Understanding the Father's Love in Christ

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. Amen. So I want us to start from 2

Thessalonians 3. And the title is Understanding

the Father's Love in Christ. Understanding the

Father's Love in Christ. I want us to start from

2 Thessalonians 3. I'll read from the NLT. 2

Thessalonians 3. It says, Finally, dear brothers

and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray

that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and

be honored wherever it goes, just as it is when

it came to you. 2. Pray too that you will be

rescued from wicked and evil people, for not

everyone is a believer. 3. And the Lord is faithful.

I want you to say, the Lord is faithful. Say,

but the Lord is faithful. He says, regardless

of what the wicked and evil men are doing, the

Lord still remains faithful. He says, the Lord

is faithful. He will strengthen you. Say, I'm

strengthened of the Lord. I am strengthened of

the Lord to do his will. I am strengthened of

the Lord to do his will. And through me, the

Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored.

The scriptures here says, he will strengthen

you and guide you from the evil one. He will

strengthen and guide you from the evil one. Four,

we'll stop at five. It says, and we are confident

in the Lord that you are doing and will continue

to do the things we command you. Five, it says,

may the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding

and expression of the love of God and the patient

endurance that comes from Christ. I want us to

go back to four again. It says, we are confident

in the Lord that you are doing and will continue

to do the things we command you. And this is

Apostle Paul speaking and he is writing to the

church in Thessalonica and he, He makes a prayer.

He requests for prayer and then also prays. If

you see, he was like, in verse 3, he says that

we will be rescued from wickedness. And then

he says, but the Lord is faithful. He said he

will strengthen you and guide you. And then he

says, we are confident in the Lord that you are

doing and you will continue to do the things

we commanded you. Then in 5 now, which is where

we're going to be laying our emphasis, he says,

May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding

and expression of the love of God and the patient

endurance that comes from Christ. Praise God.

What we're going to be discussing today is very

much anchored, and I'm looking at some of us,

and I want us to not downplay what exactly it

is we're going to be doing here. And it's very

important that if you come to church, I'll just

give us this very quickly, that you want to ensure

that you are engaged and focused. And one thing

that helps you stay engaged and focused as the

teaching is going on is if you are writing, right?

If you're writing, it helps you to stay engaged

and focused. And one other thing that writing

does is that it helps you to remember. Because

many of us will not be able to remember the things

I said after now. So it ensures that you have

some form of documentation that you can be able

to go to. And one thing I've noticed is that

you are in church and then you get instructions.

You don't know the problem or the challenges

that lies ahead that these instructions that

you get now will be solving. And once you don't

have a documentation to go back to, you will

be missing out on the blessing that you have

received that you didn't hold on to. Praise God.

And one other thing I want to also emphasize

is the fact that Your taking down notes is your

first line of action. It means that you are already

acting on what is being said. I say something

to you and you're taking down notes. That is

the first action that will capitalize on whether

other actions follows. So it means that if you're

not... Taking notes, you are not going to be

very, it's very unlikely that you're going to

act on what exactly it is you've received. Praise

God. So you are taking down notes and then you

are ensuring that you're noting down important

points and then you are avoiding mistakes that

have already been, you're able to avoid mistakes.

Praise God. I'm saying that because there's some

people here that when I speak to them or give

them instructions, because I cannot guarantee

that they understood instruction, before the

call ends, I said, Can you write back to me what

exactly it is I instructed you? And that way

we understand ourselves. Praise God. We understand

ourselves. So if we don't take down notes, you're

more likely to miss out on what exactly. And

then the other thing, last but not the least,

having a Bible and a writing material, we're

not warring against technology. All of those

things are very important. Having a physical

copy Bible and then a pen and a paper that you're

able to note down things. ensures that you're

not distracted or easily distracted because you

will not get a notification from your pen. You're

not going to get a notification from your book.

You're not going to get a notification from your

Bible except it's the Bible app. And you are

less likely to have a notification from all the

social media platforms that we have online. Praise

God. So this is a plea for us to make the most

of the service. I have to put that in there so

that you don't come. And if you are new to NECF,

this is how, It happens in church. If you're

old and you're still stuck, you're like new,

you're old but you're like new, we love you and

we believe the best of you. Praise God. So, understanding

the Father's love in Christ, understanding the

Father's love in Christ. Know that this church

is writing to have suffered persecution. and

are suffering persecution, right? And he's writing

to encourage them, writing to strengthen them,

and then also praying. In the course of 3, we

see that he's praying for them. He's praying

that they will be strengthened and guided from

the evil one, right? And to confirm that this

church has been going through all of that, we'll

see in 1. Let's go to chapter 1. I want to read

from 3 to 5. I want us to read from 3 to 5. Brothers

and sisters, we can't help but thank God for

you. Meaning that he's thanking God for them

because they are doing well in spite of what

they are going through. Praise God. They are

doing well in spite of what they are going through.

