Sermon
First Love - Pastor Will Roos
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Let's go into the title there. First love.
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Yeah. And so God first love, and it's
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simple first love, it's some simple message.
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It says God loved you first. God loved us first.
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That's first love. He loved us first.
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And so he didn't wait for us to read perfection, OK, He didn't
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say, OK, first clean yourself up before I love you or first go
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and get in a better place before I know he loved, he opened his
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arms. And I just love the fact that
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God can run into us. He can run into us.
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That's the simple gospel message.
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Love went first. I mean, and so you know, the
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other day we just at the park and my youngest son, Josh, I
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love to play football with him. And so we're there at the park
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and he's got 2 left shoes on. So we, so he's at that age now
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where he's getting his shoes, you know, the left and the right
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and, you know, learning how to make his laces and all of that.
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But we're in the park there and he's got the two left shoes.
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But we played football and he ran like a champion.
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And so sometimes in your life, you don't have to have
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everything perfect. You don't have to do everything
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right. You don't have to be this
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perfect holy person. All that you need is just the
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love, is the love of a dad, a Father, a heavenly Father.
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Bottom line, the love of God. So he first loved us so that we
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can live, so that we can love, so that we can move forward.
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He first loved us. Amen.
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So love went first, first love and he came to us.
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He became one of us. And so he didn't wait for your
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perfect performance. He did not wait for your perfect
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good works for your perfect worship.
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He came to us and he demonstrated that he crossed
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that gap even before we knew there was a gap.
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He crossed it before the Bible says before the time you're
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ready, gave his life for us. And God said I loved you first.
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That's the gospel. I loved you first, love went
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first. And I believe God wants to do
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something special in this house today, something special in your
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family, in our community, but also for our nation.
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The UKI really feel we are on the brink of a revival and this
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revival in the UKI really believe in the Western.
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I really believe it's going to be a love revival.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I really.
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But it's going to take the love of God, a love of a father,
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because I love my kids, my children, OK.
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And and the love of the father is going to bring a revival in
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the UK. So get ready for a revival, a
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love revival. OK, yeah, OK.
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It's going to come through revival.
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Somebody shot revival. Yeah.
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Revival. Get ready for revival.
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Yeah. First love.
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First love is about to hit the UK.
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First love is about to hit the UK on fire.
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Burning on fire is going to take passion where the Lord is not
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just another hobby or just another sideline on a Were you
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so passionately on fire that he's the everything.
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He's the very essence of our lives.
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Our everything is him. There is nothing that compares
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to him and his goodness and his love.
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He is so good. He's incredibly good.
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Once you've had an encounter, I'm not talking about you've
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heard about God or you've been in Church of heard about, you
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know, many people. We've heard about the queen or
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the king or we've heard about that celebrity.
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Oh yeah, I've heard about, you know, Elon Musk.
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OK, have you actually met Elon Musk?
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Have you actually had a conversation with?
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OK, now listen, this is where the church, we've been making
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things so complicated about God, about religion, church and all
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that. Listen, it's simple.
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It is a relationship. When I get up in the morning, I
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walk to the pond there by the ducks, and I talk to Jesus like
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I'm standing to you, right? Yeah, I'm talking to Jesus.
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He's my best friend. He's my buddy.
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He is my, my everything. And I have a conversation with
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the Lord. Simple, not churchy stuff, not
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anything. Listen, I never even thought I'm
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going to be. I was just studying sports
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degree. I was on my way.
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I was one AC champions. I was hanging out with
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celebrities in Joe in South Africa, Eagle.
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I know all of them. All of the celebs.
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You just mentioned their names. They know where all of them.
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I was hanging out with these guys.
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That was my life until I had a conversation with Jesus.
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Not about Jesus, not about church, not about religion.
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To Jesus directly face to face. So I I have encountered Jesus
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face to face. So when you speak directly to
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Elon Musk or you can say I know him, not I read in the paper or
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heard or saw on the news or heard about a church.
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I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ himself.
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That's the difference. Come on somebody, the church
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have complicated things hopeful and it's time for us, our
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nation, the UK to come in a simple relationship with Jesus,
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fall in love with Jesus just like the way I fall in love with
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my wife. When I saw my wife on the stage
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she was worshipping Jesus in church.
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I'm like that's my wife and we fell in love and yeah, OK, I can
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say I loved her first. OK, first love.
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OK. I actually chased after her,
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gave her my number. And I Can you believe it,
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Michelle, she OK? She said she lost my number.
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But then those days, OK, we don't have mobile phones.
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I gave her my number on a piece of paper.
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I'm like, OK, you just phone me. Months later, I'm like, Oh my
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God, she's never phoned me, this woman.
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And I laughed. I'm like, yeah, I really want
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it. But I didn't know where it was
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those days. We didn't have Facebook and all
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the social media. We said, where do I find her?
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Where do I find Michelle? It was I met her.
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It was it was wallet. And now a year later, I was in
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the gym I worked in, in Melville.
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I was running this Belardus and Wellness studio as a gym
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manager. And so early in the morning, I'm
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like, OK, God, where do you want me to go to church?
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Because there was a lovely big church.
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I want to mention the name big church, but I'm like, well,
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that's the big church. So that's where I'm going to
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find a nice wife because I was looking to date somebody.
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Now he's got, you know, I want to go to the big church.
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But the Lord said, and I don't go to the big church, go to this
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church in Northcliff. And I'm like, this is such a
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small little church. How am I going to find you know?
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And so in that small church when I walked in, there is Michelle
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Alamo. There you are.
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I've been looking for you. I've been looking for you.
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Never phone me. And so, yeah, first love.
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I loved her first. And so then we then I made sure
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I'm inviting you on a date. So OK, we're going on a date.
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Like you're not just giving you my number.
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We're going on a date. So yeah, it's just start to fall
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in love with Jesus. It's simple.
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It's not a religious, it's a relationship.
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That's what it is. I'm talking to the Lord all
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throughout the day while I was here.
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This is looking of the kids doing all things all throughout
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the day. It's a relationship.
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When you're in love with somebody, you think about it.
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I phoned my wife. I don't have to like, oh, how do
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I hear the voice of God? Listen, when Michelle, I know
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it's her when the Lord talks to I know it's him.
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When he talks and we talk, we have I just know it's because I
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know him. I know Michelle.
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So that sounds like, oh, this is now your wife, the pastor.
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This is who I know. I know her voice.
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I know the voice of the Lord. So the more time you spend with
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the Lord, the more you know him. And so, yes, this morning, let's
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just fall in love with Jesus. Let's fall in love with Jesus
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all over again. Yes.
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Come on, somebody. We get on fire.
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We fall in love with Jesus. So what can I get ready?
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Revival is about to break loose, break out in the UK.
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I'm ready for this love revival. How many of you are ready for a
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love revival? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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That's what it's going to be. It's not going to be religious
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revival like we used to. This is going to be, We see it
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on stats now, the highest. It's the Bible.
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Sales are up. You just go on Amazon, it's the
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highest, best seller. It's the Bible, OK?
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The stats are showing people are flocking to churches because we
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know there is a real God. It's real.
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So how many of you are excited about this today?
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Aven? OK, God's love is in this room.
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Hallelujah. Now we're going to I'm going to
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show you amazing verse. Are you ready for this verse?
