250 ~ THE EARTH'S OUTCRY - OUR CRY FOR JUSTICE AND MERCY

Hello, a big welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast.

We are a church based out of Chennai, India.

We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will

be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear.

Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of

purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus.

The year 2025 is 1 where we'll be positioned by God to possess

our promise. Today's sermon, the earth's

outcry, our cry for justice and mercy is a call for all of us to

get deeply sensitive about the needs of those around us and to

begin to intercede passionately on their behalf to God.

We pray that you would be moved and burdened by what ails the

world and give more time this year to standing in the gap.

Hi church, It's such a joy and a privilege to be in God's Word to

you today that I consider it an honor.

Even as we've been going through the book of Genesis, we've been

seeing from the life of Abraham. Our theme for this year, for

2025, is that we are positioned to possess the promise.

And even as we've been looking a lot of times, the way we are

positioned always is towards something that our hearts

desire. But if we are seeking God, and

if we are in love with what God is doing in and through around

the world, and especially as we meditate on His Word, we

suddenly see that we desire for what God wants.

And that's where His will and our wants collide.

And we soon realize we need to accomplish God's will here on

earth. And as we move towards that, we

are positioning ourselves towards finding what God has in

store for us, which means we are obedient to Him.

We are led by His Word, we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are

directed by His Word, and we keep in step every time.

And there are struggles. There are times we fall back.

There are times when we give in to things that crave our own

desires. But that's where God

continuously keeps shaping us. And last week we saw that, you

know, when Abraham is seated there with his wife on a day, we

saw three people were coming and they and God himself was among

them. And he has this conversation

with Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah.

And so today we're going to be looking specifically in that

chapter, Genesis chapter 19, because I believe there's a

Genesis 19 · chapter mention

mandate for each and every one of us, whichever city we are

part of. Some of you, especially who are

watching online are seated in cities probably where your work

has taken you or probably where suddenly because you got married

and your spouse is, then you've settled there.

Or probably God's taking you to that place because that's where

the offer came. And at the end of the day, as

you're seated there or some of you are there because of college

and you're thinking, why am I here in this city?

But I pray that as we hear the sermon today, God will give a

renewed understanding of why God places us in certain cities for

a certain season of time and what our heartbeat has to be.

And so today I've titled my sermon.

It's called the Earth's Outcry, Our cry for Justice and mercy.

We're living in a world where there's chaos.

We're living in a world where there is so much hatred toward

one another. We're living in a world where

many a times are unable to see where there's a clear

demarcation between the privileged and the

underprivileged. I believe God is called calling

us and positioning us for some great things to do.

And the reason why I have named this the earth's outcry is

coming out of this chapter from Genesis chapter 19.

Genesis 19 · chapter mention

And I want us to read this particular verse, Genesis

Genesis 19:13

chapter 19, verse 13, because we are going to destroy this place.

The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that He

has sent us to destroy it. This is the NIV.

But I'm going to read from a message and this is what it

says. The two men said to Lot.

Do you have any other family here?

Sons, daughters, anybody in the city?

Get them out of here. And now we are going to destroy

this place. The outcries of victims here to

God are deafening. We've been sent to blast the

space into oblivion. We've been sent to blast this

place into oblivion even as we read.

To give you a bit of context, we saw last week that Abraham was

contending with God and saying God even if there are 40, even

if there are 35, another 30. And it came down to even if

there are 10. We saw last week also that God

is a God of mercy and a God of judgement.

A lot of times we are loving the fact that when God acts out of

mercy, when he restores, when he rebuilds, when he looks upon his

people with kindness, but there's a God of judgement also,

because God doesn't like when injustice prevails, when

injustice is there. And you might be thinking, you

know what? I've had a lot of injustice.

Things happen, yes, But when the outcry of the land is so much,

God intervenes because everything that he's created

starts to cry out for justice. And what we see here is there

were two people who were sent by God and we see that as they walk

into the city, Lot sees them, invites them in, and the

depravity of the society is what these is what caused this

particular statement to come with.

