Grace & Peace: A Journey Through the Book of Colossians - Part 7: World Peace | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website ecb .asia or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. We are now on session

seven. of the study, Grace and Peace, a journey

through the book of Colossians. And we will learn

a little bit more about what the Apostle Paul

has been telling us through it. But before we

do that, let's pray. Lord, we always, always

want to start with you first. Because this is

your word. And because we need you in our lives.

We need your truth. To open our hearts to you.

So we are humbling ourselves before you. Acknowledging

our need for you. And I'm asking you Lord. Would

you use me in your power. In your grace. In your

strength. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. What we

have discovered so far in the book of Colossians

is that this was a book, a letter written in

the year 60 or so of our era to a Christian community

at the very beginning of the church that was

in an area called Colossae, which was in the

country that today is known as Turkey. And they

were facing lots of different things. And the

Apostle Paul writes from prison while he is in

Rome. And he writes in this letter many things

to help them understand their salvation. So that

they can experience God's grace and his peace.

And so that that grace and that peace also can

flow through them. And he's going to take them

through all of that in the book. We learn that

when God saved us. He made us part of his people

and now we have received full forgiveness, full

acceptance, full embrace. We no longer need to

wonder whether God loves us, whether he accepts

us, whether we are good enough. None of that

is part of the story because we have been completely

reconciled with God. We belong to his realm,

to his kingdom now. We no longer belong to the

kingdom of darkness. And now that we are rooted

in Christ and we have received His grace and

His peace, now we can start experiencing the

flow of God's grace and peace through us. And

that's why Paul told us that this grace and this

peace does not stop with you, but it flows through

you. It's meant to flow through you into your

relationships. It's meant to flow through you

in your home, in your family life. It is meant

to flow through you in your work life. And that

is what we have covered so far in the previous

studies. Today we will learn also that this grace

and this peace is also meant to flow through

you into the world in which God has placed you.

And whenever we hear the phrase world peace,

somehow we imagine like a political movement

and presidents and countries. But actually, what

we will discover is that the foundation for world

peace is not in politics. It's in Jesus. And

it's in the transformation of the heart of the

individual that suddenly opens up the grace and

peace of God through us. So at the core, the

question we're going to be trying to discern

today is, Is God's grace and his peace flowing

through you? Or has it stopped with you? That's

an important question, isn't it? Let me tell

you the story of a high school student. I don't

really know his name. I know he was about 14

years old. He was Christian. And he went to a

school that was not a Christian school. So when

he went to school, one of his classmates, That

was very interested in politics. His nickname

was Nacho. And Nacho approaches this student.

And says hey I want you to come to this political

event. Will you join me? So this Christian high

schooler said. Sure I'll join you. But if you

promise to come with me to church. So Nacho said.

Sure I'll go with you. He was just trying. To

play the political game. To bring him in. And

he thought. Yeah I can attend church with you

once. But they did not go to a worship service.

They went to a soccer game. And it was a bunch

of youths. And as they are in that game. He heard

from the first time. A person stand up. Right

there in the field. And started sharing. About

the love of Jesus. And what God had done for

them. And for the first time, he started hearing

that God loved him, that Jesus had come to pay

for all of his sins, that Jesus was inviting

him to follow him and experience God's grace

and his peace. So that intrigued Nacho. And that

was not the only time he ended up attending church.

He started asking so many questions. And the

guy that was teaching all of these things was

not even from his country. He came from a place

called Puerto Rico. Any Puerto Ricans here? Well,

so he came from Puerto Rico to this country and

then started working with the youth and shared

the gospel with Nacho. And at 14 years old, Nacho

came to know Christ. And then later he became

my father. The work of one simple invitation

from a high school student to simply say, yeah.

I'll go, but you come with me too. What is the

power of letting God's grace and peace flow through

you in something that is as simple as an invitation?

It's not something that you have to figure out

or plan ahead. When we are following the Lord

Jesus and you have received His grace and His

peace, God wants now His grace and that peace

to flow through you in a very organic way. And

the Holy Spirit is going to prompt you to engage

and to do things that you cannot imagine the

outcome of that throughout the years. The Apostle

Paul is going to tell us in this passage that

the grace and peace of God was never meant To

stop with us. From the beginning. It has been

released. To flow throughout the world. No matter

where Christians go. This grace goes with them.

And flows through them. So he wants to make sure.

