Today, we're in Revelation. Let's begin reading together in chapter 21. I'll begin reading at verse 1. I'll read to verse 4, and we'll get into our study. Revelation chapter 21, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 4. John writes, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.  There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And so what I'm going to do is what I normally have been doing recently, especially in the book of Revelation, is I'm going to lay a foundation. I'm going to give you some introductory remarks. It'll take a few minutes to do that. Then we're going to move into our passage that we have before us today as we consider a new heaven and a new earth. Let me begin by saying this. When the church was born all the way back on the day of Pentecost, well, from that point on, the thought of being in heaven preoccupied believers. You see, when they gave their lives to Christ, the promise of heaven is what had driven them to live for Jesus Christ. They knew that the cost of salvation was great. It humbled them, and they knew that God's love was great, and therefore it compelled them. Even like Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14, where Paul said, the love of Christ compels us. So this knowledge of what God had done and this love for Jesus Christ is what deepened them, and they had a desire to remain faithful to God.  He made it very clear. He said, you shall have no other gods before me. And so that is something that they obeyed, that's something that they were yielded to because they loved him. You see, in the Old Testament, God had commanded people to follow him. God had commanded people to obey him, and he made it clear. He made it clear that he was to be loved, he was to be worshiped, and he was to be desired. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 and 5, it's called the Shema. It is a great prayer of faith of Israel, and it says here, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  He didn't say love me partially, he said love me completely. You shall have no false gods before me. And the church knew that. The church knew that God was to be worshiped and God was to be desired. And these commands and this call and through salvation with Christ and all that he had done, well the end result was that they had a longing for Jesus. They had a desire to be with him. He would be the one in the entire universe that would be the center. It would be the center of their lives. Even as Psalm 42, 1 and 2 says, as the dear pants for the waterbrooks, so my soul pants for you, oh God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God, when shall I come and appear before God? This love, this longing for God. From the very beginning was the catalyst. It is what fueled and motivated them in their life. And as their love for Christ grew, the things of the world began to lose their appeal. We sang a moment ago. We actually didn't sing this song first service. They put it together second service. But as a young believer, I remember singing a song called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. And again, one of the lyrics says, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Well, that's something that we as new believers that I, as a person who got saved in that historic time in America called the Jesus movement, that was real to us. The fact that that we were to turn our eyes upon Jesus and the things of earth will grow strangely dim. And they did. You see, there was a longing for him, even as Psalm 42 verses 1 and 2 said, as the dear pants for the water broke my soul pants for you. So for the believer, heaven and the thought of heaven is to occupy our thoughts. It's to be so real to us that it becomes a place that we actually lay up our treasure. In Matthew 6, 19 through 21, Jesus said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal. So as Christians, we long for, we even set our course for heaven. And that's not because we're trying to earn entrance. That's not because we're trying to gain it through our own effort. The reason we want to go to heaven is because Jesus is there. In Psalm 17 verse 15, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. So the desire to be with him becomes the overriding passion of our heart. Being with Jesus Christ is something that Paul encouraged believers to concentrate on. That's because to be in heaven is to be with him. And our greatest desire is to be to be with him and to see him. Like it says in Philippians in chapter three, verse 20, when Paul said, our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. We eagerly await a savior from their Jesus. In Colossians 3, 1, and 2, since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. While we already have seen here, as we've gone through Revelation, that the church is called the bride of Christ. And in chapter 19, we said, we saw that the bride has made herself ready and is prepared for the groom. So the fact that the bride has prepared herself for the groom should give us insight. You see, a wedding can be exciting, but being with the groom is what the bride most desires. Not just a wedding itself, not the celebration itself, but the person. And that's how it works.  And if I have, I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. So what drives us to be prepared isn't a desire for heaven, a place. What drives us to be prepared is the desire to be with Jesus, a person. Because of this longing to be with Him, we prepare. We live a way of life that reveals we belong to Him. Our life is known for purity. Our life is known for good works. John in 1 John 3, verse 3 said, everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure. So this longing to be with Him fuels our lives. And this longing to be with Jesus Christ is revealed by love and by good works. This motivates us to live. We expect to be with Him. We long to be with Jesus Christ. Now, in our day, the belief in heaven or the hope of heaven has been diluted. The entrance into heaven has been reduced to just try and live a good life. And a good life is trivialized into not doing too many bad things and really be true to yourself. And because everybody goes to heaven in the way people think today, there's no incentive to live a life that's pure. You see, those who desire heaven and speak of it often, well, they're looked at as being out of touch. There used to be a saying that I heard more than once. And the saying is, well, that person's a Christian? Yeah, yeah. Well, they're so heavenly minded. They're of no earthly good, they used to say. But that's where people are wrong. The desire to be with Jesus in heaven provokes a believer to live a good life. It's what draws us to God's word that we might learn the things that please Him. And the hope of heaven gives us a proper perspective, a perspective that helps us to resist yielding ourselves to sin. Like it says in Psalm 119, verses 9 through 11, where the Psalmist said, how can a young person stay on the path of purity by living according to your word? I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. So the hope of heaven gives us a proper perspective. It gives us the incentive not to yield to sin. And for believers, the hope of heaven and its glory give strength and gives us the ability to endure pain and trials. Like in 2 Corinthians 4, 17, how Paul said, our present troubles are small, won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. Desiring heaven influences all that we do. The promise of being there helps us to order our lives as we prepare to meet our God. In Philippians 1, 21, 3, 23, Paul said it like this. He said, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell, for I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So that, in a certain sense, gives us a different insight into what Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1, when he said, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. Why is that? Because in the day of one's death we get to see Jesus Christ. Now many pastors have pointed out that in our day, worldliness has infiltrated the church. This desire for instant gratification, this desire for pleasure has blinded many professing believers. You see, the apostle John instructed Christians to avoid falling in love with the world system. In 1 John 2, 15 through 17, he said, do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever. You see, one of the ways that we can do this is to have a new way of thinking. And that's because the way we think is normally revealed by the way we live. So Paul gives us insight into how we can have a new way of thinking and a new way of living. In Romans 12, 1 and 2, he said, therefore I urge you brothers, on account of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and then you'll be able to test and approve what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God. Well, as I was preparing this, I began to think that it seems today many preachers are making promises to the church that Jesus himself rejected. It seems that many of the promises that they're making will, is like this, all your desires will be fulfilled, power and provisions and pride, it'll all be yours now that you become a Christian. But in this, the promises of heaven begin to pale in comparison to what they're promising we can have now. It seems to me that in our day, many Christians have slowly been drawn back to the world. And as a result, the thought of evangelizing or living a good life has been overshadowed, because there's so many who can say, who are saying today, well, you can have your best life now. Well, when they say that, I can't help but think about Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, verses 8 through 10, we see something of Abraham, because you see, he was called by God to leave everything and go to a land that he would later be shown. And in Hebrews 11, 8 through 10, the writer said, by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went without knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. That's why Abraham was able to stand with his nephew Lot and to look at the land that they were about to enter into. And that's why he could say, you choose which way you want to go. You want to go to the right, I'll go to the left. You want to go to the left, I'll go to the right. And we see in Scripture, his nephew Lot looked and saw Sodom and Gomorrah and how beautiful and green and lush it was and he chose to go there. And Abraham was willing to go into a place that didn't look as appealing. Why? Because he was looking forward to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God himself. The world did not ensnare him as it did his nephew. It's the hope of heaven. It's the hope of being with God. It's the hope of being with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. It's the hope of being with family that have departed and gone before us. It's the hope of being with fellow believers in the community and the unity and the joy that we're going to experience that drives us. And that promise of heaven, the promise of being with Jesus Christ is to eclipse every other desire and dream we might have. When speaking of all who have died in faith, the right of Hebrews gave us insight in Hebrews 11, 15 and 16, he said if they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. But instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Now, I said earlier that some Christians are so heavenly minded, they're of no earthly good. It's been said. Well, today many believers are so earthly minded, they're of no heavenly good. So we need to get a glimpse of what is awaiting us as believers. We want to look at this new heaven. We want to look at this new earth. And so as we're about to begin, chapter 21 contains events that follow what we've already looked at when we looked at the white throne judgment. The great white throne judgment is the final sentencing of the lost. It's the final courtroom scene. And after it, there'll be no more judgment ever. The unsaved of all who have ever lived will be resurrected to experience a trial. There'll be no debate as to whether they are guilty or they're innocent. It's going to be a judgment that is settled by a righteous judge. We were in the book of Job just recently in chapter 34. And in verse 21 through 23, it says, his eyes are on the ways of mortals. He sees there every step. There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness where evildoers can hide. God has no need to examine people further that they should come