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And this is our text verse for today.
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It's first John chapter 4 verse 19.
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We love why the Bible says because he first love us.
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Somebody say first love. OK, so first love, God moved
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first love moved first and because God love move first, we
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can move forward, we can learn, we can love.
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So we just thank you Father, to our hearts to open speak to us.
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Lord, stir faith, let your love change us from the inside out in
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Jesus mighty name and we thank you, Amen.
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Now, I remember when my kids, they were small and so they were
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that stage where, you know, we're just learning to walk.
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And so it's like tumble and then few steps.
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They walk three steps and then they tumble, OK.
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And sometimes when they fall, OK, it's bruises and head
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injury, all these things. But it's a learning process,
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learning to walk. And I love my kids.
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And so they're walking and tumbling and fall.
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And So what do we do as loving parents when our kids fall?
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What do we do when our kids fall down?
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OK, We don't stand at a distance with our arms crossed, OK.
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And with the lecture, OK with a there's a clipboard and say, OK,
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I'm going to deduct score points off.
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OK, Now as loving parents, what we do when our kids fall, OK, we
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run in. I I at the moment my kid falls.
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I mean, I've so many seen them fall much as our bicycles
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different places. I just run in the other night.
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Was it my middle 1 cried out in the middle of the night.
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OK, I don't get up and like try and check and give AI run to my
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child. I pick up my child and I hold
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him in my house. I comfort him straight away.
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That's what a loving parent we do for our kids.
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And so we rush and we move in and so I pick up, we pick them
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up. OK, wipe off the tears, kiss the
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scrape or the bruise or whatever.
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OK, And we just love on me and I just say are you OK That easier?
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Okay, wherever it is, if there's a middle of the night on
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convenience, okay, the key is falling off the bike that
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easier? You'll be okay.
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I'm right here. I've got that.
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That is how heaven treats us. That is a picture of our
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heavenly Father that when we fall, make mistakes, when
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something happened, our Father doesn't stand with his arms
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crossed from a distance criticizing now I will fall when
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we fell. Even you can see it all
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throughout the Bible since day one.
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In the beginning when mankind fell, all throughout the Bible,
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God came running in. God came running to help, to
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love, to comfort the Bible. He's not just standing there
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waiting, watching you go for your struggle and struggling and
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falling and God rush is in the Bible says in the book of John
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three that God so loved the world that he gave his son.
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Whoever believes in it shall not pray.
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But I never lost him God. And then he says this, I did not
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send my son now listen to this church to condemn the world.
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I did not send my son to condemn the world, but so that the world
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can be saved through him. Wow, that's a different story
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that I've heard at some religious organization where God
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says I have given my son not to condemn the world, but to save
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the world. I love that John 3 verse 16,
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very famous verse. And so love didn't wait from a
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distance, Love run, love moved in, love comforted.
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And I love what it says in Romans, you know, when Christ
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died for us, Roman says even while we were Yitsenness, my
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God, that is a loving God. Even while we were running in
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the mud, while we were doing well.
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Fun thing while I was in in the world, man in Pretoria, living
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in the world in the hostel, private school for boy.
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I mean watching rugby at Loftus first or hanging out, living for
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myself, just doing my own thing, living wild.
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He showed me he loved me even in my mess.
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While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
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Not when you clean yourself up that I love.
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Not when you're in a perfect place where you've had a perfect
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week right in the middle of the mess.
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Jesus stating and Jesus so, and Jesus gave himself for us in the
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mess and he didn't stand from a distance shouting directions
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across the gap. No, Jesus crossed the gap, he
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cried, he became one of us. He came to us, he crossed it.
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And when he came, he carried our issues, our problems, he took it
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upon him. He said, there's this great
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exchange and I love Remembrance day-to-day because we're
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remembering Jesus. He took it.
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He said, listen, let me just take your sickness, disease,
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troubles, put it on me and I'll give you my blessing.
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He took our sin and our guilt. He paid it, so we messed up.
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OK, Stand before the judge, right?
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You got to pay the bill. Jesus said, I'll take that, I'll
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pay the bill, you're free. Hallelujah.
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Somebody give God some praise. That's what he did.
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God moved first so we can move forward.
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God move first. Say that with me.
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God move first so I can move forward.
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Start again, God move first so I can move forward.
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Hallelujah. And so the message is not climb
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up to God. The message is God came down to
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us. That's a simple gospel message.
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Let that sink in. First love.
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And so, yeah, what does that means on a Monday morning in
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everyday life? It's we love because he first
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loved us. So it's out of that place of his
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love for us that we flung. OK, so he went first.
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It's not something that we earned.
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It's not something we perform to do.
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It's he came, he loved us and we see that in the cross.
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We see that in the entity tomb, how he made a way.
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Love went first. Now let me just talk about value
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for a moment because 1 Psalm 139 is verified.
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The Bible says that we have been powerful, wonderfully,
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wonderful, fearfully and wonderfully made.
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I mean, OK, so that means that God has taken extra special care
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with you, wonderful, fearfully and wonderfully mate.
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I mean, and so you are not random, you're not an accident,
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you're not some mistake or leftover parts, OK?
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You are carefully your planned, known, OK, Known and seen.
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And so you are. It's so beautiful because you
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are wanted. You're genuinely wanted, OK?
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You are wanted. Tell your neighbors that you are
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wanted. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're wanted.
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Yeah, you are wanted. Yeah.
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And so, you know, God stands with his arms wide open and he's
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like, you are wanted, OK. And so, yes, you are my prized
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position. I mean, and so no matter what
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you go through in life, no matter the difficulty, your
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child or how many mistakes or how many disappointments or
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doesn't matter what you face in life, okay, your value, it stays
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the same. Your value doesn't change, OK,
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You are always the apple of his eye.
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You're always the one for him. He always loves you.
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And so your value stays the same.
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It doesn't go up or down. You know, I read about medical
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researchers that they've tried to calculate the worth of a
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human body. And so they try to calculate,
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OK, so we talk about now the enzymes, the hormones, the body
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organs, body part, you know, bones, muscles, and they sort of
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OK, right. If kidney is 100,000, level is
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250, a heart is maybe 500. And so they've come up with an
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estimation. The medical research is that
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it's about half 1,000,000 lbs. So an average size person is
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about half £1,000,000 worth. So that's what they've worked
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out on the human body, right? OK.
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And so just imagine that, how does it feel to be half
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£1,000,000 person? Yeah, half £1,000,000.
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OK, for the heart, now it's illegal to pay for organs.
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OK, these days we donate organs. It's.
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So that's just an estimation, but it just shows you how much
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the treasure that God has placed in you, OK, Because God, the
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manufacturer sets the price. How much worth, how much value.
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And so the Heavenly Father put value on you, He put worth on
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you. And so your heavenly Father put
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value on you. And, and I just love it because
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your creator, he's signed you, he's put his name, he's signed
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you, you carry his name. He's put his signature on your
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life. I mean, that is his glory.
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It's just to think about that just settles it.
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I mean, OK, my maker, he, he sets my value, that settles the
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value. My maker, I belong to God.
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And so I just came to tell somebody here today that you are
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extremely valuable. You're worth.
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You're so valuable to God. You're worth.
