Day 2: Greater Works (Part 5)

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. John chapter 14, from where our theme

John 14 · chapter mention

is John chapter 14. verse 12 John chapter 14

John 14 · chapter mention John 14:12

verse 12 John chapter 14 verse 12 he says most

John 14:12

assuredly I say to you he who believes in me

the works that I do he will do also and greater

works than this he will do because I go to my

father and Matthew chapter 7 Matthew chapter

Matthew 7 · chapter mention Matthew 7 · chapter mention

7 Matthew 7 21 Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 Not

Matthew 7:21

everyone who said to me Lord Lord shall enter

the kingdom of heaven But he who does the will

of my father in heaven so Just here is speaking

And then he's saying that the one that will be

part of his kingdom, the one that will be part

of his father's kingdom is the one that does

the will of the father. Hallelujah. Now, what

is that will of the father? What is that will

of the father? You know, what is that will? What

is that will littered around scriptures? we'll

see that the scriptures contains the will of

God, the will of the Father. Now that word will

is a word that is translated from the Greek into

the English Bible that we have and that will

is the word Thelema in the Greek T -H -E -L -E

-M -A T -H - E L E M A and it means the desire

okay is a word that when used it can be used

to express desire similarly is a word that also

you know can be used for purpose or determining

tension contextually in scriptures It refers

to God's revealed purpose. God's revealed purpose,

especially in His redemptive plan that is made

known to us in the scriptures. So when the Bible

is talking about the will of the Father, it has

to do with what God has proposed, what God has

determined. What God has determined so when Jesus

Christ is saying that not everyone who said to

me Lord Lord Shall enter into the kingdom of

heaven, but he who does the will of my father

in heaven Jesus speaks of you know the one that

will Will align himself to God's purpose to God

determine intention from the beginning and of

course, we know that is actually You know the

walk of faith so God's will is that we will be

part of his Of his kingdom and to be part of

his kingdom is to believe in he who he has sent

And he who has sent is Christ who has come to

die for the sins of the whole world and when

we believe that The sins our sins are in Christ

as he was crucified And then he died and he rose

again Then we become part of the kingdom of God.

Hallelujah So Jesus's earthly mission as revealed

in scriptures Is to accomplish the Father's will

that was the lima and we'll see in John chapter

John 4:34

4 verse 34 Jesus will say that my foot is to

do the wheel of him who sent me, the wheel of

him who sent me. My foot is to do the wheel of

him who sent me. Jesus said to them, my foot

is to do the wheel of him who sent me and to

finish his work. And we have been called to do

the work, do the works. And these works are embedded

in the wheel of God for us. Hallelujah. And then

in John chapter 6 verse 36, you will see another

John 6:36

statement of Jesus Christ. He says, I've come

down from heaven not to do my own will, but to

do the will of Him who sent me. And now we can

see the cross reference in Matthew 26 verse 39.

Matthew 26:39

So the same emphasis continues throughout the

epistles. We'll see Paul will be praying. That

the believer will be filled with what? with a

knowledge of his will So that day that is asked

the believers now may work worthy of the Lord

Colossians chapter 1 verse 9 Colossians chapter

Colossians 1:9 Colossians 1:9–10

1 verse 9 to 10 We'll see where Paul is praying.

He says for this reason We also since the day

we heard Do not cease to pray for you and to

ask that you may be filled with the knowledge

of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Of course, by context of what we've discussed

yesterday, we know where we can see the knowledge

of His will. Vastan says that you may work worthy

of the Lord. When we come to a comprehension

of His will, We will walk worthy of the Lord

pleasing him fully pleasing him being fruitful

way in a walk of ministry in every good walk

and Increasing in the knowledge of God So we'll

see later on Epaphras in chapter 4 verse 12 Epaphras

in the same text chapter 4 verse 12 same scripture

it says Epaphras who is one of you a born servant

of Christ greet you So it is essential that the

believer come to understanding what the will

of God is. It is important that the believer

has, you know, a proper foundation of the will

of God. Believers as well are chosen by God's

will. By God's will, Ephesians chapter 1 verse

Ephesians 1:5

5 will see that our salvation is God's will Ephesians

Ephesians 1:5

chapter 1 verse 5 He says having predestined

us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself

According to the pleasure of his will the pleasure

of his will Give me verse 9 verse 9 Ephesians

Ephesians 1:9

1 verse 9 having made known to us the mystery

of his will according to his good pleasure good

which he proposed in himself verse 11 verse 11

in him also we have obtained an inheritance being

predestined according to the purpose of him who

works all things according to the council according

to the council of His will. So we see the council

and we see the will of God. Yesterday we look

at how related, you know, we look at the idea

of the council of God and we're just trying to

emphasize because the scripture, the Bible from

Genesis to Revelation is a book that encompasses

the plans, the purpose, the will of God. Not

only that we are safe, What we are choosing according

to God's will we are commanded to understand

the will of God in Ephesians 5 verse 7 Paul continues

Ephesians 5:7

communication to the Ephesian Church Ephesians

Ephesians 5:17

5 verse 17 says 5 verse 17 says therefore do

not be unwise but understand what the will of

the Lord is okay What the will of the world is

not only that we understand it, but we do the

will of God. Ephesians 6 verse 6 Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6:6 Ephesians 6:6

verse 6 Ephesians 6 verse 6 not with eye service

Ephesians 6:6

as men pleasers but as born servants of Christ

doing the will of God from where from our hearts

from our hearts and then we endure the will of

God Hebrews 10 verse 36 Hebrews chapter 10 verse

Hebrews 10:36 Hebrews 10:36

36 For you have need of endurance So that after

you have done the will of God you may receive

what the promise All right, and of course 1st

Thessalonians talks about holiness, which is

his will 1st Thessalonians 4 verse 3 says he's

calling the believers to pursue for this is the

will of God Your sanctification and what is that

that you should abstain from sexual immorality,

hallelujah And then giving thanks in all situation

is a will of God for the believer 1st Thessalonians

5 18 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18 says

in everything give thanks For this is a will

of God in Christ Jesus. So the will of God in

Christ Jesus is not everything but the will of

God in Christ Jesus is that the believer the

Christian should give thanks in all circumstances

hallelujah so ultimately God's will or the word

thalima is revealed in the scripture so we will

find the will of God within the scriptures therefore

anyone called to serve God as we are believers

in in Him, we believe in Him, we are born of

God, we must diligently study the scriptures

so that we will be able to rightly discern His

will. For only by knowing His revealed will can

we faithfully accomplish the works that He has

called us to do. Because if we don't know, we

will not be able to accomplish the task. So the

study of the Old Testament scriptures as we've

started looking at yesterday is not optional

for us because these are scriptures that explain

to us the desires, the purpose, the plan of God.

It reveals to us the foundational truth about

the will of God and how we can fulfill the will

of God. Hallelujah. So our emphasis yesterday

was that the All Testament scriptures, what we

call the All Testament scriptures are, you know,

the scriptures by which Jesus himself was able

to see himself and the purpose for which he accomplished

on the earth. And we say that the apostles themselves,

their ministry, all the works they did were also

from the scriptures because that is the boundary

for the works that they've been called to do.

And we emphasize so much about the Old Testament

scriptures. Now, the New Testament scriptures

writings are also part of scripture. We must

emphasize this because we are not trying to reduce,

you know, the authority of the New Testament

scriptures just to bring a clarity to that. You

know, Peter places Paul's letters, most of the

uh what do you call it epistles it places the

authority on those writings as scriptures we

see in second peter chapter 3 verse 15 to 16

2 Peter 3:15–16

when he was speaking in this epistle let's let's

just look at how the apostles saw you know the

the epistles that they were writing in that in

those times second peter chapter 3 verse 15 second

2 Peter 3:15 2 Peter 3:15

peter chapter 3 verse 15 And consider that the

longsuffering of our Lord is salvation as also

our beloved brother Paul Okay, our beloved brother

Paul, which means that the Apostles especially

Paul Who was a letter apostle? You know half

an understanding of the gospel as handed down

by Jesus Christ to the apostles not only that

he had an encounter but there was a synchronization

of doctrine they were able to he was able to

align himself so he says as also our beloved

brother Paul according to the wisdom given to

him as written to you verse 16 as also in all

his epistles talking about the writings of Paul

what Paul wrote how did Peter saw the writings

of Paul speaking in them of things in which are

some speaking in them of these things in which

are some things hard to understand not that they

cannot be understood but they are hard to understand

which unlearned people people that are untaught

and unstable people twist to their own destruction

as they do the rest of scriptures so that statement

the rest of scriptures will mean that he is putting

the writings of paul and the holy scriptures

at his genesis to malachi on the same level of

authority and saying that people who are untaught

who are unlearned they twist the rest of the

scriptures including the writings of Paul, the

epistles of Paul, to their own destruction. Hallelujah.