before him for judgment. In other words, he doesn't review the case in concern that he might have given an unjust sentence. His judgment will be completely fair. It will be without controversy. And everyone is guilty. And the judge will show them no mercy. He will show no sympathy. We know that as we've gone through this, that Jesus is the judge, that his judgment is impartial. In Psalm 98 verse 9, he is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness, he shall judge the world and the peoples with equity. There's not going to be an appeal. There's no retrial. It's a final judgment. Notice in verse 13, we had seen already in chapter 20 that they are judged according to their works. Every thought, every word, every deed is brought under God's righteous gaze. Like it says in Ecclesiastes 1214, God will bring every deed into judgment and every secret thing, whether good or evil, everything. And that includes not only what they've done, it includes what they've said. In Matthew 12 36, Jesus said it like this. He said, I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the dead judgment. And you see the words idle words. What does that mean? Idle words are words that are casually and uselessly spoken. They're the spontaneous things that can be said, but it's the spontaneous things that are said that expose a person's character for out of the heart proceeds. So out of the abundance of the heart, you're going to see what the person really believes. These are the thoughtless words. These are the words that accomplish no good. They're just words that are used. And so what that is intended to reveal to us is that judgment will be thorough. We saw that those who didn't know Christ enter into the lake of fire. They're banished forever in unending sorrow. In Mark 948 Jesus described this lake of fire. He said it's where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out. So that is the final end of those who have rejected God's mercy and His grace. But now we get to see what is awaiting those who love His appearing. And so what is that? Well, verse one, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Now remember in chapter 20 verse 11, the earth and heaven had fled away. The term a new heaven and a new earth is in reference to the creation of a new universe. That's what we see in this chapter. The universe as we know it will be destroyed. An entirely new creation will exist. These are promises you find in Scripture, not just here, but in the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah 65-17. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Or while Jesus said in Luke 21-33 heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We think of 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 10 through 13, where the apostle Peter said, but the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. And then the heavens will pass away with terrible noise.  Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living. You should look forward to that day and hurry it along. The day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. New heaven and new earth. It speaks of something new in a qualitative sense. This means that the new heaven and the new earth will be entirely fresh. It will be something entirely new. It means that it will be something that has never been seen before. It occurs after the thousand year reign of Christ and the great white throne judgment. And so there's the new heavens, he's speaking of, the new earth. But notice in verse 1, he also says that there was no more sea. So John begins to give a picture of what the new heavens and new earth will look like. There's going to be an incredible change to the earth. It's estimated that today, three quarters of the earth is made up of bodies of water. And for human beings, life actually is dependent on water. Now that gives us insight into what Jesus meant when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman by her well. She had come and he spoke to her and he said in John 4, 13 and 14, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. See, all of us grow thirsty. She was thirsty. He said, you can drink of this water, but because it's natural, you're going to be thirsty again. But I have something to give to you that is not natural. I have something to give to you that is supernatural. I have the water of life. It comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is what you need. Well, Jesus was making it very clear that true life is spiritual and true life comes from him. In the new heavens and the new earth, our lives will no longer be dependent on water. Today, our blood is 90% water. Our flesh is 65% water. When we have glorified bodies, we'll no longer be dependent on water for life. Now he speaks of a river. We'll see that in chapter 22, verse 2. It's called the water of life. But that's based on a different life principle. It appears that there are no other bodies of water, but that water that we see there speaking of a spiritual life that we have through Christ. And so he says, the sea is no more. Then he, verse 2, he says, then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem. It's a new city. During the tribulation, the physical city of Jerusalem was spiritually polluted. Remember when we're in Revelation 11, verse 8, it says that their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Gomorrah, rather Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. So it was spiritually polluted, the city of Jerusalem on the face of the earth. But this is new. It is called the holy city because everyone within it is holy. Revelation 20, verse 6 says, blessed and holy is he who is part of the first resurrection. So this city is going to be beautiful. It's blessed. It's going to be a great place to live in, unlike many cities today. Everyone in the city, everyone will enjoy friendships. And fellowship. They're going to live in unity. They're going to love one another. And this New Jerusalem, verse 2, notice is coming down out of heaven from God. She's not mentioned as having just been created, by the way. New Jerusalem exists all along. In John 14, 1 through 3, remember what Jesus said. I mentioned it a moment ago. I mentioned verse 3. But Jesus in John 14, 1 through 3 said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.   We're going to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And this New Jerusalem has existed. It's existed throughout the millennial reign of Christ. So her coming down out of heaven reveals her previous existence. She is presently separated from the existing universe because of sin. But when the new heaven and earth is created, she will descend into a perfect universe. And she's going to serve as the dwelling place of all redeemed. Notice how it says in verse 2, she's prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This whole city is occupied by the saints of every generation and is described as a bride. It's referred to as a bride because she's taken the character of a bride. One of the commentators that I like, his name is John Walford, and he said, what we have here is not the church per se, but a city or dwelling place having the freshness and beauty of a bride adorned for marriage to her husband. Another commentator by the name of FC Jennings said, every child of God through all the ages whose earthly tabernacle has been dissolved shall be at this time in his heavenly house and thus together form the heavenly city. He goes on to say in verse 3, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them. They shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. The one speaking is unidentified, but this one speaking makes an announcement, a great announcement, an important announcement. God is dwelling among men. No longer is he far away. He's now with them. They are his. He is theirs. God's wonderful presence is now with his people. His presence among us will be the fulfillment of every believer's greatest desire. You see, today we worship him and love him, but we haven't really physically seen him. We haven't seen him yet we believe, like it says in John 20 verse 29, Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. We haven't seen him, but we love him. 1 Peter 1 8 says, though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. This is what we've been longing for. I was reading something on Facebook yesterday. One of my Facebook friends had posted how she was looking forward to going to heaven. She's looking forward to being there. And then someone responded and said, well, I look forward to heaven too, but not that much. I have things that I want to do on earth. And I understand that by the way I do. I understand that.  No, I'm not saying that. Because I understand that. I understand that. I wanted to get married and Lord, I want you to come, but I want to get married. And I want to have children. Lord, I want you to come, but I'd like to have children. You know, those are mistakes. No, I'm just kidding. No, I understand that. I do it. I wouldn't want anybody to walk out thinking, oh, if I if I enjoy my life as God has given it to me, I must be carnal. No, I'm not saying that. What I am saying is this. Every believer needs to have a core or a center, something that they love, because that's what drives you in your life. And the desire to be with Jesus Christ is what has driven me in my life, even though he has been good to me, giving me my wife, giving me my children, giving me my grandchildren, giving me friends, giving me church family, giving me so many blessings. And I love all those things. Those all things I understand are things that came to me because of him. So I love him because he first loved me. And as he first loved me, I responded to him. And now I desire to see him. And I want to see him more every day that's passing by is a day closer to being with him. And so it's not as if you're you're carnal for not wanting to be right now with him. Sometimes that may be carnal a bit, but the motivator of my life is to be with Jesus Christ, to be with him and to see him and spend time with him and to finally look at him and actually fellowship with him that God will be with us. And that's something we see in Scripture. It's something that believers long for, like in Job 19, verses 26 and 27. After my skin is destroyed, this I know that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself. My eyes shall behold and not another. And he went on to say, how my heart yearns within me. In 1 John 3, verse 2, beloved, now we are children of God. It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. And so that's a promise. You have a promise that God will be with you. You will be his people. You will see him. God himself will be with them and be their God. This personal, intimate relationship. And then this beautiful verse, verse 4, and God will wipe away every tear from their eye. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying. For there shall be no more pain for the former things and passed away. That's one of the promises that I always joke up. I told myself, after first service, you'll be okay. You won't. You already kind of choked up. You'll be okay second. I lied once again. I get touched by that in heaven. No more pain. No more disappointment. No more hurts. No more sorrow. No more regrets. There'll be no more family pain. No more divorces. No more broken children. No more financial struggles. No more emotional hurts. No more sad memories. No more disappointments of any sort. No more illnesses. No more cancer. No more strokes. No more painful accidents. No more sad goodbyes and funerals. Never again. Never again. Never again. Sometimes the Lord has this kind of an interesting way that he works in my life. I read this verse and you'll see emotion coming out and some may think, well, he's not believing what he's saying because look at him choke up.  