Life in the Spirit: The Walk and the Work (Part 4)

Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. Okay, so we are continuing from where

we left on Sunday. We'll continue from where

we left on Sunday. I just want to thank the pastorate

for another opportunity to share the word of

God with us. We began teaching on God's plan

for all nations on Sunday, and we're going to

continue in that teaching. I believe that we

had already started in Genesis 1, 20, 60, 28,

which is God's original plan. So I'm going to

give a background or a recap on what we did on

Sunday. We started reading from the book of Matthew

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28 from verses 16. And we found out that

the Lord appointed a mountain to meet his disciples,

which is in Galilee. And we say that our Lord

Jesus intentionally chose that location. Pastor

Fanny helped us to see and also Pastor Victor

during Catechismas. But geography, right, is

important when it comes to the interpretation

of the scriptures also. It's very important.

And one of the things we looked into was Galilee

was referred to as Galilee of the Nations by

the time we go to Isaiah chapter 9 from verses

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

1 to 2 because of what had happened in that region.

And if you go back to the book of Kings, 2 Kings,

One thing you see there is that there was an

invasion that happened. That's Kings 15. You

see the northern side, what was happening in

the northern side, which is the kingdom of Israel.

But this time, Israel was divided into two kingdoms,

the south and the north. So the north, that's

where it happens to, that side happens to have

the Galilee, that Galilee. And in that region

also, we have lands like the lands of Naphtali

the land of Zebulon. So one thing you see in

that 2 Kings chapter 15 was that the kings, the

2 Kings 15 · chapter mention

king of the north, they wanted to go and invade,

the king of the north wanted to go and invade

the king of the south, the southern kingdom.

Because the southern kingdom refused to join

them, right? Well, they wanted to fight the Assyrian

kingdom that was reigning by that time, but they

were paying taxes to them. So they They wanted

the south to join them. When the south refused

to join them, they now wanted to attack the south.

So by that time, Ahaz, in 2 Kings 16, he now

sends some gifts to the king of Assyria, telling

him to come for his aid or his help. Because

of the king of south and the king of Syria, they

wanted to fight the king of the north and the

king of Syria. wanted to fight the king of the

south. So later on, in response, the king of

Assyria now comes and invades that portion of

the land because he had been called to help.

So he comes and invades the north part, which

happens to have Galilee. Then when that invasion

happens, he took the people of that place captive.

Then in return, he now repopulated the same region.

with different people, right, from different

regions who were not actually the original inhabitants

of that land. So now that's where the background,

you see that now it's called the Galilee of Nations

because there was now an emerging of different

people from different ethnicities, from different

parts of the world coming to live in that region.

And also it happens to be a trade route, right,

a trade route. So when people come to do trade,

they usually come to the ports. of Galilee nearby.

So it shows you that Galilee was like a gateway

to all the other parts of the world. And also

we looked at around Galilee, there were also

regions that were filled with pagan worship.

And one of the places we looked into was Caesarea

Philippi, which happens to be some few kilometers

to the north side of Galilee. Then also across

the sea, we see a place called Decapolis. And

in that area of Degapolis, we have the Gadarenes.

And in that place of Gadarenes, they show you

that it was not a Jewish region because they

were keeping swine, which was seen as ceremonially

unclean. And also there were tombs all over the

embassy. A man there and Jesus is going there.

It shows you the kind of place it was. And it

is in that place, near that place, that Jesus

gave the Great Commission. to go into all the

world and preach the gospel. So meaning, one

thing we look also is that the mandate of God

or the plan of God is not discriminatory. So

it's for all the world. I think we are together

on that. So now, we're going to look at the original

plan of God from the beginning. We'll look at

the original plan, then look at what went wrong.

So we have to look at the original plan and what

went wrong. At the last meeting, we looked at

Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 to 28. Let's go there.

Genesis 1:26–28

Genesis chapter 1, 26 to 28. Genesis 1, 26 to

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

28. I'll read. And God said, let us, let us make

man in our image. after our likeness, let them

have dominion over the fish of the sea and over

the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over

all the earth and over every creeping thing that

creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in

his image, in his own image. In the image of

God created he, him, male and female, created

he, them. And God blessed them. So we are seeing

that this is the intention or God's plan. And

one of the things also we looked in the ending

part of Sunday meeting is the image is not...

about functionality first, but rather it's about

identity, right? Then after identity follows

functionality. So God created man in his image,

which implies that man is to be God's representative

here on earth. And we looked in word studies,

we looked at the word image, and we said that

word was derived from... The Hebrew word tselem.