So Paul caught both Deuteronomy, okay, in his

writings, we will see an instance where not only

that he made reference to the Old Testament scriptures,

he also made reference to some things in Luke,

for example, in Deuteronomy 25 verse 4. Luke

Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7

chapter 10 verse 7 he caught this together in

1st Timothy chapter 5 verse 18. Let's look at

1st Timothy chapter 5 verse 18 1st Peter chapter

5 verse 18 we see where Paul is making reference

to the Old Testament scriptural and equally bringing

in you know an instance from Luke chapter 10

Luke 10:7

verse 7 it says for the scripture says You shall

not muzzle an ox while it threes out the grain

Okay, and then he brings in, collaborates it

with a part of scripture that is in Luke. He

says, and the laborer is what is worthy of his

wages. So they, in their writings, recognize

the authority of the gospel. Paul himself recognized

the authority of the gospel writings. The New

Testament, of course, will see the expressions,

not only him, the early church historically.

Utam Unopa made us to go into history to see

how they handle this, the early church handle

some of this, what do you call it? Handle the

epistles when they were collected. But I want

you to understand that they understand the ideas

as expressed. Of course, Luke chapter 10 verse

Luke 10:7

7, I said yesterday that the... That the the

cosmos were written sometimes a letter All right,

you were eating sometimes later, but most of

this were narratives, okay, there was A custom

of you know storytelling of the things that happen

Again time will not permit us to go into how

you know, they preserve the historic events of

Jesus Christ and how, you know, they were corroborated

and written down for us. So let's move on to

what we started looking at yesterday. We're trying

to look at the message of God as presented in

the Old Testament scriptures. You know, how the

Old Testament scriptures, especially the book

of Genesis, is the book or is where God revealed

His will and His purpose for us. And we started

with a particular theme that is important that

we're going to continue establishing on today,

and then we conclude. We say that one of the

first themes or the first theme as expressed

in the book of Genesis is the creation theology.

And we say that the creation is, you know, the

biblical theology that is a starting point for

understanding the message of the entire Bible.

And we emphasize that the first two chapters

of Genesis provides us, you know, the theological

framework to understanding every major doctrine

in the scriptures. Okay, because they open us

up to God's plan, God's purpose and God's will.

And without a proper understanding of this, you

know, the creation theology, we cannot properly

understand the rest of scriptures. Of course,

understanding the will of God, understanding

the works that we are to do, understanding what

God has done in Christ. So it is important for

us in our ministry, because without this comprehension,

It's impossible to walk in the will of God. It

is impossible to walk in the plan of God. Many

of the, you know, challenges we've had especially

in the Christian faith stems from the very basic

foundational explanations. Especially when it

comes to the concept of salvation. If a man cannot

properly explain what salvation is and it's difficult

for him. In fact, you cannot trust anybody. Whatever

he's going to teach If he does not understand

the basics the basis has to do with salvation

and we can see this at the very very beginning

of God's plan and God's intention. Let's go to

Genesis chapter 1 Genesis chapter 1 In the beginning

Genesis 1 · chapter mention Genesis 1 · chapter mention

God created the heavens and the earth the earth

was without form and void and darkness was on

the face of the deep and The Spirit of God was

hovering over the face of the water. So yesterday

what we did basically was to Try to explain Genesis

1 1 Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 Genesis chapter

Genesis 1:2 Genesis 1:3

1 verse 3 Today probably just focus on just verse

4 and verse 5 and God saw the light that it was

good and God divided the light from the darkness

God called the light day and the darkness He

called night. So the evening and the morning

were the first day. So from verse 4 and verse

5, we see that God's plan, of course from chapter

1 verse 1 down to verse 5, in the context of

it is that God's plan is to separate darkness

and light. Okay, it's a separate darkness and

light And it is in this that he will it will

be good when there is a separation between darkness

and light That is his plan and we've seen that

darkness light are figurative expressions in

scriptures. They are not literal We spend so

much time yesterday trying to see how they are

used across the scriptures Mostly figuratively

referring to spiritual, you know realities Sometimes

light is referred to individuals it refers to

you know people it refers Christ call himself

light of the world and there are instances where

the believers are called the light of the world

so when we see the light especially as presented

at the very very beginning of Genesis it is used

in a figurative way and Consistently we see in

scriptures. That is how it is used so also in

this place. So this was a major theme in the

later writings of scriptures. We observe the

contrast of the same theme in the four gospels,

light and darkness. Luke chapter 16 verse 8.

Luke 16:8

Luke chapter 16 verse 8, we see a bit of a contrasting

Luke 16:8

between light and darkness. So the master commended

the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly

for the sons of this world. are more shrewd in

their generation than the sons of light. Hallelujah.

So light here is associated to the children of

God. Okay. So this similar, you know, idea concerning

light and darkness in his usage in scripture

can be seen in Paul's writing. Second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 6:14

chapter 6 verse 14. Second Corinthians chapter

2 Corinthians 6:14

6 verse 14. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14,

2 Corinthians 6:14

yes. Do not be unequally yoked together with

unbelievers. Yesterday we saw this text. For

what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?

And what communion has light with darkness? What,

you know, communion has light with darkness?

So here Paul is contrasting light and darkness.

as two opposite that should not be allowed to

function together and In his writing here unbelievers

are regarded as darkness Okay, and then the believers

are regarded as light in his writings So in this

text, we see how he deliberately described the

unbeliever as unrighteousness, darkness, and

further on in the subsequent, let's read the

subsequent verses, verse 15, let's see verse

15. Verse 15, and what accord has Christ with

Belial, or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

And what agreement has a temple of God? with

idols For you at a temple of the living God as

God has said I will dwell in them and Walk among

them and I will be their God and they shall be

my people. So this was a promise that God Introduced

the children of Israel when he you know, he brought

them out of Egypt That is his plan and purpose

right from Genesis all right that light will

shine in the hearts of men and there will be

union between the heavens and the earth hallelujah

and then we see the children of israel as god

called them out of egypt reintroducing the similar

message to them that he will dwell among them

all right be with them and we see you know doing

it in in these deliverance In the deliverance

of the children of Israel, we see how God was

with them. And even in the wilderness, we see

the presence of God with them in clouds, in fire,

and the miraculous things that happens in the

wilderness. We see the presence of God always

with them. And then we see Jesus Christ coming,

you know, in the flesh, establishing, you know,

a permanent work that God had in his mind right

from the beginning that he gave us a spirit and

the spirit living with us today permanently hallelujah

so here in this text we see that paul describes

the unbeliever as unrighteousness as darkness

as bilial bilial is a god temple of idols he

described the believer as righteousness he described

the believer as light he described the believer

as christ and the temple of God. These descriptions

are codified terminologies or pointers in the

Hebrew text. So Paul here is not just writing

from his own head, but actually the origin of

what he's writing here is from the Hebrew text,

from Genesis to Malachi. So this shows a clear

division between light and darkness. As pointed

by what we see in the creation story here in

Genesis chapter 1 From verse 1 down to verse

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

5 so far that we've read So second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:1

chapter 4 verse 1, let's look at second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:1

chapter 4 verse 1 First Corinthians chapter 4

1 Corinthians 4:1

verse 1, second Corinthians right there. Therefore

since we have this ministry as we have received

mercy, we do not lose heart We do not lose heart,

but we have renounced the hidden things of shame

not walking in the craftiness In craftiness no

handling the word of God deceitfully But by manifestation

of truth commending ourselves to every man's

conscious in the sight of God verse 3 But even

if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those

who are perishing Whose minds the God of this

age has blinded? Who do not believe lest the

light of the gospel so here we see, you know

the gospel Light here relating to the gospel

whose mind the God of his each has blinded who

do not believe Lest the light of the gospel of

the glory of Christ who is the image of God Should

shine on them For we do not preach ourselves,

but Christ Jesus the Lord ourselves your born

servant for Jesus's sake. Verse 6. For it is

the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness.

