The Economy Of God - Dr David Antwi

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[0:38] Hallelujah. The just shall live. The just shall live. How shall the just live? By the grace.

[0:50] Who is the just? You are. Praise God. So that means you are supposed to live or you live by faith. Now, when they say you live by something, that tells you that thing is so vital and essential.

[1:08] If the just shall live by faith, if the just shall live by faith, it starts to imply that faith is so crucial and essential for sustained life in God.

[1:26] Who is the just? When we say somebody is just, I know it's you. By someone who is justified. Who has experienced justification.

[1:38] Who is justified. Who is justified. So, when Bible says that the just shall live by faith, the Bible is talking about those who have been justified will thrive, will do well, will move on, will progress by faith.

[1:55] And so, that is what, watch this, that is what makes the subject of faith a very essential topic to be tackled and to be steadied and to be taught and to be grasped.

[2:11] Because once you grasp it, that means that your living will be very effective. If you don't get it properly, your living will really, really be questionable. And it can affect how well you live.

[2:23] Let's go to Romans chapter 1 verse 17. Thank you, Jesus. Romans chapter 1 verse 16 says that, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

[2:44] For the Jew first and also for the Greek. Verse 17. Shall we all read the verse 17 together? Let's go. Let's read it out loud. Let's go.

[2:55] For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. Remember, I spoke to you about God's economy.

[3:11] What is God's economy? Sorry? The administration of God's plan.

[3:22] Thank you. What is God's economy? Grandma, say that again. The substance of evidence.

[3:36] Wow, that's great. Now, what's, thank you, Grandma. What is God's economy? God's economy is God's plan, program to work himself into you and I.

[3:54] Okay, that is God's economy. His plan to work himself, not only his spiritual self.

[4:04] In other words, when God works himself into you, it will be noticeable. People will see it. So, the manifestation of God in man. There was a time the apostles went to preach somewhere.

[4:17] And then, the people said, the people saw, when they saw what was happening, they said, The gods have come down to us in human flesh. In human form.

[4:27] Because they saw something unusual, which is not ordinary human. Now, divinity is going to find expression in your humanity. Right?

[4:38] So, God's plan, God's purpose, God's program of working himself into you and manifesting himself through you is what we call God's economy.

[4:51] God's household plan. The dispensation, as I said the other day, which has always, the Greek word translated is oikonomia. Oikonomia. So, economy. Oikonomia.

[5:01] God's economy. How God has planned and is working himself into human beings or into all of us as a corporate body, which is called the church. Now, watch this.

[5:14] The explanation, the message about God working himself into humanity is what is called the gospel.

[5:28] So, the gospel is essentially about an explanation of God's economy.

[5:42] Does that make sense? So, God's economy or God's plan of working himself into you is not based on how good you are, but it's based on how good the work Christ did on the cross is. Right?

[5:52] So, that is why the gospel is just good news. Because it's just good for anybody. Doesn't matter where you stand. It's just good. Alright? So, the gospel is not just come to Jesus, he will save you.

[6:04] It's about come to Jesus, he will save you. And after he saves you, God is working himself through you. Manifesting. And so, Bible says that I am not ashamed of this message, the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

[6:15] Now, watch this. Watch this. Don't. Verse 17 says that for in it. Put it on the screen. Romans 1 of 17. For in it. It's talking about in the gospel.

[6:27] In this message of God's economy, in it, the righteous. Oh, say righteousness. Say righteousness. Righteousness. Righteousness is an interesting word.

[6:40] Righteousness is right standing with God. Okay, what is righteousness? What is righteousness? Right standing with God. So, what does that mean to have right standing with God? How do you stand with this guy?

[6:51] How do you stand with him? You know, sometimes friends fight and argue and somebody will ask you. Yeah, is Katie your friend? How do you stand with her? Since you can understand. So, your relationship.

[7:03] How is the relationship? So, when we talk about right standing with God, that means that you are in a position with God and things are okay. Right? That's what right standing with God means. Now, so when, you see, many people, most of the time, people confuse the righteousness of God and human righteousness.

[7:23] So, watch this. Here it says the righteousness of God. But God doesn't need to be righteous with himself. Think about it.

[7:34] Does God, do I have to, like, make men's with myself so that I don't acquire with myself? Do you understand? So, I have to be in good standing with myself.

[7:46] No, I have to be in good standing with my wife, with my friends, with people. But, so the righteousness of God was given to us so that we will, that's why Jesus Christ died, so that the righteousness of God comes to us.

[7:58] So, that we, that is why, I'm trying to make a point. The point here is that God doesn't accept you based on your right behavior. Okay?

[8:09] He accepts you based on his righteousness. That's part of God's economy. That's why it's good news. Because, other than that, your right behavior will really let you down.