Because your faith is flourishing. It says, because

your faith is flourishing. I want you to tell

yourself that my faith is flourishing. My faith

is flourishing. It says, and your love for one

another is growing. Say, the love that we have

for one another is growing. Say, the love I have

for my brother is growing. The love I have for

my sister is growing. 4 now says, it says, we

proudly tell... God's other churches about your

endurance and faithfulness in the persecution

and hardship that you are suffering, since we

gladly tell. We gladly tell other churches about

what they're going through because of their endurance

and faithfulness in spite of the persecutions

and hardships that they're going through. Five

now says, and God will use this persecution to

show his justice and make you worthy of the kingdom

for which you are suffering. And you know, when

you see make you worthy, you can be thinking

that, oh, you are going to be made worthy by

the sufferings and the persecutions you're going

through. No, not that. The privilege that they

have of being people that are going through those

sufferings. I want us to see something similar

in Acts 5. In Acts 5. Acts 5 .41. And the same,

that counted worthy or the make you worthy is

the same Greek word. And it's what is used in

the 41. And know that at this point, the disciples

were being persecuted. It says 41 says the apostles

left the high. cancel, rejoicing that God had

counted them worthy to suffer this grace for

the name of Jesus, for the name of Jesus, for

the name of Jesus. So they are excited that they

are counted worthy. Know that the suffering was

not what they brought up. The suffering was not

brought upon on themselves, but it was on the

course of doing what the will of God that that

happened. Praise God. So it means that as believers,

regardless of what is happening, around us. And

for some of us, we're not even doing the will

of God and the sufferings are coming or the hardships

are coming. What should be important to us is

that we are paying attention to what God's will

or what God's instruction is. We're ensuring

that, look at what we read in verse 3, in chapters

3, sorry, verse 1. He says that he prays that

the message will spread rapidly. He's speaking

to people that are going out and preaching and

teaching, that this word will spread rapidly.

And note that he's praying all of this and praying

and encouraging them. And he says in the verse

five that we read that their hearts will be led

into a full understanding and expression of God's

love. I want you to know that regardless of what

you're going through, what keeps you anchored

and what keeps you grounded is the love of God

that you understand and you know. Praise God.

The love of God that you understand and you know.

And it's not just a feeling. Praise God. It is

not just a feeling. Apostle Paul here is praying

for them not to feel loved. Praise God. Not to

feel love. He's praying for them to have an understanding

of the spiritual resources that they need to

survive and thrive in the difficult circumstances

they are finding themselves. He's praying that

they have the resource, in fact, they know the

resource that they have to survive the difficult

situations that they're finding themselves or

they found themselves in. And the ability that

we have to grasp this understanding is what ensures

that we are enduring with the strength that God

supplies. Because it's the strength that God

supplies that keeps us through. It's not what

we feel. It's not our feelings. It's not our

emotions that keeps us through this time. We're

able to go through difficult situations because

of that. And these truths we're going to be looking

at are foundational truths. Praise God. They

are foundational truths. The way this building

is. One of the most important part of the building

or the most important part of a building, the

structure of the building is the foundation.

You will not necessarily see the foundation of

a building and it's what ensures that regardless

of whatever, on Wednesday, when there was a shaking

or a quake, the building will still stand regardless

of what hits it. From underneath or from above.

Praise God. So these things are very key and

they ensure that our identities They show that

we stay true to our identity, that which we have

received. Our identity and our relationship is

rock solid regardless of what hits us left, right,

and center. That we're not tossed through and

through. That we're standing solid and we're

anchored in it. And that's why I want us to understand

what is this love of God? That's the first question

we're going to be answering. What is the love

of God? What is the love of God? Please, regardless

of what you know about love, When you come to

the word of God, you want to pack that at the

side and listen and take notes and pay attention

to what really the love of God is. And to do

this, I want us to open our Bibles to John 3.

We're going to go over a couple of scriptures,

but I want us to start from there. John 3, I

want us to look at 16. I know we're very familiar

with this, but I want you to look at it and look

at it very careful because sometimes we quote

it or say some things. I want you to do it in

New King James. John 3, 16. And it reads, it

says, For God so loved the world that he gave.

You know, sometimes we can read this and we'll

just say he gave us, right? We can just go and

just say he gave us. But I want us to see something.

It says, God so loved the word that he gave his

only begotten son, that whoever believes in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17, we'll add 17 to it. It says, for God did

not send his son into the world to condemn the

world, that the world through him might be saved.

Let's go back again to 16. It says, for God so

loved the world that he gave. When we quote this

and add that us, we do something very subtle

to this passage. In fact, there are songs that

we sing that says, God so loved the world that

he gave us. In fact, for some of us, that's what

basically is running through our head. God so

loved the world that he gave us. When you add

us to this, it changes something. And I want

us to understand, we'll just look at what it

means by he gave. What it means by he gave. And

we'll see something that is... And we know that

this whole action is God demonstrating his love,

right? Yes, he's demonstrating his love to us.

But note that he gave his son for a particular

reason. Right? He gave his son for a particular

reason. I want us to see from the same passage

what that reason is. I want us to go up to verse

14. Please pay attention. Don't lose the train

of where we're going to. In verse 14, it says,

And as Moses lifted up, right? And as Moses lifted

up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must

the Son of Man be lifted up. And the word lifted

up is Hoopsao is a Greek word. I had to practice

it a couple of times to be able to get it. It's

spelled H -Y -P -S -O -O. It doesn't read the

way I pronounce it because I had to. I'm not

Greek. H -Y -P -S -O -O. So it's pronounced Hoopsao.

