Revived Hearts Bear Lasting Fruit | Pr Gloria

You're listening to a message to go from acts Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

For today's message, I'll be sharing not exactly on fasting

and prayer, but more about how we can step into

that twenty one days because it's the coming week, right,

how can we step into that by looking at our hearts? Right,

revived hearts? And what are some of the decisions that

we can take, even on a daily basis to embrace

all that God has for us? Yeah? And so there

are a couple of pointers, okay, that I'll just bring

us through, and as you listen to it, I just

want you to listen to it with thinking of yourselves

and your relationship with God, how far you've come, and

what do you desire for more of Him? Yeah? So

you know, the title of today's message is revived hearts

bad lasting fruits. Yeah, revived hearts best lasting fruits. How

do we know if someone has actually been revived?

Right?

Usually we look at the outside. You know, they are

praising the Lord, lifting up their hands worshiping, which is good, right,

But revived hearts would also mean what happens within us?

Right?

What happens deep down? You know when you've gone through

so many things in life. You know, through the heart shapes,

through the brokenness, God forms you into this new person

that you are today. Right, So that is what true

revival is all about. And it creates our best lasting fruits.

So it's not just a very temporary feel good feeling.

Right Sometimes you know when you go for a church conference,

or when you go for a church or even come

for Sunday service and you go back you feel okay,

so excited, revived and things like that. Right, but revived

hearts here, it's not just a temporary feeling. But throughout

the week, throughout the storms, you know, throughout the times

when in your lowest moment you still feel revived. Right.

Doesn't mean you're always smiling, right, There are times when

you can be down, but deep down you have that

assurance of who's sovereign in your life. Right, deep down

you have the faith of knowing who God has you

know with yes, as it all sorted out for us. Right,

So that is what we mean by lasting fruits.

Yeah.

And you know in the Bible we read different stories. Okay,

we can name different characters Abraham, Daniel, Moses, all these

great leaders who are that we can learn from. Right,

God showed up to them in not a very you know,

big sparkling moment. Most of the time, it's in those

everyday life right. Like Moses. He was a taking care

of his flocks. Right, and one day Sali saw a

burning bush and then he chose to look at the

burning bush, and then from there he encountered God's presence. Right.

That was Moses. Same thing with Abraham. He did all

kinds of mistakes, we made all kinds of decisions, but

then he still was called the Father of faith, right

because he remained faithful true it all. That's Abraham. Right.

And then of course we have Daniel, not because he

was great from the start, but because he made decisions

every other day to be different in the community that was,

you know, completely praying to idols. You know, their lifestyles

were different, but he chose. That's why we have Daniel

fast race after this Bible story, because he was eating

vegetables and fruits, you know, and he was you know,

in a way. What it signifies not that it's just

only healthy, but it's just that he wanted to leave

a life that's different from what the peace people were

living like, right, So he abstained from all that, and

he chose to honor God. He chose to be the

one that God chose to make a difference in the community.

So would it be in hard because he's surrounded with

good food, he's surrounded with people who are living their

lives styles their own way. I'm sure he had his

own temptations and so on, but he chose. So it's

a decision. What honest to understand today is that facing

a revival can only start if we make changes on

our daily steps. Right, How we choose to speak, how

do we choose to show up, how do we choose

to build relationships around us? That is how God works. Yeah,

and through this deep and during work of God, it

takes an open heart. It takes breaking sometimes, Yeah, it

takes surrendering. When you surrender only then it brings obedience.

You can just ask someone to just obey without first

the breaking or without that relationship. You know, when you

go true the ups and downs, then yes, obedience, holiness, right, holiness,

love takes place, and then we recognize why unity is

also key within the body of Christ. Yeah, So I'm

just going to share a couple of pointers here of

what revival does to us. And like I said, take

it as a reflection as we go through a couple

of scriptures and see where does it sit in for you? Yeah,

and how can you desire that for this season of utun?

So the first thing is that revival renews a devotion

of the word. Yeah, Revival renews the devotion of the word.

Let's look at nehe Maya chapter eight. Thank you. Okay,

let's tend to name Maya chapter eight. Right. This, this

portion of scripture here shows us what happened in the

midst of the Israelites when they had a devotion of

the word. This is what we mean by how excited

if you can use it in our terms, right, or

how they were looking forward to read the word of

God and it changed them. Yeah. So we're going to

read a couple of verses here, are we good? Are

y'all there? Okay? Nay? Maya chapter eight, verses one to

fifteen first, and then we will read verses eighteen. Okay,

So let's look at the first portion. It says when

the seventh month came, the shurren of Israel were India cities.

Now all the people gathered together as one man in

the open square that was in front of the watergate,

and they told Ezra the scribed to bring the book

of the Law of Moses, which the Lord at commanded Israel.

