Yeah, we have now covered John chapter 3 up to verse 15. So we will continue from verse 16 onwards. Now verse 16 is a very familiar verse and it says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. And so over here Jesus very directly uses the term one and only son. So he is saying, I'm not only the son of man who was discussed in Daniel chapter 7, I'm also the son of God. So he makes that very clear that he's not just some kind of a human messiah but that he is divine. He refers to his divinity over here. And then what else? Over here when it says believes in him, obviously it's not talking about just intellectual belief because even the demons believe that Jesus exists and that Jesus is the son of God. They know that they have seen that. So it's not talking about just some kind of intellectual belief but it's talking about belief in action where you choose to trust that person and submit to that person and obey that person. So that becomes a true belief in the sense you believe to the extent where you're willing to act upon it and completely yield to that person. So it's talking about that kind of a deeper level of belief where you choose to submit to this person whom you completely believe in. So another important phrase that we see in verse 16 is that whosoever is the term. So it doesn't matter which nation the person belongs to. If they are willing to believe in Jesus and to the extent of completely submitting to him and accepting him as their Lord over their lives, then that person whosoever he may be, wherever in the world he may be, whichever nation he may belong to, he can enter into the kingdom of God. Now this of course would have been a very shocking statement for the Jewish people because they always believe that it is the descendants of Abraham alone who will make it into heaven. And of course anyone else who is willing to come and worship the God of the Israelites. For instance, you have outsiders like Naaman who placed his faith in Yahweh and you have Ruth who chooses to come and make Yahweh her God. So they are okay with that idea of outsiders coming to Israel and placing their faith in Yahweh. So such people can get into the kingdom of heaven. But people who are living out there somewhere who have no kind of connections to Israel at all, such people now being openly offered the kingdom of God just because they have placed their belief and trust in this Messiah, to them this would have been a shocking statement. Okay, we will now look at verses 18 and 19. I just very briefly touched upon verse 16 because we have heard many sermons about it. So I just wanted to just bring out a few points regarding verse 16 and so now if we can look at 17 to 19, if someone could read out for us, 17, 18, 19. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be safe. He who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already. Because he is not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. Yes, so when the light comes, the light reveals the defects which are there and then at that point of time the person would have to decide am I going to hold on to these defects, these sins which I see in myself or am I going to be willing to give them up and submit myself to God. So one of the important things that Jesus did was that he brought light into the world. The Nicodemus and all of his other godly friends they were people who were trying to lead good lives. They were not necessarily evil and so they were probably quite satisfied with who they were. But then when this light comes, they suddenly are able to see things which they have not seen before. We noticed this especially in a dark room. I remember many years ago when I had a very busy schedule at that time so I came back home late in the evening one day and it had already started to grow dark and there was a power cut so I could not, there was no light in the house but I was determined to finish my cleaning because it had been pending for so many days so I took up a broom and I began to sweep and I thought I had done quite an excellent job. I just had a candle, I lit a candle and I kept it in a corner and I did my sweeping and I really thought I had done a great job and then when the power supply came back and the tube light went on I could see these little dust bunnies along the wall and I was like shocked I thought I had done such an excellent job of cleaning but now when this bright tube light came on I could see those dust bunnies in the corner which I had, I thought I had swept everything inside so when the light really comes in, it reveals things which you never even knew and so when Jesus comes and starts saying even if a person just looks upon someone with lust that becomes adultery so everything now becomes more clear in the light of what he is saying he is revealing things which people were thought were quite fine but now he is saying no that is not enough there is a higher standard that you need to live up to and so when the light came into the world when Jesus came and started saying that this is actually God's standards people began to realize that what seemed okay up to then up to that point of time was actually not good enough at all they could now see dirt which had been hidden earlier which they thought was okay earlier and so when the light came into the world a lot of people didn't like it because you see they were enjoying their level of spirituality especially here in our day and age you have a lot of people on YouTube talking about how they love spiritual things and they say I regard myself as a spiritual person and they use this word spiritual a lot but when you look at their lifestyles and the standards that they are following you see that they are in no way meeting the expectations of God but they think that they are so spiritual and so such people will not like it when God lays down his standards and says see this is what I am expecting of you this is the level of godliness that I require and such people will not like it they don't like that much exposure to light they would like to keep the light dim where a lot of stuff just gets covered up it's just there in the corners hidden away and they look good they feel good but when the bright light of Jesus comes in no hidden corners everything gets exposed and so such people they love the darkness and so they try to avoid the light they are not very happy with having the light being shown upon them completely so which is why it says in verse 20 everyone who does evil hates the light and yeah maybe in fact if you could read out someone could read out for us verses 20 and 21 for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds will be clearly seen that they have done in God yes so the world and believers you know approach this in two different ways there are a whole lot of people who prefer not to go to church because when they go and sit over there in the church they are reminded about things that they'd rather not think about they are aware that there are certain standards and that God regards some things as right and some things as wrong so they try to avoid going to the church because it makes them feel guilty when they go and sit over there and are reminded of what God wants what God expects so that would be the people who are not yet believers their way of trying to hide from the light is to just avoid all light avoid any sermons, any preaching, any teaching avoid in fact people who would maybe you know through their godly lives point out how bad they are being in their own choices so you know they try to avoid all of these things believers do have their own way of doing this you know they avoid having meaningful personal devotions because they know if they really go and sit there in God's presence and they open the scriptures and really start listening to his voice he is going to start dealing with issues which they have not dealt with and so some people even avoid having meaningful long devotions in the Lord's presence because it's going to rake up things which they don't want to which they want to continue hiding away so it is so important that we come into this bright tube light you know I mean like in my illustration as long as that room was in candle light it looked so clean but the minute that tube light came on I could see things that I had not seen before and we need to have that experience on a daily