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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. It is always a joy and a privilege to bring God's word into your homes. This morning, we're gonna study from the book of Revelation.0:12 I'm titling this morning's sermon, are you among the blessed? We're gonna study from Revelation chapter 1 and verses 1 to 3. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for0:24 this day. We ask that you give us listening ears and a heart that is willing to obey your word and open our eyes to see Jesus in all his beauty and in all his glory. And Lord, we know0:35 that when the word comes forth, it will accomplish the things for which it has been sent. So accomplish in our midst only what you can do, mighty God. So we trust in you and we rest in you in Jesus name and the people0:47 of God said, amen and amen. Are you among the blessed? Revelation chapter 1 and verses 1 to 3. We're gonna read this passage of scripture, just 30:59 verses. I wanna take time to dig deep in this book of Revelation. So that's why we're gonna take shorter passages and dig through it. Now, the first 3 verses says this, the revelation of1:11 Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who bore1:23 witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the 1 who reads aloud the words of this prophecy1:34 and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it for the time is near. Hallelujah. I want you to pay attention to that word blessed.1:46
1:58 on the faithless, it pronounces blessing on the faithful. There are over 7 beatitudes that I want you to pay attention to in the book of Revelation. This is a
2:10 homework for you. When you're reading through these 22 chapters, highlight the verses that begin with the word blessed because blessed, just like verse 3, blessed is the 1. Right?
2:22 And that blessed, that word that when it begins with that, that's a beatitude. There are over 7 beatitudes in this book. I want you to capture this, that this book is about helping
2:34 us to walk in the reality of God's blessings. No matter what the world goes through, the people of God can be blessed because of who they are in Christ Jesus and what he has accomplished
2:46 for us. But many times we fail to walk in that blessedness is because we fail to see Jesus. We fail to believe the good news, the
2:57 gospel. Story was told of Hiro Onoda. Hiro Onoda was a Japanese army intelligence officer fighting in the Philippine jungle of
3:09 Lubang Island. He was he was defending the Lubang Island from the invaders. Now listen to me carefully. In August of 19 45, Japan surrendered
3:21 and the World War ended. But Hiro Onoda did not hear about the ending of the war. Rather, he continued to defend
3:32 Lubang Island and he continued to remain there and fight the World War 2. He was the last soldier to surrender. Do you know when did he surrender? He surrendered in the March
3:44 of 19 74, nearly 30 years after the war actually ended. He was the last Japanese soldier to be surrendered. Now he wrote a autobiography called No Surrender,
3:56 My 30 Year War. I want you to listen to me carefully. How tragic is this? The war ended in 19 45, but for the next 30 years, he remained in the jungles and
4:08 tried to defend it because he didn't hear about the good news that the war had ended. This is what happens. This is why the Bible says
4:20 we need to not only hear the good news, we need to believe the good news, and we need to apply the good news. And this book of Revelation is about the good news. Hallelujah.
4:32 That's why in the first few, verses itself, you find that there is a blessedness for people who read this and hear this and apply this into their life. And that's what I wanna focus on today.
4:44 I wanna give you 2 keys that unlock the spiritual blessings in our lives. What are those 2 keys? Take it down. These 2 keys are this. Blessed is the 1 who sees
4:56 and blessed is the 1 who keeps. Blessed is the 1 who sees. What do it what do we see? What do we need to see for us to walk in the spiritual blessings? That is
5:08 what the first 2 verses is about. The first 2 verses talks about what we need to see. Can I give you 2 things? What we need to see? We need to see the message of revelation and we need to see
5:19 the messenger of revelation. Let me highlight that. What is the message of revelation? Go with me to verse 1. Chapter 1 verse 1. The Bible says, the revelation of Jesus
5:31 Christ which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. The revelation of Jesus Christ. When you
5:43 read this text, the revelation of Jesus Christ, you can interpret it in 2 ways. It is revelation given by Jesus Christ or it is a revelation about
5:55 Jesus Christ. Now both would be true in this case because Jesus is the source of this revelation. God gave Jesus the revelation and Jesus gave it to John through the
6:06 angel, the Bible says. Now listen to me carefully. So the source is Jesus Christ. But at the same time, it is a revelation about Jesus Christ. So don't miss the star of this book.