It's pronounced Hoopsao. And the word in this

passage, not that the word in this passage, you

know, when you see a word, the word can be literal

or it can be figurative. And that's why we advise

that when you come to scripture, you don't want

to come to scripture and then be reading like

English language because you're going to miss

out on certain things. And not that this passage,

it will read to you as though he's lifted up,

right? But understand that in this lifted up

lies what? he gave means. In this lifted up,

it lies what he gives means. And I want us to

just understand that that lifted up there, let's

look at it in Amplified. Amplified, not Amplified

Classic, Amplified. So we see that, it says,

just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent, the

bronze serpent in the desert on a pole, so must

the son of man be lifted up. On the cross. Praise

God. When he says lifted up on the cross, what

would that imply? Crucified, right? Crucified.

Some people are following me. So it means that

he'll be crucified. So will that mean a literal

lifting up or will mean death? Praise God. It

will mean death. So it means that when we read

he gave, that he gave there. will be pointing

to death. And please, I'm saying this so that

you understand it. Anytime you see lifted up,

you want to read the context of the passage to

understand what exactly it is that is being said.

What exactly it is that is being said because

the context will help you understand what lifted

up will mean. Let me show something. Some of

us can just go and then let's just try to apply

it and then we apply. lifted up on some other

passage. I was, when I was going through, you

know, those of us following the canonical, I

think we're now in Acts. I think if you did your

canonical today, I think it's Acts 10 or something

like that, 9, 10. So when we were doing John,

as we're just going down from John to 11, I think

I saw something that will also make, so John

11, let's go to John 11, not Amplified now, New

King James, John 11, 41. I just put that in there

so that we understand that anywhere you see something,

don't just conclude, right? It says, Yeah, New

King James. So let's see another lifted up here

and tell us what it means. Then they took away

the stone from the place where the dead man was

lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,

Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Now

that that lifted up there, will he be speaking

about the same thing as before? No, because it's

not speaking of the same thing as before. But

if you come and then say, okay, that lifted up

is the same lifted up as before, but the lifted

up has a context to it. See, lifted up his eyes,

right? Lifted up his eyes. And in this passage,

I don't know, this doesn't show it very clearly.

What you will see is that, another thing I want

to add while I'm explaining is that what you

see is that in this passage, I don't know whether

this shows it, you will see that there is The

place, right? And then there's his. Those two

words are italized. Because I think Pastor Victor

has helped us to explain this and understand

in the Bible. That once you see words italized,

if you see it in some brackets, know that those,

that from his place, from the place, I think

is from the place, that those words from the

place and his. If you have your Bible with you,

you will see that that word is italized. From

the place. And here's, I want to do this while

we're at it so that something, certain things

will do. I think we have understood. I would

explain this so that certain things I'll do ahead.

I don't have to re -explain myself. So from the

place and here's, those words are italized. When

you see any word italized in your Bible, and

that's the benefit of having a physical Bible.

In the online Bible, you still have it. Sometimes

it's very difficult for you to notice. But if

you have a physical Bible, you'll see it's somewhat

done. I said that. from his place and the word

his, it's a lie because in the original Hebrew

or Greek text, in this case, it's the Greek text.

In the original Greek text, that is not there.

It's not there in the original. Why it is not

there in the original Greek text is because while

translating or while translators or the interpreters,

because it's not just translating or interpreting,

while the interpreters, while the translators,

interpreted that particular passage, for us to

understand it better in English, just read that

word, just read it without from the place. If

you read, just, I think, just, let's read together

and eliminate from the place. And then eliminate

his. And see whether we'll make sense of what

is read. Say, from, then they took, let's read

together. Then they took away the stone where

the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up eyes

and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard

me. Notice that it doesn't sound grammatically

correct. When you read it without, even though

the part of took away, if you're trying to imagine

what is going on, if you say took away the stone

and then say where the dead man, you'll be wondering

where did they take away the stone? Interpreters

have to put that in there so that when we're

reading it in English language, it will just

flow and then you are able to understand what

exactly it is being said. So please, anytime

you're reading your Bible and you see that, don't

be scared. Sometimes in some particular translations,

a whole verse is taken out. My whole verse, I

think one time I was reading my Bible. That was

when I, I think when after, I think I've been

doing that for a while. And then I discovered

that there's a particular chunk of it. So when

Pastor Victor was teaching us to understand the

Bible, it now made sense. Because if you're paying

attention to the footnote, you will see it there.

But if we just read and then we say, it's my

Bible. What did he do to my Bible? You will just

be wondering. So this itself explains something.

And now, note that it says, and the word there

lifted and up is the word there I wrote. Lifted.

is airo, A -R, and it's not the same word as

the hypsao. It's not the same as the hypsao.