But you see, the closer you get to the Lord, the more you want to be with him. And the closer you get to the Lord, the more you're hurt for others who have pain and you see so much and you hear so much. Your heart is saddened a lot by a lot of the pain that you hear of just a couple days ago, six year old little boy driving with his mom and dad. He went to a Calvary Chapel six years old and something happened on the road and the person that an incident happened with got road rage and ended up a little boy six years old ended up dying. I just got word of that today just this morning, six years old. And I've got grandchildren around that age and your heart is touched. Today is the eighth anniversary of my mother's death today. So it touches me because she died in pain. She lived a life of pain. So the sorrow that I have when I think of these things will be swallowed up by the joy that this will never happen again. No more sickness, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more disappointments, no more brokenness, nothing is swallowed up and the joy of being with Jesus Christ. And though I have tears, I have hope. I have hope. And that's what drives us because someone once said the sources of sorrow will be cut off in the land where there is no sin. There's no death. There's no sorrow. There's no crying. There's no pain. There'll never be anything ever again to sorrow over. And Psalm 16 verse 11, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. And verse five, he says then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. He said to me, right, for these words are true and faithful. When he says, I make all things new, the word new speaks of new and character as well as being recently made. You see, there's been an incredible drastic change in the way things were. And it's so incredible that John is commanded to write. He says, look, you need to write this in. And notice verse five how he says, behold, that means I want to grab your attention. Listen to this. I make all things new. It's so incredible. He says, write these things down. And then he goes on in verse six. He said to me, it's done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. It's done. Alpha, Omega, beginning and end. Alpha, Omega, those are first and the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, Omega. And it was said that in the alphabet we're able to store and communicate everything we know. And to arrange the letters properly in order to spell out words, we can communicate our knowledge. And so Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is what has been called the Supreme Alphabet. Because within him are all the treasures of knowledge. In Colossians chapter two, verses two and three, my purpose is that they may be encouraged in a heart and united in love so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Jesus Christ contains all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. He says, I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. It's been said, heaven belongs to the thirsty. Heaven belongs to those who need a spiritual quenching. In Matthew five, six, it says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. And so I will give of the fountain of life. Notice verse seven, he who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God. He shall be my son. The one who overcomes is the one who has exercised saving faith in Christ. And the one who has exercised saving faith in Christ is the one who inherits all things. In first John five, four and five, everyone born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world. Even our faith, who is it that overcomes the world?  When you believed in Christ and came to faith in him, you are now an overcomer in him. Why? Because he overcame on our behalf and we are in him and through him we overcome. We are those who are going to be able to inherit these things that have been promised and prepared for us from the foundation of the world. God intended to give to us this place to be with him forever. And because of sin, sin has separated us from God. So God sent his son Christ in order to take upon himself our sin in order that we might be able to be forgiven, have a new life, pursue him and with his power live for him and then one day to be able to look upon him and say, thank you for what you've done for me.  That is something that should motivate us today. Melissa, he closes in this way verse eight, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars should have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which he says is the second death. Notice how he says cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral sorcerers. Cowardly because they would refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ. They refused. They were afraid to. They didn't want to be canceled. They didn't want to be rejected. They were afraid. They were cowardly. There are those who are Christian in a church service, who aren't Christian in a neighborhood, run a job site because they don't want to be looked at as being weird. But Jesus said, if you deny me before me, I will deny you before my father in heaven. We don't live as cowards. Listen, it doesn't really matter what the world has to say. Most of you know this, but some perhaps need to be reminded. It doesn't matter what the world has to say. What matters is what God says. And when God says welcome, it doesn't matter. I was speaking to someone in between service and I'll say this briefly, but in between service who was sharing, she wanted to let me know that they're going to be having a memorial service for her father. And she said, I want to tell you something. She said, we've been coming here for years. And she said, it's here that we heard of the gospel. We were taught about Jesus. She said, and so what happened is my father was ill and he began to live with us at my home. And she said, you would teach a Bible study and we would come home and we'd share it with my dad. She says, my father was very ill. She said he was very ill. He had had his legs amputated and all. She said, and we cared for him. And she says, we did it for a long time. And we finally were just talking to him. And every time we'd go to church, we'd come home and share the study with my father. She said, my father was not a man who had any faith in God at all. My father used to work the fields. He used to do the things that the world does, drink and all the rest. And he had no hope of heaven and no fear of God. She says, but we began to share with him. And over the last year of his life, he came to faith in Jesus Christ. And he started thinking about the fact that one day he's going to have legs and he's going to walk before the Lord. She said, and then he finally passed. He died. She said, and as he died, he was speaking, she said a language I've never heard before. He was just speaking. And she said, we prayed with him and spoke to him in the morning. We went and shared one last time and he closed his eyes and he went to heaven. She says, and we're blessed. She said, but my family's not happy with us because they think we brainwashed him. We think that we forced him to believe in something. And I said, you know, in the years that you cared for your father, I guarantee you that they didn't come and help it one time. Did they? I guarantee you that the only thing they have to say right now is what you did wrong when they never did anything right. I said, but the bottom line is this, your father's in heaven because you were faithful to give the gospel to your father. And that's what it's all about. See, that's, that's what it's all about. I don't care. I never did if my family didn't like it. I don't care if you like me or not, because I have somebody who does Jesus Christ and I will one day see him and I don't care if my neighbor did. I want him to like me, but if he doesn't, he doesn't. Who cares? You know, I got a God who loves me. I got a wife who loves me. I got children who put up with me. I'm okay because you got to know who you serve. You got to know where you're going and you've got to live for Jesus Christ because that demonstrates that you really do know him. That's how it is. And so when he's speaking concerning these things, he speaks of those who are cowardly, the characteristics of the person who will not acknowledge Jesus Christ and look at some of the things they do. He says they're unbelieving. They're abominable. They're murderers, sexually immoral. These are people who are having sex. They're living with someone. They're sexually immoral. They're not married. They just have sex. They're sorcerers. The word sorcerer I spoke to you already. It speaks of drug taking. Idolaters.  They're liars. And where do they go? I don't say this with joy. I don't. But they go to the lake of fire. That's where they go. No genuine Christian could be presently categorized by these sins. You may have been what you were, but that's not what you are now. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, Paul said it like this in verses 9 and 10. He said, do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?  He went on to say, and such were some of you. Such were, but you're not anymore. Why? Because if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. We are brand new in Jesus Christ. I might have been that, but I'm no longer that. Why? Because I've been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Those who reject Christ have eternal judgment awaiting them. He says they have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which he says is the second death. You don't have to go there. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for you not to. Perhaps we have some today who need to get right with God. We have many people watching us online right now representing many countries. Perhaps you're listening from one of those countries that the gospel is not freely preached in, because I know we have people listening to us in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia and different places right now. And perhaps you have never given your heart to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. You can do that today. You can open your heart to Christ and say, God be merciful to me. I am a sinner. And I will open my heart to you to receive what you have offered me for one day. I want to be with you. I want to see you face to face. That will be my hope and my desire. And because Jesus died for me, I just received the payment. He paid for me. I confess my sin. I turn for my ways and I ask you to make me new. And he does. He cleanses you. He washes you with his blood. Your new creation, old things are passed away. Like Paul says, behold, all things become new and your life is transformed as you walk in faith pursuing Jesus Christ. And then you will see him face to face. Our Father we ask that you would work within us even now. We ask that you by your powerful Holy Spirit that you would continue to do your work in us. Father, we as Christians will not pretend one thing and actually be another. We don't want to live a life that is hypocritical. We don't want to be actors pretending we're one thing when in fact we're something entirely different. So Lord, every one of us who are believers would ask that you would work within us and that this hope to see you and to be with you will become the overriding hope of our life to one day be with you. That you, our God, will give to us every reason to never sorrow again. We will be with you and at your right hand, even as your Psalmist said, our pleasure is forevermore. We look forward to that time to see you, to be with you, to be reunited with those whom we love, but to especially see you. And so now I ask Lord that you would just work in us as we heal to you as our eyes are closed. Perhaps there are some right now in this room or watching online. We need to get right with God and you know it and you need prayer and you need to be right with them and you sense that and you want to yield yourself.  Let me pray for you right where you're at right now. Just raise your hand if you want to get right with the Lord right now. Father, you see these hands going up throughout this place and in Jesus' name I ask that you would reach down and you would touch each person whose hand is raised and Lord that you would wash them and cleanse them and that from this moment on their life will turn around and follow you. I ask that you would fill them with your powerful Holy Spirit and that Lord that this hope to be with you will become the overriding hope of their life. Thank you for washing and cleansing and thank you for filling with your spirit and Lord I just pray that you would have your way in them as they yield to you and we give you praise now in your name. Thank you Lord. You can put your hands down and Father for the rest of us who know you, I pray that we would walk with you and for those who didn't open their hearts right now, who are still obstinate, I pray that you would open them to you. Their eyes would be opened that they would come to know you Lord so that they too might have a hope of heaven. So we give you praise for these things now in Jesus' name. Amen.


