Initially, I had thought of beginning the interview sessions with interviewing some of you, but now I do know a lot many of you. So perhaps I would plunge into the interview skills straight away. But before I really move into it, again, I always call it an attitudinal shift. When we go for an interview, when our students go for an interview, what they are looking at is money. All of us, you know, we look at money and we all why for the top most organization. When we don't compete there, we look for the second ladder. We are not even there. And perhaps towards the end, there is a handful who are waiting for placements. Very tough time for them. Very tough time for them. And as role models and moderators, as coordinators for this course, it is very important that we tell them that it is not the end of the road. And believe me, I have gone through phases. I have seen things. So when I talk it is not, you won't find any theories in my depiction out here because I practice what I preach. I have two sons. One of them is employed. He's a mechanical engineer. And as a mom, I did want him to work with one of the best organizations here. But he went and he's pursuing a career in an educational firm. And he said, mom, I'm very happy here. I'm not making much money, but I'm very happy here and I'm learning a lot. So the focus has to be what you are looking at. There are some who are working with very good organizations, but are planning to leave their jobs because of the 16-hour schedule. So and this generation, it wants money. It wants life also out of that money. And therefore, when we teach those students, when we mold those students, we must tell them that when you go sitting for an interview, first sit back and think what you want out of life. Are you going just for the brand name or are you going for something that is going to satisfy you? That is first thing. Another thing, as we said, there is a lot of unpredictability. It's very difficult to say how you can crack an interview. We are only training our students. We are not training our interviewers, right? We are not training our interviewers. So to say that this is the process by which you can nail an interview, I would be hypocritical if I say that. Because I do not know how the interview is going to shape.  Yeah? I loved the way that person with a 5-point or a 6-point came and said, I hope how many of you understand Hindi out here? I shall translate it otherwise. You know something like that, after much difficulty and after going through so much hardship, I have gained my integrity and confidence, I'm not going to let it go like that. If you think you like me, take me. Otherwise, I'll find something different for myself. Okay? So at this juncture, you may say again, madam, that is just, you're talking theory again. But when we speak with our students now, that is something which comes out. We have to tell them that interview is an assimilation and not an elimination process. I'm looking for something. I was looking for a TA. I was told I need to have a TA. And I just wondered, okay, my God, who do I select? And my fair lady, she said, ma'am, I find it so difficult talking in front of other people. And I said, there cannot be anyone else better than her. And here she is so confident. Ayukunam, thank you so much. That's how you mentor, okay? I could have chosen somebody, my seniors, some of my senior students also. But that is how we work towards assimilation process and not the elimination process. She must be, you know, I had a very busy period. I am having a very busy period. And perhaps every single night, I would put something up, how could you do this? With her workload, she still would do it. Maybe she must be cursing me. What is this, Dr. Jha? You're just putting everything, slides, all slides, uploading things at random. But now when she'll go back and work on those slides, she will see what Professor Moorthy was talking about, then she was talking about the elevator pitch. There has to be a lot of recasting. There has to be a lot of editing. Before you finally come to that elevator pitch, she was talking about. We'll talk about it later. They test you for what you know and how well you know.  Be sincere in an interview. She had said it again. Professor Moorthy had said it. Practice it in front of the mirror. She had made a very interesting point. Put your strongest point out there, okay? In your elevator pitch. So that you could steer the interview around that. My brother-in-law, 25 years back, he's a very eminent doctor now. He was in his final year of medicine. My dad-in-law again, a very eminent doctor. And he's, you could say, kalasar if you know the disease kalasar. He's the whole story. You could say whatever medicine is in the market is being tested in his clinic first. So this brother-in-law of mine said, Bhabhi, I don't have any issues with the interview. You know, all those people who are coming, I'm going to steer the interview towards kalasar and there I'm the boss. Okay? What happened in the interview? They all knew that he was the son of this doctor. None of them allowed him to talk even for 30 seconds on kalasar. He was tested in every other field but kalasar. There is always that risk. Okay? So when you keep on harping about something, it could be that somebody in the panel would say, Okay, you have done it. So why do I need to ask it? What was your second best subject? Right? Because in a couple of seconds we know what you've done. So always be prepared for what you are putting out there and you should have a contingency plan as well. Right? Do not memorize those. Recently itself. We were in an interview and somebody came and it was one after the other, one after the other, one after the other. He continued for two minutes. And we could say that he had mugged it up. But then it was quite good because we felt at least he has worked on it and tried to present something of himself. So it doesn't go wrong. If you have an elevator pitch, it doesn't go wrong. Do not attempt manipulation. That is where you make it or mar it. Anything which you feel, I mean our students normally, they may have done a little thing in a project but they would put it as they have done the entire project themselves. Please, we need to ask our students not to do that if they have worked on a specific aspect of the project. Let them say so, that they have worked on this specific aspect of the project. Because once they start asking, they would feel that you have more to hide. And then what they do, in one of the interviews, we literally checked the credentials of the student. Okay? So we need not, we have to tell the students, be honest in your resume, be honest when you are talking because those sitting on the other side of the table are not fools. They have been in your shoes. They have been there, done that. So today, please don't try to manipulate them. There will be better manipulators than you could ever think at that particular stage. Sir, the content part is extremely important for an interview. Communication is important. But then how you present your content, over here I feel it's more important. For an academic interview, if I'm there, I normally say, okay, fine. If you think he's sound on the content, I shall handle the communication part. But if we have a good mix, but if we have people, nine-pointers are there. Right? They're all nine-pointers, let us say. We have come for the interview. And if somebody has better communication skill and you have to make one selection, who would you go with? Better communication. Better communication. And that is why we are trying to strike a balance somewhere. Body language has to be positive and we are going to talk about it now. Confidence and sincerity. Over here, I'm not going to dwell more upon the content part simply because if I've mentioned, for our own, if we have mentioned that 99 percentile is the cut-off, most of you who's there would be at 99. Right? With a 99 percentile, what more am I going to ask you about the content? You would more or less be the same. So the differentiation is on how you are applying your content, the application of what you have learned in those years. So when I give you a question, it would be, the students need to be told that they should be prepared for the application of the course. And not merely for what they did. How did they apply it? Did they apply it? They may have worked on the projects. Did they apply it anywhere? They need to be aware of that. If they have not applied, no ma'am, no sir, we did not get the chance to apply. So do you think it can be applied? What made you select that topic? So these are the questions which we need to throw at our students and help them prepare for the interview. Every word that they have mentioned in the resume leads to a question. Therefore the resume needs to be scanned champion, table tennis, ok? Champion, where? Was it a national championship or was it a school championship? Don't mislead. Kinesics in an interview. Postures, gestures, facial expression. Often I have been asked how do we enter? How do we sit? Where should our hands be? What posture should we have during our interview? And my class today, my session today would be just a reference to it. Something which our students need to know. Because what I have felt is they are solid on their content. It is just the posture or the confidence that they are worried about. Again, you have made obviously you are allowed to enter. Come there and perhaps wait for a couple of seconds. The interviewer is bound to ask you to give a seat. Ok? You put your feet firmly on the foot. Is it ok? Your hands loosely in your lap. If you are carrying something heavy let us suppose you are carrying a folder and a laptop as well. The interviewer is that side. I am sitting here. I am still not a part of the organization. So what we do is I need to put my folder on the table. So you need to seek the permission of the interviewer. May I? And you would say yeah, feel comfortable. So then you put it on the table. Now that portion becomes you because you have touched the permission. I am going about the corporate interviews where business, where kinesics is very important. I am talking about those. Ladies, we normally cross our feet at the ankle or put it very firmly towards the back. Our hands just as her posture is loosely held like this. Remember one of my interviews I went there and I was asked to make myself comfortable. Gosh, I just hope it doesn't fall. So I sat like this. Okay? I was very nervous. Very nervous. I didn't know what to do. I was very nervous. And I had a PhD by then. And yet I was very nervous. I was an English student. I was an XG, a new alumni. And yet I was very nervous. I sat there. And my interviewer says make yourself comfortable. Twice he said and then he says leader make yourself comfortable. I am not going to ask you to do so again. And then I realized that I was sitting on the edge of the chair. I made myself comfortable. It happens when we are nervous. We do not realize. Okay? So when our interviewer says make yourself comfortable. Make yourself comfortable. Force that. It is all. Why do I need to talk about these things? Because some of you who allow yourself to adapt to the situation subconsciously act that way. But some of you who are very nervous needs to be told like Hanumanji was told when you have this potential to fly, fly from Lanka and get that Sanjeevani booty. You need to be told that it is within you to act like that. When you are asking