Priests | Elder Pr Jack Ling

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

To remind us about priests and about who we are,

and that we are called priests.

Right. I hope you knew that. If you didn't, it's okay.

Today I'll tell you that that's what the Word of

God tells us, that we are royal priests. Okay, So

take that home with you today. Remind yourself that you

are a priest, no matter how old you are, no

matter how young you are in the faith. Maybe some

of you are just like, if you're consider it, I'm

still a new Christian even though ten years read. You

feel just kidding, all right, you feel like a new Christian.

I don't know why. Maybe because you you have not

been studying the Bible enough. You feel you know, I

know how it feels, you know, sometimes you feel that way.

I don't have enough Bible knowledge. I find it difficult

to pray and things like that. But as long as

you come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you call

yourself a Christians.

I follow Jesus. That's what the Bible tells us.

You are a royal priesthood Okay, let's study further and

then let's catch that in our hearts. How many of

you here today you want God to speak to you,

you want anyone you want God to speak to you?

Yeah? All right?

I want God to speak to me too, all right.

But of course when God speaks, right something, we need

to do something. When God speaks, we need to do something.

We need to respond. Because if God speaks, and you,

you know, just like someone speaking to you, lie, my

wife speaks to me. I want my wife to speak

to me. I love it. But when she speaks to

me and I do nothing, guess what will happen?

Right? Right? Said Oh their wife, he will speak to me,

right and she says, wash the clothes.

I was wishing something else, right, like I wish like honey,

I love you or whatever?

Right, Yeah, maybe she will do that. I love you.

Good morning, Give me a hug.

So this morning, today, this this weekend, you need to

do the laundry, okay?

So, and what do I do? I do the laundry.

I will do the laundry.

Right Where do I do it in the morning or

I stay up when everyone is sleeping and I do

the laundry. I do the laundry because I need to respond.

Right.

So, yes, we want God to speak to us, and

he will tell us amazing things. He will he will

tell you how much he loves you, and he will

assure you. He will challenge you, he will show you.

But then he will he will also ask you do something,

and will we do it? Is the next question? Yeah,

So we do need to We love and we want

God to speak to us. And I believe that He

will speak to you this morning, but we need to respond.

We need to act.

Okay, tell your neighbor that you need to do what

God tells you to do. Right, So He's gonna speak

to us this morning, and we need to respond.

Amen.

Amen, all right, So let's talk about priests for a

while this morning.

Okay. You like the picture here? Yeah?

Okay, So this picture I you know, I found it

on Google and it shows us the priests of the

temple during the Old Testament times.

Right.

You see how they dressed up, Okay, and then there's

this guy who is dressed up a little bit different,

you know, the far left, and that's that is the

high priest. The high priest. That's one high priest, and

the rest are priests. Okay, I believe it's also known

as leevites. Okay. And so the high priest is the

leader of all the priests okay. And uh so he

has a different role okay. And he's the one who

brings the sacrifice okay, and a few different things that

he does. And he dresses up differently. You can see that.

So that's the High Priest. Now, let's let's look at

Jeremiah chapter one. Okay, I'm gonna read from verse one

to three. What's it saying. Okay, you have your bibles

with you can turn to it. Otherwise I believe XTV

will try and put up the thing as well. All right, Okay,

those of you have your bibles, okay, maybe especially the children.

Children the bible? All right, now you have you can

use your parents bible. You don't okay, share your parents. Uh,

bring up your bible.

Bring your bible. Come on, what my own kids?

They have their bibles, they carried it, they packed it themselves.

Then if they don't use it, not waste it. Okay,

use use, use your bible. Take a bible. What's tudor?

I thought it was there?

Okay?

Anyway, all right, okay, all right in school because I

teach in the school, we do this thing like flip

your Bible, so you who can get to the page,

all right, and yeah, so you do have a time, you know,

within twenty seconds of within twenty seconds. If you can

get it, you get points. So anyway, I'm not doing

that this morning. But yeah, so let's flip to the Bible.