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And that's what it says in Ephesians, that you are God's
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workmanship. And now the word for workmanship
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means that you are God's masterpiece.
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Now, you do realize that the masterpiece is not mass
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produced. You don't just come off an
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assembly line. You're not just that project,
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OK? You're not just average or just
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ordinary, OK? You are one-of-a-kind.
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You are unique. You're an original, OK?
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Yeah, You custom made one-of-a-kind, a masterpiece.
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You've been signed off by the artist.
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And it's more than Picasso. It's God Almighty, the creator
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of everything. Now maybe life, I've put labels
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on you. Maybe life said that you're good
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or just average or not good enough, or maybe mistakes try to
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define you. Many people have rejected you or
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overlooked you. But heaven comes with a better
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word. Heaven says you are a
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masterpiece. Oh glory to God, I feel the
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annoying thing in this place. Now let me just give you a
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simple picture. OK at home I I mean, I enjoy
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playing OK, I grew up playing rugby.
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But now since I've been you know, in the UK, probably over
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to football now we call it soccer in South Arabia.
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Now football OK, so I've got a football at home.
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My kids now play football. Sometimes I've thrown in a rugby
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ball anyways, so now I've got this football at home.
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Now it's same size as what they would play in the pros.
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So it's about what, 20 bucks a football?
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OK, if I take that football and I take it to a professional
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footballer, let's say I take it to Ronaldo.
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Ronaldo, can you sign my football?
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And Ronaldo puts his signature on that football.
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All of a sudden that football is not 20 lbs anymore, but it's 2
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million. OK, what is all of a sudden I
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can sell it for a fortune sign, football, sign letter sign
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places. What changed?
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Not the football, the owner. So in Christ, we belong to God.
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You are God's prized position. The Bible says that you are
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God's chosen people. God has placed his signature on
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your life. That makes you valuable.
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Somebody shout Hallelujah. Yes.
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Glory be to God. Yeah.
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So you're worth. Your value is not performance
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based. You're worth.
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Your value is not based on what you can do, on your
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qualifications, on your job, on your achievements.
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OK, now your value, your worth is based on who you belong to.
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Yeah, I belong to God. Yeah, it's who you belong to.
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And so he signed his signature on your wife when he formed you.
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He claimed you when he gave you Jesus.
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And now we can say with peace in our hearts, oh, we belong to
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God. God is how I belong to God.
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And that value settled with settle and think about a watch
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shop because was it that the lexicon of one of the shopping
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malls, one of the shops there Now it looks very simple, very
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plain. I mean that one shops 50,000 lbs
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OK, some of the shops you got 50 thousand 70,000 lbs for a for a
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watch. OK, now look very until the
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jeweler open the back. I'm like oh OK.
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Now all of a sudden when the jeweler shows me the watch and I
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look at and I say, OK craftsmanship.
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I see the make, I see the model and I look at that, I look at
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that watch and I'm like my God, this is a this is a Rolex.
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No one. That's 70,000 OK, £70,000 for a
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watch. Now, when I looked at it at
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first I looked at it, it looked from the outside, very plain,
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very simple. The same when people look at
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you, sometimes they just look at the outside and they just look.
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You look orderly, you look simple.
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God looks deeper. God looks on the inside.
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God looks at the heart and He sees His image in your heart.
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He sees His signature, His Rolex signature in your heart, in your
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life, His Christ, His presence in your life.
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And he calls you a masterpiece. That settles your value.
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That settles your work. Somebody give God some praise in
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this place. Yeah, that's right.
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Because that is who you are. You are a masterpiece.
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You are not second hand. You are not just.
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You are one-of-a-kind, original with heaven's signature on your
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life. So just receive this word today.
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Wow, you are loved. You are loved.
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You are wanted. You are so valuable.
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You are so loved. I just love that song.
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Oh, how he loves us. This is so awesome And majesty.
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You know, his love, it changes everything, the love of God.
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It doesn't go up or down. God's love is constant, the same
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everlasting. Regardless of you know, we've
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had a good week or a bad week, God still loves us.
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It doesn't go up and down. It's God's nothing.
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Which wings He's eternal loving you in my child.
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OK, when my kids are and I've got sons, OK, they kid naughty
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at home. Listen, if they naughty at home,
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OK, I still love those guys, my little ones.
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I'm like, come to daddy, you've been really naughty now, OK,
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you're going to clean up your room now.
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But I love the our heavenly Father treats us the same way he
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loves us. It's like, oh, I had a rough
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week. God, I just did this to the dog
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and that and look, I was like, I still love you.
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Yeah, that's our Father, you see, and that's it.
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Because listen, you, we, because he love us first.
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He's not changed his mind. We can move forward first.
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You can get back up, not because you'd never fall, but because
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his love wash us. It's his love.
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The gospel is not try harder. Oh, you really need to try now.
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Really harder. No, the gospel is simple.
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It's looked at Jesus because he made the first move.
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Jesus become your next step. So you are left so that you can
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now live. And now let's make this
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practical tomorrow morning. It's how simple open the word
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and so speak the word and you speak it out loud.
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You just because when you look at the word, first look at the
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the mirror. The Bible talks about the word
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as a mirror. Before you look at any other
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mirror, before we go into the bathroom mirror, first look at
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that, the Scripture mirror. And so then while you're making
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coffee, getting the kids ready, just speak the word out loud and
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you just say thank you, God, that I am fearfully and
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wonderfully, mate. Thank you, Lord, that I am a
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masterpiece. Thank you, Lord, that you've
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chosen me. I belong.
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I'm loved that simple. I just giving you illustration
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of my morning. I'll just just say those few
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words. God, you move first.
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So now I can have a blessed day today out of that love
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relationship. I'm telling you when you speak
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like that, you start your day like that, something shifts.
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All of a sudden the pressure falls off because I know what it
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is. I've managed over 100 people in
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some Monica Trust in Bristol. I know what it is to manage
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people. I know what it is to have the
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CQC inspectors come in. I know I've managed a very
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affluent retirement village and that's how I start in the car
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before I go to work. I speak those words and all of a
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sudden the problems that feel so permanent, it shifts people's
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opinions. All of a sudden, it loses its
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grip. Yeah.
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Because I've just been declaring the word.
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I've just been speaking what the word of God says.
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And so all of a sudden, you stop trying to get approval and you
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walk from a place that you carry approval.
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Can you say, I mean, somebody? Yeah.
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And so just grab hold of this word today.
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Set it deep in your heart that you were loved even before you
-
improved. OK.
-
Yeah. You were valued before you
-
perform. You were chosen before you chose
-
him. Come on.
-
That's first love. He chose you long before you
-
chose him. Yeah, that's first love.
-
That's why your future is bright.
-
Your future is bright not because you do everything
-
perfectly. Your future is bright because
-
his love is perfect. Because his love is eternal.
-
Because his love is stable. That's why your future is
-
bright, because of his love, OK? Not because you will never
-
stumble, never make a mistake, but because His love, God is
-
love. Because His love has already
-
made provision. He's already got that covered.
-
So God moved first so that we can move forward.
-
Now let me just talk briefly about Jesus, the greatest gift,
-
OK? Because love gifts.
-
Oh, come on, guys. Listen, I love my wife.
-
So what do I do? I give her stuff.