They give a reason as to why they want Lot and his entire

household to leave so that God can drain and down Sulphur and

kill the entire city. There are three things that I

want to emphasize in this. But before that I wanted to come

to that clear verse which says outcry.

When we look at outcry, outcry, usually, you know when we use

that word, it means a strong expression of anger and

disapproval. But when you look in terms of

the Bible, the Hebrew word is sakah, which refers to a loud

outcry often associated with distress, anguish and a.

Plea for help. Now, you need to understand, if

this land had certain demonic strongholds, there were people

in bondages, There were people being treated, you know, without

any justice. There are people who've been

removed of their rights. There were people who have been

violated. There were people who have been

abused. There were people who've been

victims. And this outcry has reached.

God and God is deciding to act and who can stand all the time.

When we see calamities, we think and most often complain, God,

why is this happening? Don't you love your people?

And we fail to understand probably the way God sees it,

it's entirely different. And so as we look into this,

we're going to see God as we as individuals have been placed in

different cities. We've been placed because of our

work, because of our studies, because of our families.

Whatever the reason can be, we are placed in cities.

And in fact, one of the things we'll see at least in the next

20-30 years in India is the fact that our cities are going to

expand. Every year when the Parliament,

when they announce budgets, they're announcing budgets for

expansion in terms of cities, towns becoming cities, Cities

become having their own airports, connectivity and

everything. And so we see this modernization

happening, which is basically moving the entire economic

status of these towns and places where people are gathering into

uplifting them into a particular economic standard.

But in this midst, are we doing what is right as we as

godchildren, are we aware of what some of the outcries of our

own cities are? I remember 20 years back when

Chris Tomlin came out with the song You're the God of the City,

and it resonated a lot because. Our cities needed God to

intervene. Our cities needed the God of

justice to walk. Our city needed the God of mercy

to move through the hearts of people so that their hearts will

be broken. So as we look into this, we see

that these inhabiting cities that when we are in our ears and

our hearts are open, we are in the cities where we are burdened

by what's burdening society and burdening the people.

A lot of times we are burdened by things that concern us on a

peripheral level. For example, if you're staying

next to a water body and if that water body is getting polluted,

you're burdened by that. Why?

Because you're staying next to it.

It affects certain things. But God is asking, could you

move further to what is burdening in the spiritual

level? Because there are many

strongholds that are being built, many ideologies that are

being formed, many things established that will go to ruin

generations ahead. Remember, we're not serving a

God of one generation, we're serving the God of all time,

which means when God is moving us to do certain things, it's

across generations. Even as I'm standing here and

talking, we're just going into a 2 day workshop, The workshops

titled Legacy Builders. And the reason is we are

committed to making sure we will be sensitive to what God is

calling us to do for the next generation, one life at a time,

one life at a time. And so today as we look into

this, our own God to move our hearts.

Why is it important? Because we see when Lot took

Sodom and Gomorrah, he took it out of his own physical need.

There there was tension arising between the herdsmen of Abraham

and the herdsmen that he had. And when Abraham said, hey,

we're too big, why don't you find a place where you have to

go? What did his eyes see?

His eyes saw the green pastures that were near Sodom and Gomar,

and he went there and settled. And often times we are moved to

a city because of certain openings that we've desired for.

A lot of us desire to probably go out of the country.

A lot of us desire to move from one city to another.

A lot of us probably move plan to move from towns to cities.

I don't know what your interests are, but when God moves you as a

follower of Christ, our mandate is for God to do something

bigger because the outcry of the land will definitely break our

hearts because it's breaking God's heart.

And we see that as he went there, he was led by what he

saw. But God wants us to move to a

place where we just don't. Move.

By what we see, but we also do it because we are there.