And I wanted to say, children who can flip to

the Book of Jeremiah first, okay, Jeremiah chapter one, Okay, yeah,

you can use your indexes, okay, all right, verse one

to three, I'm reading, Okay, the words of Jeremiah, the

son of Hilkia, one of the priests who were in

Anathos in the land of Benjamin. Okay, verse two, to

whom the word of the Lord came in the days

of Josiah the King of Ammon, King of Judah, in

the thirteenth year of his reign. Okay, it came also

in the days of Jehoiah Kim, the son of Josiah,

King of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh

year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, King of Judah,

until captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. Right, let's

hold on to this verse and we look at it

for a while. What I wanted to say is this

the first verse there tells us that Jeremiah was son

of Healthcare, one of the priests who were in and

the thought, so we can see a family background here.

Jeremiah was from the family of a priest. Okay, And

so when I didn't see that, and I look at that,

I understand that Jeremiah grew up in a priestly family

and the family, you know, the way they would have

done things, how he observed his father, what his father

would have done, you know, for him in a sense,

get him to learn what it's like to be a priest,

because he likely would have been a priest because that's

the line, right, And so he grew up in a

priestly family. I would also say, a godly family. And

I want to tell all of us here, you know

how many of you, you know you can think about it,

and you consider you grew up in a godly family.

You grew up where your your dad's or your mom

Your dad or your mom taught you the Bible and

encouraged you to read the Bible and encourage you to

live a godly life, prayed with you right, think about

that for a while and be thankful for that because

you had you had a head start, you had a

hit start, and so your family uh leads you that way,

and you know it's God's grace.

Amen.

And I want to tell you, I want to also

challenge you that because of that, you also will be

like Jeremiah. Yeah, used by God this way. And because

he grew up this way, God was able to challenge

him to use him this way to speak to the

nations to get ready. Those of you, you grew up

in a godly family. You grew up with kind of

like a priestly family. You know your parents were leaders

and or pastors. You are going to be used by God,

so allow him to. He's going to approach you, He's

going to speak to you, and we need to respond.

All right.

But however, I understand some of us you may not

feel that way. Maybe you felt like my parents weren't

that godly. They didn't go to church, they didn't really

read the Bible. They were doing all kinds of other

things that I am not very proud of to talk about. Right,

I came from a family kind of like that because

they were not Christians and I grew up, you know,

in a family. You know, we were worshiping other gods.

But I want to say, if you feel that way,

then you be the one to start it. Why did

you be the starting point where the where you're next

in line. When you do have a family, they will

then have the benefit of a godly family. Why don't

you do that if you feel my family, my family

is not you know, really walking with.

God, let me be the one who starts it.

Let me start the priestly way in the family and

then change the course of the future of the next generation.

Amen.

Yeah, because that's what I believe. You know, the Lord

helped me to do. I change the course of my

family situation. But thank God, praise God.

Today.

My parents are believers, and they're not just believers. They

serve in church. My dad speaks as well in church

in Quantan. And I believe who's who's in Guanta to

Timu is in Quantan right now actually doing her placement

right And so happened she's staying near the church that

my parents go to. And this morning I saw a

picture my mom hugging Timu. So she's here because we

told them, Oh, you know, one of our partners are

going there and so praise God.

Yeah.

So yeah, like I said, praise got My parents are

now believers and they serve. My mom serves in the

children's ministry. She's how old is she now? I'm sorry,

I can't I can't think now about her numbers, but

definitely older than me.

But she's so active, all right.

She drives them around and she's she's you know, she

sings songs and dancers with them. Praise God, and I

pray that she will be able to do that for

a long time. Hallelujah.

Amen. So, like I.

Said, if your family is a godly family, get ready,

God is gonna use you like Jeremiah.

But if you your family is.

Not yet, not godly, not so godly, you know, and

you are in churchill, then you be the one to

start that Amen started. And then your next generation be

like Jeremiah and let God use them as well.

All right.

So I wanted to talk about priests. Now, okay, let's

let's talk about what priests did. Okay, what did priests do?

Okay?

I just did a simple, you know study, put some

points down of what I understood that they did. Okay,

So what did priests do as we saw the picture

just now.

Right.

Firstly, their dressing is different. They were given a uniform.

They were given a uniform. So for some of you

you might have noticed, you know, the leaders of the

church here we try to dress up.

Okay. Uh.

