Good morning everyone and thank you for joining class. Welcome to class today and on Wednesday we were looking at Romans chapter 7. We'll continue looking at Romans chapter 7. Okay, so if you could you know turn I mean look at your notes or even you can open your Bibles as well through Romans chapter 7. We see that in Romans chapter 6 you know Paul says that you know as believers we are dead to sin and here in chapter 7 he's saying that as believers we are also not only dead to sin but we're also dead to the inverse in students to the law. Thank you King. We are not only dead to sin but we're also dead to the law and hence we are free from the law. However this does not mean that you know because we're dead to the law it does not mean that the law is evil that the law is not good but he mentions he says that the law is good the law is holy the law is spiritual okay and so there's nothing wrong with the law. We read this in verse 12 where he says the law is holy it's just and it is good okay. So what Paul is basically saying that where there's nothing wrong with the law the problem is not with the law but the problem is with what? With the with sin okay the problem is not with the law but the problem is with sin and he says the problem is with sin because you know the sin is so powerful you know and once people came to know about the law the law actually highlighted sin when the law came about people were able to realize that you know that they were breaking God's standards they were going against God's standards they were crossing the line they were they were doing things that were displeasing to God and you know and so he says that the law is by itself is not bad but the law is holy just and good but he says the problem is not with the law but the problem is with sin because sin is very very powerful he says that once he came to know about the law you know he came to know there's something called sin okay and because the law is the one that highlights the weakness against sin it highlights our weakness against sin it the law also shows us that we cannot keep the law in our own strength we are weak in front of in front of sin sin is more powerful than us that's why we deal the members of our body do sin so we look we stop at the worst nighting where report says you know I was alive once without the law but when the commandment came sin revived and I died okay just a request can you just open those windows then stop it please thank you okay so we stop at worst nine I was just explaining worst nine on Wednesday where Paul says there was a lion once without the law but when the commandment came sin revived and I died okay so I said this is a very challenging verse for many to understand why because you know is Paul referring to after he became a believer or is he referring to himself you know when he was before he became a believer before he was in Christ or what is Paul's spiritual situation now when he is writing this okay so we saw that you know it is actually Paul referring himself to before he became a believer before he was in Christ and here he says you know as believers you know we are dead to the law those who are in Christ dead to the law and he also uses a phrase in in the first few verses he says that we are married to Christ okay we are married to another he says or we have become dead to the law when we are in the body of Christ or when he says when we are married to another which means that we are married to Christ which means we are spiritually united with Christ okay so what do we understand by this phrase which he says in worst nine okay and to understand this phrase I actually gave you an example of you know when when people come to the age of 12 or 13 they're actually able to understand rules and regulations not in the light of just because they have to keep rules and regulations you know you know because their parents told want them to or if they keep the rules and laws and regulations they will receive a reward they will get some chocolates if they don't and they will receive punishment but you know usually they say or we don't know which is the right age but people usually say 12 or 13 you know people come to a place where they come to a place of accountability okay to the laws to the rules they come to a place where they're able to see the bigger picture they're able to see God in the whole context of why they should keep the rules and the laws and follow the commandments and why they shouldn't they come to a place where they understand the commandment as having to do with God in relationship with God not just to please their parents or not just to get the chocolate reward but you know doing it in a bigger context doing it you know having in the context of their relationship with God so likewise Paul is saying in verse nine when Paul came to an understanding of the law he knew he was accountable to the standard of the law okay he came to a place where he understood the commandment as having to do with God or the laws having to do with the context of his relationship with God and he says when he came to that understanding what happened sin revived and I died sin revived means he's saying that there was no way he could overcome sin okay sin took a hold of him okay and we also know in our lives you know sin takes a hold of us and sometimes it's so difficult you know we don't want to lose our temper when we get angry we don't want to ban things we don't want to say rude things we don't want to say nasty things but we end up doing it and we are just you know after we are so frustrated with ourselves we're so upset with ourselves and we know that sin has such a powerful control over our life so he's saying you know when he was under the law that was he was not in Christ you know when he was in his own you know in the endemic nature he says you know sin revived and I died what does it mean I died he says you know sin is actually bringing about decay you know with sin brings about corruption it corrupts our thoughts it corrupts our emotions you know and it ultimately destroys our life with sickness and health and you know pain and misery and finally we are dying of physical death and we also die a spiritual death okay and was 18 he says when the understanding of the commandment came the awareness of sin came was 8 he says when the understanding of the commandment came the awareness of sin came so what is sin you know what is sin how will you define sin simple what is sin any response can I respond yeah sure Charles sin is anything that you think you do or you say that it makes a good sad okay thank you Charles what is sin it's a violation of the law okay it's falling short of God's standard thank you rose yes it's violation of the law it's breaking the commandments of God simple okay oh the who says yes doing what we know is wrong okay so Paul says a sin produced in me all manner of what all manner of was it look at what's saved in your vipers what does it say it's producing him all manner of evil desires okay producing him all manner of evil desires okay and which is contrary to the law okay all these evil desires are not what the law says it's contrary to the law he says only when the law was presented to him you know he says only with the law what's presented to me I realized that I was sinning not only did I realize that I was sinning but I also realized that sin is at work in me and in me there is all manner of evil desires in me which was causing me to break the law or causing me to sin so only when the law came people were able to realize that they were sinning they realized that you know that sin wasn't working them that you know there was all manner of evil desires in them which was causing them to break the law or causing them to sin and now as he progresses in his letter in verses 13 to 25 he not only focuses just on the law but he's also beginning to focus on sin he's talking about the sinful evil desires in the but sin okay so can somebody please read verses 13 to 25 please verses 13 to 25 before we read verses 13 to 25 anyone has any doubts from verses 1 to 12 any questions any doubts anything you like to share okay no questions no doubts yes Siddharth so people who don't have the law did they how would they know whether they're sinning or not yeah good question I think we already answered this I think on Wednesday I think somebody asked you know Paul is writing in chapter 1 and chapter 2 he's talking about the you know the Gentiles don't have the law but they have their conscience okay they have their conscience that tells them what is right and wrong and of course you know the Jews have the law but he says we'll all be judged by the gospel of Jesus Christ whether you have the law you have the conscience we'll all be judged by the gospel of Jesus Christ we went through that and we also said we don't know how it's going to happen but this is what God's word is we can't you know we can't you know say anything more because that is what is revealed to us here in scripture but how do the Gentiles without having the law how do they know what is right and wrong their conscience their conscience bears witness to them and how can the Gentiles know that there is a God even though they don't have a law you know Paul writes in chapter 1 he says you know the the invisible attributes of God is revealed to us in creation okay and the people are without any excuse they can know the invisible attributes of God the invisible attributes of God you know his power and his his the God had deity is revealed to us in creation thank you Sidhan anyone else has any questions any doubts yes the the laws that God gave Moses yes the law that God gave Moses there was 20 I mean sorry 10 commandments 20 commandments 10 commandments in Exodus chapter 20 and then of course there was about 613 laws that God had given of addition yeah any other questions anyone has okay if not we will move on to verses 13 to 25 can somebody read that please even over those who have not seen according to the gladness of the translations of Adam first type of claim to us to come but the three gift is now like the offense state five to one of the offense many died much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Jesus Christ abandoned him to many and a gift is now like that which came to the one who sinned for judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation but the great gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification for it by the one thanks that claim to the one much more those who receive a burden and the grace of grace and the gift and righteousness which came from the one Jesus Christ therefore I still want my sentence that came to all men resulting in condemnation given so to the one that the righteousness I could be gift to all men resulting in justification of God whereas by one man's disobedience many will make sin also also by one man's disobedience many will do their righteousness moreover the law here that difference might again by where sin again grace again with righteousness thank you Asha so here it was 13 to 25 no Paul describes his struggle okay so Paul has already mentioned to us that the law highlighted sorry you read the wrong scripture yeah okay go ahead and read seven versus the team to okay she's read the wrong scripture and so we ask her to read Romans chapter seven was 30 to 25 again yeah go ahead I will not to do I agree with the law that is good then