Sermon

Life in the Spirit: The Walk and the Work (Part 3)

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

  2. designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

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

  4. the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

  5. right in. God's plan for all nations. God's plan

  6. for all nations. God's plan for all nations.

  7. Nations. Let's turn to the book of Matthew chapter

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  8. 28 from verses 16 to 20, which we know as the

  9. Great Commission. It reads, Then the eleven disciples

  10. went away into Galilee into a mountain where

  11. Jesus had appointed them and when they saw him

  12. they worshipped But some doubted and Jesus came

  13. and spoke unto them saying All power is given

  14. unto me in heaven and on earth Go ye therefore

  15. and teach all nations Baptizing them in the name

  16. of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

  17. Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever

  18. I have commanded you and law I am with you always

  19. even unto the end of the edge. So the first thing

  20. we're going to see is that the place where the

  21. great commission was given which you see in verses

  22. 16 right let's go back 16 it reads then the 11

  23. disciples went away into Galilee went away into

  24. Galilee I want you to Pay attention to Galilee.

  25. The leaven went away into Galilee, into a mountain

  26. where Jesus had appointed them. Where Jesus had

  27. appointed them. So, Galilee is a place where

  28. nations come together, right? That is Galilee.

  29. So. I want us to turn to the book of Isaiah chapter

    Isaiah 9:1

  30. 9 verse 1 because in the book of Isaiah that's

  31. where we see the coinage of the word Galilee

  32. of the Gentiles or Galilee of the nations right

  33. Isaiah 9 verse 1 and we will see subsequently

    Isaiah 9:1

  34. what led it to be called Galilee of the Gentiles

  35. Isaiah chapter 9 Verse 1. Nevertheless, the dimness

    Isaiah 9:1

  36. shall not be such as was in her vexation, when

  37. at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zabulon

  38. and the land of Nafitali, and afterward did more

  39. grievously afflict her by the way of the sea.

  40. beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. There's

  41. a reason why Isaiah, the prophet, calls it Galilee

  42. of the nations. You see it later on. The people

  43. that walked in great darkness have seen a great

  44. light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow

  45. of death, upon them hath light shined. Also you

  46. see this, the background of Isaiah 9 verse 1

    Isaiah 9:1–2

  47. to 2. is Second Kings. Second Kings is the background.

  48. You see why it was called Galilee of the Gentiles.

  49. Second Kings chapter 15 verse 29. Second Kings

    2 Kings 15:29

  50. 15, 29. Don't lose, this is, they are standing

  51. in a mountain in Galilee in Matthew 28, right,

  52. which Jesus has appointed them. Don't lose that.

  53. Where are they? They are in the mountain of Galilee.

  54. Right, but we're going to check the background

  55. where this narrative came from. So let's turn

  56. to 2 Kings, 2 Kings verse 15 to 20, 15 verse

  57. 29. Yes, 2 Kings 15, 29. It reads, In the days

  58. of Pekah, the king of Israel, Kim, Tiglat, Peresah,

  59. king of Assyria, and Tookh, Ijon, and Abel, Beth,

  60. Mashak, and Johanna, and Kadesh, and Hazor, and

  61. Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali,

  62. and carried them into Assyria. So you see that

  63. there is an invasion that happened here by the

  64. king of Assyria. So you see what led to this

  65. invasion. By this time, Israel is divided into

  66. two kingdoms. There is the south, which is called

  67. the kingdom of Israel. Then there's also the

  68. one for the Jews, which is called the land of

  69. Judah. So the way Kings is written, you explain

  70. the part of one kingdom then go to the part of

  71. the second kingdom right so let's look at something

  72. in verse in chapter 16 right in chapter 16 now

  73. we are getting to we are getting the view of

  74. what was happening in the other side which is

  75. the south which is the south yes verse 5 chapter

  76. 16 from verses 5 then resin king of syria And

  77. Pekah son of Ramaliah, king of Israel, came up

  78. to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahas,

  79. but could not overcome him. So Ahas was the king

  80. who was in the south, right? At that time, Rezin

  81. king of Syria, right? At that time, Rezin, the

  82. king of Syria, recovered Elath to Syria and drove

  83. the Jews from Elath, and the Syrians came to

  84. Elath and dwelt there unto this day. So as the

  85. king of the south sent messengers to Tiglath,

  86. Pelesa king of Assyria, which you see in verse

  87. 15, who now besieged the north part of Israel,

  88. which is where we find Galilee. Then it says

  89. verse 7, So as sent messengers to Tiglath, Pelesa

  90. the king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant

  91. and thy son. Come up and serve me out of the

  92. hand of the king of Syria. and out of the hand

  93. of the king of Israel which rise against me and

  94. Ash took the silver and the gold that was found

  95. in the house of the Lord and in the treasures

  96. of the king's house and send it as a present

  97. to the king of Assyria and the king of Assyria

  98. heken unto him for the king of Assyria went up

  99. against Damascus and took it and carried the

  100. people captive to Cairo and slow and slew resin.

