Space Summary
The Twitter Space His Lamp Shines: The Faith Series hosted by d_ocheido. In 'His Lamp Shines: The Faith Series,' participants embark on a profound journey exploring the essence of faith, divine grace, and the transformative power of spirituality. Through engaging discussions, the space illuminates the significance of faith as a guiding light, offering strength, joy, and purpose to believers. Community support, divine grace, and the resilience of faith shine as cornerstones of spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment. This space fosters a deeper understanding of faith's role in navigating life's challenges and embracing a life filled with divine grace and purpose.
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Questions
Q: How can faith be a guiding light in dark times?
A: Faith serves as a beacon of hope and strength, guiding individuals through adversity.
Q: What role does divine grace play in a faith-filled life?
A: Divine grace sustains and uplifts believers, enriching their spiritual journey.
Q: Why is community support essential for those walking in faith?
A: Community provides encouragement, accountability, and solidarity for individuals on their faith journey.
Q: How does faith transform hardships into opportunities for growth?
A: Faith empowers individuals to find meaning and growth through life's challenges.
Q: In what ways does faith bring joy and peace to believers?
A: Faith offers solace, peace, and a sense of purpose to those who believe.
Q: Can faith help individuals find purpose and fulfillment?
A: Yes, faith provides a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment to those who embrace it.
Q: How can one strengthen their faith in times of doubt?
A: Through prayer, reflection, and seeking support, individuals can nurture and strengthen their faith.
Q: Why is the concept of divine grace significant in the faith journey?
A: Divine grace embodies the unconditional love and mercy of the divine, sustaining believers in their faith.
Q: What inspires people to embark on a journey of faith?
A: Various factors such as personal experiences, spiritual yearning, and community influence inspire individuals to pursue a faith-filled life.
Q: How does faith manifest in daily life beyond religious practices?
A: Faith influences attitudes, actions, and interactions, shaping a believer's worldview and relationships.
Highlights
Time: 00:09:15
Embracing Spiritual Enlightenment through Faith Exploring the transformative power of faith in illuminating the spiritual path.
Time: 00:15:32
Divine Grace: Sustaining and Uplifting Believers Delving into the concept of divine grace and its profound impact on the faith journey.
Time: 00:23:47
Community Support and Faith: Walking Together Understanding the role of community in nurturing and sustaining faith.
Time: 00:35:11
Finding Joy and Peace in Faith Discovering the inner peace and joy that faith brings to believers.
Time: 00:42:59
The Transformative Power of Faith in Adversity How faith empowers individuals to face challenges with resilience and hope.
Time: 00:50:25
Purpose and Fulfillment: Nurtured by Faith Exploring how faith provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life.
Time: 00:58:02
Strength in Faith in Times of Doubt Tips and insights on strengthening one's faith amidst doubts and uncertainties.
Time: 01:05:44
Discovering the Beauty of a Faith-Filled Life Appreciating the profound beauty and meaning found in a life guided by faith.
Time: 01:12:18
Inspiration and Influence: Embarking on a Faith Journey Exploring the motivations and inspirations that lead people to embrace a life of faith.
Time: 01:20:37
Living Out Faith Beyond Religious Practices Understanding how faith permeates daily life, shaping beliefs, actions, and relationships.
Key Takeaways
- Embrace spiritual enlightenment through faith and divine grace.
- Allow the Spirit to ignite the wick of your faith, shining for the glory of the divine.
- Find strength in the perseverance and endurance of faith journeys.
- Witness the transformative power of faith in illuminating life's path.
- Experience the joy and peace that comes from a deep connection with divine grace.
- Learn to let your faith burn brightly, illuminating the darkness with hope and love.
- Understand the significance of faith as a guiding light in challenging times.
- Discover how faith can be a source of comfort and inspiration in life's trials.
- Realize the beauty of a faith-filled life, radiating with spiritual fulfillment and purpose.
- Appreciate the community and support that faith can bring in times of need.
Behind the Mic
Introduction and Invitation to Reflect
Hello, everyone. I want to welcome us to our Bible study for today. As you come and as you join in, I just want you to just have a heart and a posture of soberness and a posture of just being quiet in the presence of God. As we begin today, you may be, you know, somewhere, maybe you're on transit or maybe you're at home somewhere, hopefully having a private moment with God. If wherever you are and whatever you're doing, really, you can always just whispy a word of prayer in your heart and just trust God for openness of heart. Trust God for a spirit that is inclined to understand God and understand the ways of God. Today's session will be slightly different because we would have the introduction and, you know, getting to know people towards the end. It was just laid in my heart after the previous Bible study that we should really just start having an atmosphere that is a bit more serene, a bit more inclined towards basking in the presence of God. And. And yes, just having that posture where our hearts are really quiet as we trust the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts, even as we study the word of God.
Preparing Hearts for Prayer
We're just going to give about a minute more for the rest to join us even as we begin. So you can just whisper a word of prayer to God and just let him know that your heart is open. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to share with other believers the word of God. We are starting a new series today. For those of us that were here last week, we know already, and from even the title, we know that we're starting the faith series. And I pray that it's my desire that as we would share together today, God would really do what only him can do and expound himself to us in ways that really only he can. So I would just plead that you just say word of prayer in your heart. If you are in a place where you can pray out loud. Fantastic. Just let the Holy Spirit know that you are open. You are teachable. Empty yourself sometimes of even things you felt you've known before. And even if you know before, there is still room where he can build on.
Seeking God's Transformation
So just whisper a word of prayer to him and say, lord, I'm here. I don't come as somebody that knows everything. I don't come so that I can come and acquire knowledge, so that I can be able to say, oh, I know this. But I have come so that you can teach me, Lord, so you can open my eyes to something that can change the cause of my life and my destiny forever. Lord, I have heard that your word has the ability to transform. I saw that it was through just your words that you made this whole entire universe that I see and that I know and that scientists are still learning about, even till today. And if a couple of sentences that you whisper has the ability to create this much glory, then I know that if you can speak into my life will become glorious.
Examples from Scripture
I know that if you can speak through an area of my life, I know that my life can be transformed by your words. And these are the words that I'm holding on to, not the words of anybody. I love the part of the scripture where those men came and said, sirs, they did not just come to any men, they came to the disciples of Jesus. And these were great apostles that were already going about doing mighty works. And then they told his apostles, they said, sirs, we would see Jesus. And I found that so profound because they were not coming for Peter. And all the great men took my hair just. It's Jesus we have come to see. It's not about anybody. We are just bought instruments in the hands of God and God can speak into your life directly.