it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells in me for I know that in me that is in my flesh nothing good dwells for to it will is present with me but how to perform what is good I do not find for the good that I was to do I do not do but the evil I will not do that I practiced now if I do what I will not to do it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells in me but I love the law of God according to the judgment but I see another law in my neighbors members wearing against the law of my mind and bringing to the tattoo to the law of sin which is my address for which my name who I do ever use from this body except I came down to Jesus Christ I love so much for the mind and myself so the law of God over the flesh for the God of sin thank you Ashraf so here in verses 13 to 25 here Paul describes the struggle that he is having Paul has already mentioned to us that the law highlighted sin or made sin very visible or showed us that we were sinners we were missing the mark we're going against God we were disobeying him and he says the problem is not with the law but the problem is with sin because the laws holy spiritual just and right and then he's saying that but there is sin and the sin is working in my flesh the sin is working in our flesh through our natural desires okay so in these verses we see a struggle okay and Paul says I want what is the struggle he says I want to do what is right but I can't do what is right the same with all of us right we want to do things that are right we struggle not to get angry or not to get to be jealous or not to act in pride or not to shout or scream or somebody wants to be admitted into class okay yeah so we see that you know he says that you know we want to do what is right but we don't do it we desire to please God but you know most often we do things that break his heart and when we do that we are so grieved we are so upset with ourselves and why is that why does that happen he says you know look at verse 21 you know in verse 21 he says I find then a law that even is present with me the one who wills to do good so he's saying you know I want to do good I will do good but he's saying you know there's a law that works in me and that is evil that is present in me and what is the law it's the law of sin okay so the law of sin that is in in my body you know is causing me to do things that God does not desire to do things that are not right okay so this law is kind of controlling me and it's the evil that is present in me and in verse 23 he says you know if you look at verse 23 says but I see another law in my members worried against the law of my mind and bringing me into the capability of the law of sin which is in my members okay so he's saying that there is an evil verse 23 is keeping my members enslaved to sin even though in my mind I want to obey God okay and so it was 24 he says who will deliver me from this body of death why is he calling this the body of death because he's already told us in verse 13 sin produces what does sin produce death okay the more Paul says the more he sins the more it produces that his body has become a body of death why because his body is controlled by sin and the more he's going to let his body be dominated by sin or controlled by sin you know sin produces death in his body or sin is death is at work in his body okay so in verses 13 to 25 is a description of Paul as a believer or as a Paul you know or as Paul a man under the law before becoming a believer which is a question that many people ask okay in these verses is Paul you know the description that he's given here is Paul talking about himself as a believer or you know is he talking about himself as a man under the law you know who's who's not yet become a believer so many believers quote also these verses to describe their struggle with sin and they say you know it's okay for us to struggle with sin because Paul also struggled you know when he was a believer he says I want to do good but but I don't do it okay so there's a couple of things that I like to find out here the first one is you know Paul is not talking about himself when he was a he's a believer he's not talking about himself when he is in he is in Christ and he's not talking about himself when he's married to Christ or he's spiritually united to Christ Paul is talking about himself here when he was under the law okay when he was under the law and we saw this in verse nine says when the commandment came means when I came to know the law sin revived in me or sin came up in me and I died and you know and he concludes you know this whole this section in verse 25 he says I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord okay so Paul is meaning here that you know there is a way out there is a way out for you know not to be dominated by sin there is a way out you know to overcome sin not to be under the dominion of sin and he's pointing to the way out and he says you know I feel trapped you know I feel trapped by the sin he says I want to do the right thing I want to do what desires and pleases God but you know I feel trapped I can't do it I'm so caught up with sin and there is no way out and he's not saying that you know I took the way out and came to the other side and found myself trapped no he's not saying that but he's saying that when I was under the law I felt trapped under sin you know what's meaning of trapped trapped means caught you know when they go yeah when a fisherman you know traps fish in his net or you know when a hunter traps an animal in his net they're totally trapped they can't get out so he's not talking about being trapped when he takes the way out and he comes to the other side and he finds himself trapped he's not talking about when he finds a way out of things he finds a way out in Jesus Christ and he becomes a believer or he's in Christ or he is spiritually you know in union with Christ he's married to Christ he's not talking about that he says no when I am under the law you know I am trapped because I want to do the right things that the law is telling me but I find sin is controlling my body and then he says how can I get rid of the sin that is controlling my desires and bringing about evil desires and he points the way out and what is the way out who does he point to he was 25 he's pointing out to Jesus Christ our Lord okay so he points out to Jesus Christ our Lord okay so he's pointing out to the way that he has found out of this this whole being trapped under sin and that is why you know when I say that the experience in verses 13 to 25 does not apply to Paul as a believer because the believer is on the other side they are not trapped by sin Paul already tells us in Romans chapter 6 that we are dead to sin sin has no longer dominates it has no longer control so it's Paul's experience here in verses 30 to 25 when he is under the law and before he comes into Christ or before he encounters Jesus Christ or he is born again he becomes a new creation so some people don't see it as we see it but I'm sharing this with you you know I see these verses as when Paul was under the law and not when he was in Christ so I'm just sharing you my viewpoints you can take whatever position you feel comfortable with after reading Romans 7 or after your understanding at your study of Romans 7 and so he says in verse 25 I thank God to Jesus Christ our Lord now in this whole passage in verses 30 to 25 there are two things that have to be dealt with okay the law has already been dealt with we are Paul says we're already dead to the law and he says you know it was one two or six he says we are dead to the law we are married to Christ but here he's talking of the law of sin and the law of death okay so the two things that we need to deal with here is the law of sin and the law of death okay he says in verse nine he's already spoken to us in verse nine he says sin revived and I died that means sin he's talking about sin and death verse 30 he says sin produces death okay that means anything that decays corrupts and destroys and ultimately it is the physical death and the spiritual death verse 17 he says sin dwells in me verse 23 the law of sin which is in my members which means the you know the the law of sin that is controlling his body sin is controlling his body and what is the result was 24 this body of death means sin in Paul's body sin in our body is causing our body to die or causing his body to die okay and then in verse 25 he's talking about the law of sin so here in these verses he's dealing not with the law okay because he's already dealt with the law he's saying that they already you know we've already dead to the law but here he's dealing with two things he's dealing with the law of sin and the law of death okay so so what I'm pointing out here to these verses which I mentioned verse 13 17 23 verse 24 and 25 is what I'm pointing out here is Paul is saying there are two problems here okay there is sin and there is death okay because Paul says who is going to set me from this sin that is controlling my flesh that is ultimately producing what we mean it's producing death in me so who is going to deliver me and how am I going to come out of this okay now this is why is this important because you know why is these questions important important in the light of what Paul has already said in Romans 6 you know there is a connecting point here in Romans chapter 6 verse 19 he says I'm speaking to you because of the weakness of my flesh remember that he looked at Romans chapter 6 verse 19 he says you know I'm speaking to you because of the weakness of my flesh so there is a weakness in the flesh of every believer what is it it is sin at work sin is producing what death and sin if it's allowed to continue in the flesh it will still produce death so for a believer how can he be set free how does he walk free from sin that produces death in the flesh you know he goes on to talk about it in chapter 8 where there he talks about the law of the spirit okay he talks about the law then he talks about the law of sin and he talks about the law of death you know and he says you know he wants to be set free from the law of sin and death and he says who will set me free from this you know law of sin and that how am I going to be delivered he points out to Jesus Christ and then he goes on to write in his letter or you know we look at it as chapter 8 where you know he talks about how a believer can be set free and how he can walk free from sin that produces death in the flesh the answer is in chapter 8 where he's talking about the law of the spirit of life he's saying in chapter 8 that is the holy spirit that will enable us or is the holy spirit that will help us to you know overcome the power of sorry overcome the power of sin that is in our flesh okay okay so that is the end of chapter 7 anyone has any questions any questions if you look at your notes you know there is Paul summarizes his own experience in his own spiritual journey he's talking about his struggles verse 17 he says what I'm doing I do not understand what I will do I do not practice what I hate that I do all that he mentioned in verse 17 verse 18 he says I want to do good but I'm unable to do it verse 19 the good that I will to do I do not do it verse 19 he says even I will not do that I practice and he talks about not only struggles but also the problems that sin dwells in me was 17 my flesh nothing good dwells was 18 sin that dwells in me