So that's why we go to the Greek and the Hebrew

to be able to understand when words are the same,

where it applies and where it doesn't apply,

where certain things are literal or where they

are figurative. So we do all of that so that

we can better understand. And please... One very

good thing, I think my wife was talking about

how the blessing of having that series on Understand

the Bible is many believers don't know a lot

of things that were discussed by Pastor Victor

in that series. Yes, it's a long series, but

it's good for us to be able to understand because

you're a believer, you have instances where you

have to preach or speak to people and you want

to understand why certain things. Because when

people are arguing with you, oh, the Bible has

been changed, you will be able to give proofs

and evidences why it is not so. Praise God. So,

note that this one, in this particular passage,

the only person that was dead in the passage

is Lazarus. It's not Jesus Christ. Right? And

note that even the dead was temporary because

he was raised from the dead, because he was praying

for him to be raised from the dead. So, note

that there's nothing around that. But now, when

we move to the next passage, the next chapter,

that is chapter 12. Chapter 12. Please be patient.

Isaiah 12 · chapter mention

Just some of us, just be patient and let's build

on something. Chapters 12 in 32, 33. We're going

to just read 32, 33. It says, and I, if I'm lifted

up from the earth, will draw peoples, right?

To myself. That peoples too is in Italis. I will

draw. peoples to myself. Now, the lifted up,

just go back a bit. Yeah. Now, if you see this

lifted up, because we understand that it is him

speaking, right? He says, if I'm lifted up from

the earth, lifted up from the earth will mean,

will mean what? From what we have discussed?

Crucifixion. Just put, just change to amplify,

just to confirm, amplify it. So, now that he

says, if when I am lifted up from the earth,

I will draw up. And then he said, when he sees

the people now, because that's why that word

will explain why they put peoples, because both

Gentiles and Jews as well are the people that

he's going to draw to himself. Go back to the

New King James. Praise God. So now we see that

all of this, he doesn't just leave us hanging.

In the next verse, you see what he means. In

case if you missed it. He says, this he said

signifying what death he will die. Praise God.

This he said signifying what death he will die.

I'm looking at some people talking to themselves.

We'll discuss after the service. Praise God.

He said, this he said signifying what way he

was going to die. So it means that the son of

God or what is going to happen to him is going

back to what we said. For God so loved the world

that he gave. That giving is to death. Praise

God. That giving there is to death. He's not

giving to us. He's giving to die for us. Do you

understand? He's not giving to death, but he's

giving to us, but he's giving to death to die

for us. Praise God. Is that clear? I'm saying

these things because... Some of us will go out

and we're evangelizing to people and we'll say

certain things that will leave the person not,

in fact, some of us cannot even explain why it

is. Like if you meet somebody and the person

say, I'm a Christian, you say, why are you a

Christian? The person starts telling you how

God delivered him from one thing or delivered

him for the other thing. And then the person

is, you're wondering to yourself, when are you

going to hit the nail on the head? And the person

goes around and around and around until when

you now say, okay, let me explain to you what

you have been trying to explain. And then you

explain it. So there are many Christians that

don't understand this foundation. That's why

we're looking at it and we're talking about it.

We're still building on it. Praise God. So understand

that this popular passage that has always been

quoted or is what is shared, you want to know

that in the first line, there lies what he gave

means. Right? Let's move down. Just to confirm

that this he gave, anywhere you see he gave,

you will see that or you see like lay down. We

also see that word lay down because lay down

and John uses that word a lot. Lay down, you

see lay down his life or lay down, lay down.

That word is used a lot. And when somebody, when

they say lay down, it's not laying down to sleep.

Praise God. When they say laying down, if you

take that literally, you'll be like, yes, he

laid down, let him get up. Yeah, most times we

lay down and get up, except the laying down is

different. And even Jesus Christ speaking to

Lazarus, he's sleeping, right? When he was talking

about Lazarus, he's sleeping. If he's sleeping,

why are we doing ceremony to go and see him?

He will wake up. But know that he meant that,

he was saying that to say that because he had

the power to raise him up. Because he says, here's

the way, here's the truth, here's the life. And

if you're reading Economical, you discover that

the Pharisees was a threat to them. I think we're

discussing the cell. It was a big threat to them

because the Sadducees are dead. They don't believe

in the resurrection of the dead. And this man

now has destroyed their whole belief system because

if you don't believe in the resurrection of the

dead and then somebody has resurrected from the

dead, how do you now explain to your people that

our whole movement is valid? Because these guys,

that's why they were seeking ways to kill them.

So two people that are not necessarily working

together decide to come together because they

have a common enemy. Because they have a common

enemy. They had to come together to see how they're

going to take these individuals down. And they

did so because Lazarus will still die, will eventually

die, and then Jesus Christ lay down his life.

Praise God. So I want us to see something. I

want you to pay attention to the use of the word

for in this passage, just to verify the fact

that there's a reason why he laid down his life.

So he gave his life, right? He gave his son to

die. He did not give us his son to kill or his

son to... So it's very important that we see

this. So in John 15, verse 3. John 15, verse

John 15:3 John 15:13

13, sorry, not 3, verse 13. It says, greater

love has no one than this, than to lay down one's

life for his friends. The grace idea is mega.