T -S -E -L -E -M. And it means resemblance. Then

also we looked at the word likeness. And we said

the word likeness was derived also from a Hebrew

word, which is demuth. D -E -M -U -T -H. Which

carries the same connotation as tselem. So, that

word demuth was derived from a Hebrew word, another

Hebrew word, which is... Damah, D -A -M -A -H,

which means to, which means resemblance, right?

Also, right, to be like God, right? To be like

him or to be like God. So the word man also,

we look there, that is the word Adam. And in

this context, it implies humanity, which is both

male and female, which is both male and female.

So the fundamental truth, right, is that. man

in God's image and likeness, right? It talks

about or it gives us an idea of God's new creation,

God's new creation or new humanity. And this

new humanity includes both male and female, both

male and female. Then we looked also and we say

that the word blessed in Genesis 1 .28 is from

the word barak, which means to welcome in this

context, right? to welcome into God's plan. So

in other words, the writer explained that both

male and female, right, are welcomed into God's

new humanity, that is God's new creation, which

is in the image and the likeness of God, which

is in the image and the likeness of God. And

also we look at some terms, and just in that

same verse 28, which is the word subdue, the

word subdue, which is the word kabash. K -A -B

-A -S -H. The word subdue in Genesis 1 .28. Which

implies to trample underfoot. And also we have

another word called replenish. Replenish. And

the word replenish is the word male. M -A -L

-E or malai. M -A -L -A. The word was referenced

as feud. Feud. It means just to feel. So. And

the word multiply is the word rabah, which implies

increase, rabah, R -A -B -A -H, which means increase,

to increase. Then the word fruitfulness is the

word parah, which implies to bring forth much

fruit. And the word dominion is the word radah,

which means to prevail against or to reign, but

without violence in this context, without violence

and death. This is important because when we

are going to move to Genesis chapter 11, you

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

will see the exact opposite of Genesis 1, 26

to 28 happening. So that's why I have to pass

through this. So the words replenish, multiply,

fruitful, and dominion in Genesis 1, verse 28

Genesis 1:28

had to do with God's plan for man. It has to

do with God's plan for man to function as his

image here on earth. So we are going to look

at that as we go down. So in that same place,

let's look at Genesis 2 .21. Genesis 2 .21. Genesis

2 .21. We are still looking at God's original

plan. Genesis 2 .21. It reads, And the Lord God

caused a deep sleep. So there's a teaching here

by Pastor. Victor, right, woman's liberty. You

can also try to go through it and also pastor

Fred teaching from Karatismas and many years

also you see the same explained. So here you

see the word rib and we're meant to understand

that the word rib there means cellar. S -S -T

-S -T -S -E -L -A is the word cellar. It was

applied for a building. of a tabernacle, or at

all, a temple, or a house. Tsela, talking about

the side of a tabernacle, or temple, or house.

So, in this reference, it was, we're going to

look, sorry, we're going to look at how it was

used by Moses in other writings. Let's read the

book of Exodus 25, verse 12. We'll see how he

Exodus 25:12

applied the word tsela. Exodus. Exodus chapter

Exodus 25:12

25, verse 12. It reads, And thou shalt cast four

rings of gold, right, of gold for it, and put

them in the four corners thereof, and the two

rings shall be in the side of it, and the two

rings in the other side of it. Talking about

the building of the tabernacle, right? Then verse

14 says, And thou shalt put the staffs, into

the rings of the sides, same word, selah is the

word sides, of the ark. That is, that the ark

may be born with them, right? So talking about

still in the context of the temple, right, or

the tabernacle. Then also we have Exodus 26,

Exodus 26:20

verse 20. Exodus 26, 20. Exodus 26, 20. It reads,

And for the second side of the tabernacle on

the north side, there shall be 20 boards. So

you're talking about the side of a tabernacle.