  101. So this is the invention that happened. So by

  102. this time, this is around 733 BC, we are going

  103. to see why now we now have Galilee of the Gentiles.

  104. Because now there's been a besiege in the south,

  105. in the north side, right? They have taken the

  106. people of the north, the Jews, they put them

  107. into prison, right, to take them as prisons.

  108. And in turn, the Assyrian king now brought in

  109. Gentiles to live in that region. Are we together?

  110. Yes. So he now brought Gentiles from different

  111. parts and now they started living in that south

  112. in that north part of Israel. So now you have

  113. an understanding why you see the nations now

  114. are coming to that place. So fast forward now

  115. when you go to Isaiah chapter 9 verse 1. Can

    Isaiah 9:1

  116. you give it again? Isaiah 9 verse 1. Before we

    Isaiah 9:1

  117. read this, I want to say something. Joshua divided

  118. the land to the children of Israel and the portion

  119. that was in that region of Galilee was given

  120. to Naphtali and Zebulon. So now you see why when

  121. they come, now see verse 9, it says, Nevertheless,

  122. the dimness shall not be as such as in a vexation

  123. when the When at first he lightly afflicted the

  124. land of Zabulon and the land of Nafitali, and

  125. afterward did more grievously afflicted by the

  126. way of the sea, beyond Jordan in Galilee of the

  127. nation. Go next. Verse two. The people that walked

  128. in darkness, they have seen a great light. They

  129. that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,

  130. upon them had light shined. So you see the progression

  131. that in that region now, it's now called the

  132. land that is full of darkness, that is gross

  133. darkness, meaning that there's something that

  134. caused that to happen. which is as a result of

  135. a mixed cultures. So when people with mixed cultures

  136. moved in into the North part, right, they now

  137. brought in pagan worships. They now brought in

  138. different kinds of things to that area. As we

  139. go, you'll see why now Galilee will become despised

  140. in the New Testament. So. So verse 18, Matthew,

  141. just let's go back to the Matthew. We're still

  142. reading. I just want us to have a background

  143. of what is happening so that we may understand

  144. what the Apostles understood on that mountain

  145. in Galilee. Matthew 28. Matthew 28 verse 18.

    Matthew 28:18

  146. We're still on that mountain. It reads, And Jesus

  147. came and spake unto them, saying, All power is

  148. given unto me in heaven and in earth. In heaven

  149. and in earth. So all power given to me in heaven

  150. and in earth there is actually a kingdom language.

  151. That's a kingdom language. You see that? So,

  152. it immediately says, Go therefore, and make disciples,

  153. baptizing them in the name of the Father, and

  154. of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This parallel

  155. is Mark 16, Mark 16, 15. Mark 16, 15. We are

  156. still on the Mount in Galilee, right? Mark 16,

  157. 15. It says, and He said unto them, going into

  158. all the world and preach the gospel to every

  159. creature 16 he that believeth and is baptized

  160. shall be saved but he that believeth not shall

  161. be damned 17 and these signs shall follow them

  162. that believe in my name they shall cast out devils

  163. they shall speak with new tongues And they shall

  164. take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly

  165. thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay

  166. hands on the sick, and they shall recover. They

  167. will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

  168. So, one thing they were doing there is, upon

  169. the resurrection of Jesus, he appoints them that

  170. let's meet in Galilee. And now he's sending them

  171. with a message to all the nations of the world.

  172. And we say something before that the terms that

  173. are employed by Jesus are kingdom language. So

  174. what are they going to do? They are going to

  175. preach about the resurrection of Jesus, that

  176. is Christ's conquest. That's what they're going

  177. to preach. Pastor Koston in the previous teachings,

  178. he explained about the name of Jesus, talking

  179. about achievement. What the Lord has attained,

  180. and what is it? Salvation for man. That's what

  181. they're going to preach. So, immediately, the

  182. moment the apostles and the apostles on the mount

  183. hear what Jesus was saying, Jesus employing kingdom

  184. language, that's why you see the word bazaar

  185. there. It's Basar talking about kingdom language.

  186. Immediately, their minds went somewhere because

  187. these people, when Jesus is telling them, they

  188. have a background understanding of the scriptures.

  189. So therefore, what came in their mind when Jesus

  190. was talking is Isaiah. Let's see Isaiah, where

  191. we see Basar, right? Basar, B -A -S -A -R -A.

  192. which talks about a proclamation, right, of good

  193. news, pertaining a kindle. So let's look in the

  194. book of Isaiah. Isaiah 52 verse seven to 10.

  195. Isaiah 52, seven to 10. Isaiah 52 verse seven

  196. to 10. So, this is kingdom news, right? How beautiful

  197. upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth

  198. good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth

  199. good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation.

