PAUL SECOND MISSIONARY TRIP (True Freedom) | Pr Matthew Chang

You're listening to a message to go from X Church. We hope this message

will light up your day. I'm still continuing on this road trip okay with

Paul. Okay, and today we're going to be looking at X chapter sixteen.

But for the benefit of you, those of you who have like,

you know, a we require a fabit of start. You know. For

the past month, you know, we've kind of had like you know,

combined me day kind of have like lost the momentum for the missionary trip.

So I prepared a few slides, okay, to make our lives a bit

easier and can recap a bit. For those of you who just join us,

maybe you are a newcomer, please bear with me. You know,

we're continuing on a series, you know, but nobody likes to stop halfway

through a series unless the season is very long. Okay, So paul second

missionary trip. So we've covered the first missionary part. So let's take a

quick recap on what we've covered. Okay, So Paul's first missionary okay,

started when he was sent from the church in Anti All. The answer is

the already can I do animation? Kidding? Yeah? Actually I did animation,

but maybe you know kind of okay, sent from the Church of Antio,

and Antio was the first planted church okay outside of Jerusalem, Okay,

and he was sent okay, he was sent from Antio. Along the way,

he was opposed by the Jews and other temple leaders in various cities.

Okay. He has great success, but he also met with a lot of

resistance as well, especially with his own people. And from every city that

he's traveled, he's always tried to reach his own people, the synagogue,

the Jews, some believe, some didn't. And the reason why he does

that is because he's trying to find the common ground with his own fellow fellow

men from his country. Uh. He planted various churches, he raised disciples

and also appointed elders along the way as well, okay. And then he

returns home back to Antioch okay. And then from there he heads off to

the Jerusalem Council, which I think was my last preaching where we talked about

what was the contention, and it was about what the circumcision? Okay.

So they're like the idea that the message of Christ, of forgiveness of sin,

of Christ dying, and also the hope of our resurrection was being preached.

Everything was okay. But there's one thing that the Jews had a very

big problem with, okay, was that Gentiles was also accepted into this gospel.

So they had a big problem with that. They were saying that you

need to become a Jew first before you become a Christian. It's like,

oh, there's another there's another path, you know. It's like you're applying

to become a you know. It's like if you're trying to go to a

holiday maybe Australia, say I'm coming as a Malaysian. Say, you know,

you must be in Australian first before you come to Australia. How nobody

will go to Australia. Reason they like, oh no, oh you need

half a million before becoming Australian. You need to spend ten years working first

before you can come to Austria. Oh just do usy also cannot how so

nobody will come and busy anymore. So, I mean there is a very

simply, a simple and reduced way of summarizing it. But one of the

key requirements of being becoming a Jew was the practice of circumcision. Okay,

circumcision okay, so break quiet here. So when I talk about circumcision,

my son always like, no, no, so graphic. Can I imagine

it painful? So you can imagine if my son can feel it, imagine

how all the gentiles will feel that circumcision. You guys do that? Since

yeah, and so now if I'm Mandal, I have to become circumcised.

Now, Oh no, you know the thought is not it's such a barrier

for the men and the women say, ah, is that a coumcision?

You know, women cannot understand the say so okay. So. But eventually

the Jerusalem Council agreed to remove it because it was not supposed what they call

it. The circumcision was not meant to be legalistic requirement. But it's a

sign from God. What about the true circumcision? Yeat me right? The

outward sym symbolic circumcision is supposed to represent an inward circumcision. It's about God

trying to do a real removal of the flesh, of the sinful nature of

the heart, to circumcise it so that the all can be gone and the

new can come. That's the real meaning of circumcision. They can't forgetting it.

Oh, it's about the practices. No, it's a circumcision of the

heart. In fact, not Jesus. With the arrival of Jesus, with

the work of Jesus, the circumcision, the new and better circumcision has already

come. It's the circumcision of the heart performed by the Holy Spirit. Has

circumcis our hearts has been circumcised. It's not about the outer part. It's

about the spirit. It's already been done ready, as long as you're not

lasting after the old things, and you're asked and you are striving forward for

the spiritual things, for the renewed things. Okay. That is the evidence

of a heart that is circumcised. Okay, that's the most important. You

can be circumcised in the physical. But still doing this old, same old

pattern. What's the point. It's not about that. It's not about the

outward It's about who you are, your behavior. Okay. And then lastly,

there is a division over John over Drama, which is one of the

disciples. Uh. And you know it's highlights. You know unfortunately that even

among the believers sometimes we have uh what they call it dissension. Sometimes you

have offenses. You know. The reason why there was a division between Paul

and Barnabas and Paul and Babus they are like, you know, these two

pinky two fingers, you know, always close with one other one, Okay.