basis when we are having a quiet time so just rushing through a couple of verses and saying I have done my Bible study for the day is rather meaningless you have not sat over there and allowed the tube light to really shine upon you upon your heart because only when that happens then God starts reminding you of things that you need to take care of things that you would need to submit and heal and sins that you have to get rid of so this is something very important for us we should not be like the people who hate the light rather we should be willing to come into the light spend time over there with him so that he can expose the things which we have not yet dealt with you know it can be simple things like the way we have spoken when we interacted with someone the attitude with which we did one particular good deed the wrong attitude maybe grumbling, unwilling all these little things they get so exposed when you come and sit in his presence because the Holy Spirit starts reminding us of those things and saying see those are areas where you need to correct yourself because that is not Christlikeness so it is so important for us to have this experience every day where you have the bright tube light shining down upon your heart which is what even David says he says Lord, search my heart and see if there is any wicked way he genuinely wanted the flashlight to be fully put upon his heart so that all these hidden things can come out and we need to have that same attitude where we are willing to have this bright light of Jesus his word shining upon us so that the things which are hidden in the corners can be taken care of alright we will now come into John chapter 3 22 onwards so maybe if we could have one person read out 22 to 26 please John chapter 3 22 ma'am can you hear me oh yes yeah please go ahead after these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea and there he remained with them and baptized now John also was baptizing in any and near selling because there was much water there and they came and were baptized for John had not been thrown into prison then there arose a dispute among some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification and they came to John and said to him Rabbi if he was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified the whole he is baptizing and all are coming to him okay so John oh yeah yeah up to 26 should be enough yeah thank you so yeah so over here we see very interesting statement being made in verse 25 an argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over what matter the matter of ceremonial washing okay so now some scholars they say maybe the certain Jew over here is Nicodemus because just now Nicodemus you know has had this conversation with Jesus and he's been told about how a person should be washed with born of water and the spirit and he has understood that there is more to having a clean heart than just simply you know doing some good deeds he's more aware of these things so maybe they say he probably picked an argument with John's disciples and pointed out to them that what they are doing is good but it is not enough because they are doing baptism of water which is a symbolic way of saying I am now repenting of all the sinful things that have been doing and I want to be a better person so this the ceremonial purification process through the water baptism which they which was being done by John's disciples is not adequate and maybe Nicodemus came and was trying to point out that to these people okay so John's disciples are basically very unhappy up to now everyone has been you know respecting John the Baptist and a lot of people have you know been convicted of their sins and they have come genuinely to repent because you know if you see in one of the other gospels you have this bunch of soldiers coming and they say what do we do now because you see they have their so convicted of their sins and they too want to change and they ask what should we do how should we live now all this beautiful revival was going on in the land and it would have been a great joy to John's disciples to see all this happening in front of their eyes but now you have this certain Jew is coming over here and is saying to them what you are doing is not enough it's part one, step one but it's not enough there's something more and also they are seeing the fact that some of their most sincere followers have now gone away and now they have joined Jesus camp you know so which is why they say over here you know everyone is going to him because that's exactly what happens right Jesus, John the Baptist is speaking to Andrew and to another person whom they say is John the writer and so he says you know look the Lamb of God and then they immediately they choose to go and follow Jesus rather than continue with John so these disciples are now rather disappointed and they say everyone is going to him they are very upset about it and then we have John's reply that would be verse 27 if someone could read out for us please John answered and said a man can receive nothing unless it is as it has been given to him from heaven so John is very clear about who he is meant to be what his task should be and he is quite satisfied just doing that so what was given to John from heaven that he should be the person who will come down and prepare the way and he should point after having prepared the way after having helped people you know repent of their sinful attitudes he is supposed to point towards the Messiah who can now tell them what they should do next you know once they have repented what is next, what is to come next so he knows that is his task and that is what has been given to him from heaven and he is quite satisfied with that role which he has been granted he has no desire to try and become anything greater than that so we see this attitude of John the Baptist right from the beginning right from John chapter 1 where we started to look at this person the Baptist he is not a person with any wrong sinful ambitions and so this is something that has benefited me a learning which I have needed especially because I am in full time ministry those of us who have been granted by God secular tasks where we are maybe involved in business or we are involved in the teaching line or whatever whether it is software or in all these other endeavors so we do what we can for the Lord we share the gospel in our workplace and we make sure that we attend Bible study and we conduct Bible studies where we teach people so we basically do all of these things and most of us are quite satisfied that we are serving the Lord even though we have all these other secular responsibilities but then those of us who are fully involved in full time ministry we think oh God has given me this task but I wish I could have that task because you know there are people out there who are postals and there are people out there who are preachers and then there are those who are evangelists and they go all over and conduct these huge meetings and you look at the role that you have been given and you look at all the roles which other people have been given and you think oh I wish I could have those things that I think is an ambition which tends to form more in the hearts of those who are in full time ministry rather than in the hearts of the other believers who are serving God and so for me this was a very useful learning and what John is saying over here is can also be further explained if we look at first Corinthians chapter 3 versus 5 to 10 and the only reason that I am touching upon this at all is because many of us who have joined for this course we may be thinking about a greater role, a larger role in ministry and so this is something that would be very useful to us so if we could have one person read out first Corinthians chapter 3 versus 5 to 10 the first Corinthians 3 5 to 10 okay and you read who then is Paul who is Apollos but ministers by whom he believed even as a Lord gave to every man 5 up to 10 all the way up to 10 oh yes I am sorry I have planted Apollos watered and he gave the increase so then neither is he that planted anything neither he that watered but God that gave it the increase now that he planted and he that watered our one and every man shall receive his own award according to his own labor for we are laborers together with God we are God's