One of the distinguishing features of linear algebra as an advanced math course is that we're not only interested in finding a solution, but we're also interested in whether or not a solution exists. And this viewpoint is expressed in a certain joke which begins a mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer. We're staying in a hotel, but I won't tell that joke here. So let's suppose I have a matrix M and I want to find a right inverse of M. Well, first of all, let's see if we can set down and solve the equations necessary to find D. And since it's possible that this right inverse might not exist, let's see if we can identify any conditions that are required to be able to find that inverse. So if we want D to be a right inverse of M, we need to be able to multiply by D on the right. Since D is a 2 by 2 matrix, when we multiply it on the right, we'll get a product matrix with two rows. And since the identity matrix must be square, this means that what we have to get is the 2 by 2 identity matrix. And that means that the matrix we're multiplying D by has to have two columns. So what we have to do is we have to multiply D by a 2 by 2 matrix. And this has four entries, which we don't know, so we'll call them x1 through x4. Now, since we do know how to multiply two matrices, we'll multiply row by column to get each of the entries in the product. And if we compare the entries of the two matrices, we will get the system of equations. So if D is a right inverse, then its entries must satisfy a system of equations. So now we can row reduce the augmented coefficient matrix. And as long as our leading coefficients are not equal to zero, we'll be able to use back substitution. And so as long as AD minus BC is not equal to zero, we'll be able to use back substitution to find our values x1 through x4. And so our system will have a solution provided AD minus BC is not equal to zero.


This is too much. This is too much for me, man.  I'm gonna say it. I'm actually gonna say it. I'm gonna make this promise to you guys. Once I hit 700,000 subscribers, I'm gonna get an attack on Titan tattoo.  It's gonna be a nice, big one, like my... yeah. So there's my promise to y'all. What will it be? I don't know, but it's gonna be hot. Anyways, enough with the BS. This intro is way too long though.  Let's get to the video. I love how everybody knows him. They've never seen him, but they know him. They're like, that has to be Levi Ackerman. Because he ain't human. No one gives a f***. You're barely a Titan. You're like the smallest Titan I've seen. The animation. Have I mentioned how f***ing amazing it is lately? This is a straight war! This is music to my ears right now. Like, you need headphones to fully enjoy and appreciate this right now. The war, the shots, the canon blasts going on, everybody flying around. This just sounds glorious. I sound like I'm in a missed a battle right now. Like, I'm about to develop PTSD in a few years. They went off this season with the music, with the animation. Why does he look weird? Oh, s***! I thought he ate her already!  Get out of here.   She has a big-ass hammer. She ain't doing s*** with it. Oh, s***! Donkey Kong's coming! Dude, my joy is shaking. We're gonna get Levi versus... what's his name? Zeke? Part 2, aren't we? Nah, I don't wanna know this, man. His eyes are red! Oh, my God! This is so f***ing epic, bro. No, you ain't, Gabby.  We're gonna get Aaron versus Zeke for the first time in Titan form. Assault. Oh, you could assault me, Aaron. Episode 6-6, those are the devil numbers. I was wondering what happened to Reiner and Falco. I can't believe what I'm watching right now. This music is bone-chilling. Imagine waking up and seeing this. This is Falco's doing. Falco did all this. You should be ashamed of yourself, Falco. Nah, I'm joking. I love Falco. She's Christalot. Oh, my f***ing lord. I never heard this show use those types of horns. Wow. Oh, that's Kruga, all right? Yeah. That's right. Get his name right, boy! I figured. I figured they were fine. I feel so bad for Reiner. I think he's my favorite character, man. Man, Reiner needs a f***ing break.  I will stand by it. This was the second best scene of the show. Yeah. You don't know whose side to pick at this point in the show. It's so interesting. It's a mind-fuck. This is why this show is so f***ing good, man! That voice actor. Who was that? Who was that? It doesn't matter anymore. This is amazing. This is what I want from this show, man. They're going balls to the wall right now. Y'all better get your eyes on Ackerman. Get every Titan you know. Wake up the Titans in the walls. Eren, you gotta hurry up. You gotta eat her already. Eat her out. Come on. Yeah, that's what I said. She's crystallized like Annie. Eren, his voice is gonna be in my nightmares. He has this voice now that just gives you chills. Look at him! I love how he can just bounce back and forth between that now. That's how experienced he is. Bro, this ain't the same Eren from season 3. No, no, no. This is a whole different Eren. This is no emotion, soulless, experienced Eren.  I don't know. Look at this picture right now. Look at this. If you would have shown me this picture in season 1, I would have killed myself. His body is still behind and he just transforms like... I don't think we've seen that before. This is the best season. It's a war. We're getting a war with different sides and we don't know who to pick.  The rumbling... We need to get to the rumbling yet, the song, so that ain't happening yet. You ain't surviving that, brother. Yeah, y'all better protect Zeke from Akemen. Oh, he got the rocks again.    Why does Eren look weird then? Sometimes the animation is a little janky, man. Like, I don't know. Like, he just looks weird there. I can't put my finger on it. Yo, they're like, what did he just say? We're gonna get that fight now. I can't imagine what's gonna happen, man. Dude, I have chills right now. I love Magath. I love Falco. I love Gabby. Brown. Reiner. Why'd I call him Brown? I love all of them. This, I would have never thought this would be an attack on Titan. This is like a whole different show. Is that Historia?   No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. We're going back. We're going back. We're going back. I thought that was Historia. Seen him in a colossal Titan form. Yeah, fuck, blowjob.  Oh, my God, man.  You have another acumen to worry about. Uh-huh. I'm a, I'm a cump. Oh, that transition in the music.   Unless I see their body ripped apart. They are not dead. I've learned my lesson. No one's dead. This is too much for me, man.  The animation, the explosions, the music, the character development. Everything. There's people dying every left and right. Dead? Nah. I'm telling you, nobody dies in the show. Look at this destruction. It looks like hell. This is hell. Look at this. This is the city. Didn't I say I could have waited for this city to be destroyed? Whose arm is that? And you don't know who the- Armin is killing kids right now. Without even knowing he looks so sick in the colossal form.  It's like Armin had to sacrifice himself for the better of his people. It's like he lost his soul too. Look at him. Little innocent Armin. And he just killed all of these people. The families, the kids. Look at this. This is war. This John's character development is out of this world. I don't want Pic to die. Damn. I don't know who to cheer for right now, man. They're killing each other. People- This is worse than me deciding if I should break up with my ex or not. Oh, he's dead. I don't like him at all. Galliard. Billiards.  He's going to use the jaw- Titan's power to open the crystallization of the war hammer. Titan. It's like I feel bad, man. Even though they're up against our people. Man, Gabby. Wow. Like that right there is what gets you to question things. Like kids died. Look what's going on. Like no one wins in war. That's why they say no one wins. Does a helicopter come in?  Is there a spaceship? Oh wait, it's a plimp. Oh my god, I'm like- Did we just jump ten time periods? I wouldn't even be surprised if a dinosaur comes out of thin air right now. I mean it was one of the intros.  All right, all right. Y'all had me at birth fault. It took me like four seasons to get his name right. I'm never getting this dude's name right. Onion Capone? Or Al Capone? I have no idea. I think that's the first black character I saw in the show. Finally! After everything he just did, now he's in the blimp. It's like I'm starting to feel bad for every character. It's like nobody knows the real truth behind what's going on. That's why everyone's at war. No way. Because I- I told you there's another acumen you gotta worry about.  Look at that shot. He looks like the devil. This is annihilation at this point. This is annihilation. Eren's gonna have every titan inside of him.  What is going on right now? Yeah! Win one! That's how I feel.  I'm not okay right now. Eren is unstoppable. Gabby, your voice actor, if she's watching this, even if she's not watching this, legendary. That was a legendary performance right there. I'm gonna stop praying to Reiner at night before I go to bed. How much happened in this episode? Like, I completely forgot about Levi dying with Zeke. Levi had a grenade. Nah, he's fine. They're fine. If you don't see a body, if you don't see someone directly die, they're fine. I've learned that. I've learned my lesson in this anime.  Armin turned into the colossal titan for the first time. That scene with him in the back looking at the destruction that's happening.  Asking him, how'd you do this? Like, how? How, like, being this god, the god colossal titan. Like, how'd you do this? Deep moments like that. Taken down the jaw titan. Peak being destroyed. The war hammer is inside of Eren now. Eren had that when the silence and the music came, and his heart started beating like, shit's about to go down. Reiner waking up. Gabby and Falco screaming. Damn. So much happened this episode. So many amazing moments. Reiner telling them to stop. Like, stop calling his name. Because he wants us to be over, but he realizes he has to help. This isn't about him. This is about his people. It's about his children. Like, Gabby and Falco. Not his children. You know what I mean. Incredible. This show just increasingly gets better and better, and we're in the fourth season. Episode 66, and we're still getting better and better. It's out of this world. And don't get me started on the damn music. This episode, I don't know what they did. The colossal titan music, the battle music, everything was just next level. This season is something else, man. There's more going on. When the warship came, that the blimp came, with Hanji, I was like, yo, wait a minute, I forgot about some of these characters.  Like, so many big things happened. I can't wait for the next episode. Anyways, guys, what you think of this episode? Let me know down below. But other than that, I will see you all in the next video. Oh yeah, and if you want this video full, uncut, the full reaction, check out my Patreon.