But then because John Mark when he started off in the early ministry,

I think something affected him. We don't know what it is, but he

left after the first mission what they call it location for what reason, we

don't know, And I think Paul probably didn't take to that very kindly.

And for the second mission trait he decided, no, we should not do

that, and that became a dissension point because Barnabas was on the view that

we should be gracious and then we should hire him and bring him along the

way. So, of course Barnabas is a man of faith. It's full

of faith, means it's a man who will always believe people as well.

Second Chanceter, hecause, think about it, Paul was only in this trip

in this picture because Barnerbus was really believing in Paul. Yeah, mean right,

the same way he wanted to extended to John m as well. But

Paul was a man who was very zealous for the work of God, and

so it's like, hey, we gotta do this. You know this guy.

Wait for him to his growth spiritually growth us before he followed us.

Whoa, But sometimes we have dissension and so instead of you know this part

ways okay, for a moment, bar Numbers will take John Mark John Mane

is basically the author of the Book of Mark, by the way, and

then Paul will take Silas. Okay. But then eventually you read the Book

of Eggs, Mark will eventually come back to be reconcilted with Paul, and

Paul actually reconcilt back because he sees the growth and also maybe he's the error

of his short sightedness as well. See something we all sometimes we all get.

We all miss a bill of things, isn't it. We all have

to forgive, and sometimes the reconciliation takes time as well. Okay, so

there is a very quick recap of what we've covered in the first road trip.

Okay, I call it road trip. Okay, let's move to X

chapter sixteen Doom Patry not kidding, Oh are you talking about you? No,

I'm not talking about um, by the way. But you know I've

watched the movie. I liked it, you know, but I also give

a warning that it's also quite spiritually powerful. M hmm. It's quite spiritually

powerful. So if you want to watch it, be prepared, okay,

and you know you want discussing and talk to me about it. Oh,

I love to discuss about it. So many things to discuss about it.

But be prepared. It is quite a spiritually heavy movie without people realizing it

as well. Let's turn to X chapter sixteen. I'm going to go quite

quickly and I will stop. The major stop is from Paul and Silas in

prison. The rest are all the small red hat okay, and the small

red stops. We go to Finnang. Okay, Okay, please entertain me

a bit, okay, okay, let's read. Okay. From verse one,

the title says Timothy joins Paul and Silas. Then he came to Derby

and Lestra. Okay, do I have a map there? Oh? No,

I didn't put the map. Ah, sorry you have no, I

don't have a okay, okay. So he came to Derby and Lestra and

behold a certain disciple was there named Timothy. Timothy the son of a certain

Jewish woman who believed but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of

by the brethren who were at Leistra and Iconium, and Paul had wanted to

have him go on with him, and he took him and circumcised him because

of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his

father was Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered to

them the decrease to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at

Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in faith and increased in numbers daily.

So let's stop there for quickly, so I know I don't have the map

here, really apologize saw the first stop okay? They had, okay,

And they went actually by land, okay, So all icon him if if

you can remember, if you can remember, it's like a big opposite sea.

You know, Jerusalem is at the south here and on the left here

is the sea. If you go up it's Antior. And so from there

they could go by sea or they could go by land heading westward. So

the first Westwood city they actually landed to was actually uh in Listra and Derby

and this ran a bit is a city, but that state, the area

is called what Galacia Galicia. Turn to your neighbors, say Galacia, okay,

Galacia. You know, if you want to French French fire, you

know, Malaysia, I don't know what you want to call it. Okay.

So it's actually hypothesized and very very agreed by many people that it was

at this point that Paul wrote his first book. It's not Roman. You

know, if you read the New Testament and you think Romans was the first

letter, poor, you think it's a sequence. No, Okay. The

first book actually Poetry wrote was the Book of the Galatians. It was here

he wrote, wrote the Book of the Galatians, and it's here he actually

met earlier. And it's not the first time he came to the city.

Okay. He'd been here before, and he'd been here before. He actually

because he actually met the mother and the grandmother. You need to go back

to our first sermon before. Okay, he actually met the mother and the

grandmother, Okay. And he also met the son at that time. So

the second time he came back and he noticed the sun has grown so much,

so powerful, isn't it. Sometimes you see a person you planted a

word, and you hope that maybe after a few months, after a few

years, you hope to see the person grow, how the family is doing.