husbandry we are God's building according to the grace of God which is given unto me as wise master builder I have laid the foundation and I'm not a billet thereon but let every man take heed how we billet there upon yes so over here there's some very significant points that come across in this passage one main thing that we see in verse 5 is where it says as the Lord has assigned to each his task so in the same way from heaven above John had been assigned one task and he was quite satisfied doing that now different people have different tasks but they all have one purpose that we see in verse 8 where it says one person is planting the other person is watering but they all have one purpose they build God's kingdom and each will be rewarded according to their own labor how well have they done their planting or how well have they done their watering and then in verse 10 there's something very significant the last part of verse 10 where it says in the NIV but each one should build with care so whatever role we have been given from heaven because you know John says a person can receive only what is given them from heaven so it does not matter what particular task we have been given from heaven but do that part with great care because we are doing it for God's people we are doing it for God's kingdom so how we are doing it becomes very very important so there are ministries which are not given as much popularity and fame as other ministries but they are so vital you know the ministry of hospitality and then the ministry of encourager and the ministry of administration these are all ministries if you see they are like foundational I mean if you did not have people who are moving in the ministry gift of hospitality and administration and encouragement and all of that you would hardly have any work getting done because these are all very foundational for for the work to really progress and prosper so how those particular people are building you know becomes so important the ones who are you know encouragers my goodness the words that they speak from the word of God to people for their specific situations it can really build up a person inside on the inside and it would give them the confidence to go forth and do what God wants them to do without that encourager where would we be so these are all ministries which are not granted much popularity in the world but they are so vital so it really does not matter what we have been given from heaven to do so you know you may be a person in the secular field because that's what God has assigned to you and so your area of ministry will be in your workplace where you are trying to you know be encouraging being helpful and whenever you get a chance to pray for people and maybe just share with them and say you know Jesus has helped me with these things and so in the same way he can help you with your situations so in your own way you are doing your ministry over there but if you are doing it with care like it says in the last part of 10 if you are doing your part with care then you are truly building his kingdom in a you know in a most glorious way so John was very satisfied with what he had been given and he knew that if he does his part with care that should be more than sufficient and you know just to touch upon another point when we look at Acts chapter 6 where it talks about you know how they appointed some people to help out with food distribution for the widows and the kind of terminology that is used over there regarding these people who are supposed to be now in charge of food distribution if we can maybe very specifically look at 3 or 4 verses from there from that passage because that too can you know help us think in the correct way regarding these things Acts chapter 6 if someone could read out 3, 4, 5 and 6 so Acts chapter 6 verses 3 to 6 and it reads yes where for Virgin Loki out among your seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business but we will give ourselves continually to pur and to the ministry of the word and the saying please the whole multitude and it shows Stephen a man full of feet and the Holy Ghost and Philip the and and and and and and and you said 3 to 5 6 was successful whom they set before their apostles when they had prayed they laid their hands on them alright so here we are talking about one particular ministry responsibility which is basically distribution of food to the widows because there was some neglect in this area and so now they want to appoint new people for this task so this is not exactly church planting that they are doing they are going to be distributing food they are not going to be standing on a pulpit and preaching they are just going to be dividing the food packets in such a way that everyone gets an equal amount of you know food and groceries so that kind of a thing so it's basically something like grocery in charge you know food in charge doesn't sound very religious or spiritual but look at the kind of requirements that are you know placed for this particular posting they want people who are going to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom the people who are going to be doing grocery distribution need to be full of the spirit and wisdom and one of the persons who is chosen is Stephen how is he described he is described as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit so it's not just some person with a casual attitude and casual qualifications who is doing going to be doing this grocery distribution it's going to be a man who is full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit and they regard this area of ministry so important that it says over there in verse 6 that they prayed and laid hands upon them and dedicated them to the task which was given so we fail to realize that whatever has been given from heaven the wording which John uses what is given them from heaven is what he says so we sometimes fail to realize that whatever task we have been assigned from heaven we fail to realize that it is as important as the more popular you know ministries so if a person is engaged in the ministry of hospitality which involves a lot of logistics which involves a lot of interacting with people and sorting out things and looking after their comfort and oh my there is so much involved now generally nobody lays hands on the persons involved in that ministry and says you know I now anoint you in the name of Jesus and dedicate you to the task and that is why we think that oh maybe that ministry is not that important but the point is all these tasks have been given from heaven and they are all equally important and valuable so the people in whatever ministry area they are in you know whether it is in the secular field or in full time ministry they need to be very careful how they are building because over there it says in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 10 build with care so whatever task you have been doing it doing it do it with great care because even if no human lays his hand upon you and anoints you for the task heaven itself the Lord himself has anointed you for that particular task and in his eyes it is something very important so all that we are doing is all of us have one single purpose we are all trying to build the kingdom of God and you know fulfill his purposes and plans so whatever area we have been given area of ministry we have been given whether it is in the secular field or in the church we must build with care because it is important in the eyes of God alright so then we will finally come down to the last portion which talks about the bright groom and bright imagery so if we can have someone read out John chapter 3 verses 28 to 30 you yourself bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ but that I am sent before him he that had the bright is the bright groom but the friend of the bright groom with standard and here at him rejoices greatly because of the bright groom's voice that this my joy therefore is fulfilled he must increase but I must decrease okay so over here John makes it very plain to his disciples who are feeling very bad because John is getting overshadowed by Jesus and so John points out and says no this is the way it should be because you see he is the bright groom I am just the person who was helping the bright groom preparing the way for the bright groom so obviously the bright