6:18 The star of the book is Jesus Christ. It is he in all his beauty, in all his glory, in all his majesty establishing his throne on earth and creating a new heaven
6:30 and new earth. This is a book about Jesus. That's why in my overview that I gave you last week, I already talked to you about how do you outline this book. There
6:42 are 5 movements about the king that we see. See the king Jesus in all these 5 movements. Movement number 1, chapter 1 to chapter 3 is about the reminders of the king, isn't it? It is about
6:54 Jesus speaking to the churches. And what was the key message? The key message is return to me. That was the key message. Chapter 4 and chapter 5 speaks about the redemption of the king.
7:05 John saw a vision of heaven, Jesus seated on the throne and everyone bowing down and worshiping him and singing the song, worthy is the lamb that was slain. Hallelujah. In other words, it is about
7:17 worship him. That's the message. From chapter 6 to chapter 18, when the great tribulation happens in the world, it is about the rise of the king, isn't it? The rise of the king. What happens? The world
7:29 is going through such a tribulation, a great tribulation, such as what mankind has never experienced before. But even in the midst of all that was going on in the
7:41 world, you find Jesus still seated on the throne and he is acting out the purposes of God. Therefore, for people of God, what is the message? The message is trust him.
7:53 You know, in that word when they say, you know, the the dash has hit the fan. Everything is going haywire. But in the moment like that, you can still
8:05 be rested. Why? You have a God in heaven, a high priest in heaven who is seated at the right hand of God interceding for you, and he is for
8:16 you. So trust him. Hallelujah. Then it's the return of the king chapter 19. Chapter 19, the Bible says the bride got herself ready for the coming of the Lord. Just like
8:28 that. That's the message for us. We need to expect him like the 10 virgins who expected the 5 who expected the return of the bridegroom anytime and they were ready. Expect him. And then lastly, from chapter 20 to
8:40 chapter 22, it is about the reign of the king. The reign of the king on earth. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and God establishes his throne in the midst and
8:52 the Bible says Jesus rules here for thousand years and after that, new heaven and new earth are established. What is the key message for us as a church? The message is celebrate him because
9:04 he is victorious. Hallelujah. He is more than a conqueror. He is a conqueror. We have a God who has overcome and he is victorious right till the end. So the whole book of Revelation can be
9:16 summarized in 2 words. Jesus wins. That's why I want you to catch this. He's the source of revelation, but at the same time, he is the star of revelation. We need to be able to see him when the
9:28 moment you see him, everything shifts. Max Lucado said this, Christianity in its purest form is nothing more than seeing Jesus.
9:40 Catch that. Christianity in its purest form is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service in its purest form is nothing more than imitating Jesus whom
9:51 we see. You see Jesus. And the more you see Jesus, the more you imitate Jesus. And the more you imitate Jesus, the more you see
10:03 Jesus. I want you to see this church. Seeing Jesus is what Christian life is about. That's how you begin your Christian walk and that's how you end your Christian walk.
10:15 It is about being able to see him, the 1 whom God sent, the 1 who lived the perfect life that you and I could never live, the 1 who died the death that you and I deserve to die,
10:27 the 1 who was rose again from the dead and because he was sacrificed on our behalf, he was the sacrifice for our sins, but then Christ was raised back to life. And when he was raised back to life, that sin
10:39 is no longer an issue. Hallelujah. And today he's ascended into heaven and he's seated at the right hand of God and all authority, all power is given to him. Praise God. The
10:51 name of Jesus, people will be saved. Not only that, the Bible says, what is he doing at the right hand of God? He's interceding for you and me. And that is the precious truth
11:03 that I want you to catch because in the book of Revelation, Jesus is revealed as the judge of the world. But you and I today in this dispensation of grace that we are living
11:15 in, we have him as our great high priest who is interceding for us. That's why seeing Jesus is so critical for our lives. I want you to listen to me. Anytime
11:27 you're feeling fearful, it is because you have forgotten to see Jesus. Anytime you feel vulnerable and frail, it's because you've forgotten Jesus to see Jesus. Every
11:39 time you feel like your failure is crippling your life, it's because you have not seen Jesus. The 1 who loves you, the 1 who has forgiven you, and the 1 who embraces you, he has accepted you, he has adopted
11:50 you, he has favored you, he has blessed you, and today he is saying to you, return to me. Hallelujah. Seeing Jesus is what it's all about.