[8:21] I know some of us, we have always been right, behaving very right. Even after you got born again, you've been behaving very, very, very, very extremely right. You see, so if it was based on your right behavior, you really don't have a chance.

[8:34] Okay? So, he says that in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. That means that what I, what makes us stand right with God, that's one aspect of the righteousness.

[8:48] So, listen, it's not about your works. When we talk about righteousness of God, it's not about how well you are doing or how much you are trying. It's not based on that. Righteousness of God is just based on God's own plan and what he's doing.

[9:00] He just did everything before he came and he's putting it on you. Okay? So, it's like you go and buy a dress or you go and buy a coat from the shop and it fits you so well.

[9:10] You can't go and say that my tailor is good. You don't even know the tailor who did it. Or you can't say I did it myself. You just want it so and so on. You went and bought it and then he put you on. So, you didn't have to contribute anything. In the same way, the righteousness of God, he just gives it to you.

[9:23] It's good news. But it doesn't happen until you are approached by faith. So, your currency to purchase or to secure, not purchase, but to secure the righteousness of God is faith. So, it says in the gospel, in the message, watch this, in the message about how God is working himself into man, in that good news, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

[9:46] Okay? Now, as I explained, the righteousness of God is how God gives you his righteousness so that when he sees you, he sees you just like himself.

[9:58] Because you have his righteousness. No, he didn't get it. Some of you don't want to believe it. Because some of us, the devil has bullied us to believe so much that we are not good enough.

[10:10] So, this is what pastor is saying, only if he knew who I really am. He wouldn't be saying, oh, this is because of me. There's no way. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed.

[10:27] Not your righteousness. No, that's one. And then the righteousness of God is given to us. He's right standing. So, he gives it to us. So, we stand right with him. That's one. And then secondly, the manifestation of what he actually can do in your life.

[10:41] I'm talking about the righteousness of God. What he's doing. Okay. The manifestation of what God can do in your life. Who he is. When he shows up. He's right.

[10:51] So, you see God at work. Righteousness. God's righteousness. So, he says that in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. And so, it starts from faith.

[11:03] It continues in faith. So, he says, I am not ashamed. But the only way you can see God really fully at work in your life, It's based on faith. I'll explain it.

[11:14] We'll go further. So, it's revealed from faith to faith. Then he goes on to say, the just shall live by faith. So, the just shall see God at work in his life. Based on faith you bring on the table.

[11:27] It's not based on who is praying for you. It's not based on how many Bible quotations you know. If the Bible quotations you know are not gendering or staring faith.

[11:42] My brother, nothing is going to happen of God. You can read all the books in the world. If your faith hasn't. Because the Bible says that we stand by faith.

[11:56] Right. First, second Corinthians chapter one verse 24. It says that for ye stand by faith. The only way you can stand right with God is by faith. Right. Second Corinthians chapter one verse 24.

[12:07] We stand by faith. It says we are not lords over your faith. But we are helpers of your faith. For ye stand by faith. Hallelujah. Not that we have dominion over your faith. But our fellow workers for your joy.

[12:21] For by faith you stand. Say, I stand by faith. I stand by faith. So when you see a Christian falling. Not only falling into sin.

[12:33] But falling out of favor. Falling out of destiny. Falling out of place. Is because faith has been compromised. Because we stand by faith.

[12:48] Don't check anything. Check your faith. Faithometer. Faithometer. The measure of your faith is what determines the firmness of your stand.

[13:05] That's why we can never be tired of teaching faith to boost the faith of people so they can stand well. Say they just shall live by faith.

[13:18] So in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Isn't it interesting how the scriptures make us understand in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.

[13:33] The last verse in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is very interesting. Let's have a look at it and then we proceed from there. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.

[13:45] For he made him that God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us. That what? We might become the righteousness of God.

[13:57] That what? We might become the righteousness of God. So then we end up. God puts our sins on Christ. Okay. So that we might become God's righteousness.

[14:11] We might become God's righteousness. Remember the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Hallelujah.

[14:24] Think about it. I was telling you about Hebrews. How Christ came to do all these things for us. Okay. Why did Christ come to die? To bring many sons to glory.

[14:36] To save us from our sins. To make us be able to have the righteousness of God. From Hebrews. You remember I was telling you about how the blood of bulls couldn't help us. But Christ came to die so that we can come into God.

[14:48] We will be justified. He who is the sanctifier sanctifies us. All these things are predicated on his death. And remember I told you that what they are. What the Old Testament folks enjoyed.

[15:01] What the Old Testament folks. Can you imagine one man without anything can take only a jawbone of an ass to kill thousands of soldiers. One man. Something.