Gratitude for Life and the Learning Opportunity
Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for another time. We do not take it for granted the privilege to be alive. We are here now because of all the arrows flying by day and arrows wasting at noonday. You have kept us again. It's been another week. And we bless your name as we've come as your children to be taught of you, to learn at your feet. We don't come Lord, as orators. We don't come Lord, as people that have known it all, we humble our hearts, we have a contrite spirit, we have teachable hearts. If there's any area, Lord, you need us to correct, if there's anything that you need us to adjust, we are ready and we are willing. Give us the grace. Give us the grace. For in Jesus mighty name we have prayed.
Continuing with the Bible Study
Amen. Okay, once again, I want to welcome everybody here today. This is another Bible study. I thank you for joining in. As we all know, we are starting a new series. It's called the Faith series and I did my best to put the chapter of the Bible we'll be looking at so that I hope you were able to look at it and at least go through it and, you know, study the Bible on your own so that as we come we can share and our hearts can be enlightened in Christ together. I wanted to start just with us praying this morning because we can do the other introductions of ourselves, maybe towards the end. But I just wanted us to have an atmosphere where we pray before we begin, because the Bible is not just any book.
Setting the Atmosphere for Reflection
It's not a textbook, it's not a knock on voice study group, you know, study of, like, maybe secular things. We've come to learn of God. I think right from the beginning, we established that the Bible is not like any other book. We established that if the Bible says that in the beginning, the word was with God and the word was God, so if we come to study the word of God, it means that we're coming to study God. And so my prayer is that as we begin this new series, honestly, I don't know how long it's going to last. I don't know how many weeks we're going to be doing the faith series. I got the direction I believe from the Holy Spirit to start this series. And for as long as it would last, I pray that it will be transformative in our lives, in Jesus name.
A Commitment to Deep Study and Reflection
If you've also been here before, you would know that I am not one to say, oh, let's just. This is not the Bible study group where we come to be able to brag at the end of the hour. We need two months. We've done Bible cover to cover. There's a place for that. But we have really come to dig deep, and I like to call it gleaning. Gleaning is when somebody has harvested from a field, but some people still come after, even after you've harvested and they go over the field again and they discover that people are able to pack bags of grains even after a field has been harvested. Because in a bid to want to quickly harvest, people miss out on a lot of things. And I want us to use that approach as we look at the word of God.
Engaging with the Word of God
These are scriptures that for those of us that have been in church, sometimes even all our lives, we are used to it. We've heard it being quoted again and again, but that as we come to study, we are able to look at the word of God in depth, verse by verse, even if it's one verse. It can really transform your life as we share. If you have any suggestion, if you have any way we can better, if you have anything you want to share, we'll be asking questions. You can always request the mic. There's also the comment box there. You can just see it, like at the edge of your screen where you can tap and drop maybe a suggestion or question or something that, you know, really strikes you because somebody may want to come and just read, and especially for those that may be joining later, can just come and see something that we've talked about previously.
Beginning the Faith Series
I pray God will bless us in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, we're looking at, we're starting a new series. It's called the Faith series. I wanted to put in brackets the manifestations of faith. X did not give me enough words to type that in, but I just want to say it out. The faith series, you can put a colon or a semicolon, the manifestations of faith and want to be looking at the. We're going to be looking at a couple of Bible characters from Hebrews eleven. If you've read Hebrews eleven before, you know that certain names were mentioned. And we want to look at, take a closer look at the life of these men and women, even as to why their lives were put in this place.
Learning from Biblical Examples
What about them stood out? And what can we, as present day believers, learn from the faith life? I want you to really pay attention as I was really overwhelmed by the presence of God this morning as I woke up just trusting God for this program and studying the word of God, because I believe that the Holy Spirit will be teaching us things that you probably have not heard before or have not seen in this light. Right? And I just want you to open your heart and just be ready to hear and to listen. And I pray that God will transform our lives this morning in Jesus name. Before we begin, I just want a couple of people to maybe just let us know what faith means to you.
Engaging Participants' Definitions of Faith
Faith as you know the word in any way you want to describe it. You can request the mic, please, if you want to speak. We want to do this quickly. We know that time moves very fast here. We just have a couple of minutes and we'll be done. What is faith to you as a child of God? Right. You can request the mic and I'll give you the platform to come and just express what your definition of faith, whatever definition of faith you have, you've been taught or something, you've known something you've learned. What is faith to you as a child of God?
Continuing Definitions of Faith
Right. Please feel free to request the mic, because I believe that when we have that collective definition of what faith means to us as believers, I know we all attend different denominations here. We've all been brought up differently in our christian life, maybe some more similar than others. Okay, have somebody already. Okay, thank you very much, sir, please, you can just say your name real quick and let us know what faith means to you in a couple seconds. God bless you. Good, everyone. Good morning, sir. Go ahead, we can hear you.
Sharing Personal Understanding of Faith
Faith is trusting God even when you don't understand what he's going to do or his next move concerning your life. To my understanding and scripture also for that said that faith is substance of things. Hope for the evidence of things not yet to be seen. God bless you, sir. Thank you so much for sharing. There's anybody else that has either you want to add something? A personal definition of faith. The Holy Ghost has given your work with God. The floor is still open. You can just request the mic and you'll be given the time to speak to us.
Encouraging Open Discussion
I expected, you know, this would be the definition of faith that a lot of believers will have. Whenever we're talking about faith, this is where our mind goes to. Right? Hebrews eleven. Okay, one more person. Okay, sir, please kindly share with us what faith means to you as a child of God. Hello? Yes, we can. Okay. I just came not long ago, but yeah, faith. To me, faith is based on God's word. Faith is based on God's will.
Clarifying the Essence of Faith
Faith is not based on our own will. So we cannot force God to do what? Something that is not his will. So that's how I see faith. Because I think it's very important that we take notice of what I just said, because, any doctrine can be manipulated. And I've seen a case whereby someone was trying to use faith to get something from God, even though it was quite obvious that this is something that God will not do, because it contradicts God's nature and God's principles. So, yeah, that's all I wanted to say. Thank you.
Acknowledgment and Further Reflections
Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you so much. Is there anybody else that wants to share with us what faith means to you? Something that you've learned from your personal work with God? You know, as to what faith is. Okay, while we wait for you to just think sometimes, you know, you need a couple of seconds to put your words together. While we wait for more people to help us share what faith means to them, I want us to read from hebrews eleven.