12:03 Once you see Jesus, your life will no longer be the same again. Years ago, I received a letter from P and G. It was sent to me through a
12:14 missionary that we know in P and G. Now this letter was from the maximum security prison in PNG, in Port Moresby. And
12:27 people who have committed murders or multiple murders, they are the ones who are held in that prison. Now I want to give you a background in terms of why this letter was written to me.
12:39 In the year 2000, my wife and I were invited to attend the Independence Day function at the Maximum Security Prison in Port Moresby. It's the
12:51 sixteenth of September, the Independence Day, and we were there as a newly married couple and our friend invited me to be, to to attend a function. And there, they asked
13:03 me to preach to the inmates. So I was given an opportunity to preach a 40 minute sermon, to the inmates, and, I shared about how Jesus Christ is
13:14 our great high priest and how even when we have failed, that God doesn't look at us in our failure, but God looks at us, look at our high priest, and
13:26 looks at the sacrifice that he has, done on our behalf, and on account of Jesus, how God shows mercy and grace to us. No matter what we have done in our life, that God
13:38 still reaches out to us and he saves us. That was the message. Now, unknowing to me that there was, in the in the group of about 300 or 400 inmates that were there in
13:50 this notorious camp. In in in in fact, if you search for the world's most notorious prisons, they come they rank in the top 5. Unknown to me,
14:02 there was a man standing and he says, I didn't even wanna sit down because I didn't even wanna come and be part of that group because I felt so far removed that God will never accept me, God will never want
14:13 to, want to receive me. His name is Peter. The reason why Peter was in the maximum security prison is because he murdered a missionary pastor.
14:26 He actually murdered the pastor and his family, and he was there in the prison as a result. Now when he heard this message, he wrote to me in his in the letter that
14:38 he wrote. He says, I heard that word and the Holy Spirit reached out to me and pulled me. I didn't realize I was weeping and weeping and weeping and crying before God. And as a
14:50 result, I built an altar of repentance. I committed my life to Christ. Now this letter was written years later and he said to me that he's still in the maximum security prison, but he's a
15:01 changed believer in Christ. Not only that, by the grace of God, he has now started a church within that maximum security prison and he is now the unofficially their
15:13 pastor. And through a local missionary, he got he got enrolled into a Bible college and he's also doing a correspondence bible training to become a fully
15:24 accredited pastor. Wow. The gospel is powerful. People need to see Jesus. The moment they see Jesus, it
15:36 doesn't matter what they have done, no matter what way they feel they are in, the Lord is merciful and the Lord is able to redeem them. Hallelujah. Do you believe that? If you believe that,
15:48 can you shout amen? So the first thing is to see Jesus. See the message of revelation. How do we walk in the blessing? Blessed is the 1 who sees. Sees not only the message of
16:00 revelation, but sees the messenger of revelation. Look at this in verse 1 and verse 2. Look at how many people God has used as messengers to communicate
16:12 the book of Revelation. The Bible says in verse 1 that Jesus received it from God the Father. Isn't it? God gave him to show to his servants the things
16:24 that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. I want you to listen to me carefully. God gave the revelation to Jesus and Jesus
16:36 gave it to angel and angel then gave it to John and John then gave it to the 7 churches and to the churches today. To his
16:47 servants, the Bible says. I want you to see how many messengers are here. See, God could have directly communicated to, the servants. When the Bible says here, his servants, it
16:59 means, later on, John will explain in in verse 4 of Revelation 1 that he's writing this as a letter to the 7 churches. But I want you to listen to me. God did not reveal directly
17:11 to the 7 churches, but he gave the revelation to Jesus and Jesus to the angel and angel to John and then John to his servants. Why? Because God has an appointed messenger
17:23 through which, through whom the world will be reached. That's why you and I, we should not fail to see this. You should see who is the 1 that's going to go and proclaim this good news to the people.