Because by what he's doing and then through our hearts its not

a wish list that comes through. Lots of eyes were on greener

pastures because it was a ready made solution and lot of us are

thinking if only I can go to another city it probably be the

opportunities would be greater. Opportunities will be greater

for all of us who worship Jesus, will be greater wherever we are

at if we keep our eyes on Jesus because God will open doors that

we've not expected. God will provide in ways in

which we've not expected. So today I want us to move to a

place of seeing and understanding God.

What are some of the cries that we need to be intentionally

aware as your followers? Because we can't just move into

a city and think, you know what, the city doesn't affect us.

No, you need to move into the city and understand what the

city's DNA. Is from the historical side to

where it is today we need to see and move saying God as long as

I'm here, what do you want me to fulfill what do you want me to

pray pivotally. It's interesting that when you

read in Genesis chapter 15 as I was preaching about it.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Abraham had got this covenant from God.

He got the promise for his child, and then he got a

covenant for his entire generation that is going to

come, you know, about 400 years. And it's interesting when he's

talking about the entire of Israel, of how they'll come into

Egypt. They'll be under slavery, and

then they'll be redeemed from there.

They'll be moving out. You know, Moses will come, and

then he'll take them out. He's giving him this whole

thing. And he says you won't go and

occupy these lands until the sin of the Amorites has reached his

full measure. And I'm wanted to pause here for

a second because many a times we'd seek the prosperity of the

land. When we think, OK, the the thing

looks really great, the predictions look really great,

but we don't know what's happening in the background.

This is where we need to be spiritually connected to realize

God is this land reaching its full measure.

Because there'll be seasons when God will ask you to move out of

certain places. You should be obedient and not

be convinced by what you see in their physical eyes.

Sodom and Gomorrah had reached its full potential with regard

to its sin, and what God had to respond was to wipe it away.

In Jeremiah 15 it says. Therefore this is what the Lord

says. If you repent, I will restore

you, that you may serve me. If you utter worthy, not

worthless words, You will be my spokesperson that this people

turn to you, but you must not turn to them.

I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of

bronze. They will fight against you, but

they will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you and

save you Dick. As a Lord.

I will save you from the hands of the Wiccan and deliver you

from the grasp of the cruel. A lot of times we feel so

isolated. We feel, you know what, God?

Everything in the city is working against me.

But we need to realize when God's placed us there, the

heaviness of the warfare will be there, but nothing will touch

us. When we are there, when we are

doing God's work, God will use us, but nothing will touch us.

He won't make. He won't cause us to collapse.

He won't cause us to break. So today I want us to be aware

because God is the defender of the weak.

When we are on God's side, He is a defender.

He's a defender. We are sometimes so worried,

God, will we be crushed under this, But God saying, no, I will

work things out and we have to come to a place where we

realized that we can be still and yet do what God's calling us

to do. Psalm 37, verse 7 says be still

Psalms 37:7

before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Do not fret when people succeed in their ways when they carry

out their wicked schemes. The reason why I'm reading this

is because the mandate for us is to respond to what the cry of

our city is. And when we respond to that cry

for justice and mercy to flow, God is saying I want to be in

that place to restore all of humanity.

And so today, even as we go into this, there are three things

that I want to take as lessons from this 19 and the first thing

is the outcry of the land should break our hearts and move our

hands. The outcry of the land should

break our hearts and move our hands.

Yeah, we saw last week, it's similar to the lines of last

week where we saw that God, we asked her, what breaks your

heart? But today I'm coming to a place

is the outcry of the land breaking our hearts.

I want to talk to people, especially for those who think

they're settled in that particular city, for those who

really made those big investments of buying a House

of, you know, probably being there because your kids are all

there is the outcry of that land breaking your hearts and moving

your hands. The reason is when it breaks

your hearts and move your hands, the outlook that you have on the

city will be entirely different. You suddenly will be involved in

making sure that there are certain things you're fulfilling

because you know it's far bigger than what you've been dreamt.

Of. God will start using you in ways

to change the Society of that city.

Let's read from Genesis chapter 19 was one to three.

Genesis 19 · chapter mention

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was

sitting in the gateway of the city.