groom has to become greater and I must become less and this very important point that comes across over here that the bride the church the body of believers they belong to the bright groom so we may be doing a lot to help the church to help the believers to build them up but we must never forget that these people are not our possessions they actually belong to Jesus the bright groom so he always has the final say over them over their lives over their decisions we can only advise we can only help we are called upon to assist to equip but we must never forget that these people are not our possessions they belong to the bright groom and that's a very important thing for us to remember because you know we are maybe people who are pasturing churches we may be Bible study leaders and we are leading the group and we are giving them spiritual food every week so we may be in these positions of authority where the people whom God has given to us are looking up to us they are looking up to us for guidance they are looking up to us for prayer support and for counseling regarding different things and so when these situations are there and we can have great influence over these people we need to be very very careful that we are not thinking of them as you know my disciple my follower my property and to whom I can dictate and whom I can know tell what they should do know always remember that those people who are you know so lovingly and respectfully looking up to you they are not yours they belong to the bright groom Jesus so Jesus is the one who should you know have a say in the decisions which they take in what they decide to do regarding their future so we should be so careful about this and have the same attitude that John the Baptist did even though he had invested you know most of his life in preparing the way for the bright groom the soldiers came to him looking for advice the people who came from the towns and villages they came to him to be baptized the religious leaders they came and asked him are you the messiah that we're expecting so everyone was coming to John the Baptist and he was playing a very influential role in all of their lives but he never ever forgot the fact that these people who are all coming to him and who are depending upon him they are not his he always made very sure that he remembered that they are not his they actually belong to the bright groom so the bright groom gets to say you know how they should lead their lives what they should do and all that John the Baptist is expected to be is to be an advisor to be a person who gives support a person who gives help and is always constantly pointing them back to their groom to their bright groom because they are married to the Lord not to him and that should be our attitude so when people come to us and say you know pastor whom should I marry or you know they come to you as a Bible study leader and they say you know you have so much wisdom you have so much guidance regarding the scriptures so you tell me this decision that I want to take is it correct is it wrong I think the first thing that we would have to say as you know people who are ministering is what is the Lord saying to you about it have you spent time in his presence you know waiting upon him reading the scriptures waiting to hear his voice I can give you guidance on how you can hear from him I can tell you know how you can hear from God more clearly I can teach you how to depend on God more clearly I can help you in all of these things but ultimately it's his voice that you would have to hear and respond so it would be very wrong to step into that role of the bridegroom and say no you do this this this who are we to tell that we can give our advice we can be supportive but we should equip them to hear for themselves from their groom from their Lord we cannot take up the position of Lord and say you should do this you should do that because then you know there could be a mistake we may actually end up guiding that person into doing something which their Lord their groom does not want and that would be so disastrous so it is so important for us to equip people to hear from God directly to hear from their groom after all they are married to him they made their commitment to him and so he must have the right to speak into their lives so we can teach them how to hear from God we can teach them how to grow in God and draw closer to him feel his presence more be sensitive to his guidance we can equip them in all of these areas but we should never be people who will dictate to them and tell them you should do this you should do that because I am your leader and I get to decide that would be a wrong attitude those are just some thoughts that I want to express on that particular point moving on from there into versus 31 maybe we could just read 31 yeah he who comes from above is above all he who is of the earth is earthen and speaks of the earth he who comes from heaven is above all yeah so this is just not to touch upon what we were what I was saying just now so the one who comes from above is above all the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth so we are people from the earth and the Lord has anointed us and placed us in positions of influence where we can influence people but the thing is we are limited the one who is above all he is the one who knows what is best for the people who are you know in our care so he is the one the one who knows everything who is above all he gets to say what decisions should be taken in their lives and just to continue along those lines we have a person raising their hand we can actually deal with that right now please go ahead brother yeah thank you pastor I just need a clarification on the bright room part and as you were sharing that one thing and then if that is the thing that we can only train the people to hear the voice of God then the bible says that God has given us the 5 fold ministry to edify the church and the gifts of the Holy Spirit and again the Paul says that all gifts are not given to everyone some speaks in tongues some do to miracles so if somebody comes and approach someone and regarding to the prophecy regarding to some counseling because of the he is gifted with the word of wisdom he is gifted with the word of knowledge and that particular person is gifted for that reason so that the bright room should be edified and the bright room should be strengthened so is that wrong for us to to guide them because we are gifted and God has equipped us with that and second thing we were discussing right now I just need a clarification on this also where we were discussing and he that come up from the above and he that is of the earth and is earthly and speaker of the and he that comes through so we know that he is speaking about Jesus and now the bible says when we are born again the bible that clearly says that it doesn't mean that born again also means the original text says we are born from we are born from above and the bible says we are seated with him in Christ in the heavenly places so in that case when I am seated with Christ I am seated with him so now my position is with the Christ so I am a new creation in Christ in that case how the bible says that the old has gone and the new has come and I am having the seed of God in me and and I and Christ we are sitting together and God has given the son's position to me so in that case how can I say that how I am now Christ is on above and I am below I hope you are understanding what I want oh yes yes how can we make it understand because the bible very clearly says when the born again means born from above that is the meaning of the that is also one of the meanings so I just wanted clarification on that thank you pastor the point we have been you know some of us have been given the official postings of apostle and teacher and prophet I mean we can't really get into the entire subject but then you know if you were to go into pastor Ashish sermons where he explains we have the official giftings where that person has been called full time to perform in that particular capacity of an apostle or a prophet and we also have the general you know giftings where all believers are meant to move in the gifts so there's a kind of distinction over there you have the official giftings where a person is fully full time called to be an evangelist