was 20 was 21 that evil desires are present in my body and then was 23 he says something is fooling in my members fighting against my mind bringing me captive to sin okay so he's talking about the fleshly desires that born against our soul so even when we become believers you know we are only our spirits are born again but you know our flesh and our minds our soul and our flesh has to be renewed every day we need to be transformed every day but the renewing of our minds because our flesh has sinned though still the whole nature you know and our mind our souls also has the tendency to you know fall back into the old sinful nature so you know what Peter says in first Peter chapter 2 verse 11 that there is a war within us the war is between the spirit and the flesh the spirit wants to do something but the flesh is weak it's not able to do there is a war and so how what is the whole thing about the answer for this how to overcome it the more you know Paul says the more we feed our fleshly carnal nature that is what will you know will dominate but the more we feed our spirit you know the more we are spending time reading God's word meditating our intimacy with God worshiping him the more our spirit man is fed when our spirit man is fed that dominates and our flesh is not you know our flesh becomes weakened because starving it's not being fed and once you know you know when something is starving what happens we are dead too we're dead to it the person dies right it's the same ways as we need to feed our spirit and not our carnal nature because if we keep feeding our carnal nature you know sin will continue to abound in our life but when we continue to feed our spirit man that will dominate the flesh okay it presents the answer that it's you know the answer is in Jesus Christ but then he goes on to answer on how we can get rid of the law of sin and the law of death as a result of sin that produces death how can we overcome it this he presents to us in Romans chapter eight wait anyone has any questions okay any questions I hope you're all the online students are following yes no any questions anyone has uh you're following five times and and yeah you explained but we don't have questions we understand okay thank you man thank you first anyone else has any questions anything that you uh have any doubts maybe you can just read through because we still have some time we have 13 minutes and anyone has we won't begin chapter eight we'll take it on in our next Wednesday and then on Friday as well so yes sorry yes I'll just I'll just mention that in a little bit uh yeah uh I think Christopher you have a question sorry Christopher I thought you had a question Christopher are you there no no I am sorry I have much to press about if I mistake okay okay okay okay yeah so uh yes man I understand that those were in Christ there's no no no no condemnation because we now have Christ and law has no dominion over us however in uh I think that Peter or John said that if someone continues sin there's no more um feminism class uh keep on sinning there's no more sacrifice left for them so what's the relationship between that person who can who knows Christ and he knows he he contains sinning and the law or is he still going to be judge based on the law or is he going to be judge based on uh correct correct okay so you're saying that uh uh that you know Romans chapter eight was one begins with saying that there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus so you know we don't stand condemned before God but God yes he knows that we are weak we are sinful people we um we um uh we cannot keep all of the laws we break the laws yes and that's why the answer he's giving us is the the holy spirit you know who enables us and helps us and you know like we also spoke in in chapter six about grace and law grace not only keeps us away from sin also empowers us to keep us away from sin and so you're saying that what if somebody living uh under grace and as a believer will uh you know they continue to sin and you're you're mentioning about Hebrews chapter eight where there's no more forgiveness of sins left but only a dreadful punishment but now it does not qualify what extent of sin that person goes or they come to a place where there is no more forgiveness of sins that is left but only a dreadful punishment we don't know what is that extent but we don't go to that extent because we because we can't say well because I don't know I can to any extent I can go to sin because I don't know what extent God is going to really you know there's no more forgiveness of sins but the whole issue about sinning is you know even as Paul is trying to say is you know when you are in Christ you cannot sin see when you are spiritually united to Christ there's no way that you can sin so that's not just the truth but something that we need to also you know make it as a reality in our life and there's something that we need to also need to keep telling ourselves that no I just can't sin I can't just do it you know this is not something that I need to do or continue doing so what is the extent of what a person there's no more forgiveness of sins we do not know because there is no explanation given to us in scripture but however we know that we cannot keep on continuing to sin because once we love God and once we are in Christ you know we can't just sin you know and if you're continuing to sin then there's a big question mark about our whole salvation experience our salvation experience can only be that we have experienced Jesus as we've received him as a savior and not as Lord of our life so some people very conveniently for salvation they experience Jesus Christ as their savior because he saved them from their sins they're very happy with their sins are forgiven they're going to heaven but most of them don't you know accept him as Lord his salvation is complete when we accept him him as savior and as Lord that means Lord over every area of our life submitting to him, obeying him in every area of our life and then you're asking how will they be judged whether they be judged according to the law or like I already said in the beginning of the class when Siddhanta asked the question you know we need to go back to what scripture says and scripture says in or we already looked at it in Romans chapter two where it says that you know you know Jews we cannot say that you know you have the law but you will not be judged by the law neither the Gentiles by their conscience but we will all be judged by the what does he say the gospel of Christ okay so says we'll all be judged by the gospel means so that is what he he mentions I think in in chapter two okay so did that answer your question yes pastor because you hear about ministers since falling into sin you hear people working with God doing things that contradicts the Bible and we ask us or just was that guy saved and it was saved and he knew the Lord the Lord and he knew the law how come and how how is he going to be saved how is he going to heaven how is he going to be judged yeah thank you okay so you're talking about the people who you know are believers who are ministers who are pastors and they you know they fall back they still sin and what happens when is that what you're asking yes they're also part of the question yeah thank you all believers including pastors including bishop okay yes so you know so the whole thing is that you know we don't condemn them okay because first of all there's no condemnation in Christ Jesus so we have no right to condemn but yes it does not mean also that we stay silent to sin there is all rights you know you have to take the elders and you have to speak to them and that's what he's when he writes to Timothy he says you take the elders you know explain to them and if they still continue to sin then you know there's nothing more that you can really do you know you just have to leave them because they will be judged by God okay so we also do not know what to say extend but we know that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives will continue to minister will continue to bring them to a place where you know they are willing to you know change then put for them if they're not willing to change then you know as God gives us the free will to choose he leaves it upon us we face the consequences for us sin but is there no forgiveness left for them we really don't know you know to what extent of sin that they go to but yes it's sad that many of them very pastors do fall into sin but it's also as people you know me are supposed to be praying for them correcting them admonishing them helping them out and if they're not willing you know Paul says to such people you know give them up to Satan you know give them up to Satan and he's not saying that so that they can be destroyed but he's saying once you you know they come out of the spiritual covering the spiritual perfection you know they're open to the attacks of the evil one they face all the difficulties and then they realize their sin they will come back to God's the purpose of God for doing that is to bring them back to restore them so God is in the process of restoring people not wanting anyone to perish but if people continue in their sin you know then yeah we do not know what is the extent of grace that is available for them what you know levels that they fall to where there is no forgiveness of sins but we just have to learn from their lives that we don't go to that extent we don't fall to that level that we don't do the sins that they are doing I hope I will say good to answer that yes thank you thank you very much because we really can't say what would have been able to judge for this the judge but we just do our part any other questions okay there's no question just want to say that you know we I was I scheduled the first assessment for this coming Monday but I like to postpone it to the following Monday is it okay with all of you yeah so the first assessment I had scheduled it for 18th but just seems to be a very hectic week for me and a very hectic weekend as well so if I could move it to the 25th is it okay with all of you sorry for the inconvenience and change is it fine with all of you yes okay okay so will I post the questions on the 25th of September okay which is sorry not the 25th it's the 26th it's a Monday yeah okay 26th okay there's no questions we will end class thank you all for joining class today and have a blessed weekend see you next week thank you everyone thank you pastor


The addition of different materials in rotational molding process can decrease mechanical properties, especially impact strength. To address this issue, multi-layer structures of virgin polyethylene, PE, and banana fiber composites were prepared and studied for their influence on the performance of the final part. Cycle time was analyzed and improvements in Young's modulus of up to 13 percent were found, although at the expense of significant decreases in impact strength. The reduction in fiber size due to pulverization affected the rheological and mechanical behavior of the composite. Two-layer structures with up to 5 percent banana fiber have been produced, and neat polyethylene was added to the external layer to counteract reductions in mechanical properties for flexural elastic modulus and tensile strength, as well as impact behavior. This article was authored by Jake Kelly-Wally, Zyda Ortega, Mark McCourt, and others.