-
It's just I'm like, OK, lovey, you want to go to which mall
-
today, right. Do you want a credit card?
-
You want this? It's like, where's my wallet?
-
Because I love her. I'm going to buy something nice.
-
No, that was looking at all. But he's like, OK, come on now,
-
guys. That's true.
-
Because when you love Becks, OK? Like Becks.
-
What do you want? Because, you see, The thing is,
-
when you genuinely love somebody, James, you give to
-
Julia. Listen, when you love somebody,
-
you give to them. You take somebody on a date,
-
you're going to pay the ball. Why?
-
Now? Come.
-
Let's go to Switzer. Come on.
-
Yeah, guys, He's nice. You, you do it.
-
Come on. I can.
-
We'll carry on. This is how you treat Ellie.
-
Come. I love you.
-
So what do we do, guys? When we love one another?
-
We give. That's love.
-
And that shows us the character of our God.
-
Yeah, that's real genuine love. I'm not talking about fight
-
love. Real genuine love.
-
The Bible says God so loved. What did he do?
-
God so loved us, the world. God so loved the world that he
-
gave. Yeah.
-
Yeah, Brian, you got it. He gave his only begotten Son.
-
OK? So God did not give £1,000,000
-
to buy us, OK? He did not give, He gave his.
-
He didn't give a system or a formula.
-
He didn't. He gave a person, He gave his
-
son. OK, that's real genuine love.
-
And so the Scripture calls it God's indescribable gift.
-
So that's the greatest gift, it's Jesus, it's the highest,
-
it's the most incredible gift is his son that he gave the
-
greatest gift that changes every part of life.
-
Now think about a family inheritance, right?
-
Inheritance is not something that you work for.
-
So my son's birthday is coming up now in November 1st born
-
Peter. So I give him a birthday gift,
-
not because he has been a good boy or his work.
-
I give him a because it's his birthday.
-
The same with an inheritance. An inheritance is something that
-
somebody places in your hands. They give it to you because
-
you're family, not because you earned it, not because you work
-
for it, because you are family, OK.
-
And so that is what the Father did with Jesus.
-
He came in Jesus. We receive forgiveness, a brand
-
new stock, new mercies every morning, a brand new heart, a
-
brand new life. We receive that in Jesus.
-
Not because we performed, not because you did a good work to a
-
charity or attended or this or that, a good work, none of that.
-
It's because He loves you. That's why I gave you Hama Saba.
-
That's why he doesn't. Because I love you.
-
Not because you go to a church or not, because you do a big
-
work of charity. None of that.
-
He loves you. A father that loves his child.
-
I'll give you a present. Now, what's very important is
-
that it needs to be received, OK?
-
He needs to receive and unwrap the gift.
-
That's the only thing. So we don't work for it.
-
We don't. But if I sit there and I look at
-
my son and he's not unwrapping, he's not receiving the gift.
-
You see, what we need to do is we need to receive it.
-
And this matters. And the reason this matters, if
-
we do not receive and unwrap the gift, the world will try and
-
sell you a fake, the world will try and sell you something for
-
like a copy, and the world will try and push you to prove your
-
value, to perform for more likes.
-
OK, but your value, your worth does not come from the boss, the
-
crowd, people. Your worth, your value comes
-
from your owner. That's where your where your
-
value comes from. I mean, and so it's very freeing
-
when you live a life and you realize that it's a very free
-
life to live when you realize you don't have to impress
-
people. It's very free when you come to
-
a place you don't have to impress people.
-
Because The thing is, it takes a lot of energy to compete and
-
compare and keep up with the Joneses.
-
It takes a lot of energy, a lot of you know, with it.
-
Because The thing is, it's working hard.
-
It's like running on a treadmill now.
-
I like exercises, but running on a treadmill, it's hard work, but
-
you're not getting anywhere. It's like going nowhere slowly,
-
you know, running on the treadmill.
-
Now, I'm not against exercise. I love exercise and treadmills.
-
I used to have a bike. I like one of those bike
-
treadmills now, especially in the winter.
-
But now hard work on a treadmill, not going anywhere.
-
That's how it takes energy. As soon as you prove yourself to
-
one person, prove myself to this person, then oh, I need to
-
impress another person. There's someone else that I need
-
to impress. Oh, I've proved myself to this
-
person. Oh, now I need to impress this
-
person. I need to be.
-
And so just take the pressure off and get off the treadmill,
-
breathe and relax. You don't need to impress
-
anyone. Oh, that's, that's treater.
-
It's you can live. Oh, that's you can enjoy your
-
life every day in God's love. You don't need to perform.
-
You can enjoy your everyday life.
-
OK. And especially in these times
-
that we are living in, I mean, this culture that we are living
-
in, I mean, it's just designer brand names, labels everywhere.
-
Wherever you look, there's a designer label.
-
Oh, another designer label. Oh, designer shoes.
-
Oh, fancy sunglasses. OK, I've got the right bag, the
-
right car, the right the latest iPhone mobile device.
-
And it's all these fancy and it can make you feel good for a
-
moment. But sometimes we'd wear so many
-
other name brands that we forget our own.
-
Yeah. We start looking to design the
-
labels to tell us what will you matter?
-
Our badly. OK.
-
Very quiet in this Presbyterian Church.
-
Are you with me? Are you receiving OK?
-
OK, listen, there's nothing wrong with designer labels, OK?
-
Please, I just want you to understand there is nothing
-
wrong with designer labels with dress good, look good.
-
And all of us. OK, enjoy them, but don't let
-
the things set your value. Oh, I'm wearing a designer Jean
-
now. Now my value is really oh, why
-
is my designer Jean now my values?
-
OK, so don't let things set you because I'm wearing the fancy
-
sunglasses. Oh, I love that.
-
I'm like yeah, no, but don't let that tell you who you are
-
because The thing is your name. Now thank God for the different
-
names in the Nike and the Adidas and what?
-
But your name is unique. I'm like, we've got to make my
-
own sweater, you know, with our name, Will's name or something,
-
you know, But yeah, your name is unique.
-
Your name in God is unique. And OK, it's it's in fact, it's
-
actually greater than the name that stitched on the shirt that
-
the Tommy, you know, it's your name in God is greater than the
-
label and all respect you that made labels and all of that.
-
That's fine. But yes, the difference between
-
you and the brown is that God has breathed his life into you.
-
You are carrying the image of God.
-
God's image, God's Spirit is in you.
-
You are a son and a daughter of the most high goal.
-
Sallelujah. Repeat your cow.
-
The name between Nas and the brand name.
-
And we thank God for the kids running around with Ronaldo
-
shirts and football shirts and and all these things.
-
Yeah, it's fun. But never forget your name is
-
unique. Yes, there's a Ronaldo, but
-
there's a Nas. Come on now.
-
Is Nas born again? You are safe.
-
You're the child of God. OK, Look at your value.
-
You carry the signature of God higher than the Rolex, and I
-
thank God for the 50,000. But you guys got more.
-
Yeah. So whether he's now a designer
-
or a discount, whether he's now Gucci or Goodwill, your value
-
stays the same. Whether I wear the label now to
-
do it or not, it stays the same. Whether I live in this much
-
small flat or in a brand new house, it stays the same.
-
OK, you cannot get more valuable because of something that you
-
brand new car, you cannot get more valuable.
