0:00 [Music] In my work life, I'm sometimes in meetings where we uh have 0:18 u we have c like big all company meetings and some of us leaders have to plan our presentations and we spend sometimes three or four times as much time planning all the slides and everything 0:36 before the actual 1-hour meeting. I've sometimes spent, forget time actually putting the content together. I've sometimes spent three, four hours in planning meetings with the leaders for the one-hour meeting just so that we're 0:52 all on the same page. And this is how the world does it. really I'm really blessed consistently how the Lord does it exactly the opposite in our in in his church. Um I don't know if you think what it's like for us uh when we speak and we share our vision 1:11 for the church and uh and even week by week as us four elders share. Um we don't have long planning meetings on how to make sure we're all sending the same message. Uh but this morning was another wonderful example of that of how the 1:31 Lord when we are in tune with his spirit there is only one message. Um and I hope you were paying attention. I was really blessed by both what AJ and Ulu shared this morning and it's exactly what's on my heart as well. um that 1:50 importance of every single member finding their role and fulfilling their calling irrespective of whether it was public or not and the danger that at some point we could fall back from the 2:09 things that the Lord has shown us. It is a real danger dear church family. It is very real. Uh, I've been it's on my been on my heart for a few weeks now uh as I've pondered what Jesus warned us about towards the end times. 2:28 And I wonder if somebody was to present to you some other gospel or to present to you something that was different from what you have heard and what has been preached to you, would you fall for it? This last week I think or maybe in the 2:45 last couple weeks um our reading in our Bible reading plan was in first kings 22 and we read the story of Jehoshaphat and I think it was um Ahab and how they wanted to go to war. Now Jehoshaphat was a god-fearing king. His problem was that he was too close to 3:04 Ahab. He had an attachment to Ahab and ended up giving his son to Ahab's daughter to get married. Ahab and Jehoshaphat should have been opposites. Ahab was the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was the king in Judah. Things were there 3:21 was not even one good king in Israel. There were some good kings in Judah. And the promise was to Judah really more because that was the line of David. And Jehoshaphat as god-fearing as he was was a little too friendly with Ahab. A 3:36 picture of being too friendly with the spirit of the world. If there's somebody in the world whom you're attached to in some way, some friend and now Ahab at times was also somewhat god-fearing. We read about a time where he repented and 3:51 God told Elijah, I'm impressed with Ahab's repentance, so I'm going to delay the punishment. Now, Ahab never really turned from his idolatry and he's in hell today, I believe. And what was Jehoshaphat doing? Having close 4:06 alliances with this man. Anyway, they come as you know and uh they want to go to war together. They want to team up on a venture. Let's go together. And Ahab calls the prophets and all the prophets say, "Yep, God's going to give you the victory." 4:22 And Jehoshaphat says, "I don't know if these are really the right prophets. They all seem to be saying nice things to you." And then Ahab says, "Yeah, there's one guy I never call him because he always tells me what's I don't like 4:35 to hear." and uh his name was Micaiah. And Jehoshaphat says that's the one I want to hear. And Micaiah at first comes and says, "Yeah, go ahead. I know what you want to hear. So I'll tell you what you want to hear." And Jehoshaphat says, "No." Okay. Yeah. 4:53 Jehoshaphat says, "No, tell me the truth." Mia said, "Don't go to war." Now, they still went to war. Ahab died. Jehoshhat almost died. Got away by the skin of his teeth. The Bible has some fascinating stories children if you you 5:08 know the Hollywood people would make wonderful movies out of them but it's in the Bible if you read it carefully and Jehoshaphat escapes because God is merciful to him he almost died out of his close friendship with Ahab who knows 5:21 he could have ended up in hell as well God preserved him but there's a phrase there I want sometime you can look at it comes twice first kings 22 and in 2 Chronicles whatever the chapter is it says the I have put a lying ing spirit 5:35 in the mouth of the prophets. I don't know if you caught that when you read it. A lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets. Now, these were prophets of God. They weren't prophets of Baal. But in the prophets of God, God, you 5:51 there's a scene that we're told about in heaven where God says, "Who will go and deceive Ahab so that he can go and be killed?" And one servant, we don't know if it's an angel or something, says, "I will go and put a lying spirit in the 6:03 mouth of the prophets." And if the prophets have a lying spirit, what hope do we have? And if a prophet was to come and speak something, a lying, would you know that it was a lying spirit? Ahab fell for it. 6:22 Jehoshaphat almost fell for it. Let's turn to Matthew chapter 24. You can read that story sometime. First Kings 22. If you missed it in the Bible reading, you can go back and read it. Well, that hit me between the eyes, as 6:35 they say. I said, Lord, for my own life, because Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that the time would come towards the towards the last days. Matthew 24, we'll read in verse 10. Matthew 24:10. 6:56 At that time, this is towards the end times before Jesus comes, many will fall away. And out of that falling away will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will 7:14 mislead many with this lying spirit. And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. So there's in the last days, many will 7:31 fall away, Jesus told us. And why is it that they will fall away? Let's look at this story in Mark 4 that Jesus told. Over the last few year, last number of years, I've seen many people who once 7:49 upon a time used to really believe and preach even some the truth, the the whole truth, the whole council of God who have fallen away or or changed their message or said, "No, maybe that's not really true. I'm not sure why, but I 8:07 believe that will happen more and more in the days to come." that many who once used to walk with us or once used to believe the whole council of God will fall away. Uh that's what Jesus said. I hope they wouldn't, but Jesus said many would. 