[15:13] One man can just stand before a huge sea. Without submarine. Without boat. Without any technology. And lift up a rod. And they see parts.

[15:24] Red sea. And then he say everybody let's walk through it. One man. Say one man. One man. A young boy can take a sling. And kill a giant.

[15:36] And kill a giant. He didn't have sword or anything. Just run to it. And kill him. Golad died. Straightforward. Three guys were put in heated fire. To the extent that the people who put them in the fire got burnt.

[15:49] And they were not to put in the fire. They went to the fire. Nothing happened to them. It was like air condition. They were taking a stroll.

[16:00] These guys are amazing. They are amazing. The miracles. The testimonies. Joshua. The walls of Jericho fell down. Oh. These guys are amazing. Say they are amazing.

[16:11] By faith. Sarah was 19 years old. And she could get pregnant. And give birth to a child. Watch this. So no one should. You don't have to accept that. I'm now 40. So. I'm now 50.

[16:23] So. And so on. If you are meant to have a child. If you are supposed to have a child. And you want it. Don't worry. There's nothing like biological clock ticking against you. The devil is a liar. If Sarah had.

[16:34] Do you know why I'm saying this? If Sarah had faith. If Sarah had chance. Had a chance. Then you. If Abraham had a chance.

[16:46] Then you don't have a problem. The future is actually your own. Okay. Watch this. And so. What the writer of Hebrews was doing is. He takes.

[16:57] Everything that was happening in the old time. Which was so fantastic. Phenomenal and beautiful. He takes it. Compares it to what Christ is doing. And. You know. About the scripture we read for the communion.

[17:08] What did he read? Christ. Blood speaks. Better things. Say better. Better things. In the book of Hebrews. Chapter 7. Verse 7. It says that. The one who is lesser. Is blessed by the greater.

[17:19] That word greater. The Greek word translated greater. Is better. Now. When you study. When you read a book of. Watch this. I'm going to say something very important. When you read a book of Hebrews. Very carefully. There are several places.

[17:31] Actually. 13 times. The word better. Was used. Spoke about better things. He spoke about. We have better covenant. He spoke about. Christ is better. Better high priest. Better sacrifices. So.

[17:41] He was comparing. All that was done. In the Old Testament. Which looks. Good. Wow. You look at it. And it's. Wow. And he says that. You know what. What we have here.

[17:52] Is better. Than all of that. Now. Watch this. Wait. Wait. So. So. On what grounds is it better? Why am I not experiencing it? And Christ came to die.

[18:03] God put our sins. On Christ. So that. We. We become. The righteousness of Christ. Of God. In Christ. So all that Christ came to do.

[18:16] We. He did these things. For us. To manifest it. Now. So. Then why am I not experiencing. The righteousness of God. He said the righteousness of God. Is revealed from. Faith.

[18:28] So then. For things. For you to. And enjoy. The better things. You. Your faith is required. Because that is the only way. You are able to. Experience the righteousness of God.

[18:39] Romans chapter 1. Verse 17. For in it. The righteousness of God. Is revealed. From. In other words. The better things of God. Yes. Okay.

[18:50] Yes. The better things of God. So. Don't say something. When you say. Nothing is happening to me really. I've been going to church. I'm going to church. This thing ain't working. No.

[19:00] Check your faith. Check your faith. No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because. The only way this thing can work. And reveal. The only way this righteousness gets revealed.

[19:13] Is. From faith. To faith. Somebody shout faith. Faith. Shout faith. Faith.

[19:24] So. The. The. Hebrews. Focus. So much. On. Comparing. That.

[19:36] Some of us grew up. You know a lot of Bible stories. Daniel in the lion in a den. I'm Daniel in the lion in a den. You know the stories.

[19:51] How Daniel was in the lion's den. And lions could not eat him up. And lion became his pillow. You know the story about how Joseph. Was sold into slavery. Was sold by his brothers.

[20:02] Betrayed. And so they expected him to be killed. And die. And yet Joseph was in prison. And ended up becoming. The prime minister of the most powerful nation. Of the. Of the.

[20:12] Then known. Times. Joseph. No. Is it beautiful. How the king gave an instruction. And commandment. That every child that is born. Should be executed. And yet.

[20:23] Moses was born within that same time. And he ended up being raised by the king. Who wanted to kill him. Is it good. No. Hebrews is saying that. There are better things.

[20:35] For us. Okay. Let me show you something. You know. This whole. This whole thing is Hebrews chapter 11. Verse. One. And Hebrews chapter 11. It's interesting that.

[20:45] The story. Watch this. This is. This is interesting. There's no way in scripture. You see the old testament. New testament. Being compared. As much as you see it in Hebrews. Hebrews. So up to now.