-
The highest is a child of God. The highest child of God is the
-
highest value. Your value is priced on one
-
thing, that you belong to God the Father, the highest value
-
that you belong to the father. So yes, we thank God for the big
-
house. We thank God for the driving the
-
nice car. We thank God for that.
-
Yeah, get the big house, drive the nice car, all of the good
-
listen. And that may increase your bank
-
account. Your bank account may go a bit
-
bigger and yes, it may increase your net worth, but not yourself
-
worth. Whoa, yeah, yeah, increase it to
-
network, but not yourself worth. Yeah, God is the one that sets
-
your value. It's in the heart.
-
God is the one is Jesus in your heart.
-
When you're a child of God, that sets the value.
-
When God breathed his life into you, that sets us.
-
But The thing is, the enemy works overtime to devalue us.
-
And he used a trick. And I want to show you something
-
very powerful. If you get this today, it's
-
going to really bless you. It's the free piece.
-
You'll never forget this, the free piece.
-
Remember the free piece, the first one, performance,
-
possessions and popularity. Because that's what he pulled
-
off on Jesus. Listen, the signed devil still
-
signed tricks. And you know what happened in
-
Luke 4 in the wilderness? The enemy came to Jesus and this
-
is what he said to you, because he pulled this.
-
He's tried this same trick. The performance, the possessions
-
and popularity. The first thing that the devil
-
said to Jesus, turn these stones into bread.
-
Perform. Prove yourself through a
-
miracle. Jesus said man shall not live by
-
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth
-
of God. So in other words, I don't have
-
to perform to know who I am. I don't need performance.
-
I don't have to prove to feel good about myself to know who I
-
am. I don't need performance to
-
prove who I am. That's, that's, that's number
-
one. OK #2 the enemy showed him the
-
kingdoms of the world. He said right thou, and it's
-
yours. Now.
-
Jesus refused and said no, because I don't need stuff to
-
know my worth. I don't need possessions to
-
prove that I'm worth my value. I don't need possessions to
-
prove my worth or mother. And then finally, this is what
-
the enemy said. He said, all right, if you are
-
the Son of God, jump off this temple because you said that
-
your angels will catch you. The enemy was trying to get
-
Jesus to show off in front of the people to get the the crowd
-
cheered the crowd a mate and to cheer him popularity.
-
But Jesus refused and he said I don't need the applause of
-
people to feel secure. I don't need the applause and
-
the approval of people to know who I am and to feel secure.
-
I know who I am. I don't need those three things.
-
I don't need performance. I don't need possessions.
-
I don't need popularity to feel valuable.
-
I don't need those three things to tell me who I am.
-
I know who I am. I am the son of a living God.
-
I am the son of God. Oh Jesus, I know who I am.
-
I don't need those things to prove who I am.
-
A lot of people, they live in these days proving foreman's
-
mode, proving they cannot feel happy about themselves unless
-
they have proved to people that that I'm important, prove,
-
perform. OK, now why could Jesus say no
-
to all those three things? Because his identity was
-
settled. He knows this is who I am.
-
I don't need to perform. I don't need stuff.
-
I don't need the the crowd to chir.
-
I know who I am and how the father spoke that over him in
-
Matthew 3. Remember that?
-
And when did the father speak that over him?
-
Yeah, but before his ministry even started, the father said,
-
this is my son, my beloved son in who I am well pleased he's
-
not done anything yet. We're talking about first love.
-
Come on, somebody's going to get this today.
-
It's going to drop now in the moment.
-
We're talking about first love. The Father loved him first
-
before he did anything, before he did a public miracle, before
-
Jesus went about doing good, healing the sea, cleansing the
-
labours, rising, before he did anything, The Father already
-
said, I love you my son Umanuel, pleased.
-
Before Jesus did anything, first love, first love, He loved you
-
first. Jesus did not work for approval.
-
Jesus did not work for love to receive.
-
He had the love right in the beginning.
-
His Father said your love. The Father did not say that
-
after his monastery and said well done Jesus, you've healed
-
so many people, you've done so many miracles, You've done this,
-
you've healed this. Well done.
-
Right at the start, first love, love moved first.
-
From the place of first love, Jesus flowed his ministry.
-
The miracles flock. We follow the same pattern.
-
From a place of first love. Our Father loved us first.
-
Out of that place we flow, we love.
-
That's what the Bible verse said.
-
What we read, we love. Why?
-
Because He first. You're getting this church.
-
That's our pattern. So when the enemy whispers, it
-
says prove yourself, impress others, impress, work to get
-
approval. You can smile and say, listen,
-
my worth is not for sale. No, it's not.
-
It's not for sale. It was settled on the cross.
-
That's where it was done. So your worth, your value, it
-
doesn't change. The love of God for you never
-
changes. If you've had a good week or a
-
bad week, God's love never changes.
-
Oh God, I feel so bad. I've really been the bad boy.
-
God's like me, still love you. There's nothing, nothing,
-
nothing that can change His love for you.
-
Nothing, nothing. Grab that hole of that today.
-
Come on, it's not performance driven.
-
Oh, this week God loves me. That week God and he loves you.
-
Oh, somebody's getting this. Your worth, your value.
-
It doesn't change. It's not dependent upon your
-
background. Do you know my background?
-
What I've done? It doesn't depend on that.
-
I never knew I'm going to be a part of being started church.
-
I'm shocked. I'm still, I'm still shocked.
-
I don't even know what I'm doing there.
-
Look, God, this can only be God, not me.
-
I've been this good boy. I've not gone to Bible school,
-
theology, study sports. This can only be God, this God's
-
first love. It's the way God is.
-
So your value, it doesn't change based on your background or your
-
performance or what you can do or your qualifications, your
-
behaviour. OK, your worth is only it's
-
because you're a child of the most high God.
-
Now let me give you 1 simple picture.
-
If I take who's got a £20 note? Anybody's got a note you or
-
something because I've it's already been offering time
-
right? We probably do you have a note
-
here because I just want to give you like a demonstration of
-
something because if I take a note, yeah, thank you.
-
Now if I take a note, so this note £5 note, if I crumble it
-
like that, does it change its value because I've crumbled it?
-
Does the IT becomes less worth like for all of a sudden the 5
-
lbs changes to 2 lbs? No, it's still it's still it's
-
still the same. It's still it doesn't lose value
-
the same. If I take this 5 lbs and let's
-
say I drop it on the floor and so I come and and let's say
-
somebody steps on, does that change the value drop the value
-
of the 5 LB drop? OK, this is not the stock
-
market. This is OK.
-
So what happened? So if you feel that maybe in
-
life has crumbled you or someone's rejected you or hurt
-
you or dropped you or somebody's betrayed you, that doesn't
-
change your value. Somebody's getting this.
-
It doesn't change your value. If you now feel life, life has
-
trembled on you, stepped on you, crumbled, OK, you're worth your
-
value is still the same. That never changes.
-
Amen. Come on, let's put our hands
-
together, OK, So I want you to understand that regardless of
-
what happens in life, the difficult God's signature, God's
-
image is still in and upon your life.
-
His image, okay? And he, when he paid the price,
-
did not pay £1,000,000. When God love us like, right,
-
this is the mistake, this is the fault.