So this is the word. Yeah. So Ezra the priests

brought the law before the assembly of men and women

and all who could hear with understanding, on the first

day of the seventh month. Then he read from in

the open square that was in front of the watergate

from morning until midday. I can imagine doing that from

morning until midday. So you have imagined a person standing

in the front, being a leader, a prophet, right was

standing and just reading. Everyone was just gathered like this,

and they were just listening to the word of God. Yeah.

And those who could understand, and the years of all

the people were attentive to the book of the Law.

How many of your attentive here now still awakeer? Okay? Attentive?

Was so? Ezra the Scribe stood on a platform of

wood which they had made for the purpose, and beside

him had his right hand stood Mattia, shema Anaya Urajia

health Care and Messiah, and his left hand Peteya Michel.

I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly. But yes,

maljiach Hashum, Hushbanda, Zacharayer and meshu Lam and Ezra opened

the book in the side of all the people, for

he was standing above all the people, and when he

opened it, all the people stood up, right. So first

of all, they were attentive, and then they all stood up.

What do you think they stood up when the Word

of God was read, and he thoughts sign of respect,

very good, thank you. Right, that was how they honored

the word of God. They saw such reverence, right, because

this is a word that is given to them, you know.

So they were all sitting and then they stood up.

Talks about the spirit of the people that they were listening. Yeah,

and then versus six and Ezra blessed the Lord, the

Great God. Then all the people answer amen, amen, while

lifting up their hands, and they bow their heads and

worship the Lord with their faces to the ground. So

didn't they just was attentive. They just they stood up

and they also said amen. Right, And that is why

we encourage our amens at church, because you're saying amen,

not to the preacher. You're saying amen to the word

of God. Right, And every time you say amen, you're

declaring it over your lives. You are declaring God, Yes,

I believe that this can happen in my life as well. Yeah,

amen and amen, right, and then it says yeah in

verses eight. So they read distinctively from the book in

the Law of God, and they gave the sense and

help them to understand to the understanding, to understand the reading.

So when you read the Word of God, yes, we

need to sometimes break things down, right, you know, to

comprehend better. And that is what we do in sermons.

That is what we do at homes, you know, when

we can explain it to maybe people who are newer

in the faith or we're learning something new, right, we explain.

That is how we get devoted to the Word of God.

And nay maya vers nine was the governor Ezra, the

priests and the scribe and the Levite who thought the

people say to all the people, this day is holy

to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep,

for all the people web when they heard the words

of the Law. Right, so wept. Wept is even more

than just crying. Right, crying sometimes can be a tear

that comes right, But wept, it's like, you know, you

are just felt with so much of fullness in your heart. Right,

you can just imagine the emotions or maybe the things

that people would have been going through. They're looking for answers,

and then they have the Book of Law that was

read out, and they were filled with so much of faith,

so much of assurance that, Wow, something can happen in

my life. There is hope. There's a sense of hope

in the midst of a world that seems to be hopeless.

Just imagine the kind of emotions they would have felt.

Right the nay I had said, Okay, don't cry. God

is here. Yeah, God is here a man, and then

it says in verses ten, then go your way, eat

the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those

for whom nothing is prepared for This day is holy

to our God. Do not sorrow, for the joy of

the Lord is your strength. Amen. This is where we

get this scripture we always read. Right, this is where

it comes from. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

And this joy comes when we have a devotion of

the Word of God. It doesn't just come out of nowhere, right,

It comes when we know He's word. Amen. So the

Levites quiet, quieted, all the people, saying be steel for

the days holy, do not be grieved. And all the

people went their way to eat and drink, to send

portions and joy greatly because they understood the words that

were declared to them, right, and so they were filled.

And you know, when the Bible says eat and drink,

that just signifies that that form of celebration a form

of you know, saying, Okay, we have hope. You know,

we don't have to be worried. Let's go on and feace,

you know, and celebrate and thank a lot. Yeah, So

that's what it's mentioned here. And then we can if

you read on verses thirteen on words, you will see

that whatever they read in the book, you know, the

Word of God, they started doing it. They started following

the different guides that were given about the tabernacle and

so on. Yeah, and verses eighteen. If we go to

the final verse in this chapter, it says, also day

by day from the first day until the last day,

he read from the book of the Law of God.

And they kept the feasts seven days, and on the

eighth day, I was a sacred assembly according to the

prescribed manner. So it was not a one day thing.

It was an every day yeah, because they were looking

for answers, they were looking for guidance, right, and so

they made it a point. And it says here that

he actually made it a point to read it every

other day. So you can imagine if extra us assemblies

for the next seven days and as one person appointed

the friend opening up the Bible and reading it, just

reading it and everyone listening, how would you respond to that, right?

