vinecast

The Bible calls us sheep because we are ruminating, cud-chewing animals. That means you eat here, but you need to keep eating later on. Amen, everybody.

Now, you need to keep meditating on the word of God. So I don't want you to just come here, you know, receive a word, some sort of religious lecture, and you go home, put this in a drawer of your memory, and forget about it. You have to meditate.

And I believe the Lord today will feed you with fresh nourishment and food. I am literally taking this word fresh from the oven for you, and you are not going to leave this place the same way you came in.

Amen. Close your eyes, bow our heads. Let's pray for the Lord to open the eyes of our hearts.

Father, I pray that you speak to your children in a personal way that only you can do. Answer their individual needs, God, and their concerns, cares, and worries.

Lord, speak to us. We bring our minds captive to your obedience, Jesus. We surrender our hearts as we sang today. Speak to us, Lord, breathe your spirit over us again to remind us of your promises, so we can leave this place confident in your promises. We pray in Jesus' name. Everybody said, amen! Are you guys ready for the word of God, everybody?

Amen. Ask somebody close to you, "Are you ready for the word of God?" Pastor Simon shared with me a story about his daughter, Jessica Jasmine, studying at Oral Roberts. She was with us here for a couple of months. She was coming back from the grocery store when suddenly a stranger's car made a U-turn and came in her direction. She was using her AirPods, and a lady inside the car shouted, "Come in! Come to my car! Right now! Come, come, come!"

And she was super scared. She said, "What do you mean? I don't know you." The lady said, "Come right now to my car." Then she noticed there was a Bible on the top of the dashboard of the car. And she just trusted, thinking, "Because there is a Bible, I can get into that car."

Now, you can imagine a father listening to this story, how he became so anxious just hearing it. I myself here, got, you know, breathless just now.

And then the lady drove Jessica to her door, and finally, Jessica asked, "But why were you in such a rush to put me in your car?" And she said, "I saw you walking distracted back to your door, but there was a man, probably with either a gun or a knife, right behind you. And he was up to do something very evil against you. So I rushed to pick you up in the car." She added, "My husband works here in the security system of this college, and I'm going to call him right now to take care of your safety."

And then Pastor Simon looked at me and said, "Pastor, my friend, I know that the Lord protects my children." And that consciousness of the walls of grace around us is what allows us to have confidence to dare, to believe bigger and greater. It is when we are reminded that we have God as our shield. El Elyon fights our battles. When we are conscious of that, when we are firmly grounded in this truth, you go back to your ministry with confidence. Despite your weaknesses and failures, you can give yourself a chance again because the Lord is a wall of fire all around you.

In 1937, before World War II, in San Francisco, a man-made wonder of the world was being built: the Golden Gate Bridge. The challenge was to cover a 4,200-foot span. And the project budget surpassed $27 million in the first half. Now, $27 million is nothing now, but back then it was more than a fortune.

The reason why the work was so expensive and slow is because nobody wanted to work on that bridge. It was known that more than 23 men had fallen into the cold bay waters and lost their lives, until the engineers understood they had to stop the construction and build a safety net. It cost a lot—at the time, $100,000. But that cost was quickly surpassed because the workers were now 25% more effective. And they saved money for the builders, because now, nobody was worried about losing their lives. The knowledge that they were safe gave them the sense of security they needed to finish the job.

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." The Lord has a ministry, a calling, a purpose, a divine assignment over your life. Say a good amen!

But you are afraid. "I may not be able to sustain myself. I may slip and fall. I don't think I can. I don't think I should get involved with this." But the Lord has prepared beforehand all the resources we need so we can walk in them. God desires us to live a life of purpose. But while we are in sheer terror of God, with the feeling that at any time he is ready to strike us down because of our mistakes—because we fail to keep our motivations pure—now our relationship with God is fear-based. Not the reverent fear of God; it is dread, it is concern, it is terror.

So that's why today I want to start first by dealing with your eternal security. If we are talking about security and safety in the walls of grace, first I need to speak over your eternal security. Serving out of fear hampers our best efforts and robs us of joy. True service springs from a grateful, loving heart, knowing that we are always under God's protection. Like that safety net I just mentioned.

But if you die today, do you know where you would spend your eternity? Or would you agree with those who say, "I don't think we ever know where we spend eternity until we actually die"? Well, I believe you can know where you will be in eternity.

Let me speak about four types of people that exist everywhere. (I put a slide up there, Skyler.) An old proverb says: He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple; teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; awaken him. But there are the ones who know, and know that they know, and they are wise; follow them.

All of us fall into one of these four categories. Some don't know and don't know that they don't know. Therefore, they are lost. They are separated from God. The message for those people is in Romans chapter 3, verse 10: "None is righteous, no, not one," or Romans chapter 3, verse 18: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." They cannot see. Or Romans 3, verses 22 and 23: "The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All men without Christ stand sinful before God, condemned, separated to an eternity without his presence.

Some, however, don't know, and know they don't know. The message for these people is 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." It is a matter of just explaining, because they are in the search, they are seeking. Or we can also read part of Romans chapter 3: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." It's a matter of showing the message.

But the most tragic category includes those who know, but don't know that they know. They are believers who are saved, and whose destiny is certain, but who do not know they are saved and are not sure of their eternal security. And the consequence of that is that they keep hiding themselves in the corners of the church building like bugs, trying to run away from the pastor. As soon as the service ends, they run away, because they know the pastor will always come with a challenge: "It is time for you to stand as a disciple-maker. God is calling you as a minister. There is an opportunity, a calling upon your life." And they say, "No, me, pastor? Not me. Poor me." Because they don't even know where they're going to be in eternity.

No one has more peace and rest in this life than the person who knows God the Father through God the Son, and knows that he knows him. This isn't about being presumptuous or overly confident. It's about the truth.

You know, the Lord is moving in our church in such a beautiful way. Mainly through this—like the most, for me, distinctive way is this Holy Spirit-led move over adopting kids, fostering kids in our church. Such a beautiful move of God. No one can convince a young family to bring this stranger child into their home to literally disrupt their schedule so hard. But now the Holy Spirit is moving and bringing these children from all the places in Southwest Florida to be fostered and adopted among us.

And one element is so clear: some of them come to us in such a fearful place of insecurity. Some of them, in the beginning, don't stop crying. They are afraid to give their little arms to anyone who tries to approach them. But in very few days, suddenly, their little faces change from crying to a continuous smile. You can see that once they really understand they are adopted, and without any deserving it, they feel secure. And now they can rest, they finally can rest and enjoy peace.

When a parent adopts a child, no matter how many rules the kid breaks, they are still part of the family. That permanent relationship can never be undone. However, bad choices may ruin the closeness and the perception of the closeness. The kid might face discipline or lose some of their privileges, but they never lose their identity. They are forever adopted.

John chapter 1, verse 12: "But to all who did receive him..." Raise your hand and say, "I have received him." "...to all who did receive him, who believed in his name..." Say, "I believe in his name." Come on, church, say, "I believe in his name." God gave the right to you to become a child of God. And you are not born out of the desire of any man, nor of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but you were born of God.

Your eternal security depends on God's unconditional love, not on you being perfect. And if you make a mistake, you do not lose your spot in heaven. That is why the element of confessing your sins is not a matter of obtaining greater forgiveness. You are already completely forgiven. Say a good amen!

"But Pastor, where does confession come into place then?" It is just a matter of repairing our conscience and our fellowship with God, not that we lost our position and our identity as children.

Years ago, a man walked into my office and told me that he was leaving our church. He said that he was looking for a place that preached more heavily on repentance. He wanted his family to hear more about judgment and hell. In his mind, the only way to live a truly committed, godly life was to be constantly reminded of his sins and failures. What they misunderstood is that the fear of the Lord, the reverent fear of the Lord, is not terror of God. It is not being in a state of being terrified of God. But for that family, that was their misunderstanding.

So they left to join a legalistic church. And because they were one of our leaders, I had to rearrange the life group, and I had to fill the gap. So I put a leader in training in his place. I raised the leader in training to be the new leader. And over the years, these two families contrasted right before my eyes: two ways of living out their faith. The new leader stepped into their role grounded in the freedom and security of God's grace, knowing there were the walls of grace that were safeguarding his godly life. And because of this, this new leader grew his ministry out of gratitude and relationship with God; they flourished. Today, I follow this young leader—now not under my ministry, and he's still in the Vine, but in another vine—and he became a discipler, an overseer over at least 15 other life groups.

Meanwhile, the family that left seeking a heavier hand found exactly what they were looking for, but it did not produce the fruit they expected. From what I know, that family is still wandering, trying to find their place and purpose in ministry. They became quick to condemn others. Which you all know, is the psychological problem of projection: whatever you condemn in others is usually the very thing you struggle with the most. Those who are fast to judge others usually live a secret life in the very areas where they are condemning others. And because they continue believing that living under that cloud of condemnation would do anything, the result is that now they are barren and unfruitful.

God doesn't want us to walk on eggshells, terrified that one slip-up will get us kicked out of his family. When you know you are completely safe and loved, you don't do good things out of fear; you do them out of freedom, out of joy, gratitude, and real love. That's what we need. That's the standard we want to have in every ministry developed in this house. That's why you all need complete certainty of your eternal destination.

Let me press on more on the second layer of security: Job chapter 1. I want to talk about a hedge around your life. A hedge of protection around your life.

The book of Job is right before the Psalms, because under the rabbinical tradition, Job is considered a poetic book as much as Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Proverbs. It's part of this collection of books. And if you can see, the whole book is a huge poem. Most of the words there are written in stanzas. Because of that, the book of Job was never intended to be doctrinal. Listen carefully. The book of Job was never intended to be instructive in terms of doctrine. You should not take doctrine of our belief system from Job.