That's how Moses applies it. You can write the

other ones down. That is Exodus 36, 31. Exodus

36, 31. And Exodus 26, 26. Exodus 26, 26. So,

after going through... how the word was used

by Moses. One thing that we can see is both male

and female have the same identity in God's plan

and purposes. They have same identity in God's

plan and purpose, both male and female. Let's

go back to Genesis 1, Genesis 2. Let's go to

Genesis 2 again. Genesis chapter 2. So we're

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

still looking at God's plan. And as we're going

to move, we're going to see when we reach to

Babel, we'll be able to see what really went

wrong when we are reading that Babel. The story

at Babel, that is Genesis 11. So, let's go back

to Genesis 2. Genesis 2. Verse 21. And the Lord

God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and

he slept and took one of his ribs and closed

the flesh instead of. So, One thing you see is

that Adam, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon

Adam. Pastor Victor also in Women's Liberty,

he explained this. So I'm not going to do much

on this. You can refer back to the messages,

they are online. So the word deep sleep there

is the word tadema, which means deep sleep and

also can mean trance, a deep sleep or trance.

And we see the same word used in Genesis 15 verse

Genesis 15:1

1 in reference to Abraham. Genesis 15 verse 1.

Genesis 15:1

Genesis 15 verse 1. So one thing we'll see is

Genesis 15:1

that both male and female, they have the same

identity in God's plans and purposes here on

earth. Genesis 15 verses 1. It says, And this

Genesis 15:1

thing, after these things, the word of the Lord

came unto Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not,

Abraham. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great

reward. And Abraham said, Lord, what wilt thou

give me, seeing that I go childless? Verse 1

is talking about vision. Then he said, Abraham,

now ask the Lord, what wilt thou give me, seeing

that I go childless, and the steward of my house

is this Eleazar of Damascus? And Abraham said,

Behold, to me thou hast not given a seed. And,

Lord, one born in my house is mine heir. And,

behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

This shall not be thy heir, but he that shall

come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine

heir. And he brought him forth abroad and said

unto him, Look now towards heaven and tell the

stars, if thou be able to number them. And he

said unto him, So shall be thy seed. And he believed

the Lord, and he accounted to him. for righteousness.

So one thing you see here is that Abraham, right?

He says that what? He says that the word of the

Lord come to Abraham in a vision. So this is

a supernatural occurrence. And in that supernatural

occurrence, the Lord reiterates, the Lord iterates

his plans to him. He narrates his plan to Abraham

in a supernatural encounter, right? Supernatural

encounter. We see the same word used in Samuel

26 verse 12 for Saul. 1 Samuel 26 verse 12 for

1 Samuel 26:12

Saul. They say that Saul fell into a deep sleep.

Then also we have it in Job 33 verse 15. You

Job 33:15

can write that down. You can just refer them

back when you get home. Also in Job 33 verse

Job 33:15

15. So meaning that what Adam saw in Genesis

2 was that the woman and him, They have the same

identity, right, in regarding to God's plans

and purposes for the earth. That's what it is.

So it was a supernatural, that was a supernatural

sight that happened there in Genesis 2. That's

a supernatural sight, right? Then also, going

back, so let's go back again to Genesis 2. Genesis

2. Let's just be there for just a few minutes,

then we'll move quickly. Genesis 2. From verses

23, right? Which follows after 22, and Adam said,

this is now the bone of my bones and the flesh

of my flesh. She shall be called woman because

she was taken out of man, right? So same flesh,

bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, right?

Which is a same and Bazaar, a same, a same and

Bazaar, right? Yes. When you look to the, And

that word refers to one who is your kindred.

The one who is your kindred. You see that used

in Genesis 29 verse 14. It means one of your

Genesis 29:14

kindred. One who is your kindred. Genesis 29

Genesis 29:14

verse 14. Genesis 29 verse 14. Let's just read

Genesis 29:14

a few. Then the next one you can just write them

down. Then read them when you get home. Genesis.

Genesis 29 verse 14. Genesis 29 verse 14. It

Genesis 29:14 Genesis 29:14

reads, And Laban said unto him, Surely thou art

my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him in

the place of a month. This is Jacob and Laban.

So he's talking about relation in this scripture.

Then also we have 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 1.

2 Samuel 5:1

2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 1. Then the rest, I'll

2 Samuel 5:1

just cut them out and you write them down. 2

2 Samuel 5:1

Samuel 5, verse 1. It says, Then came all the

tribes of Israel to David and to Hebron, and

spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy

flesh. So you're talking about kindred. So, therefore,

what Adam saw, and Adam's words that proceeds

after what he saw, saying, Surely she is the

bone of my bone and the flesh of my flesh. He's

just saying that there is a shared identity between

man and female as regarding to God's plans and

purposes for the earth. There is no one who is

inferior to another. It's the same. That's why

when you now read how Moses constructs it or

how Moses paints it in Genesis and subsequently

in other writings of Moses, he refers to the

same word. side, that is verse 22, talking about

the tabernacle. So, he's talking about the tabernacle

and refers to the word side in reference to both

male and female. So, both male and female are

the house of the Lord. Are we together? Yes.