But sometimes you're worried it's for because of persecution happening. You don't know

what's happening to them. Maybe because they're surrounded by so many idols and so

many religion and culture, you know what will happened to this young man.

But this young man has proven himself to be what so spiritually mature, and

you know how old is is he? There's no answers how many want to

guess? How always say? Do you think he's a young adult? Do

you think he's an old adult? It's estimated that he's basically an older teen

of a very young working adult in the early twenties. How many have you

in your teens here? Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty twenty one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, y'ah. Potential Timothy is okay, potential timothys

okay. So that's basically how young he was, you know, okay,

and he was you know, he was distinct already distinguishing himself. Okay.

And we know he was distinguished because the church leaders and the elders recognized him.

You know. Ah, it's not uncommon now to recognize young people and

promoting them. No, It's not about the age, you know, it

is the maturity, the substance of what is displayed inside this young fella.

He was distinguished as being faithful, and eventually he was he became uh discipled

by Paul himself. Paul, what did he so much? Come? You

know? So what's the first plan? You know, Let's go through Bible

college first, Paul says, no, just join missionary with me. Just

go to missions. People, you want to self, go to missions straight

away? Wait, got three year plan? No such thing one, no

business plan for you. And okay, just go away straight to missions already.

Okay, you go straight. That's the plan. Not the reward for

a good worker is more work. Let's kid thing. Okay, But it's

true, isn't it. You know? It's like, wow, God,

come, come and join me in the missions. Come and follow me,

Come and plan churches with me. Come and see also the suffering I had

to go through because poor trusting, because he was strong in the faith and

he could endure it as well. Okay, So Paul served as pause what

they call it disciple. But eventually you will read also in Corinthians and later

in the Book of Timothy or there's two books on tattle Timothy, because Paul

is addressing to him directly. He was serving as a Paul's representative to several

churches around in their area, and he was later also a pastor in Ephesus

as well. So, yes, ex church, we have very young pastors

and leaders, but we are not the first step in the need to do

that. Okay. Paul already paved away that title already been taken by Paul

already, okay. So do you look at Jesus as well. Jesus was

always in the business of raising young disciples as well. So it's good to

be young, okay, good to be young. All right, let's move

on to the second stop. Then the title is called the Macedonian Call.

Okay, I'm doing good for time. Okay. Now, when they had

gone through I don't know how to read this Regia Irigia and the region of

Galaysia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia,

okay, not this Asia, Okay, not Malaysia. Okay. So

this deep Pampa or Asia where they called it, okay, after they had

come to Maesia or now this is Malaysia okay, Okay, they tried to

go. And after they had come to Malaysia, they had tried to go

to Bithynia because the carry to spicy, but the Spirit did not permit them

stay Malaysia ex kidding. So passing by Maysia, they came down to Troas

and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood

and pleaded with him, say, come over to Macedonia and help us.

Now. After he had seen the vision, immediately he sought to go to

Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Now, I just want to bring a few things about this part here.

First of all, we can see that God that this mission trip was

not called by men, was very clearly guided by God, isn't it.

It starts with compauses. I want to do this. God doesn't have to

tell you, Hey, every time God guides you, he doesn't have the

email you want to know. Okay, you don't have to wait for God's

email or to say or do this. Why not? God is influencing you

inside and when I say no, God, I need to wait for your

spiritual email before I go no. Not like Robot's up down, updown,

like a choice stick. I didn't want to know. God influences our desire

is molded like his desire. And sometimes we go maybe yes, maybe no.

But the Lord, we we acknowledge you in every way, and as

we and as they walk in faithfulness God, you can see God's fingerprint and

God's guidance was clear, okay God. A lot of times God say yes,

And in this part we're also hearing God saying very clearly no as well

true or not. As much as God says yes, God also says no.

So a lot of times God will tell us no. My question to

our all of us said, do you hear God saying no to you?