Introduction to Hebrews Eleven
And I will be reading from the new King James version. And there's a reason why I want to read from this version this time around, and not just the regular King James. Okay, we have somebody else. Okay, sir, please can you share with us what faith is to you? Very quickly, please unmute your mic and speak. Sir, we can. I think you're connected now, Samson, please if you can hear me, you can unmute your mic and speak.
Defining Faith from Scripture
Okay. Good morning, everybody. Faith to me is. I hope you can hear me. Yes, we can. Please. Okay. Faith to me is acting on the word of God to prove that you believe it so that God can do what he says he's going to do. Faith is not just believing, but acting on the word to prove that you believe. And then you now commit goddess to do what he says he wants to do. Thank you.
Engaging with Different Perspectives
Thank you so much, sir, for sharing. Thank you very much, my ladies. I can't see any lady. Faith is not working for us. What is faith? I think at least we should have a female share with us what faith is to you as a person. Okay. If we read Hebrews chapter eleven from verse one, I'm reading from the new King James Version.
Reading Scripture on Faith
The Bible says now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions of things not seen. It says, for by it the people of old receive their commendation. That's verse two. It says, by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. I want to stop here for a moment.
Exploring Dimensions of Faith
You see, I know that a lot of us, when we talk about faith, one thing that resonated from all the beautiful answers everybody contributing here gave was the dimension of faith that we know and that we are used to, is the dimension of faith that we used to receive things from God. We used to believe in things that are sometimes seemingly impossible. And then we are able to get supernatural blessings and have the promises of God revealed or made possible in our lives. That's a dimension of faith that we know.
Reevaluating Our Understanding of Faith
But I want us to look at a different dimension of faith, which is the faith life of you as a child of God. You see, when we look through this whole verse, when we read this whole chapter to the end, you are going to see different characters and different things that was mentioned about them. And the Bible calls every single one of these things faith.
Faith's Multifaceted Nature
So faith is not just that which you know, that trust. You have that belief that, you know, putting it in very clear terms like, you're trusting God for something, let's say for a job. Let's say they say there are 1000 people that were interviewed for a particular role and they need just ten. Then you are believing that you are not our Lord. I'm not the most qualified this and that, but I believe that I'm your child and such.
Living Your Faith
And you go and pray you trust God. I've not seen it yet. Maybe you already shared testimonies, telling people that maybe it's even in a different country and you're already making plans to travel even without seeing that, you know, letter of employment. Already you are saying, you say, oh, and they ask you, what are you doing? You say, I'm acting in faith. That's beautiful. That's a dimension of faith that a lot of us are very conversant with.
Faith as a Concept
And when we hear faith, we think receiving from God, believing for the impossible, trusting God. That. That which I have not seen, I would receive. Awesome. But I want us to look very carefully at the words. This is why I use this version, because he mentioned some words that I want to trust the Holy Ghost to expand to us this morning. The Bible says, now, faith is what the first thing he says here is, that is the assurance.
Understanding Assurance in Faith
And this is where a lot of christians and believers stop. Assurance, believe, believing, trusting that you have an assurance that, oh, because God said this in his word, I believe he would do it. In my life, I am sick, right? Or somebody else is sick. And I trust God. I have that assurance that by his stripes I am going to be made whole.
Faith and Healing
And then I lay my hands on myself or I get somebody join my faith with somebody else. I trust God for healing. Beautiful. But he goes on to say something else. He says, the conviction. Now this is the definition of faith on so many levels. There is assurance, which is where a lot of us stop. It also talks about conviction. The Bible calls conviction faith. It goes forward to say that for by it, the people of old received a commendation that says, by faith we. There's something that faith also does for us. He said, by faith we understand. I want you to underline these three things. Assurance, conviction, understanding. There is a faith that gives you assurance in God and in his abilities. There is a kind of faith you have that gives you convictions. We are going to explain what convictions mean.
Different Levels of Faith
There's another faith that gives you understanding. The Bible says, for by faith we understand. And these are the different levels of faith that God wants us. That's why I call it the faith life. And the manifestations of faith is that faith has different branches. And you would not be the kind of seasoned and wholly balanced Christian that God wants you to be if these different branches and all these prongs of faith are not being shown in your life as a person. It is why a lot of people have this reception mentality from God. For a lot of people, they show up to God, they show up to church when they want something when they need something. I knew somebody that would, and I'm just saying this to further buttress the point I'm making. I knew somebody that would. I mean, she said she was a Christian and a believer and a Christian.
Conflicting Beliefs and Actions
Let me not go as far as saying believer because I tried to use my words very carefully, but, you know, she had somebody she was in a relationship with at that time. And I knew for a fact that, you know, she would go to his place, go and spend weekends, go and spend weeks, even if obviously, you know, that according to the word of God, that is wrong, you know, but when it came, there was a time she now got a call that something was wrong with somebody that she really loved dearly. And I saw this person, you know, she was like, I know what to do. She just wanted to go into a couple of days fast. She was doing like, I don't know how much 21 days fast for God to turn things around. And even in between those fast, that fasting period, that life of, you know, premarital sex and fornication continued, right? It continued. And this is where you would see a lot of laps in the Christian body and in our faith life is that this person was at the level of faith in God where she. I know, I believe there's a God in heaven that answers prayers.
Assurance and Conviction
She had the assurance that if I pray, God can answer. But there is a faith that brings conviction. Where you read the Bible and you know, that this thing I am doing is wrong. Faith has not manifested in that area. There is that level where you understand that, oh, because of ABC that the Bible says, I can't do efg understanding that was missing. But when we just say faith, people say, I have faith in God, I trust God, I believe. And that faith manifested even in fastings, even in denying. I mean, I knew. I saw when she was doing this thing, she was growing lean. I knew because of the fast and everything, so much assurance in God's abilities to do. But when it came to conviction, zero. When it came to certain understanding, zero. And honestly, for most of us, we found ourselves in this place in our lives.
The Nature of Faith
But if not by the mercy of God, that God's long suffering, that it does not just cast us away. And I mean, some of us have friends here that you say this person only shows up when she wants something. You hear people say that all the time. I'm sure you probably have said that too. Why is it that when this person sends me a message, it's only when they want something? And even as no, human beings. It's very annoying and it's very irritating when we find that people don't really care about us. They would never check on you. They would never celebrate you if something is happening. They would never, you know, just show up in your life at any point in time, unless they needed a favor from you.