How would it sit in with us? Would we also

stand like them? Because wow, this is the Word of

God answers, right, And that is why my prayer has

always been, even for myself, that we'll never take all

these things for granted, because the word Bible is just

it's just there, right, And some of us have few

Bibles in our homes, we have our apps, right, It's

just so easily accessible. It's just there a fingertip, you know.

But yet sometimes we look for answers in other places. Right.

But a true revival, for a true revival to happen,

is when we have a renewed devotion of the Word

of God, that we don't just see the Bible as

just part of my religion. Okay, because I'm a Christian,

I need to have a Bible, but the Word of

God becomes an option that I make right, that I

will actually turn to the Bible when I'm feeling down,

when I'm feeling confused and I just want to know God,

what is it that you would tell me? Right? Yes,

God speaks, He gives prophecies, sometimes you're praying and all that, right,

but one of the main ways that he speaks is

always to the Word of God. Yeah. And so if

you're seated here today and you're thinking I need clarity,

I need someone who can be my counselor well, the

word of God tells us is that he's a our

counselor the Prince of peace. Right, it can offer you

all that that no one else can. Yeah. So that

is what revival is. Church revival begins with the return

to the Scripture and a greater hunger for the truth

of God. That means you're just waiting on your seats, like, Okay,

it's going to be the sermon time, I'm looking forward

to hear what God has for me. Or every morning

you're waking up and you're saying, I just want to

open the Bible and read and not those off. Yeah,

but I am reading and reading, and the more I read,

the more I realize I don't know, and the more

I want to know. I read up, I ask questions,

I attend Bible classes, I ask others, have discussions. That

is how we read in the Word of God. We

can't just get all of it by just opening it

and allow magic to happen. Right. The other day we

learned about how revival is. I mean, God has that's

his part, but we have to do our part as well. Yeah,

because we have to work our faith. Right, It was

not magic that you just appeared at church this morning.

You had to put You choose to put the alarm.

You chose to make your way here. You chose to

serve him. Right. And the same thing is how when

we devote ourselves to the Word of God. Amen, are

we catching something from this? Yeah? So remember, let's try

to learn from what the Israelites or how they responded

or how they looked at If you want to ask yourself,

what does real devotion mean to the Word of God.

This is what it is right, declaring and saying Amen

and amen, standing in reverence for the Word of God,

following what the Word of God does. Right, and also

living it out. That is how we see a revived person. Yeah,

that's what we see as a revived person. So think

about this questions just to kind of reflect. Yeah, Ah,

if I look at my faith, my journey as a

as a believer. You know, when I look at my Bible,

do I go to the Word of God for counsel

and guidance? Because most of the time we call up someone, right,

nothing wrong with that. But can the Bible be an

option as well? Right? So that I'm looking for answers,

I'm writing things down, I'm seeing what the Word of

God can tell me. Yeah? Do I actually do that?

Do we allow the word of God to direct our part? So,

if you are trying to make decisions in life, what

does the Word of God tell you about it? Yeah?

Or if you are in a very stuck situation, can

the Word of God release you from it? Bring freedom

into your lives? How do you see that? Yeah? Or

do you even get excited to read God's word? Ask

these question to ourselves. I asked myself as well, Right,

do we get excited? Because if you're still not feeling excited,

then maybe if you've got to change how you read.

If you're reading when you're half awake in the morning's

not gonna work, Okay, But if you can find a

time where you can just be in your best time, right,

you're wide awake and you're sipping your coffee or your

tea and you're reading God's word, it just changes the

way you look at it. Yeah. Again, it's all about

our perspective on things, right, It's about how we enter

into doing something, and the same thing is how we

handle the Word of God as well. Right, So can

I encourage your church to have a greater devotion, a

renewed devotion of the Word of God, especially when they

step into this utun Twenty one days is a good

number of days to just get back to the Word

of God. Yeah. And when we say get back to

the Word of God, not just reading a scripture, well,

that's fine, yeah, Or sometimes the apps will that we

open up, they will just give a verse of the day, right,

I mean, it feels nice to just have that verse

to read. But let's take it one step deeper. Yeah,

But you can start with the book. If you're new

to the Bible, start with the Gospels, Okay, Matthew, Mark Luke,

and John You can read about all that Jesus did

on land right before he has sent it to heaven.

And then you can read all the other books that

we have, the letters that was written to the churches

in New Testament. So go with that and some books

if you want to feel a sense of accomplishment. Some

books are just one chapter, two chapters. Then you can

tell yourself, oh, I finished a book in the Bible, right,

and that's a motivation for you, and then you can

go on to the next one. Yeah. So do things

that can lift your spirit. Oh. I remember during my

younger times in faith and my faith my teenagers years,

we used to do it with friends. Okay, so we

so some of these apps what you can do. You

can also add into groups, right, so maybe two or

three of you in the group, and then you can

kind of like even look at you know, how far

if I read so, hey, I've read two chapters, how

about you? Or we have discussion, you know, but after

reading it, so you're feeling motivated and you know that, Okay,

I'm not doing this by myself. Yeah, So do these things, guys. Yeah,

can be through your huddles, can be through your homes.