So where did we see God commanding light to shine

out of darkness? We see God commanding light

to shine out of darkness in Genesis. Genesis

Genesis 1:1

chapter 1 verse 1 that we just read. For it is

God who commanded light So here Paul is explaining

that text. He is in that text to explain the

plan and the purpose of God. He says, for it

is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,

who has shone in our hearts to give the light

of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face

of Jesus Christ. So here he described the gospel

as light. Light of the glorious gospel of Christ

who is the image of God that gospel shines on

to the recipient who receives it Okay, secondly

The gospel is hidden to those who are lost Is

that the God of the world has blinded their mind

so look at verse 5 give me verse 5 again in verse

5 You see that he explicitly state that Christ

is that message. Okay, and the focus of the gospel

So he described the gospel as the light of what?

He described the gospel as the light of the glorious

of the gospel of Christ So that statement Commanded

light to shine out of darkness was not referring

to the Sun Okay, he was not referring to the

Sun or the moon and the stars or the creation

of the solar system because he had described

the glorious gospel of Christ as that light that

shines into the heart of men in verse four. So

as I stated earlier on, this was a direct reference

to what? To Genesis one, from verse one to two

and three. Also in the context of second Corinthians

chapter four, verse three to six, the darkness

has to do with the heart of man, okay? The darkness

there has to do with the heart of man Which is

a state of man without the gospel of Christ that

darkness is found in the heart of a man without

that gospel of Christ And we'll see how John

explained this in his account in chapter John

John 1:4

chapter 1 verse 4 will help us to see how this

darkness is in the heart of Those that don't

have they don't have the gospel John chapter

John 1:49

1 verse 49. He says in him was life. Okay, and

the life was the light of men and The light shines

in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend

it There was a man sent from God whose name was

John this man came for a witness to bear witness

of the light that all through him might believe,

verse 8. He was not the light but was sent to

bear witness of that light. That was a true light

which gives light to every man. So the light

gives light to every man. This true light is

a personality here. is not the sun, is not the

moon, but the light is used to express, to figuratively,

you know, point to the person of Jesus Christ

as the one who comes to light men. So we saw

this also in Jesus's, you know, teachings. Jesus

also taught the same in his teachings John chapter

John 8:12

8 verse 12 We've read this several times where

he emphatically called himself that light Then

Jesus spoke to them saying I am the light of

the world Okay, he who follows me shall not walk

in darkness but have the light of life Chapter

9 verse 5 we see more emphasis of that chapter

9 verse 5 Then just spoke to them. Okay, as long

as I am in the world I am the light of what of

the world chapter 11 verse 9 and 10 Chapter 11

verse 9 and 10 of John Jesus answered are there

not 12 hours in the day If anyone walks in the

day, he does not stumble because he sees the

light of this world But if one walks in the night

he stumbles because the light is not in him So

the light is expected to be in men. Okay verse

11 These things he said and after he said to

them our friends Lazarus sleeps, but okay, okay

Yeah, so we see that Jesus Christ here is teaching

and is mentioning and emphasizing that he himself

is the light So we can see evidently from Paul's

explanation In 2 Corinthians 4, relating to Jesus

as a light is the consistent message in the epistles

and even in the words of Jesus himself. So the

gospel of Christ is that light of God. When a

man believes and receives the same, he is no

longer in darkness, but in light, in the light

of the Lord. He becomes a child of light. So

this is the message that we can see that Moses

was trying to communicate to his audience in

Genesis chapter 1 Let's look at more explanation

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Ephesians 5 verse 8 Ephesians 5 verse 8 Ephesians

Ephesians 5:8 Ephesians 5:8 Ephesians 5:8

5 verse 8 as children of light here paul speaking

to the efficient church he uses the word darkness

however to describe the state of a man he says

you were once darkness but now you are light

so he describes the state of man who is yet to

believe in the gospel as darkness okay so darkness

here is figurative explaining or bringing The

picture or explaining a man who does not believe

in Jesus as the Savior So the man without a spirit

or the man without life is referred to here as

darkness. All right So 2nd Corinthians 6 verse

14 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 14 and 16 Where we

read Elaron We'll see that he contrasts these

ideas together, okay? He explained here that

the God of the world blinds the mind of those

who are lost who are yet to believe in the gospel

Okay in this text, so I'm trying to point to

us the condition of a man trying to explain how

darkness will emphasize light but darkness you

know use figuratively as those who do not believe

and In Ephesians 5 verse 8 refers to the unbelievers

Ephesians 5:8

and Paul telling the Ephesians that they were

once in that state But at this moment the light

has shone in their heart. All right, let's let's

let's check again Ephesians second second Corinthians

of the 10 verse 3 Second Corinthians of the 10

verse 3 To see how that darkness works in men

for though we walk in the flesh We do not war

according to the flesh For the weapon for was

for was for but was for For the weapons of our

warfare are not carnal but mighty In God for

pulling downward strongholds. Okay, we now strongholds

verse 5 casting down imaginations, casting down

arguments and every high thing that exalts itself

against the knowledge of God, and bringing every

thought into the captivity to even the obedience

of Christ. So Paul here is referring to the mind

of man, okay? And remember we say that this light

shines in the heart of a man. The darkness itself

also what? has his grip in the mind of men. So

Paul was referring to the mind of men in this

text, which functions through information, through

knowledge and understanding. So the statement

to the obedience of Christ was referring to the

gospel which Christ, which is Christ of course,

which is that same light that he has consistently

expressed in his writings. So in other words,

through the preaching of the gospel, we pull

down that stronghold Okay, that casts down imaginations

That exists in the mind of those who do not believe

So it will be very important to know that the

mind of man That is a man that is lost the man

that is unbelieving Can hinder him from receiving

salvation which is a light of the gospel the

glorious gospel. So Paul clearly explain the

importance also of the believer even the believer

to renewing his mind also because the mind is

where the operation of light happens the mind

is where the operation of darkness happens so

even the believer Romans 12 verse 2 needs to

Romans 12:2

regularly you know renew his mind by the word

of the gospel that they receive when he does

He will not conform himself to the darkness,

to the system of the world that is around him.

And by renewing his mind by the light, by the

gospel that he has received, he will approve

that he will walk in the will of God. So clearly,

where we see the darkness or the light and the

darkness is in operation is in the mind of men.

So the decision -making process of a man is in

his mind, okay? And for the believer to walk

in God's will, he must constantly renew his mind

with a written word. So the mind therefore plays

a vital role in recognizing and walking in God's

plan on the earth. Now remember we said that

the conversation in Genesis 1 is heaven and earth,

okay? and the idea of that light is talking about

men and we say that that has to do with the heart

of men okay the heart of men so in second Corinthians

chapter four verse three we read Eleron let's

go back to that text again to make emphasis on

the issue of the heart then we'll move on second

Corinthians chapter four verse three chapter

4 verse 3 It says even if the gospel is veiled

and we know what that gospel is, right? What

is the gospel is what has been described as light,

right? So even if the gospel is veiled it is

veiled to those who are perishing. Why are they

perishing? Because verse 4 something has happened

to their mind Whose mind the God of this age

has blinded so the God of this age has blinded

In the Old Kingdoms, they used the word hearts,

the word hearts or mind. And it was, you know,

translated from the Greek word, cardia. We've

seen this in church some times back. And it refers

to that core place, a central place of a man's

will, where activities happens, where he makes

decisions. That unseen part of the man. So from

Paul's explanation in the text that we've read

so far, especially referring to the heart, where

we see darkness and light operates, it is evident

that the reason why the light of the glorious

gospel of Christ does not shine the heart of

the lost or the unbelieving is that the God of

this world has blinded their minds. That is,

for the light of the gospel to shine in their

hearts, it must pass through their mind. The

mind is very vital, you know, to them receiving

the light of the gospel. Therefore the mind is

the heart because by blinding the minds of them

that believe not the God of this world invariably

blinds their heart. So you see exchange in scriptures

mind and heart sometimes is mind sometimes is

heart. Let's see Ephesians 4 verse 17 Ephesians

Ephesians 4:17 Ephesians 4:17

4 verse 17 and verse 18 So the believer is one

who has clearly, you know receive that light

of the glorious gospel I Say therefore and testifying

the Lord that you should no longer work as the

rest of the Gentiles Okay, let me check my text

Ephesians Okay, having okay give me verse the

previous verse verse 17. Yes This I say therefore

and testify in the law that you should no longer

work as the rest of the Gentiles Work and the

futility of what of their minds because they

are in darkness. Okay having their understanding

darkened being Alienated from the life of God

So number one we see that being in darkness simply

means to be alienated from the what from the

life of God because of ignorance that is in them

because of the blindness of what of their heart.