That these Christians in Colossae. are not only

missing the picture of recipients of God's grace

and thinking that they're not good enough and

they have to do extra things to gain God's love,

but also he wants to make sure that they don't

miss the picture of being a channel of God's

grace and impacting the world. Because the secret

for world peace is the peace of the individual.

And the peace of the individual starts with a

relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the Prince

of Peace. That's why he says these words. We

always pray for you Colossians. And we give thanks

to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For

we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.

And your love for all of God's people. Which

come from your confident hope of what God has

reserved for you in heaven. Do you remember how

they heard the gospel? It wasn't from the Apostle

Paul. It was from this other guy. Epaphras. The

guy that Paul now is talking to in Rome while

in prison. And he learns everything that had

happened to the Colossians. He knows everything

that they have gone through. And then he says,

you have had these expectations ever since you

first heard the truth of the good news. The gospel

of Jesus Christ. The same good news that came

to you. It's going out all over the world. If

you would just see what I have seen. It is bearing

fruit everywhere. By doing what? By changing

lives. Just as it changed your lives. From the

day you first heard and understood the truth

about God's wonderful grace. I'm excited for

you, Colossians. I'm praying for you because

I heard that you now believe in the gospel. And

just as your lives have been transformed, there

are many more lives around the world that are

being transformed by the same power of God's

love. You learn about the good news from Epaphras,

our beloved co -worker. He is Christ's faithful

servant, and he's helping us on your behalf.

He has told us about the love for others that

the Holy Spirit has given you. Very good reputation.

And he's telling them, look, you have experienced

the power of the gospel. When you heard that

Jesus loved you and he had died for you, and

he's inviting you to follow him, but now completely

free from guilt and accusation because he has

already paid for all of your shame. And he's

inviting you now to follow him in full grace

and peace. This gospel, which is a word that

means good news, is the good news that you believed

and transformed you. When he talks about the

gospel in the letter to the Romans, he uses the

word power. The gospel is the power of God. That

is the word dunamis. The gospel is this transforming

message that has the power to transform your

life and the life of those around you. It's not

just an intellectual assertion of belief. It's

a relationship with the creator of the universe

who has loved you, who has created you, and now

he's redeeming you from within. And this power

is the power that is at the foundation of world

peace. Because by transforming the one life that

transforms the other life that transforms the

other life. And you fast forward and it's the

domino effect of the gospel. And the apostle

Paul saw it. He saw the transformations of lives

because he had the privilege of being one of

the first people to take the gospel to the world.

If you look at this map, this is the map of the

Roman Empire during the time of the Apostle Paul.

And he is going there from Jerusalem to the north

in Antioch. And then from there he goes to the

area of Galatia, Asia Minor. He goes to Greece.

He has been in all of those places, even to Rome

itself. And he has experienced so many things.

If you are unaware of that history, you need

to go to the Bible, the book of Acts. The book

of Acts tells you all the experiences that they

went through as he experienced taking the gospel

to all of these places. And he saw life transform

after life transformed after life transformed.

He really was able to witness this power that

he was talking about. And he knows that this

gospel has to be taken. To all of these places.

Because it's the foundation for the peace. That

God wants the world to experience. And therefore.

He was able to see the churches being planted.

In all these different places. And Christians

now being born. Into these places. And the gospel

taking root. That's why. He continues telling

the Colossians. That he wants to make sure. That

what started with Jesus and then moved to the

Apostle Paul. And now they moved to Epaphras

and then got to the Colossians. Will continue.

That the domino effect will continue. That grace

will not stop with them. But will flow through

them into the world. And that's what he says

in the following verses. I am glad when I suffer

for you in my body. For I am participating in

the sufferings of Christ that continue for his

body, the church. God has given me the responsibility

of serving his church by proclaiming his entire

message to you. So we tell others about Christ,

warning everyone and teaching everyone with all

the wisdom God has given us. We want to present

them to God. Perfect in their relationship with

Christ. We want them to experience this peace,

this grace that comes from knowing Jesus. That's

why I'm working and suffering for these things.

Yes, that's why I work and struggle so hard depending

on Christ's mighty power that works within me.

Will you read that aloud with me? That's why.

I work and struggle so hard depending on Christ's

mighty power that works within me. I know the

power of the gospel. And I know that can transform

lives and bring restoration and new beginnings.

I know that's why I'm working so hard and suffering.