a question or you are answering you lean a little forward. Okay? Or perhaps if the interview goes beyond 20 minutes and the interviewer relaxes you can actually move on to 120 degree. Let's move on to the postures. Do not slouch but relax a bit to avoid looking rigid and authoritative. Any question here because it's a very important thing. Any question here? My question is sometimes do the students who are facing interview should they be honest in answering? For example, sometimes their ethics are tested. For example, there might be a question like if you are selected for our company are you going to lie for us? If I could lie for you I could be lying right now myself. Okay? If I could lie then perhaps I could be expected to lie now also. Okay? That could be one of the answer with absolute integrity on your face. To be prepared since we know the answers we have such a fantastic you know group of people here if only we could share the answers that comes within us and put them on the boodle or put them for everybody to share we would have you know a set of questions and then a set of answers as well. One question for example do you have any other offer at the movement or have you been attending any other interviews? We did throw the questions to our students and I feel this generation is very clear about things the answer in the affirmative if they have an opinion they let them know. I personally feel that they should let them know. If they have an offer from an institute which is graded higher than them that's a good impression if it is lower than them again it's good not an issue at least they have an offer okay? I am more for you know the ethical side of it because with all the transparencies patterns evolving everything being linked to your other card and things I think we need to be more transparent in our dealings today and that's how we change the generation any other question? they are not bluff in the interview they will not allow you they can see through you I told you the body language expert is not a body language expert for nothing he is a psychologist and the movement before lying perhaps you do this you do this or maybe your eyes yes the eye contact will not be there and in that instance you would know that you are lying so don't lie that body language expert is actually a lie tester lie detector out there another thing that really goes is you know what at times you could be in the habit of it at times it could be sure nervousness just one suggestion we could give to our students is think of some very positive association out there very positive association I am putting forward my own interviews just to let you know that I have been through that process my English honors interview the first person to get in and here I am sitting out there my entire I am otherwise a confident person very confident person but that was the first time I guess there was a formal interview and it would be held only for the English department my entire body was shaking it was like this I tried to hold the pen it was going I could feel it I could literally feel it and the interviewer says what's the name looks at the paper the sheet that has been given Lina Khan and then he says are you a relative of Changi's Khan college days all of us were very impressed by Imran Khan who was playing then the moment he says Changi's Khan I thought of only he could have said Imran Khan and the very thought of Imran Khan was you know was there to you know lighten me up the entire interview went very smooth what I mean to say I don't think about the we should not be telling our students to think about their boyfriends girlfriends idols but then you know they could associate positive thoughts it helps to calm you okay is there any technique for that because many of them are having as you are telling postures many of them like pretend that they are old actually but inside there will be a big shivering I think everybody knows actually so if it is the case what sort of things which we can impart our students to make before the interview it is very important to tell them it is now the end of the road first thing also tell them that you may or may not get through the interview but the onus may not always lie on you it is about the interviewer he may be looking for a different profile altogether you may not fit into the profile despite everything that you know so there could be some other job waiting for you it is very important to see that the confidence remains intact and another thing is the same thing is they to actually pretending is different right as such you are showing that you are not shivering you don't have to how long will you pretend that's the thing I believe you no it is there but is there anything like which we can control and we can really become bold and going to the interview confidence is there anything like that okay students you should face the interview not for the job right face the interview face the questions so that is first confidence level can be high right besides that because in our classrooms in our non-verbal communication we are showing up a lot of the body language and make the practice when we are going to conduct that PI sessions at that time we are convincing them so by these things we can develop their confidence level when the confidence level will come to face the interview only not for the job I am going to talk about it so when we are going to convince the students to face the interview at the time they will face the interview with the full of confidence and partially we may not be shivering or like these things thank you it is my opinion thank you very much for your opinion it is quite a valuable suggestion what he wants to know that despite everything if you are shivering out there what are you going to do madam I have one point to add so just to tell how the confidence of the student should be enhanced like first the student should get prepared that like many students they will go to the interview that I should get the job but a feeling should be cultivated among them that I should give the tough competition in the interview so then certainly he will get a chance of getting more success in that so where he can decrease like he is a stress in the interview this will certainly help in getting enhanced his confidence another very important and technical point for his would be you may be shivering but if you know the answer to the first question perhaps a lot of confidence will come back tell me something about yourself and that is why we say rehearse the moment the person would say tell me something about yourself you are in your somewhat comfort zone if you have said that thing properly perhaps your confidence level will be back and if there are smiles stress will definitely because you have scaled it and that is why we need to have elevator pitch or our answer to the question I have questions it is mainly the fear of failure that makes them fearful and for that what we can train them to have second plan so plan 2 when we have plan 2 like already you be prepared for okay if I am get selected it is okay otherwise so I think that may help them to come out of this fear yes it is all about money if we make it in the first go if we make it in the best of the organization excuse me ma'am yes one last point ma'am sir is asking how to make the sense confident so I would like to make him understand very clearly this is also the part of making confident how to make the students confident this is the very first part and very first stage of a process to bring them into kind of process how to appear this is a kind of a Ghana is there Bonotera whatever is so this is the appearance if they can't appear with a kind of personality so next round will not start with this is the very important part of interview without this we can't go to the second stage and third one okay thank you so much thank you so much what we have talked about was the posture how we sit we know the other things how we lean when we are talking how we lean when we are listening to the person now we are going to talk about the gestures the interviewer is asking some question I don't realize right it's going I don't realize but and then the interviewer says ah your pen and I put it down it's an interview you know it's going to get money for you you know it's going to shape your career and therefore it is a conscious thing we have to become aware of the fact that we are moving into our business parlance and we have to take certain things consciously we cannot say that I do not realize whether my pen is going tick tick tick or not we have to tell ourselves that since I do it I shall not let the pen be in my hand I'll keep it there and I shall have to keep telling myself okay post every answer that I the rough work which I try out there I'll keep my pen out there I used to forget my keys so somebody told me when you put your key somewhere wait for a second register it here and then go similarly we have to it's going to get me money in laps and so if I have to make myself aware of the tick tick tick tick I'll make myself aware of the tick tick some of us gesticulate a lot okay especially when we are talking about something which is our passion GDPI is my passion I've been doing it for long business communication is my passion I've been doing it for long now okay but since but because I have been doing it for long I get so involved in it that I don't realize that I am all that type gesticulating so much okay we need to put our hands in control we need to again be aware that gesticulations are appropriate especially in professional sphere only to make a point only to prove a point okay you should do a bit of gesticulation otherwise it would appear rigid okay robotic but then you should not go overboard with your gesticulation sorry ma'am which one is important from the interview success perspective is it answering questions in interview or handling questions both but normally they say handling question will bring greater success I don't know they say handling if you handle the first question then all the other questions will be in your area of control no please do not underestimate the interviewers we need to tell our students please do not underestimate your interviewers you answer the first question right and you set the tone for yourself you are confident you also set the tone for the rest of the interview it could depend on who the interviewer is we do not know okay so what happens is both are important when you say how would you handle this question we have selected a couple of students who said sorry sir we do not know anything about it okay what happens is that person may have been answering one after the other the questions and then we take the tempo to a level where he realizes that he doesn't know it is beyond his comprehension he has not studied that it is beyond his comprehension he has been trying it he tries it does a few application and then says sorry sir I do not know about it I will take that person why because he had shown a logical progression not I I think most of us would go by that he has shown a logical progression and then he says that I do not know perhaps I go I have a learning process here I will go back and find about it so now I know that this person is somebody who is interested in learning as well his learning has not stopped with the college so handling becomes important as well okay fiddling with hair, pen or any other object conveys nervousness causes destruction and moving on to the next one