Hi everyone, Sean with jaspyscasebrakes.com here doing 2019-2020 upper deck the cup hockey six box case break pick your team number 12 where all card ship incredible looking stuff we've had real good luck with this stuff recently so let's hope it continues here is our list of customers and their respective team from hose up in the ducks down to steve right and the jets going to print this list out and get ripping here is our case and our final list good luck Alex with last spot mojo and the devils jack Hughes rookies let's see i know ed i'm okay with that i don't like the kings so that makes me happy so here are our six boxes oh definitely robert yeah i see no man's definitely poly show greatest movie but like i just love it like we referenced the air up there and joe's like what is that that's okay ed this stuff is incredible don't need to know a lot about hockey to enjoy it uh live action probably the my second favorite sport to watch football number one but even in sometimes hockey is even more exciting because you know football it's one play rest reset one play rest reset hockey it's just go go go go go later carter heart 242 out of 249 for the flyers and ben smith vile hanola three-color patch auto 149 out of 249 rookie for the jets and steve right i don't martin sorry i do not you're talking about like box price nice three-color patch overshadow cody glass for the night's 48 out of 55 golden nights shawmatic oliver wallstrom i do take requests brian that way we can both celebrate and act like i did something for you teddy bluger rookie gold 28 out of 36 for the penguins danie geon saapolis um martin you can always check on well that was super easy ryan two-color patch auto 167 out of 245 oliver wallstrom come on make it make it harder on me ryan lind and the islanders that is one of the letters on the islanders part of it and quad relic carry price for the canadiens three out of 49 uh canadiens is danie geon saapolis it's a cool little patch on that actually see told you i take requests and then i take all the credit for randomly grabbing the case that has your head really i'm like this my third i'm like my own personal third or fourth favorite we are our own biggest critics right brett burns for the sharks 160 out of 249 san jose hosep i mean clearly jose everybody's first matt roye a little bit of two colors you can see a little bit of silver there 216 out of 249 for the kings alex volosakos absolutely absolutely jim we can do that leafs jersey gritsky yeah let's do it i think that's impossible though um thomas shabbat three-color patch auto 84 out of 99 for the senators christ kataloni no dobson maybe we'll see um so martin you can check on um right after this jake gunsell for the penguins day with the cup nice blue ink auto there pittsburgh penguins danie geon saapolis i love the day with the cut bottles so martin if you go to if they already have a price kind of idea for it you can go to um like cardboard connection they'll typically have like an msrp that's expected for it and one of one nfl or nhl shield ross miss osquand for the savers they're not doing very well but mike select nice rookie nhl shield there for you one of one it's so nice their struggles aren't his fault and ross miss sandin two out of 249 for the leafs and dimitri so typically martin they'll have a the checklist for products and like the sales sheets and expected pricing on boxes and stuff like that um and highlights they'll have that on cardboard connection typically like first uh out of most people right on it is a nice card we got jack eichel savers 192 out of 249 mike select rem pittlick rookie jersey and auto two color patch 24 out of 249 for the predators and steven kendrick somebody called this connor mcdavid scripted swatches silver ink auto six out of 35 for the oilers danie geonsopolis somebody said they were feeling mcdavid well you were right congrats danie look at the patch on this nhl collection 11 out of 35 nicoe stern that is such a cool patch ryan kason in the wild we're only halfway through hey it's my ducks cup quads 13 out of 40 uh 24 getzloff rakel fowler and gibson it's from my guys ducks hofsepp and nick sizuki 48 out of 249 to wrap it up for box number three canadiens danie geonsopolis yeah super nice patch i mean let's be honest hockey jerseys yeah quack quack all over quack quack i've got my duck call see there's there's louis a little quack quack there too um i still have my duck call they're awful this year but still the first california team to win a cup last one to come into the league first one to win a cup always have that i'm pretty sure because of buffalo's most recent struggles we are no longer last in the league i think we're second plus yeah they've been in production for like a year or so ryan i think carter heart for the flyers ben smith matt roye three-color patch auto rookie 116 out of 249 for the kings alex volasakos that's what i thought i thought it was coming out pretty soon jake gunsell three-color patch auto 21 out of 50 for the penguins we had the day with the cup earlier for him now you got a nice patch as well penguins danie geonsopolis adam boquist top 10 picks two out of eight hand numbered for the blackhawks danie geonsopolis danie is cleaning up it's a very nice one there roman yosi three out of eight another nice patch here for the predators steven kendrick and adam fox 131 out of 249 for the rangers danie geonsopolis there you go box number five watching some uh figure skating stock home 2021 anybody know if this is live or if this is recorded are we going to international like is this are these just teams or these like countries are we rooting for countries here yeah of course figure skating figure painting would be pretty cool too stock home sweden 2021 i'm guessing international world figure skating champions chips i'm not sure if this is a like a team thing or like a country thing matthew kitchuck 124 out of 249 for the flames hofsep oh we got another one for my ducks max jones three-color patch auto rookie 209 out of 249 hofsep again i don't remember that line in cutting edge what what uh why can't i remember the movie cutting edge ross with sandin for the leafs demetri over shadow autograph 16 out of 55 two-color patch and auto stevie iserman eight out of 25 why is there gold flake on this chin i'm not going to try to get that off but whoever this is for the detroit redwings mike tower nice auto all-time alum 83 2006 dude had a career that's my guy demetri timishoff rookie for the leafs 234 out of 249 demetri and emil bemstrom 211 out of 249 for the blue jackets and jared her to finish up box five box six last box last last case i did we finished off with a uh silver ink stick auto of Wayne Gretzky so let's see what the last box has in store for us this time trying to make three breaks in a row where we get a great one out of the great one they were figure figure skating to uh evanescence the the song nothing else matters hilarious yeah look up uh rex look up how long yarma yager played it's pretty funny man nathan mckinnon 91 out of 249 for the avalanche danie geonsopolis adam fox two-color patch auto 90 out of 249 rookie for the rangers danie geonsopolis another over shadow this one three-color patch auto tom wilson for the capitals nine out of 25 pulled his rookie auto yesterday washington capitals ryan kason of tom wilson kevin labanck brilliance little shadow box gold ink auto for the sharks and hopes up i don't think these are numbered oh we got a randomizer quinn hughes kale macar victor oliveson 17 out of 33 cup trios we've got canucks avalanche and sabers in on that one so we're going to randomize that at the end of the break uh canucks is shawmatic avalanche danie avalanche danie geonsopolis and sabers mike schlecht felipe mires for the flyers ben smith rookie masterpieces plate auto cyan printing plate from 2019 2020 the cup rookie auto patch is the plate felipe mires rookie auto printing plate ben smith and the flyers to finish it off and there you go guys very nice box or case this is well obviously the biggest highlight out of all of them but there was really nice stuff in there and to finish it off we have to do this uh randomizer yeah one of one on that printing plate auto so let's pop back over here let's type in the teams we've got vancouver colorado and buffalo vancouver colorado buffalo team on top after six and three nine times ninth and final time goes to the sabers and mike schlecht get a nice break there mike so buffalo sabers nine times on the dice nine times on the randomizer and this goes to a buffalo there you go and that wraps it up guys very nice break once again can't really ask for too much more than that there you go guys thank you very much that was 2019 2020 the upper deck upper deck the cup hockey six box case break pick your team 12 from jaspyscasebreaks.com i'm sean jaspyscasebreaks.com thanks for hanging out we'll see you next time