It's almost like telling like this, this is much,

there's no greater love than this. And to lay

down is a note that it says, lay down one's life

for his friends. So when you're laying down your

life for, there's a reason for the laying down

of the life. And there is a person or there is

a group of people that you're laying down your

life for. Then let's go to Romans 8 .32. Romans

8 .32. Let's do that in New King James, please.

New King James, he says, he did not spare his

own son. Now, speaking of God now, he did not

spare his own son, but delivered him for us all.

For us all. How should he not with him so freely

give us all things? Praise God. He says he delivered

up for us. All. For us. All. So God delivered

him, that is Jesus Christ, for death. For us.

To death. For us. And now that we're going to

take time, we're going to go back and we'll shortly

explain why that was done. I want us to read

John. Still John 10. We're going to be doing

a lot of John. John 10. I'll read 11 to 17 so

that we'll see it again and we'll see a lot of...

Because John actually does a lot of lay down,

lay down, lay down, and we'll see, and he explains

what he says. So he says, I'm the good shepherd.

I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives

his life for the sheep. Know that all of this

is paying a picture. He says he's a shepherd.

and he lays down his life for the sheep. He says,

but a hireling, a hireling there is a hired man,

a hired man. And then we see in the same, it's

a lies, he who is. You're saying a hired man

who is not the shepherd. It's putting that there

so that you better understand who the hired man

is. So the hired man, he who is not the shepherd,

one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf

coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And this

passage will come in handy in the next passage

we're going to be reading. It says, sees the

sheep and flees. The wolf catches the sheep and

scatters them. 13 now says, the hireling, which

I said is the hired man, flees because he is

a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

Praise God. He doesn't care about the sheep.

He says, I am the good shepherd and I know my

sheep and I'm known by my own. 15, as the father

knows me, even so I know the father and I lay

down my life for the sheep. Are we saying it?

I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 now says,

and the other, and the other sheep I have, which

are not of this fold. Them also I must bring,

and they will hear my voice, and there will be

one flock and one shepherd. Therefore, my father

loves me, because I lay down my life, that I

may take it again. Praise God. Lay down his life

that he may take it again, so he doesn't just

lay down his life. He doesn't stay dead. He comes

back again. And I will say this. There's no religion

in the world that goes, that the author of that

religion or the person who, we're going to say

religion, we want to understand that it's beyond

that. Many of this, the people are dead and gone.

And in fact, even most of them, people are the

followers that lead on their lives for the movement.

They are the ones on the front line. They're

the ones laying down their life for the movement.

But we are in a relationship where the one who

instructs us has led by example. He's instructing

us to do what he has done, not what he has not

done. Praise God. I just had to put that in there.

Now we understand. Then now we go to 13. John

13. In John 13, Peter is the one now speaking.

And this is going to show us that Christ has

to do what he had to do. Even if we try, we cannot

do the work he has done. And we should not even

try to do the work he has done because sometimes

we put ourselves in the position of wanting to

save ourselves, redeem ourselves, do all of those

things, but that is not possible. Praise God.

Peter said to him, that's verse 37, John 13,

37. Peter said to him, Lord, why can't, Why can

I not follow you now? Why can I not follow you

now? I will lay down my life for your sake. Jesus

answered him, Will you lay down your life for

my sake? Assuredly, I say to you, the rooster

shall not crow until you have denied me three

times. Praise God. What was Peter trying to do?

What was he trying to do? He was trying to lay

down his life. For Jesus Christ that came down

to that, that, that is going to. So sometimes

we can be overzealous or sometimes we cannot,

we might not understand what exactly. So, but

that's why we are anchored on the instruction

of God's word. And sometimes we even know it

mentally, but we, we, by our spirit, we know

these things, but we sometimes want to just take

things into our, you know, we want to be in control

of our lives. We want to be able to. navigate

and mix and put all the things together. And

I will get to somewhere. Know that this laying

down of his life for us was solely his responsibility.

Laying down his life for us is solely the responsibility

of Christ Jesus. And he has done it. Praise God.

Don't your neighbor and say he has done it. You

don't have to do it the way he did it to because

there's no that he said he has instructed us

to lay down our lives for. our brothers and our

sisters. And we'll get to that passage in the

next. We'll get to that passage in the next.

Let's even go there now. 1 John 3, verse 16 to

1 John 3:16–18

18. 1 John 3, 16 to 18. So we're doing 16 first.

It says, by this, are we there? Please, let's

get there so we can do it together. You see,

by this we know. That word no there is ginosko.

And ginosko is that we are aware of a fact. We

are aware of a fact. Ginosko is like Gino, the

popular brand. G -I -N -O -S -K -O. I don't know

what that brand is. It's still there. Brand of

tomato paste. G -I -N -O -S -K -O. There's a

verb form of it. It says we... It means to be

aware of a fact, to be aware of a fact. It says,

by this we know love. Because he laid down his

life for us, and we also ought to lay down our

lives for the brethren. And you might be thinking

that you're laying down your life in the same

manner. No, it says, as he has, you do so. And

17 confirms what exactly it is. It says, but

whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother

in need and shuts his heart from them, how does

the love of God abide in him? My little children,

let us not love in word or in tongue, but in

deed and in truth. But in deed and in truth.