  200. What were they going to talk about? Salvation.

  201. So this is what is ringing bells in their head

  202. on the Mount of Galilee. that publishes good

  203. news of salvation that saith unto Zion thy king

  204. reigneth thy watchmen shall lift up the voice

  205. with a voice together shall they sing for they

  206. shall see eye to eye when the lord shall bring

  207. again zeon break forth into joy sing together

  208. ye west places of jerusalem for the lord hath

  209. comforted his people he hath redeemed Jerusalem

  210. the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes

  211. of all the nations and all the ends of the earth

  212. shall see the salvation of our God so on that

  213. mountain when the Lord is talking to the disciples

  214. this comes in their mind What were they going

  215. to do? They are now seeing that they are the

  216. people that are bringing the news of glad tidings

  217. to the other people, to all the nations of the

  218. earth. Are we together? Okay, so all the end

  219. of the earth will see the salvation of the Lord

  220. in that Isaiah. Let's go back to Matthew 28 verse

    Matthew 28:19

  221. 19. Matthew 28 verse 19. Go ye therefore and

    Matthew 28:19

  222. teach all nations, baptizing them in the name

  223. of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

  224. Spirit. Where are they going? To all the nations.

  225. Where were they standing? In Galilee. And Galilee

  226. has different diverse nationalities in that place.

  227. So what came in their mind or what they understood

  228. was this gospel. is not only to the Jews but

  229. unto all the nations of the world. So on that

  230. mountain, right, what came in their mind we said

  231. is Isaiah 52 verse 7 to 10. So the place where

    Isaiah 52:7–10

  232. the way was Galilee, I will talk more about Galilee.

  233. We will look at the history of Galilee. And in

  234. that place, Galilee, There is opposition of the

  235. gospel. That's one thing you will see subsequently.

  236. There's an opposition of the gospel in Galilee.

  237. And that is the place where Jesus takes his disciples

  238. and gives them the great commission that this

  239. is the place where it is starting. Alright, so

  240. now the question comes is why Galilee was the

  241. place which Jesus chose? Why Galilee? Why not

  242. the temple? Why not in Jerusalem? Why not in

  243. Bethlehem? He intentionally chose Galilee. Why?

  244. So we're going to look at this. Back to Isaiah

    Isaiah 9:1

  245. 9 verse 1. Isaiah 9 verse 1. In the days... Oh

    Isaiah 9:1

  246. no! Alright. Isaiah 9 verse 1, it says, Nevertheless,

    Isaiah 9:1

  247. the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,

  248. when at first he lightly afflicted the land of

  249. Zabulon and the land of Naphtali. Naphtali and

  250. Zabulon, they are in Galilee. They are regions

  251. in Galilee. and afterwards did more grievously

  252. afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,

  253. Galilee of the Gentiles. You still have the background

  254. why it's now called the Galilee of the Gentiles

  255. 2. Nevertheless, please just move with me verse

  256. 2. The people that walked in darkness have seen

  257. a great light they that dwell in the land of

  258. the shadow of death upon them the light has shined

  259. this is Matthew let's look at Matthew Matthew

  260. makes a quotation of the same place Matthew chapter

    Matthew 4:15–16

  261. 4 verse 15 to 16 Matthew chapter 4 Verse 15 to

    Matthew 4:15–16

  262. 16. It reads... Let's start from verse 13, in

  263. fact, so that we can understand. It says, This

  264. is Jesus' ministry, beginning of Jesus' ministry.

  265. That is, that it might be fulfilled, which was

  266. spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land

  267. of Zabilon and the land of Naphtalim, by the

  268. way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of Gentiles,

  269. meaning that ahead of time, even though there

  270. was darkness by that time, the prophet of the

  271. Lord, Jeremiah, saw that Even that region of

  272. great darkness, right, light is going to rise

  273. upon it. That is, they are going to also hear

  274. of the gospel of our Lord. That is light in darkness.

  275. Let's see the following verse. Verse 16. The

  276. people we set in darkness saw that great light.

  277. To them we set in the region of the shadow of

  278. death. Light. sprung up. From that time, immediately

  279. see, from that time Jesus began to preach and

  280. to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at

  281. hand. Where did he start? Where is the preaching

  282. of the gospel? In that region that is despised.

  283. In that region where there is gross darkness.

  284. That is where he started and said, repent. for

  285. the kingdom of God is at hand." And we have been

  286. told that the word at hand means that now. Right?

  287. It's different from the way we're understanding.

  288. It means now. The kingdom of God is now. So,

  289. Galilee was seen, take this note, take note of

  290. this. Galilee was seen as a spiritually compromised

  291. place where Gentiles lives lived. Galilee is

  292. the gateway also to the rest of the world because

  293. all trade happens towards that region. So many

  294. people will come by to buy, to do different trades.

  295. It happened at Galilee. So you can see that there's

  296. a mixture of cultures, a mixture of races there.