I contact I think I have given you several displays of what eye contact can do during the group discussion also maintain eye contact this is again another question which I have often come across madam what should be the duration of the eye contact actually what happens is we have TCS we have reliance we have laymen brothers we have slumberger okay a global mix of interviewers and depending on the profile that they are interviewing a lot from the multinational bands as well and depending on the profile that they want we have the interviewers now what happens usually we are getting a little into the cross-cultural communication out here if we have somebody from the west especially from the American United States of America and if somebody who has been working out there and he is there to interview you perhaps he has been groomed into a culture where and whenever you talk you make the entire point looking at the person okay the western world our culture I still remember since childhood till now I cannot look into the eyes of my father and prove a point or make a point I have been tutored into that in the corporates, multinationals startups in India still we cannot do so with our seniors so we have come over you know program you could say or a policy wherein a process rather wherein we say 10 to 15 minutes of eye contact if you have asked a question and I am answering to you maybe I would start answering the question and look at you for 10 to 15 minutes 10 seconds and then perhaps she is the other one on the panel I would move my gaze to her or I would just wink for a moment and then resume the communication to be on the safer side we normally tell our students maybe 10 seconds of eye contact a brief closure and then once again resume it the voice modulation I think we need to record especially the first one the elevator pitch that we have talked about this works pause and breathe before answering a question let us suppose and I do give it the stress interview if I know that the student is well oriented so I do wish to push things further and over there we need to tell the students that if you feel that things are actually burning now or about to burn they are blazing condition yourself to the fact that perhaps it is a stress interview and if it is a stress interview believe me the chances of you being selected is more than the rest of them they will only give a stress interview one thing if in the very beginning you have acted smart over smart or increased you for your potential and they would be they are just trying to see how further can we take things okay so there in a stress interview or when perhaps you feel you need time to think tell them so because you would often come across interviewers who would say ah take your time so we need to tell our students that if there is something for which you need to conjecture thoughts you need to bring thoughts together take your time and work there may be a time in an interview that you have been so nervous you have been so tensed and now that you are comfortable you need a glass of water normally it is there you could ask the interviewer for that glass of water because again just as I said a GD is about finding certain things and interview is also about presenting yourself in the best of manner so if that glass of water is that sip of water can help avail of it the interviewer is not as high headed as you think him to be more than you believe in that particular mantra more than you he is under stress of hiring you one good hire and his company makes a lot of money one wrong hiring and the company suffers so we need to tell these things to our students that brings up their confidence you know for business communication for any communication be it letter, writing be it report writing be it GD meetings GDPI whatever there has to be an introduction there has to be a body there has to be a conclusion remember our essay writing days even there we used to have these things so now we are at the last leg of our interviews and we often come across the question again from the student sector how should we conclude it at times we feel that it has ended abruptly the questions may have been asked and at times the interviewer ask you would you have any question to would you like to ask any question ok stay poised take a quick mental review of what all you have said and if there have been any instance where you felt like asking a question if yes ask the question otherwise two category if you are confident we come across not came we come across these things in our interviews I think that is the latest trend these days if you really had a learning experience through the interview let them know that it was a learning many a times you realise that ok perhaps they are looking for a different profile and I may not even get there and yet if it has been a learning experience let them know about it why because if you end it on a positive note perhaps the corporate would put you in the waiting list they might need somebody later somebody likes you later always end it on a positive note do not say it if you don't mean it that is very cliche normally what happens we go for the cat preparation we go for the gregmat preparation over there we have classes on gdpi and there we are talking so many things which we actually have to unlearn when we move into the corporate field so be honest if you have really learnt something tell them it feels good we are also human beings all of us we are human beings we may be sitting on the other side of the table but if somebody praises us we like it don't we yeah the last but not the least I get a very important aspect of the interviews do not initiate or offer a handshake imagine in a day I may have to interview 50 of them and each one comes and shakes hands with me by the time it ends I will have to go for a manicure I guess or maybe a massage that person shakes hands with just one but we have to shake hands with them all together 50 times do not initiate also it is an indicator normally if you have done pretty well and we want you in we initiate it so that's an indicator we must tell our students not to offer handshakes be gracious even if you feel raw as it may have been a stress interview and greet politely before taking leave I wasn't once and it paid off for me long back I had gone for an interview it was just the beginning of my career it was just the very beginning of my consultancy career and I went there and there he was sitting you don't fit the resume your qualifications don't fit the resume yeah so why are you here that's how the interview had begun why are you here you don't fit your resume your position I was like taken aback from I had a long day that day and I had come from there directly from my workplace for the interview so I said okay you called me that is why I'm here no no it doesn't suit it doesn't fit in here I didn't know what to do well if you're here you may as well sit down yeah I sat down and then he says again he makes a comment very long back he makes some comment and I couldn't take it as it is I had a very long day I was already in job what I did was I just picked my back and I literally told him listen here I was trying to teach your students I could teach your teachers also and if it's like then it struck okay it was for a cool you know at that time perhaps intermediate kind of a thing so I said okay fine and then I just picked up my bag and I said thank you very much and I moved out and then he realized okay fine sorry something has gone amiss he said no no please sit down could you just bend the bell and ask for some tea for me so at times why did I bring that topic stress interview is something different but we need to tell our students that if in an interview there is something which hurts them personally you have to differentiate between the two if there is something which hurts them personally he or she must take a stand that shows the integrity of the person being interviewed I think during a GD the point of submission came at no point we need to sacrifice our ethics something we believe in for monetary benefits that is something we need to let our students know we had been talking about the elevator pitch and I said it has to be different on a slide it doesn't look too good because we have several lines out there but one of the slide is for when I applied earlier so this is the one I would send in my resume the paradigm shifts from English to business communication if you could just read it for a couple of minutes and then I will move to the other one the second one which perhaps is more suited for the book I plan to publish once they know their throughput know the inventory the throughput is bound to increase that's the perfect pitch for a technical institute I am opting for a human resource thing or if I am the age of humanity perhaps I would tweak with it and I would write something different so your elevator pitch would change okay why? we need to change it we have enmasked so much of it so much of experience so obviously we need to showcase it on that note it's really been an honour to be here with the brains of India people on mission thank you so much for being so patient


Daniel, I guess, knows that I acted a few years ago, so many, many moons ago, and just asked me if I wanted to be part of the program that was happening, and of course, as anything else I volunteered to show off what I can do. Coming up in the next episode of Curtain Call… I will see what I have to say, I will see what I need to say, I will see what I want to see.


Now, we're gonna be looking today in Matthew chapter 8 and and and I'll note with you that in verse 14 I'm not doing I'm not reading at all But it says when Jesus Jesus had come into Peter's house and so Peter's house is located in the city of Capernaum We've been in the city of Capernaum many times. I think we've been to Israel Marine I've been to Israel something like 23 times and we've been to Capernaum a number of times and there are pictures that have been taken of the city But I wanted to just give you an idea just to see the ruins of that city and so we have a few slides I want to show you just to Introduce our subject today So if we could show those slides, I think we already are there's Capernaum as you can see it the entrance into it and Then moving on in That there is a church building that has been built over the site the traditional site of Peter's house and you can go to the next slide and That would be the ruins or the original Remains of that particular house and there is a belief that that was his house whether or not it is or not That's subject to archaeological experts debating But there was a church that was built over it and that's the reason why they believe that that more than likely was his site This is the temple rather a synagogue in Capernaum That is built over the remains of the of the synagogue That was in existence during the time of Christ just another shot of that particular Synagogue also there in the city of Capernaum and so that's what we're going to be looking at today and I'm going to share a little bit with you Out of the verses in front of us Matthew 8 verses 14 through 22 now in reality Let me say this as a way of introduction. This really could be three different Bible studies Three different studies verses 14 and 15 can be combined as a single study verses 16 and 17 Could be a second study and then verses 18 through 22 would actually have enough content to be a third study So what I'm going to be doing is giving