When he saw him, he got up to meet them and bowed down with

his face to the ground. My Lords, he said, please turn

aside your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend

the night and then go your way early in the morning.

No, they answered, we will spend the night in the square.

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered

his house. He prepared a meal for them,

baking bread without yeast, and there they ate.

We see that these two people left Abraham and God was talking

to Abraham and as they left, they moved towards Sodom and

Gomorrah. And we as we read from Lot's

life, you see Lot was there probably was a person of

influence when you read an ancient literature, especially

how they functioned. The Gate, City gates were all

the the influential people of the city where that's where they

met with the people who came into business.

They understood what was happening across other cities.

They were people who were at least to a certain extent to

make important decisions for the city.

And we see Lot being there and he sees these two men's and he

invites them to his house. There's probably a reason why he

invites them. We don't know the reason, but to

us, as we read this passage, it looks clearly that there was

definitely an intention. Probably if he kept them in his

house, hosted them the next day, he would have revealed it.

But things looked different and as we see there, I strongly

believe God has placed an influence on each of our lives.

A lot of times we are doubting that.

And so a lot of times when we fight, we're fighting that very

influence that God's caused us to have.

You're asking Pragya Sham. I moved to the city.

I don't know anyone, no. But you will eventually know

someone the the when you move into a city.

We. Bring our influence into it,

whatever God's laid into our hearts, whatever God's been

using of our hands and as we serve the city in whatever

capacity. And when I say serve the city,

probably some of you are led towards certain nonprofits or

certain good works that are happening in different places

that your contributors for that and you're putting your hands

into it. You're serving the community on

a weekly basis or probably your hearts are towards certain non

profits where restoration has been happening.

You're probably moving to certain non profits where

education is seen because education made a difference in

your life. You want to impart that this is

where we see when we get our hands into what God's calling us

to do, we will see greater things happening.

And the reason why I'm saying this is not had influence, but I

believe it just stayed with his eyes and didn't go beyond his

heart and hands. Because if it moved beyond his

heart and hands, I think the. Outcome of the.

City would have been different. The outcome of Sodom and

Gomorrah would be different. If he was living the life that

God had called him to do, he would have been a big difference

in that city. And in fact, I think to a

certain extent, Abraham knew about his cousin and that's why

he contended with God. He said, God, I know these

people. And it's interesting because

many a times because Abraham also had gone there and rescued

Lot and the entirety of Sodom and Gomorrah with with his

people. And that's why he gets to meet

Melchi said they can. So when we see this, what are we

doing with our influence today? If I have to leave you with that

question, because we all have certain influences, like you

might be like I'm just starting my career, you will eventually

build an influence. You will move to your local

church there, which you're part of a move to a local place where

God's doing something. Seek God and he will move you to

a place where you'll be able to use your influence.

Everyone of us have something to give.

Everyone of us. I strongly am a firm believer

that everyone of us have influence.

It's comes down to whether we want to give, whether we want to

choose it to give towards God because when he chose it to give

towards God, what does it look like?

It looks like we are serving people.

It's a mirror reflection of serving people.

We're not serving ourselves. You're not like, OK, I'll come

here. I'll just make sure I own I no,

you suddenly will think, you know what?

Even that's why the beauty which I see in India is we all have

people who help us, you know, because of the different runs of

economic society. We have people who come to Tina

houses. We have people who come to help

us with cooking and we suddenly care for them much more.

We suddenly start, you know, I, they're helping me and then they

say their son, he's in school and you know, he needs certain

things. You start helping in small ways.

That's where our influence moves.

Find out God, in this season when I'm 30, what do you want me

to do? What is the what should my

response be to the outcry of the land?

When I'm 40, dot, what should my response be to the outcry of the

land? Are we just progressing towards

our wants and making ourselves comfortable today?

I would love to say church. The response of the church to

the outcry of the land is only probably 5 to 10%, five to 10%.