on the other hand every single believer is supposed to evangelize so we all move in the common gifting which is given to all believers to evangelize and the Lord will go with us and help us even as we testify about him we also have the official posting of evangelist so there is a distinction between 9 so I mean you know you would just need more clarity on that and then you're probably already familiar with those things so yes there are people who occupy these official postings of full time calling to that particular gifting and they would play a very great influence over the people you know in their care and so a person who has the gift of prophecy would be prophesying he would be saying things which he has heard from God but like they say all prophets need to be tested so the believer would know should be taught and equipped how to test the prophecy that he has received so these are all things that we would be equipping and building up believers to be able to do for themselves so yes they would receive ministry from apostles they would be receiving ministry from prophets from teachers they would be receiving ministry from all of these people and they would in fact be trusting these people and looking up to them and believing what they are saying but each person finally in the end should know should be able to judge in a careful godly manner and with the help of the Holy Spirit discern whether what they are being given is in line with the word of God or not so one very very important thing that we should be doing for each person is even as they are receiving ministry from these five fold full time people are they receiving what is correct or are they receiving what is wrong they should be able to judge and discern for themselves with the help of the scriptures with the help of the Holy Spirit and it becomes our responsibility to train people to be able to do that so yes the five fold ministry is in place to edify to equip and part of their responsibility in equipping is they should equip each person to be able to discern for themselves whether what is being told is correct or wrong so that becomes another aspect of their responsibility not only should the prophet just be prophesying he must also teach the people and say see this is the way for you to find out whether the prophecy being given is right or wrong this is the way you should study the scriptures this is the way you should grow closer to God so that you can hear his voice better so the prophet should be equipping people to hear directly from God as well the apostle should be doing that as well so we do function in our giftings but we must also make sure that each person can hear from themselves from the Lord as well because only then they will know whether all these human people who are ministering are ministering in the correct way or in the wrong way so coming to the second aspect we are now born from above and we are seated with Christ in the heavenly in the sense the same authority which he has in his hands now he is sharing that with us so the same authority with which he does things from his throne we who are seated with him can also function in the same authority in his name by using his name by standing in his power we can also exercise that same kind of authority so in that sense we are definitely from above but there is also the other side to it where we are still here on this earth and we have not yet grown become perfect and we are still growing into the things of God like even Paul himself who says you know I have not yet arrived I have not yet achieved but I am trying so none of us has ever come into the fullness of what we are meant to be so when it comes to matters of exercising authority and being able to do ministry yes we are seated with him so the same way he sits on his throne and issues you know orders and is able to accomplish things we can share in that with him and we can walk in authority in our ministry in the things that we are doing for the kingdom of God just like Paul we have to admit that we have not yet fully achieved we have not yet fully arrived and we are still learning which is why there is a chance for you and I am not talking about Paul I am just talking about you and I ordinary people like us when I am functioning as an apostle when I am functioning as a prophet because I am still growing into these things I may make a mistake and so the people who are in my care should not be affected because I make a mistake I should equip them right from the beginning to be able to read the scriptures for themselves to understand it to learn what is right and what is wrong to be able to discern what is correct to be able to hear from the Holy Spirit to have a sensitive heart where the Holy Spirit is warning and saying no no this is not correct we will immediately be able to catch that this is something that every person should you know the leaders should equip their people that because we are all humans who are still learning and growing into these things and none of us have reached perfection as yet so I hope to some extent that has answered your question thank you thank you now the sad thing is we've kind of you know run out of time so what we are basically left with is versus 32 to 35 where it just talks about he testifies to what he has seen and heard but no one accepts his testimony whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful for the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God for God gives the spirit without limit the father loves the son and has placed everything in his hands whoever believes in the son has eternal life but whoever rejects the son will not see life for God's broth remains on them so anyway in these verses John the Baptist is just wrapping up what he has been saying about Jesus and so he says that Jesus is from God and so everything has been placed in his hands so we must accept his testimony because God himself is certifying that the testimony with Jesus is giving is the truth and because God has given the spirit to him without limit we must accept him and not reject him so basically he is wrapping up all of these thoughts in these words of advice that he is now giving to his disciples who are feeling very bad that their leader is no longer prominent so these are some of the things that we dwelt on if we could have one person closing in prayer please or maybe I should actually mention a person right so brother Albuquerque if you could help us close in prayer yes Heavenly Father we thank you for today we thank you for the session we just had to understand your word to be able to get more knowledge about you God and to be able to aspire to the things that you have you want us to achieve or Lord we are we look forward to learning more to help us thirst more for more knowledge and help us be in a position to apply this in our daily lives we ask this Jesus name Amen Amen Thank you so much and yeah so we will meet again next week Thank you


After the Black Sea, the Ukrainian army prepares to hit Russian ships in the Sea of Azov. If Russian invaders use ports in the Azov Sea to transport military goods, those vessels will become legitimate targets for Ukraine's defence forces. That's according to Natalya Humenyuk, the Press Officer for Operational Command South, who commented on the report that a first Russian bulker, which allegedly carried military cargo, checked in the port of occupied Mariupol. Which a threat is possible and we are analysing what they claim is civil navigation. Our defence ministry has already stated that vessels carrying military cargo would be considered as legitimate targets and when the enemy is setting up a military hub in one of the ports, it is also a legitimate target. Said the spokesperson, as reported earlier, an adviser to the Mariupol mayor in exile, Petro Andriushenko reported on Telegram that a first Russian vessel arrived in the port of the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol. This is very bad news. This is why we needed to dredge the river. Now it's happened. The first sea-class vessel docked at the shipyard. The bulk carrier, class vessel, has its own cranes and its gross tonnage is more than 5,000 tons, as in RM3 vessels, said Andriushenko. He noted that it is currently unknown what kind of cargo the bulk carrier brought. The underground continues to monitor the situation.