Good morning and welcome to today's session. We will continue with our discussion on the prophetic ministry. I want to request one person from the class to lead in prayer. This will most likely be our last prophetic session. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you under the name of Jesus. We thank you for this day. We thank you for this fast that we are about to have.  God, I pray that as pastor teaches the deep truths in the Bible. I pray that you help us to open our mind and heart and listen to it and understand it and put it into practice in our life so that we can be a blessing to others. What an amazing God you are. How amazing is your love to us is that you want to reveal the things to us, that you want to have a deep relationship with us. We honor you. We adore you, Jesus. We stand in all of you. I pray that you will give us good Wi-Fi connection throughout the session. Be with us and guide us in Jesus' name, my friend. Amen. Thank you, Jafina, for praying. Sorry, there was a disconnection, but then I'm back again. So we will get into our content for today. So, so far we've learned about the basics of the prophetic ministry and how to flow in the prophetic anointing. We've also learned about interpretation of dreams, visions, and today what we're going to do is we are just going to look at the other key aspects for us in the ministry when we minister in a congregational setting or when we minister in a group, when we minister together as a team, you know, how exactly do we go about things and so on and so forth. So now start off with chapter Yeah, 12 in our notes here, ministering prophetically. So this talks about how do you deliver? We said that interpretation is very key. But sometimes we have different settings and different audiences. So how exactly do we go about delivering the prophetic word is the question. So whatever we do, we've been saying that the prophetic word is to glorify God, it is to edify the people and that shouldn't change. So when we talk about the prophetic ministry, we said that there are different levels, you know, we could operate at the level of the ministry, the believer as a believer, the gift of prophecy, we could also be ministering at the level of the grace gift or the, what do you say, it's a ministry gift, the prophetic ministry, and then you have somebody in the prophetic office. So generally when it comes to somebody who's operating in the gifts at the level of a believer, we tend to share more with individuals and we've already learned, you know, how exactly to do it. But then when you come to the level of somebody who's in the prophetic ministry, there could be other opportunities that these people minister to larger numbers, they minister from a pulpit or a stage. So how exactly, you know, could you deliver that message to a large congregation or during a church service? These are things to think about. So when delivering a message to a congregation, if we are delivered to, if we are led to deliver a prophetic word, then we need to ask some questions. So maybe I am on the stage and I get this prophetic word. Now this word could be for one person or it could be for a set of people in the congregation or it could be for the entire congregation. So I must first check who the messages form. So within myself, you know, I pray and I try to assess, okay, who should I be delivering this message to, that the next question that I would need to ask myself is, when should they be told? So whoever is the audience, when should I tell them? Should I tell them right now during the service or is it okay for me to share, maybe post service sometime? So two questions, who, when and we could also ask, you know, this question as to how we must deliver this message. So in that, how a couple of things come in, you know, should it be done publicly, publicly in the sense, okay, maybe after the service is over, if there are a group of people and you share that message openly, will that offend the person or should you actually do it privately or, you know, take time with that person alone and say, I have something to tell you and you know, share that message. So publicly, privately and maybe sometimes there is a need to keep the leader in the loop. So if it's a simple prophetic word where you're saying something like God is saying that he's going to bless you, he has seen your prayers, maybe it's okay to just just make those statements to the person themselves, that should be fine. And we are saying something where the oversight of the leader is essential. It's good to keep the leader in loop. Now, the leader might also tell us that we can submit the message to them and they will share it with the concerned person. So it could work that way as well. Now, especially when it comes to a message for the church body, then we must seek the permission of the leader to share that word. So it's always good to just submit it to the leader and the leader might say, God is speaking to us at this time and he has a very pertinent message for us. So you know, leader or pastor, can you please go ahead and share this with the entire church family? So when we have the permission, it's okay to stand up at the pulpit and go ahead and share that message. But otherwise, we may not know when exactly the pastor chooses to tell the church family, but we give it to him. That's how we do it. Now, there are many times that we may have seen that during prophetic ministry, people are called out from the congregation. So generally, it would be by name or by pointing at someone or something. They may say that I see somebody, they are like this, this, this. When a person relates to what is being spoken, then they say, okay, that's me. And the prophetic word is delivered.  It's fine. It's fine to call people out because we know that the prophetic word is to edify the people. It is to exhort the people. So God can get their attention. God can strengthen them through these methods. And there are many ministries in which I've seen such things happen. And in fact, in some of the meetings, it was sort of unthinkable that even my name was called out and I was really like, oh, how does he know me? But it's amazing how God can actually work in this way. So it's a beautiful thing. But having said that, when we go to new congregations, it's always a different setting and culturally and in different ways, logistically, the way they have arranged themselves, the structure of that, the format of that meeting, it could all be very different from what we do. So we have to be very sensitive to how we go about doing this as far as possible, keep the leader in the loop and also while calling people out, we must make sure that the message which we are delivering will be uplifting. So if it's a corrective word, if it's a very personal word, it may not make sense to tell it out publicly, because it will bring more embarrassment for the person than encouragement. Now, even in the way we go about calling people out, right? We have to be sensitive. Now, maybe we get casual setup, but the people over there expect a certain kind of an honorable way in which the minister of God addresses them. So if we say something like, hey, you or something, when we address people like that, they may not like it. The word we are sharing is genuine. The way we are doing it is embarrassing the people. So it's all about being sensitive to the timing, to the culture, to the format of the meeting, the person over there and all. So don't embarrass people. Don't humiliate people by bringing things out that they may actually not like. Or unfortunately, in the prophetic ministry, there have been instances where false accusations have been spoken in public in the guise of prophetic ministry. But it's actually meant to put somebody down. It's actually meant to hurt them. So these are all things that happen and we want to stay away from that. So let's be careful in the congregational setting about these matters. Okay. Now, when it comes to delivering personal prophecy, I mentioned, we have to think this, if there's a message for a particular person, how should I do it? Should I do it in a group setting, call them out during the service or meet with them later on? So remember, we said that in a prophetic word, a lot of things get said, but then there are a lot of things which go unsaid. So while giving that word, we may not have all the background of the individual. So to apply the prophetic word, this individual might need the wisdom of God. We as a traveling minister will go say the word and we'll be gone. But that person has to work with that prophetic word, apply it and see if it's a genuine prophetic word, see the results of it. So what happens is, in these kind of scenarios, it's good to have the pastor involved or a leader involved because then the local pastor will be able to provide the future guidance that, let's say it's a young person and they have this prophetic word about their career, about their ministry. So we get the word and we go away. But the local pastor knows in a sense, they know, okay, what is this minister saying, which part of the prophecy relates to this, which part of the prophecy relates to that, okay, these are the kind of practical steps that the youth needs to take.  So they may make some wrong decisions of quitting their job and selling their things and they are deep into it, it's very difficult to reverse decisions like this, which is why for personal prophecy, involve the leader, engage the pastor, okay, and then you could actually, that would be the right way to do it. Sometimes these matters are very sensitive, I don't know whether I shared with your batch, but I remember once we had gone for a mission trip and we were praying for a particular lady and two of us were praying for this lady and it was very different, the kind of pictures that we saw, I personally, I saw a clock which had stopped. So the sense I had is like time is going by, but the clock has stopped, okay, so then I could understand that it's like a passage of time, but probably not a useful passage of time. So I didn't understand, I just didn't understand what it was. So the other person got some pictures, we were sharing it with this lady and turns out she's a new believer and she was also not very clear on the standards of the Bible as far as marriage is concerned and all. So long story short, she was living in with the person, she was not married to the person, she had no intention of changing that setting. So it was a really sticky situation because the prophetic word is revealing this about her and we had no idea, we got into delivering the message and then we realized, oh this is what it is. And so the moment we realized that the person wouldn't know how to use what we are talking about unless a pastor guides her. So we spoke to the pastor's wife and we just requested her to come and we said, ma'am could you please talk to her in a very sensitive way, thankfully the pastor's wife, very mature lady, she was like, okay, I understand. And in a very gentle, nice way she was just sharing it. Another good thing is once we came away, they can now guide the individual.  