Whichever way that works. That can stir your faith, can

stir your inner man and say, okay, I one more

of the word of God. Ken, Yes, everyone's so quiet today.

That's your amen? And Amen, we're just ready. That's not right. Yeah,

that the people were excited for the word of God

and they responded amen. So let that be our prayer. Yeah,

if you want someone to journey with you, come and

speak with any of us. That is what church is, right,

not just to meet on a Sunday, but we can

do it every other day, you know, to build each

other's faith. Amen. Right now. The second thing that revival

does is that revival produces obedience and holiness. Yeah, it

produces holiness, obedience and holiness. It says in Romans six sixteen,

do you not know to whom you present yourself slaves

to obey? You are that one slaves when you whom

you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of

obedience leading to righteousness. Yeah. So it's a very simple thing.

You know, when we talk about okay, obedience, holiness. Who

do you spend time most with, What do you fit

yourself with? What are your idols in life? When you

see idels and not just talking about statues, right, idels

can come in different forms. Those are the things that

you choose to obey. Right, So we can't talk about

obeying God's word or obeying his ways when we don't

have enough of faim in our lives, right, or if

we don't put aside those things that are taking too

much of our attention. And sometimes these ideals could also

be fear. It could be worry that we are constantly

thinking about what's the future without focusing on what's to

day or what's that What attention that God wants from

earth today? Yeah, obedience and holiness and when revival takes place,

we're not just settling for a casual fate. What does

a casual fate look like? It's like, Okay, I come

on a Sunday, I tend homes. These are the times

I pray, These are times I have my Bible. I'm

a proud Christian. I go for Easter, I go for Christmas.

This is what casual faith is all about. Yeah, or

I knock on Heaven's door when I have a problem, right,

But every other day it's my thing to do and God,

these are what I want. Can you meet me where

I am? Of course he does. That's a God we serve,

but would you also want to invest in this relationship

with him? Right? That is what I think a revived

church should long to, not just go by as it's

convenient to ourselves because we know any other relationships or

anything else you do, it doesn't come by easy. You

need to put in effort. Yeah. And so the same

thing is with our heavenly God above as well. Yeah,

we need to desire to leave a full submission to

the lot, walking in holiness and forsaking sin. And this

obedience flows from a heart that is transformed by grace.

So it just doesn't come out of nowhere, it comes

from within. Yeah, and holiness you cannot get the best

of board wolves. That's the reality. Yeah, it's either we

are holy or we are not. If you choose to

balance the boat of this, then after a while you

will feel tired. Right, Who am I pleasing? I'm pleasing

the world and I'm pleasing God. That's not However, Gods

wanted it to be right. He wants us all for him.

In fact, the word God tells us he's a jealous god. Right,

It's a God who wants us because he loves us.

He created us in his image. So you are my child,

you are my son, you're my daughter, right, and that

is how we've got to live our lives as well.

So think about it now, Okay, when we talk about revival,

obedience and holiness, would you choose to live a life

that is set apart? That's the first thing that we've

got to make it right first. No point talking about

holiness if it's not even a choice that you want

to make, right. Would I want to leave a life

that is set apart? Set apart meaning you make a

choice to honor God first before anything at all. Right.

It could be in the marketplace you're working, right, and

sometimes certain commitments comes up, but you still choose to say, no,

I want to still show up on a Sunday, right,

Or I would still choose to serve the Lord, or

I choose not to be involved on certain conversations that

are not speaking life. Right. This is what we mean

by living a life that is set up.

Part.

You don't have to be a weirdo when you do

all that right, It just means you are just standing

for what is right in the eyes of the lot. Yeah,

Would you choose to live a life that's set up? Part?

Or what choices could you make each day to leave

a holy life? What choices would you make? Because remember

when you speak about revival, it doesn't just like I said,

happen magically, it's what you do every other day. I

choose to wake up, I choose to start the day

with the lot first before scrolling through my social media

for example, right. Or I choose to speak words of

life instead of words that are pulling people down. Right.

Or I choose to read the Word of God before

even going to every other knowledge that's out there. Yeah,

So what kind of choices can I make every other day?

And can be the slightest, smallest decision Because we all

leave our lives very differently, right, We are different in

the journey of faith as well. Some may be new

in your faith, some have been long enough so you

know yourself better. Right, But what are those things that

you can do? Because if you don't do start doing

it this week, and when you step into U turn,

it's going to be even harder to just start all

of a sudden a new habit or to be disciplined.