Thank you all so much, Senator Kuhn, staff of all the many senators and congressmen who've been there with us, Nancy Lindbergh, President of the Institute of Peace, Johnny Carson, my assistant secretary, the SIP also, friends of Liberia, members of the press, ladies and gentlemen. I'm here in Washington, here in the U.S. Capitol, to say thank you on behalf of the government and people of Liberia. And in my own name, I want to express profound gratitude to the U.S. government, to the U.S. military, the non-governmental organizations, the faith-based institutions and the American people for the depth of friendship, remarkable partnership, an exemplary leadership which you have shown in joining us on the front line of the battle against this deadly disease. My brothers and sisters of neighboring countries in Guinea and in Sierra Leone, similarly afflicted by the outbreak, join me in expressing appreciation and thanks to all of you. As you know, it was March of this year, last year, that this enemy that we did not know, which we could not have prepared to confront invaded our country, spread rapidly, and for the many of us, became more than an epidemic, threatening those who most intimately connected to their sake. Ebola robbed us of our human need to care and to be cared for. The cruelness of scourge deprived many individuals and stretched the sacred bonds of families, friends, and communities to the breaking point. It attacked our way of life as well as our health system, which gradually was rebounding from years of decline, overstretched and overtaxed our health system collapsed. Early in the epidemic, doctors and nurses giving of themselves without proper gear died, treating the sick and needed for what they believed to be a known diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. With each painful death, the hopes of a nation only recently regenerated after years of war and destruction faded to be replaced by understandable doubt and fear. The international predictions were grim and terrifying. We were told that before the end of January, at least 20,000 of our citizens would die every month in our three countries. Our economy froze and nose dived into recession, threatening to reverse the progress we had worked on and had worked so hard to achieve. Airlines stopped their commercial traffic, trade and travel routes were suspended, contractors folded up their tents and left. And Liberians experienced the chilling effect of stigmatization and abandonment. The future of Liberia's peace and democratic stability, whose foundations we had diligently established thanks to this virus, appear tenuous and fragile. It was at this precarious moment early in August that I reached out to the government and people of the United States, that I reached out to you. I wrote to President Obama asking for America's support. I called my friends in Congress, Senator Kuhn, do you remember those phone calls? I know your staffers and your assistants and your schedulers will remember them. It was not just our friend from Delaware, whom I awakened at night. I called Senators Jake Flake, Patrick Leahy, Minority Leader Pelosi, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Chairman Ed Roars and maybe a dozen other congressional staffers. Well, America responded, you did not run from Liberia. As this is country and people continue to do with many of our global challenges, America stood up and America stood with us, providing the critical resources and partnership to enable us to fight back. That's exactly what the Liberian people did themselves. Community by community, religious leaders, tribal chiefs, women and youth groups, businesses, civil society organizations, political leaders across Liberia's 15 counties fought back. And so today we are reclaiming the future. There was one threatened by this deadly disease. And although we are not totally out of the woods, Ebola is no longer an unknown predator haunting the Liberian people. Thanks to your support. We are now haunting Ebola. From the White House, both houses of Congress and both sides of the aisles, America responded. If I had the time, I would go door to door thanking all 535 members of Congress. However, there's not enough time on this brief visit to do that. So I hope these expressions of heartfelt gratitude reach all of you wherever you are. President Obama, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for sending Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Center for Disease Control to Liberia. This decision was perhaps the single most influential event that awakened the world to the scope and magnitude of the disease virulent spread in West Africa. We also recognized the extraordinary decision by the President to deploy the U.S. military to help Liberia. They leave behind a capacitated national army that will not only be able to build treatment centers, but to build development structures all over the country. We want to give thanks to USA Dart and their team for the assistance in setting up an integrated command and to the many U.S. implementing partners, the first responders who reached beyond their fears and ran toward the danger and not away from it. We give thanks to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia, Ambassador Deborah Malik. What did I call you? The Diplomac General for the steadfast support and continued compassion walking with us every day, even when the joining seemed impossible. Liberians know that it was the leadership of the Obama Administration supported by Congress by many, many senators and Congressmen and women that allowed us to be able to stabilize the disease and encourage the rest of the world to respond to what truly was a global crisis. And so with support of partners like you, we have made great progress in containing the virus. Today, 13 of our 15 counties have reported no new cases over 21 days and we are down to one to three infections per week chasing the very last element of the chain of transmission, notwithstanding, we have continued to warm our citizens against complacency. We can neither rest nor lift our foot off the gas. We are determined to get to zero. To zero cases by April 15 in keeping with the agreements recently reached by the Manu River Union Summit, the Manu River Union comprising Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, although Cote d'Ivoire is not affected. We are all keenly aware that traveling that last mile to zero new cases will be the most difficult because the disease has retreated and must now be chased down in every single corner. We also know that full eradication will not be achieved until the whole region is freed from Ebola. This is why securing our borders remains a priority requiring additional resources as well as providing assistance to our neighbors. We remain confident of getting to zero because our 19 Ebola treatment units have virtually emptied today. We now have the capacity to treat infectious disease. Our trained barrel teams can safely remove bodies in less than 24 hours. Our five active laboratories can test up to 61 persons per day. The 4,000 contact traces, largely community workers, are now following thousands of persons who may be on the contact list. Friends, as we celebrate our success, the truth also is that the cost has been extremely high, too high for many grieving families in our recovering nation to bear. You may recall many of you. On March 16, 2006, I had the honor to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. I committed our leadership to paying any price to lay the foundation for durable peace in Liberia. Ebola struck after 10 years of consecutive peace, affecting that foundation that had been so carefully built. Our average annual growth rate at 7%, experience of 50% reduction, the infant mortality rate that we had brought down, and the maternal mortality rate, which we had reduced by 17 years. Our crippling debt that we had been able to solve, the restoration of social and economic order, and infrastructure, all of those, our free and democratic society, all stood the chance of being reversed. That was our challenge. We must now return to rebuilding Liberia's peace and prosperity, even as we eliminate the threat of Ebola. This requires updating the healthcare system, including an early warning system that integrates the public and private sectors. We have begun to do so, revising our 10-year healthcare plan with a heavy focus on training to rebuild and strengthen capacities that were lost during many of our front-line healthcare workers during the epidemic. We aim to strengthen the capacity of community workers to continue to give them what they need to be fresh responders, so that never again will we be unable to guard against a disease of this nature. We are seeking to rebuild our health infrastructure, prioritizing roadways to help to access hard-to-reach areas. We are transitioning from treatment to prevention with the support of over 100 partners from 26 countries. Liberia's only 218 medical doctors and 5,234 nurses to serve a population of 4.3 million says that we have a big gap to be able to cover, and we know that these facts will not change overnight. We are determined to continue to fill that gap, gradually transitioning Liberian-built and lead national healthcare delivery system that will stand the size and scope of any other disease of this nature. There's also an inherent link between healthcare system revitalization, economic recovery, and peace building, which is stronger now than ever before. Liberia's post Ebola economic recovery, while continuing to accelerate improvements in infrastructure roads, electricity, water and sewer will prioritize healthcare delivery revitalization. We also intend to invest heavily in agriculture for food security and job creation. In this regard, we are working closely with USA partners to address the immediate issue of food security and a longer-term program to develop a robust agricultural sector capable of feeding the nation. We will tap into Liberian entrepreneurship in accelerating a private sector-led revival of the formal and informal sectors of our economy. We have told our partners that the private sector must become the engine of our recovery, and therefore we must together consider the obstacles that have emerged in the post Ebola economy, including the increased costs of doing business and challenges to travel and trade. On this note, I want to commend the Ebola private sector mobilization group for their role in the Ebola response and encourage them to maintain their critical place at the table in our recovery. Distinguished friends, on account of this deadly outbreak, Liberia's progress experienced what we call only a temporary setback. We promise you, Senator Kuhn, that our success as an emerging democracy will continue to grow and be respected. We have shown the resilience to persevere first through decades of conflict, and now by conquering what is the greatest threat to global public health in this generation. Our resolve to meet the challenge that is ahead is strong and unrelenting. As I speak, our curfew has ended, we've lifted it, our children are back at school, our borders are open, our women marketeers are back at work, our farmers are preparing for the oncoming planting season, and most importantly, our spirits are lifted. We will win this battle against Ebola. We will succeed. Thank you, and thank the American people for your support in our progress. Liberia is back in the business of development.