[20:58] Scholars are not. Scholars. Up to now. 1,700. And more. A bit more. Years of the Bible. Scholars have not been able to. Tell who wrote Hebrews.

[21:11] Hebrews is the only book in the Bible. Which has. The disputed. Disputed. Artorship. Because all the other epistles say that. Paul. An apostle. Peter.

[21:22] But Hebrews. He wrote. Just today. Hebrews. And even look at the way it starts. He said. Hebrews start by. God. Who spoke to the prophets. In time past. Has spoken to us.

[21:33] In these days. By his son. So he started by. The prophet. And Jesus. Then he began to compare. How Jesus is better than angels. He says. Jesus is better than. Jesus is way. God's way of being with us.

[21:43] Through Jesus. Is better than how God. Was even dealing. In the past. So he compared that. The angels. Moses. The biggest figure. In the old testament. Jesus is better than that. So. So. Hebrews was.

[21:53] Comparing. Hebrews was just trying to. Let us wake up. To realize. The enormity. Of the glory. In which we have been brought. Now watch this.

[22:04] And in some way. After talking about. All that Christ has done. And how this is better. Is better. Chapter 11. Begins to say. Before he ends. Chapter 10.

[22:15] He says that. You have to live by faith. Remember. Look at this. This same thing. Appears there again. The righteousness of God. Is revealed from faith to faith. Why? For the just shall live by faith.

[22:25] Now. Then after saying all this. He says that. The just shall live. Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 38. The just shall live by faith. And if you backslide. If you don't live by faith. My soul will not have pleasure in you.

[22:36] And he said. We are not like them. That draw back. Then he goes to. Chapter 11. Verse 1. Now. Now. Let this. My soul. Faith. And so. He spoke about.

[22:47] How better. The new covenant. Is to the old covenant. The sacrifices. Better than the previous sacrifices. The. The. The. The covenants. Better than.

[22:58] And even spoke about. The promises of. We have. Better than the old promises. Spoke everything. Then he says that. Now. You have to enter this thing. Enjoy this thing. By faith. Because. The just shall live by faith.

[23:09] As he said. The righteousness of God. Is only revealed. By faith. So all these things. That have been. Have been accrued. Has been attained. Have been achieved. For us.

[23:20] Can never be materialized. Or realized. Outside of faith. Alright. Then he says that. So now. Faith. So. It's strange.

[23:31] I mean. The scriptures. That is the only verse. The only chapter in the bible. It talks. All. All he says. It talks about. Is just faith. So it starts. Hebrews chapter 11.

[23:42] Verse 1. Now. Say now. Now. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday. This whole thing. Is a God. Now God thing. So now. Faith is the substance. Because we have been calling to hope.

[23:54] Of things hoped for. It's the evidence. Give me a proof. Give me a proof. That you. You. You. You. You. You have the money. Give me a proof.

[24:06] When you go. And you are going to get something. They said that. Okay. What do you work? Where do you. Do you work? You say. Yeah. I work. Okay. We want to. We can't let you have this building on. Sell the whatever. We have to see.

[24:17] That you work. What are you. How are you going to prove that you work? Payslips. What statement? Payslips. Bank statement. Even if you don't have bank statement. The pay slip is so important. But.

[24:28] The pay slip. Does it. Does it. When they say. Did they see money. That. Cash. It's not cash. But it's an evidence. So if you show your pay slip. It will be very. Childish.

[24:39] And stupid. To argue with you. That you don't work. Now you say. That is the evidence. That you work. Now you say. Faith. It's the evidence. Of things. Not seen. Think about that.

[24:50] Now. Don't forget. It's a substance. Substance. Substance. In December. The theme for our faith seminar. Is going to be. Fide Fiva. Which is.

[25:00] Action faith. Okay. I'm going to throw a bit more light. On the substance. The actual word translated substance. Opustasis. Is. Substantiation. Of the substance.

[25:10] But I don't want to go there now. Other than that. But. Because it's not. It's not just substance. It's an action. Substantiating. So you are substantiating. Something in your head.

[25:22] We'll go there. Action faith. Action faith. It's an action. It's a verb. It's a verb. Faith is not like. But faith. It's a verb. It's an action. Somebody say action faith. So.

[25:34] But watch this. I don't want you to miss this. And then. It comes to. Hebrews said. Faith. So. Let's talk about this whole thing. Of subject of faith. Faith. It defines faith. Faith.

[25:44] Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence. Of things. Watch this. Of things what? Of those. Think about it. The evidence. Of things not seen.

[25:56] That not seen. That means not actualized. It hasn't. But you have the evidence. So then. Before I move on any further. I want you to note. And remember. That.

[26:07] You cannot be disappointed. When you have faith. Faith. Because. When you have faith. You. You behave. Like. The way you behave.