Or are you geared to only one button? Yes? Yes, yes,

yes, yes, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. Sometimes

our interation we've got only one button only yes only, but also says no

as much as you want no. I'm doing it for ministry purpose. I

bring all the people because say's no, okay. So it's very very important

that we must understand that that yes is no. It is as important as

God's no. Okay. Now we also see that God also intervenes very supernaturally

with Paul not giving him a vision and he says, yeah, it's very

important because Paul is going to a place. Hey that it looks like it's

going to be God's you know, I know it must be filled with many

potential. But he will go to this place. And he realized that it's

actually a lot harder than he thinks. And sometimes you feel like God has

prompted me, if very strongly, to go to this place. And you

were hoping for a great job, a great situation, great surrounding, great

friends, you know, great benefits and stuff like that. But you realize

and know it's a lot harder. It's more it's more like instead of you

know, you know, retirement work is pioneering work, you know. And

he says here, uh, that that he saw a vision of a man

calling out to him come to Macedonia. Okay. Uh. And more importantly

we notice here that in the in the last verse he says a verse ten,

now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to

Macedonia. You know, what is the word that is very us highlighted there?

Why? Why is the distinctive word I see there? What's the word?

Somebody got it? We? What does that mean? Who was the

author? Luke? What's the author? So it means that at this point

Luke joined them in the missionary trip. Ah, these are all the little

details here to figure out, isn't it all this one he's talking about Paul

and sidelarit and suddenly he changes to Oi. So on this part there you

have to understand from this part onwards, if you read the rest mostly the

rest of the of the Book of Acts, Luke was involving to it.

He was involved in the ship as well. Later we will talk about it.

Okay. So now let's move on to the third state, third rest

Okay, now verse eleven. Therefore, sailing from troll As, we ran

a straight course to Samos Fres and the next day came to Neapolis, Okay,

and from there to Philippie, which is the foremost city of that part

of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some

days. And on the sabbath day okay. Now they landed there ready okay,

intentional, staying at where they were supposed to be. They were intentional.

What did they do? And on the sabbath day we went out of

the city to the river side where prayer was customarily made, and we sat

down and spoke to the women who met who we met there. Now just

paused there for a while. Okay, So what happened is this? Okay,

Paul, In every place that he wentro he has always gone to the

Jewish community and the Jewish communitee typically. Uh. You know, I found

the synagogue because goods are the Jewish place of a prayer and meeting. But

when he went to this place, he couldn't find a synagogue. Okay,

how many of you know what I'm talking about here? You go to a

place, cannot find a church, go to a place cannot find what you're

expecting. It's you know, one of the things are not said, not

ready, you know, like you know, it's like going to a hotel

room that is not clean up and done, not ready, and it's like,

ah, maybe this is not the place. He could have easily word

just moved to the next city. True or not, nothing is ready for

him, you know. But God's call for him is so clear and strong.

The key message is what he is undy third, So no synagogue,

no man, I can find, no common ground. I can find sometimes

very hard in it. You sit down with lunch and sit down with a

bunch of people you have no common ground with. Then you realize, oh,

this is hard. Oh my goodness, sweating rdia, what conversation I

really have to stretch out talk about subjects I don't really know about. How

many of you in trouverts know what I'm talking about here? Oh I feel

you a handful ministry data? Okay, some of you? What problem?

I can talk to anybody for some introublet Oh no, I don't know what

to talk about. This is two minister to you guys. Okay, you

gotta stretch out people, turn your neighbors. You gotta go to the riverside.

Okay. Today at lunch, I better go to the riverside. Okay.

You cannot find a scene of God, go to the riverside. I'm

getting my energy up radio. Okay. So there's the message. If you

cannot learn anything, you cannot find a synagogue over the riverside, not the

part of okay, can not to find women. Okay, but though he

met women there. Before the age of Internet, before the age of social

media and whatever, there was the riverside. Okay, there was the riverside.

Riverside people walk there. I tell you that was the well, there

was place of meeting. Okay, okay, So he went to the riverside.

So he was undertaid. You went to the river because you know he

was called God must have caught me for a reason. But it's my own

initiative that I have to go beyond. Sometimes when the seed gets planted right,

you cannot get to the first day, You cannot find water. But

is it God's will? It's got there. It may not find in the

first layer, but it doesn't mean it's not God's will. It just means

God is intentionally pushing the seed to go deeper. And it's for the fit,

you know, for Luke's benefit, for pault benefit, for Silas's benefit,

for Timothy's benefit. To see that, whoa, we don't always have

to see immediate convenience, immediate favor. Well, we look for the favor.