-
Now somebody's going to have to pay for this because sin is
-
expensive. And now it's actually did not
-
cost him 1000 million pounds. In fact, it's actually cost him
-
his own son. So he's like, right, I'm going
-
to accept my son with his blood, and his blood still stands.
-
He paid the price for all of us. Hallelujah, Praise God, thank
-
you, Jesus. OK.
-
And so how do we live this out every day?
-
It's very simple. You just step off the trade
-
mode, step off the performance proving mode, OK.
-
Because you are not working for love.
-
You're not working for, you're not auditioning for love.
-
The role is already yours. You're already approved.
-
OK. And so calm your heart and say,
-
OK, so I flow from approval, from value, not for approval or
-
for value. And so, church, you are loved
-
already. Yeah, you're already, you're
-
proved already valued, already first love went first.
-
And so this week you will see how love, the love of God
-
touches and changes, how you walk, how you think, how you see
-
yourself, the love of God when you catch this revelation
-
because he loved us first. So we can move forward.
-
Now let's talk about first love, what it does.
-
And this is amazing for guilt and shine.
-
You know the heavy feelings because it says very clearly and
-
I want to read that to you. I've quoted it many times, but I
-
want you to actually see this. It says John 3 and then after
-
the 16 comes verse 17. Let me show you right.
-
So there it is. It says that for God did not
-
send his son into the world soon condemn the world, but to save
-
the world through him. So Jesus didn't show up with a
-
clipboard pointing fingers and he's standing there with his
-
clipboard and he's reviewing all of your mistakes.
-
Jesus did not show up reviewing all of the failures.
-
He did not point. No, Jesus came to save.
-
Jesus came to rescue to save the to rescue.
-
So Jesus came to pull us out, not to push us down, OK, to
-
bring us peace, not to keep you in proving much.
-
Now think about a lifeguard. When a lifeguard is on, dude,
-
and there's somebody going down, let's say it's in the sea, OK,
-
Margaret, or Durban or someone or at the coast somewhere.
-
And So what happens is the the person's going under the water.
-
The lifeguard does not stand on the pier and stand and scream
-
and shout, oh, why did you swim in that water?
-
Why did you swim in the ocean current and throw out a lecture
-
and throw out a manual on cut waters, ocean currents.
-
Now, if a person goes down a lifeguard, the first thing is he
-
dives in, he swams as fast as he can, reaches out, pulls you out
-
and gets you back to safety. That is a picture of our Savior.
-
Jesus comes, He reaches out to his people.
-
He says, come, let me pull you out, not to push you down, but
-
to save you, to rescue you. Not to point a finger, not to
-
condemn you, but to save you, to rescue us.
-
Come on. Jesus is a very present help in
-
the time of trouble. It is the best prayer that you
-
can pray. I've been in times I've been in
-
rough waters in my life. I nearly died many times the
-
first thing I had to help. And Jesus has always been
-
faithful to help me. It's the best prayer you can
-
pray, help you just it's just remember that prayer.
-
He's a very present help in a time of trouble.
-
He's not distant. He's closer than you think you
-
are. When you cry out, you'll never,
-
ever let you down. Never.
-
Never. Were you in trouble?
-
I was on my bicycle and I was crossing the road and I saw the
-
car and he hit me like this. I cried out.
-
Jesus. I flew right over the car all
-
the way. Everything happens, Loma.
-
I should have died in Sunnyside in Pretoria that day.
-
The devil said I'm going to destroy you.
-
I'm going to kill you even before you have a wife and
-
children. He wanted to kill me and Take Me
-
Out. I screamed to you and he helped
-
me the one time in Margaret as well.
-
I was nearly drowning. I was in the back and this
-
picture God showed it to me. My friend Kharad Feniger was
-
right next to me. We went under the I gave my last
-
breath. I realized I'm way too far deep
-
and I cannot stand the the current sucked us completely in
-
and I I went and then I thought I'm dead.
-
I'm gone. A hand came through like this.
-
My God, I just cried out to the Lord.
-
I said, Jesus, if this is it that I'm coming to heaven, I, I
-
knew I was so, but I had, it was not my time yet.
-
And that lifesaver, that guy, he just grabbed me.
-
He saved my life. And Jesus said to me, that's how
-
I will save you. What's coming in this world?
-
We're living in the AI world. We are living in the end times.
-
Things are going to get worse in the world.
-
But for the church, this is the ark.
-
This is the ark, Noah's ark. Now, let me just tell you this
-
one thing about the ark, because no one preached for hundreds,
-
120 people kept on, kept talking.
-
He said, listen, there's going to come a day when the door is
-
going to close and the whole world's going to be thrust with
-
water. Everything, the door of the ark
-
is still open right now, but there's going to come a time
-
when that door closes. So right now, each and every one
-
of us, it's not about joining a church or a religion or it's
-
about getting right of Jesus. And so if I die right now and I
-
stand in front of God, I'm going to heaven because I've received
-
Jesus. And so Jesus is yet to save.
-
He's our savior and to bring peace into our lives.
-
And I love Romans 8 because Romans 8 says very much the same
-
thing. It says there is therefore no
-
condemnation. Come on, Romans 8, no
-
condemnation. That doesn't mean less or half
-
condemnation. It means no condemnation.
-
Yeah, Yeah, that's no condemnation.
-
I'm like, wow. I mean, that's standing before
-
the judge and I I owe the penalty.
-
I've got to pay this. Jesus.
-
The judge declares it in your favour.
-
Case closed. I pay the price because, Jesus,
-
you, I took it. And the advocate says, you know
-
what? I'll pay the ball, I'll take it,
-
Jesus. That's exactly what so all we do
-
is we say thank you Jesus, I am free because you pay the bill.
-
And so very few verses later in Romans chapter 8, that same
Romans 8 chapter mention
-
verse, it says this God is for us.
-
Always remember that. Always remember that God is for
-
us. He's not against us.
-
That's a lie from the pet of hell.
-
God is for us. He's backing you in your family,
-
in your work, in your career, everywhere.
-
He's there. Let's make this.
-
Let's open that door. Let's connect you with this.
-
But he's for you. He's got a prosperous future for
-
you. He's for you, not against you.
-
Nothing. Nothing can separate you from
-
God's love. Nothing.
-
Come on. There is nothing.
-
Not the good, the bad. Actually nothing.
-
Not the good performance. Bad before.
-
Nothing. No height, no dead, no past, no
-
prison, no future. Nothing.
-
No Angel, no demon. No demon.
-
Hell can separate you from God's love.
-
Come on, somebody Hallelujah. Yeah.
-
So, yes, the waves, the difficulties, the challenges.
-
The critics might talk. When the waves rise, God's grip
-
gears get stronger. When that wing gets loud, these
-
problems get louder. And so heaven is for you.
-
Tell your neighbor heaven is for you.
-
Yeah, Heaven is for you. Heaven is for you.
-
It's it's for you. Heaven is for you.
-
He didn't come to condemn you. He did not come to point the
-
finger. God, No.
-
No condemnation. That means no pointing, no
-
condemnation. No condemnation.
-
Now, another place the enemy works over time, he works with
-
mirrors. Now, when I talk about mirrors,
-
where the enemy, the devil works with mirrors, I'm not talking
-
about the mirror in your house on the bathroom wall, OK?