But depending on whose power? Christ. Not my

own smarts. I can't convert or heal or bring

peace to anyone. Only God can. So yeah, I work

hard with all of these things. Because He wants

them to understand that if God's grace and peace

is going to flow from them into the world, this

is not a piece of cake, as we say in American

English. This is not just easy. It requires hard

work. You may have to suffer and pay a price

to do this. But it's worth it. But also you will

have to depend on God's power. Because without

power you cannot have the impact. So these two

things have been part of our experience. And

now that you have received God's grace and his

peace. You also need to invest and you also need

to depend on God's power because this is what

is going to continue the flow of God's grace

into the world way far from you. And that's why

he tells them at the end of the letter, devote

yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a

thankful heart. Pray for us too that God will

give us many opportunities to speak about his

mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why

I'm here in chains, in prison, in Rome. Pray

that I will proclaim this message as clearly

as I should. Just as I did it with Onesimus who

happened to be one of your own people. Pray for

me. Live wisely among those who are not believers.

Make the most of every opportunity. Let your

conversations be gracious and attractive so that

you will have the right response for everyone.

Make sure that the way that you are being a channel

of that grace and that peace comes in the way

that you live and the way that you speak. Because

the people around you that do not have Jesus,

they do not know peace. They only know fear.

They do not know grace. They only know shame.

Therefore, the way you live, make sure that you're

living wisely. Because if you're a channel of

that grace, they will see it in your very eyes.

They will perceive it in the tone. Of your voice.

They will perceive it in the words of wisdom

that you share. Make sure. That that grace and

that peace is flowing through you. And also.

Make sure. That you remember. My chains. And

actually. This last verse is the last words.

Of the book. Don't forget. The price. That we

have paid. For the gospel to get to you. Don't

forget my chains. It has taken. A lot of investment.

A lot of sacrifice. A lot of dependence on God's

power. To get to where you are. So Colossians.

Now it's your turn. Go. And continue this. Because

God's grace was never meant to stop with you.

Wow. This is powerful stuff. Because it is true.

We have seen it historically. Way past the Colossians.

As the gospel started spreading from there to

other places. And throughout the centuries. And

we have amazing stories of people, Christians,

just like you, like me, just like the teenager

in the high school that says to Nacho, will you

come with me to church? Christians that simply

decided to let God's grace flow through them.

And in that journey of following Jesus, God led

them to places they never anticipated. And it

was in their presence that God started bringing

transformation in their surroundings. Let me

tell you, for instance, the story of William

Carey. He was a guy from England that in the

1700s and 1800s, during that time, he went to

India, compelled by the love of God. And as he

went there, he started preaching the gospel.

And one of the things that they discovered in

some of the regions of India, being such a huge

place with so many cultures, it was that there

was a belief in a region of India, based on Hinduism,

that when a man died, his wife, who became now

a widow, had to be buried alive with her husband,

or burned. Because that was her place in life.

In many contexts, the wife was considered property.

And therefore, just as the husband will be buried

with some of his belongings, the wife will be

one of them. And in other dimensions of this,

they would believe that it was the honorable

thing for the wife not to outlive the husband.

So if the husband died first, then she also had

to die with him. And when William arrived to

that place, it's like they could not believe

that people had that belief and they had that

practice. So it was through the grace and peace

of God flowing through the gospel that eventually

people came to know Christ. And through that,

Some of these people stopped that practices.

Many of the widows were saved because of it.

And eventually it became an initiative for the

government to pass a law that banned this practice

altogether. I also love this story of Mary Slessor.

She was from Scotland. A young girl that was

working very hard, came from a very poor place.

And a home that was not healthy. Very dysfunctional

place. But she came to know Christ. And in that

roughness of her life, she learned to be rough.

And God was preparing that roughness because

he had a plan for her. And you know what Mary

Schlesser ended up doing? God moved her heart

to eventually go to a place in Nigeria called

Kalabar. And as she was there, she started discovering

that people, Worship spirits. And they had all

these beliefs about the worship of spirits. And

one of the things that they believed in their

worldview was that if a mother had twins, then

those babies were cursed. And therefore, they

would take those twins and they would abandon

them in the jungle to be eaten by animals or

to just be killed. And in many cases the mother

of those twins also would be considered cursed.

So she would be killed too. And as Mary arrived

in that place of darkness. With the grace and

peace of Jesus now to flow through her. She started

rescuing those babies. And she started creating

a place for some of these women to find shelter.

And eventually. God used her presence in Nigeria

to pass a law that banned that practice altogether.