[26:17] When the thing is already around. So if whether it comes or not. You know it's there. Oh Lord help me. Say Lord help him. Oh Lord help me.

[26:27] Thank you Jesus. So he talks about. I'll come back to. The evidence of things not seen. Okay. Then the verse two. So that's the difference. Faith. Then the verse two. Says that by it.

[26:41] By faith. For by it. Because by it. The elders. Who are these elders? Those guys. All those guys. Who did some amazing things in God. Who did some amazing things in God.

[26:52] Even though Christ hadn't come yet. All those guys. Obtained a good testimony. By faith. So. Have you heard. About anybody's testimony. In the Bible.

[27:03] If you heard. He said that. They get it by faith. Yes. Yes. How did David call Goliath. Hey. By faith. Hey. You know what happened. One day Joshua.

[27:13] He left all the people. Into the promised land. Promised land. Moses couldn't even take them. But Joshua took them to. How did he do it? By faith. Hmm. There was a woman called Rahab. Rahab.

[27:24] She was a prostitute. She was far away. She wasn't even a member of the. Israeli community. Or Jewish community. But. She ended up becoming the. Great grandmother. Of Jesus. How did she do it? By faith.

[27:35] So. When you hear the testimony of these guys. He says that by it. That's how they got their testimony. You want their testimony? So why don't you apply your faith? Because when you apply.

[27:45] When you apply your faith. You have a better stand. That's what some of us don't believe. You have a better stand now. That's where we're going.

[27:56] So then he said by it. The oldest obtained a good report. Save the elders. Pastor Charles. I said. When I was doing. Studying this text myself. I found something interesting. That he says that by faith.

[28:09] Faith now. So. Faith is. The certain thing. I really don't see that. Then he goes on. He said. For by it the elders obtain. A good report. A good report. Then the verse three. He said by it. So. Watch it.

[28:19] Verse two. He said. By it who? Verse two. Verse two. By it who? By it who? By it who? Then the verse three. By faith who? We. Shh.

[28:29] By faith who? We. We. We. He spoke about elders and we. So you are also in the picture. Now they obtained a good report.

[28:43] We understand. By faith. So I realized that. He didn't just say the elders. He said you too. Your position here. Is you. You can grasp and understand. Get some things.

[28:54] Now the understanding of the world being framed by the word of God. Is not like. Okay. I believe that. We didn't appear by evolution. God created. It's not just that. It's not just that. He said. So he threw a little bit more light on this.

[29:07] He said. So that. The things. So that the things which. Are seen. The things which are what? Think about it. The things which are seen.

[29:19] Faith. Is the evidence. Of things. Not seen. Now. That's where he's taking us. See. He's talking. The elders and their good report. That one. Okay. Good.

[29:29] Good. But we. What. We understand. That. The things which. Are seen. Okay. Okay. Were not made. Of things. Which are visible.

[29:42] Because faith. Is the evidence. Of things. Which are not seen. So before. Before they showed up. They were there somewhere.

[29:53] It's true. That's why we reach out into the future. Your future is good. But you have to cash in on it. And start living. Oh. Live on your future.

[30:04] From today. By faith. Based on what you see. From God's word. Watch this. Watch this. The key word. By faith. We understand. That the wells. Were framed.

[30:15] By the word of God. By what? The word of God. So. Watch this. Don't miss this again. We understand. What the word.

[30:26] Does. Hmm. Hmm. Okay. You didn't get it. You didn't get it. So. So. So. When it comes to the elders. Because it's history. Okay. Because it's history.

[30:38] We live in the now. Because God is the God of the now. Yes. Not a God of the dead. He's the God of the living. Okay. So because we live in the now. He just told us. History of faith. But we.

[30:49] For us to live in the now. We got to understand. What the word of God. Does. Yes. So by faith. We. Once you come into the picture. It's your way. It's based on what you think of the God's word.

[31:01] It's based on your stand and your relationship. Not their Bible. What God is saying. What God is saying.

[31:15] Is what defines. How you grasp what God is saying. Is what defines your placement. In the economy of God. Yes. Or.

[31:26] Your placement. In. In. The programming of God. Or. It defines your placement. Or your speed. In what God has secured for you.

[31:38] Say faith. Faith. So by faith. We understand that. You remember. When I spoke. How do you. How do you get a hope. When I spoke about hope. Substance of things hopeful.

[31:50] Faith being substance of things hopeful. We have hope. But. You shop your hope. In God's word. Okay. So you go to God's word. And you know that. By faith as well.

[32:00] You are. Because it says. It's revealed from faith to faith. You. So you. Approach God's word. With faith. All right. You approach God's word. With faith. Read the word of God. With faith. That faith.