Understanding Faith
Then they show up whenever you see their hello. For, in fact, you know that a request is coming. And if we as human beings, can't even bear the fact that people don't care about us beyond what we can give them, how much more God? And this is why I want us to look at the different manifestations of faith. And let's see what God calls faith. Does God call faith? Just this idea of, Lord, I want something. I'm willing to fast for 40 days and 40 nights to get it from you. Or does God have all that? Does God define faith in other ways as well? That maybe we have not just been exposed to, and we've not looked at these verses carefully enough to understand. The Bible says in verse four, it says, by faith, Abel offered.
The Example of Abel
Let's just pause there for a while, because if you always. If you. If the mentality you have about faith is the mentality of receiving the very first person that was mentioned as one of the patriarchs of faith as we would know it in Hebrews eleven, he did not say, by faith, Abel got something from God. Abel was able to pray, and God did. The supernatural. God maybe made his wife have a child after 25 years of barrenness or no. It says, by faith, this was a manifesting. God recognized. Manifesting something God recognized as faith, and God called it faith. But this was not getting something. This was not praying and waiting on God long for something. This was this man even giving, offering. The Bible says, by faith, Abel offered to God and for your life as a child of God.
Offering to God
The first manifestation, if you are here and you are a child of God, there was a time in your life where you took a conscious step of accepting Jesus as your personal lord and savior. That thing you were doing at that time, the Bible calls it faith. That thing you were doing, offering up yourself and say, okay, Lord, I offer myself to you, my appetites, my desires, the things I long for as a person, you know, even my personality. Because some of us were people. You had a certain personality trait, and you saw that personality trait, in light of God's word, it was clashing. Maybe you're a very angry person by nature, and you say, Lord, I'm giving up this personality, this default state that I have this comfort zone of being angry and being boisterous and being selfish.
Transforming Personality and Traits
I'm offering it. I'm laying it at your feet, and I'm taking on your nature that you call good. The Bible says that is faith. The Bible says, by faith, Abel offered to God. Some people live their lives without offering anything to God because they don't think that's faith. You see, some people exactly who they were before they claim they met God is still who they are till today. All their normal traits as a person, they say, that's me. Take it, Olivia. This is who I am. And when you hear people say things like that, you understand that this person has not really understood God, because you know that when you come to God, Bible says that he that is in Christ is a new creature.
Understanding Change through Faith
There is no longer. This is who I am. If the person that you are goes against what God states in his written word, you know that thing has to go. In fact, the Holy Spirit will start opening your eyes. You open your Bible, you are reading in church, they are saying certain things. They're talking about lasciviousness. You're somebody. You come into a place. You are the. Let me use the word clown of the hall. You clown around. You just say things. Before, you know, you start even adding lies. You start doing exaggerations. You start saying jokes that are, you know, sensual. And just because you feel that's what make people happy and excited, you just say it. You just crack those jokes.
The Consequences of Actions
People are laughing. You know, you're promoting sin. You're promoting sensuality. Just keep saying, you ready? Bible says lasciviousness. Have you gone to find out what's lasciviousness? Some people, by nature, this is how they are, you know? And then you don't know that if you have come so close to God, the faith will make you offer that thing up. The Bible says, by faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous God, commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. I was reading it this morning, and I was like, my goodness. There are people we call fathers of faith today, mothers of faith, you know, heroes of faith, as we will call them, and sometimes some of us.
Legacy of Faith
Because if you're here and you've read the books, like maybe God's generals, and you see the things listed about these men and women of God and all the exploits they were able to do, and how even though some of them have died, tens of. Tens of years ago, their lives are still speaking. People still make mention of them in sermons and things. And some of us, because most of the things that were compiled about them are like miracles that they did. Oh, the way this man rose, the dead Smith Wigglesworth would punch a man and man will stand up from the wheelchair and this and that. You know, we read about the catering commands and all the healing revivals and everything that happened.
Understanding the Nature of Faith
And some of us think that some of these people's lives are still speaking even after they've died because of these mighty works they have done. I say, wow, these people had faith. These people had faith. Honestly, the reason why their life still speaks. I mean, we see this literally written here in scripture. The Bible says that it was because of what he offered to God. God commended it and accepted those gifts. The Bible now says that. And so through this faith, through that thing they were doing, not even the miracles that were thinking, miracles are beautiful, they are amazing.
Offering and Acceptance
But through these things that they did, the Bible says that even though they died, they still speak that. The reason why their life. Sometimes I remember back then when, you know, I had one pastor then that really loved, let me use the word to ginger our faith by sharing the lives of some of these great people. He would tell us about, you know, Annie Macpherson, if I get that, if I got that name correctly now, and some of these men and women of God at John G. League and Feeney, the Feeney people and the Wesley brothers and all these people, and you'll just be like, oh my goodness.
Inspiring Faith and Sacrifice
Oh my goodness. You will be so charged. Damn sure be so charged when you hear about what men and women like you that have lived in this world were able to do. The reason why their lives still speaks is because of what they offer to God. And honestly, it is first their life. Some of them had to. If you read the biographies and stories, some of them lost children, they lost spouses, some of those of them that even came all the way to this side, to Africa, some of them were killed by our mosquitoes here. It was not just about the miracles they were doing.
The Essence of True Faith
These people offered their life to God. And I found it so profound that the first illustration God would define faith with had nothing to do with receiving a blessing from God, but everything to do about offering a life to God, offering a baby calls it a sacrifice. Something that actually took something from you as a person to give to God. And Bible God did not say, yeah, no, I see your heart, just keep it. Bible God accepted the gift. Yes, they gave it to God. And God collected. God said, yes, I want it. You offer your life to God, and God is not saying, okay, okay.
God's Acceptance of Offering
I see your heart. I see your intention. Now you can keep your life just going up. Just go about doing the things that you really want to do. I can understand, you know, God will collect the life, first of all, because he even gave it in the first place. And so when you come and you willingly hand it back to him, he's going to collect it and he's going to receive it. The Bible says that faith gave him enough understanding. I told us we're looking at three different strata of faith. Assurance. Beautiful. The one I think a lot of us know, Bible talks about conviction.
The Journey of Faith
The Bible talks about understanding. Not so much is said about the life of Abel, because sadly, he did not. Through the wickedness of man, his brother came. He did not live a very long life for us to witness the kind of exploits that would have been done through the life of this man. But, you know, but I found it so profound as well, how that Abel knew what to offer. Abel was living before the coming of Jesus and before the times where, you know, they started doing all the offerings and sacrificing the lamb and knew that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins.
Insight into Biblical Faith
But the faith that this man had helped him understand that when you want to come and offer to God, because at that time, like we would know now, without the shedding of blood, sin cannot be cleansed. And so that was why when Nebul came, he did not just give God, offer God anything. He offered God, you know, he killed. He killed that lamb as we know it in the New Testament now of Christ being symbolic of that lamb that is slain. That's why we can have salvation now. We can have our sins wiped away.