And now there's the story of John Newton. John

Newton was a man that was involved in the slave

trade in the 1800s. And he had this ship that

was used to transfer slaves from Africa to the

Americas. And he was making money out of all

of that until one day he heard the message of

Jesus. And he repented of his sins and he realized

that what he was doing was not only wrong but

was contrary to the message of the gospel. So

he became a very loud voice that eventually was

one of the foundations for the abolition of slavery.

But not only that. If you have ever heard the

words, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. The

saved are raised like me. Those were his words.

He wrote that hymn. This is just a glimpse of

what the Apostle Paul is telling us. Is that

the gospel. has the power to transform a life.

And that life can become the outflow of God's

grace that can transform another life and a family

and communities and nations. And this is not

just for the people in the time of the first

century of the Apostle Paul. Or the 17 or 1800s.

This is true for all of us. And by the way. If

you want to learn more about the impact. That

God's grace and his peace has had. Throughout

history. This is an amazing book. How Christianity

changed the world. You may not realize. That

the whole movement of education. and universities,

and going to college, and all of these things

we take for granted, was something that was started

by Christians. Hospitals. Something that was

started by Christians. By individuals that believed

in the calling to let God's grace flow through

them. The domino effect. That started with Jesus.

Moved to the Apostle Paul. Moved to the Colossians.

Moved. Throughout the Roman Empire. And finally.

Reached someone. In a country in South America.

All the way from Puerto Rico. And from South

America to Mexico. And from Mexico to Thailand.

The domino effect. Is something that only God

can imagine. But what is true. Is that it cannot

stop. With us. God's grace never. Ever was meant.

To stop here at ECB. And end here. It was meant

to flow from us. Into the world. But I'm afraid.

That as it has happened throughout the years.

There are some churches that will eventually

die. Because they refused. To be a channel of

God's grace and peace. And they turn into political

entities. And there are Christians that have

chosen. To let God's grace and his peace stop

with them. Rather than obey the calling. To let

that grace and peace flow through them. And it

is very important that we do not go that route.

We have to invest. We have to depend on God's

power, and we have to continue what we received.

And what are those obstacles that are keeping

us from continuing the flow here in Thailand

and beyond, in this generation and the next?

What I have observed is that there are three

obstacles that are very common, and I want to

address them because if you are facing one of

them, This is the time that God wants you to

be aware of it so that you will become unclogged.

And now the grace and peace of God can flow through

you into your family, into your context, into

the world that God leads you to. What is the

first one of those? Well, it's the idea that

somehow, you know, People don't need Jesus to

find peace and grace. They will find it somehow.

Somewhere else. It's like. Pastor Pablo. You

have to understand. We live in the era of globalization.

And it's like. Just to think. That a person that

was born. Let's say in an island. That. They

worship their gods and everything. And they never

heard about Jesus. Are you telling me that if

that person doesn't believe in Jesus. That person

will not experience God's grace and his peace.

And that Jesus is the only way. You know. Somehow

there must be another way. And this mindset.

Seems logical. But it's not biblical. And the

apostle Paul is going to write about this. To

the Christians in the first century in Rome.

To make sure that they don't fall for that. And

look at what he says. Listen. If you openly declare

that Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead. Then what

will happen? So what do you need to do to be

saved? You need to openly declare that. Jesus

is Lord and believe in your heart. That God raises

from the dead. You need to believe this. And

then you will be saved. For it is by believing

in your heart. That you are made right with God.

And now that peace starts flowing. And it is

by openly declaring your faith. That you are

saved. This is how you experience God's grace

and his peace. Therefore. Jew and Gentile are

the same in this respect. They have the same

Lord who gives generously to all who call on

him. For everyone who calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved. But how can they call on

him to save them? And this is where he starts

asking the questions. Pay attention to these

questions. How can they call on him to save them?

Unless they believe in him. And how can they

believe in him if they have never heard about

him? And how can they hear about him unless someone

tells them? That's the logical flow. How can

Nacho hear about the gospel and believe in it

if nobody is telling him what the gospel is?

And how can someone tell him if nobody has been

sent to go and tell him? How is he going to experience

God's grace and his peace? That's why. How will

anyone go and tell them without being sent? That

is why the scriptures say, how beautiful are

the feet of messengers who bring good news. Paul

is saying, guys, Don't entertain, even for a

second, the idea that there's another way of

experiencing God's grace and His peace. People

cannot believe in Jesus unless they hear about

Jesus. And they cannot be saved and experience

His grace unless they believe. And that's why

I love these stories. This is a group of people

in an island that they had never heard about

the gospel. This is that tribe that you were

thinking about. The Moi tribe. What about them?