Understand what I'm saying here. If you're entrepreneurs, are you you know,

if you start a business or that's starting, you know what I'm talking

about here. You have to don't just wait for things. You have to

go and get it. God wants us to go and get it. Are

you go get it? You know? Are you resourceful. So why did

he go to the riverside? Because with that normally in the place, if

to start a synagogue, your name at least ten Jewish men, and I

mean men, my men. You don't identify as other things else, Okay,

not a care, not adult, anything, a man. Man.

Okay, we agree about it. Not agree about it. If not,

I'll talk to you later, okay, man, okay, So I'm not

talking about any other identification. Okay. So they need ten Jewish men to

start a synagogue. Okay. I don't know why they come out with that,

but there's the there's the custom. So if they don't have that many

men, okay, so the Jewish committee, if they have a lot of

Jewish women, so what do or do? They will go to the riverside

instead because they need a source of water. And sometimes because they only have

the water from a cistern, which is coming from the rain and going down

to the underground. That is so called a form of living water. Rain

is called a living water. Okay, So they need to go to the

next best source of living water, which is the river. Okay. You

know why river because and every single gone before you enter, you need to

wash yourself on, there must be a source of water wash their hands,

then go to the mitzvah and they go in one. So if you go,

no place for water to go in. So to follow that date heavy

at the riverside as well. So he went there and go and before he

met the women there, and he was starting, and he had the chats

post to the women who met there. And there they met the lady Lydia.

And who and what do we know about her? It was said here

and look was very specific. Okay when you look writes it down means it's

important. She was a seller of purple from the city Thyreteria, okay,

who worshiped God. Okay, okay. And you say said the Lord opened

her heart to hear the things spoken by Paul. Okay. And when she

and her household were baptized, she begs us. She begged us, saying,

if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to

my house and stay. So she persuaded us. Okay. So look,

notice that cellar of purple means what purple was purple and blue is the hardest

color to get at that time, okay, because you cannot get it after

after any tree you have to get it off to certain animals and insects.

It's very, very difficult, okay. And so purple is always associated with

royalty. And if you have purple means you are a wealthy trader, you're

a wealthy family. And we do know that she comes from a wealthy household.

She has servants and a house as well. And God led her let

them this this missionary trip to them so that they can minister to her,

to spoke to her, and they found favor. And then eventually she became

a very important person who would serve side, who served to open up her

house to invite more Christians to come as well. Okay, so we are

always looking for more lydias. Okay, let's go to the riverside and find

more lydia. Are you Lydia? Are your Lydia? Are your lydia?

Ah? Ha's gonna open your heart. It's got shown you a favor.

And then the ladia said, have you judged me faithful? Stay with me?

Okay, Okay, let's not go there, ok here for much?

All right, Let's move on, okay to the main event. Okay,

I'm doing good for time right now, Let's go on to verse sixteen.

Now it happened as we went to prayer, there are a certain slave girl

possessed with a spirit of divination, met us, who brought her master's much

profit by fortune telling. This girl followed Paul and us and cried out,

saying, these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaimed

to us the way of salvation. And she did this for many days.

But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command

you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her.

And he came out of He came out that very hour. But when her

master saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized poor and silas

and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. Okay, and they brought

them to the magistrates and said, these men, being Jews, exceedingly troubled

our city, and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being

Romans, to receive or observe. Then the multitude rose up together against them,

and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with

rods. And when they had led many stripes on them, and they threw

them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such

a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet their

feet in the stocks. Okay, so quick recamp. So at that place,

as they went to prayer, they met a slave girl who had a

spirit of divination or sounds like din sound like you can't see your fortune,

I can see having visions. Okay. So a few things. Are they

spirits that are in play in this world? Yes they are. Can you

be possessed by evil spirits? Yes they are? How do you get possessed

by evil spirit? That's the question? Oh, very short, very short.

Teaching are very short. One are okay, you can be possessed by

evil spirit by one mean none? Okay, when you invite them, okay,

you can know something that who you know, just rendally catch someone cat

someone, know, it doesn't work that way. One It will call only

come to you when you invite them. And there are two ways of inviting

them. You play with them, and you personally invite that. You really

send an email come to my wedding. You know they come right, they

will come there. More than that be one and all they are looking one

and all. There are spiritual beings looking for a bodily host. They come.

One you invite, then you come. That's why I don't play around

with those this time. Witchcraft is forbidden, you know in the Old Testament,

and I put to death. It's the reality of that one on.

The second way is indirect invitation. You mean my someone take my email and

send it to other people? No, you know how you directly indirectly invite

evil spirits into your uh, into your life. Give you an example.