But start thinking about it now? Yeah, Or can I

just allocate that maybe fifteen minutes for prayer if I've

not started it yet, right, all the thirty minutes. If

you want to keep growing. Yeah, So what are those

choices that you can make every day? Think about it

just for yourselves. Don't think for others, just for yourselves. Yeah.

Right now. The next thing that revival does is that

revival deepens love and it strengthens the unity. And we

say unity meaning the unity of the Body of Christ.

I'm not just talking about or extra we are just

one church, but Body of Christ means every other believer

around the world. Yeah. In John thirteen thirty four thirty five,

it says a new commandment. I give to you that

you love one another as I have loved you, that

you also love one another. By this, will know that

you are my disciples if you have loved for one another.

So if you want to be the disciples of Jesus himself,

you've got to love one another. It's very easy to say, right, love,

But is it the easiest to do, especially if you're

talking about loving someone who you really love, who are

a good person, But sometimes loving people who are not

the easiest to love. But that is what God wants

us to do. Right, So could this time of fasting

and prayer be a time where you want to also

think about who are the ones that I might want

to need to forgive and love them? Not easier, right?

Or people who are you know, the ones that you

don't often spend time with, but you know that they

need some care, some love. It could be in your

workplace or in your school. Right, would you choose to

maybe step out of that usual comfort zone that you

are in to love these people, to build new friendships, right,

to care for others, to just tell someone hey, or

smile at them, right, be a friend to them? Yeah?

What is it that we can choose to do? Because

when we look at the early church in X four

you know thirty five, if you know, gone through this

series some time ago, even the churches grew because they

actually came together. The church was big, you know, and

this was the time where true revival took place, not

just in the number, right, not in the form of

numbers only, but also in the form of hearts. Hearts

were revived. That's why they could show up on each

person's house, bringing food, sharing sessions, praying for each other,

and guarding the unity. Because you know, the more we grow,

it's it's easier for loop you know, loops to to

take place, or spaces where people can just come in,

or the enemy trying to bring in lies into our lives. Yeah,

and so that is why we've got to be very

careful to guard the unity of our church.

Yeah.

And revival is not only limited to only for ourselves,

but it strengthens the fellowship within the Body of Christ. Yeah.

And that was the reason why we went through the

whole series of unpacking the vision of X you know,

or you know when we go through homes. There are

certain topics that we tend to cover. All these things

are just to kind of guard our heart the vision

or the unity that God has given to our church. Right.

And my question for all of us this morning is

how could you do your part in God the unity

of our church? Right? Because we all have a part

to play, and if we can break it down, it

can come in different forms, sometimes engaging in conversations and

when someone says, hey, this guy, I don't know why

he's like that, and then you talk talk Can you

be the person who says, he don't talk like that?

Not nice? Right? If you're not happy, why don't you

you speak to them? Confront clarify, confront is not exactly

a bad word, right, confront It clears a lot of

things instead of harboring herd in your heart, you know,

or feeling bad about it. Yeah, so it could be

dead right, the things that we speak about or even

praying for our church, praying for our leaders, that is

guarding the unity of a body of Christ. Yeah. Or

if you're out there talking to friends who are who

are pre believers, who don't know the faith yet, and

they are asking you about what Christianity is about or

what you believe in, would you be able to share, right?

Because that is keeping the unity of the body of

Price as well. Yeah. So as we step into utan,

can this be some of the thoughts that we have

in our minds, in our hearts? Right? How can we

grow more in love not just with God, but with

those surround us as well? Right? Because this church, you know,

will not happen if we don't love each other. Right,

If we don't love serving the lot, if we don't

love showing up or doing life. You know, you know,

we always talk about discipleship, We always talk about showing

up for each other. But do you think it's easy?

When I think about the leaders that we have insurance

as well. They're all full time young adults, some of

my young parents also. Right, we have so many things

going on, but yet I see them still showing up

for others. And you know why we can do it

because you do it out of love. And I really

hope it's just love and not because Pasta Gloria told

you to do so. Yeah, but it's because I love

this sister in Christ, all this brother in Christ, and

I want to show up for them. I want to

journey with them. I want to just you know, be there.

I know I'm not really asked Elaine or Michelle's permission

to share this, you know, but Elaine was just so

happy to share about the journey she's had with you discipling. Right.

If you want to learn more about your stories, you

can talk to them, you know. But I was just

talking to Elain how this is a testament of what

discipleship is about. You know, you're not just there during

the good times, but you're there to the low times

and you're there throughout. Yeah, and you it's just a

joy to witness another person growing in Christ, you know,

making mistakes and learning, you know, and keep doing better.

And that's life. Right. We can't do life alone. That's

just how God created us to be. Yeah. And if

you're seated here thinking I don't have a support system,

you know, I'm just all by myself. I just want

to encourage you. If you are here, you're not alone.

You just got to reach out right, open up and

just say I want to go for a cup of coffee,

I want to speak about life, I want to hang out.

