[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for listening to this wholesome word by David Entry. The words you catch will change your world. May your story change from this message. Be blessed.
[0:15] Colossians chapter 2 verse 1 to 3. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I had for you and for them at Laodicea.
[0:26] And for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love.
[0:41] And unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding. To the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ.
[0:53] In whom I hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Here ends the reading of God's holy word. Amen.
[1:05] Father thank you for bringing us together. For the purposes of you impacting yourself into us. And increasing yourself in us.
[1:17] That we will be more like Christ. So we will be your reflection. We will be a habitation for you. And we will be your counterparts.
[1:29] Thank you. That your word is true. Thank you. That your word is power. Thank you. Thank you.
[1:42] That your word is reliable. Teach us your word. And let us know Christ more and more. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[1:53] Wow. Colossians chapter 2. When you read the Bible. The Bible was not written in chapters and verses.
[2:03] It wasn't written in chapters and verses. So like Paul was writing Colossians chapter. He didn't write chapter. But is that how you write letter? No chapter 1.
[2:14] He writes. Okay. Chapter 1. No. He wrote a letter. But. I think church fathers decided to put verses.
[2:27] To make it easier. So really. Some. I know some. Some preachers. Not the modern day ones. But. Who. When they preach. They will say.
[2:38] It said in Isaiah. Like the way Peter preached. That Joel said. And David said. They will just say it. But they won't go chapter. Like the way some of us do it.
[2:49] Chapter 3. Verse 7. Chapter 8. They say. Now you go and read. Research the scriptures. And find. Search where it is.
[3:00] I said that to explain that. Chapter 2. Is. A. Same. Continuation from chapter. One. So. Chapter 2. Will not make.
[3:11] Sense. Fully. If you don't know. What chapter 1. Has been dealing with. Because it's just a conversation. If you. Log on to a zoom meeting.
[3:23] Which has been going on. 30 minutes before you join. You are not likely to know. A few things that have been said. So. A wise person. Doesn't start talking. When you join the meeting.
[3:35] You. You wait. You wait. So. It's gone on a bit. And okay. You are familiar. And this. And. And everywhere you want to talk. You are careful. You say. Just in case. Maybe. In case. This hasn't been covered.
[3:46] This is what I. Because you are late. So. You speak with caution. And humility. Yeah. Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility. Colossians chapter 2.
[3:56] Is a continuation from chapter 1. Actually. It's a flow. So. Chapter 1. Verse 28. Talks about. To this end. I. Agono Zomaya. Or.
[4:07] It says. Whom we preach. Talking about Jesus. Warning every man. And teaching. Every man. In all wisdom. That. We may present. Every man. Perfect in Christ. That's our. Push our aim.
[4:18] Now. In verse 29. It says that. To this end. This thing I've said. We want to present every man. To this end. I strive. Or I labor. Striving. I labor.
[4:29] Agonizamaya. Agonizamaya. I labor. Striving. According to his working. Which worketh mightily in me. Did you see that? So the workings of God.
[4:40] Is actually producing. Is also working towards this end. As. Once. I. Go. A different direction. I mute. Or I silent.
[4:50] Or I stifle. Or I stop the workings. Because the workings of God. Is to produce. The verse 28. To this end. We teach. To present every man. Perfect.
[5:01] Every man. Mature. Every man. Complete. Now. The workings of God. In me. Is supposed to be producing. That end. So. Then. If. I change my focus.
[5:14] Then. I begin to. Lose. The engagement. Of God. One of the reasons. Why. Churches decline. Is because. They focus on different things. From what. The spirit. That was given.
[5:25] Is supposed to be doing. If you start. Using your washing machine. To wash your plates. Or your dishwasher.
[5:36] To wash your clothes. You know. It will affect the machine. You will lose. But it will affect the machine. Sometimes. You think the machine. Is still in good shape. Oh the church.
[5:47] People are still. But it's gone already. The people. Your plates. Are all being broken. In the washing machine. So. By the time people finish church. They are broken.