17:35 God has chosen you and I, his servants, to be the messengers. And the word here for servants, twice it's mentioned. It's mentioned about the to his servants and
17:46 then his servant John. It's the word doulos in the Greek. It's the word for bond servant. In other words, you and I are the bond servants of Christ. Listen to me. You and I are
17:58 the slaves of Christ because once upon a time, we lived in the slavery of sin. And then Christ redeemed us. He purchased us with a price and today we belong to him and these people, you and
18:10 I, who have been purchased with a price, who have tasted the goodness of God and the newness of life, it is to us, he says, you are the messengers.
18:22 Don't forget this. You and I are called to be the witness. You and I are called to be the person who carry this message, the message of God's love to the world, the message of God's gospel to the world, the
18:34 good news that Christ redeemed them from their sin. They no longer need to live away from God. They can come home to God. Hallelujah. You and I are the messengers. Look at what the verse 2
18:46 says. Verse 2 says, that who bore witness See, this is talking about John the messenger. He bore witness to the Word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ,
18:58 even to all that he saw. You and I are called to be a witness. That word witness in the Greek is the word for matter in the English word.
19:10 Matter. You know, John was writing to the 7 churches this letter and the 7 churches, they were already going through severe persecution.
19:22 Some of them had already been killed. You know how the Romans usually kill the people? They either threw them into the lion's den or they light them up as human torches. So many of them have
19:33 already been killed for the sake of the gospel. And so John writes to them in John chapter 1 and verse 9. Sorry, in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 9, he says, John, your brother, your partner in
19:45 tribulation because he was also going through tribulation. And he writes to them and he says, you and I, we bore witness. Witness to what? Witness to the Word of God. That the Word of God is true
19:56 and we believe in it and we receive it and we act on it. Secondly, the testimony of Jesus Christ that Jesus died for me and rose again from the dead and because I believe in Him, I'm forgiven. And thirdly, to all that we
20:08 have seen. In other words, we have tasted the goodness and the grace of God. Isn't it? Now listen to me. You bore witness. Now can I humbly say this to all the believers that are watching? Listen
20:20 to me. You and I are called to be a witness. That witness includes the word martyr. In other words, to be a martyr, to be to be to be killed for the sake of the gospel.
20:32 Now you and I are living in a country where you will not be facing persecution like that to the point of execution, to the point of martyrdom. But you and I
20:44 have an opportunity to be a witness. You know, in those in those countries where people are going through severe persecution, the gospel rapidly expands. The church continually
20:56 advances and grows because it's a life and death for them. But for us in this first world, it's very different, isn't it? Because there's no real persecution, there's a freedom of religion,
21:08 and you can worship the Lord. We take it for granted, and we don't see the urgency of the gospel. We don't we are not gripped by it. So I want you to listen to me carefully.
21:20 You know, that's why the first world we have first world problems. Churches within the church, you find a lot of grumbling and complaining and griping and people people are easily
21:31 offended or easily hurt. Oh my goodness. When you're in a battleground, when you're going through hardships and persecution, there's no time for it. You need each other. You love 1 another. You
21:43 will sacrifice. You will share what you have And you will be gracious to 1 another. You will show mercy to 1 another. And because you need each other's support. But in times like this,
21:55 people's true character comes out. The immaturity comes out. That's the first world problems, where you get offended, easily hurt, your nose gets out of joint for no reason. Listen to me carefully. As a pastor, I'm
22:07 saying this with much burden. And this is not saying because these things happen in church, but these things will happen in church. Therefore, I'm saying this for you to pay attention to it. You
22:19 and I are called to be witness the the moment, the reason why we lose our witness at workplace, we lose our witness in our neighborhood, we lose our witness even within community that we are part of. We lose our
22:31 witness sometimes. You know why? Because we got so easily pricked. Easily, our ego takes over. We're easily hurt and offended and all that. The bible says already they will know, the world
22:43 will know that you are his by the way you love 1 another. By the way, let me come back to the main text. The main text is that you and I are called to be martyrs. You and I are
22:55 called to be witness. You and I are called to be the person who carries this message of the gospel to the people in the ends of the earth. I want you to listen to me
23:06 carefully. So as we as we continue to see this, that God has called us to be the messenger. As a church, we have embraced CTTC as 1
23:18 of our philosophies in it. And the CTTC, you would already heard this, compel them to come, Carry them to Christ and connect them to community.