The remaining 90 are so comfortable this coming and

being served. But the gospel of Jesus is not

about being served but to serve. And so if you're looking to a

place of being served, you will be served for a season or

probably for a, but you will leave out empty and you'll feel

unfulfilled. And so I want to ask you today,

our own cities that we live has its own deep roots of sin and

things that are plaguing it. Can we invite God and can we

seek God diligently and pray? Can we ask God to open our

spiritual eyes so that the strongholds are revealed?

Can we claim the blood? Can we rally Christ's body to

intercede the bride? It's not what we can get from

the city, but who we can be for the city.

We need to start asking God. God, give me these eyes to see.

One of the beautiful things we see about cities in the Bible is

the fact that cities is where the gospel spread because they

were places of influence, Because from there it's moved

across to different territories surrounding it.

And this is what Peter says in One Peter chapter 2.

And I want to leave this thought as we complete this point.

It says, friends, this world is not your home, so don't make

yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the

expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your

neighborhood so that your actions will refute their

prejudices. Then they'll be one over to

God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he

arrives. So I pray that you won't just be

like Lot who uses the influence for their own personal gain, but

it'll be for something bigger, it'll be for something bigger,

it'll be for something bigger. The second thing that we see is

the outcry of the city or the land that we are in should cause

us who are the remnant to relent for God's righteousness, to

relent for God's righteousness because, because if we are not

relenting and asking God, God may your righteousness come down

because we need, we will be plagued by it.

The very thing that God wants us to have in terms of convictions

won't go down deep into our hearts.

Genesis 19 was a six to 11 lot went outside to meet them and

shut the door behind him and said no, my friends don't do

this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who

have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you and

you can do what you like with them.

But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under

the protection of my roof. Get out of our way, they

replied. This fellow came here as a

foreigner and now he wants to play the judge.

We'll treat you worse. Than them, they kept bringing

pressure on Lot and moved forward to breakdown the door.

But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the

house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who

were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so

that they could not find the door.

As we read this, I'm reminded that there's definitely a clear

case as to his influence not permeating or not going beyond

business. His convictions were not seen to

the people of the land. And he probably thought, you

know, I'm a foreigner here, why should I?

No, as a foreigner, you can ask for God's mercy.

You can ask for God's hand. And today's a lot of us will

feel like a foreigner in the places that we are in.

But that doesn't stop us from playing for that land, for

praying, for the for, for praying.

And interesting God bring this thing down.

This is none of you. This is man's selfish motive

that's become a stronghold today.

So today the response of the people in Lot was questioned has

nothing to do with spiritual conviction.

Clearly it's evident that this aim was just business.

He grew it. He was an influential person,

but he did protect his own interests.

And he probably didn't state his own convictions because he

thought, you know what? This is this, this doesn't make

a difference. But the truth is, you and I are

called to be a light on a hill so that we'll be seen, which

means our convictions have to be clear.

Let us not wait for the knocking on our front doors to happen so

that people know what our convictions are.

They people should have known that they can't go to Lot's

house because this is not who Lot is.

They should have known we can't go here because this is where

he's a different person entirely.

They shouldn't have been able to cross the gates of his house.

But the depravity is so that it's so clear that he was so

wishy washy that they came there knocking on the door.

Let us not wait. Maybe be known as Christ

followers who are living with His values.

Yes, we don't bribe. Yes, we don't.

We don't partake of injustice. We are people of integrity.

We stand with the longing what God has put in our heart to see,

to act justly, to live, to show mercy.

When we do this, we stand in the gap and we respond to the outcry

of the city. Each of us are in need of

redemption, each of us, and I believe the cities are in need

of redemption. And that's why I believe God has

positioned us today as his bride to pray and intercede for the

city. Lord's story is an example where

when we have certain convictions, but you know, we

keep it and we're like, what do they think?

No, allow it to permeate. May it may what you believe be

seen in your hands so that it's seen and evident you won't

partake of it. You standing up for the truth is

taking the side of God, taking the side of God.

When we can see that the culture of the land when we allow it to

linger long enough, it permeates in us.