A Deeper Understanding of Offerings
It means that there is a kind of understanding that you can have about God and what is acceptable to God that does not come through just anything. It comes through a faith that you have in God. Can you now see how wide faith is? And this word that sometimes we just use carelessly is when you see some people say some things carelessly, when you see some people live very shallow lives, they don't have faith. They may have, they may be getting blessings from God and, you know, pray and something happens.
Understanding the Depth of Faith
That doesn't mean that they have this level of faith where you can understand what needs to be done. Another thing I was thinking was, I was thinking, okay, maybe Abel learnt it from his father, Adam, but how about Cain? But there are no two brothers in the house. You would think that if this was something Adam was doing and that's where Abel lent it from, why did Cain bring, you know, his own offerings and brought food? Brought, you know, the things that he got from his farm. That's something to think about.
The Choices of Cain and Abel
So the understanding that Abel had was not just an understanding, was not just because I saw my father do it, I do it as well. This was coming from a deeper place of understanding. There was something he had come to understand that when I stand before God is not interested in the things that Abel Cain offered were good things. They were things he got from the suffering, you know, like from tilling the ground and his harvest. So they were good things. It was not like he brought rubbish and rotten food.
Seeking Acceptance through Offerings
He brought good food. But for some reason, Abel was able to tap into God to understand that before I even come to God is not looking for the things I have suffered. And, you know, some of us would think, I know how much I dropped, you know, I know what if I wanted to use that money to do something else, I know what I would have used that money for. God is not really looking at the bulk of what we bring. First of all, Abel knew that before anything I offer is accepted before God, it must come from a place of a pure heart.
The Importance of Heartfelt Offerings
And for me to have a pure heart, there has to be cleansing of my sin. And for there to be cleansing of my sin, blood has to be shed. And so he didn't just come and do anything anyhow and just sacrifice anything. There had to be blood. And it was that blood, you know, like we know now of obviously, as New Testament believers that would first cleanse his own sins before anything else. You are saying after God is paying attention to you and hearing, but cannot care about all of that. It's like I suffered. I know where I got this from.
The Nature of Sacrifice
You say you want sacrifice, Abi? Oh, yeah, take. And God is saying, do you think I want, am I going to eat your food? This is not acceptable. Before me, you are still a man that is ridden by so much sins, and I can see the state of your heart. The Bible says that faith gave him enough understanding to know this. Another thing I mentioned was conviction. The Bible says, if you go back to that verse, one, the Bible says now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions of things not seen. Conviction. What I define faith here, I define faith as the entire set of truths and revelation. Please pay attention to this.
Understanding Faith
If you want to jot this down, you can the entire set of truth and revelation based on the infallible word of God and the person of God that you live by. And that makes up your belief and your value system. This is what faith is in its entirety, or at least the branch of faith that we're looking at, the entire set of their sets of truths and revelations. And it's not just based on anything. It's based on the infallible word of God and the passing of God that you live your life by. And this was what makes up your belief and your value system. A lot of people live their lives today without there's no value system, there's no belief system.
The Absence of Values
There's really nothing. There's no set of principles that you live by. People think that's what freedom in Christ. And they say, I don't like it when you talk about this. People talk about legislative, you know, what's this called? No legalism. Pardon me? If you like, if you talk about system of beliefs, you're talking is legalistic. Oh, now you're bringing rules. We're no longer bound by any rules or laws. We are free, we are liberty in Christ to express. I don't even understand what people say when they mean by that. Because if you read your Bible very well, you will discover that there is a way that a child of God should walk fiercely guarded and bounded by the truth that is in God.
Boundaries in Faith
We don't have much freedom outside. We don't even have any freedom outside of God's boundaries. God has serious boundaries from Old Testament to New Testament. There are boundaries you couldn't cross. You cross them, you see the other side of God. You could be a man that has seen God almost face to face like Moses. And you cross that boundary and he says, and you're not entering that land. It's not, God is no respecter of persons. And so we're looking at, I'm going to ask you, but when they say, sometimes, I don't know why people, they ask this question, they say, what is your faith? Like?
Defining Faith
You see it in secular forms, you have to faith. Some say, I'm of the Muslim faith, I'm of the Christian faith. That word faith, that faith, you know, that faith there, that's the faith we're looking at. And what the person means that I'm of the Christian faith is, let's say the one that concerns us. What somebody means by that is they are saying that I am of a set of belief and value system that is guarded by what the Christians call and guided by you know, the holy book, which is the Bible, you know, that is what they mean. That is what they mean. The next thing I want to look at is conviction.
The Role of Conviction
Conviction is a deep persuasion that guides your actions, the things you do and you do not do. And the Bible calls that faith, that as a child of God, there is this kind of conviction. Paul the apostle calls it. Persuasion is a deep seated, let me still use the word. Belief is something that guides your life on a very deep level, that there are certain things you would do and you would not do because of a certain conviction or persuasion that you have. And what brings conviction? It's understanding.
Understanding Influencing Conviction
So you see how interconnected these things are. You cannot be. Let's go. If you go back to Abel and see what Abel did when Abel offered, you know, the sacrifice, that's why I told you that if we wanted to say that Abel was just copying what Adam did, then, I mean, why did Cain not do that? Because I'm sure they grew up in the same house. If they saw their father doing a certain thing, this goes to tell you that conviction is not always, I saw my father do, I saw my mother do, and so I do. This is what this sister or that brother or that pastor is saying, and that's what I do. Conviction has to be personal.
Personal Conviction
Conviction has to come from a deep place of an understanding that you as a person have. Now, it's okay to start up as, especially when we are children, you know, let me just use this very, when a child is born, a child is most likely to do the things that the child sees those around them do. That's. That's good, that's normal. You know, there's a kind of food that the child grow up eating, right? Because that's what they would even put in your mouth from. When you are like a baby and you have that acquired taste, you grow up to do that.
Transition from Imitation to Understanding
But I'm sure that the reason why you are eating now is not just because mommy or daddy put food in your mouth. I believe I'm talking to adults now. There's an understanding of food. That's why sometimes you would even start living your life differently. Maybe your mom used to cook with a lot of oil, but now you know that. So this thing may not be super healthy. Even though I will still cook the same food, I will reduce my own oil. Why? There's an understanding you have now. There was a time in my life where I literally had to change my entire diet, you know, because I got too big.