I'm not spreaching for time here. If you have a house, I said

this many times. If you have a room, okay, you eat your

MEGGI me okay halfway and you don't clean it one way, two weeks,

three weeks. You never send an email to the cockroaches, to the flyings.

Do they come to your room? You lock the door? They come

as all right, you lock the door. The smell goes out of them.

Right. Did you send an email to them? Are they your best

men? Brightes maid, your cousin, your best best You're not by They

still come, They're coming the gang You all whooooo, that's party people.

Oh I'm getting very hyped up. But it's true, isn't it? By

virtue of your lifestyle that stings, you invite them. Oh drop, might

drop? Might drop? Or where did they come from? By its rudra,

By the virtue of your lifestyle that stings, you invite them. It's

simple. So you think like, but I never go and visit some uija

you know game? Or but by the virtue of your life, you know

what I mean? Right, you invite them. There is a spiritual reality

you want to know. So it's important that you are. You examine and

you consecrate yourself. You mean right, you really examine yourself. Okay,

Okay, time given, Okay, really got to hurry up. Okay,

last part okay, but now verse twenty five. But at midnight, Paul

and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God very important, not that,

and the prisoners were listening to them, And suddenly there was a great earthquake,

so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the

doors were opened, and everyone's chains were loose. And the keeper of the

prison, awakening from sleep and seeing the prison prison doors open, supposing the

prisoners have fled, drough his sword and was about to kill himself, but

Paul called with a loud voice, saying, do yourself no harm, for

we are all here. Then he called for a light, ran in and

fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said,

sir, what must I do to be saved? So they said,

believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be safe, you and

your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to

all who were in his house. Okay. And they took them the same

hour of the night and washed their stripes, and immediately he and all his

family needs were baptized. Now, when he had brought them into his house,

he set foot before them, and he rejoys having believed in God with

all his household. All. Right, now, as we draw to a

course here, if I want to title this message, I will say true

freedom. Okay, true freedom. So with no point and silast, they

have been unjustly punished, unjustly accused, beaten and unjustly locked up in stocks,

and not to the innermost prison there feed and chained now on their feet,

bound in stocks, really cannot move on, okay. At that time

the responsibility of the prisoners were the jailer's means if they escape, the jailer

dies. Okay, So the jailer has every incentive to make sure that the

prisoners do not escape. Is their life, okay. So now there are

two types of freedom in this world. There is the spiritual freedom, and

there is the physical freedom. Okay, spiritual freedom, and there is the

physical freedom. Spiritual freedom is always the most important, okay. And I

can tell you that you can be physically free but still spiritually bound. Okay,

you can be physically free but still spiritually bound. Okay. Let's keep

the death earlier slight there. Okay. We have a spirit on my right

here that was dead, not even there at all. Okay, before we

know Christ. But when Christ came into our life, our spirit has been

made alive again. And now we realize there is a spiritual reality. There's

a heaven, there's a fatherly our father in heaven and beyond this earth,

beyond this body. When this fades away, I will still have a spirit,

you know, saying, So spirit being made alive gives you a new

sense of awareness, a new reality. In the middle is our soul,

where our mind Okay, our soul and our will actually resides okay, okay.

And so in in that part, you have your intelligence, you have

your emotions, and you have your will. You can think, you can

feel like it, but you still don't do it, you know, saying

that I feel like you know, I know I should wake up, you

know, you know, but you know I want to wake up, but

I still do do it. Your will is very very important, okay.

And then the last part is what it takes the behavior of the body.

A lot of times when we get stuck in the body or in the flesh,

in the physical, whether it's in prison, literally in chains, you're

stuck in a situation, whether it's in a family that it's toxic, in

the work that is toxic, and whatever it is, financial, whatever it

is that is difficult and painful. We always let our prayers be made from

the body, affecting our soul, and then praying in the spirit true or

not true or not. God, I'm having this problem right now. It's

affecting my thoughts, my feelings, and I'm trying really really how my will

Lord. So that's how our prayer goes up. Most of the time,

I ask you, do you give things? Is it hard to give things

from the spirit from the body. When you are led and dictated by the

physical, rarely, isn't it. I mean, if you're honest, most

of the times we fast in prayer right now and we are like, oh

God, this is difficult. Well, no coffee, no lunch, oh,

but still no breakthrough in my prayer. Oh but look at poor and

silasts. They were physically bound. But what proceeds from their mouth, praise

and thanksgiving, It did not come from the physical and the body. It

came from where from the spirit? That I say, the spirit, spiritual

freedom is always the most important. It is because they were fully aware that

God is in control. Heaven rules. Even if you do not understand how

you got here, we just following God. You gave me a vision,

you ask me to follow you, and I get beaten up. You know

you'll be asking how and why? True and not people. You will definitely

be asking God how and why am But they did not ask, you know,

they said, I don't need to not even know how and why.