We we have a saying here, an extra we say

dress our best for the Lord. So when we uh serve,

we dress our best. We put on the best that

we have. All right, some of us we don't have

the full suit yet, so never mind, all right, but

let's pick the best one put it on.

Uh.

And some I know some people have gone shopping to

invest and buy the clothes to give their best to God.

It's an investment, right, you don't get and so I

guess some ladies will be like, yeah, shopping, right, but okay,

don't just buy anything.

You're buying clothes right to serve in the church. Right.

So uh.

Anyway, the priests they set themselves apart. They dressed differently

because God gave them how you should dress the exact uniform.

God actually directed that and instructed and so that's why.

Actually you look at that, you may not want to

dress that way and walk around in the mall.

This way.

But yeah, that's how he was. The instruction was given

that way that you know, there's a certain way you

put the breastplate. And even under comment, even the under

government was given instruction how it should be. How many

of you you pray to God Lord, which underwear should

I buy?

What color? However?

Right, so actually, if you want to see God, even

for your dressing, he will. He will tell you what

to wear today because maybe the person that he wants

to directly couldn't look for that person in green color?

All right, and you are you heard God telling you

to wear that green right? I'm telling you don't. Don't

discount that God will direct even the clothing. But anyway,

let's go back to this. There's a uniform, right, and

also not just dressing but lifestyle.

Right.

The Levites, the priests, they lived in the temple in

a way, right, meaning they don't They didn't have a

land like the rest of the tribes, and so they

had to rely on what is brought into the temple

as their provision. They couldn't plan or farm anything, so

the other tribes farmed. But then they bring offering right

into the temple and God allowed them to have a

portion of that.

So they have enough, they have food.

Yeah, so they had a different lifestyle, They had a

different life. I want to tell us, you know, think

about that as a priest. Are our lives set apart?

Do we live different from the rest of the world. Yeah, okay,

next thing here is they followed the high priest, the

high priest.

So the high priest is the leader.

He will lead the ceremonies, you know, and the things

that happened, you know, in the temple, and the priests

followed what he did.

The priest followed his instruction.

Okay, if you know that, you know the Bible tells

us that Jesus is our high priest.

Jesus is our high priest.

We have one high priest, all right, and if we

are the royal priest, who we should follow our high priest?

So do you have a relationship with the high priest?

Do you seek him for instruction for the day. I

want to tell you that you are first a priest

before you are a mom. You're first a priest before

you're a dad. Of course, I just want to say,

you know, dad's men. When you get married, when you

are your family, you are the priest of your family.

So you need to lead them spiritually. Okay, Now where

was I high priest? Follow the high priest? Who is

the high priest?

It's Jesus.

We'll look at some scripture later to confirm that, to

be clear about that. What you know who our high

priest is? So listen. So the high priest gives us

instruction we need to follow and do it.

Yeah? What else? Children can take notes on quite easy, right,

the ad point form here like that? Okay, all right?

So the priests also learn and know God's word okay,

God's laws. They know the word of God all right,

and they're able to explain and teach people. So I

want to challenge all of us here all right, as priests,

we need to know and learn the word of God,

so we're able to help others know the word of God. Okay,

Then what else? The fourth one day? They represent people

before God. I put levit because for here levet, because

foretells us that when a priest, since the guilt falls

on the people. When a priest, since his guilt falls

on the people. Think about that for a while. What

does this mean? What a priest does affects people, It

affects other people.

So how we live.

Our lives will also determine how others will respond.

Let me give you an example.

Okay, you're a priest, even in your workplace, in your school,

you're a priest when you go to school, when you

go to work, because you know Jesus. You you're connected

to Jesus, the high priest. They are not. Many people

are not, so they don't know Jesus. They won't know

what to do. So they do however they like because

that's the only thing they know. But the priest in

in whatever workplace you're at, okay, need to remember you're

a priest. And so when you talk and you speak

and you act, and how you respond to your bosses

and your lectures and whoever, will show the example of

how everyone should live. They may not immediately follow you,

but that's your role. We are responsible for it because

you know Jesus. You are a follower of God. You

have a high priest, and you are a royal priesttho,

so you actually represent that. And so but then let's

let's think about it. If the priest does not live

out his priestly life, and he's like, no, today, I'm

not a priest, Okay, I go to my office, I

go to the lecture, I go to school and do

how I like as well, because I'm not in church, right,

I get drunk. I watch stuff right on YouTube while

work is going on. Then I shouldn't be watching. And

so my friends now see you so like this stuff?