However, in this beautiful poem, this long parable, we find this scene where Satan comes and challenges God in his relationship with Job. And in that conversation, chapter 1, verse 9, we read this: "Then Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for no reason?'" Verse 10: "'Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?'" The question of Satan is, it's evident to him from the heavenly perspective that Job has this shield around him, this protection that he cannot ever cross over his life, over his assets, over his family. There is nothing he can do. Look at it more: "...You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land."

Now, then we read the rest of the story, and you wonder, "Okay, so God took away the protection, and now Satan had the permission to intervene in Job," just for us to find in the very final chapter that Job got what Abraham learned: that God himself was his shield. God, El Elyon, was his shield.

Let's speak more about this later on, because Psalm 3, verse 3 says, "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me." Come on, somebody. "You are my glory, the lifter of my head." Whoever came today downcast, depressed, and wondering what they are going to do tomorrow, today the Lord is lifting your head! He is your shield. Verse 4 says, "I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill." Say a good amen, everybody.

So the hedge here means this protection. Now, I don't know if you noticed—put the image of the message today, just the big wall. I know it's hard to notice, but when I called this message "The Walls of Grace," you see the wall, but maybe you didn't notice I placed a little tiny AI lady underneath the tree. And maybe you're wondering, "This wall is protecting from this side." No, no, no. This is the inside of the wall. This is where you are. You are on the inside protected area. And that's why you can rest. And that is you surrounded by this hedge of protection as the Lord is our shield.

Satan thought Job reverently feared God for protection, but he learned that Job had God as his protection, and from that relationship, he feared the Lord.

Abraham desired to deliver his nephew Lot from bondage. So he entered into a war that was not his problem. It was his nephew's life problem, but he loved his nephew, and he wanted to rescue him. But Abraham was not a general or a captain; he was at best a peasant, a good farmer. And he gathered 318 of his best workers to fight against kings that had trained, armed armies. And the Lord delivered Lot with the intervention of Abraham.

And Abraham is coming back now afraid, because probably one of those kings that lost the battle said some threatening words: "You did that to me, Abraham. Now get ready, because I'm going to come after you. I know your address. I know where you live, where your relatives live," just like mobsters blackmailing people. So Abraham probably had that shadow of fear going around him as he's trying to come back home.

Then this mysterious character in the Bible shows up. His name is also strange: Melchizedek, which means he is the King of Righteousness. I know a man that also has this title. And he was reigning over Salem, Shalom, the City of Peace. I also know a man who reigns over the City of Peace. So Melchizedek clearly is a picture of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, and he brings some relief to Abraham. Curiously, he brings bread and wine. I also know a man who also offers us rest through his body and through his blood, the bread and the wine that refreshes us, reminding us of our forgiveness and our acceptance in Jesus Christ.

Melchizedek approaches Abraham and blesses him. Genesis chapter 14, verse 19: "And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High.'" The Hebrew word here is El Elyon, Possessor of heaven and earth. "'And blessed be God Most High, who has...'" listen, "'...who has delivered your enemies into your hand!' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything."

Now, Melchizedek showed up basically to bring relief and a conscience of security. "Look, Abraham, you thought you fought the battle, but it was El Elyon, the God Most High, that delivered your enemies into your hand." And the same God is on your side continually. Say a good amen, everybody.

This needed to sink into Abraham's heart. He was still afraid. The Bible continues telling us the story that after this encounter, the King of Sodom showed up and tried to make a deal with Abraham, so he got a little bit distracted. But in chapter 15, the following part of this story says that in the night, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. And the Lord himself told him, "I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

Say with me, "The Lord." Say with me, "El Elyon." The God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. Take a deep breath. Say with me, "He is my shield." Say amen, everybody. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

Psalm 34 promises us in verse 7 that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. Listen, we don't need to fear anyone because we already fear the Lord, but it's not a fear of terror; it is reverence. It is this awe, this being mesmerized, this amazement feeling you have with his endless, sheer love. And the Lord delivers us from all our troubles. Verse 8: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Romans is going to tell us that it is God's goodness that leads us into repentance. So taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. If you can close your eyes, say today, "I take refuge in my Lord."

It is impossible to overstate the goodness of God. Some argue, "Hey, Pastor, stop with this preaching because this is so unbalanced. You are exaggerating the goodness of God. You are always preaching about his grace here. We need some alignment, some balance. We need to combine a little bit of grace with religion, a little bit of salvation with condemnation, so people will have a balanced Christian life."

This is not true. I don't know about you, but every time I open my news app, I don't hear or read any good news at all. There is always something terrible happening all around me. Throughout the whole week, the only thing I am bombarded with is bad news. So if I'm speaking about alignment, what I'm doing right now is exactly that: I'm feeding you with good news. Because you are being so unaligned, unbalanced with bad news and expectations of worse things in your life, that today you are being balanced.

This week something funny happened. A sister asked for help because the tire of her car exploded and broke apart. And the reason why was not that a nail or she passed through a wrong path; it is because the car was driving for many miles unaligned, unbalanced. And the result of this is that you're going to wear out the tire. I don't know if you ever drove an unaligned car. The steering wheel pulls you in the wrong direction. Do you guys follow me here? So you need to keep that continuous effort to keep yourself on the right track.

Let me align you today. The Lord is your shield. He is fighting your battles. We don't need to worry or carry this anxiety heavily laden upon us. Let me align you today: the Lord is going before you. He is your shield. Say a good amen, everybody! And if you try to keep yourself holding on, eventually you're going to burn out and get tired.

Psalm 34, verse 9: "Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!"

You might be wondering, "Okay, Pastor, if the Lord protects us all the time, why do bad things happen to good people? Even yourself, Pastor, in your own story, you had to endure a painful tragedy with the loss of your son 10 years ago. How do you explain that?"

Well, I don't explain that. I stand strong because I know I am surrounded by God's protection. In the same Psalm, Psalm 34, verse 19. Listen carefully there, Skyler. Verse 19 now, sir. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." So the Bible does not deny the facts of this life. We are not in denial. We are simply confessing the truth over the factual realities. The Lord is still delivering the righteous from all our afflictions. We face afflictions. We do have hardships, unexpected tragedies, but the Lord delivers us from them all.

The kids were playing around the ladies yesterday night, Friday night for the prayer night. Kids being kids. One very known child of the house, a boy starting with L and finishing with I. He was running around when he fell and bumped his head on the ground. He looked around and found no adult paying attention. So he contained his cry. He held his cry until he found my wife running her errands for the meeting. So he went toward her, hugged her legs, and he gave himself the right to cry after, I don't know, maybe one minute after the hurt had happened. So he cried for a couple of seconds. And in a few seconds, he was running again, fearless again. Carefree again, unworried.

We can come before our Father when we are hurting. We can come to his lap, and we can cry and find comfort. The Lord tells us, in this world we may face tribulations, but in all of them, we as the righteous people of God, we are delivered from all of them with his comfort. That is my answer for my tragedy, and that should be your answer in the middle of your afflictions.

Second Corinthians chapter 1 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction..." That is the Lord delivering us, comforting us, "...so that we may be able," verse 4, "to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Say a good amen, everybody.

Are you receiving something this morning? Because the Lord is reminding you he is for you, not against you.

I love this moment of conversation between the devil and the Lord. You know, the father of lies only lies, but a few moments in scripture, you find him stating truth. And what he said in Job is truth: the Lord has put a hedge around us, around our house, around all that we have. The Lord has blessed the work of our hands and our possessions will increase. I declare this over your life in Jesus' name.

A couple of days ago, I received a call in the middle of the night from a family. Very worried, because their children were nowhere to be found. And later it was revealed they were using a toxic substance, not to say drugs, alcohol. The family was very anxious because they didn't know what to do. I had to care for that family and give some guidance. But in the same night, when I thought I could go back to sleep, I received another message. It was from my son. He sent me pictures from Brazil. But he was sending pictures at a very inappropriate time: 3:00 AM in the morning. He was sending me videos, video clips of this crowd of young people on fire for Jesus in a vigil. In a vigil that probably started at 9:00 PM and finished at 6:00 AM. And in the middle of the vigil, my son sent me those pictures.

I do not take for granted the protection of the Lord around my house. I think because I'm a pastor and I hear so many stories, I know the Lord is protecting my family. And I know it's only because of his hedge of protection. He is a wall of fire all around my sons so that I can rest. I know that right now, he is seeking the Lord. It is not a fruit of my godliness, my pious life; it is only his love, his goodness, and his favor. It is totally unmerited. I don't know if you need this faith today, but the Lord wants to set us free from every fear.

Now, that's why I need to speak over the root of fear. So please don't get anxious; I'm heading to the end of my message. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14: "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham, those who believe." Verse 17: "Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest, a representative in the service of God, to make propitiation"—the payment—"for the sins of the people."

Our greatest enemy is death, along with the devil who holds the power of death. But here we are learning that Jesus destroyed the one who has death's power. Now, the word "destroy" here—I know it seems that he is completely destroyed in the sense of missing and disappearing. That's not the original word. The word is katargeo in Greek. That means he was voided, deprived of any power, any force. He was unplugged from the power. So right now, it is useless. The devil in your life, in my life, he is jobless. Do you follow? He has no power anymore to threaten you with the fear of death.

Because the worst thing, listen, the worst thing that can happen to the believer is that you're going to go to heaven. That's the worst thing. So I know it sounds strange what I'm saying, but that's why his power now is powerless over your life. And you can see every fear in the world, and maybe every anxiety that surrounds you, that hovers in your mind. If you peel it off, you're going to get to this root of all fears: that you may die. You may lose everything and die of hunger. You get so sick that now you die. "I cannot drive. I'm anxious to drive because I may hit my car and die." So you can see that every fear, every anxiety, when you take all the layers off, you're going to find the root is the fear of death.