23:30 CTTC, compel them to come. You and I are called to go into the world and compel them to come. Taste the fruit of Jesus. Share the gospel with them. Not only it's about
23:42 just compelling them to come, but it's about carrying them to Christ. You carry them in prayer. You intercede for them. But at the same time, you connect them into a local community. You need to connect them to a small
23:53 group because people need to be part of a family. Now as I was thinking about this, I want you to listen to me. Many times we want to be a messenger, but we sometimes fail to recognize
24:05 what does it take to be a messenger. It takes this. It takes that you understand the process that people will go through before they commit their life to Christ.
24:16 See, want you to catch this phrase. Evangelism is not an event. It is a process. Evangelism is not a process. It's it's it's a process. It's not an event. I want you to catch this. Why?
24:28 Because many times we just say, okay, let me invite him to a church service. Let me invite my pre believing friend to a life group or a social. You invite them 1 time and they come 1 time and then they go
24:40 back and everything goes back to the normal because you don't follow through. You don't follow-up. I want you to listen to me. Evangelism is not a 1 time event. It's a process. I want you to give I wanna give
24:52 you an Engel scale. A man by the name of James f Engel developed a scale of how a pre believer comes to faith in Christ. Let me show you this. I want you to take it down.
25:04 The first thing he says is minus 8. It starts at minus 8. Minus 8 is no knowledge understanding of the gospel. They are aware of
25:16 a spiritual being but they have no awareness of the gospel. Minus 7 is they have an initial awareness of the gospel. What is initial awareness? Maybe they came to a life group event. Maybe they heard
25:28 about other people talking about how they became a Christian. So they are initially aware of the gospel. Minus 6 is awareness of fundamentals of the gospel. So what is the fundamentals of the gospel? It's I'm a
25:40 sinner. I need a savior. And people without without Christ will go to eternity in hell. So these things are fundamentals of the gospel. Minus 5, it's the grasp, the implications of
25:52 the gospel. They have to recognize that if I don't place my faith in Christ, that I am doomed. That's the grasp, the implications. Either Jesus Christ is Lord of all or he's not Lord at
26:04 all. Either Jesus Christ is a liar or a lunatic or a Lord. If he claims that he's the only way and truth and life, either he's a liar or a lunatic or a lord,
26:16 a truly lord as he says he is. So they have to grasp the implications of the gospel. Minus 4 is positive attitudes towards the gospel. After they have encountered you bringing the gospel to them
26:28 a few times, there will be a positive change from negative to positive, from closed to now they are open to receive the gospel. Then minus 2 is minus 3 is a
26:39 personal problem recognition. Minus 3, personal problem recognition. They recognize, well, if I don't do this, I may be successful in my career, I may have a
26:51 good net worth, I may retire rich, I may have all the luxuries of life, but I'm living for the temporal because if I close my eyes today, I would be judged by eternal king, Jesus.
27:04 It is a personal problem recognition. And when they come, then minus 2, there is a decision to act. They say, Yes, I want to place my faith in Christ. And then they're going to minus 1, which is the repentance and faith
27:16 in Christ. This is where you lead them to a sinner's prayer and do that. I want you to catch this because there is a process in which people come to faith in Christ. That's why from experience
27:27 and from research, I can boldly say this, it takes about 4 to 5 times you ministering to them, you having gospel conversations with them before the penny
27:39 drops. That's why you don't do this alone. You bring them to your life group. Reach them together as a life group. Pray together. Pray for them that the gospel will take that
27:50 root in their heart. Hallelujah. Then finally, when they have new birth, then the next thing happens. Plus 1 now. It's the post decision evaluation. They have to evaluate their life. I lived like this
28:02 before. Now there are some changes I need to make. What are those changes? Then plus 2 will be they need to be incorporated into a local body. They need to be part of a loving family. That's why connect them to
28:14 a community. Don't just leave them as orphans. Bring them into the family of God. Plus 3, they they grow in God. How do they grow in God? Not only they grow in God, they become
28:26 conceptual and behavioral growths. This is where they try they understand what it means to, have a quiet time with God, what it means to be renewed in their mind, what it means to memorize and meditate
28:37 the scriptures. They learn and they grow in feeding of God's word and doing of God's word. Plus 4 is communion with God and plus 5 is stewardship of life. Now the reason I want you to
28:49 take a photo of this Engel scale is because I want you to recognize evangelism is a process. To take someone from the kingdom
29:01 of darkness into the kingdom of his son Jesus, there is a process. And God uses you and I as messengers of God's love, as people who continue to go and door knock, people who
29:13 continue to keep giving them that invitation, people who continue to intercede on their behalf so their heart will be open to receive the gospel. Hallelujah. I want you to listen to me carefully, church.