Are like me? So then who's gonna lead? How are

they going to know what is real? What is true?

The person who follows God is not even doing what

God tells.

Them to do, and so who how how are people

supposed to know God? Everyone is lost? Then it's like

blind leading the blind. I want to challenge you. You're

in church, in God's house, you follow Jesus. You're a priest.

Don't forget that. Don't step out of this room and

say now I'm no longer a priest. Tick off the clothes, okay,

tick off the ropes, and I'm just regular Joe right

now doing whatever I like. Can't be that way, can't

be that way. Can challenge you this way. Remember this

is word of God on it's not my word. What

God tells you. You're a royal priesthood. We need to

be priests wherever we are because we set the tone

for other people and when they see that we lived

a right life, they will be challenged, they will be inspired.

Do you know people are actually inspired. Maybe they won't

show it to youler, but they will be inspired by

people who do right. One time, one of my friends,

you know, it's just a simple act. We were standing

at the lift waiting for the lift and just trash

around the bin. I mean formulays, very normal trash around

the bin, not in okay, So I just left it

as it is. And then my friend, who was that

time the president of the Christian Fellowship, she picked up

the trash and put in the bin. And I felt

bad first, like, oh man, why didn't I do that right?

And I started to help her as well and got

my hands dirty, and then of course I can't remember

what I washed my hands after, but that inspired me, right.

I mean it's a simple act, but she was doing

the right thing. Threas shouldn't be around the bin, it

should be in the bin, right, And I felt like, wow,

what an amazing act, Just a simple act like that, right,

So think what else? You know, if you do other

things right, people see and they get inspired and they

want to do the same. Trust me, they would want

to do the same. They may not do it immediately,

but they'll go like I remember this friend who did

the right thing even though there was so much pressure.

They said the right thing. They acted right, And I

want to be like that. And sooner or later, eventually

they see you enough, they get in contact with you enough,

because you're a pre east, they will be influenced, and

by the grace of God, they will come to know Jesus.

They will come to church with you and follow you.

Anyone believes that?

Yeah? Amen?

Okay, So this is what I wanted to talk about

when we when I thought about how the priests represented

people before God. You know, how how are people going

to get saved if the priests don't lead? Yeah okay,

I mean God can still find someone now, but hey,

we have at least about eighty here people here, ninety

Imagine if all of us lived out our priesthood lives

and one more friend follows you, amen, then how many

is that?

Double? Right? Hallelujah? Okay? Right?

Next thing is they kept the altar fire burning all right?

I mean, if you read the Bible, the fire that

comes right for the burnt offering actually comes from from

God himself. Right that that fire that that at least

the starter comes from God. But then God tells the

priest keep the fire burning right, keep putting in the fuel,

which is the burnt offering.

And I believe there's wood as well.

So we need to keep the fire burning, the fire

of God, not just any fire, the fire of God

burning all right in worship, in uh, you know, in

our passion, in our lives and so.

Well we thank God.

Jesus is the high priest, all right, and he's already

done it. But I thought this is really good because

you know, sometimes if we let the fire burn out

and we don't pay attention to our worship and our

sacrifice to God, then we are letting the fire, you know,

burnout right, So priests need to keep the fire burning.

You need to keep hot for Jesus. Amen, you need

to keep your worship on. I mean, one of the

things that we can at least see is when we

worship right, do.

You even sing? Right? Sing? Do you even clap your hands?

Even move right?

I want to challenge all the us at least do

that at least start with that.

You know, do you pray? Do you?

I like what Alli shad just now right? Praying in

the morning. I want to recommend I don't simply give

people your money. I know in this is a special case,

especially circumstance. Okay, and I believe, you know, really she prayed.

She said, you didn't pray, don't do it. She prayed,

and I believe God is leading her that she did that.

But on under circumstances money passing around? Are be careful

with that? Okay, just don't tell you, all right. So anyway,

keep the fire burning, priests, okay. The other thing is

they lead in worship, so the temple there's always singing.

There's actually a lot of singing going on in the temple.