  297. So because of this history of Galilee, the region

  298. was heavily influenced by foreign customs. Ascens,

  299. right, and mixed marriages. In the Old Testament,

  300. the northern region of Galilee was originally

  301. given to the tribes of Zabulon, Naphtali, and

  302. Asher, right. The Assyrian conquest, we saw about

  303. the Assyrian conquest, which is in 2 Kings 15,

  304. 29, right, which resulted in the deporting of

  305. the Jewish population and replacing them with

  306. pagan foreigners. So over these centuries, Galilee

  307. became an ethnic melting point. This prompted

  308. the prophet Isaiah, where you see in the book

  309. of Isaiah, to coin the term, which now later

  310. on became an insult. By those that used it in

  311. the New Testament, it became an insult. But what

  312. Isaiah meant was not an insult. But then they

  313. took that now to look down on the Galileans.

  314. We are going to see subsequently. Alright, so...

  315. Okay, let me check where I was. So by the time

  316. of the New Testament, this religious leadership

  317. in the northern Judea, which is Jerusalem, looked

  318. down on the Galileans. They viewed Galilee as

  319. a spiritually compromised and sophisticated and

  320. culturally impure. So the religious leaders firmly

  321. believed one thing, that the Messiah would emerge

  322. in power from Bethlehem and Jerusalem, not Galilee.

  323. This will lead, this will make you think, why?

  324. Right? Why in, let's turn to, to John 7, John

  325. 7, 52. Why there's an issue about Jesus coming

  326. from Nazareth? Because Nazareth also happens

  327. to be in Galilee. Let's read John 7 52 John 7

  328. 52 So all this you will see that Galilee is a

  329. place where they are despised John 7 52 I'll

  330. give a background of it. This is Nicodemus Tried

  331. to give a defense for Christ John 7 52 Right

  332. now before we go to 52, let's start from verse

  333. 37 John 7 37 we go down then we go to 52 where

  334. I want us to read in the last day that great

  335. day of the feast Jesus stood and cried saying

  336. if any man Tests let him come unto me and drink

  337. he that believeth on me as the scriptures are

  338. said out of The people that heard Jesus said,

  339. of a truth, this man is a prophet. Right? Others

  340. said, this is Christ. This is the Christ. But

  341. some said, shall Christ come from Galilee? Meaning

  342. that it was a shock to them because they looked

  343. down on Galilee as a region that was impure.

  344. So the problem is the Messiah should not come

  345. from Galilee. Because they saw them as outcasts.

  346. And that is the same place where people that

  347. are looked down on is where Jesus began his ministry,

  348. right? Showing also that salvation is not only

  349. for the Jews, but in that place where Gentiles

  350. met, where they were Gentile nation, right? So

  351. let's see, verse 15, verse 45, sorry, verse 45

  352. of John 7. Then came the officers to the chief

  353. priests and the Pharisees and said unto them,

  354. Why have you not brought him? That is, they had

  355. sent them to capture Christ. They sent him to

  356. bring Christ. Let's read now, let's jump to 50.

  357. This is Nicodemus who once had a conversation

  358. with Jesus previously. Then Nicodemus said unto

  359. them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one

  360. of them of the council. 52. Our Lord judged any

  361. man before it heard him, and knew what he had

  362. done. Then he answered and said unto him, Adou

  363. also a Galilee, search and look, for out of Galilee

  364. ariseth no prophet. So this is the council, these

  365. are religious leaders. No prophet in their mind

  366. comes from Galilee. But is that true? Because

  367. we have Jonah who came from Galilee. So that

  368. means they had contempt, they scorned on Galilee

  369. to the extent that they ignored everything that

  370. has come from there. They looked down on it.

  371. Their issue is the Messiah should not come from

  372. Galilee. But if they had done their research,

  373. if they had read Isaiah chapter 9 verse 1 to

    Isaiah 9:1–2

  374. 2, they would have understood about the ministry

  375. of Jesus. Yes, Jesus was not born actually in

  376. Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem. But he grew

  377. up in Nazareth and that Nazareth is in Galilee.

  378. So by this time, you now see why they think Galilee,

  379. they don't want anything to do with other regions.

  380. They don't want anything to do with the Galileans.

  381. So by that time, right, then also we are going

  382. to see something that is shocking. Let's read

  383. John 1 .46. John 1 .46, same John, 1 .46. John

  384. 1 .46. Let's start from verse 45. Philip found

  385. Nathaniel and said unto him, We have found him

  386. of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did

  387. write, Jesus of Nazareth. That statement, the

  388. moment he put off Nazareth, if he had just said

  389. Jesus, it was okay. But let's see later on. He

  390. said, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

  391. Immediately in verse 46, and Nathaniel said unto

  392. him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?

  393. Now it makes you see why there are issues with

  394. this place. Nazareth, don't forget, is in Galilee.