Welcome back to Tennis Talk, my name's Cam Williams, and with the Lever Cup coming up in a couple of days' time, the teams have been finalized, with the captains and the alternates also been finalized in the team itself. Let's go check out Team World to start, because they need every play they can get. So having a look at Team World, this is, of course, captain by John McEnroe. Here's been the captain ever since the Lever Cup became a thing. On his team, he has Taylor Fritz. Oge Aliaseem has also joined in, and he just beat Elcaraz at the Davis Cup, so he'll be feeling good about himself. Diego Schwarzman also coming into the team again for Team World. Francis Tiafo, he's actually joined as well, coming in for an injured John Isnes. So Big Fo coming in off his semi-final at the US Open, of course beating Nadal there as well. So, hey, Team World doesn't look too bad. We also have Alex Diminor, who loves playing for a team. He also just played the Davis Cup with a team Australia. He did very well there, so excited to see Diminor in the team. And Jack Sock is kind of the double specialist for the team as well. A pretty solid team with very enthusiastic team players. And of course, the alternate is Tommy Paul. So if somebody needs to pull out through injury or anything, Tommy Paul will jump in as a replacement. Pretty solid team for Team World. And like I said, I think the team chemistry between these guys and being the underdogs against the goaded Team Europe, I think it might play in their favor. Let's go have a look at Team Europe now, and of course, beyond Borg, being the captain of every single Lever Cup. And he's undefeated as the captain. And he has a very, very strong team, probably the strongest team you could ever ask for. Starting with World number two, Caspar Rude. He joins the team after his final of the U.S. Open a couple of weeks ago. Stefano Siddi Pass. He also comes into the team for Team Europe. Rafa Nadal. He is coming into Team Europe as well, and not having great form on the hard courts the last few weeks. And being an indoor fast hard court, interesting to see how Rafa does, and if he actually plays that many singles matches. Novak Djokovic. First time I've seen him since Wimbledon. He'll be jumping in for Team Europe once again. Andy Murray. He's also joined the team, coming off the Davis Cup last week where he played a couple of matches in the doubles. And of course, Roger Federer. In his last tournament ever, possibly playing a singles match, maybe just the doubles. We don't know yet, but he is coming into the team for his last ever tournament. And Baratini is the alternate. So in case someone gets injured, you've got Baratini coming in, who's an absolute beast. So we all knew Team Europe was going to be goaded. This is actually probably the strongest ever Team Europe based on both ranking and also grand slams. I mean, everyone in this team either has won a slam or been to a final. And it's going to be very tough for Team World. But like I said, I think Team World has better chemistry. These guys are all singles players. They're all very strong in their own right. But how will the doubles combinations look? So there you have it, the lineups for the Labor Cup. And it's going to be very interesting. I mean, it looks like Team Europe should win pretty easily. I mean, Team Europe have never lost the Labor Cup. They've won every single tournament that they've put on. Team Worlds only come close once. But let me know down in the comments below. Who do you think is going to win the Labor Cup? Is Team Europe as strong as maybe we first thought? Because a lot of those players are not in good form. Djokovic hasn't played for a while. Nadal hasn't won for a little bit. He's had a couple of losses on hard court in the last couple of weeks. So let me know down in the comments below. Do you think Team Europe are going to win as easily as we once thought?


I don't know about you, but after listening to the last couple of days and hearing all of this stuff on mercy, and then I'm working on these readings for today, I'm going, really, Lord? You're giving me readings like this after we've been talking about mercy and compassion. And now he comes and he gives us readings like this. I'm like, what do you want me to do with that? So I've been wrestling back and forth where to go and what to do. And I just said, okay, Spirit, you know, do what you do. One of the things that struck me right at the very beginning are the things that, when Jesus said, when he confronted him and said, you know, just because you call me Lord doesn't mean you're coming in. And then they start describing that we did all these powerful things for you.  You called us to office. You gave us these abilities to do these things and we did them in your name. And yet you're saying that we might not get in? I mean, we're doing it for you. Doesn't that give us entrance? And then he says those powerful words. I never knew you. I know the temptation for us a lot of times is to, you know, we get an office. Priest, pastor, deacon, music ministers, altar servers, lectors. And it's so easy to play the role, isn't it? We could play the role the whole time and just play the office, look good at it, and never once really give ourselves to Christ. Never once lend ourselves to Christ. And that's a really tough challenge. And the thing for me that strikes me is that as I do a lot of traveling around them and lots of churches around the country, and you know it's the one thing that just grieves my heart more than anything else, is that when I look at the parish staffs and the people who are in ministry working for everybody else, trying to minister and bring people to the Lord, most of the people who are serving in parishes aren't praying. They're so busy doing the stuff that they don't stop to be present to the Lord. It's almost as if the ministry depends on what we do, not on what God is supposed to do through us, amen. And so we get in there and we get so busy. In fact, a lot of the programs that we're running today, they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. All these religious education programs, we confirm them. We're confirming kids. They're not even sure they believe in God, let alone here we are confirming them and saying, you got everything you need. Now go be Catholic. So here's Jesus giving us this very challenging phrase. And then he goes on, not only does he give us that hard word, but then he adds on to it and then he gives us the description. So here's what it's going to be like if you pay attention to do the words that I'm telling you. You're going to be anchored on my word, on the truth. You know, the temptation for us is that we do all the studying and I know my priest brothers did a lot more studying than us lowly deacons, you know. We just got trained where to go find the information. You were actually given all the information, or at least most of it. But the temptation is that once we've gone through school, that we think we don't need to read anymore. We don't need to be in the Word. We stop our daily readings of the Scriptures and we stop asking God to come and move in our hearts and Lord let your word speak to me, to challenge me, to convict me. Because we get so casual, so relaxed in the environment that we minister in. And then you know, the temptation I know for me at the beginning where the team was praying before we got started for the conference and the Lord gave me a word and the word was that when we get so accustomed to ministering we begin to depend on our strengths. They become our go-to things, right? And we tend to gravitate in our ministry to doing those things which we know we're good at because we don't like looking like idiots, right? I mean, that's what we do. So the other things that we could be doing but we're afraid to go do them, we don't do because it takes us way out of our wheelhouse, so we avoid it. And yet doesn't Jesus tell us, when you are strong, I am weak in you. But when you are weak, I'm strong. And so the conviction for me was when you only go to your strengths, you cut me out. You don't allow me the opportunity to minister powerfully through your weakness because you're too afraid to look weak. And all of us, I know, it's like the king in the first reading. He's 18 years old, he's been put in his office. He's got his kingdom and he's doing whatever he wants because he's now in charge and nobody can tell him to do anything different unless he breaks canon law. And so he's doing whatever he wants and it says that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. And of course the Israelites at that point, they were very arrogant, right? Because we heard the readings at the beginning of the week, right? The Assyrians had come earlier, surrounded Jerusalem, but they didn't take the city.  