So, now, let's read. Now, this will make us understand

Genesis 20, Genesis 19. Verse 4 to 8, still in

Pastor Victor's teaching. Genesis chapter 19,

Genesis 19:4–8

verse 4 to 8. Genesis 19, 4 to 8. When the Pharisees

came to ask Jesus a question concerning divorce.

That's Matthew 19. Yes. Matthew 19, verse 4 to

Matthew 19:4–8

8. Matthew 19, 4 to 8. Sorry. So. Let's read

from verses 3. And the Pharisees also came unto

him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it

lawful for a man to put away his wife for every

cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have

you not read that he that made them at the beginning

made them male and female? Referring to Genesis.

And said, For this cause shall a man leave his

father and mother. and shall cleave unto his

wife, and the twain shall become one flesh. Wherefore,

there are no more twain, but one flesh. Why therefore

God hath joined together, let no man put a sinner?

So, then he continues and says, then they say

unto him, why then did Moses then command us

to give a writing of divorcement and to put away?

And he said unto them, Moses, because of the

hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put

your wives away. But from the beginning, it was

not so. And I say to you, whosoever shall put

away his wife, except of fornication, shall be,

and shall marry another one, committed adultery,

and whosoever married her, which is put away,

doth commit adultery. So what Jesus was doing

here was to put them or to make them see, right,

the intention from the beginning. That man and

female, male and female, from the beginning,

Right? Their identity is in regards to God's

plans and purpose, and they are equal. I'm not

going to talk much about this. So, having seen

that now, we've seen God's plan, we've seen God's

purposes in Genesis 1, 2, entering into 3. Then

the question now that comes is, what then went

wrong? What went wrong? What went wrong? Where

did the nations emerge from? If God's man has

one identity, why then was there confusion when

you now go to Genesis 11? What happened or what

went wrong? So now we are getting into the teaching,

the main teaching. Genesis chapter 11, let's

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

go there. All of us in your Bibles, if you have

a hard copy Bible, you can use that. It works

best. Let's look at what went wrong. We have

seen God's plan. We have seen God's intention

for both male and female and what God wants.

But something went wrong when you go to Genesis

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11. I want you to read Genesis 11 from

verses 1 down to, from verses 1 up to 10. It

reads, and the whole earth was of one language

and one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed

from the east that they found a plain in the

land of Shinar. And they do out there, the background

is chapter 10. You can go and read it. And they

Isaiah 10 · chapter mention

said one to another, go to, let us make brick

and bend them thoroughly. And they had brick

for stone and slime they had made for mortar.

And they said, go to, let us build us, let us,

let us build us a city. and the tower whose top

may reach unto heaven. And let us make us a name,

lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of

the earth. And the Lord came down and see the

city and the tower which the children of men

built. And the Lord said, Behold, the people

is one, and they have one language. And this

they began to do, and now nothing. will be restrained

from them which they have imagined to do. Go

to, let us go down. And they confounded their

language that they may not understand one another.

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence

upon the face of all the earth and they left

off to build the city. Therefore is the name

of it called Babel. Because the Lord did there

confound the language of all the earth, and from

thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon

the face of the earth. So, let's move from here.

So, let's go back to verse 1 now. We do word

study, right? We do a word study there in Genesis

11. The first word you see appearing in verse

1 is the word earth. It's the word earth, which

is the word eretz. Earth, which is the word eretz.

E -R -E -T -S. Eretz. E -R -E -T -S. Eretz. And

that word means land. It means earth. But in

this context, the whole earth there talks about

humanity. It's talking about humanity. It's in

reference to humanity. Then when you go to verse

2, it says, and it came to pass as they journeyed.

From the east that they found in a plain, they

found a plain in the land of Shina and they do

it there. Another word that we need to look at

is the word journeyed. And the word journeyed

is the word Nasa. Nasa. N -A -S -A. It means

to start on a journey. It means to march. It

means to set aside. It actually infers a nomadic

lifestyle in response in this context. We are

going to see it at the end. It infers a nomadic

lifestyle in response to God's plan to fill the

earth with his image. Just hold that thought.

And another word we want to look at is the word

duals. Duals. Duals. Which is D -W -E -L -T.