[5:59] You finish church. Somebody's mouth. Has moved to its thighs. Because of this kind of. The spirit.
[6:10] That is in us. Is for a certain purpose. Now we are using it. For another purpose. Yes. Yes. So the people. Become the victims. And eventually. Everything begins to shut down. Yes.
[6:21] Yes. So. Is that to this end. I labor striving. According to his workings. Which worketh. In me mightily. Then he says that. For.
[6:32] Then we are flowing. It's the same thing. So don't be distracted by chapter. But it's a flow. For. I want you to know. What a great conflict. That word conflict. Is the same.
[6:43] Where I told you the other time. Agonism. It's agonism. I strive. I. I. For. I want you to know. What great. Conflict.
[6:54] Striving. Struggle. I'm struggling. I. I. When he goes to bed. It's not. The security of his garden. That is on his mind.
[7:06] It's the church. The maturity. The development. Of the people. It does. That's what's on his mind. It. And he's. He's struggling. It's every time.
[7:16] He's. You know when. How many of you have failed exam. In a dream before. Yeah. You. Because it was on your mind.
[7:27] So much. You went to sleep. And you woke up. You have failed. You failed. You failed. An exam. You haven't written. Paul.
[7:41] Wakes up. And. I forgot. I didn't teach this thing. Did I. Did I leave this out? Did I leave this out? It's on his mind. He's. Struggling. To make sure.
[7:52] This thing. For which reason. He has been called. For which reason. He has been made. The spirit. For which reason. The spirit. Is working in him. Gets accomplished. And. It's very easy. For anybody. I thought. To be distracted. All of us.
[8:05] When you are pastor. Oh. Distraction is so easy. That's why usually. You need people. Around you. To encourage you.
[8:17] To edge you. To be on track. Be on track. Be on track. Be on track. Be on track. Because. You can be. So distracted. By different things.
[8:29] By. Who didn't turn up. Who didn't come to church. So Jesus. Jesus. On the cross. The devil. Used that. Adaptive. To distract him. To talk. If you are the Christ.
[8:41] If you are. If you are. The Christ. Save yourself. Why should he save himself. When he didn't come to save himself. He actually came to give himself. For our salvation. Now you need salvation.
[8:53] You are using. Sometimes it's very interesting. You can use. Like. Like the same. Reasoning. To distract. Something. Or. To project. A negative. Agenda.
[9:04] But. When people are not wise. And well taught. And smart. They might not see. What you are doing. Because you can use. A legitimate. Argument.
[9:15] To push. An illegitimate. Agenda. An illegitimate. Agenda. That is why. It's always good. Number one. Primarily. For churches.
[9:26] To be taught. Because if you are not taught. And taught. The word of God. You won't realize. When you are walking into error. When you begin to.
[9:38] Slide. Most of the time. You don't jump into error. You slide. Because. One great man said. Almost true.
[9:49] Is equally false. And is the most dangerous. Of all false. When it looks like. The truth. And it's almost. It's. It's.
[9:59] Ninety. Ninety five percent true. That little five. Percent. That is untrue. It looks so much like the truth.
[10:09] But it's really not the truth. That is why. We can't go soft. And go light. On basic. Doctrines.
[10:20] That underget Christianity. Other than that. As. Times change. As times change. We begin to think. Oh maybe. Maybe.
[10:32] Listen. Anyone who tells you. The people who wrote the Bible. Are not current. Tell them. You don't know God. Because it wasn't people who wrote it.
[10:43] It was God who gave it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So you and God. Who is smarter. If they say they are. Ask them if they really know their wife or their husband. Ah.
[10:53] Ah. Yeah. Anyway. So the point here is that. The teaching of doctrine is what protects the church. When you go to school.
[11:05] They teach you. They start with the alphabet. So when someone comes to. How many is it? 26. In the English alphabet. When someone comes to tell you that. I found 36.
[11:15] 34. You suddenly know that. Maybe it's French. Or it's Chinese. But this English word. It's not English.
[11:28] So you see. It keeps you on track. You don't even waste your time on unnecessary things. It keeps you on track. Because these are the foundation. Truth is foundational. Paul said.