I just know that You're in control. And I can in my heart say

God is good. God is good. All of us can't say that because

you're led by the body and you have this insatiable need to know why,

how, And because you cannot get it, you cannot foolheartily say God is

good. That is why praise. It's so difficult to come out of your

body, out of your mouth, true or not. And when you pray,

being dictated by that fast, being dictated like that, you think anything

goes in the spirit. There's no faith, no belief. I'm teaching this

you guys. You know to see something, you see, you see something

important. Now I'm asking us to examine it. Yes, we started you

first and prayer. Examine a way. Is your desire coming from right now?

You see it coming from the world, from your body, from mist

or from the reality of God. That God has saved, has saved you.

First of all, God has saved you, and you have a spirit.

You have a connection. But then you have the spirit. But your

your mind, your soul, and your will is not transformed. Why because

you never put on the spirit. Man, you are still in love with

the body. You're still having earthly ambitions. That's why get me right.

You can be a spiritual being, but your soul is not transformed. So

the second part of true freedom is not all God and sent me for you.

Can sing all not God set me free. You can sing all you

want, but still not transform. The transformation happens by the transfer, with

the renewing of our mind power by the Holy Spirit. So we have a

lot of Christians who claim they know they are free, but are not transformed.

You know what I'm saying here. That is why your fast and prayer

is not effective. That is why that you still now you still find out

how to give thanks to God, to genuinely feel like thank you for everything.

But Paul and Silast didn't stand if anything with the body, but in

the spirit they gave thanks and from there the change got broken. True.

Now, now this is the important thing. After their chains were broken,

right, did he leave? Did he leave the prison of the body?

Did he leave the prison of that venue? He didn't leave. Now that's

a funny thing, isn't it, Because there is not a spiritual thruth that

happens here. You see, when you become spiritually free, truly spiritually free,

right, another thing happens. You start to perceive the physical and the

body differently. It no longer becomes a prison for you. It becomes a

place of ministry for you. You can be in a place in a situation

some of you will get and I can't speak. And I'm not claiming that

I have been through all the heartshitess and the pain. Maybe in a difficult

working environment, in a difficult family financial situation, you're tired, you have

to squeeze for everything. You're like, you want to get out so much,

but you're not spiritually renew But the moment you're spiritually renewed and you start

to give praise. I God, despite all you are good. You're so

good. It's so good that I can stay here. I'm okay. But

even you give me the options to let go, I start to see things

differently there. I choose to remain because now I see my purpose from a

prison to a person finding purpose. I am here to save this jailer.

You get me, right? He could have left poor sets who have left,

but he chose to say because he realized I'm here for a purpose for

this man. So that, oh man, No, So sometimes we missed

it. We missed it. We leave the prison so quickly thinking that this

is not God's will, But in fact, it is God's will for us.

So impatient, isn't it? So my question for us? So that

we reflect. What kind of prison are you in right now? Are you?

Can you give praise? There is no way, not possible. I

tell you. The Bible says otherwise. So do not let the physical preach

to you, but let God's word preach to you today. Amen. Don't

let the world preach to you. You think that's the only preaching happens here

Monday to Saturday. The world is preaching to you, you know, a

message that you don't realize. I'm only here for one hour. People.

Don't let the world preach to you. Let the world of God preach to

you. Transform you so that genuine praise will come out of your mouth,

will come off your heart, because you know you are free. Nothing in

this world can buy the freedom can buy you that piece, but godhmself and

he has paid it. So let it rule over your mind, rule over

your thoughts, rule over your feelings, and rule over your will. Rule

over this twenty one fast and prayer that even when the opportunity, when your

chains are loose you God. See, God, you not lose me for

me to run away, but you lose me to find my purpose, and

I found it. I'm staying That's why sometimes your prayers. You think you're

not answered because God is saying you have not fulfill your purpose. You know

it's not time for you to leave here and all Amen. We hope you've

been blessed by this message. For more information on our church, please visit

exchurch do org. We are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing

that this week is going to be a good week, a hit for you. God bless