Dietary Changes and Understandings
I was trying to lose the weight. And I was even eating separately from every other person in my house. I was cooking my food differently because there was an understanding that I had that, oh, because I wanted to do this. This is the road that will lead me to the result where I want to go. And that understanding that I had gave me a different conviction of what I needed to put in my mouth as food. And so your faith life as a child of God goes beyond just what you copied somebody you saw somebody else do. Now, it's beautiful to imitate. Let me use that word or copy something good, but please don't just do it because somebody else is doing it.
Understanding the Reasons Behind Actions
Understand why you are also doing it as well. If you are going to live your life a certain way, if there are going to be values or principles that would lead your life, let it be done. Because there's something God has taught you as a person. That is the faith life. That in your work with God and your partnership with the Holy Spirit, there are certain revelations he has given you about certain things. That is why you will not talk the way you used to talk anymore. That is why you would change the way that you behave.
Transformations in Beliefs and Practices
That is why you would dress a certain way. That's why there are things you will not put in your mouth. That is why there are songs you will not listen to. It's not because you went to church and they say, I don't listen to so and song anymore. You, what has God told you about that particular song or that particular artist? What have you known for yourself so that even if you mistakenly, you know, you are not paying attention and nothing wants to enter it. no conviction. Persuasion.
Understanding the Role of Conviction
I was meditating on this and the Bible. The, the Holy Spirit was making me understand that this is what made Paul be thrown in jail and beaten. They did all sorts of things to that man. There was one that even they left him for dead when they thought they had. He had died. He stood up and continued what he was doing. You don't just go and start risking your life for anything based on nothing. Paul knew. Paul, being Saul then knew when that light appeared to him and heard that voice saying, 'Saul, why do you kick against the pricks?'
Paul's Transformation and Convictions
He knew what happened to him. There was an encounter he had in his life. And so even if he wanted to kill him, he could not deny what he had seen or what he knew about God. He had been part of the gang that was killing Christians before. And he saw people like Stephen die with smiles on their face. That man knew something and so when they are throwing him in jail and you are doing this, you are flogging him, men are binding themselves and say, I will not eat or drink until we kill this man.
Faith in Action
He will just be looking at you. Because there is an understanding that he has, and it has given him a kind of conviction that even when it was not favorable, he was still there. What do you think makes three Hebrew children gallantly want to enter fire? You know, sometimes we just say this story. I don't know if you really sit down to picture it now. Like, these are not just fables, you know? Picture it now that I know how sometimes you're frying fish and, you know, one hot oil splashes on hand and you have a small blister, you know how painful it is?
The Conviction of the Hebrews
Picture fire and somebody saying that, hey, listen, I will throw you in this fire. And something is making a man stand and say they haven't seen something like, see, God can save us, or God may not even save us, but we're not going to bow. That's, that's the conviction that comes. It doesn't come because your mother told you to go to church. It comes because there is something you know about God. And this is the level that I believe that the Holy Spirit wants to take us to as we live our lives and as we want to live this life of faith.
The Value of Personal Faith
God wants to take you to a place where you don't just live your life because of somebody else's. It's beautiful for people to share their revelation and their knowledge about God with you. But another thing that we try to push here and foster is that personal one-on-one relationship, that knowledge about God that you know for yourself, that one nobody can take away from you. Nobody can take it away from you because you know that you know, and God calls it faith. When you see people today argue about certain things, I want us to read Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse 29.
The Foundation of Knowledge
And this is where we're actually going to end today. Ecclesiastes chapter seven. When you hear people argue about certain things, I mean, sometimes I have a lot to say, sometimes when I see a lot of banter on social media, especially on this, our beautiful XP's. And you hear people say things and believers come to see for, against certain points, the reason why sometimes it's very. It's weakening to see because I won't feel like, I feel like the thing I want to say or the things I have to say cannot really, there's not enough.
Challenges of Communication
I don't have the energy to type it all out, honestly. That's why sometimes I just keep going. I say, well, God, just help your church. Because there is like, it's almost like, where do we start from? They are found. You can just know that there are foundational things about God that people don't know. That's why you are saying the things that you're saying. And here people argue about tithe. Oh, should we pay tithe? Should we not pay tithe?
Foundational Understanding
You just understand that this one does not really know God yet. And people now start talking about you pointing to certain verses, or show me in the Bible where it says this. And that's why I want to show you something in Ecclesiastes, chapter seven from verse 29, the version. I want to use the King James version for this one, because of one word that the King James version uses. He says, see to this that I have found that God made man upright, you see?
Seeking After Inventions
But they have sought after many inventions. When there's a time in my life, and I think this even happened for me as a young, much younger person and a much younger Christian, I think maybe even my teenage years, when I saw this, it settled a lot of things that would come up. I didn't have the questions that would come up. This verse just silenced and answers it. Because when people are looking for specific things now, like a new invention that was made today, let's say iPhone 16, that is out now, for example, just using that as something a lot of us can relate to.
Conflicts with Modern Beliefs
And someone is now saying, show me the Bible where the Bible says I should not use iPhone. Let's say we now somehow we now say that, oh, I feel like iPhone 16 is a bad thing and it's not really healthy for believers. Somebody will now come and say me where the Bible says Eiffel system is bad. And it's like when the Bible was written, the, you know, the text we have now was not even out yet. But even in the wisdom of God, through this man, God has made us to know that they will seek after many inventions.
Implications of New Inventions
There are things that are still going to come. They've not even made. There are new inventions that is going to be churned out day and night. So we're not going, if we're not going to live our life by saying, oh, because I don't see this exact word written in scripture, it means that I'm permitted. You can just tell that it's a desire in your own heart. You have not yet been dealt with by God. You just want to fulfill that loss where you want something and you are looking for an excuse to have that thing expressed in your life.
The Role of Personal Inquiry
So, because you can't see a place where it says, oh, don't use iPhone 16, you now say, okay, it's not sinful. So what's the point of the Holy Ghost that we have now and the culmination of the principles of scripture that I approach everything now, not just by, oh, did they write it somewhere? Did they not write it here? What is the will of God for me? The blood of God that says, all that you do all to the glory of God?
Evaluating the Intent
Can I. Is there any, can I use, can this thing bring forth the glory of God? Will this thing glorify God or will it glorify the devil? Where did this thing even come from? What was the intent? Why was this thing made? Was it made to foster light or to foster darkness? If I partner with this thing and I make this thing more known, who will glory go to at the end of the day? Does it pose a threat to my spiritual life?