Which is the word yashab. Yashab. Y -A -S -H

-A -B. It means to settle. It means... To remain.

And it means to make a house or to tarry. So,

in your mind now, one thing that is coming is

they said, let us dwell. That is, they are staying

in one place. They want to stay in one place.

And you see why they want to do it and how it

is a counter narrative to God's plans and purposes.

Just hold on. Then we see the word build also

in that verse 4. In verse 4, the word build.

And they said, go to, let us build us a city

and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and

let us make us a name lest we be scattered abroad

upon the face of the whole earth. And the word

build there is the word banah. B -A -N -A -H.

B -A -N -A -H. It means to make. It means to

repair. It means to set up. Right? It means to

repair, to set up, or also it means also to obtain

children. That's another meaning of that. This,

when you read it, it is actually a contrast to

God's plan. Because when you go to Genesis, it

is God's plan is that he himself is the one who

will be built by his spirit. From Genesis 1,

Genesis 1:1

verse 1, 2, 3. It is God who is to do it. But

now we see man. They are the ones who are to

build. And you see what they are going to build.

It is God who is building his house in the earth.

But here you see that man, they are building

something that is counter to God's plans and

purposes. Let's just move. We'll see. They say,

let us build us a city. Let us build us a city.

And city there is here. I -Y -R -A. I -Y -R -A.

which means a town or a people. Let's go a bit

faster. And we have the word in verse five, which

is tower, which means migdal, tower. You see

what they are building. Just follow. We have

the word migdal for tower. That word means a

stronghold, right? By analogy, right? It often

describes a stronghold in cities where gods,

where gods, G -O -D -S, and idols are kept. That's

what it meant. So the writer here, Moses, communicates

that what people intended to build was a temple

or a supernatural, it was a temple or a supernatural

space in the earth for supernatural beings who

sit. That's what they intended to build or to

do, which is a counter narrative to God's plans

and purposes. So, another word we'll look at

is the word top. The word top. The word top in

verse 5, right? It reads, that should be verse

4, going down. And they say, let us build a city

and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven.

The word top there, it implies head. It implies

beginning or source of authority. It means head.

beginning or source of authority. So, they intended

to make a tower, right? It means authority, right?

So, it will imply they intended to make a tower

their ruler, right? Or the object of their worship.

What they were building there was a house of

idol worship. Are we together? It was a house

of idol worship. That's what they were doing

there. That's what was happening there. Then

to explain it further, he said that it may reach

into heaven. It may reach into heaven. It may

reach into heaven. That's what he said. And they

said, go to, let us build a city and a tower

whose top may reach unto heaven. Whose top may

reach unto heaven. So, heaven there, talk about

supernatural space. So what they were doing there,

they were trying to build by themselves, right?

They were trying to build a supernatural space

in the earth for supernatural beings, which we

call idol worship. That's what was happening

there. This is a counter. This is counter to

God's plan and purpose. This is opposite. Totally

opposite. If you want to go and do more study,

that's where you find the Ziggurat, the concept

of Ziggurat. Ziggurat is like a space which people

built. And on top of it, there's a temple. And

what happens there, because it's elevated, Pastor

Fred has taught us about heaven, going to heaven,

and so forth. I think you have an idea. They

built an elevated place. And what was happening

there was worship. So an elevated place means

heaven to them. Right? Yes. It implies heaven.

So what was happening there was idol worship

that was happening in Genesis chapter 11. They

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

built themselves in them. They stayed in one

place. Right? This is directly different or totally

counter to what God planned. What God planned

for the earth and for humanity. So this is a

problem. Already there's something that is going

wrong. We'll see something. Why this? There's

the contrast of this. Let's see the contrast

of this. That is Genesis 28. Genesis 28. Genesis

Genesis 28:11–12

28, verse 11 to 12. Genesis 28, 11 to 12. This

is a contrast of what is happening there in Genesis

11. Genesis 28 is a contrast. Genesis 28, 11

to 12. Right, 11 to 12. It reads, And he lighted

up a certain place and tarried there all night,

because the sun was set, talking about... Jacob,

before the sun was set and took off the stones

of that place and put them for his pillows and

laid down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed

and behold, a ladder was set on the earth and

the top of it reached heaven. And behold, the

angel of the Lord ascending and descending on

it. And all the Lord stood above it and said,

I am the Lord of Abraham, thy father. and the

God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest, to

thee will I give it, and to thy seed. So one

thing you see that here, God is the builder of

what happened in this analogy. It is no man who

intended to do it. It is not Jacob who built

anything, but it is God who was doing it by himself.