[32:11] Helps you to understand. That what. God is saying. Is going to do. You don't have to see it. Before you know it to be. You know it's already there. So as soon as you see that.

[32:22] You begin to live like that. You begin to live by it. I see somebody. Beginning to live by God's word. And see the results. So Christ died for us.

[32:33] Paid our sin. So that we. Might become the righteousness of God. So that if anybody says. Can God do anything. They just have to look at you. But we understand that. The righteousness of God.

[32:44] Is only revealed. From faith. To faith. So if you don't apply. And walk by faith. The righteousness of God. Ain't going to be revealed in your life. And so people will question.

[32:55] And you too will be questioning. This thing at all. Where is my stand? But to make this. Subject quite interesting. As I was saying. Hebrews comparing the.

[33:05] Elders. Elders. Say the elders. Thank you Jesus. How much time about God. Okay. You know what. He said. By faith the elders.

[33:17] Then he said. By faith we. You are in the picture. I said you are in the picture. God has not forgotten about you. If you are here. You are thinking. You are going through so much.

[33:29] God has probably forgotten about you. That's the. The lie of the devil. God hasn't forgotten about you. You are in the picture. Tell somebody. I'm in the picture. I'm in the picture. Say I'm in the picture.

[33:39] I'm in the picture. If they ask you. But where are you? Say look at it properly. You will see me somewhere there. You know how sometimes. Old time pictures. School days pictures. A lot of students.

[33:50] Or whatever. Group of people. And then they say. Where are you? I'm inside. You look for. I am there. I am there. Look for me. You will see me there. You will see me there. Listen. If you can look where.

[34:00] Or your friend takes a group picture. Brings you. And then you are saying. I'm not in the picture. I said no. You are inside there. He said look at it properly. In the same way. You look at the Bible. You are not finding yourself. He said no. No.

[34:11] No. No. Look at it properly. Open your eyes. Look at it properly. For you are inside there. That's why it's good news. The good news is everybody is included. Everybody is included. It's included.

[34:22] No. So he says that. The elders. Say the elders. By faith the elders. For by faith we. And by faith we understand. Then the next verse.

[34:32] He started. You see. Let me tell you something as well. What do we understand? By faith what do we understand? The world's world frame is like creation.

[34:43] So kind of. He starts from creation. That's very interesting. Starts from creation. Okay. He takes that. By faith we understand creation. Then it goes to Abel. Abel.

[34:56] Who is Abel? Cain's brother. Cain's brother. And Bible says that Jesus' blood speaks better than Abel. Now Abel take good reports. But Jesus said we have a better opportunity. So.

[35:07] Verse 4 says that. By faith. By faith. Abel. Then it goes on to talk about. By faith. Enoch. By faith.

[35:18] Abel. Then by faith. Enoch. Then he begins to talk about Noah. Then he begins to talk about Abraham. Then he begins to talk about Isaac. Begins to talk about Jacob. Begins to talk about Joseph. So he begins to move the list.

[35:29] So he goes to a place now. That people have become so many. He said that. Time will not. Verse 31. Time will not. Verse 31 on the screen. Time will not permit us. To talk about. David. Jephthah.

[35:40] And the other. And Rahab. Faith. By faith. The Haloth perished. And. The Haloth did not perish. Okay. My faith. Alright. Rahab the Haloth. Okay. Go to the next verse. Let me show you something. The next verse.

[35:52] The next verse. Verse 32. Says that. And what more shall we say. For time will not. For time will fail me to tell of Gideon. Barak. Samson. Jephthah. Also David. And Samuel.

[36:03] And the prophets. Time will not allow me. All these guys. Quenched the balance of God. Stopped the mouth of lions. Bible says that. They were made valiant in war. They said they escaped the edge of Saul.

[36:14] Verse 32. 32. 33. 34. They were. It talks about all that. Then. Watch this. Go to the last verse. Hallelujah. Praise God.

[36:27] Ah. This is making me tick. Have you found it? All right. Let's all read it together from our Bibles. And all these. Do you know who that this.

[36:40] Is referring to? Yes. Who? Thank you very much. Who? You guys are great students of the Bible. It's so easy to teach you. Man.

[36:50] You got it so quick. Who? The elders. So. By all these. All these elders. Whose name we've heard. And the prophets. So many. They couldn't enumerate all of them. All these.

[37:02] Have. Having obtained. Watch. Watch. Having obtained what? Remember it says. That's where it started from. Remember. Remember. Remember.

[37:13] So it kind of. It's talking about only two groups of people. So verse 2 and verse 3. For by it. The elders obtain. And then by it. We understand. So that's all.