  395. So is there anything good that will come out

  396. of that region? Right. Then immediately Philip

  397. said unto him, Come. and see. Come and see. So,

  398. Jesus starting his ministry in Galilee, right,

  399. shows that Christ is for all nations, not only

  400. the Jewish nation, right, not only the Jewish

  401. nation. Those people, they despised. That is

  402. the same place that Jesus starts his ministry.

  403. So the gospel is to all the nations. It would

  404. have been a problem, I think, if Jesus gave the

  405. Great Commission in the temple in Jerusalem.

  406. Because this will continually happen in their

  407. mind. They will continually see Galilee down.

  408. They don't care about them. They see them as

  409. impure people. Right? So, by the time... By the

  410. time of the New Testament, the Greek and the

  411. Roman Empires had built massive pagan cultures

  412. also. I want you to see what affected their idea

  413. or their understanding of Galilee. By the time

  414. of the New Testament, the Greek and the Roman

  415. Empires had built massive pagan cultural centers

  416. in and around Galilee. So right there, there

  417. was also a marble temple which was dedicated

  418. to the worship of the Roman Empire. Emperor Caesar

  419. Augustus. That is around Galilee. I want you

  420. to see the regions or the people that are surrounding

  421. Galilee. So later, Herod's son, Philip the Tetrarch,

  422. expanded the city into a grand capital, naming

  423. it Caesarea Philippi, to honor both Caesar and

  424. himself. This is a region that is surrounding

  425. Galilee. There are temples where Caesar is worshipped.

  426. I want you to see why they despised that region

  427. of Galilee. The things that were happening inside

  428. and around it were terrible. So, now we have

  429. seen that there is a marble temple and in one

  430. of the places that is near Galilee, on the north

  431. side of Galilee, is Caesarea Philippi, Matthew

  432. 16, 13, 15. Matthew 16. verses 13 to 15. Matthew

    Matthew 16:13–15

  433. 16, verses 13 to 15. When Jesus came into the

  434. course of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,

  435. saying, Whom do men say, I, the son of man, am?

  436. And they said unto him, Some say that thou art

  437. John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremiah's

  438. or one of the prophets he said unto them, but

  439. whom say ye that I am and Simon Peter answered

  440. and said thou art the Christ the Son of the Living

  441. God and Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed

  442. are thou, Simon, by Jonah, for flesh and blood

  443. hath not revealed this unto you, but my father

  444. which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that

  445. thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build

  446. my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail

  447. against it." Where was the gate of hell? Just

  448. a few kilometers from Galilee on the north side.

  449. So it's now shaping your mind how it will be

  450. difficult for the Jews to really accept that

  451. something good will come from that region. So,

  452. Jesus is taking his disciples to that place,

  453. Caesarea Philippi. And I will draw a picture

  454. in your mind of what is in Caesarea Philippi.

  455. There is a cave there, where there is water.

  456. Down in the cave, there is water where people

  457. do sacrifices and throw them inside there. And

  458. that is the place they call the gates of hell.

  459. And next to it, there is a marble temple that

  460. was also dedicated to Caesar. Right? So there

  461. was idol worship. Very bad. Idol worship that

  462. was in that region. And in that place, that is

  463. where Jesus is taking his disciples. I believe

  464. that Jews, normal Jews, would not go there. Those

  465. who are from the south, they would not step there.

  466. But Jesus took his disciples into that region.

  467. And Peter makes a proclamation that thou art

  468. the Christ, the son of the living God. Where

  469. did he make that proclamation? In the place where

  470. Caesar was worshipped and where Caesar was seen

  471. as the son of God also. So that was a bold statement

  472. and immediately Jesus says that, blessed are

  473. thou Peter, right? Blessed are thou Jonah for

  474. flesh and blood is not revealed this unto you

  475. by my father which is in heaven Then after that

  476. he stopped talking to them right the thing is

  477. concerning his death barrier and resurrection

  478. So what does Jesus do he's confronting the powers

  479. of darkness right and he's saying that The gates

  480. of hell that is this darkness will not prevail

  481. against him Meaning that even the gospel of our

  482. Lord Jesus Christ shall be preached in that region

  483. of Caesarea Philippi also. Are we together? There's

  484. another thing I want you to see. There's a place

  485. called Gardara of the Gardarians. It's opposite

  486. the seashore of Galilee. It's called Ten Cities.

  487. There are a place of ten cities there. Jesus

  488. crosses to Gadara and in Gadara he meets a man

  489. in the tombs. And that man was possessed with

  490. a legion of devils. Then immediately the demon

  491. speaks and says, Jesus, the son of the Lord,

  492. what have you to do with us? Then Jesus, then

  493. they are pleaded. Jesus said, can we go to the

  494. swine? They were swine just by the hillside and

  495. Jesus permitted them to go. According to the

  496. law of Moses, swine was seen as impure. So that

  497. means, that will show us that that land that

  498. was near Galilee, they were keeping those swines

  499. which shows that they are outside. outcasts.