29:25 That's why don't do this alone. Do it together with your life group. As a group, work together. As a group, pray for the people in your blessed strategy. Pray for the people that you have written down in your blessed
29:36 list. Pray for them and work out a strategy and help people take their next step towards Christ. I wanna give you a mission statement for 20 21. And I want you to embrace this with all your heart
29:48 because I want you to see Jesus and I want you to be the messenger of Jesus Christ. How? By helping people take their next step towards Christ. You and I are only
29:59 asked to take that step. When you take that bold step, God will do the rest. You keep doing that same thing over and over again and see how God moves on your behalf because God is
30:11 wanting to save the rest of mankind. Hallelujah. I want you to listen to me. That's the first thing. Blessed is the 1 who sees. Sees what? Sees mess sees the message
30:23 of Revelation and sees the messenger of Revelation. Let's look at the second 1. Blessed is the 1 who keeps. How can we walk in the spiritual blessing? What is the key to unlock
30:35 it? Blessed is the 1 who keeps. I want you to listen to me. In verse 3, I want you to pay attention to verse 3. Blessed is the 1 who reads aloud the words
30:47 of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it for the time is near. Hallelujah. Blessed is the 1
30:58 who reads and who hears and who keeps. What a compelling invitation. No other place in the Bible does a what the Lord say very clearly, when you read, I will bless
31:10 you. Even this morning, you heard me read the scriptures. And when you're hearing me read the scriptures, the Bible says you're blessed. I'm blessed for reading it. You're blessed for hearing it. And
31:22 the Bible says not only for those who are hearing and reading, it is also for those who are doing. That's a that's a compelling invitation for us to read. Can you
31:34 make 20 21, the rest of this year, you have another 9 9, 10 months to go. Can you make the rest of this year a year of reading the Bible? If you have never started reading and meditating
31:46 and confessing the word, this is the year for you to do. We are doing this together in the small group, isn't it? My first lesson to you on the small group was about foundation, building the foundation
31:58 upon the word of God. So let's do it together as a church. The second thing the Bible says here is the compelling exhortation to be doers of God's will. Look at
32:10 what the verse 3 says. Who keep what is return in it? It is not just enough to hear it. It's not enough to just to believe in it, but you need to act it
32:22 out. The book ends in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 7 with the same exhortation. Look at what it says, And behold, I'm coming soon. Blessed is the 1 who keeps the words of the prophecy of
32:34 this book. Blessed is the 1 who keeps. God is looking for people who are not only readers and listeners, but also doers of the word.