What it means there in short, or you'll see in

the New Testament, is that it's not just in words.

Your love has to be seen or demonstrated as his

in action. Praise God. Demonstrated in action.

And many of us, we say we love God with our mouth,

but our actions betray us. The same way Peter

said, I will lay down my life for your sake.

And then say, ah, will you lay down your life?

And then he tells him something. I know that

it didn't stop there because the man in question

now came to a point where he understood and then

he did. Praise God. So the only way we can do

the things that we're instructed to do is by

the help of God. Don't ever get yourself to the

point where you feel that by your own strength,

you are able to do the instruction. And it doesn't

mean now that you're relegated to, I've not received

the strength, I cannot do. We have sang. Some

of us don't know that when we sing some certain

songs in this church, you are implicating yourself.

I will repeat myself again. You sang power, flow.

You sang favor abundant. If you leave this place

and then you are now acting like the favor will

come from outer space to inner space, you are

lying to yourself. Praise God. Know that when

you sing certain things and say, that's why we

are careful what we say, what we sing, because

you are communicating something to your subconscious.

And when it's time to act, you will act that.

Because that's what you've heard. That's why

Apostle Paul was saying, I know that what the

things have commanded you, you will do it. Because

there's an instruction that goes for you to act.

But some of us, as I started, you want to be

able to note down these things so that you are

reminded of it when it's time to act. And an

abundance of it in you will ensure that you act

accordingly. So he says that we're not just doing,

you don't want to leave it in words alone because

words is cheap. Like you, anybody can see anything,

but you're working is what confirms or proves

to everyone around that this thing is genuine.

This person actually is working in the truth.

This person is working in love. This person is

working in the light. Praise God. All of that

is saying the same thing. So now we ask ourselves

another question. The love of God, see, how is

this love now demonstrated? How is this love

demonstrated? Yes, there's a debt. So, we will

see that the love of the Father is demonstrated

in the forgiveness of sin. The love of the Father

is demonstrated in the forgiveness of sin. And

I want you to note that this is a foundational

layer in our understanding of God's love. If

you don't understand that your sins are forgiven,

that's why when we started to say, I am forgiven.

If you don't understand that your sins are forgiven,

you will continue to move around with guilt.

In fact, you will not be able to effectively

do the work because you're struggling with guilt.

Every other thing will go wrong if you don't

understand a single thing. Because you'll be

living your life unstable. You'll be like a wind,

like you'll be like a child. You will be tossed

to and fro. because you're not grounded on the

spiritual truths that forms the foundation of

your walk and your life with God. So our effective

spiritual growth is anchored on our understanding

of this particular reality that we have in Christ

Jesus. Praise God. So many of us are holding

on to gifts that has already been paid for. You

know, they have paid your debt and then you are

still acting like somebody that still owes somebody.

It doesn't help in any way. So I want us to see

that same, I think we're still in the same John

3 .20. I want us to see something and we'll see

it from the NLT. That 3 .20, NLT now, 3 .20.

It says, even if we feel guilty, not the word

used, feel guilty doesn't mean that you are guilty.

I will explain it. Again, you can feel something

that is wrong. You can feel something that is

wrong. I was telling, you know, when certain

things stimulate certain response, sometimes

just the presence of that thing will stimulate

a response that is not necessarily genuine. A

very practical example, when you're cutting onions

and then you're crying, do you really, were you

really sad? Were you really sad? No, it was because...

Something stimulated the action and then you

quickly clean your eyes and continue because

you know the cause of the problem, right? Same

way if laughing gas is here, everybody will be

laughing. It's not necessarily that anything

funny is happening. They do that in comedy. I

was told that they do that. In fact, I read a

documentary that they do that in clubs. They

put laughing gas in the club so that people think

they're having a good time. Just imagine, you're

in a place where here is natural. It comes from

within. And then some people are going to where

they are stimulating them because when people

feel that they are laughing and they're happy,

they feel they had a good time, but they don't

know that they were externally stimulated to

do those things. Praise God. But know that what

we have in God is from within. Everything is

not, if things, if your life is bent on externals,

externals, you'll be suffering, you'll be in

trouble. So even if you feel guilty, it says

God is greater than our feelings and he knows

everything. So I want you to tell yourself and

tell your neighbor that God is greater than your

feelings. So what you feel is not as important

as what God has said and what God says of you.

Praise God. So what you feel is not important.

Sometimes you feel like you are unforgiven. You

feel like there's still things that you need

to pay. There's still debts you owe God that

you need to pay God. But you can't pay God. He

has already paid for you already. Praise God.

So what is forgiveness? What is forgiveness?

What is forgiveness? Let's look at Ephesians

Ephesians 1:7

1 verse 7. I would have loved us to start from

3, but let's just do 1 verse 7. But subsequently,

I think we might go back to it again. Ephesians

Ephesians 1:7

1 verse 7, it says, In him we have redemption.

That's New King James, not NLT. In him we have

redemption through his blood. The forgiveness

of sins according to the riches of his grace.

In him we have redemption through his blood.

His blood there will be what? Speaking of what?

We'll be speaking of death, right? Speaking of

death through his blood. This is the forgiveness

of sins according to the riches of his grace.