Assessing Spiritual Impact
Will I become a better Christian by account of doing this or not doing it? Do you now see the logic that someone that has understanding of the knowledge of the ways of God and the principles that are in the scripture would use to judge things now and weigh the things that they do and the things that they don't do, and not just by going for or show me in the Bible where it is written. I pray that God gives us understanding. And someone is asking, so why are we looking at, what's this?
The Purpose of Faith
What's the summary of all of this? What does God want to teach us? Is that, like I said, faith has many branches. The faith life, what you call your Christian faith, the thing that you are holding on to, the thing that even in the highs and in the lows, I love how the Bible balances hard, beautiful and good times. I love how that you would see God walking with a man, and that did not exempt the man from battles of life.
Navigating Life's Challenges
To show you that we're not just in God because of the good things we're coming to seek God for. That's why those Hebrew children could say, see, there's something. They knew that, listen, whether God saves us, whether God does not save us, there's an undead understanding they had that God is good. God is not just good because God does good for you. God is good by default. That's his nature.
Faith Beyond Circumstances
And so if I believe it, whether even if something bad is happening to me now, that doesn't mean I will now start saying, God. But if you're a good God, why is even when the devil knows, he cannot even show up to tell you that rubbish. The devil comes and say, yeah, if God loves you, why is this happening to you? Right, lies of the devil. And he can only tell that to people who are not reading their Bible, who don't know God, who don't have an understanding of God, whose faith is only the one of assurance.
Building a Robust Faith
If that assurance thing doesn't happen, they throw in the toilet and they say, you know what? This is not for me. God wants us to be balanced Christians. God wants us to be people with conviction, people that have depth, people that have an understanding of his ways. The Bible says there's something called the ways of God. God has a certain way. And it's not just maybe someone is sharing me now and you're thinking, this is a lot.
The Journey of Knowing God's Ways
Where do we even start from? So how do I start knowing his ways? No, calm down. Relax. That's why it's called the walk with God. And you know from, for a fact that if I'm, even if I'm just supposed to walk from my room to the door, I'm going to take steps.
Taking Steps in Spiritual Life
You will not just fly over and teleport. You put 1ft in front of the other and that's how you make progress. That is how it is with your spiritual life. 1ft in front of the other. The Holy Spirit being your able teacher, day by day. There are things I know today. I did not know them yesterday. There are things I know about God now. I did not know them 510 years ago. And can I even tell you something else? Sometimes you would learn these things by some of the things you would go through.
Learning through Experiences
There's something that will happen to me now that I would honestly sleep. Yes, I can sleep. I would pray about it. Let's something happen. I would pray about it. Keep. Drop this. I will eat food and I will lie down. I will sleep. Why? Because I've gone through something else where I could not sleep before and I learned something about God and I'll be able to sleep. And that did not happen because I went to church and somebody told me, oh, God, I went through a very painful thing that made me know that, listen, there is a God that answers prayers.
Understanding God through Life Challenges
That's how it is. There's something that you will learn about God that will come because of something you went through. I tell people I can preach forgiveness to you in a way that I. It's not because I saw it in Bible say, forgive those that I, the Holy Spirit, thought something happened. I was struggling to forgive somebody. I had to learn it. I saw what was coming out of my heart. I had to go and meet God. I said, God, see me. Why is it so hard? Teach me your ways. And so when I tell you about forgiveness is. I have battled between forgiveness and unforgiveness.
The Daily Work with God
The things you know about God is through his daily work with you. And that's what we are promoting here, the work with God. We've looked at Abel today. As we progress in this faith series, we're going to be picking other people. What does God call faith? How can my life as a person. The Bible says all things that were written at four times were written for our learning that the man of God may be truly furnished. God wants to furnish you.
God's Desire to Furnish Lives
When you enter an apartment, and they say this apartment is fully furnished, what do they mean? They mean that everything that you need, you know, to live comfortably is in that apartment. There's a living room. There'll be a fully furnished kitchen that would have everything you need to cook. There will be a restroom where if that's what you needed, that's what you did. There'll be a bedroom. There's a place to sleep. It's furnished. That's what God wants to make out of your life. He wants to make you a furnished believer that when I come to you, God has so done so many things in your life that you are a well of inspiration.
Sharing the Wealth of Experience
When people need comfort, you can minister comfort to them. When people need deliverance, all you need to do is tap on that dimension that God has deposited in you and you cast out that devil. When people need, you know, the teachings of the principles of the kingdom. God, over time, has been teaching you, and out of the wealth that he has deposited in you're able to share that as well. People are looking at you there. It's like you are wow. It's not wow anything. It's God working in you and furnishing you one day at a time.
Faith as a Living Principle
And so my belief and my trust in God, that he wants us to go through the faith series, is that at the end of this series, we're going to all these people that we're looking at in Hebrews eleven. We've looked at Abel now we've seen that faith does not even just start by, oh, I got something. I believe it. I need to see me. I prayed and fasted. I woke up in the night. I did. This Bible says, by faith Abel offered, if that's all you can take away from this today, is that when you offer, whether it's your life, whether it's your resources, whether it's your time, anything you offer to God, especially the one that comes from a place of sacrifice as a result of understanding, like Abel had, that you understood.
Understanding the Depths of Faith
I don't even know how this man living before the New Testament was able to tap into God as such depth. And he understood what the Bible that we quote now, knowing that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins, that man understood it. When we look at Abel, we're going to look at Enoch, we're going to look at Abraham, we're going to look at Sarah, take all these people, one after the other, and see all the things that were showing up in their life, all of them. God calls it faith.
Faith Beyond Immediate Results
Whether it was a man trusting God for something, whether it was a man offering. Let me even tell you, as we. That some people even died. Yes, trusting and hoping in God, didn't even see the promise. God still calls that in faith. And that's what God wants us, that our life, the way we live our life, is the belief system, the value system that you have. If I ask you today, what's your value system? What are your boundaries? What are the things that you would not do, you would not see, no, I can't do that anymore.
The Impact of Personal Convictions
I can't see that anymore. Because of a knowledge about God that I have, there are places I would not go. People may look at you and say, this one, you are just, you know, I didn't understand. Some of you are too rigid. It's not, they don't understand the ways of God yet. They don't understand the ways of God yet. It is my hope and my desire that God furnishes this kind of faith in us. But as we go through this series, as we pick all these characters one after the other, at the end of the day, we go back.
A Call to Reflect on Our Faith
We're not just here to come and just look at things and just talk and go. I'll start looking at my life and say, lord, am I. Am I fulfilling the dimension of faith that comes from a place of offerings? What am I offering to God? What am I giving up? What is what? What have I known about God that is making me do a certain thing? My husband was telling me something recently that he does as a person.