It is God doing it by himself. And we see also,

The opposite of this is Genesis 11, verse 4.

Genesis 11:4

Let's go back to Genesis 11. We have not finished.

And we see the word scattered abroad, the phrase

scattered abroad, which means to break. Genesis

11, right, to scatter abroad, which means to

break or to spread. So they intended, these people,

they intended the very opposite of God's plan

to replenish the earth. and to fill the earth.

So they are coming to one place and they are

doing it for themselves. All of them, let's come

together. But God's plan and purpose is that

the whole earth should be filled with the knowledge

of the Lord. So this is contrast to what God

wants. God wants the word of God and God's plans

and purpose to spread in all areas of the world,

all parts of the world. But the language, their

communication, and their actions, They seem to

talk otherwise or to present otherwise as compared

to God's plans and purposes. And then also we

see confound, confound in verse seven, which

is the word balao, which means to overflow or

to mix or also it means to mingle, right? And

we have in verse nine, the word babel, the word

babel in verse nine. In verse nine, we have the

word babel, which implies confusion. It's root

word, actually, you see the word Babylon there.

So, and in Old Testament, we see the word Babylon.

And that Babylon, it's usually connotes, right,

the world, the system of the world, or man -made

system. It means man -made system. And also it

talks about man doing things without God's spirit.

When you go and check it, right, Babylon. So

as a result of men trying to give, what men was

trying to do in Genesis 11 was to give the earth

a purpose. That's what they were trying to do.

Right. Which is against God's plans and purposes.

Right. So in itself, that is rebellion that was

happening there. So they were rebelling against

God's plans and purposes. Right. So fast forward

now in chapter 12. Let's start now. Chapter 12.

So. This is something, something has already

gone wrong. So God, in response of what had happened

in Genesis 11, he now calls Abraham out of those

nations that were scattered. Because when you

go now in chapter 10, you see the table of generations.

You see that they came about 70 generations from

that point. If you read the Septuagint, they

had two extra, which is 72. So by the time you

get to... Genesis 12, you see the Lord calling

Abraham out of those nations, which you find

in Genesis 11. So what is God doing? This is

God's response to men's disobedience to his plans

and purposes. So what does God do? God calls

a man to reorder what had gone wrong. Because

God's plan is that the whole earth, man should

be in his image and his likeness. But this plan

has been thwarted in chapter 11. So God does

not have a plan B. That's number one. What he

does is that he corrects what went wrong. So

let's look at this. We are going to move a bit

quicker because we have already done the background.

Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee out

of thy country and from thy kindred and from

thy father's house unto the land which I will

show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation

and I will bless thee and make thy name great

and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless

them that bless thee, and I shall curse him that

curses thee. And in thee shall all the families

of the earth be blessed. That is, God picks Abraham.

And when God picks Abraham, he does not ignore

what happened in chapter 11. He's saying that

through Abraham, he's going to correct what had

gone wrong in chapter 11. All the nations of

the earth, he's talking about all those. nations

you see in chapter 11. So he says that whosoever

bless thee shall be blessed and whosoever cast

thee shall be cast. That means their blessing

it means to walk on. Same with Barak. That means

Abraham will be a carrier of God's plans and

purposes. He is going to tell them about which

plan. The same plan of God blessing all the nation

all mankind to be the image of God and his likeness.

So Everyone who believes that, they will be welcomed

in God's plans and purposes. That is, whosoever

shall bless thee shall be blessed, and whosoever

shall curse thee shall be cursed. All right.

Let's move. Let's also read Genesis. Okay, let's

continue in that Genesis 12. Let's go from verses...

All right. Let's go to Genesis 15. Genesis 15.

Just leave it there. Genesis 15 from verses 4.

Genesis 15 verse 4. It reads, And behold, the

Genesis 15:4

word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This

shall not be thy hair, because Abraham had asked

about him, he did not have an hair. Then verse

5, it says, And he brought him forth abroad,

and said, Look now towards heaven, and tell the

stars, if thou be able to number them. And he

said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed

God, and it was accounted for him. for righteousness.

And he blessed him, right? And he said unto him,

I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of

the chaldeans, that is chapter 11. You see from

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11, right? To give thee this land to

inherit it. So one thing you see is that Abraham,

what did he believe? Abraham believed the word

of God. And what was the word of God to Abraham?