So the forgiveness there is a Greek word called

aphesis. A -P -H -E -S -I -S. A -P -H -E -S -I

-S. A -P -H -E -S -I -S. That's the word forgiveness.

And this forgiveness is not a reluctant pardon.

You know where? You know, some people will just

say, I forgive you, I forgive you. They say they

forgive you, but they come back tomorrow, it's

like you still owe them. Right? So this forgiveness

is not a lockdown pardon, right? It is granted,

it is done. And I want to explain to us what

the word is. The word affesses, the word affesses

is, it means sending away, a removal, a dismissal.

It means a dismissal. A removal, a dismissal.

And this word carries the idea of a debt being

cancelled and the record of it being removed.

A debt being cancelled and the record of it being

removed. You know, when somebody cancels your

debt and he still has the paper with him. You

know, when somebody cancels your debt and he

still has the paper with him and he'll be like,

If I do something wrong now, the person will

just use, and then if he even comes to you with

pencil, you're most, you're not sure if the debt,

and I don't know, how many of you have had, some

of us are still in it, and I'm not making any

light of it, but I want you to just immerse yourself

in this. How many of you have had debt? And we're

students here. Some of us, we know you had debt,

and like the debt sometimes overwhelms you. That

even in your working day, you're still, you just,

when you even try to take a breather, you just

remember, the morning just flashes. It just flashes.

You're like, when you try to say, the joy of

the Lord is my strength. I rejoice always. You

just, all of a sudden you're saying, the debt,

the debt. And then you are like, what, how exactly?

It's almost like everywhere you turn. Know that

at that point in time now, it's not about how

you feel. Because if you want to carry the debt

on your forehead, You'll be feeling guilty. Even

when the person is greeting you, the person that

you owe, you know, some of us, the whole institution

we owe, so there's nobody. So you don't, you

can't even move around. In fact, some of us,

even the way we move around the school, we are

scared. Or when you are owing the government,

you don't even leave your house. But look at

what happens. When that debt is cleared, there's

a way you move around like someone that now can

breathe properly. Like you, the air now, formerly

the air felt like it was heavy, but now there's

something about, because you have an understanding.

And not that for some of us, the debt has been

cleared already. I was sharing this money. I

was remembering when I was pregnant. It was a

time when there was this debt. But one thing

I told myself, I said, the debt came, the debt

will go. Right? The debt came, the debt will

go. And I said, if I'm going to be moody all

through the time or anybody that sees me will

say, ah, this guy is owing somebody. Know that

it's going to... I would just miss out on opportunities

to share the gospel. You know, you can't share

the gospel if you're not rejoicing. You can't

share the gospel if your face is looking like

you're owing. You know, what even makes your

gospel even stronger is when you're owing in

depth and the guy will say, how are you doing

it? You are still sharing this gospel like you

don't owe anybody. The gospel is more powerful

in that particular situation than when you come

and everything is okay and the person will say,

why are you sharing the gospel? You say, you

know, the Lord has been good to me. You know,

it's easy for us to say the Lord has been good

to me. And then some of us will now use that

as the basis. His goodness now is the basis for

us to now share the gospel. Note that that in

itself is just, you don't even understand what

the goodness of God is. And that's basically

what we're going to be seeing here, right? So

when a debt is removed, it's not like a parent

merely saying, okay, I forgive you and then remembers

the offense later. Or a judge now can't say you

are guilty. But what it is, the picture here

that is painting of you is that you are guilty.

you know that you're guilty. You know that you're

owing that debt. And then somebody comes and

cancels it entirely and deletes every record

of it. You know that, you know when the person

presses delete, you know there's no way the thing

will come back and you ensure that they remove

it from the recycle bin if there's some recycle

bin. So you know that there's no way they can

even put the mask together and account for something.

And please, this doesn't pale in anything in

comparison to what Christ has done. Because it's

not just 1 ,000, 10 ,000. The price he paid is

so high. Praise God. The price he paid is so

high. And it means that sin is no longer a problem

in our relationship with God. I don't know whether

you heard me. Sin is no longer a problem in our

relationship with God because the price has been

paid. So it means that if you're going about,

because whether you like it or not, but it doesn't

carry the same, because the record of it, you

know, some of us, you think that now there's

a new record after the old record. After the

old record is gone, you think there's a new record.

Like when he has paid that one, then there's

a fresh new, no, that's not it. You know, if

you are always somebody, and then you don't want

to even take from the person again, because that

one has a miracle happened. Praise God. But now

our relationship with you, we have that. There's

no record of it. It's gone. And even when you

make any missteps, he doesn't look at it because

someone has stand in the place for you. That's

when we are telling someone about what Christ

has done. You want to ensure that you make it

clear, right? You make it clear that this is

what Christ has done. Now we can come boldly.

Now we're bold. We don't move around like people

that owe somebody because that's been paid. Praise

God. Colossians 1, 13. 13 to 14. We'll see more

of the passages. It says, He has delivered us

from the power of darkness and conveyed us into

the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom...