They led in worship, and they they played instruments, okay,

they actually they actually learned up their instruments.

I believe.

Not all priests, you know, were born or super talented

and playing electric guitar immediately.

They had to learn. They actually went for classes.

I believe, you know, within themselves that they passed on

the knowledge of music to each other. The singing, all right,

and I believe they wanted to sing beautifully for God,

right with harmonization and everything. I believe so and says

here they wrote new songs, okay, because they always wanted

to express, you know, about God. So I believe they

sang all songs as well all the time, but they

also wanted to say new things, you know, towards God,

fresh things, and so writing of new songs definitely was there.

You can see the psalms, hundreds of it. Yeah, so

I want to challenge you. So firstly, worship, okay, lead

in worship?

What does this mean?

You know, we about eighty people here on ninety right,

and I want to tell you, I want to challenge

you that when you worship, right, don't just think you're

part of the congregation. I'm just part of this group.

They are the worship leaders there. They got to do

their job too, singers, right, don't just think that way.

Think about it this way.

We all are leading worship, leading who we're leading worship

to the rest everyone else.

That's why. So I love it that we're in a hotel.

There's a lot of people out there actually hearing what's

going on here, and they love it. You didn't know that, right,

You felt like the sketluy or don't know what they

sing all these you know, spiritual songs.

But they love it. They want us to be here.

They love the singing and there's no singing. They say,

why why no more singing? They love it.

Because the songs are so nice, the words are so nice.

It's not like heavy metal, you know, death and stuff

like that. Right, Okay, it's it's good. It's good words, faithful. Uh,

you know you're God, You're with us. Love the Lord, words,

love coming out right, and worship you praise the name

of the Lord. It's good words. And that's why people

actually love it. So can we all do that? Can

we all lead worship wherever you are. You're sitting there,

you're leading others around us, You're you're you're leading the atmosphere,

you're speaking into the atmosphere, worship, praise God. And then

I want to tell you write new songs for your life.

You know you have.

You have a new song meaning doesn't always have to

be a song that you're going to sing it outline,

but it's a song from your life, your challenge, you

came from a challenge. You're praising God from wherever you are,

even if it's out of tune, and just sing, sing

a new song to God, make new tunes to Him, Amen, Hallelujah.

And then they served in God's house. So again, all

of you, maybe some of you are thinking should I serve? Yes,

you should serve, Serve in God's house, serve at homes,

Serve at homes to start with, and then when you

can serve in the church. There's a lot of needs.

We can definitely direct you to where you should go.

All right.

Uh, there's the sound, there's the words, the TV team, right,

there's our band.

We can definitely have more.

And today we're going to do a briefing with our

choir and percussion team.

They just signed up, all right.

And we're going to talk to them, uh and explain

to them what this all means.

All right, they are we are. We're priests in God's

house with serving God. Amen.

Okay, moving on, let me show you subscripture, all right,

First Peter to nine, First Peter to nine. Right, you

got your Bibles to turn to your bibles? Who can

turn to first Peter to nine, first Peter two nine.

Okay, Hey, what's this say here?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a

holy nation, a people of his own possession.

We belong to Him.

That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called

you out of darkness into his marvelous light. There you go, there,

a royal priesthood. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood.

That's what you are. When we follow Jesus. And then

Hebrews four fourteen to sixteen, can we turn to that

Hebrews four fourteen to sixteen. Yeah, we royal priesthood. Hebrews

four fourteen to sixteen says, since then we have a

great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus,

the Son of God. Let us hold us our confession.

Jesus is is a successful high priest. All the other

high priests they couldn't do what Jesus did, right, They

just did a symbol, only you know, they sacrificed animals.

But those high priests risk dying in the Holy of holies,

you know, because if they had sin, they wouldn't survive.

And then they had the highest string to pull him

out in case the guy, you know, he and they

were a bell. And as long as the bell was moving,

the guy was still walking, all right. But then when

suddenly there sound, you know, okay, all right, pull him, man,

pull him.

But Jesus Jesus was died.

Jesus died on the cross, but he overcame and he

was resurrected. Wow, no other high priest could have done that,

So Jesus did. And then that's why he's the successful one,

all right. And he also was known as the le

of God. He himself was the sacrifice man. So read

on verse fifteen. For we do not have a high

priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but

who but one who is in every aspect, or rather

in every respect, has been tempted as we are, yet

without sin. Another success is that he was tempted. He

was a man, he experienced, you know, the weaknesses of man.