you kind of like three studies in one today And you're going to see how that works in just a moment So let's read together here in Matthew chapter 8 verse 14 and 15 I'll give you the first installment. We'll move to the second and close with the third in verse 14 and 15 Matthew chapter 8 Matthew writes now when Jesus had come into Peter's house He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever and he touched her hand and the fever left her then she arose and Served them so as we're in Matthew chapter 8 now He is is in the process of sharing Miracles that Jesus performed after he had finished what is called the Sermon on the Mount We looked at verses 1 through 4 and verses 1 through 4 Gave us information concerning a leper that had been cleansed by the Lord Jesus Christ Then we looked at verses 5 through 13 where Jesus healed the centurion's servant And so Matthew now is writing that Jesus is about to heal a woman Now at first this might not seem unusual that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to Heal a woman, but that is something that during his day would have been regarded as being unusual And the question has to be asked why would healing a woman be looked at by the people of that time as being something That was unusual In order to understand that we need to know that during the time of Christ women did not have a high status in Israel The Jewish men would do their morning prayers and they may very well have prayed this prayer that has been prayed now for centuries It's prayed to this day and part of the prayer that they pray in the morning to this day is Lord I thank you that I was not born a Gentile a slave or a woman and So women were not necessarily highly regarded during the time of Christ Someone wrote Jesus's honor and respect was extended to all women an attitude largely unexpected and unknown in his culture and time Jesus unlike the men of his generation and culture taught that women were equal to men in the sight of God Women could receive God's forgiveness and grace Women as well as men could be among Christ's personal followers Women could be full participants in the kingdom of God These were revolutionary ideas Many of his contemporaries including his disciples were shocked Someone said Jesus treated women with dignity and respect and he elevated them in a world Where they were often Mistreated and so Jesus shows concern for women throughout his ministry We can see that for example When he healed the son of a woman from the city of Nain We know the story it's found in the gospel of Luke chapter 7 How there's a funeral procession a widow comes out It was her only son who had died and how that Jesus went up to that funeral procession stopped the procession and actually resurrected the woman's Son to life because that was her only son the only means of support and Jesus did something for her Demonstrating his love and concern for that woman We know that in Luke chapter 13 verses 10 through 17 that Jesus heals a woman with the spirit of infirmity We know that he cast out the demon from a daughter of a woman of Canaan in Matthew chapter 15 And we know that by watching Jesus's ministry from the beginning to the end That at about the end of his ministry He cared about his mother making sure that she was cared for when he died by entrusting Mary into the care of one of his disciples John You can see through the the reading of the Gospels that women were highlighted very often in his ministry You have a woman named Elizabeth. She was a wife of Zechariah She's the mother of John the Baptist and you have a lot of print concerning her you have a woman named Anna She was an older woman. She prophesied over Jesus when he was brought into the temple You have the story of Martha and Mary It's interesting in the story of Martha of Mary as is recorded in in Luke chapter 10 verses 38 through 42 how that That Martha was in the kitchen preparing meal a meal for Jesus his men and others and and how that she was making a lot of noise in that kitchen because Because Mary was not there helping her and you need to know a little bit of the culture because the culture of that day when When Visitors arrived the women would would take care in a hospitable way of the guests and and Mary should not have been in the room with Jesus and the men that he was ministering to according to their cultural way of thinking Mary should have been in the kitchen Making the meal for them. That's what the women would have done and were expected to do and and that's why Martha got so upset it was her home which gives us evidence that she more than likely owned that home and Mary was her younger sister and So when Mary is not there helping her you know the story how that how that Martha came in and and began to boss Jesus around and Said you know, you know that she should be in the kitchen helping me instead of being seated at your feet And she actually began to give Jesus orders tell her to come and help me and As an older sister some of you ladies are older sisters and Marie is the oldest sister And I have seen the dynamic of older sisters with the younger and all and it's sometimes they're like a mom To the younger sisters you get over here and you help me and that's what Martha was doing and and Jesus said to Mary He said Martha Martha You're so concerned about so many things But Mary has chosen the better part now We all get the spiritual implication of that But one of the things that will help us to understand is also the cultural the cultural is that Mary didn't need to be According to their culture didn't really need to be receiving teaching from the mouth of a rabbi Because what she was supposed to do is she was supposed to make the meal and serve That's what she was supposed to do even to this day in some of the more rigid orthodox Jewish Families when they go to what they call temple when they go to the synagogue on Shabbat on Friday night when they go To to temple the children and the wives will be in another area Maybe playing in a playground while the men are seated at the At the teaching of the rabbi. I mean to this day They still do that and so it was unusual during that day for a woman to be seated at the feet of Jesus But it shows to us that Jesus came to minister to everybody When you read your New Testament you find so many different women who are mentioned and in my life in my spiritual life There are three women in the New Testament that have actually really ministered to my heart and each of these women Have had had a dimension that the Lord has used through what they were like and their forgiveness They received that has touched me. There's the the woman at the well that we see There's a woman who was caught in adultery Or the way the Lord ministered to her has always spoken to my heart and and the sinful woman That was at Simon's dinner and each of these women have deep in my understanding of the love and the grace of God just by watching How Jesus ministered to these outcast women and each one of those women would have been regarded as an outcast In this passage Jesus is about to do something. He's about to heal Peter's mother-in-law And so the healing demonstrates his compassion on everybody because Jesus has come to minister to everybody In second Chronicles 19 verse 7 We read there is no iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons in Galatians chapter 3 verse 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile Slave or free male or female For you are all Christians you are one in Christ Jesus You are all believers neither male nor female you're one in Jesus Christ Every time I read that verse. I remember an incident that occurred when I was in Bible college. I Mentioned this first service and I said in first service. Oh, I probably won't mention it second But I am Because it left something in my heart that that I want to share with you is real practical And I think it can help us especially in the day that we're living in I was at Biola great Christian school. I Was in a philosophy class. There was a young man in the class Who interrupted the professor every class he would raise his hand and He always started his question in the same way always started by saying brother Brother, he would say it like that brother Then he'd ask a question and when you take philosophy especially introduction to philosophy There are so many people who come in with so many questions and many people who think they're philosophers Just natural born philosophers and all and it can get kind of irritating with the questions that are asked because sometimes the questions aren't necessary Unfortunately, this young man was one who had so many questions many of them not being really necessary to ask in front of the whole class It took up a lot of the time Well, the professor patiently would try and answer his questions and he would do that every class and it got to the point You know about halfway into the semester that that I knew that this guy is going to raise his hand and this guy's going to interrupt The professor professor. He's going to say brother brother, then he's going to ask why is the sky blue or whatever and that's what he's going to do and I can still remember this one class. He raised his hand again. It's like I said about halfway into the semester brother and There he goes and I just leaned back and I just waited for the question to be asked and this guy seated next to me in the class Turns to me and he says to me. What is he a Mexican and I took out my spray can I said what? What What is he a Mexican? I said, do you know what I am? Yeah, you're Italian I Said no, no, I'm not no. I'm Mexican. I said, yeah, we'll talk after class essay I ain't teasing but I said I said I'm Mexican and he goes And he it was just it was priceless, you know those commercials priceless. It was priceless his face just got Frozen and I just went back to listening to this guy Ask his question this guy writes this little note to me and he hands it to me And I read it.  Do you like me check box? Yes. No That was another class he says he goes I Fear that I have greatly offended you. I am sorry and I wrote Galatians 3 28. There's neither Jew nor Gentile male nor female. We're all one in Jesus Christ You need to understand that and I told them listen and I told them listen. We belong to the same Lord We're one in Jesus Christ.  