[11:39] I strive to make sure. You are all moving in a certain direction. Many tell them. As he said in the verse 2. That it's always on my mind.
[11:52] He said that. I would that ye knew. What great conflict I have for you. I have a striving for you. What is the striving? That's not you alone.
[12:02] For them that are at Laodicea. I mentioned it at that time. So Laodicea. And not only the Laodiceans. This is a very interesting. That's where we also come in. And for as many.
[12:14] Say I am one of the as many. I am one of the as many. If you are not. Have you seen his face before? As many as have not seen my face in the flesh.
[12:27] I know you say. I had a dream. I had a vision. Paul showed me. God showed me Paul. He said. If you haven't seen my face in the flesh. You are one of those I'm talking to. Now. This also really.
[12:38] Being true to the text. Is talking about the fact that. He's writing to people he has not met. So the church of Colossae. And Laodicea. Were not churches that he started.
[12:50] He didn't start the church. Epaphras. Epaphras. Went to make an impact. And the church started. And the report got to Paul. About how the church is coming under attack.
[13:03] So he had to write. And strengthen the church. Now. When you look at Colossians. The focus of his writing. Colossians and Ephesians.
[13:14] Are very powerful books in the Bible. The focus of Ephesians. Is to. Explain. The church. And focus on.
[13:24] What the church is. In God's agenda. And. The focus of Colossians. Is to explain. The supremacy. And sufficiency of Christ. Who Christ really is.
[13:36] For the church. And should be in the church. So then. Ephesians focuses. On. The mystery of Christ. Which is the church. The church reflects Christ.
[13:48] The church represents Christ. The church expresses Christ. The church demonstrates Christ. The church is the body of Christ.
[13:59] And Colossians. Doesn't just deal with the body. But it deals with the head. So Ephesians deals with the body. Colossians focuses much more.
[14:10] On the head. And Christ is the head of the church. Who is the image of the invisible God. Christ reflects God. He is the mystery of God.
[14:21] He expresses God. He demonstrates God. So that's why Ephesians says. That great mystery. Is Christ and the church. The church is the mystery of Christ.
[14:32] If you really want to know Christ. Humble yourself. Get into the church. If you really want to know Christ. Study the church. Look at the church. Christ is in the church.
[14:45] Revealed. Because the church. Is the body of Christ. If you really want to know God. Don't go to any religion. Religion can't teach you God.
[14:55] Christ is the expression of God. He is the image of the invisible God. The God that cannot be seen. He said I have come. So he is the mystery of God.
[15:06] And the church is the mystery of Christ. These are the two great mysteries. You need to know. So in Colossians chapter 2. It talks about how. I would like you know.
[15:17] The great conflict I have for you. In Laodicea. And those as many of you. I'm saying. That. Now. This is a major concern for him. And this is what he's. He's believing God. That should be happening.
[15:27] He's working towards. That should be happening. Because if this doesn't happen. He won't be able to present every man. Perfect in Christ. So it said that. That. Their hearts.
[15:38] Their people in Colossi. Their people in the church. Okay. So this is talking. That our hearts. Might be comforted. What? That's interesting.
[15:49] How many of us sometimes feel you need some comfort? But. Comfort. Or. Another word. That other translations will use.
[16:00] Is. Encouraged. The Greek word. Is. Parakeleu. Parakeleu. Translated as. Comforts.
[16:11] In English. And some other places. Translated as. Encouragement. Or courage. But if you know. The Greek word. Translated as. The Holy Spirit. In John chapter 16.
[16:22] Verse 13. John chapter 14. Verse 17. Verse 24. 25. John chapter 15. Verse 25. 26. The word.
[16:32] Used for the Holy Spirit. Is. Allos. Parakeleu. So Jesus said. I'll pray the Father. John 16. Verse 13. And he will send you.
[16:43] Another. That's the allos. Yeah. Comforta. Parakeleu. Parakeleu. All right. So. The Holy Spirit. Is actually. That's why.