That God is going to make right what was going

wrong in chapter 11 through him. And what is

the message of it? That man will be in God's

likeness and his image. That is what he believed.

So, fast forward. Now, when you now go and read

Deuteronomy 32 verse 9. Deuteronomy 32 verse

Deuteronomy 32:9 Deuteronomy 32:9

9. Deuteronomy 32 verse 9. It reads, and the

Deuteronomy 32:9

Lord's portion is his people, Jacob. It says,

Jacob is the Lord's inheritance. Can we start

from verse 7? Remember the days of old. Consider

the years of many generations. This, consider

the years of many generations. Ask thy father,

and they will show thee, and thy elders, they

will tell thee. Go to verse 8. When the Most

High divided to the nations their inheritance,

when he separated the sons of Adam, and set the

bounds of the people according to the number

of the children of Israel. And the Lord's portion

is... his people. And Jacob, Jacob is the Lord

of the Lord's inheritance. So I mean that out

of those nations, the Lord chose Israel, nation

of Israel. And why did he choose them? It's not

that there were many, more than any other nations,

or they were the best. No. God chose them because

he had confidence with their fathers. And the

plan is that through Israel, the Lord was going

to make right what had gone wrong. So Israel,

was to be God's servant to all other nations

of the world. Are we together? Exactly. So, Israel

was to be God's servant to all the nations of

the world, which they failed in, sadly. They

didn't do it. Or they refused. By the time you

go to Israel in 19, you see them, God telling

them that he wants to talk to them, but they

refused. In chapter 20, in fact. That should

be Exodus, sorry. Exodus 19 and 20. Then, Exodus

19, Moses tells them that God wants you to be

a peculiar nation, a kingdom of priests and kings.

Chapter 20, they say, no, no, no, Moses, you'll

be under God, right? You talk to God and talk

to us. You see unbelief in that, right? So they

were not able to do it. They're not able to do

it. So what God is doing now is that through

Israel, he wants to make things right, but they

failed on it. So let's see. I mean, Israel as

a nation was out of it. There were many other

Israelites or some Jews that preached the gospel

because Moses also is part of them. Paul is part

of them, right? So let's go to Genesis into Acts

Acts 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17. Let me just jump some things. Acts

Acts 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17, Acts 17. What we are going to see

is that did the word of God reach the Gentiles

also? We're going to just read this and we'll

see that the word of God, right, or the plan

of God, it also reached the Gentiles. And Gentiles

were coming in into this plan. So God was making

things right. Genesis, sorry, Acts 17 verse 1.

Acts 17:1

Acts 17 verse 1. Let's read there. Right. Acts

Acts 17:1 Acts 17:1

17 verse 1. Acts chapter 17 verse 1. And then.

Acts 17:1

And when they had passed through, this way. Anyways.

It's Amphib Police, right? Am I right, sir? Yes,

thank you. Yes. I know police is there. Well,

it's talking about a city of metropolitan, something

like that. And Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica

and there, there was a synagogue of the Jews.

There was a synagogue of the Jews. Then continuing

fast forward, verse 17 to 31, let's read 17 to

31 of the same chapter. It reads, this is Paul,

right? And it says that, therefore he disputed,

all right, I'm reading the right position. Yes,

and he disputed, he disputed he in the synagogue

with the Jews and with the devout person and

in the market daily with them that met with him.

And certain philosophers, the Epicureans and

the Stoics encountered him. And some said, What

would this babbler say? Other some, he seemeth

to be a setter forth of strange gods, because

he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took him and brought him unto Aropagos,

saying, May we know what this new doctrine therefore

thou speakest is. For thou bringest certain strange

things to our ears. We would know, therefore,

what these things mean. For all the Athenians

and the strangers which were there, right, spent

their time in nothing else but either to tell

or to hear about new things. They loved too much

knowledge. Then Paul stood in the midst of mass

here and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that

in... All things ye are too superstitious. For

as I passed by, I behold your devotions, and

I found an altar with inscriptions to an unknown

God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship. Unto

him declare I to you. God, who made the world

and all things therein, seeing that he is the

Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in the

temples, made with hands. Still the same narrative.

Genesis 11. There is still worship of gods here.