Yet he was able to overcome, right, and he did

not sin. Hey, all of us have sinned, but Jesus

didn't sin. So that's the other thing why he's a

great high priest.

Amen.

And then finally, let us, then, with confidence, draw near

to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need.

Amen.

So Jesus is our high priest. He has great success

in being a high priest.

All right.

He died and he rose again, and he was tempted

but did not sin. So we have a high priest,

and who are we again?

We are.

Priest, We are priests. Tell your neighbor you're a priest.

You're a priest, and your high priest is who Jesus,

And he's a great high priest. He's done it, he's

settled it. So that's why we can follow him and

go on with him. Right, we don't have to be

worried whether anything will happen to him.

It's done. It's done, a man, hallelujah.

And no one else has this, no one else has

a high priest like ours. So therefore we need to

help them come to know our high priests. Yeah, first

by knowing you. First, by experiencing you the priests, okay,

and then you lead them to the high priests.

Okay, moving on.

Okay, I want to say so just now when we

talk about fire, right, keep the fire burning. There is

a story all right in Leviticus ten about strange fire,

strange fire. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, who took

I'm reading a verse one to eleven Leviticus ten. The

sons of Aaron each took his censor and put the

put fire in it and laid incense on it, and

offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded.

Then God did not command this one. They just did

it themselves. I want to tell you, Yeah, you're priests,

but please don't lie your own fires. Make sure it's

a from the Lord, and we keep that one burning.

What happened here was I believe they were drunk.

They just did whatever they like.

And they yeah, they were from Erin's line, they were priests,

but they did wrong before the before the Lord. Okay,

and uh, it was very serious that if you read on,

you will see that even though they died because God,

you know, in a way took their life, they died

even in their death right, you can see the instruction

telling them don't don't mourn for them. They've done very wrong,

so don't even show sadness about this. Wow, Like, how

do you Aaron right his sons? So how is he

going to just hold back? No? Okay, they've done very

wrong before God.

It is as serious as that that.

When they you know, when they were brought out from

the from that area where they died, they were you know,

they were told not to not to be emotional about this.

So it just shows me how serious that is. Don't

simply light your own fires, meaning you know, your worship,

let it be led by God. Okay, because many many,

many times now, you know, many times we think this

is worship. You know, there's forms of worship, and we

see a lot of videos and we say all that

is and we want to follow. Please, don't just follow anyone,

follow Jesus. Follow Jesus. Ask Jesus how you should be worshiping. Okay,

don't just go by trends and popular stuff. Okay, what

you might be I think unauthorized fires. So be careful

with that and seek God. Seek God in your worship.

Amen.

Okay, everyone doing, Okay, all right, let's come to a close.

Jeremiah one four to eight. Jeremiah one for you now,

going back to Jeremiah children. Okay, you're still flipping the Bible,

Book of Jeremiah.

Just telling you to think of the Bible. He's looking

at the screen.

Okay, anyway, Verse four to eight says, now, the word

of the Lord came to me, saying, before I formed

you in the womb, I knew you, and before you

were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet

to the nations. Then then I said, Jeremiah speaking right, Ah, Lord, God, behold,

I do not know how to speak, for I am

only a youth. But the Lord said to me, do

not say I am only a youth. For to all

to whom I send you, you shall go. And whatever

I command you you shall speak. Do not be afraid

of them, for I am with you to deliver you declass.

The Lord.

Says, here before he formed us, he knew us before

we were born. He consecrated us, and he appointed us.

This is quite amazing, right, because he says God actually

knew you before he even formed you. Means he was

you were already on his mind how you will be

and where you will go.

And so.

I find this so amazing that God knows me through

and through. So whatever you're going through, whatever challenge you

are having right now, God knows it because He already

had this all in mind and he knew that, Okay,

he's going to go through, this is going to go

through this challenge, and I'm going to provide a way.

I'm going to show away. But then we need to respond, right,

we need to respond. And so that's one thing. And

then he said, he consecrated you before you were born,

while you're in your womb, in your mom's womb. He

consecrated you. He's he already set you apart. Consecrated means

he set you apart. This is my child. I'm going

to use him for a purpose. And then I appointed you.

