pam's
Speaker 1: VG members. Her name is Charlene. And this is where
Speaker 1: the story gets even better. Sharlene is the one in
Speaker 1: the center of the pictures from top to bottom and
Speaker 1: left to right. That's Charlene. She's also one of our
Speaker 1: kids volunteers. So Charlene, when they went into the Zoom
Speaker 1: Victory group they were talking, said, oh, Maccalella, our elementary classmates.
Speaker 1: And so they were catching up and Pam was sharing
Speaker 1: to me this story of how God has moved and
Speaker 1: so guess what, Lisa, the best friend of Charlene is
Speaker 1: the person that Adrian actually shared the gospel too. In
Speaker 1: elementary she near Nani Adrian Young Gospel Kay Lisa and
Speaker 1: the best friend of Charleene. And because she received Christ,
Speaker 1: now she has this burning desire to have her best
Speaker 1: friend safe. So now she shares the gospel to Charlene.
Speaker 1: But guess what nip grispan Moon as Charlene. So after
Speaker 1: a few years, now one of the Victory Group members
Speaker 1: of Pam Weir's back. Her name is Jasmine. She's a
Speaker 1: flight attendant office meet Namagie SI Charlene Charlene f a.
Speaker 1: Then now Jasmine has been praying for Charlene for quite
Speaker 1: some time, encouraging her with probably her Facebook posts and
Speaker 1: talking to her in flights, and one day she asked
Speaker 1: for help. Unfortunately, Jasmine was now connected to a different company,
Speaker 1: Flies International because of the time this Rene. Now she
Speaker 1: gives Charlene to Pam. Now Pam begins to disciple Charlene.
Speaker 1: And now she went through victory again. She accepted Christ.
Speaker 1: Now she's actually doing one to one with someone. Why
Speaker 1: am I sharing this story? You know, there are so
Speaker 1: many times that Charlene actually was shared the gospel Meruma
Speaker 1: seedsland in her life, but she did not respond way back.
Speaker 1: And this is a picture of how God moves. God
Speaker 1: Charlene already even before he has formed the world, and
Speaker 1: He has used Adrian to reach out to put that
Speaker 1: seed to the life of Charlene, has put Jasmine in
Speaker 1: her life and now she is living a life to
Speaker 1: the fullest. You know, we don't know who God will save,
Speaker 1: but are we willing to take the risk not to
Speaker 1: take part in planting the seeds in the people in
Speaker 1: your life? Now? I believe God has been moving his
Speaker 1: hand in their lives already. The question is are we
Speaker 1: responding to the word of God and saying Lord Bah
Speaker 1: coming to Manbah Kami ba share kami bamaka encouraged mmi
Speaker 1: bamac bi blessed. You know this picture. These eight lives
Speaker 1: are interconnected already today, but the reality is God has
Speaker 1: connected them even before forming this world. God has planned
Speaker 1: all this. God has connected each and everyone. And if
Speaker 1: you see eight people one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
Speaker 1: eight women, do you know that these eight women will
Speaker 1: not only have an impact in their lives, it will
Speaker 1: impact more people beyond this Zoom meeting. It will impact
Speaker 1: more generations beyond this lifetime. Why because God is doing
Speaker 1: his work? Why am I sharing this? I believe that
Speaker 1: this is our message for today, that God is sovereign.
Speaker 1: You may not choose him at first. I actually did
Speaker 1: not respond immediately. God will never stop pursuing you. He
Speaker 1: has chosen you. You may say no to him now,
Speaker 1: but he will continue to pursue you because God loves you.
Speaker 1: And that is God's sovereignity in our lives. As we end,
Speaker 1: Paul ends chapter eleven this way. He says, Oh, how
Speaker 1: great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge. How impossible
Speaker 1: it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways.
Speaker 1: A lot of times you will say Lord back and
Speaker 1: Indiana respond Lord but Indian, and yeah, how I planned it?
Speaker 1: But you know what, God is not bound by our
Speaker 1: actions and our timing. He moves in mysterious ways in
Speaker 1: so many ways. Why because He is in control Verse
Speaker 1: thirty four For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who
Speaker 1: knows enough to give him advice? And who has given
Speaker 1: him so much that he needs to pay it back?
Speaker 1: Last verse for everything comes from him and exists by
Speaker 1: his power, and is intended for his glory. All glory
Speaker 1: to Him forever. Amen. You know, when we understand or
Speaker 1: we begin to understand, that God is in control of everything,
Speaker 1: that even the people that you have faith for the
Speaker 1: must save the Lord. That may be the closest people
Speaker 1: in your lives, that may be your spouse, that may
Speaker 1: be your children. You know, believe this God is sovereign
Speaker 1: and in control and that he if He has chosen them,
Speaker 1: he will not give up. He will continue to pursue them.
Speaker 1: He will continue to send people in their lives until
Speaker 1: they come to the saving knowledge of God. The question
Speaker 1: is this, are you willing to take part in what
Speaker 1: God is doing in the lives of the people around us?
Speaker 1: Are you willing to respond? Sometimes it's just a simple
Speaker 1: text and saying you know what, I want to share
Speaker 1: something to you. Why can you Lord? Sometimes it's just
Speaker 1: listening to them for hours and sharing that someone knows
Speaker 1: every tear that they're going through. You know. Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: those small things, it's that seed that is planted. But
Speaker 1: the question is are you willing? Do you have that
Speaker 1: compassion and passion to respond? Just like Paul no excuse k,
Speaker 1: Paul's I mean saved Silla. Are you willing? Church? I
Speaker 1: believe God is reminding us that he is in control.
Speaker 1: Everything is in the palm of his hand. Your life
Speaker 1: is in the palm of his hand. And what better
Speaker 1: way to respond is to actually praise him. Why? Because
Speaker 1: God is worthy of our praise. He is a sovereign God.
Speaker 1: He knows everything that will happen. God is not surprised
Speaker 1: of the things that are happening around us. We have
Speaker 1: to accept that because that is the truth. God is
Speaker 1: in control. I'm going to ask everyone now to go
Speaker 1: back and worship God. Let's worship God and say, Lord,
Speaker 1: thank you that in your sovereignty I'm hearing this message. Lord,
Speaker 1: thank you that, in your sovereignty you have chosen me
Speaker 1: and you have never given up. Lord. As we worship you,
Speaker 1: remind us of the people that you want us to
Speaker 1: reach out. Thank you for listening. We hope that you
Speaker 1: enjoyed today's episode. Don't forget to share and subscribe to
Speaker 1: this podcast for more. God bless you all.