They were born in a place they never heard the

gospel. They were in a place where, look, they

have their religions. Maybe that's enough as

long as they are really genuine in their faith.

You know what's amazing about the story of the

Moi people? Is that you get to hear from their

very mouths the very first time that they heard

the gospel. Because there were these missionaries

that believed what the Apostle Paul just said

in Romans. How can they believe if no one tells

them? So they went. They learned their language.

And one day they organized a gathering of all

of these people for about seven days to start

telling them about the good news from Genesis

all the way to Jesus so they could understand

that there's power of transformation in Jesus,

that grace and peace are found in Him. And you

know what happens? I'm not going to tell you.

You will get to see it yourself. Because I want

to show you. A two minute video. So you can hear.

From the very mouths of a person. Who belong

to a tribe. In an island. Where they had never

heard. I am very happy to be able to do this.

I am very happy to be able to do this. This is

the heart of the gate. This is the gate to the

temple. This is the gate to the temple. This

is the gate to the temple. This is the gate to

the temple. I don't know what to do. I don't

know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't

know what to do. It's not a big deal. It's not

a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's a big deal.

This ministry was known as New Tribes Mission.

Today is Ethnos 360. You can hear the very person

saying, Now I have peace with God and before,

no I didn't because you never told me. I didn't

understand. Don't ever fall for the lie that

people can find peace and grace without Jesus.

And therefore the importance of going does matter.

And things are still ahead of us. There are 7

,357 ethnic groups estimated that have never

heard about the gospel. That's about 3 .56 billion

people that do not even know what the name Jesus

is about. There are 3 ,640 languages approximately.

That have no Bible in their language. Not even

a fraction. They could not say. For God so loved

the world. They don't even know what it's like

to say. I can do all things through Christ who

gives me strength. They have no Bible in their

language. This is the world that we have inherited.

And it still needs the gospel. But. Has the gospel

stopped with us? Or now is it flowing through

us? It will stop with us if we believe that there's

another way apart from Jesus. The second obstacle

is the belief that the apostle Paul is going

to tell the Corinthians. And he's going to write

this to them straightforward. And it's the belief

that, you know, It's like, it's okay, you know.

We don't need to suffer so much. Let's just keep

it easy. Let's avoid all the cost of all these

things. Somebody else will go, but not me. Because

if I go, that's going to be too costly, too inconvenient.

And you know what he tells them? He spares no

details. Listen to his words. And he's not whining.

He's just speaking truth. Listen, for me to take

the gospel to you, for you to experience God's

grace and God's peace, it was not easy. Five

different times the Jewish leaders gave me 39

lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once

I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked.

Once I spent a whole night and a day I drift

at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys.

I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers.

I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews,

as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger

in the cities, in the deserts, and in the seas.

And I have faced danger from men who claim to

be believers but are not. I have worked hard.

Hard and long and during many sleepless nights.

I have been hungry and thirsty and have often

gone without food. I have shivered in the cold

without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then,

besides all this, I have the daily burden of

my concerns for all the churches. Who is weak

without my feeling that weakness? And who is

led astray and I do not burn with anger? I suffer

for you to be able to hear the gospel and believe

in it. Then why are you complaining? Do you know

what it took for the gospel to reach this place?

It's like, but Paul, you sound miserable. It's

like, all of that you had to suffer, sleepless

night, cold, hungry. It's like, I'm not sure.

I want to take the gospel to the world. It's

just, why just not quit? Change careers. Do something

that is easier. Be happy. He says, it's because

the love of Christ compels me. I'm not doing

this. Because it's easy. I'm doing it. Because

I love Jesus. And when you love Jesus. You love

what he loves. Have you been wrestling. With

God's calling you to engage. To pursue things.

But what is holding you back. Is the cost. Thinking.

That it will be too difficult to be separated

from your family. That it will be too difficult

because you will have opposition. That it will

be too difficult because you will have to learn

another language. That it will be too difficult

because you name it. If you are in that space,

go home and read the words of Paul that we just

read one more time. Because it will put it in

perspective. Muhammad heard the gospel in Iran.