So what has God appointed you to do? So? Jeremiah

was a priest, right, but he was appointed to be

a prophet to speak.

God's instruction to the nations.

So what is it that God is appointing you to

do or has appointed you to do? I want to

tell you you're placed wherever you are, because there's an appointment.

Where are you placed? Right? Where you placed?

Which country you're paid placed, which company you're placed, which

school you're placed in? God has appointed you for such

a time as this. You have something to do there

all right, But I can't tell you what it is. See,

God spoke to Jeremiah and he told him you will

be a prophet to the nations.

So God has spoken to you.

All wants to speak to you, or is speaking to you,

and we need to hear it.

What has God appointed you to do? Wherever you are? Okay?

And listen then you know, humanly responsibile. Sometimes this he says,

but I'm too young, Jeremi, I'm too young.

How old was he?

I think around around sixteen, maybe sixteen to twenty years old.

How many of you here around that age, sixteen to

twenty sixty to twenty year olds. I don't want to

raise your head. Yeah yeah, okay, teens. He was a

teen or a campus student teen or a campus student

in out in church, we call them youth, right, right,

they were, he was a youth, and so it's valid,

is a valid reason, and it's a valid excuse. But god,

I'm only sixteen, can't Who's going to listen to me?

I'm the sixteen year old?

Right?

And then recently in the this this euro footballer Spanish team,

the star was a sixteen year old.

Do you know that? History making? He scored all the

winner goal and everything.

Anyway, by too much fame now for him now, he

I think, very hard to manage.

But I think his mom is there.

His mom is helping him manage his girlfriend's okay anyway, yeah.

So they don't take his money.

So anyway, it's rich or it's super rich now, right,

because he's playing for Real Madrid or something like that.

All right, anyway, sixteen year old, so sixteen year old,

don't look on it all right, he's saying six I'm

just sixteen. But it is valid because at that time

they probably had like age limits and stuff like, okay,

how I app should be at least at a certain age,

right to minister. But God assured him, So God wants

to assure us too. So what is our excuse, our

valid excuse? It could be age, right, It could be

I'm from this country, who's going to listen to this

person from this country?

Right? And I loved it that cat spoke some tanglog

this morning.

Hey, we should do that a bit more, right, And

so it could be your language, right, It could be

some words go like my race, my skin color. I'm

just this person who's gonna listen to this person?

Right.

Whatever your excuse is, it is valid, right, because people

do treat people differently because of their age and their

language and their real you know, their religion and things

like that. But then what would God say to you?

Right? And I believe it's very similar.

The response will be he will say, do not say

do not say that, do not say the excuse. Right,

it's a valid excuse, But don't say that. He just says,

for all to whom I send you, you go follow

my instruction instead, follow my instruction. Instead, your excuse is valid.

But don't listen to your excuse. Listen to my word.

My word says because I formed you even before that,

I already had thought of you before I formed you. Right,

I am your father is trying to say that I

know you more than you know yourself. And you know,

I want to tell you a little secret. When I

was growing up, you know, like like all young people,

we meet a lot of people, and you know, I

meet you know people, then I thought like, could this

be my future wife?

Could this be my future wife? Right? So meeting girls, right,

and so I mean I started to.

Try and get to know you pull that right, who

could be my future wife?

And it didn't end up very well.

You know, every time I tried to get into some

of these relationships. But then I've got fed up. I

got fed up, and then I prayed this one prayer,

I said, God, I don't know how I got to

that prayer. Maybe it was a message one time I

heard and I said, and I said this very bold word.

I said, God, I think I don't know myself. I

think I don't trust myself anymore. And I know you

know me better than I know myself. I pray this prayer.

I know you know me better than I know myself,

and I trust you more than I trust myself. So

next person I'm gonna meet, and probably Mary, you show me.

You show me.

I don't want to look for anyone anymore because I

was I was like like, like look looking like yeah yeah,

yeah yeah yeah, like oh this is not possible, possible

or nice, nice personality or pretty pretty whatever, Right, I'm

thinking all and it's like it never stops because everyone

is pretty. It never stops. So that's why I said,

I can't trust myself anymore. I don't know who I

am anymore, right because I just keep thinking all these

weird thoughts. Right, And so I finally surrendered it to

God and said, you show me that.