You're brown. You're yellow. Whatever you are. You are Christian if you're Christian Then you're my brother and you're my sister and I love you for Jesus's sake. That's what? Christianity's supposed to be that's what it's all about and that's what the church needs to come back to especially in these last days There's too much anger and too much division. It's time for love and unity and that comes through Jesus Christ Let's remember that and God has a way of reaching in yes Somebody says why are you saying you don't like your culture? Listen? I like it as much as I know it You say you don't like Mexicans. I married one duh But the thing that's the most important please understand this and I don't know how to say it so I'll say it like this forgive me if it doesn't make sense Somebody says you're that Mexican pastor. I say no. I'm that pastor. I'm a Christian before I'm anything else. I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. That's what matters. That's what matters That's what I am And I'm not denying where I'm from and I'm not denying anything about that But what I am is a believer in Christ and what I want is Jesus Christ to be honored I want Jesus to reach into people's lives and so no I didn't try and create a Mexican church and no I don't have a burden only for Mexicans You know what I want to see everybody come to faith in Jesus Christ throughout this whole world because that's what Jesus Christ Intends this church has got to remember that in these last days. We have to remember that I say this with great passion and feeling because I know what goes on in people's hearts where they walk into church and say Oh, there's not people like me here. There's not enough of my kind Listen, if they're saved, they are your kind. They are your brother. They are your sister That's what they are. Let's love one another because that's what Jesus said is the mark of a disciple The mark of a disciple. He said by this show all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one For another Jew. No love for one another That's the key guys and we have to stay there now That was just a mini sermon within a sermon within another three sermons, so we better get back Jesus came into Peter's house. Thank you very much mom Peter came. I'm just easy Jesus came into Peter's house. It's in the city of Capernaum It's interesting. I want you to note this. This is another thing. It's not necessarily an aside This is really something important when you see in verse 14 Matthew chapter 8 He saw his wife speaking of Peter's house Peter's wife rather.  He saw Peter's wife's mother lying sick with a fever Here's an aside view, but it's an important one Peter was married in First Corinthians chapter 9 verse 5 Paul asked the question Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas Cephas is also Simon, which is also Peter Some teach that first Corinthians 9 verse 5 is not referring to a wife Some teach that this is referring to a believing woman who was Peter's assistant But that is not what the scripture says the plain sense of the passage indicates that she was his wife and She was also a believer. It's interesting that his wife is not mentioned in the passage before us Well, that would be because the attention is being placed on the healing and not on the wife Peter's wife's mother has a very high fever as we just read. He's read. She's bedridden. She's severely ill There are various kinds of fevers. They had at that time. They had what was called Malta fever They had what was in referred to as an intermittent fever and they also had Malarial fever It is not identified what she had but some would believe it more than likely was was Malarial But we have Jesus entering Peter's home Mark and Luke give us further insight in how it takes place and mark chapter 1 verses 30 and 31 Mark says Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. They told Jesus about her So he went to her took her hand and helped her up Luke tells us in chapter 4 verses 38 and 39 Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her So he bent over her and rebuked the fever and it left her Matthew simply records that Jesus touched her hand, but immediately she rose and immediately she served the Lord Again, notice that the healing is immediate and it was complete It's similar to the immediate cleansing of the of the leper as well as the cleanse or rather the healing of the centurion servant Here's the thing for you by way of application. She used her restored health To be of use and service to him and other people Someone once wrote he is no Christian who does not seek to serve his God The very motto of the Christian should be I serve We have been saved, but we have been saved to serve even as do you see the mother-in-law immediately using her health to serve the Lord? We too have been saved and we should use our strength to serve him Ephesians 6 7 serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord not men First Peter 4 10 each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others Faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms So her response should be the norm for all believers if he's touched you then you serve him And so he healed her and she served him. He's your second sermon verse 16 When evening had come they brought to him many who were demon possessed And he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick that it might be fulfilled Which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying he himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses Now as a response to the various healings that Jesus has performed Crowds began to bring people to him to be healed That would include the demon possessed as well as those who were physically ill As I was preparing this and I was noting this how it says When evening had come they brought to him many who were demon possessed I realized that I haven't really spoken much about demon possession So let me give you some insight into demon possession as we look at this passage now When you read your Bible you're going to notice Many times in the New Testament many times Jesus casts out demons You can see him casting out demons from a blind man There's another incident where he cast out a demon from a blind and mute man He cast out a demon from the Canaanite woman's daughter He cast out a demon that was in a man who was in synagogue He cast out a legion of demons from the men of the Gadarenes He cast out a demon from a woman who had been bound by a spirit of infirmity for 18 years And then he also cast out a demon from a young boy who has seizures When you look at Mary Magdalene, she's mentioned in in Luke chapter 8 verse 2 And and there it speaks concerning how that Jesus had had cast out demons from Mary Magdalene And so demons were very obviously active during the time of Christ. So somebody says what is a demon? Demons are fallen angels They're part of the the the cluster of angels that Followed Satan in his rebellion against God and they make up what is called the hierarchy of his kingdom When someone is possessed they are under control of a fallen spirit a fallen spirit a demon Someone says well can a Christian be demon possessed and the answer is no Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. I Have become the temple of the spirit of God and the spirit of God dwells in me Light cannot co-habit with darkness So a Christian cannot be demon possessed Can they be oppressed meaning have opposition the answer is yes There can be an oppression, but not a possession What happens when you don't pay the exorcist you get repossessed, but anyway, I Don't know that just came. I'm sorry Here's something for you when you study your Bible When someone is possessed they are under the control of a fallen spirit and it always does them harm Sometimes it will rob them of their mind. It'll rob them of their health Rob them of their speech Physically wound them They can drive you to suicide They can do a variety of things and you see this when you read concerning The demons the men of the Gadarenes the scripture says that they were by themselves Isolated and they were cutting themselves and they were moaning and crying little boy who was demon possessed kept casting himself in the fire And in the water to destroy him because that's what the enemy wants to do. He wants to destroy you Now the question has to be asked How do you become possessed? How do they become possessed and the interesting thing is is you don't really see in the New Testament any any Details that tell us how this happened what you have is Jesus encountering them More than likely the way that you are possessed though is by giving place to them by inviting them into your life There is a movie made many years ago that was really made By just following a book called the Exorcist and then you had the movie the Exorcist and and I read Concerning that and I remember reading that The individual that was possessed which was actually a case that was written down in book form that many of the things That were written in the book were actual incidents that actually did take place in a factual way and the original person who was the model for the book and later the movie the the Exorcist One of the sources I read concerning that many years ago now stated that that person Had actually been dabbling in the occult including what we today might even think is kind of like a harmless game The Ouija board there is there is and a doorway there is a way of entrance and Normally it would be that the individual is inviting this demonic spirit to take over their lives you can see that in in some religious practices you You can see that voluntary Asking to be possessed in the macumba in Brazil My wife Marie was an exchange student in high school and she went by invitation She didn't know what it was they invited her to go to a ritual a ceremony And when she went to the ceremony was on the beach It was at night and they had these people who were practicing this African religious system that has been mingled with Catholicism called macumba and Marie tells the story of how that there was a Woman who was the leader over this particular ceremony who had a cigar that she had turned around so that the lighted end was in her Own mouth and she approached Marie and she said to her you can receive spirits Do you want to receive spirits? There's there's an invitation that you give Santaria does the same thing there's an invitation for possession and then there are there are those who actually will say Enter in and they want that as part of their ceremony and and I have seen the effects of that When I was in India many years ago now I was walking down the street going towards a temple and I was with the brother named Randy Walls who is now pastor of Calvary Chapel upland and and as we were walking down the street We're walking towards a temple He came to the intersection and as we stopped at an intersection off to my left came three or four guys and they were dragging this one guy with them and the guy that they were dragging was resisting and screaming and As I was watching and we stopped at the corner. They couldn't have been 25 feet away from us They're just crosses a single lane street It's just right across from us and I could see him I mean as close as I can see anybody in the first row here they were that close and As they were walking by this man was screaming and as he was screaming like that He turned and he looked in our direction and when he looked in my direction in his eyes locked with mine My blood in my body felt like it froze. You've heard people say it meant my blood froze I felt that it might it's like my heart stopped all of a sudden. It's like and I I Saw evil in a way. I'd never seen it before. I had never seen it. I'm not dramatizing this I wish I could show you exactly the feeling But there have been those who have said well, how do you know if they're demonized and and not just Upset about something or how do you know that they're demonized and and not just you know a bit mentally imbalanced? You'll know you'll there's there's there's there No, no, I've been around a lot of a lot of mentally imbalanced people in my life And none of them have made my blood freeze this one did and I stood there going oh Battles on and I thought I'm gonna take Randy and throw him in front of this guy. I'm out of here and He tried to get out of their arms to rush us He was fighting them and I stood there and I and I thought yeah, and I'm serious when I say that I really did say battles on Battles on because this guy's gonna come at me and I'm gonna cast him out in the name of Jesus That's what's gonna happen right now, and it's it's you just your armor