[37:23] Then he started talking about the elders. So after talking about the elders. God's so tired. He said. I can't. I will not permit me to say. He just bantered. They did it. They did it. He said. And. And all these. Having obtained a good.

[37:35] Did they obtain a good testimony? Yeah. We read it from verse 2. Okay. So this is like. A jumping. A jump from verse. 2 to verse 39. That's where he just sling the thing.

[37:45] Okay. All right. So now let's. Let's read it together. Let's go. And all these. Having obtained a good testimony. Through faith. Did not. It's a promise. All these guys.

[38:02] By faith. Why is he saying that? Let's flip to the next verse. Look at this. Verse 40. Let's read it together.

[38:13] Come on. Something better. Say something better. Something better. You remember? Something what? Better.

[38:25] It's a comparison. It's relative. That's right. God. Having provided. Something better. For who? For us.

[38:36] Ha. So that's why I said. By faith. We the us. We understand. Because we are not talking about history. We are the real deal. So the only way.

[38:46] The real deal. You can live in the now. Is by faith. So that these testimonies. If at these testimonies. You hear. Romans chapter 15 verse 4. Very interesting. I saw it about. Few years ago.

[38:57] I said. Oh wow. Romans 15 verse 4. For whatsoever thing. That is written before. We are written for who? Our learning. That through the patience. And comfort of scriptures. We might have hope. So how do you get hope in your name?

[39:12] Through the patience. And comfort of scriptures. Through the patience. Hallelujah. Through the patience. And comfort of scriptures. So these things. Were all recorded. For us.

[39:23] Now. Let's go back to verse 40. So it says. Verse 30 said. That all these things. All these. Having obtained a good report. By faith. Did not receive the promise. God having provided.

[39:34] Something better. Something better. For us. That they should not. Be made perfect. Without. Apart from us. Without us. The testimonies they have.

[39:45] All they have. It's all. Pointing to. The now. That we live by faith. And make everything complete. So guess what. If you don't live by faith.

[39:56] Abraham gets very disappointed. He said. Don't mention my name. Don't mention my name. David says.

[40:08] You are using. I will dance like David does. You are living by faith. Don't dance like me. Don't dance like me. Because you are not living by faith. Because they. You see. What they did. That testimonies. Are all for us. So that by faith.

[40:19] We can understand. That the things. That we want to see. Or the things. That don't appear. Or the. Sorry. The things that appear. Were not made by things. That already appear. So you don't live by visibility.

[40:30] You don't walk by sight. You walk by faith. Based on God's word. And David says. Yeah girl. Go on. Yeah boy. Go on. You are making it. You are doing well. Walk by God's word. And then they all stand up.

[40:42] I don't know. When. Mo Farah. Was running. He was running. He got to a place. That was beautiful. That was the. That and other few. But I felt like.

[40:53] I should have. I should have been. At the Olympic stage. I believe Mo Farah. He said it. He won because of the British support. The guy was tired. But when he saw. People standing on their feet.

[41:04] Mo Farah. Mo Farah. Mo Farah. Mo Farah. Something. Some energy came. Entered his legs. And he started running. He made that. He made them small.

[41:16] Why? Because. What's this? Because. The cloud of witnesses. The cloud of witnesses.

[41:27] Mo. Don't fail us. Mo. That's why when. It's a world cup. When. England. We got defeated. People were very upset. Yes. The first match.

[41:39] People said. What's. What's happening to me? Because they are. Listen. In the same thing. They are cloud of witnesses. Who are these cloud of witnesses? So long as we are concerned. The elders.

[41:49] So stop making. Bragging. Making so much noise. About the elders. Until you begin to live by faith. And give validity. To what they did. Now watch. Look at it.

[42:00] Look at the next verse. Let me show you. Look at the next verse. Let's all read the next verse together. Chapter 12 verse 1. Let's go. Therefore. Therefore. We also. Since we are surrounded.

[42:11] By the cloud of witnesses. Did you see that? We are surrounded. We. Are surrounded. By this great cloud of witnesses. Because they are watching you. More for us.

[42:22] More for us. Go more. Go. They are watching you. You cannot afford. To fail. Because. The righteousness of God. Is on you. Amen. Abraham.

[42:37] Abraham. He's sitting. And every now and then. He wake up. He get up. Pastor Philip. Go. Go. Go. Go Phil. Go Dinah. Go Phil.

[42:48] Go Christine. So. Christine. Go. You can make it. You can make it. Then they get up. Then he jump. And give Joseph a high five. Yes. He made it. Yes. Yes. Because.

[43:05] Because. If I'm British. And I go somewhere. And. We didn't win. For. Is it 400? 400. I can't be bold.

[43:16] And when they are talking about. Champions. World champions of 400. Meters. I'm going to be happy. But if we won. When I go somewhere. Hey. Yeah.