  500. But Jesus is stepping in that place. Where is

  501. the man? In the tombs which were also considered

  502. culturally impure. And right there, there is

  503. a man possessed of devils and Jesus comes to

  504. the land of Gadara, casts out that devil from

  505. the man, then immediately went back showing that

  506. Jesus will even reach those nations that were

  507. despised. That is the only place, that is the

  508. only time you see him going there. So, God's

  509. plan is not discriminatory, that's number one.

  510. God is coming for all the Gentiles. You can see

  511. that in the ministry of Jesus. He's coming for

  512. all the Gentiles, including the Jews. There is

  513. no discrimination in God's plan for all the world.

  514. So, that also brings into our minds. There are

  515. some places that we don't want to be. There are

  516. places or there are people we don't want to interact

  517. with because of ideas or some things that we

  518. have heard about those places. But God's plan

  519. is for all the world. In those dark regions,

  520. we claim those places for Christ Jesus. We bring

  521. the gospel of God in places where the name of

  522. the Lord was not named, in places that were despised.

  523. Those are the places we go with the gospel of

  524. Christ. No discrimination. Right. No discrimination.

  525. So, back to Matthew chapter 28. We are still

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  526. in Matthew chapter 28. I just want us to have

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  527. an understanding of what that region means. Matthew

  528. 28. Matthew chapter 28. From verses 16, I'll

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  529. read again. Then the eleven disciples went away

  530. into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had

  531. appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped

  532. Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke

  533. unto them, saying, All power is given unto me,

  534. in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and

  535. teach all nations, baptizing them in the name

  536. of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

  537. Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever

  538. I have commanded you, and law I am with you even

  539. unto the end of the world." You see, there is

  540. the aspect of all nations here. And all nations

  541. did not start with Isaiah. That's one thing.

  542. I know we have come from Isaiah. This goes back

  543. far as to Genesis, right? This goes back to Genesis.

  544. We are going to look at it later on. So before

  545. we go there, we are going to go much more into

  546. the scriptures, that is Genesis. That's where

  547. we are going to spend more time. Before I go

  548. to Genesis, I want us to see something. How,

  549. for us to understand the nations, to understand

  550. why Jesus would tell his disciples, let's meet

  551. in Galilee, there is an Old Testament narrative

  552. or background of everything that Jesus mentioned.

  553. Let's see some of the instances where you see

  554. even the authors of the Gospels referring back

  555. to the Old Testament. Before we go to the Old

  556. Testament, because we're going to spend more

  557. time there. Matthew chapter 1 verse 1. Matthew

    Matthew 1:1

  558. 1, 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ,

  559. the son of David. and the son of Abraham. Abraham

  560. begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot

  561. Judas and his brethren. Then he continues down.

  562. What comes in your mind? Where is it taken from?

  563. That's Genesis. What you see? Generation that

  564. way, generation, you're talking about Genesis.

  565. And also, you see David, which is second Samuel,

  566. first Samuel, right? Second Samuel and Psalms,

  567. sorry. Then also we have Abraham which is Genesis.

  568. So meaning that to understand Jesus, why Jesus

  569. said to come and why Jesus said to do everything

  570. that he did, we have to understand it back as

  571. far as Abraham. The beginning of Abraham, why

  572. God called Abraham and we come back to the front

  573. which is the New Testament, then we understand

  574. all these things. Also, let's look at Mark 1

  575. .1, Mark chapter 1 verse 1. Mark 1 .1. The beginning

    Mark 1:1

  576. of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

  577. as it is written in the prophets, behold, I send

  578. my messenger before thy face. We shall prepare

  579. thy way before thee. Where was he teaching from?

  580. This is Malachi, right? This is Malachi. He's

  581. taking this from Malachi chapter 3 verse 1. You

    Malachi 3:1

  582. can write that down. He takes that. Mark is referring

  583. back to Malachi 3 verse 1 and Isaiah chapter

    Malachi 3:1 Isaiah 40:3

  584. 40 verse 3. So, also John chapter 1 verse 1.

    John 1:1

  585. John 1 1. John chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning

    1 John 1:1

  586. was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

  587. the Word was God. Right? So, still Genesis. So,

  588. all the four gospels use, number one, the word

  589. beginning, you'll see it, even in Luke chapter

  590. 28, right? Look, sorry, Luke chapter 24, verse

    Luke 24:27

  591. 27. Then also we see something in John chapter

    John 20:22

  592. 20 verse 22 Just I just want us to have an understanding

  593. why they are coming from the Old Testament John

  594. 20 22 it says and when he had said this he breathed

  595. on them and said unto them receive ye the Holy

  596. Ghost That is Genesis 2 7 right the Lord God

  597. breathed into his nostrils talking about Adam

  598. the breath of life and man became a living soul.