Understanding God's Guidance
And he was giving me one, two, three instances of the reason why he knows that this is the. What God wants him to keep doing. Because of ABC that has been happening. He knows that this is what God wants him to do as he regards giving something and he does it so effortlessly. You don't even need to push him to do it. Why? Because he did not come. Because somebody said, oh, give this, give that, don't give this.
The Importance of Personal Revelation
There's something that happened to him that he knew that, oh, this is what God wants me to do. And based on that understanding, that's another thing I'm praying for God to give us this morning is understanding the knowledge. Not just having that knowledge, but an understanding of something that God will tell you for you. There's so much for us to say. Our time is already gone. We should be praying now.
The Holy Spirit as a Personal Guide
When I trust the Holy Spirit, that he's able to translate the things that I'm saying that will apply to you as an individual differently. That the way I'm explaining, I may not be the best speaker, but that the Holy Spirit can take it and make it make sense in your heart far beyond anything I'm saying. Point out specific areas in your life that he's been pointing to and say, hey, I've been telling you to address.
Active Listening to the Holy Spirit
This is what I mean by ABC. I don't know if it happens to you, but sometimes I'll be in church, the preacher is saying something. What the Holy Spirit is telling me is entirely different. And sometimes you see a person break down and they are crying. And the preacher you may think is because of that word I say, no, God has already taken over and is telling the person something entirely different.
Growing Through Personal Convictions
That's why I love the Holy Spirit. He's beautiful like that. He can speak to your heart better than I can. He can translate the words better than anybody preacher, any orator can. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will be revealed to you, that he starts deepening your understanding of him. He starts deepening your convictions that you're not just a shallow believer anymore.
A Deepening Relationship with God
You're not the kind of believer that is tossed around by every wind of doctrine, that you know God from a personally deep place of encounter. I'll say this lastly and then pray. You see, I grew up very conservative. I still believe I'm a conservative Christian, but I was a definition of doing certain things because I saw them or because I heard them being preached in certain ways.
Seeking Personal Understanding of Faith
But I knew times that came in my life where I had to know God for myself, not just because of daddy or mommy or pastor or no pastor. I had to ask questions. I had to carry this Bible and open it by myself. And say, why am I doing this thing I'm doing? And funny enough was because people started asking me questions and I needed answer.
Principles Over Rules
I'll not just tell you because they said we should do like that in my church. Why am I. It would be very. It's. It's. I don't want you to word foolish, but I don't think it would be wise to say that, oh, I'm doing this because they said I should do it. Who are the. I had to come to a point in my life where I had to start knowing this God for myself.
Living with Godly Principles
If I say, this is the way I want to live my life. Why? Because one day, even if I will not preach to anybody, at least my child, at least the person, I will have to tell my children as, yeah, do this. And then they will say, mommy and I thank God for the father I had. I was not giving God. I know I'm saying giving God. I was not giving rules and regulations.
The Value of Principles in Life
I was giving principles so that it did not matter where I went to university, go, travel anywhere, come back. The principle is the principle. The principle of God that, you know. I pray God will help us. The next one we're going to be looking at. We're going to be looking at. Just give me a moment there.
Looking Ahead towards Faith Exploration
I'll just look at this. We're going to be looking at Enoch. We're going to be looking at Noah. We're going to be looking at those two people in the next one. You can just take our time to read about them. Go to the. Back to the Old Testament and read about the stories of this life, of this man.
Understanding God's Definition of Faith
Let's see what God calls faith, and let's see how God is going to furnish our lives and make us that this faith, this Christian faith. We say, oh, that thing we're always feeling in the forms. What are you? I'm a Christian. What does it really mean to say that I am of the Christian faith?
Closing Prayer and Gratitude
Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for your word that has come. We thank you for how you have opened your heart to us, Holy Spirit. We're praying and asking, Lord, that you furnish our hearts with the knowledge of you. Like the Berean Christians help us to go back and search out these eternal truths for ourselves.
Seeking Personal Growth in Understanding
Help us to understand that there is a way that I can just go to a restaurant and somebody gives me food to eat, but me, myself, do I know how to cook it? Can I go to the kitchen with boldness and know that I'm supposed to put a, B and C together and I will get this result. Help us to be result-oriented Christians, not just waiting to be served by others, because a time may come where that person may not, maybe sick and not know and not be able to cook.
Taking Responsibility for Spiritual Growth
Food may not be available. But if I know how to cook it myself, I can go and do it by myself. That is the level one to come into you in Christ. We were not just waiting to be fed by our preachers and by ministers and by all these people, but we seek for ourselves. We can go back, look at your word and understand it for ourselves and hear your spirit breathe on us because we know that's what you have come to do to establish personal relationships with us, furnish our lives.
Filling Our Spiritual Homes
Lord Jesus, help us. Help us that the spiritual life that is the house you have given us would not be empty. Let us not have empty spiritual houses, Lord. Let our houses be fully furnished. In the mighty name of Jesus. As we have ended this weekend about to step into another week, Holy Spirit, walk with us. Help us not to walk alone.
Seeking Divine Support
We can't do it by ourselves. We accept that in ourselves we are frail and we don't have the ability, like your disciples said. He said we don't even know how to. We don't know what to pray. We don't know how to pray as we ought. But you that know our frame help our infirmities and lead us in the way everlasting.
Guiding Light Amidst Darkness
And let your light continually shine on our path. I pray for my brothers and my sisters wherever they are going through things that they don't understand. Whatever their secret desire and their secret thoughts are, whatever is making them cry, whatever is making them look and feel as if they are alone in the world. Holy Spirit, please show up for them.
God's Faithfulness
Meet them at the point of their need. Do what only you can do in their life and give them a course to see. But God is good and God is faithful. Since I was younger, now I'm old, I have never seen the righteous forsaken. Lord, don't forsake your people. Thank you, because we know you've heard and answered. For in Jesus' mighty name we pray.
Welcoming and Encouraging Community
Thank you so much, everyone. I want to welcome us for coming here again. There is hardly even any time for us to do any introductions, but always know that you can mingle with people that you meet on here. You can follow each other. You can, you know, have meaningful conversations and discussions with people.
Continuing the Faith Series
We have started the faith series by not this weekend, not this coming weekend, but the next one. We'll be looking at the second part of the series. You can look at Hebrews eleven. You can read the whole chapter, even ahead, and just take your time to digest more and more of the word of God. This meeting is always recorded, so you can re-listen, you can reshare, you can repost.
Concluding Thoughts and Blessings
Right? God bless you, and I hope to see you sometime soon.