All right. So this is the condition of the unbeliever,

but the believer has clearly received the light

of the glorious gospel through his mind and believed.

Therefore he is called a new creation. Hallelujah.

So you see, Paul has a technicality of always

using Old Testament messages or themes or Vabbage

and explaining, you know and writing his epistles

in 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17 He would refer

to the one that has received the glorious message

and then he will call him what a new creation

2nd Corinthians 5 17 He says therefore if anyone

in Christ He is a new creation all things have

passed what has passed away the life that is

defined in darkness the light that is that is

defined by darkness. All things, that old things

have passed away. Behold, all things have become

new. So this is a man that light has shone in

his heart. All right, this is a man that the

light of the gospel has been shone in his heart

and he has received that light of the gospel.

So he's called a new creation. So we see the

idea of the creation theology expressed in the

context of the salvation of man. So we see Jesus

Christ will be referring to people who believe

in Matthew 5 verse 14. Matthew 5 verse 14 because

Matthew 5:14 Matthew 5:14

they have the light in them. Matthew 5 verse

Matthew 5:14

14 and 16 says, you are the light of the world.

You are the light of the world. A city set on

a hill cannot be hidden. Jesus describes his

audience as a light of the world, which is in

reference to what God's creation in Genesis referring

to you know the explanation of Genesis chapter

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

1 from verse 1 down to verse 3 verse 4 verse

5. However in verse 16 we see him saying let

your light shine this clearly shows that the

believer has a responsibility once he receives

the light in himself is to do all is to shine

the light and we've described and we've defined

the light as what the glorious message of the

gospel hallelujah so this will be seen in the

conduct and the preaching of the gospel in this

world so how the believer will allow the light

that he has received to be seen in the midst

of darkness in the midst of chaos is by his conduct

And by the preaching that he preaches about what

he has received and what he has in him. Okay?

So this is exactly similar to what we see in

Ephesians 5 verse 8, where Paul described the

Ephesians 5:8

believers as light in the world. Okay? For you

were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Work as children of light. So, the believer is

light in the Lord. Okay, the believer has received

light he has become light and he has light so

he is to shine the light even on earth on earth

Within a human relationship within human, you

know interaction The light that is in us who

have belief should be allowed to shine So this

shows the believers identity is light all right

This shows that the believer's identity is light,

while the identity of the unbeliever is called

darkness. And we see Paul, you know, instructing

the believers to walk as children of light. Walk

as children of light. Say, walk as children of

what? Of light, verse 8. He says, walk as children

of light. That walk has to do with peripatio,

which figuratively implies to live. children

of light to follow it also implies to conduct

yourself or a disposition that is influenced

by the nature of light that is in the believer

so the believer is no longer in darkness but

that light has been shown in his heart so he

has an identity a new creation has been formed

creation you know theology a new man has been

formed He has received light and he has become

light himself. So let him walk in the newness

of life that he has So the word as walk as children

of light as employed by Paul here Will be the

same thing as Jesus will say let your light shines

they are synonymous. So what Paul is saying Walk

as children of light is synonymous to what Christ

is saying in Matthew 5 14 and 16. Let your light

shine Let your light shine before men that they

may see and give glory to God So both speakers

are passing across Jesus and Paul here are passing

across the same instruction You know same instruction

We see severely in Paul's epistles Romans chapter

Romans 6:4

6 verse 4 Romans chapter 6 verse 4 Therefore

Romans 6:4

we are buried with him through baptism into his

death that Jesus that just as Christ was raised

from the dead by the glory of the Father, even

so also should walk. How to walk there is the

word paripatheo in the Greek, p -e -r -i -p -a

-t -e -o, p -e -r -i -p -a -t -e -o. Walk in

a newness of life. What is the newness of life?

The newness of life has to do with the light

kind of life, the life that has received the

light of God. Hallelujah Galatians 5 16 Galatians

5 16 Galatians up to 5 16 Paul in his epistle

will emphasize the believer to walk in that light

I Say don't walk in the spirit. You see the word

spirit All right is used to refute the light

walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill

the loss of the flesh Ephesians 4 verse 1 Visions

Ephesians 4:1

of the 4 verse 1 so That life is a spirit. Ephesians

Ephesians 4:1

4 verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord

beseech you to walk worthy of the calling which

you were called. What was the calling that we

are called to walk in the light? That is a calling

right from the beginning, right? We are called

into light to walk in the light. So we are expected

to respond to that which we are in. Ephesians

Ephesians 5:2

5 verse 2. Ephesians 5 verse 2. And how do we

Ephesians 5:2

respond? By our conduct and by the preaching.

By conduct and by preaching. It says, and walk

in love. So that light, life of light has to

do with love. It says walk in love as Christ

also had loved us and given himself for us an

offering, an offering and a sacrifice to God

for His sweet. Smelling sour. All right, Colossians

Colossians 1:10

1 verse 10 Colossians chapter 1 verse 10 That

Colossians 1:10

you may walk worthy of the Lord Fully pleasing

him being fruitful in every good walk. Where

do we first see something that is good? Hmm In

Genesis, right? He said and it was good Genesis

Genesis 1:3

chapter 1 verse 3 and God said let there be light

and there was light and God saw that the light

that it was what it was good hallelujah so Colossians

Colossians 1:10

1 verse 10 we see that the life of the the life

of a believer in the light is a good life hallelujah

That you may work worthy of the Lord fully pleasing

him being fruitful in every good work and increasing

in the knowledge of God So poor clearly identifies

a work peculiar to the man who is born again

how he ought to conduct himself in the war in

this world and Glorify God in his conduct in

the earth So This is God's light shining out

of darkness. OK, this is the idea of God's light

shining out of darkness. God's desire is that

there will be distinction. OK, there will be

distinction between light and darkness. So this

is what God would refer to as good in the creation

narrative that we see in Genesis chapter one.

That we will walk in the light, that we will

allow the light that God has put in us to do

what? To find expression. Later we'll see, even

in John's epistles, I think in the first John

or second John about the way he says that they

should walk in the light, alright? And when he's

talking about walking in the light, he's referring

to Genesis, the expression, the plan and the

purpose of God is that the believer will walk

in that kind of life, you know, and John will

say that Jesus is at light, okay? Jesus is at

light. John chapter 1 we say that Jesus is that

John 1 · chapter mention

light we see it there Okay so Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 5:8

5 verse 8 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 to 11 for

Ephesians 5:8–11

you were once darkness But you are light in the

Lord work as children of light. Okay for the

fruit of the spirit in all goodness righteousness

and truth finding out what is acceptable to the

Lord and have no fellowship with what with the

unfruitful works of darkness but rather what

do we do how do you expose works of darkness

it's by walking in the light how do you expose

the work of darkness is by preaching the gospel

when we allowed what we have within us to find

expression we expose the works of darkness We

expose the works of darkness. Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2:1

2 verse 1. We see further description of the

believer. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1. And he

Ephesians 2:1

who made a life, who were dead in trespasses

and sins, in which he once worked according to

the cause of this world. According to the Prince

of the power of the air the spirit who now walks

in the sense of disobedience According to the

spirit that now walks, so there's a walk. There's

a darkness that walks in the sense of disobedience

You call it the spirit of disobedience and yesterday

we saw You know the story of Noah Genesis chapter

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

6 where the world was weak was full of wickedness

Okay, we see an instance where wickedness darkness

was upon the face of the earth and God commanded

his life to shine in that darkness Alright, so

the description of the children of disobedience

and it takes here gives an allusion To men without

the life of God Alright men that don't have the

life of God and Jesus similarly described this

contrast and look it it looks 16 looked up the

16 verse 8 See, it's important that we keep seeing

in scriptures how, you know, this narrative is

made clearer. So the master commanded the unjust

to what? Because he asked, they're shrewdly for

the sons of this world are more shrewd in their

generation than the sons of light. So here we

see sons of light, okay, and sons of darkness.

There's a distinction between these two. Therefore,

in the earth today, we have the children of light,

that is believers, and the children of disobedience.

And we are instructed to shine the light or walk

in the light as a mark of separation to the world.

All right? We have to walk in the light as a

mark of separation from the world. This is proper

in God's creation plan. This is what God has

in His plan from the beginning. This is His plan

for the earth. Okay, this is His plan for where?

For the earth. That there should be distinction

between His walks and the walks of darkness.

Romans 13 verse 12 says, the night is fast spent.