32:47 You know, years ago when I was a young boy, in in our household, we used to receive a lot of, pastors and church leaders, And they used to come
32:57 almost every week and every other day, there would be someone who has traveled a long distance to come and see my parents. And sometimes my parents are home, they're not home. I would be the 1
33:09 hosting them. When I was a very young boy, little boy, I remember this lady who traveled from a very long distance. She's from a village. She's
33:21 an illiterate woman. She doesn't even carry a Bible in her hand. She wears white and white clothes, and she was praying for our family. And before she started to pray,
33:33 she asked me to read a certain portion of Scriptures. So she would just say, read this portion, and I'll read it. And then she would say this portion, and then she started to explain, and she went on to preach for
33:44 another 20 to 30 minutes. And I noticed that she was confessing the word. She was just quoting scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. So out of curiosity, I recognize that she's
33:56 illiterate, out of curiosity, I asked her how did you know so much of God's word? And this is what she said. She said she used to cry out to the Lord and say, Lord, I don't know how to read, but
34:08 I want you to give me the grace that whenever I listen, I want you to give me the grace to remember. So she listened attentively. Every time someone reads the scriptures, she will listen attentively. And by the grace of
34:20 God, God has given her a super memory. She's memorized almost the most of the Bible. Passages of scripture. She says she will ask her children to read, and as they read, she
34:32 will just there will be a mem she will memorize the scripture. Wow. That woman is really blessed. I want you to listen to me carefully. There's power in listening to
34:43 the word of God. That's why bring the people. Let them hear the word of God. But at the same time, the Bible says you need to do the word of God because it's not just enough for you to just listen every
34:55 Sunday or to read the Bible but then not apply it. Look at the warning that James says. James chapter 1 and verse 22 to 24. This is from the message translation.
35:07 The Message translation reads like this, don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but. Letting the word go in 1 ear and out the other.
35:20 Act on what you hear. Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and 2 minutes later have no idea who they are and what they look like. The Bible
35:32 says, don't be like people who just hear and not do it. Can I encourage you this year? Take 1 thing at a time and say, Lord, how can I apply
35:44 this? Ask that key question. How can I apply what I'm hearing today in my life? That is why in the Bible College curriculum that we are going through right now as a church, I give you that you
35:55 need to create space in your calendar to have think time and in that think time to reflect upon your life. So it's 1 thing to read the scripture, another thing to reflect upon your life
36:07 in light of the scripture, and then to to to renew your life, to renew your commitments, and to record in a journal what the Lord is saying, isn't it? And respond in prayer. I want you to listen to me
36:19 carefully. There must be a strategy for us to learn to apply what the word of God says into our lives. And the reason why I'm saying all this is because there is a compelling reason in verse 3.
36:31 Look at how it ends. It ends by saying, for the time is near. Last week, we established what that means when time is near. Time is near means there is a sense
36:42 of urgency that you and I, we need to pay attention to. And this is why God has taken so long before Jesus returns to the world. Why? Because the Bible says in second Peter chapter 3
36:54 and verse 9. What does it say in second Peter chapter 3 and verse 9? The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should
37:06 reach repentance. Hallelujah. God is patient. He's waiting for each 1 to repent. That's why you and I have to see Jesus. That's why you and I need to carry
37:18 this message and be the messenger to the world. And when we do it, we apply it. Hallelujah. The Bible says, go into the world, preach the gospel,
37:30 baptize them in the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit, and teach them to obey all things I have commanded. This is the call of God for you and me. This is the will of God for you and me. When he comes back,
37:41 that's what he's going to evaluate whether we did it. So can I humbly say this church, let's go on this? Let's embrace this. Let's embrace that that that the blessed is the 1 who sees. Sees
37:53 what? Sees Jesus. Sees the messenger, the message, and being the messenger. You and I need to be the messenger of God's love to the world.
38:05 Secondly, it is blessed is the 1 who keeps. Let's keep doing his will until he returns. Hallelujah. I I wanna just
38:17 ask you this 1 thing. I know if I ask you the question, do you believe in the gospel? You might say, yes, pastor. I believe in the gospel. Do you know, in fact, many believe in the gospel, but not
38:29 many believe in the urgency of the gospel. And this year, I want you to be gripped by the urgency of the gospel. What does that mean? That Jesus is coming again soon. And in this season,
38:40 he's calling his church to return to him. And he's calling his church to go back to the disciple making roots, to go into the world and to make disciples. So I want to ask you this question. How are you
38:52 going to spend the rest of this year 20 21? What are you gonna focus on? Can I humbly ask you to focus on Jesus? Make it all about Jesus. Seeing him, and
39:04 not only that, doing his will. Hallelujah. Blessed is the 1 who sees Jesus, and blessed is the 1 who does his will. I began with a
39:16 story. I wanna end with that same story. Hiro Onoda was in Lubang Island. The war had ended in 19 45, but heShow more
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Paul Jeyachandran
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