But not for you anymore. The one who held the fear of death is now jobless. He is powerless. He has nothing against you. When you think about a bomb squad, they come inside of a building where it's said there was a bomb inside. So these very smart people, they come, and they cut the right wires, and they deactivate it. They unplug the power of the bomb. They bring the bomb out, and everybody sees them, seized with fear. They are afraid because they think that the bomb still has some power in it. But the guys are juggling the bomb in their hands, because right now that bomb has no power at all. It was made powerless. That's the image. The Lord is your shield, and therefore, the devil is powerless to threaten you with any fear.

I'll tell you why the devil wants us so much under the bondage of fear: he wants to stop your calling. He wants to hinder your divine purpose. He wants you so afraid that now you hide yourself from the voice of the Lord in your life. But if you know there is a safety net, that you can walk boldly, confidently, that you can—yes, you still stumble—but you are still surrounded by the hedge of protection, now you can rest. Now you can try again. You can dare again.

Psalm 27. Would you stand on your feet? Let me pray for you. Psalm 27, verse 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life"—a strong tower that the enemy cannot ever cross—"of whom shall I be afraid?" When David wrote this psalm, he did not say, "My perfect obedience is my light. It is my perseverance that is my stronghold." No, he said, "The Lord is my stronghold. The Lord is my shield. The Lord is my protection."

Psalm 125, verse 2: "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people." Hallelujah. "From this time forth and forevermore." And finally, I love this one. Zechariah chapter 2, verse 5. Zechariah is trying to encourage the people of Israel to rebuild the city and saying, "Don't give up. Don't feel discouraged because of the threats." Because the Lord says, "And I will be to her a wall of fire"—picture that: a wall of fire all around—"declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst." Hallelujah.

Raise your hand as you are right now. Maybe you are afraid. You came here anxious, you came here tired, holding the steering wheel of your life, gripping it with all that you could throughout this week, and now you feel exhausted. Today, the Lord brings rest over you.

So Father, here are your people. Here are your children, Lord God. Some of them were on the verge of giving up on this idea. Some of them were almost, Lord God, forgetting their calling. Maybe thinking of the shortcuts of running away. But today, Lord, you are reminding us: you fight our battles. You are our shield. You are a wall of fire all around us, Lord. Come on, picture this. You are like the mountains that surround Jerusalem, Lord God. Who can trespass it? If the Lord is for us, who can be against us? Greater is the one who is with us than the one who is with them. Lord, you go before us, Lord God, and we rest in your promises today.

So, Father, I pray over your children: peace. Peace to their hearts. Come on, take a deep breath where you are. Let the Lord breathe over you the wind of the spirit that blows away every anxiety, every care, every heavy burden on your shoulders today. Lord, I prophesy over your children that the best is yet to come, Lord. Father, we will fulfill our calling. This is still the year of multiplication, and we believe your promises upon our lives, Lord God. Oh, you have so many good things in store for us, God, and we rest in your promises, in Jesus' mighty name.

Thank you so much, my dear brother. I always love being with you all. I am especially thankful for this church; whenever I come to the USA, I love being here because I feel completely at home. You are my true brothers and sisters. I am also deeply grateful for the hospitality of my dear brother and his wife; for the last few days, I have been staying in their home and thoroughly enjoying the meals she has prepared for me.

Before sharing the Word of God, I want to clarify something: I normally preach in my native language, Urdu. Since most of you are from Brazil, English is neither your first language nor mine. If I use any English expressions incorrectly, please forgive me. I believe that even if I make a mistake, the Holy Spirit—our Helper—will ensure you understand everything I am trying to say.

Today, I came here to encourage the church with one specific word: obedience. Whenever I read the Bible, I am deeply inspired by the story of Abraham because his obedience unlocked God's promises in his life.

In Genesis 12:1-4, the Lord tells Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father's household to go to a land God would show him. God promises to make him into a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, and to bless all peoples on earth through him. Verse 4 simply says, "So Abram went, as the LORD had told him". Later, in Genesis 22:18, God reiterates that all nations on earth will be blessed through his offspring specifically because he obeyed.

When God called Abraham, he was 75 years old and likely the richest, most well-settled person in his area, with livestock, servants, and an established household. It is not easy for a 75-year-old to leave a comfortable zone. However, Abraham obeyed God. He did not rely on his current wealth or resources; he trusted God's call and took a step of faith, knowing that obedience would unlock greater promises.

God initially released the promises of blessing and protection, but He did not immediately reveal Abraham's final destination. Despite the unknowns, Abraham trusted God to provide a better place. God does not usually call extraordinary or highly intellectual people; He calls ordinary people to do extraordinary jobs. God can do the same in your life if you are willing to obey Him.

I have experienced God's extraordinary favor in my own life. I was born into a very poor but deeply committed Christian family in Pakistan, where the life expectancy is generally only 60 to 65 years. My given name is Simon Peter Kaleem, and I am the only one in my extended family without a traditional Pakistani name. Because of my name, I faced intense persecution and discrimination in school. I was treated as "untouchable" by my classmates and was not even allowed to drink from the communal water cooler.

During those difficult early years, I made a promise to God. I told Him that for the first twenty years of my life, I would focus on my studies. For the second twenty years, I would work hard, earn a lot of money, and establish my family. And for the last twenty years—or however many more He would give me—I promised I would serve Him. As I grew up, I forgot about that childhood promise, but God remembered.

God granted me incredible favor during my first twenty years. I graduated with top honors in microbiology, zoology, and biochemistry. Earning a gold medal as a poor Christian boy was not a normal achievement; it was God's direct favor. Although I initially wanted to pursue a Ph.D. and become a doctor, circumstances required me to move back to central Pakistan, where I took a basic entry-level job at the multinational pharmaceutical company, Novartis.

God blessed me tremendously in the corporate world. As my second twenty years were coming to a close, I had achieved the second-highest position in the company, managing 75% of the marketing and sales teams across Pakistan. I enjoyed a six-figure salary, a company car, and a very comfortable lifestyle.

Eventually, a new boss joined our company who was a Muslim Imam. When he realized I was a Christian enjoying high-level corporate privileges, he began to actively persecute me. He set completely unrealistic targets designed to make my life miserable. Believing I could easily find a parallel position elsewhere, I resigned.

However, for six or seven months, I could not find another job. I drained all my savings and lost all the company benefits. It became incredibly difficult to even pay my children's school fees or put food on the table. I began to complain to God, asking why this was happening when my family was so committed to the church and to studying the Bible.

One day, I was sitting alone in my bedroom reading the Bible. When I came across John 21, reading the conversation between Jesus and the apostle Simon Peter, it felt as though Jesus was speaking directly to me. When Jesus asked, "Simon Peter, son of John, do you love me?" I felt the fire of the Holy Spirit burn within my body. I began to cry like a child.

Then, I heard the audible voice of Jesus Christ. He said, "Your first twenty years have passed. Your second twenty years have passed. Do you remember the promise you made to me? Now, it is my time. According to your promise, you must serve me".

Filled with the Holy Spirit, I asked how I could possibly serve Him since I had no seminary education and was not a pastor. God told me not to worry, promising to teach and lead me. He instructed me to leave my comfortable home in Lahore and begin teaching children in the rural villages. When I worried about how I would feed my family without a car or an income, God promised He would provide everything we needed. Since 2009, I have been serving the Lord in those villages, and He has never let us lack anything.

Following God’s call always carries a cost. It requires leaving behind comfort zones, ambitions, and sometimes financial security. But while the cost is temporary, the reward is eternal. Every sacrifice made for God's kingdom—whether it is finances, musical talent, knowledge, or influence—is never wasted.

God blesses us so that we can become a blessing to others. God’s blessings are not meant to stop with us; they are meant to flow through us. Consider the Dead Sea: water flows into it, but there is no outlet, resulting in a body of water with no life. In contrast, the Sea of Galilee takes in fresh water and continuously gives it out, allowing it to remain vibrant and full of life. When God's blessings flow through us, we experience more life and receive even greater blessings from the Lord.

When we walk in obedience, we also receive the immense blessing of divine protection, just as God promised Abraham. God's presence is our greatest security. Just as God promised to be with the disciples until the end of the age in the Great Commission, He promises to be with us today.

This call is for everyone. Revelation 7:9 gives us a glimpse of God's ultimate vision: a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before His throne. This mission is not just a program for the church; it is the final call for every believer. You can participate by going to the nations, by sending and supporting those who go, or by dedicating yourself to praying for those suffering in places like Pakistan, Nigeria, and Cambodia.

God is doing amazing things in Pakistan. Through the faithful obedience and financial support of people like Pastor Rafael and the wider church, we have seen tremendous growth. Since planting our first church in 2019, we now have twelve brand new branch churches in Pakistan. We recently completed a brand new school building to provide biblical education for our children.

We are also reaching unreached tribes who have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ, and we have established schools right in the middle of brick factories where Christian families are essentially enslaved. Even Muslim families in those factories have started sending their children to our schools, resulting in them learning the Word of God and receiving miraculous healings through prayer.

All of this is happening because ordinary people chose to obey and share their blessings. As we conclude, I urge you to ask God what His specific purpose is for your life. Ask Him how you can use your time, talent, and treasure to bless others and fulfill the Great Commission. Your obedience today can literally change eternity tomorrow.

Beyond the Crowd: True Intimacy with God

Introduction

Many believers fall into the trap of a false intimacy, going through religious motions, attending services, and sitting in a crowd without truly knowing God or being known by Him. This sermon explores Jesus' warning against superficial religion and calls us into a vibrant, individual, and transformative relationship with our Creator.