Romans 13:12

The day is at hand, therefore let us cast off

the works of darkness and let us put on the armor

of light." This is clearly a direct reference

to God's reordering and giving a function to

the light in the darkness in Genesis chapter

Genesis 1:5

1 verse 5. You know, light should shine amidst

darkness. a supernatural function as a day. You

know, when we see day and night, let's look at

that Genesis, because when we see day, it's not

literal day, okay? It's not literal day. Genesis

Genesis 1:5

1 verse 5 says, God called the day, okay? God

called the light. What did he call the light?

He called the light day. And what did he call

the darkness? Darkness equal night. So the evening

and the morning were the first day. So, when

we see night in scriptures, okay, consistently

we see reference to the works of darkness as

night, okay? So here Paul is making reference

to this text here in his writing. He employed

the words light and day and darkness, all right?

Night to distinguish between the disposition

of a man Alright, so Romans 13, did I read verse

14? Give me verse 14. Yes, put on the Lord Jesus

Christ as and make no provision for what? For

the flesh to fulfill it is lost. Yes, that's

the text I was looking for. Again, it is vital

to recall the term good as we keep seeing in

Genesis chapter 1 verse 4. referring to that

Genesis 1:4

which is proper and fitting in God's plan. So,

in John chapter 1 verse 5, we see clearly also

John 1:5

how John writes, he says, the light shineth in

the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it

not. As children of light, we believers, As we

walk more deliberately in the light shining the

light over darkness in our conduct As we shine

the light of God's glorious gospel in our preaching

and teaching We dispel the darkness that is in

the heart of men. Hallelujah Mark 16 verse 15

Mark 16:15

says and he said to them go ye into all the world

and preach the gospel to every creature When

we fulfill this You know what we do is that we

bring light to the earth we bring light to people

all right by the preaching of the gospel and

of course we'll find the same explanation of

the Christian theology you know in Genesis chapter

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

7 let's let's let's go to Genesis chapter 7 Genesis

Genesis 7 · chapter mention Genesis 7:11

chapter 7 verse 11 Genesis chapter 7 verse 11

Genesis 7:11

in the 600 year of Noah's life in the second

month the seventh the seventh day of the month

on the day all the fountain of the great deep

were broken up and the windows of heaven were

open and the rain was on the earth 40 days and

49 i wanted to see the comparison between this

genesis 7 and genesis 1 you would discover that

in genesis 1 all right god declared his will

and his purpose and we've stretched it over a

long period of time In Genesis 7 you begin to

compare between Genesis 7 and Genesis when you

discover that it is actually the same plan God

reiterating All right, so let's read to verse

13 and rain was on the earth verse 12 verse 12

and Rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 night.

You see the idea of day Okay, and night, right?

On the very same day Noah and Noah's son shame

Ham and Zapheth and Noah's wife and the three

wives of his sons with them entered the ark.

They had every beast after his kind, all cattle

after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps

on the earth." Does it look like Genesis 1 and

2? Recreation, right? After we see wickedness,

then we see the plan of God. Hallelujah. Yes,

so the art was filled with violence Okay, the

art was very corrupt in the time of Noah this

type of this is a typology of the chaos and a

disorder and the violence and The roaring which

can be explained as we saw in Genesis chapter

Genesis 1:1

1 verse 1 and 2 Okay, the same story Expressed

toward through the story of Noah Noah's time

was characterized by chaos. So Noah built an

ark. What is that ark that Noah built? What is

that ark that Noah built? So Genesis 7 is also,

you know, God's new renewing what he has said

in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. The ark was translated

Genesis 1:1

from the Hebrew word tabba. The word tabab, T

-A -B -A -H. And then the word has, the idea

of ark has a context. That's a context to the

culture of the people of that day. The word is

from the Egyptian world. And then that ark from

the Egyptian world is a shrine. Okay, it's a

shrine for idols and gods, small gods. It's a

dwelling with three levels. in compartments and

by implication is a temple is a house for God

so what Noah was asked the ark is actually a

shrine you know a temple kind of structure and

when we look at the dimensions of the ark it

has three floors you know specifically as God

will give Noah to build so it is important to

note that the first place God established the

temple space was in Genesis chapter 2 verse 8

Genesis 2:8

Okay, the first place we will see God establish

a concept of a temple a place of fellowship.

I Wish we were halftime. We're gonna have maybe

in church. We're gonna treat this about You know

the sin of Adam and what is truly and actually

the sin of Adam So in Genesis 2 verse 8, we'll

Genesis 2:8

see the idea of the Garden of Eden The Garden

of Eden as a place of fellowship between God

and man So let's see Genesis chapter 7 verse

Genesis 7:5

5 let's read from verse 5 Genesis 7 verse 5 let's

Genesis 7:5

let's look at more of the story about Noah and

Noah did according to all the Lord commanded

him Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters

were on the earth So Noah with his sons his wife

and his sons wives went into the ark because

of the waters of the flood of clean animals,

of animals that are unclean, of bears, and of

everything that creeps on the earth. Two by two

they went into the ark to Noah, male and female,

as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass,

after seven days, that the waters of the flood

were on the earth. In the 600 year of Noah's

life, If in the second month the seventh day

of the month on the day that all the fountains

of the great deep These were all expressed in

Genesis 1 we see we're broken up and the windows

of heavens were open And the rain was on the

earth 40 days and 40 nights Genesis 8 let's move

to Genesis 8 verse 1 to 4. Genesis 8 verse 1

Genesis 8:1–4 Genesis 8:1–4

to 4 Genesis 8 verse 1 to 4 Then God remembered

Genesis 8:1–4

Noah and every living thing and all the animals

that were with him in the ark. And God made a

wind to pass over the earth. Does it look like

what we saw in Genesis 1? God commanded what?

A wind to pass over the earth. Alright? And the

water subsided. The fountains of the deep and

the windows of heaven were also stopped. And

the rain from heaven was restrained, verse 3.

And the waters receded continually from the earth.

At the end of the 150 days, the waters decreased,

verse 4. Then the ark rested in the seventh month.

Where do we see the idea of rest? Rest is a creation.

Vabbit right from Genesis when God finished his

work he rested then the ark rested in the seventh

month and the seventh day of the month of the

mountains of Ararat move to verse 13 and verse

14 verse 13 and verse 14 and it came to pass

in the 601st year in the first month the first

day of the month that the waters were dried up

from the earth from the air so we see the idea

of earth earth, earth, and Noah removed the covering

of the ark and looked and indeed the surface

of the ground was dry. Hallelujah. So, we observe

and point out the similarities between Genesis

1 and Genesis 7 and 8. The flood of waters, for

example, in Genesis 7 verse 5. Give me verse

Genesis 7:5

5, we'll see the flood of waters. Verse 5, verse

11, verse 12. Say verse 5, Noah did according

to all, yes the Lord has commanded, is this,

yes. Verse 11, of course we see on the day all

the frontiers of the great deep were broken up

and the windows of heaven were opened, yes. So

we have also in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, given

Genesis 1:2

Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 The earth was without

Genesis 1:2

form and void and darkness was on a deep Was

on the face of the deep and the spirit of God

was hovering over the face of the waters Okay

So an arc went upon the waters chapter 7 verse

18 arcs Genesis 7 verse 18. We see that the arc

Genesis 7:18

was upon the waters in Genesis chapter 7 verse

Genesis 7:18

18 The waters prevail and greatly increase on

the earth and the arc move upon on the face surface

of the water Remember we'll talk about the arc

the arc is actually a a temple kind of a structure

a shrine kind of a structure Alright, and it

hovers upon the waters and we'll see similarly

as we read in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 What

Genesis 1:2

do we see in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2? The spirit

Genesis 1:2

move upon the face of the waters right now on

the face of the ground was dry The art was dried

up Genesis chapter 2 chapter 8 verse 2 and to

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

3 chapter 13 Talking about a dry ground. These

are terminologies that when we study We discover

that in the listen in the story of the people

that were there. All right Moses was trying to

communicate in them The consistency of God's

plan. That's what I want to bring to your notice.