[16:53] In some of the verses. Is. I think. Isaac and James. Said. Comforter. Use the word. Comforter. Because you need comfort. Yeah. Yeah. He comes to comfort us. But the other time.
[17:04] I explained. Some time ago. The actual meaning. Of the English word. The original meaning. Of the English word. Comfort. Is not to soothe you. And tap you.
[17:15] You know. They rub their hand on the back. Don't worry. And then give you. A handkerchief. For something. To wipe your tears. It's okay. It's okay. No. That's not the original. Meaning of. Comfort.
[17:25] Is two words. From the Latin. Com. That is with. Okay. And then. Forta. Is forte. Fortress. Strength. So. The Holy Spirit.
[17:36] Is the one who comes with strength. Sometimes you are not strong enough. To do some things. But that's why you need the Holy Spirit. That explains. Why other translations. Interpret it. As the standby. He's our advocate.
[17:48] He's our helper. He says that. Okay. Is it amplified? He says that the helper. The comforter. The advocate. The intercessor. The counselor. The strengthener. So.
[17:59] When you watch. I don't watch boxing. But I've seen some before. My dad used to like boxing. And I used to hate it. Because I never understood. Why people should be. Boxing.
[18:11] But you know. Sometimes they beat in the person. And then. After round one. Or after round five. He goes to sit down. And then. They clean his face. And they give him water.
[18:22] And then. They take the. Gap out. And then. And then. The bell. Goes like a. And then it looks like. It doesn't want to go. But the boss. So.
[18:37] Or sometimes. When they've knocked him down. And they. Then push it. Come. Come. Come. Come. The Holy Spirit.
[18:55] The Holy Spirit. Will not come. And say. Okay. Don't worry. Go ahead and for the kids. I know. I know you've tried enough. No. It will come with strength.
[19:05] So you can do it. You'll come with strength. He said. You can pray. You can pray. Two hours more. He will come with strength. He said. You can forgive that lady. You can forgive that guy. He will come with strength. He will edge you on.
[19:16] That's the job of the comforter. He empowers you. He helps you. He strengthens you. And when he strengthens you. He's standing by you. To go. He never leaves you. John says. That he will never leave you.
[19:27] The comforter will come. And he will never leave you. He said. He will abide with you. Always. Yeah. That's the word. He will abide with you. Always. Because walking with God.
[19:39] Requires comfort. Doing Christianity. So it's verse 16. He said. He said. I will pray the father. And he will give you. Another comforter.
[19:50] He said. All those paracletus. That will abide with you. He is not leaving you. He is not leaving you. Even when you backslide.
[20:02] And like. You stray your way. Into your ex's house. Even when you. Even when you were gossiping.
[20:14] He didn't leave you. Even when you were in the midst. Of messing up. He will never leave you. Because he keeps talking to you.
[20:26] At least. Even if you are going far. He tries to restrict you. Keeps you in check. When you are gossiping about. Let's say your pastor. Maybe you will start. His head is like mango. And he's like.
[20:36] He goes. He goes. He goes. He goes. Trorc. Shit. He goes. I go. He goes. He goes.
[20:50] He goes. Our people say, let me speak the truth. So, but, you know, when you are going, there's checks. Sometimes you're about to say something, there's checks.
[21:00] That's the Holy Spirit. And sometimes you ignore and keep going. You keep going. But it doesn't stop the checks. It gets to a time that your conscience becomes seared. So now you don't respond. You become irresponsive.
[21:12] But if you are born again, he's always there. He said he'll be with you and be with you forever. Because this Christian work requires constant comfort. Comfort all the time.
[21:26] Colossians chapter 4 verse 7 says that, All my state Tychicus shall declare to you, Who is a beloved brother and a faithful minister, fellow servant in the Lord.
[21:39] Tychicus. Look at verse 8. Tychicus, when he comes, Who I have sent unto you for the same purpose, That we might know your state and comfort your heart.
[21:52] Comfort Ephesians chapter 6 verse 22. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, That ye might know our affairs, That he might comfort your hearts.