It permeates in us. It moves in and through us.

It suddenly makes us numb. Certain things.

We are like, you know what, can't be dealing with it.

Let's just go with the flow. No, we are called to be

different. Large story is an example of how

we allow us being comfortable taking the forefront.

So today, where can we start from?

Let's move down into our own lives.

Where did Christ save us? He saved us from our own wreck.

And a lot of times this is where I beautifully love God's

salvation plan, where we are called to minister, where we've

been saved from. If we have been saved from an

emotional mess, God uses mightily there because that's a

sphere of influence. If God saved us from the

addictions of alcohol and drugs, God will use us that because

that's where we found true freedom.

If God restored our marriage, we will serve that because that's

our point of influence. Where is our redemption story?

For me, it's abandonment. When I when I realized God saved

me from abandonment, that I have a God who sees, a God who hears,

a God who knows me. That becomes my biggest area of

influence. And so today I love it when I

can tell people, hey, you're more than what you believe in.

You might feel like a stranger in a foreign land, but God has

positioned you here to do something far bigger.

So can we start from where we've been saved?

And start picking life because that's where we've received the

most from God and that's where we are giving off most what

we've received from God. Two Corinthians, chapter 5,

verses 16 to 21. And this is what it says.

Reading from the message. Because of this decision, we

don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look.

We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong.

As you know, we certainly don't look at Him that way anymore.

Now we look inside and what we see is that anyone united with

the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new, the old life is

gone and new emerges. Look at it.

All this comes from God, who settled the relationship between

US and Him, and then He called us to settle our relationships

with each other. God put the world square with

himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start

by offering forgiveness of sin. God has given us the task of

telling everyone what he's doing.

We are Christ's representatives. We are Christ's representatives.

God uses us to persuade men and women to drop the differences

and enter into God's work of making things right between

them. We are speaking for Christ

himself now. Become friends with God.

He's already a friend with you today.

I would ask you, let's take our head out of the pit.

You know, ostriches are known to put their head, dig a hole and

put their head in. And as I was reading up, they

said that that's a myth. You know, a lot of times they're

doing that because they have long necks.

They are doing that because they are caring for the eggs that are

there inside in the ground. But an interesting trait of the

ostrich is when troubles, when they sense trouble around, they

think they can camouflage themselves by putting their neck

into the ground and burying it. And it got me thinking, as

Christians today, are we like ostriches, burying our head into

the ground because we don't want to respond to what's happening

around us? We can't be threatened by what's

happening in our cities. We need to respond with what's

happening in our cities today. The strongholds of sin have to

break the impact and the the the the strongholds that are taking

shape in different forms have to be pulled down.

Things that are collapsing, families and marriages have to

be pulled down. And today, are we burying our

heads into our holes just so that we'll be comfortable?

If you want to save ourselves, we can go.

The world as the world. Leads.

But if we are here as Christ follows, we need to respond in

the way God's calling us to respond.

I would encourage you to read 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

It talks about the world that we're living in today, of who

will be. Surrounded by and it's not

changed much, but today, what is our response towards this?

What's our response towards this?

Because God is saying if I have called you into this city, you

need to respond for righteousness to come down.

And that will come only when we understand.

Are we first in the right standing with God?

Have we really dealt with the sin patterns in our life or have

we been covering it up? The third thing is when the

outcry of the land should make a hearts beat for the eternal and

not for the temporal. Genesis 1923 to 26.

By the time Lot reads or the sun had risen over the land.

Then the Lord rained down sulphur and Sodom and Gomorrah

from the Lord out of the heavens.

Thus He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying

all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the

land. But Lot's 5 looked back and she

became a pillar of salt. And I'm going to read from

worse. This is the first where Lot's

wife turned back. The second is when Lot's

daughters took things into their own hand.