just go There was a horse drawn carriage coming in the same down the street and the horse when it sensed this man stopped in its tracks and reared up on its rear in its hind legs and refused to move and The man who was driving the horse took out a stick and was starting to hit the horse and The horse would not go near this demonized man that horse had horse sense that horse knew better The men were dragging him into the temple. Well, the horse was saying I want nothing to do with this evil So you will know you you will know is demon possession real? absolutely Absolutely and during the time of Christ. Yes, he dealt with a lot of demonized people and What he would do is it didn't become a long drawn-out battle He would with a word of authority say come out of them with just a word of authority Which should elevate in our minds the power of the Lord Jesus Christ He has amazing authority and it says it he cast out demons with a word and he healed all who were sick He was demonstrating power over the spiritual as well as the physical world If you encounter someone who's demonized, what should you do? One I Don't I don't encourage you to look for it now. Don't become a demon hunter. Ah In Jesus name don't become a demon hunter, but if you encounter one If you do you'll know Put on that armor and In the name of Jesus Take authority. Oh, I don't want to go in this direction further because there are other things But I will say you take authority and in and and you see in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you in his name and by his power by his authority To leave it can be a battle it could take a long time Which is why when you see Jesus cast in demons like that you see the power of Christ the power of Christ Because they didn't they couldn't do anything other than follow what he said to do Demons are liars and they will lie to you. They invited me in I don't have to go and What you do and I'll give you one more thing I wasn't planning on saying this but one more thing should somebody encounter is you speak The person and you speak and you say do you want to be free and if they in the mind if they can begin to speak Yes, I do then you say to them then in Jesus name reject them and and it goes in that direction I'm not giving you a formula I'm just saying that you can take that direction and you can say in Jesus name You must let go of this person. They do not watch you in their life But Jesus Christ has the power to do that this almost sounds spooky Like I'm telling a scary story, but it's but it's it's true That's what you do. This is how you handle it in the name of Christ. I have authority you have no authority I have authority through Jesus Christ you must go you cannot stay Jesus Christ commands you his word sets this person free and that's what you do Well when Jesus was there ministering Jesus cast them out with a word now It's told to us in verse 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying he himself took our infirmities aboard our sicknesses So Matthew quotes Isaiah Isaiah 53 verse 4 surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows The sorrows refer to anguish it would be the anguish especially that you can have over the result of a life of sin Jesus carried the anguishes. He is saying of our souls now. How did he do this? Well one Jesus took upon himself human flesh and As he took upon himself human flesh it reveals to me that he understands my condition And Hebrews 4 15 the writer said we do not have a high priest who was unable to sympathize With our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet without sin So he understands our condition in his incarnation But he also demonstrates power as he has power over sin death as well as the devil because his ministry Demonstrates his rulership as well as openly demonstrates his authority Now this anticipated the cross where Jesus bruised Satan's head and broke the power of sin and though We still suffer and ultimately die death does not have final victory So Matthew is saying Isaiah's prophecy is being fulfilled then and there during the earthly ministry of Christ Jesus removed their suffering then and there which revealed what is going to happen for all in the future It's not a guarantee by the way of physical healing, but there's a guarantee in scripture for Spiritual healing I may not be physically healed every time I ask God to touch me and heal me But I can tell you that when I said God be merciful to me a sinner That was guaranteed by the Lord in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness by his wounds You have been healed you have been healed in a spiritual sense because when I come to Christ and say God be merciful to me a Sinner he is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all Unrighteousness it is not a guarantee for physical healing There are those who would say that you are guaranteed by the stripes of Christ physical healing That's not the context that is found here in Matthew neither is that the context found in 1st Peter chapter 2 What he's speaking about is the fact that he has forgiven us of our sins and that Jesus Christ took them upon himself on our behalf There is no guarantee for healing Physically there is a guarantee that God will forgive you your sins now listen we have people in this room right now who've been asking God to heal them physically and There are some in this room where God has and then there are others Where the Lord seems to be silent he hasn't healed you in that way and the fact is is what I do is I pray But I trust I pray to him that he would do and I trust he'll do what is best for me And I haven't gotten to the point where I begin to think that for some reason that Heavens are brass and he just won't listen to me because he's not answering my particular prayer I believe he is answering my prayer But according to his will which is what I'm supposed to be praying according to anyway And the one thing that I do that has helped me and I'll share this in a practical way has helped me in these times It's been to realize who's in control of the universe, and it's God, you know I had a lady I used to teach a Bible study my very first Bible study back in the early 70s Probably right around 74. I was around 24 years old at the time. She had a son She came to speak to me one day and and I was her Bible teacher even though she was my mother's age and She was at my mother's Kitchen table talking to me across the table and she said my son is is ill I've been asking the Lord to heal him. Why hasn't God healed him doesn't God understand doesn't God care? And and I remember our conversation and I remember saying to her because she had said to me Where is God now? Where is God and I remember at her asking that question again I was 24 years old and and she's my mom's age and she's asking me to direct her and I'm still new in the Lord But I still remember the answer I gave her because when she said where is God now. I Said God is in the same place He was When his son Jesus died on the cross He hasn't moved He sees you and he hears you and the only thing I can tell you now Is he's still in control and he still has authority and he loves you. That's all I know He hasn't moved. He's still with you You know, there have been times in my own life Some of you've been in this church long enough to know that there have been battles here and there that I've had with health You know, I've had three different forms of cancer, you know, I lost my memory right now. I've got glaucoma I'm partially blinded my right eye now. I'm looking a lot better in the mirror when I close my left eye. I can tell you that You know, and there are things that I would love the Lord to remove about there You know Lord, thank you that you've taken care of the bladder cancer Thank you for the skin cancers that you've taken care of and all but you know what I mean You just trust the Lord. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what Christians do I mean when I got saved there was no guarantee that he gave to me of of clean health all the time perfect health But I do have a guarantee of sins forgiven I do have a guarantee that he went and prepared a place for me that he's coming again to receive me unto himself And I know that heaven is a lot better than earth And so I'm just passing through and I understand that and one of these days I'll cash in the ticket that takes me to see him bottom line That's the way it is and so I trust him. Don't you I trust him in everything he takes care of us He loves us in and and yes, you know, we can ask God heal me physically and and and my God is a healing God That's one of the titles that he has I the Lord am your healer But at the same time he may say this is this is something that I'm gonna allow in your life for whatever Purposes I might have and what I have learned to do and I'm learning to do is simply trust him in all things That's your second sermon.  No, Jesus said to him Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man is nowhere to lay his head Another of his disciples said to him Lord, let me first go and bury my father Jesus said to him follow me let the dead bury their own dead and So what we have here Is a final installment where Jesus is seeing these great multitudes and as you see in verse 18 He gives this command depart to the other side So he's leaving to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee that they might have a time of rest But as this is happening verse 19 speaks of a scribe Now the scribes were the experts in the law of Moses Scribes are highly educated scholars and We're very well known as being proud Scribes were not prone to follow another teacher Especially one like Jesus Christ and because of this his profession of devotion for Christ is remarkable So he says I'll follow you wherever you go, but notice Jesus's response Foxes have holes birds of the air have nest the son man hasn't anywhere to lay his head So instead of receiving him with open arms because this guy is saying I'll follow you wherever you go He actually issues a challenge and here's your challenge Do you have any idea where your offer is going to lead you if you actually follow me? The decision can lead to hardship and even poverty Are you willing to live at a lower standard for my sake? Are you willing to trust God for your daily bread?  