That is why we are here as a church. Yeah,

that is why we that is what God has called

this to do. Yeah. And so you don't have to

journey utan all by yourself if it's your first time

starting off fasting and prayer and you're wondering how do

I do it? We can do this together. Yeah, so

that we can witness you experiencing your testimonists and seeing

you growing in the Lord as spell. Yeah. So church

is not just for you being coming in and going

out all by yourself, but have fellowship, join us grow,

Let's grow together. Amen. All right. Now, the next thing

that revival does, Okay, drawing to the last point here,

is that revival bears the spirit's lasting fruits. Okay, And

I'm sure we've all read this if you're not long

enough in the faith. Right, we know the fruits of

the spirits in Galicians five twenty two to twenty three says,

but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,

long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against

such there is no law. And those who are Christs

have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If

we live in the spirit. Let us walk in the spirit.

And we can only truly bear such fruits when we

walk in the spirit, if we just choose to walk

in our flesh manner. Or again, like we talked about holiness, right,

we walk in you know, in not a set apart life.

It's going to be hard to experience all of this, right,

you know talking about I mean love, Love is one

of it. That's here. Joy. That's why we read the

book of Namayadas. Now right, the joy of the Lord

is my strength. That's the job we are talking about.

You go through joy even in the hardships, and you

still know that it's gonna be okay because God is there.

That is joy. Right. You know, we talk about peace.

You know the world is longing for peace, but we

have such a secured piece. I like to see God's

pieces a very secured feeling because you know that he

is in control, right, And that is why it says

the scriptures, piece that surpasses all understanding, meaning we don't

have to understand or figure things out. That is what

his peace is all about. So when it gives you

the piece, he's not trying to say, Okay, you must

understand the situation or you must you have all kinds

of questions in your mind and you need to look

for the answers because that's just how life is. Sometimes

we don't have the answers to everything. But his piece

is what feels us, or his piece is what that

keeps us going. Yeah, and that is easy peace, long suffering, right,

long suffering not the easiest when you go through, and

yet you still stand firm. You don't give up. That's

basically what it is. Right. You don't give up on

your faith because your prayers are not answered. Yet, you

don't give up because you're still unwell. Right, you just

keep doing it, You keep remaining faithful. Yeah, Kindness, being

kind to others, goodness, right, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Right.

I mean I was just thinking about my life and

as asking the Lord, Okay, what are some of these

gifts that I need to grow and you know, or

be better in? Right, And then I think about it

sometimes you know, God takes you true different seasons or

different path because he wants to kind of activate some

of these gifts. That's how I see it for myself.

You know, I wouldn't have gone through long suffering if

I had the most down as times in life, right,

and then you okay, you just keep going. You wouldn't

be faithful if there's something that you hold on to

very closely and you still choose to be doing it.

Be faithful even in the smallest and slightest way, right,

and you see how God show up. Yeah, you don't

learn to love until you have actually learned hurt or

grief or you know, frustration. Then you know, okay, I

still need to love because they mean something to me. Right.

So what I'm trying to say is that the fruits

of the spirit don't just come because life is all

good and happy and smiley, right, But it comes through

the breaking, right, through the pulling and the giving and

the surrendering. And that's when these fruits are produced. Yeah,

And how do we see if a believer is renewed

by the spirit, it is by the fruits of the spirit. Right,

And if you're journeying with people, journey with someone, and

if you want to encourage them, these are the things

that you can actually encourage them with. Say, hey, I've

known you this long, and while faithfulness is something I

see in you, right, a gentleness is something I see

in you. Keep up the good work. And what is

it that we can do better and to long for

and to grow? And again, we can't do this by

own ability. By this, by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, by

the Holy Spirit. Revival is not only visible to the

acts of faith, but it's an inner transformation that touches

every area of our lives. So it doesn't just touch

our spiritual aspect ministry and church and all that, but

it also touches our family, our career, our studies. God

is interested in all of you, not just because he

spent time in church and he's giving you that good feeling,

but he wants you to do well in everything you do,

and so can I encourage His church to do well

wherever you are. If you're a teacher, be a good teacher.

It's not easy to be a teacher these days. But

thank you Jason for all you do for your students. Right.

Some of your students are here, you know, and some

of you are in the marketplace. You're great leaders, and

you know it may not be easy to show up

all the time dealing with different ones. But let's just

do that good anyway, right, do it well? Anyway. Some

of you are in education, some of you are parents

or grandparents, right, and you keep showing up every other day.