Main Points

1. The Danger of False Intimacy and Religious Routine

• Superficial Religion vs. Real Relationship: Sharing the same physical space, attending church, or partaking in traditions does not equate to knowing Jesus. He desires a genuine connection, not empty rituals or performance-based salvation (drawing from Luke 13:25–27).
• Hiding in the Crowd: God does not view us as an anonymous mass; He knows each of us individually. Relying on "going with the flow" or hiding behind cultural Christianity leads to spiritual stagnation and a dead routine.

2. The Path to Being Known by God

• Loving Because We Were Loved First: True Christian life flows from first understanding and receiving God's unconditional love for us. As 1 Corinthians 8:3 notes, “If anyone loves God, he is known by God,” and we love Him because He first loved us.
• Obedience as an Expression of Love: Genuine love for God naturally translates into keeping His commandments (John 14:15), moving us away from legalism and self-reliance.
• Rejecting False Teachings: Believers must remain steadfast in sound doctrine, heeding Paul's warning in 2 Timothy 4:3–5 against those who accumulate teachers to suit their own passions rather than enduring sound teaching.

Conclusion

Our ultimate purpose is to know Jesus and to be known by Jesus. By moving past religious pretense, embracing His grace, and allowing His love to renew us daily, we step out of stagnant routines and live fully as transformed disciples—true "little Christs" empowered to impact our families, workplaces, and communities.

Supernatural Rest

How can we experience the power of multiplication? The place of power is the place of rest in God’s word.

Here is the logic. Grace is the opposite of striving. 

If one feels a sense of debt and strives to pay God a price that is already paid in Christ, you miss the point of grace. 

God is calling you and me to enter the rest. That is the only striving we are encouraged in the Bible. 

“9. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10. for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience." (Hebrews 4:9–11)

Grace is multiplied when we rest in Him. 

There is a principle of biblical interpretation called the principle of first mention, which teaches us that the first time a major theme appears in Scripture, it establishes a foundational principle. And curiously, the word "favor" or "grace" that appears in the Bible is related to the very well-known character Noah.

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8)

The Hebrew name Noah literally means "rest." That conveys this idea: "Rest finds favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

I'm curious about this connection, especially with Noah. 

Have you ever worked on something that consumed all your time for days or even months? What about a project that might take 100 years to complete? (Genesis 5:32; 7:6, 11).

Only those who learned to rest in the Lord can go that far. 

Ahead of us there are about 40 weeks of the academic year. We drive, we lead, we study, we buy and sell, we pray, we fight, we rise every morning and put in and put out kids in the car. We build, we clean, we share, we wake up again. Oh Jesus, we need Your rest.

This week, as I was having my meeting with the disciplers, one of them had one little head popping out to see what dad was doing.

She came in. Said, “Hello, pastor.” 

Stayed there, as she knew everything we were discussing about the church and the semester. But ultimately she was saying, "Daddy, I just want to sit with you."

There was nothing she could add to the father’s job. There was no contribution. But her joy made our meeting have another color. Why? Because she was at rest with daddy.

It is time to rest completely in the finished work of Christ. The more you rest in His provision, the more His grace overflows. 

An inward rest that produces outward favor.

seated

"Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number." (John 6:10)

In the Bible, sitting is always a symbol of rest. It speaks of a position of authority, once you are seated in your royal position to reign in life in Christ Jesus.

"And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…" (Ephesians 2:6)

But now, in the miracle, we learn that, before it happens, we must rest in the Lord. Rest allows the multiplication to take place. It is a permission for Jesus to do His way. 

Many of us question, "How will multiplication happen? Where will the provision come from?" Sitting is our answer to say, "Lord, I don’t know how you will do it. But, not my way, not with my useless help, not with my strength. Do it in your way.”

Imagine if everyone had rushed forward to grab a piece of bread and fish for themselves; chaos would have damaged the moment. The Spirit of God moves in an atmosphere of order and peace.

Most of us, when we are seeking a solution, instinctively try to work harder to make things happen. We grip the handle a little tighter, trying to push through the exhaustion, and force a solution. What if the solution is to accept God’s ways? 

The problem here is our pride. "I know how to handle that complicated child. I know how to convice my spouse. I can grow my ministry…I need no help. I need no one." What if you can sit down at Jesus’ feet today and say, "Lord, not my way, but yours"? 

A foster parent once shared they met the biological mother of their foster child at a hospital where the sick child needed medical care. 

When the mother arrived, the child stayed on the foster parent's lap, without showing any recognition or affection towards the biological mother. Due to severe family negligence, the child was entirely dependent on these foster parents for safety and care.

These foster parents carried no malice. They genuinely desired to see restoration and told the mother with deep compassion, "Do you know that we are on your side? We want to help you be permanently together with your child." only to receive a contemptuous look. Instead of receiving grace, the mother responded only with disdain and pride

 What makes this story so sad is that pride prevented the mother from regaining her guardianship, and the only one truly affected was the young child who could not return home. All because the other wanted to do it her way.

How often do we respond to God with resistance? The very things we clutch onto out of self-reliance are often what we ultimately lose, simply because our pride keeps us from receiving His help.

The Lord looks at our frantic striving, our anxiety, and our desperate attempts to manage our own lives, and He whispers, "Do you know that I am on your side? I have a good plan for your future. Trust Me. Rest on me. What you cannot manage, I can resolve for you. Sit down.” 

Rest is not laziness. It is an act of absolute trust. It is stepping back from our own exhausted efforts so that His grace can take over.

Before Jesus made the miracle, He was sitting down.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. (John 6:3)

Today, take a moment to enjoy the feast. The Lord invites us to sit at the table to receive His provision, a measure that our efforts could never reach.

Today, my parents called to wish me a "Happy Father's Day, son.” Why? Because in Brazil it is Father’s Day. There’s always a special day for you somewhere.

Have you heard the saying, 'It's 5 o'clock somewhere, so relax'? That applies to you today.

With 24 time zones worldwide, there is always at least one place on Earth where the local time is 5:00 PM at any moment. 

Grass in the desert

Mark 6:31 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

The KJV says, “a desert place”. The invitation is to rest in the desert. There, in the desolate place, the Lord finds us grass.

And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. (Mark 6:32)

Jesus was with His disciples when a large crowd gathered around them. To give themselves some rest, He told them to get into a boat. The crowd followed their move and arrived before them, waiting. Jesus then started teaching. Later, the disciples told Jesus, “It’s nearly night, and we’re in the desert with no food. Send the crowd home.” 

Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “How? We’re in the desert, and we have no food for all these people.”

Jesus asked them for what they had. They gave Him two fish and five loaves of bread. And then you read something really odd in the story.

Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. (Mark 6:39)

Three times in this passage it says they were in a desolate place. Now Jesus is telling the crowd to sit on green grass.

"And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves... And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late.’" (Mark 6:31–32, 35)

Scholars note that the Greek word translated as "deserted place" or wilderness (erēmos) does not necessarily mean a scorched wasteland devoid of all life; rather, it speaks of an uninhabited, lonely region. 

However, the explicit mention of green grass is a deliberate theological echo under the pen of Mark.

The people were tired, hot, hungry. He actually led them to green pasture. How not to connect that with Psalm 23? 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”

(Psalm 23:1–2)

Jesus lightened their load without stopping them from entering the desert. We all face desert places—problems, giants, bad breaks—which should overwhelm us, but amidst the challenges, His grace will sustain us. We will find strength and courage to endure.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

If you reflect on your life, you probably have moments that you wonder how you overcame that loss, that sickness, that difficult challenge. It was God's grace—giving us grass in the desert and easing hard times—that helped us endure. 

Without His favor, sickness might have defeated us, and breakup could have broken us.

He didn’t stop the trouble, but He kept it from stopping you. You could have fallen apart or had a breakdown, but God gave you green grass in a desolate place, sustaining and feeding you when you felt overwhelmed. Despite stress, there’s grass in the desert.

God has not done yet. 

You haven’t seen the promise fulfilled, so stay trusting for healing, promotion, a spouse, a child. 

The good news is on its way. 

While you wait, God is inviting you to green grass. 

You might not notice it, but without God's goodness, sickness could have overwhelmed you. Without His favor, trouble could have defeated you. Without His mercy, addiction could have taken you down.

No matter what you go through because you’re a child of God, there’s going to be green grass in your desert.

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…"(2 Corinthians 4:8–9)

God is going to do things that don’t make sense. It is supernatural. He’s going to give you strength that you can’t explain, courage that you didn’t know you had, favor that you didn’t see coming.

You may be in a desert place now. The right attitude is, “Lord, I want to thank You for the green grass. Thank You for sustaining me. Thank You for what couldn’t take me out. Thank You that I’m still standing.”

During tough times, God provided relief. At those moments, you might not have recognized that it was God's grace supplying strength and favor. Today, take time to acknowledge that God's goodness was there then and is over you now.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalms 23:5-6)

Always come back to Jesus

"And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all." (Mark 6:41)

The Lord broke the bread and handed it to the disciples so they could distribute it. I think that whenever their baskets emptied, they had to return to the Lord for more. 

This is how He chooses to bless us: He desires that we continually return to Him to receive. 

Every time you come to the Lord, you never walk away empty-handed. 

The hands of the Lord are always full to supply our every need.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

The loaves were multiplied in the hands of the Lord. How? The text says, "And he divided…” 

You don’t need to be a mathematician to know that “division" does not result in “multiplication.” 

In math, division and subtraction decrease things. But that is why God’s multiplication is supernatural. 

It is entirely counter to the economy of this world.

In a moment of crisis, the last thing we want to hear about is giving, dividing, or letting go. 

Yet, for this miracle, subtraction brought multiplication, and division brought increase. 

Learn that in the upside-down principles of heaven, you never lose by giving something to the Lord.

There was one time that Peter was on the shore of Lake Gennesaret after laboring all night and catching nothing (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus requested permission to use Peter’s boat for a while. After teaching the crowds from the seated position, the Lord instructed Peter to let down his nets for a catch. 