-
I'm talking about the mirror in your head.
-
Now the mirror in your head, OK. Because how you see yourself is
-
it matters yourself. Image.
-
Yeah. God's got my back.
-
I thank God for that. Now the way you see yourself
-
matters. Yourself image of yourself, it
-
can either lift you up or limit you.
-
If you see yourself negative disadvantage, OK, not
-
attractive. You see yourself.
-
It holds you back the way you see yourself.
-
OK, so I want to talk to you about this because this is very
-
important. Now think about the funhouse.
-
We go to this fun house. You see these mirrors at the
-
fair and you stand in front of the mirror.
-
And so one mirror it's makes it looks, you look super tall.
-
So I take the case and we'll stand in front of these mirrors
-
and it bends you. And so some mirrors, they, they
-
stretch your arms and my son's like, dad, look at look how I
-
look. And then they stretch the arms
-
out like that. And some mirrors, they, they,
-
they shrink your head and they twist your, your nose and, and,
-
and, and your mouth features. When you see those mirrors, you
-
know what I'm talking about, OK, where they actually they, that
-
your body goes out of proportion big and small.
-
And OK, look, we all know those mirror images.
-
They are not true. But the problem is in real life,
-
we don't always notice when we look at the wrong mirror.
-
That is the problem. When the image gets distorted,
-
it gets pinned and twisted. And so the scripture says that
-
God has made us in the image of God with his image.
-
OK, now the wrong distortion, the wrong picture of the wrong
-
mirror, that will keep us limited.
-
It will hold us back. When we see the wrong picture in
-
the mirror, look in the mirror. Oh, it's the wrong picture.
-
OK, but God has gifted us, He's equipped us for our purpose.
-
Now what? The enemy wants to try and trick
-
us, put the wrong mirror up to try and distort and bend the
-
real image so that you do not see who you really are, that you
-
do not understand who the real true you, who you are.
-
And so the enemy puts up fake mirrors and he puts up mirrors
-
with distorted so that you live. And when if you, if you look at
-
the, the wrong mirror with the wrong picture, you're going to
-
make wrong choices with a distorted image.
-
Because now if you look at the real mirror, where's the real
-
mirror? The word yeah, that it says in,
-
in the book of James chapter 1, it says there the, the mirror,
James 1 chapter mention
-
it talks about the, the, the word of God, That's the real
-
mirror. Yeah, James chapter one, verse
-
23. So what do we need to do?
-
Just switch mirrors, OK? And so just keep the word of God
-
in front of you, because if the wrong mirror comes and his wrong
-
mirror says, OK, you're average. Go to the right mirror, the word
-
of God and says, well, I'm a masterpiece.
-
OK, I'm I'm I'm fearfully and wonderfully mind also if the the
-
wrong mirror comes and says, no, you, you can't, then you the
-
right mirror says, yes, I can do all things through Christ who
-
strengthens me. And so if the wrong mirror says,
-
oh, you made a mistake, you blew it again, you just go right
-
mirror says there is there now no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
-
So you just swap switch mirrors and you just put the right
-
mirror in front of you and you keep on answering.
-
And so the right mirror, it lines up with the word of God.
-
It lines let truth because there's lies and truths in this
-
world. I mean, even in the mainstream
-
news media, we've seen it this way.
-
I want me to know, but we've seen how some of these
-
mainstream medias are so corrupt, full of lies.
-
It's not even news anymore. Like I can remember and Holden
-
that, you know, where I come from, you can't even watch the
-
news anymore. I'm like, my God, what's now
-
truth and what's a lie? What have they edited?
-
What have they done? You know, and I said that it's
-
let the truth lead you. So how do we walk this out
-
today? Just keep the true mirror in
-
front of your face. And so read a verse before you
-
read the news. And it's very important.
-
I'm like, let me just first read the, the, the, the verse before
-
I read the news. And so, yes, speak the word
-
before you check the text because 2 minutes of scriptures,
-
just like in the morning, I'm going to talk about hours.
-
I'm sorry, 2 minutes of scriptures in the morning will
-
do more for your heart, OK, than than than anything in the world
-
in the news. 2 minutes. Let's send the scriptures.
-
It will do more for you than 20 minutes of scrolling.
-
And nothing against scrolling. I mean, I've not been on
-
Facebook and all this I'm not again.
-
But I'm just saying, have you had your time in the Word?
-
Because when you've had your time in the Word, you'll feel
-
full, not empty. You'll feel settled.
-
OK, you settle. I've had the time settled.
-
OK, so I'm not working for approval, OK, I'm approved.
-
Loved not looking for love, OK. And so I just love the fact that
-
in God's love you're safe. No condemnation, no every.
-
When I spent time with the Lord is the most fulfilling time more
-
than anything with anybody. When I woke up in the morning
-
before my kids and my wife, I I just go speak to the Lord.
-
It's very fulfilling. It's safe.
-
No condemnation. Say that with me.
-
No condemnation, just salvation. Yeah, and the presence of God.
-
And so Jesus, he told this amazing, it gives us this
-
awesome story. It's one of my favorite stories
-
about the loving Father because it really for me as a loving
-
dad, it really hits me for my children.
-
And Jesus shared this and he said, listen, let me tell you
-
about the Father and I'll just, I'll just keep it very brief.
-
Let me tell you about the loving Father that there is no
-
condemnation. And this really.
-
He said remember and look firstly by the prodigal son
-
coming home and he's begging for a job as a servant now when he
-
was a long way off. The Bible says when the father
-
saw him, he ran. Now that to me the father ran,
-
he was running, he took off. When the father saw the son, he
-
ran towards him. Not a walk, his Sprint.
-
He bolted. He ran towards his son, hugged
-
him, kissed him, called for a robe, the family ring, put on
-
new shoes, put a tight seat at the table and throw a party fan.
-
It is a picture of our loving Father and laughing Heavenly
-
Father. That was a loving father.
-
He is not waiting to shame you. His wife is running to save you.
-
Oh yes, worry to God, our loving father.
-
Are you getting this? Just loving father running
-
towards his son to save you. You know, I shot this video clip
-
the other day about the soldier and he was being deployed after
-
long military service of about long two years.
-
And this soldier, he walked through the airport and said it
-
was amazing because as those glass doors opened, his family
-
was waiting. But this grandma, she forgot the
-
cane. She took off this guy when she
-
saw her son, when she saw her guy, she took off.
-
She bolted, she ran and she stopped sobbing and crying,
-
laughing at the same time at the airport, the entire terminal
-
started clapping. This video went viral.
-
I mean, grandma just sobbing, happy tears running.
-
He dropped his gear, his military gear, he ran, he
-
bolted. And I just thought to myself, my
-
God, that is a little glimpse of how heaven treats us, how heaven
-
sees us with a warm welcome, happy, loving, running towards
-
us. That's a reunion.
-
Come on, somebody give God some praise.
-
I feel the praises of God in this Christ, Heaven's welcome.
-
And that is how the Father loves you.
-
He loves you just as you are. He runs you.
-
My dad, I mean, he's retired now in Greece somewhere, enjoying
-
his life. He was working for Formula One.
-
He earned his money. But now what's amazing is he my
-
dad when he's, he runs to me. He asked my son, how are you?