So in whatever God has called this, whatever position he

has put us in, let's just count you to cultivate

the fruits of the spirits. Right, Let's just do it right,

Let's do it well. We don't have to have to

do too many things. You just have to focus on

one thing, be good in it, grow in it, and

just count you trust a lot to take you deeper. Yeah,

and that's how we get even better or even filled

with his faith. Yeah. So if you can just ask

yourselves and we talk about the fruits of the spirit,

what fruit is visible in my life? Now? If you

think of all the fruits there, right, which of it

that you can see? And it's good to sometimes think

about what I'm doing good or what I'm our five come,

nothing wrong with that sometimes now human eyes we always

that can be ten good. But we look at that

one little spot, right, And I think it's just good

to sometimes count our blessings and how far God has

helped us grow and brought us here, right, And so

what are those gifts that are visible? And what fruit

do I need to grow that I need to plant

that seed and grow right, Because if it's an apple seed,

it's going to bear apple fruits. Right. If it's growing

another fruit, then there's something wrong. Right. So if we

are children of God, okay, if we're his disciples, Jesus disciples,

then we've got to be fruits that are Jesus, little Jesus, right,

the ones that are just out there and everyone who

sees us. Imagine all of us scattered in different places,

in different places that God has positioned us to be,

and we're all shining for Jesus. That's a very nice

sight to see, right. And if you're impacting lives, that

is how revival happens. That's how fire forms, one fire

touching another fire, and that's how we grow. Right. And

so in your campus, you know, in your family, in

your office, in the doors that are closed, just you

and the lot wherever you are. Let's just be that

one same person. Can we do that? Right? Be that

one same person that honors the lot. And that is

what we mean by the fear of the lot. The

fear of the Lord is in our hearts, whether people

see it or not. God lives in me. And I

just want to honor one person, and it takes out

so much of burden from you do anything. So rather

than pleasing so many people, man, and God, boss, and

you know, everyone, family and everyone else. But if you

want to just honor one person is God, because when

you honor him, everything else culting everything else, settle right

because God is in the center of your life and

he leads you in every area as well. Man, So

think about it. Yeah, let's just reflect. And of course

the last one here is that revival makes us bowl witnesses.

So let this U turn even as we take time

for ourselves to grow our faith, to reflect and all that.

But let it be also a challenge that we give

ourselves to be His witness. If it could be that

one person that I can share, who would that be right?

In X force that they want it says and when

they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together

was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,

and they spoke the word of God with boldness. So

imagine we're all seated here and then the ground shakes.

The power of the Holy Spirit came upon them, and

that's when they were bold enough to speak the word

of God. Right. And so when you are witnessing for God,

the Holy Spirit is with you. You're partnering with Him, right,

And that is when you have the words to declare.

That is when you know what to see, what to speak.

You don't have to be a very long time Christian

to witness. You can just share your testimony. You can

just share God's word, right, and that goes really far. Yeah,

great commission becomes our heartbeat. So go and make disciples.

We know this scripture, right, Matthew twenty eight nineteen, Go

and make disciples, baptizing them the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It no longer becomes

just a mandate just because the church says, okay, now

go and make disciples, then we go. But it's just

going to be so part of our heartbeat that whenever

I'm out there Who's this one person that I can

share because they don't know the Lot. Who's this one

person that I can make invite to church to share

the gospel, to share God's goodness. It's just part of you, right,

it comes part of you that you just naturally just share. Yeah.

And you know when you desire for this, right, you

will be surprised how God helps you see your world

in a whole different lens. Right. And so for me long,

I mean something I'm very grateful of is you know

when I started this new job, o guyess, I was

just sharing with different ones, even at our leaders training

that yesterday I had a very big shift of career change.

I've been in education for so long and I love teaching,

and then now I'm in a different kind of teaching

leaders training corporate leaders.

Right.

And so I was asking the Lot, like, can I

actually do this?

You know?

Is it something that I can do? Excel? And also

why are you putting me here? I asked the Lord? Right.

And as time goes by, it's been two months now, right,

and it's only been two months, but God has been

assuring me in different ways. And one of the ways

is that because all my colleagues, the team that I'm

working with, they're all pre believers, so many I'm the

only Christian right And my boss is you know, he's

a coach himself. It's very different in the way he leads.

So there was one of our meetings. So interestingly enough,

every Mondays we have something we call the Huddle meetups

where we actually share about our weekends, you know. And

so one day my boss say, hey, guys, you all

know that it's actually length. He's not a believer yet,

but he said, you know it's length season now, Gloria,

since you know you're in church and all, what don't

you share with us what length is all about? So

I just took that chance and shared about Jesus and

you know, why we believe in this and what do

we do? And then and my team are very young,

they're in their late twenties, you know, and new in

the in the work world, a working world, and so

they had a lot of questions, and most of them

a majority faith, you know, and you'll be surprised how

actually many of them don't know what is length? What

is Good Friday? What is Easter dough? We've been celebrating

it for years right, And so I just took that

opportunity to share, putting in a bit of the gospel,

you know. And and I believe that things that are

shared will rich hearts. Yeah, and just last week, you know,

so some of these things I share, I make it intentional.