  599. So John is taking us back to Genesis confirming

  600. that Jesus is the God of Genesis. Have we understood

  601. that? Alright, so now Genesis chapter 1 verses

    Genesis 1:26–28

  602. 26 to 28. God's original plan. Don't lose me.

  603. We want to see where the nations came from. What

  604. cost the nations to emerged. But we're going

  605. to start from Genesis 126 to 28, which shows

  606. us God's intent, that is God's original plan.

  607. Pastor Fred has taught this even during Catechismus.

  608. You need to just go and listen to the message

  609. again. Genesis 126 to 28. And God said, Let us

  610. make men in our image after our likeness, and

  611. let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

  612. and over the fall of the air, and over the cattle,

  613. and over the earth, and over every creeping thing

  614. that creepeth upon the earth. So God created

  615. man in his own image. In the image of God created

  616. he, him. Male and female created he, them. And

  617. God blessed them and said unto them be fruitful

  618. and multiply replenish the earth and subdue it

  619. Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over

  620. the fall of the air and over every living thing

  621. that moveth on the earth So This is the origin

  622. of men, right? So this image number one, right

  623. this image is first identity then what follows

  624. is function. Right? The image of God talks about

  625. identity and with identity function follows.

  626. So in the image of God created he, he male and

  627. female. Right? Meaning that if we are saying

  628. that is identity first. I'm not going to do much

  629. here. Pastor Fred teaching is online. We talk

  630. about it is identity. but in the image of God

  631. created him male and female meaning that male

  632. and female have the same identity in God's plan

  633. and have the same peoples. Right? So the term

  634. image there was derived from the word Salem which

  635. means resemblance. Image is the word Salem which

  636. means resemblance. And likeness was derived from

  637. the Hebrew word demuth, D -E -M -U -T -H, demuth.

  638. It carries the same connotation. That word was

  639. derived from the word dama, which is D -A -M

  640. -A -H, which means to resemble, right? So this

  641. will mean that humanity was to be in resemblance

  642. or semblance. with God and to be like Him. So

  643. the words men there you see there in Genesis

    Genesis 1:26–28

  644. chapter 1 verse 26 to 28 is the word Adam which

  645. means mankind or humanity right both male and

  646. female. So when you see they were in let's go

  647. back and God bless them verse 28 And God blessed

  648. them, who is the male and the female. He blessed

  649. them and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply,

  650. and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have

  651. dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the

  652. fowl of the air, and over every living thing

  653. that moveth upon the earth. So that I do not

  654. leave us behind while we went back here. We want

  655. to look where the nations came from. What went

  656. wrong? So for us, before we even go to what went

  657. wrong, we need to understand what was the initial

  658. plan. That's why we're going back to Genesis.

  659. So don't be left behind. So the word blessed

  660. there is from the word barak. B -A -R -A -K,

  661. barak. It's the word barak. It means to welcome

  662. in this context. of Genesis 1. It means to welcome

  663. or it means to congratulate. In other words,

  664. the writer explained that both male and female

  665. men are welcomed into God's new humanity, that

  666. is God's new creation, which is in the image

  667. and the likeness of God. Let's see, what was

  668. the intention? 28 God blessed them who are them

  669. the male and the female right We saw that so

  670. in Sam verse 28 In Sam verse 28 he says and God

  671. bless them and say down to them be fruitful and

  672. multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it

  673. and have dominion over the fish of the sea and

  674. over the fall of the air and over every living

  675. thing that moved upon the earth So the word sub

  676. -Jew there, let's just move a bit quickly. The

  677. word sub -Jew was derived from the Hebrew word

  678. Kabash. K -A -B -A -S -H. This is God's plan.

  679. We'll see later on what went wrong that resulted

  680. in the nations that you now see appearing in

  681. Matthew 28 upon the mountain of Galilee. So,

  682. kabbash implies to trample under foot, right?

  683. It means to trample under foot. And there's another

  684. word also in that verse, which is the word replenish.

  685. Replenish is the word male, m -a -l -e. All right,

  686. or mala, m -a -l -a. That word was Right was

  687. reference as feud, right? So it means to feel

  688. It means to feel and we see another word appearing.

  689. There's the word multiply. It's not childbirth

  690. The word multiplier was derived from the Hebrew

  691. word rabah right r -a -b -a -h which implies

  692. to increase It implies to increase. And there's

  693. another word also which is the word fruitful

  694. was derived from the word parah, p -a -r -a -h.

  695. This is important because when we are now going

  696. to move to Genesis chapter 11, right, Babel,

    Genesis 11 chapter mention

  697. you understand why there was the division that

  698. happened in Babel that led on to the emerging

  699. of different nations. All right, so just right

  700. follow through. And we have the word fruitful,

  701. which was derived from the Hebrew word para,

  702. which implies to bring forth fruit. And we have

  703. the word dominion, which is derived from a Hebrew

  704. word radar, r -a -d -a -r, radar. All right.