Peter said they had worked all night without success, but at the Lord's command, he would cast the nets again. This time, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear, prompting them to signal their partners in the other boat to assist. It was the same sea, the same boat, and the same fishermen, but what changed was the divine power that was now at work.

Whenever the Lord requests something from you, it’s not because He needs it, but because He wants an opportunity to bless you. When God asks for your time, money, or talents, He plans to bestow greater favor upon your life.

Our empty boats, ur weariness is all that we can give. But the Lord provides out of our emptiness. 

The thoughts of God are always higher than our thoughts. We think merely of a job, while He thinks of a position of influence. We think of finding a spouse and getting married, while God thinks of establishing a generational legacy. His plans for us are always marked by generosity.

Surrender your life, your gifts, and your resources to the Lord, and watch Him multiply and prosper your offering. In His hands, everything is multiplied.

We tend to look at the limitations of our education and experience, settling for a modest job when He wants to grant us lasting influence. May the Lord expand our vision.

Thank Him for what He has done in the past, the green grass in the desert, for what He has placed in your hands, but believe in His increased provision.

With God, there is never a lack, nor is there ever waste. 

In the multiplication of bread and fish, the disciples gathered twelve full baskets at the end. 

They may have initially doubted whether enough food would stretch to feed them all, yet in the end, each disciple walked away with a full basket of his own.

The Lord never forgets what you do or what you give to Him.

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25)

A generous soul will prosper.

In the divine economy, when you give, your offering returns to you pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

The Surpassing Power of God

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

On this side of heaven, life can include periods of hardship. In Ephesians, Paul refers to "evil' or "bad' days—times when we face a sequence of challenging events.

Ephesians 6:13 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

 It's important to recognize that in every battle and hardship, Paul emphasizes that our victory comes from God's presence within us, as he operates through a surpassing power. This is the power we need today.

There are many things that are not God’s will in this life. It is not by chance that Jesus taught us to pray.

(Matthew 6:10) “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The treasure

Just one verse prior, Paul describes this treasure as the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). It is the glorious gospel of grace and the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ Himself.

This leaves no room for human boasting or self-improvement rhetoric. The treasure is the finished work of Jesus Christ deposited into our spiritually bankrupt vessels, providing an inexhaustible supply of unmerited favor. Grace is not theology. It is not a doctrine. Grace is Christ.

A jar of clay cannot manufacture its own contents; it can only receive what is poured into it.

(John 12:24) “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

We are a seed that needs the shell broken in order to have the life manifested. The problem is that many waste the opportunities of brokenness to go into self-indulgence, overeating, overscrolling, oversleeping, overspending, instead of turning that pressure into an experience with the surpassing power available for the one who cries for His presence.

God Hears Our Cry

Often, we find ourselves without words to pray, overwhelmed by pain and confusion. When shock hits, we seek words to comfort one another. 

Today, I want to remind you that God hears our cries and listens to our prayers. He desires to rescue us from all challenging circumstances.

Exodus 2:23-25 23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Notice that God did listen to the groaning and the crying out for help. The Israelites were crying out for rescue from their bondage, and their plea reached God. And God heard.

There are different kinds of groaning. Some people groan out of a sense of entitlement, laziness, or unwillingness to do the hard work required of them. Some individuals are accustomed to being spoiled. 

But there is another kind of cry: a deep, personal desperation born of genuine oppression that truly moves the hand of God.

God explained to Moses the plan of deliverance and redemption, emphasizing that he was moved by the cries of the people of Israel and was rescuing them.

Exodus 3:7 7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

Exodus 3:9 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

Different Brokenness, same surpassing power

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Affliction: For Paul, it was the daily friction, suffering, and opposition faced while carrying out the ministry of Christ.

For you, it is the long-term chronic disease, addiction, financial tribulation; these unchanged circumstances that are taking longer than you hoped. 

That is not God's will for His children. Yet this life has so many fallen things that we may face these kinds of afflictions. Please do not waste the brokenness.

The meaning of the word evokes squeezing, or being compressed. It pictures an object placed under a heavy weight or grapes being pressed in a winepress.

I understand that the first illustration about the wheat seed involves breaking the seed. However, in winemaking, producers carefully control the pressure so that the seeds stay uncrushed. That’s the point Paul makes: our core, our true self—our new inner spirit—remains never crushed.

The way to access the surpassing power is turning to your inner man.

Perplexity: 

perplexed, but not driven to despair;

Being "perplexed" points to those moments when our minds are bewildered. When we find ourselves without answers or solutions.

That state connects with verse 9: struck down.

2 Corinthians 4:9 struck down, but not destroyed;

It’s natural for the clay jar to feel unsure. In unfamiliar situations, we often feel perplexed. 

Many of us felt thrown to the ground a few days ago.

The image here is a physical contest or a wrestling match. Moments where we are knocked off our feet by adversity or spiritual attack. 

Should I despair or lose hope? When we reach the end of our human wisdom and resources. We pray. 

Wisdom is always available for those who seek it.

James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Your future is defined by the Treasure, not by your current confusion. You are not destroyed because the Treasure inside you cannot be destroyed.

Being struck down is simply an event that happens to the earthen vessel; it is not a reflection of your spiritual worth, nor does it mean God is judging you.

Persecuted:

2 Corinthians 4:9 9 persecuted, but not forsaken

Persecutions are misunderstandings. The suffering caused by lies and slander. People spreading false information.

The word “Dioko" carries the meaning of to be pursued, chased, or harassed. Here I like to remind myself that if there is one third of fallen angels against me, I still have two thirds fighting for me.

Mark 15:34 tells us that on the cross, Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” So now, like Paul, you and I can also say: 2 Corinthians 4:9 9 persecuted, but not forsaken;

Paul closes this passage with astounding affirmations.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

There are brokenesses that are the way to victory.

The brokenness that leads to victory

The Bible says in the book of Judges, chapter 7, that the people were oppressed by the Midianites.

The Midianites were a terrible people, and in the Bible they represent the work of evil spirits. Historically, the Midianites were a nomadic group of raiders. They did not conquer cities or set up governments; instead, they waited for the Israelites to do all the hard work of planting and cultivating crops. Right when the harvest was ready, the Midianites would sweep in like a plague of locusts, devouring the provisions. The Midianites did not attack Israel's army directly; they attacked their food supply.

God then calls Gideon while he was beating out wheat in the winepress, that is, beating wheat in the place meant for treading grapes. He was hiding there. And then the angel arrives and says to him, 

Judges 6:12 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

God never mocks you. God never gives you bad nicknames to tease you and provoke you. 

When God gives you a name, it is because that is your real identity. The Bible says that Gideon thought he was so small, but the angel says, "You are strong." If it were me, I would look to the side and say, "But who are you talking to? Is it really to me? No, my clan is the weakest, and I am the least in my father's house."

And the Lord said to him, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel."

God uses the improbable. This is to show His surpassing power. Hell must be perplexed to see how a weak, broken vessel like us can be used.

You know, there is no glory if the big guy defeats the small one. If Goliath had defeated David, there would be no honor at all for the giant. But when it is the small David who defeats a giant, then there is glory.

Goliath was David's glory. The size of your problem, of your enemy, is also your glory.

"Oh, pastor, I am going through a struggle, you have no idea, it is very big.” The bigger it is, the greater your glory will be.

Those who know you will have jaws dropped, astonished, saying, "What is this that is happening?" Because the Lord chose you.

Gideon makes the call, and 32,000 men show up to fight. (Judges 7:3) God says, "It's too many people. We are not going to war with this many people. 

Judges 7:2 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

 Gideon said, "Now let's go to war." God said, "It's still too many people, lest Israel boast, saying they won the war because they had a large army.”

God doesn't want you to think you won the battle because you are smart, because you are capable, because you are strong, because you know strategies, or because you had your mind unlocked. 

Then God tells him to test them, and only 300 remain. By the way, Gideon lived roughly around 1200 B.C. The legend of Sparta is around the 1st century B.C. [a millennium later]—that is, 1,000 years earlier, God was already doing it. By the way, all the 300 Spartans died, not Gideon’s warriors.

The instructions were very clear.

Judges 7:20 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”

The torches were in the jars; the fire was in the jar. You are this jar of clay. There is a fire burning in your heart. 

It is the Holy Spirit of God moving in our lives. 

Judges 7: 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled.

Trumpet: The trumpet was a Jewish horn made from a ram's horn, called a shofar. 

To have the shofar, the ram’s horn, the ram has to die. And when you take the horn of the dead ram and blow the trumpet, you are announcing: the ram already died and defeated the enemy.

The horn in the Bible symbolizes power. Do you need the surpassing power of God? It is time to blow the trumpet. 

To blow the trumpet is to release the word. It is to speak. We need to open our mouths and proclaim the ram died, and by His death, we are more than conquerors.

2 Corinthians 4:13 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,

But not only must you blow the trumpet, but you also have to break the jars.

Judges 7:19 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands

They didn't have to do anything. They shouted for the Lord! I am for the Lord. Say this in your house. Say this out loud in your house. If the devil is trying to steal your children, say: “My house is for the Lord.” That is the sword that is released. A sword of victory.”

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” God did not give me children for slavery. God did not give me children who will not live out their days. My children are blessed by the Lord; they are taught by the Lord, and my house and I will serve the Lord. 

They have just shattered the jar and sounded the trumpet. Speak out boldly and take hold of your victory with energy and enthusiasm. Declare the triumph of Calvary. God delights in disrupting human reasoning.

2 Corinthians 12:9 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God will show His power on the day you are weakest. When you cannot even pray. 

There were many occasions when I couldn't even speak. The voice wouldn't come out; only sobs came out, only anguish, affliction. 

You might think: "God is not pleased with me. How can God be pleased? Look at my condition.” The devil says, "Your faith is very weak. Look at how you are.” Ignore the devil. On the day you are weak, that is the day you are strong.