I showed me.

I stopped looking around, which was the best thing ever

to do. Stop looking around, because so so much trouble.

It is looking for a job, right, looking for treasure

in a haystack. And so I yeah, and I finally

when I did that, I stopped all that. God showed

me dreams, Tara, Yeah, off one person.

Thank god.

He didn't give me options, all right, he gave me

a dream of one person.

Uh and uh.

I don't want to tell the whole story, this long dream.

But eventually I had three different dreams in separate days.

Okay, and uh showed me Jill and I.

Eventually, you know, I didn't go straight for her. I

felt like, wow, good, it's nice dreams. I went to

pass Kenneth. Of course got books two people, isn't it.

So I went to pass Kenneth and asked him, past,

I've been having his dreams, clean dreams.

About this girl. Can I how? How? And then he

said whoa?

And then in his wister most so because he knows us,

he knows me, he knows Chill, he says, okay, okay, okay,

you're you're already graduated. She is about to graduate, final year,

final year, towards the end, already. Okayra, what did you

ask out for lunch? It's wisdomer. He doesn't say dinner

because dinner is at night. It's dark, and people act

a bit strangely at night. So say lunch because daytime

a lot of people can see you and what you're doing.

And we go to a public place and you know,

so some of this wisdom here. Thank God for leaders.

And so I did that and you know, of course,

you know, long story short is the rest is history, right,

and uh, eventually I did tell doctor Jill about the

dreams and she's like, oh wow, I think she feels

very special. So but sometimes I she will say, so

you didn't choose me, La. So you didn't choose me La, right, Like, yeah,

I guess in a way, in a way, God showed

me you are the one. I mean, I think that's

even better, isn't it? Because God is God maa not

a man choosing you that God chose you for me.

So anyway, I wanted to go into that because God

knows you more than you know yourself. And if you

whatever excuse we have, he will tell you don't say

that anymore. Don't say it anymore because I know you more,

and I'll give you instruction and you can just do it.

Just do that instruction, Okay, go to whom I have

sent you and say whatever I tell you. And you

know what, if I command you speak it. And then

finally he says don't be afraid of them. Don't be

afraid because we're giving excuses because we're afraid this guy's

gonna reject me, this guy's gonna look down on me.

This you know, might not want to listen to me.

All right, but he says, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Okay,

I am with you. I'm with you when you face rejection,

when you face persecution, Jesus is going through it with you.

He is going through it with you. He knows the

pain because he's gone through it. He's gone through the cross,

he's gone, he's got he got slapped and spat on

and ridiculed, right, so he knows the pain that you

go through. So don't be afraid. You're not doing it alone.

Every time you go through any persecution. Remember Jesus, you're

with me. I'm suffering with you.

All right.

We're coming to a close right now. All right, maybe

musicians can come and then we can close. Kids doing Okay,

you've got some notes because there's some reward, right that

you get after taking the notes. Yeah, thanks to the

ex kids. Teachers, they're preparing stuff like that to encourage them.

Don't don't just take notes, to get rewards on Nila. Okay, okay,

if you read on in Jeremiah, you finish up the

you know, the chapter, just that one chapter, you can

see that God doesn't just stop there. He doesn't tell

you just not be afraid and then leaves Jeremiah alone.

He actually tells, you know, he provides, He provides, and

he trains Jeremiah in prophecy. And Jeremiah got to try prophesying.

God ask him what do you see? And he got

to practice seeing. And then God encouraged him say, well,

well done, you've seen right, see, you can do it.

God encourages us. Whatever you've been going through as has

been training training. What you are going through is training,

and God's training you to prepare you to do what

he wants you to do. Yeah, so no more excuse es.

He provides, he will train, and he tells us straight

stop saying that, stop giving the excuse. All right, I

know you more, I know you more than you know yourself.

Can you trust me, right, more than you trust yourself?

Trust and trust your life to me. That's what God

is telling us this morning.

Everyone, We hope.

You've been blessed by this message. For more information on

our church. Please visit as church org. We are also

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is going to be a good week, a hit for you.

God bless