I'll tell them about what I do in church, you know,

how we do life. Right, So last week I had

a colleague, you know, who lost his mom recently and

it just got married and all that. So you're sharing

about some struggles, you know. And then he easily like, ye, Actually,

I don't know why I'm sharing all this to you,

he said, it feels just feels led to open up

and share. Maybe E sees me as an older sister

or something. But when you're sharing. And then he said,

you know what, my mom used to go to church

and she has a Bible, and maybe I should pass

this Bible to you. And I said, actually, I have

enough Bibles at home, you know, why don't you start

reading it? And then he said, or how do I

read it? And so I showed him, you know, what

does it look like? What the books we have, you know,

and what does the Bible do you know? And then

he said, oh, yeah, she's nothing wrong for me to read.

I said, yeah, it's nothing wrong. It's a book. You

know it doesn't I mean, I, I mean, I respect

your faith because you know it's a Hindu. But just

give it a try. You just read and you see

what can happen, and you say, okay, I'll read and

let you know. Yeah. So stories like this is what

keeps me going in my workplace, you know. And then

I'm reminded when when you speak about you know, God

giving you the lens to see the world through His lens. Right,

it's no longer just because it's my job or my

salary or how I can grow. I mean, God blesses

you with all that. But at the same time, while

you do that, faithful God opens doors in wherever He

positions you to be. And so now I am working

at the same time witnessing right. And I can witness

because of the Holy Spirit, because it gives you the words.

Do I am I really good in speaking all of this? No?

At that time, what do I answer? What do I say? Right?

And this words comes from the Lord, comes from the

Holy Spirit. But the question is just back to you

and I, whether do we want to do it? I

can just choose to say if they ask me what

is land, I can just choose to say, oh, it's

just a celebration that Christians celebrate and leave it there, right.

Or if my friend reached out and shared about, you know,

is life, I could have just you know, okay, okay,

leave it like that, right. I can actually have a

conversation right and encourage them and talk with them, you know.

So the choice is back to us. There's always needs

out there, guys. There's always things to do, you know.

When we talk about growing the right every time leaders

when we meet, we'll be like, Wow, there's a lot

more to do. There's a lot more lives to reach

out to. Us is so big, it's I think a

small state by itself, right, there are many more people

who don't know the lot. Can we take that ball

step to do something right? Can we be that mouthpiece

for the lot? Yeah? So if I can ask us

the questions today as we close, even, Yeah, who could

be that one person that you can share the good

news to? Just one person that you can think of.

It could be a family, it could be a friend,

your clique. Can you think of that person's name? Yeah?

And when we say you know the Holy Spirit is

with us, What does it mean to you? And how

can you even invite the Holy Spirit in your life

every other day? Because Holy Spirit is there, is there,

you don't have to worry about it. In fact, he's

here with us. But the question is us We are

that changing variable all the time, right, whether we choose

to activate and say Holy Spirit, yes, I need you,

only then he comes, you know, just like how God,

God is just always there for us. He's omnipresent. But

the question is back to us. Are we asking God,

I need you to help me in this situation? God,

I need you to lead me in my day? Right?

So how can you welcome the Holy Spirit in you

every day? Because if you can do that, he opens

up the door. He shows you the person right in

front of you. Just got to go all out and witness,

just be loving, be kind, show God's goodness and you'll

just amazed to see how God help people respond. Right,

the world is lost out there. I'm sure all of

us know the times that we are living in the

news that we read, you know, and sometimes talking to

few of my colleagues, you know, we can get very worried, like, hey,

how about our country with the world's happening in the

Middle East, and you know, we can get so caught

up with fear, we can get so caught up with

just worry, or we can choose to speak hope in

times like this. It doesn't mean we are ignorant, right,

it doesn't mean we're just trying to close close an eye. No,

we're not doing that. We are aware. In fact, the

Bible talks about days like this that will come in

the last days. Yeah, but at the same time, we've

got to speak life. We've got to show the world

that above with all, there's a God who is sovereign.

There's a God who is able to take us through

because you know what, the Word of God says, He

has overcome the world, right, he has overcome it all

for us. The work on the Cross is a complete work.

And every time, though we celebrated every other year, it's

us just reminding ourselves that, you know what, this is

what God has done a price that no one else

would have paid for us. But God did. He sent

this one and only sent for us. And that is

a very powerful truth. Church. There's a very powerful hope

that we need to hold on to. That when fear strikes,

when hardships comes your way, when the world goes upside down,

what remains is our sovereign lot? Amen? Could it stand

as we even commit to the lot? You know this

time with all that we heard about, you know, we

just want to allow the Holy Spirit to move and

let that be a prayer in your heart as well. God,

what is it that you're calling me to do so

that my heart can be revived to do your work

to draw closer with you.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God, bless