Let's see that ministry that pastor has built over years and whatever we do, whether as a prophet or whether as an apostle or a teacher, maybe we are invited as a teacher to go to that congregation and serve. We have to think, they have built a work, whatever I do should help the work continue, should strengthen the work which has been going on, not do anything which, you know, remotely insensitive to either the leader or the pastors. I think we have to really settle in our hearts and work towards it. So even in the prophetic ministry, that's how it works. Now coming to ministering to political leaders, now we have seen that prophecies were given to kings and people in authority and it made a difference in their lives. Today, does God use us to minister to people in authority, especially political leaders? We would say yes. If we look back at the life of apostle Paul, he was ministering, he was speaking, he was testifying, he was into kings and commanders and people in charge of great responsibilities in the nation, in the regions. So it hasn't stopped, it's not just an old testament thing but it happens even today and we know that men and women of God can give a word to political leaders. So when there's a word, how is it that we should deliver? That's the question we're asking. So a couple of things we must keep in mind is we must come from a place of sincerity. So while we share the prophetic word to everyone and we are okay with that, when we share with political leaders or somebody, let's say, they have great influence, they have a lot of money, human nature is such that you get tempted to maybe flatter the person because how can we flatter in prophecy? It can happen that we could say all the nice things. God is going to raise you up and God is going to give you a lot of treasures and God is going to give you favor with this one. So the tendency is when somebody who is influential, we could err on the side of flattery but we really need to check our hearts.  That's it. So the problem is people feel that if they do that then they may not have the favor of the leaders or let's say at point in time they need some help from the political they may not get it. Now we better make this person very very happy. So that is something that we must stay away from whether it's a political leader or influence. In the book of James, we read about this. We read, James says people are from different strata of society and he especially points out somebody poor, somebody rich in the same assembly gathering. He says if somebody is very rich with a lot of rings would you favor and would you neglect the poor? Don't do that. James, Apostle James talks about that. So in the same way because somebody is a person of influence giving them a better prophecy than somebody who is poor neglecting them because they don't look rich enough or famous enough. That's so sad if as Christians we do things like that. So that is something we have to be careful about. Then the next thing is do not compromise. Whatever God is really, again we may have a tendency what will they think, what will suppose let's say it's a corrective word, let's say it's there's a wisdom we can apply to the delivery of the word. It's important. It's coming from the Lord. You have to go ahead and release it appropriately. So don't compromise. Speak with wisdom that of course we have talked about it. We said that sometimes when we have to deliver some serious messages particularly, you know, God's judgment or correction, there's a way of putting it without offending a person. So obviously the message will offend them anyway but the presentation can be dealt with very smartly. So that is something to keep in mind. And the next thing is do not seek political favors and this is not just for political people but influential people in general. We must think that now that God is moving by his spirit in this area, I can use it to get rich or I can use it to at a piece of land or you know how people tend to think. So we need to avoid all these tendencies. Yeah, we'll move on to the next subject here. Any questions? Okay, any questions or if you've had any experiences in a conversation or something of receiving a word or speak? Yes, success? No, no, no, I'm okay. You're okay. I wanted to say something regarding the submission of the assignment. Okay, sure. Yeah, though I have not really been chance to do my assignments and I know today is the end of the day. Is it possible for me to submit it maybe because this is five, this is almost five a.m. Can I give me opportunity to submit it before nine o'clock this morning? Nine o'clock as in, I'm sorry, it's at the end of today for us, right, Indian time. So you still have time. You still have time. It's all right. Thank you. Yeah, sure. Thank you. All right, so we'll move on then. Can we come to the power of prophetic themes? How do these teams really help? We've seen how in the Book of Acts to the Church of Antioch, you had prophets come over and when they were ministering, when the team actually served there, they were able to strengthen the church. So it's nice to work for us somewhere. We might think that it's only about one person who is called into the ministry of a prophet and we may not have an idea that a group of leaders or a group of believers can actually minister the prophet together, but it's really help and can it be done? Yes, it can be done. It can be done in an orderly way. In first Corinthians 14, Paul gives instructions to use the gift, particularly that of prophecy in a proper manner. So he says things like let two or three prophets speak at the other's judge. Why? Because as a team, there are many people who are flowing in the same gift and so they can do it in such a way that there is greater accuracy. Now, he also says that if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent, for you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged. This is from verses 29, 31 of 1 Corinthians 14. So we see here that people can minister together and the order in which they can minister is ideally one by one. So based on, maybe everyone has revelation and everyone wants to speak, but Paul is saying you do it one by one. So we give everyone a chance. Now, what if there is a word which let's say others also have a witness for? That word can actually be built up further. So let's say one person says, you know, I see that God is using you mightily in your work and that's about it. That's the revelation they got. Another person also got the same area about the work of this individual and they add another line maybe and they say that, yes, God is going to use you and I see him opening doors for you in the UK. So what's happening? There's one word, but together as a team, it's sort of coming out in its fullness and what God wants to actually speak to that person. So we can work together as a team and that way it gets done even better. So some good things about ministering as a team would be, as I told us now, double confirmation. So if the messages are on the same lines, we get more confidence that yes, I'm hearing it correct. Remember, I shared about that experience with another teammate. So we both were talking about the same subject. So I remember another time when we were ministering again in one of our missions trips, this person, we just closed our eyes for a couple of seconds. And then, you know, I asked her, what do you see? She said, I see a waterfall and I think I saw a river.  Sometimes the description that God gives is through the picture of water or maybe even fire or wind, but in our case it was water. So we both knew, oh, God is talking about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So there's a double confirmation. So when we are flowing in the prophetic, the confidence or the assurance can be really strong when we have prophetic teams. So we must encourage prophetic teams, pieces of the puzzle. I shared how, you know, one person says one thing, another person says another thing, but it's like a jigsaw puzzle. You see that the picture is forming as each one releases the word which they are doing. So that's again a beautiful in which prophetic teams can flow. When we are in a group setting, somehow the stirring of the prophetic gift is, you could say, you know, it kind of stirs faster. If one person is flowing, you just find that others are also flowing just in the same way. So it's nice for us to create opportunities for groups of people to minister together. And that way, the flow will be better and the experience also, the prophetic experience will be better. So I'm not saying that it plays individual ministry with team ministry, but I'm saying if there is an opportunity for team ministry and you have people who understand the prophetic, why not? It's nice to have a team work together. The flow is better. Now checks and balances. So talking about this teams working together, I remember particularly post COVID, when our services were restarting here in Bangalore city, we did not have all our locations open because of the permissions and restrictions which were still on. So we could open our main location and in the main location also there were restrictions that only so many people can come and all that. But having said that, one good thing is pastors, instead of ministering at