How does it feel to be a TEDx speaker today? I'm elated, I'm overwhelmed, I don't even know how to feel like I'm just about trying to calm my nerves down. That's alright. Coming to the speech, you talked about what you and your team primarily work on. Could you please tell us a little bit more about it? Right, so we are a social tech company wherein we use technology to drive social change. So that in itself is like a novel thought, a novel approach that we take to solve the most basic and the most banal issues in the social sector. Absolutely. How would you inspire others to join the social sector and do their part in this world? I would just say that you don't have to actively be employed in the social sector to be able to drive change. And that's exactly what my talk was all about, that your everyday actions, your thought, like just having the intention of making a difference and driving change will automatically, you know, you'll come across opportunities, you'll come across, you'll see things that you can do, which will help benefit the planet and people and, you know, reduce inequalities and basically, you know, heal the earth and the people. So thoughts become actions, actions bring change. Yeah, absolutely. And lastly, did you enjoy your experiences over here in this TEDxAlperinternational speech? Absolutely. It was delightful. It was something I'll always cherish. It's my first TED talk and it's always going to be special. And Alperinternational totally made it worth my while. And yeah, I'm looking forward now. Thank you.


Thank you so much. Good evening everybody, and for those of you watching online, I know if you're back home in the Cayman Islands, it's morning, so good morning for the folks back home in the Cayman Islands, and wherever you're in the world you're watching, we're delighted to have you joining us here in Nairobi Central for our camp meeting 2023 On the other theme, Jesus is coming, get involved, get involved, tremendous, tremendous. I continue to be excited about that theme. I hope and trust you have been, have you been blessed since morning? Amen? Yes, and so we're ready to do some work this evening. So yesterday morning, yesterday morning, we took a deep dive into the book of Daniel, and the prophecies of the Second Coming of Christ, we get an idea of how close we are to the Coming of Christ, and yesterday evening, we took another deep dive into the dangers that lurk on the borders of Cayman, and that in as much as we are preparing ourselves to go home, we have to be conscious of these dangers and navigate our way through so that we don't make the same mistakes that Israel made so many years ago. This evening, we will turn our attention to the other piece of your theme, the theme that the portion that says, get involved, because I'm getting excited about that, the portion that says get involved. And so there are two questions that should jump out at you when we say get involved. Jesus is coming, get involved. There are two questions that should jump out at you. One is how should I get involved, and the other is who should get involved? Is a church okay for everybody in the church to be involved? Who should get involved? Are there some prerequisites? Are there some criteria? And so our discussion this evening under the subject, now, now hiring, now hiring. So bow your heads with me as we pray.  So we ask God that you will speak to us through the instrumentality of your Holy Spirit. That as we open your words, Lord, we dare not do so without asking for your help. So again, I pray that you will open up our minds and open up our understanding. We ask these mercies in Jesus' name. Let the church say amen. I'll put a text on your screen. Matthew the 9th chapter, the 36th verse. Jesus says, but when he saw the text says, but when he saw the multitudes, the Bible says he was moved with what? Compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. I'm in the next verse. And the next verse says, then he said to his disciples, the harvest is truly plentiful, but we have a problem. What's the problem? The reapers are few. And that's a problem we have in Nairobi. The harvest is truly plentiful, but the reapers are few. That's a problem in the church. We have many members in the church, but those who are involved are few. Can I say that one more time? Yeah, we have many members in the church. And by the way, I don't know, is that true for Nairobi Central? I don't know. We have many members in the church, but those who are involved are few. And by the way, if it is true here in Nairobi, it has been true for a very long time because Jesus pointed it out then. In other words, what God is saying, by the way, when we talk about harvest, it means harvest means we have come to the end of the agricultural year. Am I right? We have come to that end and now it's time for reaping. And God says, I think I need help for the purpose of reaping. Let me say that one more time. This is a cry from heaven. I need help in Nairobi to do some reaping of souls. I need help in evangelism. I need help. And the question we're going to ask myself is, Lord, how can I help? And by the way, is there any prerequisites? Is there any qualification or are you open to anybody to join the team? So the text says, verse 38, Jesus says, therefore, to the disciples, he says, you know what, guys, let's pray to the Lord of harvest so that He will send out laborers in His harvest. And the question, I probably could end the sermon by starting with it, how many of you as members of the church are willing and prepared to get involved? Because being a member of the church is not going to be sufficient to take you into the kingdom. And so the text says he sent out his disciples. And that's Matthew chapter 10, verse 1. After he told the disciples that the laborers are few, he said to them, guys, you have to go out and help. So he sent out the disciples. When he had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of diseases. So if there's anybody in the church this afternoon who is a little uncertain and not too sure whether you're capable of helping Christ in these last days, what I want to put out to you, all Jesus needs from you is a willing heart to say, Lord, here am I, send me. Amen. All he needs is somebody to say, here am I, send me because he already knows your weaknesses. He already knows your shortcoming. He already knows your limitation. He just wants somebody to say, here am I, send me. And when you do that, when you sign up to be involved, the Bible says he will give you power over unclean spirits. Can the church say amen? He'll give you power to cast them out and also power to do what else? To heal all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Amen. But he needs somebody to volunteer first. After that, he sent only 12 people he had, he sent them out, but he felt that the 12 was not enough. So the Bible says after these things, the Lord appointed 70 others and sent them all. You see that word also? Look at that word. Have you seen the word also? If that word also is in your Bible, you can underline it. He sent them out also, meaning there is no member in the church of Christ who is sitting down not doing anything because he sent them out also. And he sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself is about to go. Look at the text, look at the text. Wherever he plans to go, he sent out these guys before him. Did he get that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. These are the Bible workers. He sent them out before him. I'm in the next verse and he said to them, he said, guys, the harvest is truly great, but I still have more problem. The problem I'm having is with laborers. The laborers are still few. Therefore, pray the Lord of harvest to send out what? To send out reapers into the harvest. Then he says, go your way. The whole I send you out as what? As lambs among wolves. Oh Lord, the Holy Spirit just don't load something in my brain. I want to take my time and share it with you. I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Then you understand why some people do not sign up for this mission. You get a message now? Why? Because it's a dangerous mission. Oh, let me put it there. I'm sending you out as what? Lambs among wolves. What do we know? What do we know between lambs and wolves? What do we know? Come on, talk to me. Talk back to me. We're not preaching. What do we know about lambs and wolves? Wolves eat lambs. Am I right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What is what?   So Jesus says, before you sign up, I want you to understand it's a dangerous mission that you're going on. Amen.  Amen? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I want the church to understand it's a dangerous mission, and that's why some people don't go out, don't join up, don't get involved. No, no, no, no, no. They feel safe to come church, praise the Lord and go home, but they ain't joining up for this service. But maybe that's why the laborers are few. Oh, hang on, hang on, hang on Nairobi. Have you read the text? The text didn't say the worshipers are few. The text didn't say the worshipers are few. The text says the laborers are few. And what the Lord wants is how do we convert those worshipers into laborers? That's a challenge. The other reason I'm purport to you why the laborers are few, why the hiring sign is still up, Heaven says, I'm still hiring, still hiring, right? The other reason why the hiring sign is still up and why laborers are few is that some folks do not think that because of their history, or because of their current lifestyle, some folks don't think that Heaven would possibly use them. So they automatically disqualify themselves. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on because the preach is going somewhere. And by the way, and by the way, some folks who disqualify themselves because of some stuff that they find themselves in and some of their past life, some folks who disqualify themselves because of that, the truth is some of those folks disqualify themselves because of what they heard people say in church. So I'm going to make a very bold statement here today. See, the church is not what is hiring you. It is not the church that is hiring you. It's God. The church is not the Lord of the harvest. It's God. Are we together? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, stay with me because I'm going somewhere. I'm going somewhere. And there are sometimes folks in the church make you feel that God would never use you. So a lot of people say, I am not qualified to get involved. So I leave the work to those who are well qualified and well put together have a good lifestyle, good reputation. So if you're, if you're wondering where this preacher is going, I'll take you there. I'm taking you back to the bodice. Take you back to the bodice. Why back? Why back? Why did I say back? Anybody know? We were there when? Yesterday. We were there yesterday. We were there yesterday. So we're going back. If you were not, is there anybody here? You were not here yesterday evening. You were not here. Anybody here who was not here yesterday? Oh, everybody was here yesterday. Okay, just one person. Okay, you can't miss any. You can't miss any. You can't miss any of the sessions, right? And for those of you online, you can't miss any of the sessions. We're going back here yesterday. At the borders, yesterday evening, we studied approximately 2.5 million people left Egypt under the direction of Almighty God, traveled, reached the borders so close to the kingdom and lost their lives and lost their soul salvation. Are we together? What was the reason again? Unbelief, they fail to believe that God could carry them through. Where did that unbelief come from? From the leaders, 12 elders of the church were sent to spy the land. 10 had no faith in Almighty God. And because of that, the whole, the whole, the entire church, the entire church lost its soul. Two persons made it out, two. We talked about that yesterday. I'm going back there today under the subject, now hiring, get involved. Because now we said, you remember we said last night that God instruct Moses to turn around the camp? Yes? And let them back into the wilderness where all of these failed people, they all died there. Their carcass is wrapped in the wilderness. And God says, I will only bring their children, anybody under the age of 20, I will bring them to the border. So stay with me. Moses is now dead. The entire children of Israel went back in the wilderness. They all perished there, all the adults perished there. Their young ones, 40 years they went back there to spend, 40 years they were back there. Their young ones now grew up. Is the church with me still? Good. Young ones are now grown up. Moses by this time is now dead. And God has now appointed a new leader to take the children of those who perish to Canaan. Ha! Because if you think God not going to take somebody into Canaan, you've got to think again. Because no matter what happens, God's plan will always be accomplished. And so he took new leader, Joshua. The text says, I mean the book of Joshua chapter one, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun. Moses is assistant, saying verse two, it says, hey Joshua boy, Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore arise. Go over this Jordan, you and all these people to the land, come on, help me read this stuff, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. Ha! Which means, which means, which means God says, the parents fail, but I'm still going to make my promise to the children. So Moses, so Joshua, take these children, by the way, these are children of their disobedient parents who already did. Take these children, carry them back to the borders, hey, and cross over with them. Is the church with me? Yes, and cross over with them. And then in verse nine, in verse nine, in case, in case Joshua became a little fearful, the Lord says, have I not commanded you Joshua? Be what? Be strong, and what else? Be courageous, and do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Why? For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you amen. I want to talk to somebody in Nairobi. When you sign up, when you volunteer to be a part of God's plan, understand, the Lord will be with you wherever you go. When you sign up to get involved, be strong, because you're going out as lamb among wolves. Be strong. People will criticize you, but be strong. They will say all manner of things about you, but be strong. Be courageous. Don't falter, hey, because the Lord is with you. Be strong. I promise you, I'll be with you wherever you go. Well, well, you know, I love the Bible. The Bible is an amazing book. The Bible is amazing. No movie on HBO, cinemax, any, no movie can come near the word of God. Watch the drama. Watch the drama. So Joshua organized the folks, all right? This is a new crop, new breed of the children of Israel. Joshua organized them, and Joshua marched them. We're marching to Zion. March them right back at the borders, where their daddy were, their fathers and mothers were. Joshua marched them right back there, where they messed up the last. Is it church with me? Where they messed up the last time. Right back there, Joshua carried them, where their parents messed up, where their parents had no faith in God, right back there. And this time, Joshua decided we need to send spies because things may, hey, things may change over the last 40 years while we were in the wilderness. Oh, Lord of mercy. Hey, I'm enjoying myself up here. Hey, Joshua, Joshua says, we, it's 40 years we were in the wilderness, things may change over the land so we can use the same report. So he decided to send spies again. See the word, oh, I did, I spelled that word wrong. It should be again. He says, he says, I will send spies again. But this time, he decided he's not going to send 12. He decided I am not, watch this, I am not sending 12. He decided I am not calling up the elders. Oh, Lord, he says, because he was part of the, he was part of the 12. So he knew what is it. No, no, no, no.  No, Joshua the son, I'm known, sent out how many? Two. Two. I wonder, anybody have a good idea why you only use two? Anybody? Well, what comes to mind is out of the 12 that went the first time, only two came back with the right report. Amen? So maybe it's good and wise to just settle with with two. So he decided, I ain't sending no 10, no 12 church leaders there. I'm only going to use what? Two. So he sent them from Agassia Grove to spy secretly saying, hey, guys, when you go over, view the land, especially where Jericho, so they went and they, so the Bible says, so the two, the two part their back and they dash off across the borders, you know, undercover agents, because it's a dangerous land they're going into, right, dangerous land they're going into. So they don't want anybody to see them because they are spies. This is CIA work, espionage work. So when they, so, so when they dash off over into enemy territory, the Bible says they went and came to the house of a harlot. By the way, who is a harlot? Look here now, nobody in the church who knows what the harlot is. I don't, what's going on? You all don't know what the harlot is? Oh, you all know what the harlot is? Yes? Are there harlots in Nairobi? Oh, they are. Okay, good. Now, so you know what, so you know what harlots is. So, so, so the tech, hey, the tech says, the tech says, watch, watch a preacher, watch a preacher. These two handpicked servants of the living God went over on a secret mission to enemy territory. And of all the places they could find to lodge, of all the houses they could find, see the Bible said, and lodge. What does lodge mean? Of all the house they could find to lodge is the house of a Nairobi harlot. Does the church have any problem with that? I'll turn my back to you guys. I don't know what their wives would say if, because they're sure when they come back and wife heard that they spent a night at the harlot's house, the wife is going to ask, why on God's earth you choose? Well, we couldn't find anywhere else. What do you mean you couldn't find anywhere? Can you hear the argument? We couldn't find anywhere else. What do you mean you couldn't find anywhere else? Why you, no, no, we chose a harlot's house because this on the type of business that she runs, there will be no attraction to two men going to her house. Amen. It's the norm. But the problem is my church will have a problem with that because men of God are not supposed to be in, help me preach, in a harlot's house. Say you're hiding, you're hiding. Why don't you trust God to hide under some tree or some bush, your harlot's house in a harlot's house? No sooner there is here that words reach the king, that there are two spies in town, and they are lodging at that house. Intel service, by the way, the CIA service in Jericho is sharp. They pick up these guys quick, quick, words reach the king.  They come to search out the country, these are spies, bring them out.  This is death. Is the church with me? Yeah, this is death. Did I say when you sign up is a generous mission? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is death. So the king sent word, bring out the men, because we know we have intel, our intel told us when they came, who came, how they dressed, we know where they are, bring them out to us. Well, sister harlot got involved. Amen. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know why? You know why? She was aware that destruction was coming. She was aware that the end of Jericho was on its path. She was aware of the time she was aware that salvation was there. And she got herself involved. Amen. She got herself involved. But watch me, watch me at the risk of her own life. So when the king says, send them out, because we know you have them. You're harboring criminals. The woman verse four says, the woman took the two men and the Bible says, she hit them. She did what? Rather than bringing them out and handing them over to the king. Now I wonder how many church member would put their life in danger for the sake of God and put the family in danger for the sake of God?  When the rubber hits the road, how many of you are willing to take this risk in order to get involved? She hit the men. And so she said, when the king's servants, when the CIA officers turn up at her door, she says, yes, it is true that two men came to me. But I agree. But I did not know where they were from. And he said, I don't know. I don't know where they were from.  I didn't, I don't know where they were from. Is that true or false? Come talk to me. Is that true or false? False, false. I'm not surprised that the harlotel lies. What am I surprised is that she used light to protect God's children? No, that surprised me. Is the church with me here? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, in other words, in other words, you can say anything you want about her. She's doing her utmost best, how she knows how to make her contribution to the kingdom of God. So leave Rahab alone. I don't know where they're from. Verse five. And it happened as the gate was being shut when it was dark that the men went out. Where the men went? I do not know. This is what she's telling, she's telling the CIA officers. She says, yes, the men came. I didn't know where they come from. They do their business and they're gone. When it was dark, they went out. Where the men went, I don't know.  