-
That's our loving Father, that's our God, the God that we serve.
-
He reaches out to us, our parents, they run towards US,
-
open arms, big, no lecture, love, compassion.
-
And yes, maybe some of our earthly fathers or that they've
-
not modelled that to us, but our heavenly Father is perfect.
-
He is love. And so yes, a warm loving
-
welcome home. Now let me bring this message to
-
the close. Let's talk about where first
-
love is taking us. And we see this amazing picture
-
in Second Samuel Chapter 9. There's a man by the name of
2 Samuel 9 chapter mention
-
Mephibosheth. Now remember, he was the
-
grandson of King Saul, so that means he was born into royalty.
-
So if he's now Mephibosheth in royalty and the Bible says that
-
he lived in a place called Lodobar, that's a rough place
-
when you go look at the that was in the slums.
-
And now think about this, this royalty from the palace living
-
in the slums just getting by a royal Prince from the palace.
-
Now he's living in this loader board just getting by.
-
Now remember what happened to him that when he was 5 the
-
tragedy hit, he was just five years old that and panicked the
-
nurse picked him up, ran and dropped him and he injured his
-
legs and he grew up crippled. And so I ended up in Loader Bar,
-
this terrible place in Loudabad, rough place in Loudabad.
-
Now just think this Prince, and maybe you feel like that you are
-
living in a place called Loudabad.
-
You feel like you are in a tight place, in a difficult, lonely
-
place, in a hard place, in a place that you did not plan to
-
be. Maybe you feel like you're
-
living in Loudabad, but your location or your situation does
-
not change your value. Where you are does not change
-
who you are. It doesn't change your work.
-
It doesn't change your value, OK, does it doesn't cancel your
-
calling. You are still a child of the
-
living God. You still carry royal blood in
-
you, royalty in you. And so Yuri is a royal Prince,
-
is living in amongst the slums. And so one day David, King
-
David, he asked, is there anyone, still anyone that I can
-
from Saul's family that I can show kindness?
-
That's God's heart to you. Restoration is his idea.
-
Is there still anyone I can show kindness to you?
-
That's God's heart for you. Is there still?
-
The king is looking for you. The king knows where you are.
-
He knows exactly what you're going through.
-
The difficulty. The challenge is the king knows
-
how to find you in Lodobar. He knows how to find you in that
-
location, a difficulty. He knows your name.
-
And King Davidson. He's meant to go and get him.
-
Go get my Faber chef. And they carried him to the
-
palace. They brought him to the palace.
-
Now I'm a fibber chef. Pal says he's like nervous.
-
I feel I'm I feel so small. I feel some even he called
-
himself a dead dog. I'm just a civil.
-
David said, no, I did not bring you into this place to punish
-
you. I brought you to this palace to
-
bless you. From today, you are going to sit
-
at my table. You're going to sit at my and
-
eat from my like my own son. And in one moment, my fibber
-
chef, he went from hiding to honour, from eating leftovers to
-
the King's palace, the King's table, from being rejected, to
-
restore. In one moment, that is first
-
love. Somebody shout Hallelujah.
-
That's what first love wants to do for you.
-
You may say, but I am broken. I was dropped.
-
OK, maybe somebody dropped you. Somebody's hurt you, somebody's
-
opinion. Maybe someone that should have
-
protected you did not protect you.
-
OK, maybe you have been dropped, but they did not stop your
-
destiny. You have had losses, but you
-
didn't lose your value. You didn't lose your worth.
-
You are still you are a son and you are a daughter of of God and
-
as we close first Love Is All throughout the Bible and John 15
-
says you did not choose me but I choose you OK God is saying
-
first love you did not perform yourself into the palace.
-
You did not work or you did not perform through good work into
-
the palace. I brought you into the palace.
-
That's the word of God. I brought you near the last
-
verse for today. The Bible says, but now in
-
Christ Jesus, you who once were thought of have been Lord near
-
by the blood of Christ first love always wants, Amen.
-
Let's all stand together now, stay in this holy moment because
-
in the Book of Revelation, I want to share this with you
-
because Jesus was sharing this with his people.
-
And Jesus was talking in the Book of Revelation to his
-
church, to his people. He was talking about first love.
-
And Jesus said that you have forsaken the love that you had
-
at first. Now maybe that's you today.
-
There was a time that you used to burn bright, that you just
-
wake up in the morning and like, I love you Jesus, but life
-
happened. Somebody hurt you, somebody
-
dropped you, OK. And the fighter cooled down.
-
Maybe there's been a storm, a difficult, a challenge in the
-
family. You're still a child of God, but
-
it's not like you used to be. You used to be on fire for
-
Jesus. Jesus used to be everything.
-
But something else is script in. Something else has taken his
-
place, and he's not first anymore.
-
Maybe something else has become more important than Jesus.
-
And so you're just going through the motions and you feel stuck.
-
But listen, I want you to see Jesus's heart in the Book of
-
Revelation. It's not pointing fingers in a
-
condemning way. He's inviting you.
-
That's what I want you to see, the heart of Jesus.
-
When he says you have left your first love, it's not condemning.
-
It's an invitation to come closer.
-
It's an invitation to say, Jesus, you are my passion, you
-
are my love, you are my first love.
-
Jesus, you are my everything. So it's not condemnation.
-
He's calling you close. So love went first so that you
-
can move forward. So today maybe if you have
-
become lukewarm and your fire is dumb, it's not like it used to
-
be and you have drifted and you say, I want to come back to my
-
first love, my passion, because that's the word of the Lord
-
today. And we say, yes, Lord, yes,
-
still child of God, but I want a fiery touch from heaven.
-
I want the heart to be a blaze on fire.
-
If that is you, I want you to lift your hand right where you
-
are right now. There is something powerful
-
about saying yes out loud. Hands up, God sees every hand.
-
Now I want you to put put your hand on your heart.
-
Repeat after me. Say, Father, I come back to my
-
first love. Thank you Lord, that you moved
-
first towards me. I repent for drifting and
-
growing cold. Wash me, restore me, light the
-
fire in my heart again. Jesus, be my first love, fill me
-
with your Holy Spirit, give me a fresh passion, fresh fire for
-
your word, for your presence. From this day I return to you,
-
my first love, loving you, seeking you, serving you in
-
Jesus name. Now let me pray over you.
-
Just raise your hands to heaven. Father in the name of Jesus.
-
Lord, I break every life condemnation, every lie of guilt
-
and shame. Set hearts ablaze.
-
Rekindle first love, joy in the morning, fresh fire be released
-
right now. Heal every wound, every hurt,
-
and every heart. Maybe it's in the family, maybe
-
in the marriage, maybe in the children, maybe it's church
-
hurt. Heal every wound.
-
Let the oil of the Holy Spirit flow right now.
-
Lord, I pray that you would set every heart on fire, set this
-
house on fire again, that Jesus is blazing in our hearts like
-
never before, our first love, our everything, that Jesus is
-
more important than anything else in this world.
-
In Jesus name, if you receive that, give God some prize.
-
Now just repeat this out loud after me.
-
Say God move first, so I move forward.
-
My heart is on fire again. No condemnation, just salvation.
-
Nothing can separate me from God's love.
-
Jesus is my first love. Now give God your best praise.
-
Come on, somebody.