All right That what we see in Genesis 1 Genesis

2 We see that it is the iteration of same in

the time of Noah And even when we come to Abraham

we see that similar thing was communicated to

Abraham and even when God came to the children

of Israel in Egypt it was the introduction of

similar conversation right from Genesis So for

every time and for every season we see the consistency

of God's plan in typologies in symbols in Figures

of speech and in all those things the iterating

is eternal purpose for man And his plan is that

his spirit will dwell in men that light will

shine in the hearts of men. Hallelujah So, all

this is important for us to understand that the

creation story is vital. It's vital for us in

understanding the purpose of God. It's very crucial

for us to understand the plan and the purpose

of God. I wish we would go into looking at Genesis

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 and chapter 3 more in detail, that

we would see how sin came into being. Okay, we'll

see how sin came into being and how you know

What actually is that particular sin that Adam

sin in the Garden of Eden? What is the concept

of Eden itself? We'll discover that all this

speaks about the intention of God and a plan

and the purpose of God for humanity and often

times when God declares his plan and his purpose

What do you see? Even in the declaration of God's

plans and purpose is at main In their weaknesses

may fail as we see in the fall of Adam and we

see the salvation of God even in the fall In

a time of Noah we see wickedness in increase

and we see that God interrupted and introduces

himself into their face of the earth For salvation

so that is a message of salvation Even in the

nation of Israel when God began with Abraham

Abraham was a pagan Right? And we see God coming

to him to declare his plan and his purpose for

humanity. And even when the children of Israel,

who are the people that, you know, through which

God has promised to Abraham, were in captivity,

we see that he sent them help. All right? He

sent them Moses, and Moses delivered them and

brought them out of Egypt. We see the salvation

story of God consistently in scriptures. And

even when he brought them out to the wilderness,

they were saved from Egypt. They walked on dry

land, they came out of the waters, you see. And

they were in the wilderness and he declared his

plan and his purpose for them even in their unbelief.

Yet we see the consistency of God's faithfulness

that he still brought about the fulfillment of

his promise. And even when the nation of Israel

enter into the promised land as we read through

their history we will see consistently where

they will disobey they will turn their hearts

away from God and then as they turn their hearts

away from God we will see that they are displaced

okay they will sin and in their sin they will

they will be displaced from the land of promise

does that give us a picture of Adam? Adam placed

in the garden okay and then he's seen and then

he was displaced from the place that he was created

and placed all right so all these things are

explanations of God's dealings with man and they

are narratives that are very very important and

if you see how men will come into God's plan

from the time of Adam and Eve is by faith okay

and even in the time of Noah Noah was a preacher

of righteousness And how people will come into

you know the reality of what Noah will do was

preaching was by faith Not to think of even immediately

after Adam we see his offspring We see Cain and

Abel When Cain did not hearken to the voice of

God All right, and he murdered his brother the

Bible said that he was he became a fugitive that

we see you know the actions of God even in the

midst of that he was not he was even in his sin

right he complained to God and say God whoever

sins me will kill me but we see even in his rebellion

we see the preservation of God what put a mark

on him that no man will kill him hallelujah so

consistently we see the stories and the activities

of men in the activities of men we see God's

salvation plan declared and fulfilled in that

time and we see Jesus Christ Then what is the

essence of Jesus Christ? We will see shortly

that Jesus Christ comes to Bring in the permanence

of God's plan and God's purpose the permanence

of God's plan and purpose has to be the fulfillment

of God's plan and his purpose for all men because

how We will come into the plan because we are

not a nation of Israel So God picked a nation

and He picked a nation to bring about His plan

and His purpose for the entire world and how

we will come into it is through Jesus Christ

Hallelujah, so let's for a short period of time.

Let's look at the gospel as preached in the book

of Acts and we close Throughout the book of Acts

whenever the Apostles preach the gospel they

consistently told the story of God's dealings

with Israel before presenting Jesus Christ as

a Messiah. This is a pattern that we see all

through their summons in the book of Acts Whenever

they go to preach the gospel, they don't omit

the story of Israel and that is very very crucial

Okay, we'll see how everything linked together

Before even to the Gentiles they must explain

God's dealings with Israel is very important

to the message For example now in Peter someone

in Acts chapter 2 verse 14 to 41 We'll see Peter

Acts 2:14–41

begins by explaining Joel's prophecy. Is that

the story of Israel? prophecy of Joel all right

Particularly to the nation of Israel actually

2 verse 16 to 21. He traces God's promise through

David. This is a soul of people of Israel Before

proclaiming Jesus as a risen Lord and Christ

in Acts chapter 2 verse 26 to 38. Now we cannot

Acts 2:26–38

Tell the story of God especially salvation without

Actually explaining the story of the nation of

Israel Peter also did the same thing Acts chapter

Acts 3:11

3 verse 11 Peter presents Jesus as the fulfillment

of what Moses and all the prophets foretold connecting

Christ directly to God's covenant with Abraham.

Abraham is actually the story of Israel, the

nation of Israel. Acts chapter 3 verse 18, and

Acts 3:18

then we'll see 22 verse 25. Alright? Oh, look

at Stephen's defense. Stephen is another example.

When he was speaking in chapter 7, the entire

chapter, we see that in the entirety of the chapter

7, What Stephen did was to narrate God's dealing

with the nation of Israel. Why is this important?

Why is this important? It's important because

salvation, okay, is actually expressed in God's

dealing with the nation of Israel. The reason

for salvation, hear this properly, the reason

for salvation is explained in God's dealing with

the nation of Israel. Why did God save the nation

of Israel? Is that He will have a kingdom. All

right? Is that He will have a people. Is that

He will have a family. So if you take away the

story of the nation of Israel, we will not be

able to explain vividly the idea and the concept

of salvation. If we decide to cut away the story

of the nation of Israel, we will not be able

to declare properly God's plan and God's purpose,

because through them, God really exposed or expressed

to us His will and His purpose. We'll see another

example, Acts 13 verse 16 to 41, where Paul was

Acts 13:16–41

preaching. Paul begins with God's choosing of

Israel. Then he went on to speak about the Exodus,

very crucial. Then the judges the time of the

judges then he comes to talk about David and

then he declares Later on in verse 23 that from

these man's descendants are calling to the promise

God brought Israel the Savior Jesus Christ Is

a line of his story that we must We must comprehend

Okay, we must comprehend so the story of Jesus

is the story of israel actually i started giving

us a hint of this yesterday i said the story

of jesus christ is from the story of israel so

when we ignore this we can't know the gospel

we cannot know the gospel the life and the mission

of jesus on earth are the all testament stories

of israel retold jesus christ in his life and

his mission We will see clearly that he is repeating

the story of the nation of Israel. So if we will

have an understanding of what Jesus did, we must

look at God's dealing with the nation of Israel.

Even in the explanation of what Jesus did in

the epistles, the apostles always reference the

nation of Israel as a context what Jesus did.

So we cannot fully understand the gospel without

understanding God's work through Israel because

Jesus is a fulfillment of the story and not a

departure from it. God's work of salvation is

first revealed in his dealings with the nation

of Israel. God's salvation is first revealed

in his dealings with the nation of Israel, whom

he redeemed to establish his kingdom purpose.

Once we are able to understand what God did with

the nation of Israel, we will understand God's

purpose. We understand God's will. This riches

is fulfillment in Christ who brings salvation

to all who believe and establish God's kingdom

through his church. So the story of the church

is actually the story of the nation of israel

retold hallelujah for example in exodus chapter

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

19 verse five to six let's see exodus chapter

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

19 verse five to six quickly exodus chapter 19

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

verse five to six now there now therefore if

you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant

then you shall be a special treasure to me Above

all people for all the earth is mine. The earth

is mine speaks of people all the earth is mine

What will they become to be a treasure to him,

right? verse I Shall be a kingdom of priests

That is after he has saved them. You shall be

a kingdom of priests and a holy nation These

are the words you should you shall speak to the

children of Israel. That is after salvation So

Moses came and called for the elders of the people

and he laid before them all these words which

the Lord had commanded him All right Matthew

Matthew 1:21

chapter 1 verse 21 Matthew 1 21 Because of time

quickly And you shall bring forth a son when

Jesus came and you shall call his name Jesus

for he will save his people from their sin. Yes

Luke 1 32 Luke 1 32 We're trying to link the

story of the nation of Israel and then we see

Jesus and then we see the church He will be a

great he will be great and will be called the

son of the highest and The Lord will give him

the throne of his father David Okay, we see kingdom

In the story of Israel we see Jesus Christ coming

and then getting the kingdom from David and he

will reign over the house of Jacob forever and

of his kingdom there will be no end. Colossians

Colossians 1:13

chapter 1 verse 13, Colossians chapter 1 verse

Colossians 1:13

13 and verse 14. He has delivered us from the

power of darkness, Genesis 1 conversation, and

conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his

love in whom we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of sins. Then 1st Peter chapter

2 verse 9, we see that Peter expressly linked

the story of Israel to our reality today. He

says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal

priesthood. This is a story of Israel, a holy

nation. This is a story of Israel. His own peculiar

people read this in Exodus chapter 19 verse 5

Exodus 19:5

and 6. His own special people. Why? that you

may proclaim the praises of Him who call you

out of darkness. Which darkness? Darkness has

to do with the idea of God calling us out of

sin, out of the chaos, out of an identity of

chaos. As we've seen in the altar sermon, into

His marvelous light. What is that light? That

life, the life that is in Christ, we've explained.