It says it was 36. So both of Lot's daughters

became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son,

and she named him Moab. He's the father of the Moabites

of today. The younger daughter also had a

son, and she named him Benami. He's the father of the Ammonites

of today. Clearly, it's evident that

Lord's trust in God and Lord's understanding of the God of his

uncle did not go past him. His wife definitely didn't catch

on to it, Didn't have an understanding of who this

goddess, the God of Abraham, his daughters didn't seem to care

because they seem didn't seem to understand that this God of

Abraham will sustain us because if there's anything that's

happened in Lord's life is because he is sustained them.

Even the sons in law that lot had didn't trust him, didn't

take him at his word. So it's clearly evident that

there was, there was so much of confusion in Lord's life.

And when things became worse, people settled for what was

temporary rather than what was eternal.

And we can see today, this can be any one of us.

You know, it's sounds OK, we won't be like Lord's wife.

But the truth is when when it comes to the reality, we can

become because a lot of us have a lot of things tied to our

physical things here on this world.

A lot of us have our hearts and our attention tied to the money

that we make to the things that we have deposited and our

growing or we to the things that we've bought to the things that

we have. God will deal with our heart

idols. So I don't know what your heart

idols are today because God clearly constantly does a

cleansing of our heart idols. If you've been dependent on

something, God hits it down. If you've been prideful, God

knocks it off. If you've been if you think

you're too good, God makes us aware that you know, I think we

we, we still a lot of work in progress, but God's clearly

saying. That we need to know what is

eternal, because when we make decisions based on what's

eternal, we will start living our life here with greater

purpose. What does it look like when the

outcry of the land? We will start looking at things

that and why do we start playing against dominions over the paths

of darkness we pull down? Because those are things that

will plague the following generation.

Those are things which if left untouched now we'll just grow

into something and it'll just become like will will have it's

own nature which will define the city, which will define the

people living in that city. We can't allow that, not on our

watch. So that's why when we move

towards things eternal, we suddenly are moving towards,

hey, these are things which will deflect us from following God.

These are things which will create a false sense of idols in

our heart that will cause us to steer away, which will say, you

know what God, we don't need you.

We will move towards other things.

God is asking us today, can we make a heart check?

Right? Because the outcry of the land

is moving us towards eternal things.

What is that? Finding Life.

From the life giver who's Jesus eternity sin no more where sin,

the clutches of sin are breaking.

The daughters took matters into their own hand.

And we see King Saul had to fight the Moabites and the

Ammonites. We see that they waged war with

Jehoshaphat. We see Balam coming and speaking

was caused to speak against Israel.

And then we see the entire episode where a donkey opens his

mouth. But it's interesting that after

that, when we read that passage, it says that the women were sent

out to go and distract the men of Israel.

And many of them had sinned. Many of them had sinned.

And we see a Levite who drew a spear right into the men in the

into an Israelite man and a woman who was sinning right

there. That is what God's calling us to

take a stand on, that we stand to pull down the schemes of the

enemy, the schemes of the enemy, because the schemes of the enemy

works with the heart of man and causes man to respond towards

that. God did give a command to the

Israelites in Deuteronomy that the Ammon, no one from their

generation can enter, 10 generations can enter into the

God's temple. And we see that there was a

point of time when after that, God redeemed and brought a

Moabite woman into the lineage through which David was born,

eventually through which Jesus was born.

Ruth, her name is, she was a Moabite woman.

Why? Because she trusted the God of

Naomi. She came with Naomi and she

married Boaz. And we see that God has a

redemptive plan. But our focus, God's redemption

plan, his love for his kind, is far bigger.

But are we responding to the outcry of our land?

Are we responding to the outcry of our land?

And so today, as I conclude, I want to conclude with one thing.

How OK the outcry of the land? How can we?

Move. Or what can we do?

And that's what I wanted to leave us with as I was part of a

prayer movement. And as we were talking, they

came up with this particular way of praying.

And I believe it's very important for all of us,

especially when you're moving from a city to a city.

When you're driving, you will encounter something called a

check post. A checkpost is when the

territory of one land finishes and the territory of another

land begins. And so eventually there's a

trading off of even the jurisdictical power.