Broken jars are weak. But it is on this day that the surpassing power of God wants to manifest. On the day you don't know how to pray, I will give you a suggestion: just sing.

The Power in the Presence

Psalms 84:1-7 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

The church is an active, living body designed to do the heavy lifting. To be the church means engaging directly in the strenuous effort required to bring people into the presence of Jesus. When the crowds block the way and the barriers seem insurmountable, true faith digs through the roof to find a way. True faith operates not just for the individual self, but it stands in the gap and has faith for others. Jesus sees this collective, determined faith and responds with profound authority, declaring that sins are forgiven.

To be the church means moving forward with absolute conviction despite the inevitable critics. There will always be teachers of the law questioning the authority of Jesus and the methods of grace. Yet, the mission remains fixed entirely on ultimate life-change. A clean stable produces no harvest, but embracing the heavy lifting and the messiness of ministry brings forth the power of God. The ultimate authority of the Son of Man is demonstrated on earth through the forgiveness of sins and the physical, undeniable restoration of broken lives.

To be the church means the congregation goes home radically different than how they came. Paralyzed individuals get up, take their mats, and walk out in full view of the community. This visible transformation astonishes the world, causing everyone to praise God. The ultimate result of being the church is that surrounding onlookers witness undeniable life-change and are irresistibly drawn to Jesus.

More than Enough

It is all a matter of the revelation of how much God has actually blessed us in Christ Jesus. 

Out of that revelation, our faith would be brought to a level of trust and confidence that it will have no more limits.

Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul’s prayer for the church was not a matter of provision, structure and more money. It was all about revelation.

But Paul says,

vv. 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Grasping God's love requires spiritual, strength, "muscle" and endurance, not just casual reading .

"Comprehend" καταλαβέσθαι(katalavesthe). It does not mean "comprehend" in the sense of solving a math problem or intellectually understanding a concept. It literally means to "lay hold of," "seize," "pull down," or "make one's own."

The literal Greek reads something like: "you may have the full power to seize and lay hold of all the measures and implications of Christ for us."

power at work within us.

Ephesians 3:20 (ESV): "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,"

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP): "Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,"

It's incredible to realize that God responds to our prayers, even those beyond our wildest dreams. Everything unfolds through His power working within us.

The scripture does not say that you must do certain things for the power to work. It simply tells you that power operates within us. 

You need to believe that. It’s not a matter of feelings or sensations. God says His power is at work in you. 

The word “power” is dunamis δύναμις 

That means: force (literally or figuratively), miraculous power, ability, abundance, might.

That power " operates in us.” 

That expression, “operates in us,” is energeo ἐνεργέω: that means to make active, to make efficient, to energize. 

Our word energy comes from energeo in Greek. 

Because the power is always working in us, be careful what you say, because God will respond abundantly above all that you ask or think. 

To help you understand, I will divide this text into seven levels. 

1. Now, to Him who is able. 

We have a God who is all-powerful. He rules over the earth and the heavens. 

2. Now, to Him who is able to do all things.

God is capable of doing everything. For our God, nothing is impossible.

3. Now, to Him who is able to do all that we ask. 

Be careful what you ask for because heaven is listening. Be careful what you ask for because God will do it.

4. Now, to Him who is able to do all that we ask or think.

Have you ever fantasized about a beautiful house? Have you leafed through some magazines and thought how good it would be to have a house like that?

Be careful what you think, because the power is at work in you. If you knew this, you would ask more of God. Once this verse comes alive in your heart, you will ask and keep asking, and think and think. All of this is already good enough, but God has more for us. 

5. Now to Him who is able to do all that we ask or think abundantly

The next level is that God is able to do abundantly all that we ask for or think of. Suppose you ask me for prayer. Before praying, I will tell you: "Let's pray to Him who is able." That would already be good, but the Word of God says that He, besides being able, will answer abundantly.

6. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think

He is able to do far more than everything we ask or think.

7. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us

At the seventh level, we learn that the power to accomplish all things is already at work within us. He has unleashed upon us the floods of the abundance of grace. How can sinful man, unworthy man, experience the favor of God? God did it so that when Jesus cried out, "It is finished," all blessings were released.

The Surplus of Grace

Let’s visit the story of the multiplication of bread and fish again in John 6.

Aside from the ultimate miracle of Jesus's resurrection, the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle performed by Jesus that is recorded in all four Gospels.

John 6:1-14 1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

I'm curious about the thought process the disciples used for the math involved. Today, I'll teach you a simple math problem. When you run a business, the key financial concern is whether your income minus expenses results in a positive number—this is called surplus, revenue, or profit.

The disciples made the calculation, and the result was not positive; it was very negative. So, the logic implies that you must close that financial gap with investment, an outside resource that is not part of the original relation of supply and expenses. They made the calculation and said, if we get 200 days of man’s wage in bread, it will not be enough to give each one a piece of bread.

If Average Daily Wage (8-hour shift): $265.56 per day. 200 denarii would hold the purchasing power of about $30,000. At Publix Bakery, you would be able to buy around 5,454 loaves. 

The next verse informs us that there were 5,000 men. Counting women and kids, scholars affirm there were approximately 15,000.

During this week of preparation for our Nation’s Festival, it took us about 3 days to prepare the party. Because not everybody could do the job together, each one was doing a little here, another little there. But after the party, all of us helped to clean the building. In 1 hour, the building was ready for the service.

I think of how I would try to resolve the problem of 15,000 people being hungry. I would try to make everybody work, particularly the men. 

Five thousand men can do a lot. Maybe one of them had a barley field ready for harvest. Maybe I could send 1000 of them to collect the barley, while another 1000 would be building the temporary sifting and threshing floors and the roasting ovens, and another 1000 would be gathering the other ingredients or fishing in the Sea of Galilee. 1000 would be baking the breads and cooking the fish. The other 1000 would be working on the logistics of the distribution. Done. Great job. It is like the historical phrase "United we stand, divided we fall.”

But Jesus did something different.

Sit down, it is time to grow

 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 

Why not lead in work? Because Jesus is the employer.

Why not lead them to fight for their rights against the lack the Romans created? Because Jesus was not a union leader or revolutionary.

Why not motivate them to be more civil? Because Jesus is not a politician.

Why not calm them down while they find their way back home? Because he was not a pacifist. 

Jesus said: “Sit down.” Why. Because He is the good shepherd.

Psalm 23:1-2 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

The position of blessings is the position of a king. It is the position of authority in faith. 

I know it seems crazy and contradictory compared with the momentary circumstances we are in right now, but that is the growth pain before a fast growth spurt comes.

Recently my teenage son woke up with knee pain. It was not muscle pain. It was bone pain, painful growth. 

When teenagers hit a rapid growth spurt, the most intense growth occurs in the dark while they are sleeping. The body shuts down other functions to push all its energy into expanding bones and muscles. It is uncomfortable, and it hurts.

Lying down to sleep relieves this constant physical pressure. While hormones are the primary driver of growth, this "unloading" allows the cartilage at the ends of long bones (the growth plates) to expand and lengthen more freely. Growing takes an immense amount of caloric energy. When the body is asleep and largely paralyzed, it can divert all of its available resources to the metabolically expensive task of building new bone and tissue.

The circumstances we are in right now might feel dark, crazy, and completely at odds with the peace.

Mark 6:30-31 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

It is not a setback. This is the growing pains before a massive spiritual growth spurt.

The place of accessing the more than is in the rest, seated.

Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

It is a test of time and Prayer

vv.6 ”He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.”

It is all a matter of perspective. 

Jeremiah 29:10-13 10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Daniel heard about this promise and sat down. That does not mean passivity; he prayed about it. He did not 

Daniel 9:2-3 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

The seventy years of captivity were a prolonged period of testing and difficult "momentary circumstances."

However, because Daniel aligned his perspective with God's predetermined promise rather than his current captivity, it moved him to take a position of "authority in faith" through prayer. Just like in John 6:6, God already knew what He would do, and Daniel used prayer to align himself with that future blessing.

Only the grateful give

If you are sick, thank the Father, because there is abundant grace available to you.

If you are struggling financially, say: "Father, I thank You because there is a superabundance of grace in the midst of my need." What is this need compared to superabundant grace? What is this sickness compared to superabundant healing?

Simply thank God. There is abundant grace available to you.

John 6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

The boy gave because of gratitude.

Jesus gave to the disciples, so the disciples could give with gratitude.

Gratitude is the main gear of God’s multiplication. 

When the boy surrendered his lunch to Jesus, he never thought that a small amount would become more than enough for a multitude of thousands. 

But everything we surrender, everything, with gratitude, releases the power of multiplication upon us and others around us. 

The God full of Grace and Truth

John 1:14 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God became human in the person of Jesus. God dwelt among us then and now is still living in us, full of grace and truth.

Prostitutes, sinners, tax collectors, and the marginalized were drawn to Jesus. People could touch Him and receive their miracle with no deserving, merit or explanation.

John 1:17 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees, who trusted in their own goodness, could not receive anything from Jesus. Why? Because He is for the unworthy.

If Jesus is full of grace and truth, then He is for those who do not deserve it. 

If you know you are undeserving, you can receive Jesus.

Grace is for your moments of greatest weakness; precisely when you fail, you can achieve your miracle.

Yesterday we had all our foster kids at this big happy pool party. Most of them have been victims of different family situations. Some of them are victims of their own bad decisions. But yesterday, they were being hugged, welcomed and celebrated for who they really are: children, beloved, chosen, as they should always be. That is grace.

Grace, the emulsifier of Joy in affliction

2 Corinthians 8:1-2 1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

In chemistry, when you try to mix two unmixable substances, you need a third component called an emulsifier.