Who was, were not a people, but are now the people

of God. who had not obtained mercy, but now have

obtained mercy. All right. So when we read the

creation account, we see God's plan of salvation

and his purpose of establishing his kingdom,

his rule that is heaven on earth. That same purpose

is progressively revealed in his dealings with

Israel, whom he chose and dwell among them. Did

God dwell among the nation of Israel? How did

he stay with them? We see him all through in

the activities, in the wilderness, right? He

was in the cloud, representing, and also what?

The fire, right? So he dwell among them, in the

tabernacle. He tabernacle with them, a temple

symbol. The same purpose is progressively revealed

in his dealings with the nation of Israel and

then we see him dwelling among them and then

shaping his covenant with them. In this sense,

the creation narratives as recorded by Moses

because see Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Genesis 3 and

the entire books of the Old Testament were not

written for us, to us rather. The his audience

were the people of Israel So in that writing

that Moses wrote Genesis one two down and all

the writings he did He was actually telling them

about God's plan and God's purpose for them Hallelujah,

he was revealing that God has called him out

of darkness He was revealing that God is calling

them out of chaos that they will be a people

of light So Moses was given was to reveal God's

eternal plan and purpose to Israel. So when we

understand God's plan as Moses communicated to

his audience, and we see God's dealing with the

nation of Israel, alright, then we'll better

understand what Christ did. When we understand

what Christ did, then we'll appreciate the church,

the early church. We'll read through the book

of Acts, we'll see how you know the church lived

and exemplified the same so Moses was given the

writings he wrote was teaching them about God's

eternal plan and purpose showing that his redemptive

work you know even though yes it did not begin

with them the intention of God did not begin

with them but From the beginning, I mean the

story Abraham right before we see the Exodus

down to Isaac to Jacob Then we see them You know

in the wilderness in Egypt, then he saved them

out of Egypt and then he gave them the laws All

right so Jesus Christ in his resurrection Express

God's finished walking express the finished fulfillment

of God's work through the Holy Spirit. And the

benefits of Christ's redemption are applied to

us today. What Jesus did was to bring God's plan

of salvation to his fulfillment and ushering

believers into the kingdom, those who are all

men, because God's intention in the beginning

was for all nations, for all the earth. The kingdom

is for all nations the plan is for all nations

not only the nation of israel but god intended

plan was for all the earth the father's purpose

to unite all things together in all in one god's

eternal purpose was the unification of all things

the entire earth talking about people and his

creation but we see the unity is in christ The

Jew and the non -Jew, the Jew and the Gentile

are united in Christ. All of us from different

nations and tribes and tongues are united in

the person of Christ. Because that was the mission

right from the beginning. Hallelujah. And let's

read through this and then we see how we summarize.

John chapter 19 verse 30. We just read and see

John 19:30

how these realities are expressed in scriptures.

John chapter 19 verse 30. So when Jesus had received

John 19:30

the sour wine, he said it is finished, that is

on the cross. What is finished? The fulfillment

of what he has been sent to do. And bowing his

head, he gave up the spirit. That's his death.

Romans 8, 11. Romans 8, 11. Romans 8 -11. But

if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the

dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from

the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

through his spirit who dwells in you. So we see

that his death brought about the indwelling of

the spirit. Acts chapter 2 verse 32 to 39. the

Acts 2:32–39

salmon of Peter this Jesus God has raised up

of which we are all witnesses therefore being

exalted to the right hand of God and having received

from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit

okay he poured out this which you now see and

hear for David did not ascend into the heavens

but he said himself the Lord said to my Lord

sit at my right hand Till I make your enemies

your footstool Therefore let all the house of

Israel know assuredly that God has made these

Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ

Now when they had this They were caught to the

heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles

men and bread and what shall we do? Then Peter

said to them repent And let every one of you

be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the

permission of saints and you shall receive the

gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to

you and to your children and to all who are far

off. Now that is the emphasis that I want us

to see. The promise is to them, to their children

and to all who are far off. As many as the Lord

our God would call. Remember. We will see in

true scriptures that that spirit hmm Is represented

as Christ is represented as that light from Genesis

All right, so that declaration of God's plan

is for all The promise is for all To all who

are far afar of who are not even within the nation

of Israel God's plan was for all men All right

Colossians of the one verse 19 and 20 Colossians

Colossians 1:19

chapter 1 verse 19 and 20. For it pleased the

Father that in Him, in who in Christ, all the

fullness should dwell and by Him to reconcile

all things to Himself by Him. What are things

on the earth? What do you think is things on

the earth or things in the heaven? Does it look

like Genesis chapter 1? verse one in the beginning

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

god created the heaven and world and the earth

this is god's eternal plan right from the beginning

that in him john will say in the beginning was

the world right in him so paul here is talking

is the same genesis one verse one is explaining

here for he pleased the father that through him

that all things in himself by him where are things

on the earth what are the things on the earth

Humans, men, humans, we, the creation on the

earth, men. Things on the earth or things in

the heavens, heaven has to do with God's activity.

Heaven on earth, God's activity. Having made

peace through the blood of his cross. So from

the eternal plan is a unification of heaven on

earth. Hallelujah. Ephesians, is it? Yes, Ephesians

Ephesians 1:9

1 verse 9 and 10. Having made known to us the

mystery of His will. What is His will? Where

do we find the mystery of His will? The mystery

of His will is in the scriptures from the beginning.

Having made known to us the mystery of His will

according to His good pleasure. What is His good

pleasure? He's proposing Himself, verse 10. Look

at verse 10. That in the dispensation of the

fullness of times, He may gather together. What?

He may gather together in one All things in Christ

what all things in Christ Both which are in what

in the heaven that this is Genesis 1 and which

are on the earth in him Hallelujah. So this has

been his intent from the beginning that the heaven

and the earth will be united in Christ and we

see Moses communicating these plans of salvation

All right to the people of Israel and I will

see even in their own story. We see the expression

of God's plan and purpose rewritten in their

own life And we see when Jesus came he told the

story by what he did what he preached and what

he fulfilled Hallelujah, and then we see the

message Matthew 28 verse 18 Matthew 28 verse

Matthew 28:18 Matthew 28:18

18 we see God's plan And Jesus came and spoke

to them saying, all authority has been given

to me where? Heaven. What is heaven? Heaven,

the unseen, the activities of heaven, all right?

Genesis 1 verse 1, all authority has been given

Genesis 1:1

to me where? In heaven and where? On earth. How

did he access this authority? But what he accomplished,

his death, his burial and his resurrection has

given him what? that authority on earth to unite

things. That means he has fulfilled things by

his death, his birth, his resurrection. All authority

has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

This is Genesis 1 .1 verse 19. So go therefore

and make disciples of all nations. You see where

our mission came from? It's from the unification

of the heavens and the earth that we have our

ministry derived from. That we now have the ability

to do what to go. Baptizing them in the name

of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all things that I've

commanded. You and Lo, I am with you always,

even to the end of the age. Hallelujah. So our

ministry is rooted in what Christ has done. It's

a complete story of what Christ has done. Okay?

So we read earlier on 1 Peter 2 verse 9 and 10.

1 Peter 2:9

We read earlier on, and we see in this, I'm not

going to read it again, we read it earlier on,

Peter identifies that both the Gentiles are included

in what God is doing. Gentiles are inclusive

in what God has done or what God is doing as

the continuation of his kingdom. And he applies

this to the church. He applies this to the church.