Will you trust him to provide? Are you willing to forgo the temptation to believe that you're entitled to be provided for in order to find pleasure in serving God and trusting him? Now obviously a desire to follow God and to wholeheartedly pursue him should not be quenched and yet Jesus sees in this man zeal without knowledge. He hadn't counted the cost of discipleship. He was making a promise He wouldn't keep you see we need to count the cost But whatever it may be, it's always going to be better than anything we could imagine Following Jesus is not an intellectual pursuit alone Because it's costly Somebody once said a religion which costs nothing is worth nothing Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote when Christ calls a man He bids him come and die Easy beliebism is not the way of the cross In Luke 14 33 Whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has he cannot be my disciple And so the Lord doesn't want this easy beliebism this. Oh, I'll follow you as long as the path is is comfortable He's saying you need to understand that there is a cost to following me and It's a road that can be very difficult It's a road that can be very hard I mentioned Randy waltz a minute ago pastor of Calvary upland. He was my assistant pastor for many years and When I was still pastoring in Ontario, he came into my office and he told me that he felt God was calling him to go plan a church and He said he said David. I feel that God has called me to be a pastor and I'm called to plan a church and I still remember looking at him. He was seated across my desk and I still remember he was standing across my desk and I I remember looking at him and I said this to him and I don't know if anybody will understand what I What I'm trying to say, but I said this is it. You don't know what you're asking for And when I said that to him I started to cry Said you don't know what you're asking for And he just kind of looks at me like huh and then I did you know, it wasn't cuz my dear friend was leaving No Had nothing to do with my friendship It was that he didn't know the road and What he would endure and what he would experience as a pastor On one occasion Jesus speaks to two of his men. He says can you drink the drink that I will drink? Oh Yes, we can No, you don't understand what you're talking about On another occasion Jesus speaking to his disciple says to him what I'm doing now. You don't understand, but you will later That's that's the following of Christ that there are things that you in a moment of Spiritual ecstasy you're in a time of worship. It's a great time where the worship team is connecting with You and your heart and you've got your hands raised and you're singing to Jesus and in your heart You're saying yourself. I just want to do what God calls me to do You might hear a message somewhere where where it's a challenge in your heart and you say I Want to pursue him and and I'll be honest with you that they're Very often the the whole point of having high level emotion and and high power preaching is to stir people up to follow But Jesus didn't take advantage of that He didn't he challenged Do you know What you're saying you want? You need to understand Foxes have holes in the ground that they can go and rest in birds while they have nests that they can nest in me I've got nowhere to lay my hand Well, you're asking for costly Are you willing to pay the price? And as this is taking place verse 21 another of his disciples said to him Lord, let me first go and bury my father Jesus said to him follow me Let the dead bury their own dead Now when he says let me first go and bury my father bury my father's what is called a figure of speech What he's saying is I must remain until my father dies and his inheritance is distributed You see his father wasn't dead yet But if he were to leave before his father died and the inheritance is distributed He would be cut out of the equation. So he's saying let me put off following you until I'm ready to do so I've got things to do Now why was he reluctant? He didn't want to lose his inheritance Money was very important to him proverbs 23 5 says riches can disappear as though they had wings of a bird So Jesus's reply was simple to the point let the world take care of the things of the world Let the dead bear their own dead is another way of saying let the world take care of the things of the world You need to choose the better part the thing that lasts Even as he had earlier said seek he first the kingdom of God and his righteousness all these things shall be added unto you Follow him first The world doesn't have enough to offer you what will man give an exchange of his soul There's a young man who came up to me after church service many years ago now And he said to me can I speak to you for a moment? And I said yes he said Over a year ago when you were in Ontario In Ontario High School He said I was looking for a church to go to and I came to The church there in Ontario High School He said and the worship team came out and did their music and he said I liked him And you came out and he gave a message He said that got me so angry that I got up and said I will not come back to this church again and I left I Said well, thank you. That's very encouraging he said and so I left angrily saying I will never go there again he said and Then around Easter I was driving looking for a church again He said and I didn't know that you had moved From Ontario and I was driving by here He said there was a line of cars that were entering into the parking lot So I got in line, but it was just too long a line So I said to myself I'll come back next week. He said which I did I came back the next week He said I came in and I sat down and once again. I enjoyed the music then you came out He said and I said within myself. That's the guy who got me so angry last year He said this time I listened And when you gave the invitation He says I I came forward. I gave my heart to christ I said well, praise the lord. He said i'm not through okay He said I need prayer because I got a phone call From a woman that I had been intimate with Who has been diagnosed with hiv aids She was told by her doctor to call Any men she had been with to let them know that they need to go and get a test And that we are to tell anybody we've been with since being with her He said so I called up somebody to let them know I went and had the test I came out hiv positive He said then I got a phone call from her Again, and she said have a second test because I've been tested a second time and I'm I mean I'm not I'm not positive So he said I had all of this hope And I went And I was tested and I came out hiv positive a second time He said pastor, can you pray for me? He says i'm hiv positive and i'm going to die of aids And I prayed for him I eventually buried him I gave his eulogy from this platform I shared at his funeral from this platform This church buried him Ministered to him Loved him for a few years Watched him as his Life went slowly ebbing Till he finally succumbed to that horrible disease hiv aids And it hit me We wouldn't have buried him as a result of aids If he had received christ the first time he came But he put it off And in the time between the first time he came to hear the message And the time he finally yielded to that message In the in-between time is when he was with that woman and when he got infected with aids And that's why the lord says let the dead bury their own dead You come and follow me You don't know You don't know How long you have You can't be putting him off He was a let me first kind of guy let me first No in the kingdom of god it's not let me first It's you first It's you first That's what it means to follow the lord That's why jesus jesus is not being Unkind when he says let the dead bury their own dead Jesus is saying you choose the proper priority in life You see He was afraid of losing an inheritance But according to first peter chapter one verses three and four Blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ Which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope By the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead to an inheritance Incorruptible undefiled that does not fade away Reserved in heaven for you You say he you see he was saying i'll follow you but at my convenience I'm not willing to burn all my bridges behind me But jesus said no you put god's business first The rest will follow again seek first the kingdom of god And his righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you You see to these men jesus's demands were too high But his demands are not too high his demands are demands that are proper Because if indeed he is the lord then all that i am and all that i have is really his anyway The wise man the wise woman Will not put off following jesus


What is it about McDaniels that makes it hard for him to have success as a head coach? I would say, well, first off, unbelievable offensive coordinator, knows his football inside and out, knows his offensive scheme inside and out. There is no doubt about that, but that does not mean it's gonna translate into being a great head coach. And I would just say this, that sometimes once in a while I saw it, that he kind of rubs guys with his style and his demeanor the wrong way. And that might have carried into being a head coach at both situations with the Broncos and not with the Raiders. So just the demeanor that he has might not be working as a head coach. But is it the kind of thing where, you know, cause like Bill Belichick has that demeanor. It's known, we see it, you've talked about it. It's like we joke about it, but he's got like that he was the head coach of championship winning teams. Whereas like Josh has the pedigree, he has the rings as a coordinator, but not as a head.  I mean, he did a great job when I was in New England. We won a couple of Super Bowls with him. I'm not there. So it's really hard to tell when you're not there. I'm not there when he was with the Dunder Broncos. And now currently I'm not there while he was just with the Raiders. I would say his demeanor and style definitely worked under Coach Belichick while he was the offensive coordinator. He definitely got the attention of all the players. He got the details of what everyone needed to do.  We're going out there to play for the organization. They'll go play for Coach Belichick who's leading the way. So it's a tough situation when you're not there. So I don't fully understand it, what's going on. But he's just, in my case, when I'm seeing he's not riling up the players to play to the best of their potential. And that's a struggle right there if you're not getting that done. Yeah, I feel like Billy O'Brien may be out of there after this year. So if that's the case, I think Josh McDaniels comes back as offensive coordinator in New England. That's for sure. And another thing I feel like he's stressed a little bit, you know? Josh McDaniels, when he was an offensive coordinator, you could tell he came in ready to go, always fired up, always happy, like always ready to go. And just looking at his face now and seeing him as a head coach, he seems very, very stressed since he's been to the Oakland, not the Oakland Raiders, since he's been with the former Vegas Raiders. The Vegas Spears out there, out there in Vegas.  Or how likely is it that Billy O'Brien's gone? I feel like, you know, he's gonna take an opportunity. He's kind of a head coach guy, you know? I feel like he's gonna take an opportunity somewhere else. I mean, I have zero sources. This is just me coming up with it. Because I was still very surprised he went to New England. So I can see him doing a one or two year deal and being right out of there. And then McDaniels coming in once again. Gronk, do you think that Bill is just like, ah! And I know he's not having like the best year, like, but do you think part of him's like, come home, come?  How do you, how does that go with Bill? It's like he's got some special sauce.  Well, why can't they move on and have success? Why can't they get their life together with some other dude? That's another city. And then they all leave it because Bill has some magic juice that he doesn't share that. I don't know that they leave and that he knows they're all gonna come back and same with the coaches. They all leave and then they all try and then they all come back eventually. It's mind blowing. It's hard to describe. I don't know. I don't have the answer for that. I'm just glad I'm not in that category, okay? I mean, you've never had to deal with this. I don't know if this is your championship, baby. You've never had to deal with this. I want a championship. I gotta show what's up.