We have redemption through his blood. Notice

that he says through his blood. I said anytime

you see through his blood is the death that resulted

in that. The forgiveness. That forgiveness there

is the face of sins. Right? We're getting into

sins. I want us to go to John 1 .29. John 1 .29

says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away.

The word there, I think we've seen it before,

that eye roll. The same, that takes away, that

takes away, take away, that lifted up, you know,

that other word when Jesus Christ lifted, that

eye roll is the word. You see, take away and

carry away the sin of the world. The sin of the

world. So Jesus didn't just cover it, right?

He took it away. So the walk, It's complete.

It's comprehensive. It's done. It's not rendering.

It's not what the debt is gone and then it's

still counting. It is done and it's done. Praise

God. I want us to see another word that confirms

to us that, you know, that takeaway is present.

You know, this one now is done. Let's see another

word that's in Ephesians 4 verse 32. Ephesians

Ephesians 4:32 Ephesians 4:32

4 verse 32. Ephesians 4 verse 32. It says, And

Ephesians 4:32

be kind to one another. Tenderhearted, forgiving

one another. Even as God in Christ forgave you.

Forgave you. Forgave you. I don't know whether

you understand. Forgive. It is past. Somebody

forgave you and you are still saying, I'm not

forgiving. That can be an insult. Right? That

can be an insult. And the word there is kaisomia.

I don't know whether I even pronounced it correctly.

I don't think I practiced this one as much. So

C -H -A -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. I'll repeat it

again. C -H -A -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. So the reason

why I'm giving us this word is first to understand

that the word there means to give generously

and freely. Give generously and freely. It means

that you're not giving it and then hoping or

going to change it. You're doing it freely. You're

not doing it and holding back. It says to pardon

or rescue as an act of grace. And what this emphasizes

is that what is being given or what is being

let away is permanent. It's permanent. It's permanent.

So it means that God's forgiveness towards us

is not a temporary overlook. It doesn't just

overlook it and then, but it's a gracious gift

and it's permanently given in Christ. So it's

ours. It's not that it will be ours. It's ours.

It's not that it will be. It's not like it's

something that will be. It's what is ours and

it's what is ours. Know that in this economy,

what it says, it says, which we're given is what

we have and it's what we, and I want you to see

something, we'll close from here. In the Old

Testament, in Psalms 103, Psalms 103, Psalms

Psalms 103:10–12

103 verse 10 to 12. 10 to 12, it says, He has

not dealt with us according to our sins, nor

punished us according to our iniquities. For

as the heavens are high above the earth, so great

is His mercy towards us who fear Him. 12 now

says, as far as the east is from the west, so

far as he removed our transgressions from us.

As he removed our transgressions from us. That

he removed. That removed there is rehach. And

the removed there is, you know when it speaks

of the east. so far away that you can't even

find it. It's like when somebody throws something

far away, you can't, the person, you know when

you carry something and just throw it away, you

can't even find it, even when you think that

you're going to go back to it, but that is not

it. He says he has not dealt with us according

to our sins. Some of us, we move around feeling

guilty and I will close with this. I said myself

before, I said this before, but I'll repeat myself

again. Don't move around carrying a debt, you

no longer owe. Because you're carrying the debt

in your mind. You're feeling that you're owing

in your mind. You're carrying that sense of guilt.

You're carrying that sense of I'm unforgiving

or I'm not forgiven or I'm unforgiving. You're

carrying that sense when he has done it and he

has perfected it and it's permanent. And this

is David. David understood this and David had

prophesied of it. He understood it. He understood

it. David, It's prophesying what God will do,

what God has done now, where we are now. And

this is the posture we have when we come to God.

The posture we have is that it is done. And it's

infinite, it's absolute. It says, as far as the

east is from the west. The way east is far from

the west, that is how far he has taken our transgressions

from us. So what it means is that... In our relationship

with God, I repeat myself, I repeat myself again.

In our relationship with God, sin is not a problem

because we are one with his son. We are united

with him. We are united with him. So sin is not

a problem. So close with this, with what we started

with. I want you to see that I'm forgiven. And

if you're here and you don't know that forgiveness,

I will advise that you don't leave without interacting.

You can meet with any of the pastors. You can

meet with any of the leaders in the church and

have a conversation. I was excited when I saw

this young man. Welcome to church. So I remember

you and I will see you after the service. So

it's amazing when you come to this understanding

because it changes everything. Remember we said

it's foundation. If you don't understand the

foundation of something, it's difficult for you

to move forward. You'll be unstable. You'll be

shaky. And that's why we want to remind ourselves

that every time, remind yourself that I'm forgiven.

Say it, I am forgiven. My sins are removed and

they are not held against me. So I do not face

judgment for it. Say I am loved. My identity

and what is anchored on the same perfect love

the father has for his son. Say I am enlightened

because he loves me. God reveals his heart. and

his mind to me. See, I am a child of light. I

am a child of light. His word is open to me.

I am not condemned. I am not in the dark. I am

not an outsider. I am not an outsider. See, I

am a child of God, full of insight. I want you

to turn that into prayer. Just turn that into

prayer. Just open your mouth. We appreciate you

being here today. We hope you carry 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 are encouraged,

share this message with someone you care about.

Until next time, stay blessed.