And so the police or the checkpost, the authorities are

there. And so I would ask us to have

this checkpost prayer. What is the checkpost prayer?

That we have a territorial we will.

Stop it right there where it is, which means you're alert to

what's happening in our cities. We are reading the news we are

seeing, we are understanding what are some of the things that

are happening in our cities. We see that that there's a huge

thing for bribe and receiving money that's not accounted for,

that we'll have to pray against that.

We are constantly getting news that there are so much of drugs

that's being peddled into our city.

We are praying against that. So see, these are things.

So when we have this checkpost prayer in every area that we are

situated and we will start seeing things do, we'll ask God

alert us, God will show us different aspects of the news

which we need to really look at. Why?

Because that's where God wants to escape.

Because whatever we allow to get through this checkpost will

diminish the work of the Great Commission will put us back by a

few years. And we can't allow that.

We need to allow God to keep us at the forefront to see it.

And so today I would challenge you as you heard this, probably

you've been like, you know what? I, I've been always cribbing

about this. Start thanking God now God,

thank you for bringing me to the city.

Start thanking God and saying, God, thank you for keeping me

here. Thank you for enabling me to be

here, part of this. And today I want to give glory

and honor to your name and ask him God, what is it that I need

to do for my city? Start getting your hands dirty

because today God wants us to come to a place that we'll be

people because we are that. The city prospers.

Just imagine what that will look like.

A testimony comes up because the Christians are here, the city

prospers. The early church moved to that

different places. The gospel spread across cities.

I believe God is establishing us today.

To take reign. So that these strongholds won't

rule it, but God will rule it. His people will be welcoming and

will allow things to thrive in the right sense where God is in

centre of everything. Jeremiah chapter 29 was 4 to 14.

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

When Israel is going into captivity, this is what God says

to them. He says build houses, settle

down, plant gardens and eat what they produce.

Marry and have sons and daughters.

Find wives for your sons. Give your daughters in marriage.

Increase in number that do not decrease.

Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which

I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because

if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Today we cannot allow the outcry of the land to reach God.

We need to stop it. We need to stand and say God, we

are pulling down all the altars that man has created all the

strongholds that are there to say that you deserve the glory,

you deserve the honour Sutri as I conclude I want to ask this

can the outcry of the land may break our hearts and move our

hands made causes us the may cause us who are the remnant to

bring down God's righteousness because we have allowed it to

into our lives. Now it has to move from our

lives to outside to others. The third may our hearts beat

for the eternal and not for the temple.

Because things will fade away, buildings will be pulled down to

40 years because they don't meet the guidelines.

But things of God will last. Things of God will last.

Lord, I just thank you, Lord, as we've heard your word.

I pray Lord, the Holy Spirit move in the hearts of us.

Lord, today we are all in different cities.

Lord Jesus, I pray we'll have a deep longing, Lord, for the what

you are calling us to do in the city.

I pray, Lord, we'll start with our salvation story, Lord, where

you redeemed us, You lifted us from the mighty clay.

And I pray that Lord, a heartbeat will be for that

mighty clay to be pulled down. Lord, in our own very own

cities. Lord Jesus, move in and through

US. Take charge of us.

Keep us in the center of your will.

Lord. I pray that Lord, the outcry of

the land will be so evident. Lord, show it to us that I pray

the scales of our eyes will come down.

The comfortable things that we are longing for will be torn in

our lives like how you told the wheel.

Tear it Lord Jesus, expose our heart idols.

Lord Jesus, that we will run after you, we will chase after

you, we will look for you. Lord, be glorified, be honoured.

Go Lord, go and do great things. Lord Jesus, we declare you are

great, you are worthy. Lord, we want your Kingdom come,

Your will be done on this earth that we are living in.

Lord Jesus, I pray that you will bless each and everyone.

Lord, help us to respond to the outcry of our land.

Your most holy name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Church.

I pray that as you go, God will be glorified in and through your

lives. Have a blessed week.

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