But the text says what she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stacks of the flak which she had laid in order on the roof. She brought them up her house, top of the house.  And I'm watching the whole thing and I'm saying does my church, is my church okay with this? Is this all right or are you getting uncomfortable? How many of you are getting uncomfortable? Because this don't sit too well with what we teach in church. I mean verse seven. Then the men pursued them by the road to Jordan, to the forts, that is the CIA officers.  Dangerous pass, dangerous pass. Ray up, take a sigh of relief, but she still have the stuff upstairs on her roof. Are you with me? And so when the CIA officers left, verse eight says she went upstairs to talk to the men. And church of the living God, those of you watching online, I want you to take note of the testimony of this practicing prostitute. I want you to take a good note of the testimony of this practicing prostitute. Here's her testimony. She went upstairs, she uncovered the two men. Before they were laid down, I mean Joshua chapter two, before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof. And she said to the men, here's her testimony. She says, I know that the Lord has given you this land. She says, I know that God has already given you this land. I know that your God has already done, what? That God has already given you this land. And then she says that the terror of you has fallen us and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. And I pause and I pause and I pause because I have a problem right here.  Oh, my problem is we sent 10 leaders of the church over there and 12 of them and 10 of them had no courage in God. Yet this prostitute had a knowledge that God already given the victory. How come? How come 10 leaders of the church don't have this knowledge but this practice in prostitute was so sure that God already given the victory? How come? How do you explain it? How do we explain it? 10 elders of the church who saw the Red Sea open, who ate manna from heaven, who saw a water flow from the rocks, 10 leaders who heard the voice of God, yet still they had no faith at the borders but this no good prostitute had a testimony. And why it says there will be some surprises in the kingdom, big surprises. Some of the people that we think will be in the front row of God's kingdom will be missing. And some folks that we never in our wildest dream think would make it, would be sitting right at the front row. I know that the Lord has given you this land. And by the way, she sheared some intel with these two spies. She says, hey, this is top secret, but all the inhabitants of this land, they are fainthearted because of you. Verse nine. And here she goes again. She says, four, help me read. For we have heard. Praise the Lord. For we, we who, we who, me as a prostitute and all my girls who work in the business. Hey, we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea. Are you kidding me? Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Come stay with the preacher, stay with the preacher. The men who failed at the borders, they didn't hear that the Lord dried up the water. Help me preach, help me preach. They saw it. They saw it. They walk on dry land with water piled up onto it. They saw it. They experienced it. So how come a prostitute who only heard about it had more faith in it than you who saw it? The Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came to Egypt. And by the way, what you did to the two kings of Amorites were on the other side of Jordan, Sian and Ogre. When you utterly destroyed, we heard that your God destroyed the enemies around you. We have all the intel. We heard. And as soon as we heard these things, she says, our hearts, what? Melt, Jesus. Watch me, watch me, watch me. I wondered, stay with the preacher. When we heard what your God has done, our hearts melt and we became fearful and faint-hearted, do you realize it is these same people that the 10 said were giants? We can't take them down because we're like cross-hoppers in their sight that they are strong on us and mighty on us.  We were all faint-hearted. In other words, in other words, had those 10 men come back and say, hey, yes, the guys are big and strong, but God will carry us through. They would have got the victory. Neither did they remain any more courage in any one of us because of you. And then she said, and then she said, listen to the preacher.  You're getting to the wrong situation.  Here's what this practice in prostitute declared. She says, for the Lord, your God, he is the God of heaven above.  Notice, notice, notice. She didn't say the Lord, my God. Are you in the church with me? Because she's not an Israelite. She's a heathen. But when she heard what Israel's God has done for Israel, her trust and her confidence generated in Israel's God.  And when she made that statement, God of heaven, smile on this prostitute. After she made her testimony to the two men, her faith was so activated. Hear the preacher church? Her faith was so activated. She had so much confidence in the men's God. She was so sure of a victory. Well, she started to make plans for her family. This is the next part of the sermon. Not only you must get involved, but get your family as well. She started to make salve big plan for the family. She says, now, therefore, I am begging you guys, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness that you also will show kindness to my father's house and give me a true token. In other words, since I've been, since I put my life out for you, I'm asking you for one thing. When the judgment falls on Jericho, when destruction comes on Jericho, when your God decided to attack Jericho, I am asking, save me and my father's house. Me and my father's house. So this, this, this, this, this harlot was not about herself. Am I whole? I hope somebody sitting down in this church saying the same thing. God, my life may not be straight. My life may not be right. Hey, folks may say all manner of things about me, but I have my trust and my confidence in you. And I'm asking you, when you come, Lord, save me and my children, save me and my family. And she says, and spare my father and who else? And my mother and who else? My brothers and my sisters and all that they have deliver our lives from. How many of you sitting in church want to make that request to God?  Come on, put your hands up there. Save my family. Because when the role is called up yonder, I just don't want to be the only one going. I want my whole house to come with me. Save my family. Amen. She put a request in. I like this lady. She put a request in for her family. Amen? Yes, she put a request in. Why? Because she was so sure her faith was so strong that she put a request in for her family. If your faith is strong in the coming of God, if you are dead certain that God is coming and coming quickly, put a request in for your family, the request in for your family. Well, let me wrap this up for you. Somewhere you start laughing. Everything about this story is contrary to what some of us teach in church. Am I right? Am I right or am I right? I'm right. As Christians, we don't make deals with prostitutes. We don't even, if we're giving out tracts and we know that the house is, you know, that kind of business over there. We bypass it. What shocked me is that the hand-picked men of God made a deal with a prostitute. Here's the text. So, when she asked for her family to be protected, the men answered her. Look at the text. They said, our lives. Come on. Let me read this up. Our lives. Watch this. Oh, you still don't get it. Let me pray for you. Our blood washed, born again, Christian, Holy Ghost filled, sanctified life for your rotten, no-good, messed up prostitute in life. Oh, Jesus, help us in the church. Our lives for your life. I just stopped by to tell some, I don't know who this message is for, but I just stopped by to tell some struggling soul in Nairobi. Maybe he's not even here in church. Maybe he's online in some back room somewhere, caught up in some situation somewhere.  I don't know who this message is. Maybe you'll find yourself trapped and think God cannot use you. Our life for your life and the message to you, no matter how far down in sin you have fallen, God is still able and willing to take you up, to wash you off, to clean you up, to plant your feet on higher ground and to use you into his mission.  Our life for your life. If none of you tell this business to others, the men told it, this prostitute, and it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that we will deal kindly and how? Truly with you. Praise the Lord. Amen. Well, here's what blows your mind. Then the men said something strange that again gonna upset some members of this church. So, pardon me if it upset you, but this is Bible. Here's it. So the men said to her, we will be blameless of this oath that we took with you, which you made us swear.  Which house? Which house? The prostituting house? So understand if you can that the harlot's house, the Nairobi brothel, becomes the only place of safety in the time of judgment. Understand if you can that house, hey, the house of the prostitute, become the place of salvation, the only place of safety. Hey, you still don't get it. The only place where the arms of God protects. I told you the church can handle it. In other words, in other words, the sermon is, if you want to be saved, come help me preach. If you want to be saved, come in the harlot's house. You see how problem that is? Because some of you have been problem even saying it. Why? That's because we have a warped concept of who God is. These stories are designed to pull down the framework of what you have in your mind of who God is and understand the true nature of God. He's able to use anybody anywhere to carry out any mission for his God.   Her house is the only house of safety. Oh, I finished now, but I have one more surprise for you. I can't, listen. Oh, not one more, two more, can I give you two more surprises? Do you have time for it? Yes? All in favor say aye. Those opposed nay, scarred. All right. Two more surprises, two more surprises. This harlot, amazing stuff. There is a book called Hebrews in the New Testament. There's a chapter in it called chapter 11. In that chapter is a who's who list of the greatest faithful patriarchs of the Bible. Are you with me? These are the creme de la creme of faith. These are the stalwarts of faith in the Bible. There are people like Abraham and Moshe and Isaac and big stalwarts of faith in the Bible, in that who's who list. And I decide to check it. I was blown away. Hebrews 11 verse 30. Let me read. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were circled for seven days and by 31. And what? By faith who the harlot rehab did not perish with those who died not believe when she had received the spies with the harlot rehab found herself in the who's who hall of fame in the word of God. Is the church with me? Who would ever in a wildless imagination think God could turn around a life like this all because she stepped out and got involved at risk to her own life and God took care of her. And so I'm saying to you birthing I don't know your life story. I don't know what your history is but it doesn't matter.  He wants you to be involved. Is the church with me? And he will take care of you. I said I had two surprises for you. That was one. Here's the last one. Here's the last one. Take a deep breath for this one because this one is big. So I was reading the book of Matthew chapter one and I was working through the genealogy of Jesus and if if you don't mean when you go home you can check it out. Here's what it says. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham the son and Abraham begot Isaac and Isaac begot Jacob and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers and Judah begot Perez and Zira by Tamar and Perez begot Ezra and Ezra begot Ram and that's where some of you close the Bible and go off to sleep because it's just not making any sense to you but oh no no no no read on read on read on read on read on because Ram begot I've been adab and I've been in a begot nation and nation begot salmon I mean verse five and salmon begot bores by take a deep breath salmon salmon married this harlot and they give birth to a man named bores and then bores married begot obed because he married Ruth you remember that stuff or both obed bores begot obed by Ruth and obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot David hang on hang on hang on hang on hang on hang on so so so so practicing prostitute rehab amen become the great great great grandmother of the greatest king of Israel David through whom lineage christ came in other words in other words Jesus Christ watch me watch is the father could have chosen a million roots or route to bring his son but he charted a path through the bowels of a practicing prostitute to bring Jesus Christ here I'm finished I'm finished when I when I come on this pulpit and share a word with you it's not to fill up a few minutes in your camp meeting program I share it because I want somebody to understand that God will never give up on you I want I want somebody who feel rejected somebody who feel that they can't be used because they're not whole enough to sing on the choir somebody who feel written off I stop by to tell you God will never give up on you yes you may have made wrong decision bad choices mess yourself up but God will never give up on you and if you're watching somewhere in a dark back room in Nairobi or wherever you're watching and you feel downhearted God will never give up on you all he asked you to do is to do what this woman did get involved she even lie in the process and God overlooked it and worked with her nonetheless is the church with me yes please note that please note that please note that God didn't say no I can't I can't use you because you're unclean I can't use your house because no no no no you gotta you gotta straighten your life out you gotta get baptized you gotta no no just as you are God will take you and sign you up to be involved so here's my appeal then who among you today I've been looked over your life and God knows sometimes you yourself wonder based on the stuff that happens to you yourself wonder if God could ever use you because sometimes people make you feel that God would never use you who among you today having watched this listen to this is willing to say God thank you I feel a little hope in my soul I feel a little hope I may not be perfect in my ways blond those many times but I'm prepared today tonight to get involved I'm prepared to sign up I'm prepared to ask you dear Jesus use me use me for whatever purpose you see fit use me because I'm willing if that describes you can I ask you to stand as a testimony to God this Lord use me I see some folk standing didn't plan to sing this song but I'm going to sing it anyhow just as I am waiting I want to open this altar open this altar for somebody the spirit of God bids you you look over your life pops realize I'm not perfect I've not been perfect God but maybe sometimes I've written myself off but tonight I want to declare before heaven on earth I want to recommit my life resurrender my life put my life back in your hand ask you to use me and then save my soul and save my children and my family as well when you come when you come Jesus I want to be saved and I I'm asking like this rehab did I'm asking you to save my family also so I am prepared tonight to do what he did I'm prepared to surrender to you give my life to you and ask you to use me I'm going to ask you to join me up here if that describes you as we sing the next stanza just as I am come on up come on up come on up come on up says God I am I'm giving I'm giving you coming up is here another come on let's sing just as I am just as I am see any other any other God, God bless you, come on, God bless you, come on, God bless you, somebody come on, you're not giving up on it, girl is on fire, Jesus you can take her, you can take me, God are the others are the others Spirit of God, did you come, hold a friend hand and say come I see a movement here, God bless you, God bless you, my brother is here now, yes, God bless you be absolutely, God bless you as you walk with some children yes we need the children as well if the spirit of God has moved upon is a clear indication tonight that God is willing to save you what this incredible woman did to put her life at risk but God took care of her is there anybody else in this church maybe even online if you're online you can send a message in before the folks are monitoring the online service here you can send a message is says preacher I have surrendered my heart to the Lord again I want to be used by him in these last days yeah I've made some mistakes in my past sometimes I've written myself off but in the name of Jesus I'm coming again I'm going to take the last stanza and if that describes you in the name of Jesus step out says God I come I come use me for whatever purpose you want to use me but only make sure that when the role is called up yonder I'm in the number last stanza just as I am dear nada dear nada the spirit of God meets you come come come come come come come come I see you coming come bless you I see you coming I see you coming God bless you I see you coming I hear another here now here now another verse of that song there coming God bless you here now Spirit is the Lord. Somebody getting the victory. Praise the Lord. God bless you come. Take a family member. Take a family member. Take a family member.  If you are father and mother and sister, take your family member's hand and come. I'm gonna close this meeting now. God bless you. Is there another? Before I close this meeting, I told you this is a part of service that I hate. I hate to close a meeting. I hate this part because somehow I can't be sure somebody going back home without making it right with the Lord. So with your heads bowed, your eyes closed, how to be thine and thine father.  I think I know something about you and I think I've read somewhere in your word that says you are the same God yesterday, today and forever, that you change not. And so I am confident that the same grace that you sheared with Rahab, the same mercy that you have extended to her. I am confident that you have that same amount of grace and mercy willing to be extended to those who step forward this evening and those who are online watching and those who will watch this recording years after. I pray Almighty God that those who came forward tonight who step forward to sign up for the labor force. I pray God that what you did for Rahab, you will do it for them tonight. Pray God that you will put your arms around them. I pray Father that you will wrap them close to your bosom. I pray O God that you will protect them. And yeah, when the enemy comes against them, God, I pray that they will stumble and fall. And above all things God, as they sign up for this work to prepare men and women for your soon coming. I pray Father that you will guarantee them a place in your everlasting kingdom, but not just them only. But like Rahab says, Lord, I pray that you will also guarantee their family members so that going home will be a sweet one. We will be able to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. This coming Sabbath, Lord, we draw the curtains down and camp meeting 2023 with a baptismal service.  I pray that on Sabbath morning they will make that recommitment and says, Lord, sign me up again, Jesus. Because I'm willing to join the harvesters. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for what you have done tonight. Thank you for your word. May your name be honored and glorified. We ask in Jesus' name. God bless you. See you tomorrow morning. I don't know what time. What time is tomorrow morning? 11. Tomorrow morning at 11, I'll be here with the subject, the coming. And then tomorrow evening, you don't want to miss tomorrow evening either. Two powerful presentation tomorrow evening. I'll be back with that one. So make sure you're here tomorrow morning at 11 and tomorrow evening. Until then, our service continues.


I love backpacks. I have a four-year-old's obsession with backpacks. This is my new backpack I just got. I'm very excited about it. It's got room for lots of camera gear. It doesn't matter. I am a grown adult and I carry a backpack to school every day and it wears me out. I have carried a backpack to school every day since I was six years old. I dislike this for two reasons. One, it infantilizes me. It makes me feel like a six-year-old who carries his backpack to school every day. And two, it promotes a really unhealthy connection physically between my work and my home. It's not that I dislike bringing snacks or supplies or gear from my house to my work and vice versa. It's this delusion that I have every day that I'm gonna pack this thing up with the stuff that I didn't get done at work and I'm gonna bring it home with me I am terrible at working at home. I am old enough as an academic now to finally say I don't want to work on nights and weekends. And neither should you. I mean you can work at home, that's fine. Don't metaphorically take your work home with you.