Our church can't go down. We have the temple. Jerusalem can't fall. We have the temple of God. God will surely let us keep everything we've got. Really? Isn't that what are the arrogance of our country? We don't even obey one of the Ten Commandments anymore as a nation. How much time do we have left? I think all of us has like, you know, we begin to depend on the walls that we set up around ourselves, the walls of Jerusalem. But you know, here's the freaky thing. We think that there are defense, but they actually become what enslave us because when Nebuchadnezzar came and his armies, they surrounded the city and they just, and the Israelites took a defensive posture. Isn't that our churches now? We're supposed to have the power of God. We have the Lord coming, a profound miracle in just a minute, and yet we're defensive because we all have our go-to things. This is what we do. This is how we're going to tell God, I'm going to be your priest. I'm going to serve as your priest this way. I'm going to serve as your deacon this way. I'm going to be this kind of seminarian and then become this kind of priest and I'm going to tell God, this is how I will work for you. But isn't God asking us to say, I don't want just those things? I want everything. What did he do with the Israelites time and time again? Get your army together. Get your army together. Okay, great. Now, cut your army down. Now, cut it down even more. 300 men come against the 5,000 or 10,000 in the enemy. Why? So that the whole world might know that it is not you that did the victory, but me. You see, and I think that's what the Lord is calling us to do. He's calling us to come back and the repentant word is Jesus is saying to us, I did not know you. Why? Because you're so busy working to make a name for you that you're not letting the people see me. And that's the conviction that I've been getting hit with. Do you believe that Jesus is going to show up here in just a few moments? Yes or no?  Then how does it make you radically different so that the flock who follow us see Jesus? Not just in our reverence, but in our radical faith that puts us out there and says, okay, I don't like going and talking to strangers. It's comfortable being in my church and waiting for people to come to me. Or I'm grossly uncomfortable dealing with same-sex attraction and dealing with those issues. And there's some wounds that are so close to me that I don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole. And so we're ready to just hold on to our bag and say, I'm going to serve this way. But Jesus is calling us out, isn't he? While the churches are being sieged, Jesus is saying, open the gates. Open the gates and not just let him in, but go out. Go out so that my love can impact the people. Because you see, the thing that keeps coming back to my mind is that we have the most amazing gift that the world has ever known. It's here. It all flows from here. Our strength flows from here. But the world is being given all these different delicacies and all these different things and all these attractions and trying to redefine them and all those different things. And we're hunkering behind walls. Because our faith isn't putting us out there and saying, no, we have something far greater. So much so that I'm willing to talk to anybody about it, anywhere at any time. Because I believe that what we have is nothing but the best. It's not something mediocre. It's not something minimalized. It is the best. Does my faith allow me to go out and say, I believe? I believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven. I believe that He loves me so much. Where is the mercy? He came for me as He's come for you. And while right now we may not agree on what God is doing or how relevant God is, let me share with you what He's done for me. Do you know Jesus is real? That's the question. As an evangelist, that is the question. Everyone out there wants to know. Everyone with all the confused identities, everyone with the different theologies, the different religions. They want to know, you people, you guys, you say you believe in Jesus. How do you know He's real? Don't tell me about 2,000 years ago. How do you know He's real today? Don't give me the apologetics. I want to know from you, from your life, from your heart, how do you know He's real? What made you become a celibate, my priestly brothers? Deacons, what made you get married to two wives? Wasn't one enough? Don't tell my wife that. But you see what I'm saying? I think our flocks, the people are looking to us. They're looking to us to find out how, how do we know? How do we move to a deeper faith? How do we move to that deeper faith that enables us to put ourselves out there to such a degree that people are going and they're saying, you are weird. But doggone it if you're not authentic. And I think we're so afraid of what the enemy is now crafting around us is a besieging army around our churches that we're thinking, we've got nothing to deal with this, we might as well give up. Well, I think that is a lie from the pit of hell. And that we're being called to rise up at the breaking of the bread and get launched into action. Launched into action in such a way that in the intimate relationships that we're supposed to go to and have with our flock, and it's Father's share to go to those people we don't like or really go to the people we just don't know so that we have poured ourselves out all week long. And then when the time comes for us to come back to the liturgy, to the breaking of the bread, are we coming back to the table? Not only offering ourselves sacrifice, hopefully we've been doing that all week long, but are we coming back to the table with a desperate need to be replenished because we've been pouring ourselves out? Because you did not, I did not know. And David at the beginning talked about this intimacy of what happens here. And I'm blessed. I'm in a cool spot. I get to watch it all happen right here. Are we coming here because we're so spent and we know that what we're about to receive is going to fill our tank for us to drive another 100 miles, to die 100 more deaths, to put ourselves outside those scary walls and be in a place where we're so vulnerable, but never alone. We can do a lot of stuff for God, but we know that the only way we can give the people what they need is because we come to the breaking of the bread, we come to our time of prayer with the Lord, our breaking open His Word, and actually living the Word, not compromising it, but finding the Scriptures. And it evicts me when I'm not living this Word, strengthen me and bolden me to live the truth, that I could be the sign for your people to follow. That's a challenge, brothers. I don't know that, I know for me, I'm speaking personally, that sometimes it's so easy to just come and just go through the mass and, you know, I don't know how my brother priests do it. You say this all the time. It must become so ritual, so, you know, over and over and over again. There's got to be a stripping away to make yourself present in tuned, raw. How do you do that? Because I find myself, you know, tuning in, tuning out. I'm feeling, in recent history, just getting convicted to tune into the words that you're saying. Oh my gosh, that's what that says. Let us not live defensively anymore. Let's leave the gates open, because we don't fear the enemy. Why? Because we...