  705. which means to prevail against, to reign, right?

  706. But in this context, without violence and death.

  707. So what was God doing or what was God's plan

  708. of the male man and the male female? Sorry, the

  709. male man and the female man, right? I get that

  710. correct. So is that both men and female? in God's

  711. new creation. They are to what? They are to subdue.

  712. They are to replenish. They are to multiply.

  713. They are to be fruitful. And they are to have

  714. dominion. This is kingdom language. So on the

  715. Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples are hearing

  716. these same words. Christ is calling their attention

  717. to this same thing. that this is the plan. So,

  718. they are going to be fruitful. How are they going

  719. to be fruitful? Through the preaching of the

  720. gospel of God. How are they going to bring the

  721. reign of Christ? By the preaching of the gospel.

  722. If you go to Mark 16, it now says that you will

  723. trample against the works of the evil one. That

  724. is to subdue. So they were to subdue darkness,

  725. not people. Take note of that. The wakes of the

  726. enemy. And later on in Mark it says, in my name

  727. you shall cast out devils, in my name you shall

  728. open the eyes of the blind, in my name you shall

  729. take up serpents. Serpents there talks about

  730. the wakes of the evil one. What went in their

  731. mind is Genesis 1, 2 into 3. was in Genesis 1

  732. 2 into 3 we see the X or the works of the evil

  733. one who came and distorted the plan of God and

  734. Christ is saying there is a reversal of that

  735. which the enemy has done and what how are they

  736. going to do it you guys on the Mount of Galilee

  737. you are going and subJew you are going to have

  738. dominion you are going to multiply Are we together?

  739. And some of the things you see there is that

  740. in Mark 16, just in closing, right? Yes. Let's

  741. see, Mark 16. Mark 16, let's go to Mark 16. You

  742. understand when Philip went down to the city

  743. of Samaria, right? Okay, let's go to Acts, Acts,

  744. just in closing. Acts chapter eight. Acts 8.

  745. Acts chapter 8. From verses 6 and from verses

    Acts 8 chapter mention

  746. 5. Starts from 5. Then Philip went down to the

  747. city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them.

  748. Right. This is Genesis 1, 26 to 28. They have

  749. understood it and they are taking action. Right.

  750. And the people gave heed to those things which

  751. Philip specked, seeing the miracles which he

  752. did. For unclean spirits, what is happening?

  753. Subduing the darkness. The unclean spirits crying

  754. out with a loud voice came out of many who were

  755. possessed with them, and many taken with pulses,

  756. and that where lame were healed, and there was

  757. great joy in the city of Samaria. But there was

  758. a certain man called Simeon, which beforehand

  759. in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the

  760. people of Samaria, giving unto them that he himself

  761. was some great one. To him also, to him, sorry,

  762. to him they all gave heed from the least to the

  763. greatest, saying this man is the great power

  764. of God. And to him they had regard because that

  765. of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

  766. But when they believed Philip, Philip's preaching,

  767. the things concerning the kingdom of God and

  768. the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized

  769. both men and female. Then Simon, the sorcery,

  770. by this is now maybe a brother. Then Simon himself

  771. believed also, is now a brother. And then he

  772. was baptized and continued with Philip. and warn

  773. that beholding the miracles and the signs which

  774. he has done. So that means what the disciples

  775. started to do now, having understood, they now

  776. started going to dark places that were hold by

  777. the kingdom of darkness. People that were hold

  778. by the kingdom of darkness and they were preaching

  779. the gospel of Christ. They were announcing the

  780. reign of Christ. and to those places. So same

  781. applies to us today. We have the same mandate

  782. in all places where we go, in our schools, in

  783. our communities, where we live, society around

  784. us, to bring the same gospel of Christ to those

  785. places, to the unbelievers. Without discrimination,

  786. we are to preach the word of the Lord. Right?

  787. Yes, because this is the plan of God from the

  788. beginning, to bring light in darkness. So we

  789. light dark areas, we light dark areas, we claim

  790. the nations of the world to God. So therefore,

  791. that means we have to engage much more in evangelism

  792. with this understanding that we are participating

  793. in God's plans and purposes for the whole earth,

  794. right? So we'll end here today. In the coming

  795. meeting, we are going to move to the Tower of

  796. Babel that is on Wednesday. What then went wrong

  797. and how God is making, how God made things right

  798. now, right from Babel. So, let's just pray. Lord,

  799. I go out, I preach the gospel without discrimination.

  800. We appreciate you being here today. We hope you

  801. carry this word with you throughout your week.

  802. Don't forget to check the show notes for additional

  803. insights. Stay connected with us through our

  804. website or follow us on social media. If you

  805. were encouraged, share this message with someone

  806. you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.