[22:07] Comfort your hearts. Comfort your heart. Sometimes life can be very discouraging. Especially when you choose to walk with God.
[22:21] Sometimes you really get tired. Sometimes you can be tired. And in fact, Bible puts it this way in Romans chapter 15 verse 4. That's quite a good text.
[22:33] Romans chapter 5, it says, For whatever things were written, Our four times were written for our learning. That we through the patience and what? Comfort of scriptures. The scriptures have comfort in the brain.
[22:47] So sometimes that's why if you want to be effective in your Christian life, Allow the Holy Spirit to help you by opening your Bible. When you open your Bible, Holy Spirit will navigate you into the spots, The oasis of comfort, Reserved for you in that particular situation.
[23:07] Comfort is needed before you end up saying that, God, I'm tired. Before you end up giving up. Before you end up caving in. Before you end up downgrading your service and your sacrifices.
[23:23] Comfort. Comfort. So you study the scriptures as particular the New Testament. In fact, did you see in Psalm 86 verse 17, It says, show me a token for good.
[23:35] It says, show me a token for good. That day which hates me may see it. When someone is talking about my enemies, my seeds, You can tell there's a level of discouragement. Enemies can discourage.
[23:48] Enemies can. When you laugh, they have a problem. When you frown, they have a problem with it. When you jump, they have a problem. When you stand there, everything you do, People who don't like you can frustrate you.
[23:59] Especially when you, sometimes, When you chance upon some of the things they are saying about you, You can be very discouraged. Especially if you choose to do God's work as well.
[24:13] If you choose, some of us, family members, comments, they are passing about you. They're giving you names. Yeah, now you are Enno Mary. You, yeah.
[24:26] You are Auntie Deb. Auntie Deb's. It's Deborah. They have shortness. Auntie Deb's. And you know. They gather and mock you. David said in the book of Psalm, How are they increased?
[24:40] How are they increased? Psalm 3. How are they increased? That trouble. How are they increased? That rise up against me. How? They have increased. Look at the verse 2. How are they increased?
[24:51] Many there be who say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. I mean, you can tell, David, this is a discouraging state. Yes, yeah. I said, But thou, O Lord, hast a shield for me.
[25:02] He said, Show me a token for good, That those who hate me will see and be ashamed, Because you, the thing you have done, Has helped me in that world.
[25:12] Comforted me. May God comfort you. May God comfort you. Whatever you might be going through, That is giving your enemies an upper hand.
[25:24] May God turn it around and comfort you. May heaven comfort you. In the name of Jesus. It can be so discouraging When you have already had plans in place For your new home, Or for your wedding, Or for your, you know, graduation, And suddenly everything turns around.
[25:43] And you know that's all they are waiting. Sometimes people can call you Only when you are in trouble. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. They are waiting for you to be in trouble For them to come and say, Ah, They are calling you, Oh, we just heard the thing, Oh, very sorry.
[26:02] Very sorry. And you won't hear from them Until something negative about you comes out. Yeah, yeah. That's, That's the ordinary characteristics Of enemies that disguise themselves as friends.
[26:14] Friends. They disguise themselves as friends. They won't call you. They've heard you bought a car. They've heard your business is now booming.
[26:27] Everybody is praising you. They won't stop by Until they heard negative news About you online. And they say, Oh, I want to pass by. So good.
[26:40] When enemies, And you know in your heart, Yeah. You don't rejoice with me. You prefer to mourn for me. Yeah. Not to rejoice with me.
[26:50] Yeah. He said, How are they increase That trouble me? Mm-hmm. God Will comfort somebody. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[27:01] So he says that, I pray that, Not your spirits. Ephesians mentions spirits every now and then. Colossians mention once, Spirit, Human spirit, And once, Holy spirit, Like the spirit.
[27:16] The rest, He spoke about the heart. That your heart will be warmed. Your heart will be comforted. He said, I am stroking. I want you to know that, I'm not having peace.
[27:27] Because I, My desire is that, Your hearts will be comforted. In fact, In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, Verse 3, Verse 4, Verse 7, Somewhere there, It talks more about, How God comforted us, In our tribulation.