YouTube Mahomes Mahomes Mahomes. What's is he good? Is he better than Brady? Is he better than Flacco? Best quarterback is he worth it his release his wind-up is throw gunslinger blaze blaze blaze blaze But all the time I hear about Mahomes Now the biggest thing is I think he's the best in the game right now. His abilities are cracked He's this MVP to Super Bowl got him put him out there. I got him I think his release is awesome And this is one of the best tests you can go against in this game I'm gonna go against 6-1 one of the most high pressure defenses in the game You got get rid of the ball almost instantly when you play this and I'm gonna show you guys what I want to do And how I attack this defense right now before you watch the game We're gonna go over here course. We're running tight a couple of different plays with the main play I want to run his bench because What it does is it allows me to Hit these corner routes up and down the field because when you see this man coverage on the look You know the safeties are guarding my corner routes So I'll be able to get a free release never pressed And I'll be able to throw these corner routes because I have short and elite or route tech between Kittle and Justin Jefferson I use as well now But what I want to do is I don't want any of these guys coming free pause right at the quarterback I want to be able to door the ball and not get hit. I know my release won't get there But if somebody comes free, I'm gonna be in trouble So what I want to do is one I want to snap the ball fast. So this guy can't put any cute defenses out there I don't want a D lineman man up on the running back I don't want a purple zone on the slot and these guys now have corners that play outside linebacker So one of the biggest keys is to go ahead and snap the ball quickly And what I want to do is I want to double team this guy on the outside left It sounds crazy if someone's boots in six and seven people out through to double team somebody But what this is going to allow is going to allow to make sure that that guy never comes free The guys on the outside when they rush the quarterback There's so much faster than D lineman Maybe the D lineman got to get out of a three-point stance or something So it's easier to throw the ball against a D lineman coming free than those edge rushers And the way the game works is they want to babysit you all the time So if you double team somebody doesn't always mean they'll double team them Sometimes you'll see somebody else blitzing and they'll pick them up anyway So even though I asked for a double team the game might not double team my left guard might still block that defense event But at the end of the day what this is allowing it's allowing me to make sure that that Outside linebacker never comes free So because of that I know he's now come free and the first thing I do is I do that I block my running back and I snap the ball nothing else in the game And I'm able to hit that right there Literally, that's it. You guys see I double teams But that doesn't mean that I actually get a double team because the game will babysit you it's for it's for bums See that right there. Oh, I guess I guess he bumped them a little bit. I guess he didn't He didn't block 55, but he blocked them.  It's hard for him to get through That's what I mean about it As long as you get that edge guy banged up or that edge guy accounted for you'll be able to go ahead and get some Time to throw the ball and my home's like whips its sidearm It's ridiculous. So that's what I want to do this whole game Against the six one sometimes I'll send out everybody and have to make a read real quick That's why I like to do. This is a great game for you guys to see my home's release. Everybody's been talking about it I'll tell you right now. It's awesome He's the man if you can afford them if not get some budget got there And though it doesn't make that big a difference, but I love this my home's card and you'll see why But do be a J4 Myself in middle school and a little pebble turd rolled down my pant leg All right So I just need his own knockout on this. It's just cooked bro. That's what I it's like you just can't run We aren't just getting ran by Humbois dog. Like what the man don't I need some knockouts to start knocking some it out Man, that's how you can't run match without zone knockouts, but it's tough. Yeah, that was good It's just for no reason.   It ain't difficult Hmm. Oh my god Finally did not get the doors blown off us. Who's that guy? I don't got medium That's how is that not a medium knockout dude. It's just no way that just got that many cards right there My man's has got press so bad. It was scary. Thank you. Hey We got a knockout. Yeah, man pick. I got it's not a pick Let's go at water big boy play Big boy three rec right there at water. Baja beautiful Bobo, I mean like you're met.  Oh my god Damn, I kind of want all four of my DB's to have deep man in zone knockout That'd be kind of foggers. Pull it and call. Can you get out of the way now? I got crushed. I'm gonna be tired like Come on. Let's go kiddo way to be there I swear to God that the one thing that you can not high ball red zone threat no more Like you just can't high ball red zone threat.  Oh Yeah, it should have been a safety Just ice


Hi everyone, Joe for jazby's casebreaks.com coming at you with our top's gold label baseball picker team three filler So we sell 15 spots And we're gonna randomize your names name on top gets a box of gold label baseball current gold label baseball 2021 top's gold label baseball box of that sealed we get a gold frame in there if you get something cool Let us know The rest of you the next 14 names will all get teams So basically we took those 14 teams out of pick your team three and it's essentially a random team break now With a chance at a box of gold label as well So we're just randomizing the names Your names not the teams. We'll just match you up. So let's roll it and randomize that list Five and a one six times big. Thanks everybody here for getting on the action leave. I finish it off So five and a one six times one two three four Five and a one six in final time. Good luck We got Sean Breen on top after six So Sean you get the box of gold label 2021 gold label baseball sealed You can sell it if you want to but if you choose to open it and if you get something cool Definitely, let us know Harry We're gonna put a little rooftop next your name because you won the Orioles We'll do that with the rest of the name as well You got the Orioles and pick your team three Jeremy with the Red Sox and gold label three Jack with the Reds Keri with the Mets Levi with the Cardinals David with the Astros Chris with the Brewers Levi with the twins David with the Giants Simon with the Rangers Charles with the Indians Chris with the Diamond bags Courtney with the Rockies and Brian with the Royals Thanks, everybody in the next video separate video. We'll see you for that gold label break Jasper's case breaks.com