[43:27] 400. We are the best. 400 meters. We are the best. Now. They make. My confidence. Complete. Yes. Since we are also.

[43:37] With such great. World. World of witnesses. You have to do something. Lay aside. All this weight. Some things. Are weighing your faith down. Some of the relationships.

[43:48] Are weighing your faith down. Some of the places. We have been going. Are weighing your faith down. And they see. He's going there again. Oh. He's going there again. She's going there again.

[43:59] She's going there. Oh. No. Everything. When I. Oh. The crowd. Uh. You know. You can't afford to let this. Great cloud of witnesses go. Ah. And then.

[44:12] David would look at the face of Solomon. In your name. In your name. In your name. Yes.

[44:25] And not again. David. Not again. David. David. David. They can't pray for you.

[44:36] Because they don't pray there. Prayer is not. Made in heaven. Prayer is made on earth. So the content of prayer. The lecture will be done.

[44:47] On earth. I see this. Because they don't pray in heaven. So they can't pray for you. So when you are failing. You are losing. They can't do much. You render them.

[44:58] Quite disappointed. Because you have. All. It takes the equipment. The equipment. The wiring. The hard drive. The motherboard. The installation.

[45:08] Necessary installation. To excel in faith. So that. The righteousness of God. Will be revealed. From faith. To faith. Because they just. Shall live. By faith.

[45:20] So. So now faith is.

[45:33] The elders. They did all this. Is because of us. Oh. I didn't realize that. The elders obtained a good report. Because of you.

[45:44] That's what he said. In the verse. 39 and 40. Of Hebrews 11. And this crowd of witnesses. Then. Look at the second verse here.

[45:55] Verse 2. In chapter 12. Says that. Looking unto Jesus. The what? The altar and the finisher. Looking unto Jesus. The what? The altar and the finisher. And finisher of what? The altar and the finisher. Think about it.

[46:06] This whole thing. Is the walk of faith. So Hebrews. Talking about. Old testament. New testament. Better things. In new testament. Or better things. For us. Than the old testament. All these things. It only can be realized.

[46:18] And actualized. By faith. And Jesus is the one. Who starts your faith. And he will take you through. So you can't say. I don't have enough faith. No. He is the altar and finisher. Of your faith. He will leave you halfway.

[46:30] So then. If you dig us. Halfway. It's not him. From today.

[46:41] I determined. By God's grace. I will not let them down. I will not let the cloud of witnesses down. And guess what. All these cloud of witnesses. I like this one.

[46:53] Thank you Jesus. Thank you Holy Spirit. I thank you so much for telling this. Watch this. All these cloud of witnesses. Are not only those who have died. Other people who have been sharing their testimony on this platform.

[47:05] You will let them down. If you don't also push through for your testimony to show forth. Because the testimonies are witnesses. To the fact that.

[47:15] The things that we see are temporal. And the things that we do not see. Are eternal. The testimonies are a pointer to the fact that the just shall live by faith.

[47:26] Testimonies are a pointer to the fact that we walk by faith. And not by sight. See yourself in the picture. And stop pitying yourself.

[47:37] You are not pitiful. Don't go around. See what people are trying to let everybody sympathize with their pity. You are wasting your time you know. You are wasting your time. The more you solicit for pity.

[47:51] The faster you sink. Stop soliciting for pity. Because the one you are asking for pity from. He also is thinking about himself.

[48:03] And. But the most important thing is. You are not to be pitied. Because all these cloud of witnesses. Are just you are there. They are evident. So they are looking at you. Because they know you can make it.

[48:14] You have heavenly support. What is your problem? Yes. You have heavenly. Don't give up. Amen. You are not permitted to give up. Amen. Because what makes people fail is not inside you.

[48:27] Yes. The future is meant for you. Amen. Why are you retreating? Amen. The future is meant for you. Why are you now beginning to behave like everybody?

[48:38] The future is meant for you. This whole business. This whole problem of credit crunch and. What do you call it? Recession.

[48:49] And austerity. And. Oh. Some people don't even know about it. They just can't afford it. They just can't afford it. They will eat normal. Everything they own.

[49:02] Everything they own. Is intact and increasing. So. It's certain. 30 people who will be worrying. But other people cannot even feel it. In the same way.

[49:14] There it is. We have been born again. Unto a living hope. Unto an inheritance. Which does not fail. It is tenor. It doesn't fail. It does. It is incorruptible.

[49:24] And it is reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept. By the power of God. Through faith. In Jesus name. Amen. Somebody come.

[49:35] Put your hands together for the Lord. Thank you for listening. For more resources. Please visit. Carious.org And call us on. 0207-740-9960 God bless you.

[49:47] God bless you.