There is still worship of idols here. Men attempt

to reach out to God, but they missed it. See,

verse 25. Neither is worshipped with men's hands,

as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth

to all life and breath and all things. And at

Med, just pay attention to 26. I want you to

tell me what comes in your mind immediately.

and hath made of one blood all nations of men,

for to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath

determined the times before, and appointed, and

the bounds of their inhabitation. Of one blood,

he hath made man of one blood. He hath made of

one blood all nations. What comes in your mind?

One blood identity. So God's man is one. God's

intention is one. One man with one identity.

That's Genesis 1, 26 -28. That is what Paul is

taking their minds to. That God's man is one.

There's idol worship that is happening here.

One blood talking about one identity there. So,

Paul explains, you can take this down, Paul explains

humanity as one blood or one humanity or same

identity in that. So God has made all man. He

goes further than that. He made all man to seek

God and God is not far away from everyone, right?

When he goes down. So Paul's argument is that

God is just one man or one kind of man, right?

So by this time, there were many races, different

cultures, languages, and different locations.

Even today we have that. All those are man -made.

All those are man -made. So Paul's argument here

is that there is only one man in God's plan and

purposes. And that one man is in God's image

and likeness. Right? That was the beginning.

That was the beginning. God's man is one. And

man is one identity. Right? So that is Paul's

argument. That this is the intention. So in that,

he preaches to them about the resurrection of

Christ. Pointing them back to God's plan and

purposes for man. here on earth. So now in closing

in about four minutes time. Right. You now see

the same Apostle Paul writing in Ephesians chapter

11 verse Ephesians chapter 2 verse 11 to 21.

Ephesians 2:11–21

Let's just read that in about four minutes. I'm

just going to read rushing. You see that now

he comes and say both the Jew and the Gentile

are one. What is he taking us back to? That Ephesians

2 is in reference to Genesis 1, 26 to 28. Both

Jew and Gentile are one. That is God's plan.

Because all of them are in one identity now.

Let's read Ephesians 2, 11 to 21. All right.

It says, Therefore, wherefore remember that ye

having in time past Gentiles in the flesh who

are called and circumcision. by that which is

called circumcision in the flesh made by the

hands. That at that time you were without Christ,

being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel

and strangers from the convenance of the promise,

having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were

far off are made nigh by the blood of Jesus.

So what did Jesus do? Jesus comes again and...

Ask where Israel failed and fulfilled what Israel

failed to do. That is, in Christ, God has made

right what went wrong. This is what Paul is trying

to explain to them. Verse 14. For he is our peace,

who hath made both one, and hath broken down

the middle wall of petition between us, having

abolished in his flesh the enmity. even the law

of the commandments contained in the ordinances,

and to make in himself of twain one new man,

one new man, Genesis 1, 26 -28, yes, one new

man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile

both unto God in one body by the cross, having

slain the enmity thereby. and come and preach

peace unto you which were afar off, and to them

that were nigh. Talking about Jew and Gentile.

Nations, Genesis 11, made right in Christ. Yes.

For through him we both have access by one spirit

unto the Father. Now therefore, ye are no more

strangers or foreigners, but fellow citizens

with the saints and of the household of God.

This is what God is doing. Right. and are built

upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone

in whom all the building fitly joined together

groweth unto the holy temple, right? Holy temple

in the Lord. Genesis 1, 26. Yes. God's intention

to dwell in both, right? Male and female, Gentiles,

Jews. Yes. So things were now made right in Christ.

So Paul's argument in closing. So Paul, will

now go with this understanding to preach to the

nations that were lost. And what is he telling

them? That Christ, in Christ, God has made right

that which had gone wrong. So what is God doing

today in our lives? Is that God is reclaiming

the lost through us. God is reclaiming those

nations that are in darkness because they are

also God's people and God wants them to come

in. So therefore, we are ambassadors of Christ.

In this island, primarily. In our schools, in

our houses. What are we going to do? We know

now the plan of God. That God is making right

that which went wrong. Through you and through

me. So anytime when you walk on the streets,

have the consciousness of this. That God is making

right that went wrong through you. So you have

to speak. You have to preach. You have to share.

What are you doing? You are pointing back man

to God. Because in God's plan, there's only one

man. And that man is in the image and the likeness

of God. And he functions as God's priest here

on earth. So, just pray for yourself. The Lord,

I understand this truth. Right? Through you,

we are reclaiming the lost through me. From our

relatives to people around us, God is reclaiming

the lost through you. We appreciate you being

here today. We hope you carry this word with

you throughout your week. Until next time, stay

blessed.