Think about oil and water. They can’t mix, unless you put on some soap. Another good example is vinegar and oil; you can’t mix them, but if you add an egg yolk, you will mix them, and the result is mayonnaise.

Well, that is the picture: here are three elements that are unmixable. 

“severe severe test of affliction”

"their abundance of joy"

"extreme poverty”

But if you add “grace of God that has been given,” you can now mix them all. And the result of that mix is different from what some here are experiencing.

have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Let’s break this verse in parts.

“severe test of affliction” results in exhaustion, frustration, despair.

“extreme poverty” results in fear, anxiety, greed, money-grabbing, alm-begging…

But if you try to add joy there, it does not mix. It will be fake, hypocritical and religious.

However, once a person realizes the grace we have, it becomes possible to find real joy in extreme affliction and destitution.

What grace is that?

2 Corinthians 8:9 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

With that grace, we do not merely survive; we thrive. We don't just get by—we advance from one level to the next. We do not simply hold the line; we take ground; we go from one degree of glory to another. We do not simply endure; we overcome.

Romans 8:31-32 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Our thought should be:

How does this need compare to the abundance of grace I possess? What importance does this need have when such provision is accessible? 

A father buys his child a fully paid-off, brand-new car. A week later, the child is sitting at home, losing sleep and completely paralyzed by anxiety. Why? Because the car is low on gas, and the child is terrified their father won't be willing to give him $40 to fill the tank.

The father would look at them and say, "I just paid for the entire car. Do you honestly think I’m going to let you be stranded over a tank of gas?"

You finally got married; do you think God lacks the wisdom to teach you how to deal with the disappointments?

You warmly welcome your children, whether born, adopted, or fostered; do you believe that God will not provide you with the love needed to raise them? 

You opened your business; God will also bring the clients.

God gave us a church building; He will also provide the finances to you so we can keep it, improve it and expand it.

Grace to have all sufficiency

Would you like God to make all His favor and grace abound in your life? We all do. God promises that we can always enjoy His grace and have more than enough in everything.

Even after a pandemic, wars in Ukraine, Palestine and Iran. We can still have abundant supply in all things. All we need is the overflowing grace.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

This promise is not just for the future. In the original text, the verb is in the present tense.

God is able to do it today.

Right now, the Lord is making all grace abound in your life. At this very moment.

So why don’t we always see this sufficiency? Because we are too focused on the natural. We tend to live by sight rather than walk by faith.

Right now, the Lord is causing all favor, all grace, to abound upon you. He wants you to have ample sufficiency in all things. At this very moment, as you read this text, God's grace is overflowing in your life.

The key is to believe

Some people teach that if you have enough faith, you can make anything you want happen. That’s not biblical.

True biblical faith is opening your spiritual eyes to see what God is already doing in your life.

Yesterday, during the World Cup match between England and Norway, while a group of brothers was watching in a slow stream service, another brother had the game on his phone in real time. It was interesting to see him shouting when England scored, and everybody was biting their nails thinking that the game was over for the British. However, once the TV finally broadcast the goal, all was clear, and England did win the game.

It is all a matter of perspective. Who is actually with the final truth? God is the God of all grace and all truth. 

It is believing that healing is already yours and thanking God for it.

Hebrews 11:1 1 ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 

Faith makes the invisible real.

Even if you don’t see God’s abundant favor yet, faith says: “Thank You, Father. I receive it!”

Even if you only have a few dollars in your pocket, you can still thank Him because His grace is overflowing toward you.

Faith doesn’t create something new — it simply takes hold of what is already real in the spiritual realm and brings it into your life.

This promise is connected to financial provision. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). For those who give as God leads, His grace abounds toward them, providing more than enough financially. God is continually making His grace overflow so you can have abundant supply.

Gratitude

Jesus lived in the full abundance of the Father. Everywhere He went, there was provision.

Remember the story of the five loaves and two fish that fed over 4,000 people ( Matthew 15:32-38). The disciples saw a huge problem, but Jesus saw abundant grace.

He took the small amount of food, gave thanks to the Father, and multiplied it.

While the disciples said, “What is this among so many?” Jesus gave thanks because He understood the abundance of God’s grace.

Matthew 15:35-37 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

The people ate as much as they wanted, and twelve baskets were left over—untouched.

That event was so remarkable in the memory of the disciples of Jesus that, later, John, in his gospel (John 6), after telling about the multiplication, about Jesus walking over the water, and calming the storm, says, all that happened in a place. And the landmark moment that most stayed in his memory was when Jesus gave thanks. 

John 6:23 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

The Lord rejoices when we say: “What is this need compared to the overflowing grace of God?”

Learning with David, I realize that despite this difficult time, I can carefully select my words before my children, family, and church. 

In deep distress, I can always choose to praise Him with gratitude.

Psalms 34:11-13 11 Come, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 What man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

The Correct Image of the Father: full of grace and Truth

Consider the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

The younger son wasted everything and returned home expecting to be treated as a hired servant. Instead, he received undeserved favor and was welcomed back as a son. All he had to do was receive the father’s abundant grace.

Meanwhile, the older brother — who had never left home — became angry and refused to join the celebration. He complained, 

Luke 15:29 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

The older brother measured his relationship with the father by how well he kept the rules. Because of this, he never enjoyed the abundant blessings of the father’s house. His wrong image of the father — based on law and performance — kept him from experiencing grace.

When we have a distorted view of God, His abundant grace cannot flow freely in our lives.Offering 

2 Corinthians 9:1-4 1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, 2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident.

A couple of days ago, someone told me they would be leaving the church because they needed a place where they felt comfortable with the people in the church they are part of. I was surprised by the person’s honesty, and could not counter the argument because she was right. Right now, I have a growing team of pastors-in-training, developing leaders and a pastor with a Latino accent to provide. However, I tried something like Paul; I asked the person: “Have you ever considered the possibility that discomfort would be God calling you to resolve the problem you were demanding the church to offer it to you? It is the idea that "The problem belongs to someone else.”

A long-time regular attendee may ask what makes me a member here? First, membership doesn’t change one’s spiritual standing but signifies submission to the elders’ care and authority and full commitment to serve the congregation and receive the best capacity to serve them back. 

Secondly, it says, “I want to embrace this congregation as one of them in the fullest sense and serve them. 

It takes you from being a bystander, kind of an onlooker, to saying, “I submit myself to the leadership of this church, and I come in the fullest sense to express my ministry and my service to the family here.

The bottom line in this is, in the New Testament Church there was no such thing as a detached part of the church. They knew who was in the church. They knew who they were responsible for and accountable for, and they knew they were to care for them. They knew who their sheep were, like Jesus said, “I know My sheep, My sheep know Me.” We just want to know who belongs to us and have them come under that care and that oversight.

In the New Testament, they knew how many people were converted. They had records. When somebody moved from city to city, you see this in the New Testament: the church they moved to knew who they were, and they took letters from a previous church.

So it’s about accountability, and it’s about service in the church, so that we know who we are to care for, and so that you take on accountability to the leadership of the church.

Multiplication of Grace

There are things that can hold and restrict the grace of God upon our lives. And there are attitudes that can increase God's favor. Notice that I used the words “grace" and “favor" interchangeably. 

What is Favor

The word favor is the unmeritorious blessings of God coming to your life. I like to explain favor by comparing it with mercy. While mercy is the complete forgiveness of our sins on Calvary, and because of it, we will not receive all the punishment we deserved. 

Grace, or favor, is to receive everything we do not deserve: all the blessings, all the joy, all the multiplication that Christ is worthy to receive.

Grace is undeserved favor.

 Under God’s favor, the enemy can’t prevail against you. Your critics will have no way to reprove you. Your competitors will not surpass you.

Psalm 5:12 (ESV) "For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield."

Because of God’s favor, the right people will come close and will do business with you. Even if your services are more expensive, people will see an advantage in using them.

As important as they are, honesty and integrity do not increase favor. 

They are rewarded with trust, and that is good. But we want more than that. We need multiplied favor.

Joseph

Joseph is the ultimate example in business, management, and standing out no matter where he worked. 

Remember that Joseph worked with absolute integrity in Potiphar’s house. He refused to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, doing the honorable thing. 

Later, in prison, he was honest, and His integrity earned him trust. 

Both Joseph's superiors trusted him enough to put him in charge of daily operations.

Genesis 39:21 (ESV)"But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."

Trust is good, but it wasn't enough to get Joseph out of prison or fulfill his destiny. Being a trustworthy prisoner still leaves you in a prison. 

We need more grace. When God’s favor steps in where integrity reached its limit, from prisoner we will be exalted as royalty

God gave Joseph the supernatural ability to interpret dreams, bringing him before Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:39-40 (ESV) "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.'"

Because of God’s favor, Pharaoh didn't just see a trustworthy man; he saw a man backed by God. Pharaoh immediately promoted him to the second-highest position in the most powerful empire in the world.

Abraham

Abraham is perhaps the most striking example of favor despite integrity. His story proves that favor is completely unmerited.

If God’s blessing depended solely on Abraham’s honesty and integrity, he would have lost everything. There were two instances (with Pharaoh in Genesis 12 and with King Abimelech in Genesis 20) in which Abraham’s honesty completely failed. Out of fear for his life, he lied and said his wife Sarah was his sister. His lack of integrity put him in a terrible position.

If Abraham had only relied on his honesty, he would have been punished by these kings for deceiving them. He broke their trust. But instead of Abraham being punished, God’s favor intervened. God stepped in, protected Sarah, and actually rebuked the kings. 

Because of unmerited favor, Abraham wasn't just spared; he was blessed with massive amounts of livestock, servants, and silver.

It was not Abraham's excellence or morality, but God's favor, that multiplied his wealth despite his lack of honesty.

Genesis 20:14 (ESV) "Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him."