different locations, we could all go and gather. It's very difficult to have all the pastors together, right? But during those months, it was possible because we were still connecting with the central service and, you know, people are watching live stream. So nearly every Sunday, we did prophetic ministry as a team. So after the service, after the sermon, whoever's ministering would call us up and the pastors will flow, begin to flow. One person will say one thing and another person will say one thing. It was so beautiful to see how the spirit was actually flowing and how people were getting words and that's so nice. So even in a church, in a congregation as a pastoral team or a ministry team, if we develop people like this and then they begin to minister, that will be beautiful and it'll be a great blessing. Quite a few testimonies came out of those ministry times when, you know, people flowed in the gift of prophecy. So it's very useful. Texts and balances. This simply means that when people are flowing together, we can call found if something is wrong. As an individual, yes, I do my best to be accurate to provide a genuine prophetic word. But if something goes wrong, as another person who understands the prophetic gift, they can correct me or they can. It's not really like a correction, correction, but at least help me get back on track. So let's say, save that water interpretation that I shared. So I'm seeing water and the other person is seeing a waterfall. Maybe I think it is only what is God talking about? God is talking about direction in life because there's a river flowing. But when that other person also gets a waterfall, then as I'm interpreting it, I also think about it. Oh, okay, God is saying the same thing. He's talking about the same matter. So what can the interpretation be? So it really helps us align to the right interpretation and the right delivery. So that way it's very helpful. And also, we can be mutually accountable, right? We can be mutually accountable to one another and it really causes the development of the prophetic gift in us. So prophetic teams, there's something known as corporate covering in our notes here. But that simply means that it's like a safe umbrella of protection over a group of people when it comes to the operation of the gifts of the spirit. So what does it mean? It means that the whole group, the whole group, they are trained in the basics and other doctrines and the methods as to how one should flow in the prophetic gift. So if, let's say, one of us goes off, we are in error in the message or if the source of what is being prophesied is a deceiving spirit and not necessarily what God wants, the whole team is there to kind of correct those issues and help as God really wants it. So it helps, it's very protective for us to minister in teams and have this sort of a corporate covering. And also the development of the gifts will happen better because there's also opportunity to make our mistakes, to learn from our mistakes so on and so forth. So it's a safe environment that way as well and people will grow. Yeah, so we must encourage these prophetic teams. So where can we have these prophetic teams? We can have prophetic player teams. One church that I used to go to, this was while I was studying and I was not in Bangalore, another city, that church, they had a prophetic prayer team, it was something different that they were doing actually. So they had some people on the prayer team and they usually had seats somewhere in the front, they would keep a notebook with them and due to service, they would sketch images that they're getting but all in the context of prayer, not so much delivering a message but what the Lord is saying to the church, what the Lord is saying to the people. So more about, they'll receive the message, they'll write it if it's a scripture or this or whatever it is and then they'll just be praying for the service as the service is taking place. So that was the unique concept I've never seen, things like that. But yeah, prophetic prayer team that manner or it could simply be a set of people who are praying for the church, they're praying for the city, they're praying for the nation and whatever we discussed about prophetic prayer, remember? We hear from God and we pray that through, that is prophetic prayer. So they're not just praying, okay, everything in scripture is good, so we'll pray, no. But they are listening to God, the now message and they are praying that through, they see a powerful manifestation of the power of God.  You have a word for somebody and you're asking the Lord, Lord, give me a word and help me to speak that word to a person. So evangelism, when we share that word, the person is awakened. I remember this one testimony of a friend of mine at the workplace where he was talking to his colleague and he did not have any idea about what that colleague is actually going through in their personal life, but maybe something like, I don't remember the exact setting, but like a coffee break or some such time. While talking to his colleague, he just said, I feel like God is saying, be fruitful and multiply, okay? I know it sounds so weird that you tell your colleague be fruitful and multiply, but he did it. He just was like, is it okay? Can I tell you? And then he said it, but it turns out this colleague of his was, he and his wife did not have children and they really were praying for children or wanting children. They were not believers. They wanted children, but once this word was released, you know, things started moving fast and that person, their family, actually had a child. So you see how God ministers, it would just be one word, but what does it do? It turns the hearts of the people towards God.  So prophetic evangelism themes and we try to do this even here when we go out for out-reaches, if you have a word or if there is a dream that person has had, you try to interpret it. So the point is that we want to draw them to God through what we are doing. So that is one way to use this gift, a prophetic worship themes. This I'm sure you all understand.  You can have people painting, you can have people sketching prophetic words, you can have answers, you can have drama, skit. So expressions, all kinds of expressions. We can have creative teams and there's a real thrust for this in our current day scenario as well. It's happening right now and people are understanding the worth of such expressions. So that can happen. Prophetic marketplace teams. So this is when teams get together and they are willing to be led by God and God gives them a word in their area of work, let's say, entertainment or education, politics, business, how wonderful it would be and it is happening to some extent. I don't know of groups that pray and ask God and they really want to bless their line of work. So that is a sort of a team and then prophetic city transformation teams. So city transformation team is also now very strategic. They hear from God, they pray things through and they come up with ideas or strategies which are going to impact a region for God. I don't know how many of us know of major programs that have been done for cities and states. I'm not saying this one particular program was profited but you've heard of that thing. I'm not getting the word right now. Build, no, no, what is that? Do you know there's this campaign which they run in the city with books and everything, books and banners, experience changed. Yeah, so a name like that, experience change or I don't know the words but the title is like that. So what they did in that particular campaign is that they found testimonies of people who believe in Jesus and they made banners of those people. So they put it all over the city. Even on buses, on bus stands, everywhere you look there would be banners that would say okay there is a change, this person has gone through a change and there would be a phone number over there. So you need to call up that phone number and when you call up that phone number they would ask you that okay what do you want because in the banner there's also the advertisement for a book like there is a free book if you want to take it. So generally people would call and they would say we want this free book and at the back end you had a lot of churches come together and they were the ones who were taking these calls and mobilizing their people to go and deliver the books. So that was a really nice campaign because the campaign ran for about a month or so but it was very intense. All the churches of the city were a part of it and you know different ones of us even here at our church, we all went as volunteers, we went to people's homes, we would just get the addresses of those who have called up, get together in twos. Of course the area we would pick like okay give me some addresses in this area but still it was very unknown, we would just take the bus and go. You don't even know who that person is, we would just go and we would say you had requested for a book so we are giving you the book and that book had the testimonies like proper testimony of how people encountered Jesus, how their lives were transformed and why they believe in Jesus and towards the end the gospel was in that book. So it was very simple we would just give them the book and come off but if they still want to keep in touch and come to church so that was a way in which we could connect with the new people in the city. So you know things like this God can give us strategies I mean I never thought somebody could run a campaign in the city of this magnitude so I'm just giving you you know one example but city transformation so many things can be done which can impact the city in different ways. So these ideas come from God, when God is speaking we can take it and we can also go ahead and apply it and see the changes. So fine class we will stop with this and we will come back after a break. My sincere apologies for all the technical issues that we've had today but I hope you know it hasn't hindered the learning. So okay let's stop for now we'll be back in 10 minutes and continue. Thank you.