He applies to the church the identity first given

to Israel in Exodus 19 verse 4 to 6. He applies

Exodus 19:4–6

the identity given to Israel in Exodus chapter

Exodus 19:4–6

19 verse 4 to 6. A chosen generation, a royal

priest with a holy nation, his own special people,

this calling reflects God's original purpose,

right? Revealed through Abraham, that through

his descendants, All the nations of the earth

will be blessed. This was a promise made to Abraham

All right, and we see it beginning with what

the nation of Israel a kingdom Okay But when

the promise was made to Abraham, it was to the

whole earth not only to the nation of Israel

All right. So Peter in this in his epistle first

1 Peter 2:9

Peter 2 verse 9 and 10 He pre he is not presenting

the church as a replacement for Israel because

often times we have this idea that the church

era is a replacement to what God did to the nation

of Israel. But what God actually did is that

He expanded the fulfillment of His promise of

His covenant through Christ. Hallelujah. So God's

kingdom mission revealed through the nation of

Israel. now includes people from every nation

who are united by faith in Jesus Christ. So we've

emphasized this over and over and over and over

again that we must always understand the story

of the nation of Israel because that is where

our own story came from. God expressed it through

them. We cannot understand the mission for the

church without understanding the mission to Israel.

The mission to the church of doing greater works

is a mission to the nation of Israel to be priests,

to be kings on the face of the earth. That through

the nation of Israel, the whole world will understand

the plan and the purpose of God. That when the

men in the world see God's dealing with the nation

of Israel, they'll understand the purpose of

God, they'll understand the will of God. The

nation of Israel was called to teach the world

about the plan, the purpose, and the mission

of God on the earth. So we can say that God's

kingdom mission was revealed through Israel and

now includes all of us. The kingdom of God is

not merely about leaving the earth, because oftentimes

when we talk about heaven, we always think about

an escape from the earth, hallelujah. But that

was not God's communication to the nation of

Israel. He says that he will dwell with them.

Was that the communication? Heaven and earth

will be united. Heaven will come to earth. Heaven

and earth will be one. Heaven will be on earth.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and

the earth. The idea was that earth, heaven will

be on the earth. Hallelujah. The idea is that

God will visit men and He will tabernacle with

men. So we see God visiting the nation of Israel

and dwelling with them So we see Jesus Christ

coming to us All right visiting us saving us

and what did he do? He dwell with us Hallelujah

By the Holy Spirit. Amen. He resides in us permanently

Israel story is our story is a is the story of

the church explained So, it's not about an escape

on the earth and going to heaven. It's about

God establishing His reign and presence on the

earth through His people. Okay? The Kingdom of

God is not about going to heaven. It's about

God establishing His reign and presence on the

earth through His people. Matthew 6 verse 10,

Matthew 6:10

Revelation 21 -3. We see this. So the earth is

God's dwelling place. That is God's plan from

the beginning. That the earth will be his dwelling

place heaven on earth All right, he always visits

and the goal is that he will visit and he will

dwell among men And we see it in Christ as a

finished work And we who are in Christ have received

the spirit So the earth is God's dwelling place

and its purpose is a restoration of all things

under Christ. So the church is appointed instrument

today. The community through which he continues

the kingdom work on earth. So the church is a

continuation of what we see in the scriptures

concerning the nation of Israel. The continuation

of God's work on the earth. So every local church

must see itself as part of this mission. What

is our mission is to do greater works and this

greater works is proclaiming what God has done

in Christ Okay Demonstrating his kingdom through

the power of the spirit making disciples Reflecting

the character of God because he dwells in us

as that particular light as a shine in darkness

That is our mission. The church mission is to

proclaim that the walls belong to God The earth

belongs to God He created all things. He created

all things. Our calling is not to escape the

earth, but to present God's kingdom on the earth.

But to represent God's kingdom on the earth.

The creation story, man is part of the creation.

When God created Adam, he created him in his

image. He didn't create him in his image so that

he would escape and go to heaven. The idea is

that that man will be his representation on earth

and in that message Moses communicated that purpose

and that will that plan that idea to the nation

of Israel that this is that the that man belonged

to God and Man is expected to do what to remain

on the earth God in dwelling man on earth and

we'll see in the Garden of Eden The Garden of

Eden is a presence of fellowship where God and

man will fellowship. And man, Adam, was given

a duty in the Garden of Eden, a priestly responsibility

of tending. He represents, he thanks, and he

operates a priestly role on the earth. That is

God's plan from the beginning. That is His plan.

And we have been incorporated in the plan by

virtue of what Christ has done. So the church

is not preparing people for a rapture escape

from the earth. All right, so our message and

our preaching is not to declare that God is escaping

people from the earth We are to preach the gospel

about salvation But much more that we must declare

our goal is to teach that the earth that the

desire of God from the beginning Our ministry

cannot be fulfilled All right If we don't announce

to people that it's not only that they will be

safe alone. Salvation is fundamental. It's important.

But much more is to tell them that God's desire

to inhabit men and to dwell in the earth with

men. The plan and the purpose of God is for heaven

to be on the earth. That through men, God will

establish his divine will and his purpose on

the earth. That is our call for the greater works.

bringing his reign on earth, his presence and

his glory through the earth, through the activities

of men, that God will be seen in the activities

of men. Hallelujah. We need to understand the

purpose of God. We need to understand the story

from the beginning, how God has been communicating

it time and time and time again, that we will

be aligned to God's calling for our own lives.

So as we continue in this conference, I want

us to understand that God is revealing His plan

to us. He's opened up our eyes more. Some of

the things I try to explain here, I struggle

a lot to bring clarity because it was so much

that I have to just cut it to just shed light

on little and it was not even conclusive from

the beginning. Maybe in the course of a Church

services will shed more light on it to show to

us that actually God's plan of salvation is for

him to dwell on the face of the earth and through

us and through our activities we'll be able to

represent him and to make him known on the earth.

Hallelujah. I want us to just rise on our feet

and communicate our heart's desire. You see?

Often times when we read the story of Israel,

we think maybe they were unbelievers. And it's

okay to look at them as unbelievers in the context.

But let me show something as we pray. Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. No, Exodus chapter 3, yes. Genesis,

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

Exodus rather, chapter 4, verse 38, 28. When

God had encountered Moses, and he has told him

his plan and his desire for the nation of Israel.

He gave him a word to the people and consistently

what we expect to see all through scriptures

right from Adam to the time of Noah to Cain and

Abel to the time of Noah to the time of Enoch

and all the people that live in scripture is

that they will believe the word of God. Hallelujah.

Without believing the word of God They will not

enter into the plan of God. The only way that

they can enter the plan of God is by believing.

That is the same to people across all generations.

So how did God save the nation of Israel? Sometimes

we think that God just kidnapped them out of

the nation of Egypt. No. Look at verse 28. So

Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who

had sent him and all the signs which he had commanded

him. Where did God inform Moses about his plan

and his purpose for the nation of Israel in his

encounter in the wilderness, right? Look at verse

29. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together

all the elders of the children of Israel. They

were in Egypt now. They have not been saved out

of Egypt. He went and gathered them and Aaron

spoke all the words which the Lord has spoken

to Moses. Then he did the signs in the side of

the people. Look at verse 21, very importantly.

So the people did what? They believed. What did

they believe? And when they heard that the Lord

has visited the children of Israel, does this

look like salvation? All right. Does it look

like the Lord has come to save them? And when

they heard that the Lord has visited the children

of Israel, and that He had looked upon their

affliction, then they bowed their heads. and

worshipped. Hallelujah. So they believed the

message of salvation that Moses brought and upon

this belief they were willing to follow Moses

out of Egypt. Hallelujah. And we see that they

experienced the salvation of the Lord because

they believed. But when they came to the wilderness

and God unfold unto them the plan of priesthood,

okay, we see them restraining themselves from

entering that responsibility of priesthood. So

what I'm trying to portray is that it is not

enough to be born again. Salvation is fundamental

and is basic and is necessary to enter, to be

ready, to be saved eternally. But much more than

the salvation that we experience is the call

into the priesthood, the call into being a kingdom,

call into what? The purpose, the plan of God

on the earth. We must also by our will align

ourselves To God's plan for humanity because

what God presented to them in the wilderness

was God's plan for the entire world That there

will be a kingdom and a priest that they will

teach the entire world about him And we see that

that is where their unbelief comes in Hallelujah

that when they enter into the promised land the

promised land is on the land of Canon when they

enter the promised land They will be able to

do what? represent God and not serve the gods

that they came out with from Egypt and they will

not worship the gods of the people they were

meeting in the land and they second them that

they will be a priest unto the nations but they

have to believe to enter this hallelujah we appreciate

you being here today we hope you carried this

word with you throughout your week don't forget

to check the show notes for additional insights

stay connected with us through our website or

follow us on social media. If you were encouraged,

share this message with someone you care about.

Until next time, stay blessed.