Abimelech realized that, though Abraham had previously lied to him, Abimelech could not deny the supernatural blessing on Abraham's life. He realized that anyone who opposed Abraham would lose, and anyone who aligned with Abraham would prosper. So he went to "do business" and form an alliance. 

He didn't approach Abraham because of his flawless integrity; he approached him strictly because of the undeniable, multiplied favor of God on his life.

Genesis 21:22-23 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.”

How To grow in Favor 

This begs the question: how can we increase God's favor upon our lives?

That was the desire of the Apostles for us.

2 Peter 1:1-2 1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Peter made it clear. Faith is the number one condition for multiplied grace. 

A faith that makes you conscious of God’s gift of righteousness.

Favor does not come because we make more things for God. 

Favor is not meant to be a repayment for hard work. The biblical reasoning is: we do more because we have received more grace.

Grace and peace are multiplied when we know more of the Lord. The more you listen to a preaching that exalts the work of Christ. When you learn more about the person of Jesus, everything in your life will prosper.

This is not about the so-called “Prosperity gospel.” This is about the gospel of grace that will indeed produce prosperity.

Romans 5:17 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

So we can pray in the name of Jesus and ask for anything we need, with confidence that the Father listens and answers.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - 6:2 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Cor 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

It is a matter of seeing more of the Lord. 

We tend to think we need more money, but the Lord says we need more favor, which grows as we see more of the Lord.

Our school had a demand for expansion for this coming school year in August. We had no resources to make that happen. But because of favor, a grant was given to enable us to achieve world-class quality using the best materials and equipment for that growth.

We are opening two new classrooms because of that.

Our foster families were loving these kids with all their hearts, and one of them testified that an unexpected amount was given to them with no application or process. That is favor. 

We are being convinced that it is a matter of better marketing, but it is a matter of more favor.

I talked with a brother yesterday who told me that all his business growth over the past year was driven by word of mouth. He said his only problem now is finding people willing to learn and work. That is favor.

When Peter and Paul say about knowing the Lord, the knowledge here is a “heart” matter.

Therefore, turn on a worship song.

Pray “Lord, I want to know you more.” And by doing that, the favor will increase over your life.

Have a Conscience of Forgiveness

Romans 5:20-21 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Because of what Paul wrote here, many think that he meant to say, "the more a person sins, the more grace one will have.”

Actually, that was exactly what Paul’s opponents accused him of saying. If you read the following verses,

Romans 6:1-2 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

What Paul was teaching is that one must be conscious of how sinful and broken and wretched they were without Christ to be so thankful and pleased with the great forgiveness they had received. 

That is why it is so important to know that we would never be worthy of God’s favor based on our own merits and uprightness.

The law was like a spoon.

If you have a cup of water with residue at the bottom. While the sediments are still and tamed at the bottom, the water seems crystal clear.

But if a spoon moves the water, the dirt from the bottom will be revealed.

The spoon did not produce the dirt in the water; it only revealed it. The spoon is the law.

The law does not have the power to clean the water. The spoon only reveals there is a problem. 

Sin is already in our flesh. And unless one sees their sin, they would never perceive the need for a Savior.

Here is how the grace can increase. Once one says yes to God’s solution for our terrible sinful condition, saying yes to Jesus, we no longer need to live under the conscience of sin. 

We need to grow in the conscience of forgiveness.

Luke 7:47 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The one who knows and reminds himself of God’s complete and amazing forgiveness will love the Lord the most and consequently will receive more favor.

The problem with the conscience of sin is the continuous shame and condemnation that it evokes.

These things prevent the favor from growing in our lives.

Think like this: 

If my son wants to relate to me based on shame and fear, with a continuous sense of fear and a belief that I will cause him some pain or punishment. And I bless him with a new pair of shoes. That can be a problem.

While I am trying to show my son that he does not need to act like that towards me, he insists on that approach. But we need to have a relationship built on joy, trust, and genuine vulnerability with each other.

So, my son, because he received a new pair of shoes, now he wants a Brazil soccer jersey. So he acts in the same distant and fearful way as before.

He acts shy, isolated, and afraid because he feels very undeserving of any gifts or favors from me.

If I give my son that Brazilian jersey, I would be reinforcing that kind of relationship.

I love my son. And for the sake of our relationship, I can’t bless him until he changes his conscience of sin to a conscience of love and forgiveness.

I heard the story about one of our Vine pastors who grew up in a small town. His father owned the small dollar store in that town. Growing up, he wanted one chocolate bar from his father's store, so he snuck in after business hours. He took one bar, and he hid it from his father. The other day, his older brother, as any older brother will, snitched on him to his dad.

His father called him in private and said, “Wait. They are starting to close tonight, and we will have a talk later in the house.” The boy waited, fearful and expecting harsh punishment and judgment. That was the right thing. However, out of love and forgiveness, the father acted mercifully and told him, "Son, you are my son. You are fully forgiven. Do you believe my love?” In the sunset, in tears, he said, "I do. I'm so sorry for what I have done.” Then the father said, "Do you really believe my love?” The son said, "I do. Thank you for forgiving me.” Then the father said, "You are the owner of the entire store. You do not need to steal anything that already belongs to you. You can always come to me with anything you need. If you want a chocolate bar, I have an entire box just for you. Here it is. You have the entire box just for you.”

Did you understand the story? It was not merely a matter of mercy. Out of forgiveness and the conscience of love, the young boy was blessed with favor. The more we trust in her father's love for us, the more favor we have.

Have a submissive, humble heart

When we act confidently in our works, we are actually trusting in our own merit. We approach God to demand something we believe we deserve. The biggest problem in people's lives is not sin, because we all have sin. The greatest problem is a sense of merit, self-righteousness.

Luke 2:51-52 1 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

There was something that the Lord did that brought even more favor upon Him. In the Lord's life, everything was by merit, for He never sinned, so all the blessings of the law were upon Him. However, the Gospel says that He grew in grace. If you observe the context, you will see that grace came along with Jesus’ submission to His parents. He grew in wisdom because there was one thing Jesus did not know: being God, He had never submitted to anyone before. When He does this, He humbles Himself. Being God, He makes Himself lower than Joseph and Mary. Lord Jesus did not tell Joseph, 'I am the Son of God, and you are the one who should submit to me.’ He never claimed any merit. He humbled Himself.

Philippians 2:5-8 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

At twelve years old, Jesus was already debating with the doctors in Jerusalem. How do you think He debated? He could have told a teacher, 'You are already seventy years old and still don't understand what this Bible passage means,’ or say to another, 'You know I was the one who wrote the law, so I can tell you what it means.”

No, He did not do it that way. The Bible says that He listened and asked questions of the teachers. The Lord, at twelve years old, knew much more than His parents, but even so, He was submissive to them, and because of that, He grew in favor before God and men.

Some assume they submit only to someone greater and better than themselves. But that is not submission. If the other person is greater and stronger, there is no choice.

1 Peter 5:5 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Humility involves letting go of the ego, which is rooted in feelings of entitlement, pride, and rebellion. Those filled with self-righteousness believe they deserve recognition, leading to pride and rebellion.

God's grace is like water: it flows downhill naturally. His favor does not increase by positioning ourselves as superior. 

Humble yourself, and you will receive God's favor. When we submit, we attract His favor, and He will raise us up.

Many think that God opposes our exaltation, but in reality, He advises us not to exalt ourselves because He desires to lift us up; That is when we experience true glory.

The Two-Sided Coin of the Gospel: The Gospel is the ultimate power of God to save, but to experience its full impact, we must grasp it in its totality. Much like a coin with two distinct sides, the complete picture of the gospel involves both the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace. While Jesus' earthly ministry heavily emphasized the Kingdom and the Apostle Paul’s letters championed Grace, they are not two separate messages, but one unified gospel. Understanding both sides is crucial; it prevents us from becoming comfortably stagnant on one end or burning out through legalism on the other, ultimately empowering us to step fully into our royal identity.

The Gospel of the Kingdom: When Jesus began His earthly ministry, His central declaration was clear: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). This was not a harsh threat, but a joyful, royal announcement that the King's domain had finally arrived on earth. As believers, we are no longer subject to the broken systems of this world; we have been transferred into the Kingdom of God's beloved Son. This means we are royalty—joint-heirs with Christ—who carry the delegated authority to bring heaven's standard of healing, peace, and dominion into our homes, our workplaces, and our city.

The Unshakable Foundation of Grace. Before we can effectively expand the Kingdom, we must be completely secure in the Gospel of Grace. The cross of Calvary is our unshakable foundation. Through Jesus' finished work, our sins have been entirely dealt with, and we are no longer defined as just "sinners saved by grace," but as the very righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! The enemy desperately wants us to doubt our salvation to keep us immobilized. However, grace assures us that our standing with the Father is based entirely on Jesus' perfect, finished sacrifice, not on our own flawed performance.

Empowered to Reign in Life: When we successfully bridge the Gospel of Grace with the Gospel of the Kingdom, we are activated to truly reign in life. Romans 5:17 reveals that those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. Grace is the glorious means to a Kingdom end. It radically transforms our nature and secures our adoption as sons and daughters, enabling us to step out with the King's authority. Free from the heavy burdens of worldly worry and anxiety, we are fully equipped to take dominion over the circumstances we face.

The Mission of the Local Church: God's ultimate design is to express this powerful, dual-sided gospel through His bride, the local church. We were not merely saved to get a ticket to heaven; we were saved for a divine, world-changing purpose right here on earth. As a living embassy of heaven, the local church is the place where broken people encounter the healing power of the Kingdom and the unconditional embrace of Grace. As we fully accept our royal identity and rest in the finished work of the cross, we will naturally multiply, advancing the King's domain and preparing ourselves as a bride ready for His triumphant return.

Key Scriptures:

• Matthew 4:17
• Colossians 1:13
• Matthew 6:33
• Romans 5:17