[27:43] Yeah. God is a comforter. Yeah. God is a, I see God, This week, God will comfort somebody. Yeah. God will comfort somebody. Don't fret.
[27:54] Keep trusting God. Tell somebody, Keep trusting God. Keep trusting God. In Hebrews chapter 10, Verse 24, 25, It talks about how, Let us consider one another, To provoke, Unto love, And good works.
[28:13] This is, This is, These are some of the scriptures, That we were taught, When we were growing up in Christ. And we were not just taught it, It captured our hearts, To live like this. So the thing I'm going to tell you, That will not help, Your commitment, I have to stop it.
[28:28] That thing I'm about to say to you, About that other choir leader, Which will not help, Your engagement, In the choir, Which is for your own good. He said, Let's provoke one another, Unto good works.
[28:42] When, The more people hear you, The more they are, Getting deeper in the things of God. The more people listen to you, The more people hang around you, The more loyal they become, To God, And God's work. The more people get closer to you.
[28:57] Or, In fact, It spoke about, I don't have anyone, Who cares about your need, Like minded, At Philippians chapter 2, Verse 18, Like Timothy. Now, I was, I was sharing with some people, A while, Some time ago, That, One of the things about church leadership is, When the leader is not there, Does he have to keep an eye, On what's going on, Because of who is really, There now?
[29:22] Or a leader can go, And doesn't even, Have to look back, He said, My, My burden, Is that, You'll be comforted. Comfort.
[29:33] So he says that, Provoke one another, Unto good works. Look at verse 25, Hebrew chapter. And let us, He said, Not forsaking, The assembling of ourselves together, As the manner of some is, But exhorting, You see that word, Exalting, Encouraging.
[29:48] Exalting, Encouraging one another. So much, The more, As you see, The day, The day is, The day of Christ coming. Encouraging, Sometimes, It's okay, To be able to tell somebody, You have a case, But you know what, Just leave it.
[30:03] Let's keep going. If we are, Let's keep going. Just leave it, Let's keep going. It's in, That kind of Christian, God rewards. Some, Some kind of Christians, Don't need prayer, To get miracles.
[30:15] Truth. Tell me prayer, To get miracles. And there's two, Download so much prayer, And nothing. Because the truth is, An unbeliever can come in, And pick a miracle, Because they are innocent.
[30:31] They don't know. But the longer, You stay your heart, That's why I said that, Your heart will be encouraged. Your heart can be so polluted, That the grace, Has stopped working for you, Long time ago. It's like it's been switched off.
[30:46] He said that, Your heart, We should encourage one another. Encourage one another. Be a Barnabas. Pastor, There's somebody in the Bible, His name is Barnabas, Acts chapter 4, Verse 36, They call him, Son of encouragement.
[30:59] Son of encouragement. In the time, The church was going through persecution, You can, There's somebody, A son of encouragement, Pastor can turn on, And rely on. Turn to.
[31:09] There's somebody, The church can look up to, For encouragement. May I say this, Those who have the privilege, To be around, Leading pastors.
[31:25] Leading a church, Can be so discouraging, That don't add to it, For the leader. In spite of your position, Your concerns, Make yourself that spiritual person, As long as you know, That this Christ thing, Is actually real in the church.
[31:43] Man, When there is sin, There is immorality, And there, That worldliness, That's different. And even that, There must be a Barnabas, Who when he sees that, This man is genuine, Started right.
[31:55] I want to be your encourager. That's right. I want to be your encourager, Not your criticizer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of criticism, It's always coming to pastors. Even their family members.
[32:05] Hey, S. Yeah. I was sharing somebody, Sharing to somebody, Trust, Is not demanded.
[32:19] It's earned. It's earned. And when you are around a leader, In times of crisis, Don't tell him, Please trust me. Prove yourself trustworthy.
[32:31] Yes. Prove yourself trustworthy. Because there are, Writings on the wall, He might be reading, But you are not noticed, That he's reading it. Don't be quiet. You can't trust people, Who are quiet.