Hello and welcome to this session in which we will keep working with the general business tax credits and in this session I will cover several remaining business tax credit those are not all of them But I believe those are most common or stuff that you might see on the CPA exam or in your accounting course Which are the low-income housing credit disabled access credit small employer pension start-up cost credit credit for employer provided child care and employer provided family and medical leave Before we proceed any further. I have a public announcement about my company farhat lectures comm Farhat accounting lectures is a supplemental educational tool That's gonna help you with your CPA exam preparation as well as your accounting courses My CPA material is aligned with your CPA review course such as Becker, Roger, Wiley, Gleam, Miles My accounting courses are aligned with your accounting courses broken down by chapter and topics My resources consist of Lectures multiple choice questions true false questions as well as exercises. Go ahead start your free trial today Starting with the low-income housing credit just as the as the name of the credit low-income housing It means what it's designed to encourage individual to provide property to low-income tenants The reason is Congress wants to deal with the homelessness issue So what do we do? We encourage people if they have housing unit and they're willing to rent it for low-income tenant We'll give them a credit the amount of the credit is designed on the qualified basis of the property Which is determined by the number of units rented to the low-income tenant So the more low-income tenant you rent to the higher is your credit and the credit is spread over 10 year period But a subject to potential recapture. So if you have a building It was initially designed to be rented for low-income then you changed your mind And you got some credit your the credit will be recaptured Let's take a look at this example. Samantha spent 2.5 million to build a low-income housing project That's completed June 1st of the current year The entire project is rented to low-income families And the credit rate for property placed and serviced during June is 9.5 So Samantha can claim because she rented 100 of the property 2.5 million times 9.5 She can claims a credit of 237 500 in the current year Now the rate might change. That's fine. Just kind of to show you how the credit works Now Samantha only Rented 80 of those units to low-income families rather than 100 will take 2.5 million times 80 percent times 9.9 0.5. So the credit will be 190 So the point is if you rent it to the more units you rent the higher is your credit Now, let's talk about the disabled access credit and the purpose of it is to encourage eligible small businesses to retrofit their existing facilities To make it accessible to disabled individuals. So you want to make it Disabled to individuals we are willing to help you as the government the credit amount Is equal to 50 percent of the eligible expenditure and you have to spend more than 250 But up to 10,250 simply put The maximum credit is 10,000 because let's assume you did spend 10,250 Or more what's gonna happen is they're gonna you're gonna take 2,250 minus the 250 What's gonna left piece 5,000 5,000 times 50 percent The maximum credit is 5,000 now to qualify a small business Must have a gross income of 1 million or less During the previous year or have no more than 30 full-time employees. So this is designed for small businesses The eligible expenditure would include what? Amount that are paid to incur certain changes to older facilities such as installing ramps Widening door doorways and adding raised Marking on elevators control button. Those are the some typical expenditure Also improvement to assist hearing or visually impaired employees or customers who interact with the business is also eligible Now the credit amount is deducted from the tax basis of the assets. So if they gave you a credit Your basis will go down. Why because you are getting some sort of a credit However expenditure incur in connection with any facilities that was placed in service after november 1990 are not eligible because at this point the assumption is they should be already Retrofit for disabled individual Let's take a look at this example blue company in eligible small business spent $8,000 on capital improvement To a building that was placed in service september 1988 The improvement made Blue's business more accessible to disabled individual and as a result it was Qualifying eligible expenditure for this credit that's able to access credit program. What is the amount of the credit? Well, we spent 8,000 the first 250 is not counted Times 50 percent The credit is 3,875 notice. We spent $8,000 Only the access of 80 250 over 250 which is 8,000 qualify for the credit the adjusted basis So what happened is this we spent 8,000 that's going to increase the basis However, since we received 38 75 of a credit What's going to happen the net increase In the basis is 41 50 not 8,000 because you did receive a credit and it's very important to understand If you receive a credit you have to reduce your basis. It reduces your basis Now let's talk about a small employer pension plan startup cost. Well What is that for to help small employers small businesses start a pension plan for their employees? So eligible small businesses can claim a non refundable credit for administrative expenses incur and establishing and starting and maintaining a qualify retirement plan Primarily for their non highly compensated employees for the highly compensated Those could be the owners. You're not you're not going to get a credit for that You're going to get credit for helping your employees now Well expenses such as payroll System changes retirement related education program and consulting fees are typically deductible as or their necessary business The credit reduces the after-tax cost of establishing a qualified retirement plan. So yes So you do have those various expenditure as part of Having employees and administration costs But starting a plan will give you will reduce your after-tax cost because it's going to give you a credit Why well they want you to do what provide retirement plan for employees Government wants to do everything to help you help your employees for retirement because otherwise They are the government problem. That's why that's the purpose of it. So small employer pension plan um credit is up to 50 percent of qualified startup cost now Of course, there are certain limit certain limitation to be eligible an employer must have fewer than 100 employees Who have earned at least 5 000 in compensation? So this is not designed for large companies and the maximum credit is typically the lesser of $5 000 Or $250 multiply by the number of nine highly compensated employees. So the maximum is the lesser of these two Okay, however, the credit cannot be less than $500 The amount of the credit is deducted from the deduction of startup cost incurred. So let's assume you incurred 6 000 in startup cost and you got a credit of 1500 you deduct this so your cost is 4500 The credit can be claimed for qualifying cost incur each of the follow each of the first three years following the tax here In which the retirement plan becomes effective. So you don't have to spend it only in one year. Let's take a look at an example Mabel company decided to establish a qualified retirement plan for its non highly compensated employees At part of the process It paid a consulting fee of 21 100 to affirm that provided educational seminar eligible employees And assisted the payroll department in making the necessary changes. So we just incur some cost as an administrative cost And maple has 65 non highly compensated employees who are eligible to participate now To help you offset the startup cost maple claim a credit of $5 000 which is the lesser of 5 000 or 250 times 65 what's 250 250 is the number given by the government times the non highly compensated employees 16 500 so you're comparing 16 500 to 5 000 so So you get your the credit is 5 000 now Maple maple deduction for these expenses is reduced by 16 500. You had 21 200 What's gonna happen is you're gonna reduce those deductions by 5000. Why because you got a credit You cannot have the credit and also use that deduction. So you pay 21 200. That's fine If you don't take the credit will give you a deduction Since you got a credit for that what's left as a deduction is 16 200 And this is basically not common sense, but something you have to know If you got a credit for a deduction you cannot get the credit and the deduction if you got the credit You have to remove the credit amount from the deduction if you want to take the deduction. That's fine Then you will take the full deduction Let's take a look at the credit for employer provided childcare from the name of it Your company is helping you with childcare services So employer can claim a credit for providing childcare facilities to their employees during their normal working hours For example, I work at a college and they do have childcare facilities on campus. It's limited to 150 000 per year And the credit amount is 25 of the qualified childcare expenses 10 of the qualified childcare and referral services Deductible qualifying expenses must be reduced by the credit amount. That's always the case In the basis of the property must be reduced by the credit amount as well So if you get a credit you have a property You have a building must be reduced because you got a credit and the credit might be subject to recapture If this childcare facilities cease to be used for qualifying purposes within 10 years of being placed in service Because what's the original purpose of this facility childcare facilities is to service your employees As an employer you're providing this to your employees Well, what happened if you change your mind and you want to open this childcare facilities? Well, you're gonna have a credit recapture It means any credit you got in the past you'll have to recapture it. Let's take a look at a quick example During the year maple constructed a childcare facilities for 400 000 to be used by its employees Who have a preschool age children in need of childcare services while their parent at work at this specific company In addition The company incurred salaries for childcare workers They need to house this place and other administrative cost of a hundred thousand dollar So as a result maple's credit for employer provider childcare services is 400 of the cost plus the administrative 500 000 multiplied by 25 percent Which is 125 000 What's gonna happen is this the basis of the facilities is reduced to 300 000 why Because we got we got a credit 25 credit. Remember the building has a 400 000 gave us 25 percent Which has gave us 100 000 It means the the basis of this building remember the basis was 400 000. That's the basis now we reduce it by 100 000 So when we sell it in the future, we're gonna have more game We're gonna have more gained And maple deduction for administrative cost remember we paid 100 000 and salaries Can we deduct 100 000 and the answer is no we can only deduct 75 why 75 because we were given a credit For 25 000 we cannot have the credit and the deduction. So just again This theme repeats itself again and again and again Let's talk about the employer provided family and medical leave from the name of it Yeah, well companies employer could get exceeds 50 percent So if you happen to be very generous and you're paying more than 50 percent of the normal wages That credit is increased by 0.25 percentage point for each point above 1 percent So if you pay them 1 51 percent of their salaries, well your credit is increased by 0.25 For instance, if the employee pays 60 percent of their usual wages and salaries Then the credit becomes 15 percent Which is because it's 12.5 the base and you're getting 10 10 times 0.25 which will give you Up to 15 percent now bear in mind the credit is subject to a cap of 25 percent of wages paid They don't you know, you can't go forever Which would be allowed if the employer paid 100 percent of the employer wages during the leave So the maximum credit is 25 percent the credit applies To a maximum of 12 weeks of leave per employee during any taxable year So you can get this credit for 12 weeks of leave no more than that So to qualify for this credit You need to implement a rating policy that guarantee all full-time employees receive a minimum of two weeks Of paid leave and medical leave per year. So you have to have a policy None full-time employees should be provided None full-time employees, which is part-time employees should be provided leave on a pro proportionate basis Wages paid as vacation leave person leave or other form of medical or sick leave are not considered as family leave You have to have to have to be a family leave in writing Okay, the credit applied to wages paid during taxable year 2018 through 2015. So if you're outside those years, you know The the credit doesn't apply or the the rules might have changed or the congress might decide to extend it Just keep that in mind what we talked about here applied to those Years, what should you do now go to far hat lectures and look at additional resources? That's gonna help you Understand the concept do better in your course enrolled agent exam CPA exam Good luck study hard. It's worth it and stay safe


National Guard soldiers from around the country have finished the four-day best warrior competition at Itasca State Park. In order for the 14 soldiers to contend for the title, they had to have won three lower-level competitions. Soldiers arrived to the park using military helicopters and were put to the test in realistic training scenarios. The challenges, including a 13-mile march and obstacle course, are designed to see how they reacted mentally and physically. We put them through a huge, huge stressful event over the last four days and they came through with just great marks, remarks, and they're very excited. They're still motivated. There were some awesome competitors out here today, studs, so I think everyone has pushed themselves to their limits. It's been a good event. Winona native Staff Sergeant Daniel Sabo was recognized as the non-commissioned officer of the year for the Army National Guard. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.


I'm playing for hundreds of millions and billions.  So we not, this is brand, we not playing for no punk money.   That's just me.  We gonna have some good times, some good vibes.  We gonna live good.  That's dead.