But he did not grow up knowing the gospel. He

was believing a whole different way of religion.

And as he was hungry for God and peace in his

life, he was told, you will really be able to

be accepted by God if you memorize your holy

book. So he started memorizing his holy book,

reading it, and tried to memorize it, even though

it was in another language that was not his country's

language. But if that is what it will take, but

he had no peace. So he asked his religious leaders,

what else do I need to do? Well, you have to

pay for your sins. So he had this chain that

he would hit himself with in the back so that

he would bleed. And he was hurting. But he kept

doing it. Because by paying for his sins. He

was going to reach God's peace. But it was not

working. So he asked his religious leaders. What

else can I do? And the religious leaders said.

You are not doing enough. You have to suffer

more. And now you have to fight for our God.

And you have to go to war. Because if you die

in war. For this God. Then. You will go straight

to heaven. But only then. So he engaged in the

army. And ruled in the army. All of that. Feeling

complete shame. And not good enough. And all

his efforts. Until he met a friend that he hadn't

seen in a long time. And this friend looked different.

And as they were talking about life and everything.

Muhammad says what happened to you? You have

this like this. This peace. That I can see in

your eyes. You're not the same. And at that moment,

the friend said, you know what? I'm a Christian

now. I'm following Jesus. It's like, what? That

cannot be. Because in his religion, the idea

of conversion was completely just unimaginable.

But as he started learning more about this, Jesus

had died for him, that he didn't have to pay

for his sins, because Jesus had paid it all.

At that moment, Muhammad says, the gospel pierced

my heart, and now I understood that Jesus had

done it all. So he gave his life to Christ, but

as he started... going home and praying to Jesus.

One day his father found out he was praying to

Jesus and he hit him and started kicking him

and hitting him. So he had to escape. Eventually

he became a taxi driver. And as a taxi driver,

he would take every opportunity to share the

gospel with the people. But one day he got news

that the secret police was after him. So he was

able to leave Iran. He moved to the U .S. and

that's where he lives today. I do not know what

your journey is, but one thing I know is that

God is calling us to follow Him and let His grace

flow through us. And if we are not willing to

pay the price, It will stop with us. Has it stopped

with you? And finally, the Apostle Paul tells

the Colossians what we already heard. Don't fall

for the mistake that it's okay not to engage.

Ignore the call. It's not your role. That's the

pastor's role. You know, in ECB, there's lots

of missionaries. They are the ones that share

the gospel with people. Not you. You are just

a Christian. No. Each one of us has received

God's grace. Each one of us is called to let

that grace flow through us. So read this with

me, please. Devote yourselves to prayer with

an alert mind. and a thankful heart. Pray for

us, too, that God will give us many opportunities

to speak about this mysterious plan concerning

Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray

that I will proclaim this message as clearly

as I should. Live wisely among those who are

not believers. Make the most of every opportunity.

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive

so that you will have the right response. The

need is real. It's not going to go away. The

cost is real. It's not going to get cheaper.

And the call is real. The Holy Spirit is not

going to shut up. What will your response be?

Would you let God's grace flow through you? Or

would you let it stop with you? So what the Apostle

Paul basically wrote makes me wonder these questions.

Am I praying about these things? He says pray

for this depending on God's power. Am I praying

for that? He also says, look, you need to be

living wisely among the people. Am I living wisely

among the people? Am I doing the things that

are the foundation to depend on God's power?

If the Lord is calling you to engage, engage,

and you will be so glad once you look back later

and you can see what God did through you. Like

he did with a high school student that simply

felt compelled to invite another student to an

event. And that form of grace flowing through

him was all that God was calling him to do at

the moment. Will God be able to use you for his

grace to flow through you? Lord, as we stand

in your presence, we acknowledge. That your grace

has reached us and we are so thankful for it.

Thank you for all the lives that have come before

us. All the sacrifices made. All the price that

has been paid. So that today we can be here standing

in your presence, worshiping you. But Lord, let

your grace and your peace not stop with us. Let

it flow through us into every space that you

have called us to be. Let this be a day where

there's new beginnings of new visions, of new

ideas, of new prompting. But we are here. If

we have been blocked, unblock us today. In Jesus'

name. Thank you for tuning in to the ECB sermon

podcast. Whether near or far, if you are looking

for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome

you to engage by sending us an email to office

at ecb .asia. If God is calling you to support

our ministries, you will find giving options

on our website. And remember to join us next

week. God bless you.