[32:45] Wow. Yes. You can't trust people, Who are quiet. But you can trust people, Who will be honest, And tell it their mind. Yeah.
[32:55] Am I, Am I, Am I, Am I, Am I, Am I? Yes. Yes. You have seen your, Your son, Something has been going on, In your daughter, Or your other son's room, And your other son knew it, But never mentioned, He said, I didn't want to put anybody in trouble.
[33:16] You see what you have brought on the family, Because of your silence. Mommy, trust me. Mommy can't trust next time, Can't trust you. So, In the departments, In the church, Encourage people, To be committed.
[33:33] You might see, Something that maybe, One member, Or a leader in the choir said, Or a usher said, About this other person, And you know, If they hear it, It's not encouraging. Don't be the one to say, Because it will not help this person, This information look true.
[33:49] But what you are saying, It will damage many things. Right. Right. And the blood, Of people, Will be claimed from your hands. And you are claiming, I receive my miracle.
[34:02] I receive my, The pastor can be prophesied, But you are not part of those, Because your heart, Your heart.
[34:14] In fact, Didn't Peter tell, The man said, I will give you money. Acts chapter 8. He said, He said, Your heart, You don't have a pattern, Because your heart is not right.
[34:25] Your heart is not right. He said, I would neither have a pattern, Not in this matter, For your heart is not right, In the sight of all. It denies you, The flow of grace.
[34:37] Wow. And anybody else, Can be easily affected, All of us. That's why you have to be selective, Who talks to you. Yes. Yes.
[34:48] Who you hang around. Choose your church friends, Very, very carefully. Thank you. Let me run up.
[35:02] So, Let me leave their comfort. It says that, My purpose is that, That their hearts, Hearts, Say my heart. My heart. Say my heart. My heart.
[35:14] Their hearts, Might be comforted. Their hearts, Can be tuned, In it's like water, In any direction. That's why, Proverbs chapter 4, To guard your heart, With all diligence.
[35:28] 23 or so, For out of it, Are the issues of life. Floors. The issues of life, Are flowing. Keep your heart, With all diligence. For out of it, Out of it, Are the issues.
[35:44] The bigger things of life, Are repository in your heart. It flows out of your heart, So you have the responsibility, Responsibility, To keep your heart, For Peter to tell somebody, You don't have a part in this thing, Because your heart is not right.
[36:00] Your heart is not right. Let me say this to, People who have always been part, Of an old church. The older the church grows, And the longer you are in a church, The more you begin to think, Of an entitlement, That can affect your heart.
[36:17] Now, I was a founding member, Of the choir. Others are coming, They are making them lead a song. I'm a founding member, Why is it that I'm not, You see your heart is going, Your heart is going, Your heart, So, So your qualification, Is just purely, Because of your longevity.
[36:35] Then what would Methuselah say, He should have been our savior. Yes, He was older than Jesus, Jesus was only 33 years. Methuselah, A long time, 969 years, A very long time.
[36:50] But they didn't even, Factor him in a lot of things, In the Bible. So please, Stop, Letting, The enemy pollute your heart, Because you have been around long.
[37:05] If you have been around long, Protect what you have always, Been around for. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Protect, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, It's important, It's important, Satan is a trickster, He will come in from where you are not guarded, And that is how genuine pastors end up becoming something else, Because they were not on guard, He's a genuine man of God, God has called him, Now he started preaching all kinds of strange things, How, What happened?
[37:39] But you know, But this guy was genuine, What happened? Lack of guardedness, And it applies to all of us, We have to be on guard, And watch each other's back, And speak to people where you have concerns, Speak to them, If you want them to trust you, Tell them your mind, Tell them your mind, Don't force trust from them, Say you don't even trust me, Yes, I can't, Because you don't talk, Zachariah went home, He couldn't talk, He couldn't talk, Wow, I like the way the place is quiet, Colossians is good, He's helping us, It covers everything, It covers everything, It covers everything, So, So,
[38:41] I think the pastor is listening to me, Who would like his members to hear this, Because, Listen, Listen to this, Many people have credited, This, The greatness of a church, To just people like attending, No, No, No, It's not just that, It's not just that, It's not even just because, The message is good, Just, Just that, It's not, There are things that people can be attending, And within a short time, Insiders can spoil everything, Yes, Insiders can, You, You, There are churches that are broken down, Because, Someone joined and he said, He's a prophet, He's an apostle, And they made him assistant pastor, So then, I believe you bear with me, That, Much of my heart's cry,
[39:43] Is to, Teach purely, Some pure doctrine, Thank you, Thank you, However, Sometimes, Lack of knowledge, And lack of understanding, Can make people who think, They are building the church, Destroy what they are building, Wow, Yes, You have been around for 10 years, Only to start pulling it down, Can't you see what you are doing, Can't you see what you are doing, Judas was the first to criticize, About someone spending so much, Lavish, Thing that can take care of, A lot of other things, On Jesus, Judas said, The reasonings sound good, But they hurt, They hurt, And it's very easy, For people who are credited, With certain level of authority, And certain level of honors, To end up actually destroying,
[40:45] What is actually bringing, The entire honor, It's human, That's why some, Church leadership, Must be very strict, If sometimes, When there are no controls, People can go far, And destroy, What we are all enjoying, Now when we are traveling, Get to the airport, So cumbersome, And so, The other time, I was traveling, And I was going for, Where was I even going, I think, Was it Singapore, Yeah, I think it was, I was going with just hand luggage, Because I didn't have to, I was just going for a conference, And come back, Just hand luggage, That means that, Toiletries must be there, Yeah, But now, Because of that, You see that thing, The people have done, You know, Every liquid, Any liquid, That is, It's more than, You can't take it with you, Previous, We all used to go, Easily, Easily, Some people are, And so now, There have been so many, Restrictions, To protect us, Now, Fraud is so high, And so the banks,
[41:46] Are getting so wild, To put in so much, Your own money, They ask you, What are you taking the money for, I put the money, Give me money, They say, No, Why should we, What are you going to use the money for, Is that not control, But it is necessary, Yes, It is necessary, Yes, To protect what we are all enjoying, I have to, And I just, I was going to mention, Other things, Like, The first, You mentioned comfort, Your hearts, Being knit together in love, Love, Love, And I was going to, Take you through agape, This is not failure, It's agape, And yesterday, I was reading, First Corinthians chapter 13, Wow, Verse 4 to 7, About what love is, Yes, What this love, They say, Our hearts should be knitted in love, So the way our hearts are knitted in love, It results in full, The riches of the full assurance, That comes with the knowledge, Of the mystery, Which is Christ, Wow, Wow, But it starts with,
[42:47] Our hearts being comforted, And we've been knitted together, But next, I'll take it from, Our hearts knitted in love, Knitted in love, But we need some comfort, The Holy Spirit, One of his main jobs to come, Is just comfort us, The church shouldn't lack comfort, And you should make yourself a comforter, Be an encourager, Encourage someone to stay strong, Encourage somebody to overlook, What is not really important, Some things are petty, Encourage somebody, To be strong, Encourage somebody to push on more, Encourage somebody, Instead be steadfast, Always abounding in the labor, Be the reason why someone is abounding, Not declining, Wow, Yeah, God watches these things, I've, I've, I've vowed that as long as I live, May my life be, Like a rag in the hands of God, Anything, That will just be, Will add to somebody's pursuit of him, Somebody's desire for him,
[43:48] May my heart, And my life, And my pain, Everything in life, Should be working towards, Somebody, Wanting to do a little bit more for God, Wanting to love God, A bit more, That is a big price to pay, But it's worth it, Because I should have been dead, But if he kept me alive, Then I better live like a dead man, For him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I see God comforting you, Thank you for listening to this message, By David Entry, You're welcome to connect with David Entry, On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, And LinkedIn, You can also find more spirit filled messages, From Karis Church on YouTube, And all relevant streaming platforms, Don't forget to subscribe, Like, And share the message, Be blessed,