8:24 And some of them may continue to preach and a lying spirit could be in their midst. And I'm not thinking about who it would be or anything like that. simply that I don't want to make sure that I don't fall for it first of all and 8:38 secondly that I don't become one of those where somehow maintaining the standard of the truth gets so tiresome so few actually choose it that I say all right let's let's lower it I'm offending too many people if I 8:57 maintain this high standard so let's lower it a little bit and that's not just for us as teachers but for us as a church, if the standard ever gets so high that we think, you know what, it's tiring to maintain this standard, let's 9:12 lower it. Let's say, let's compromise. That's really not something we need to focus on or that's not something we need to believe or practice. And you'll find many of much of Christendom has chosen that path because the truth is the truth. 9:28 If 2 + 2 equals 4 and the day comes when some you find that you are the only one left believing that 2+ 2 equals 4 and the entire world says no 2 plus 2 we have found out to actually be 4.1. We've discovered that 2+ 2 is actually 9:47 4.1. Would you believe it? Now with math probably doesn't matter as much. If you're wrong with math the worst you could do is some physical harm. If you're wrong with the truth of God's word, that's your eternal destiny. 10:03 In eternity, it won't matter whether you got every single math problem wrong because you thought 2+ 2 was 4.1. But it will matter if the truth of God was somehow you were misled from even a little bit. I hope we realize that we can't afford 10:21 to be wrong. We can't afford to compromise. Jesus said in Mark 4, the story is the story of the seed that the sewer sowed. Mark 4, we read in um you can read the explanation of that verse 13. And Jesus says something here. 10:38 There were different types of seed soil, the same seed, the same truth, the same Bible, the same word of God. But there was different soils. And the one in particular I want you to think about is the rocky soil. I believe dear 10:53 family that the danger for most of us is those two types of soil. The rocky soil and the soil among which thorns grew up. And perhaps the rocky is the most dangerous of all. The rocky soil it says that they received the word with joy. 11:11 That means after them retreat after the Sunday meeting they were excited. They had such a great time. Every year the fellowship seems to be getting better and um the the food was great, the hosts were great, the games were great, the 11:26 the fellowship time was great. I had good conversations, even the messages were great. Matthew 4, Mark 4:16. In a similar way, these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who when they hear the word immediately 11:45 receive it with joy. They love the teaching. They love RLCF. It's a wonderful church. Some of them even move here like I did. Um verse 17. And yet they have no firm root in themselves but are only temporary. 12:07 Then when affliction or persecution arises immediately they fall away. When affliction or persecution arises, they fall away. They received it with joy, but it was temporary. 12:25 And it was proven that their what was in their heart. We heard about the heart already. What was in their heart was temporary. And it was evidenced when the affliction and persecution arised. I skipped over a few words there. What was the cause of 12:42 the affliction and the persecution? Was it the government saying you cannot gather anymore? If you preach Jesus, we won't allow you to gather. What was it? Because of the word. I hope you didn't miss it in your Bible when you read it earlier. 13:00 Affliction and persecution because of the word, because of the teaching, because of the truth. There will come a point where to believe everything that Jesus that God has said in his word, everything, not cutting out a single verse in the New 13:16 Testament, every single command and every single promise. The time will come when in order to maintain this truth, not our truth, but God's truth and say that's what we uphold all of it. The time will come when there will be 13:31 affliction and persecution because of that. And that will be the test. RLCF family, brothers, sisters, and children where you decide, "Yeah, let's lower it a notch. Let's not let's turn down the heat a little bit. Half a notch even." 13:48 And many will fall away. Affliction and persecution because of the word. Paul experienced this. If you turn with me to 2 Timothy 4, as I was saying, if the time comes where you are the only one believing what you 14:07 have heard, you're the only one believing it. You see this person falling away, that person falling away, another person falling away. If you were the only one believing what you have heard and not because brother Zach said so or some 14:19 other brother said so because the Holy Spirit said so in his word and if the time comes where somebody says no let me and you know let me give you a little different angle of it would you fall for it? Paul faced this in 2 Timothy 4. He says 14:37 this is um 2 Timothy 4 verse 16. This is literally I mean 16- 22 are the last verses of this episode. This is the last episode that Paul wrote. So these are quite 14:57 literally the last words Paul's writing as uh inspired word of God. And the la one of the last things he says that if I would paraphrase verse 16, I upheld the truth for so many years and I refused to lower it that everybody 15:15 left me at my last defense. No one supported me but all deserted me. And he says, I'm not going to hold it against them. May it not be counted against them. Turn back to Philippians 2. He said something similar to the church in 15:31 Philippi. Imagine Paul left all by himself upholding the truth. Philippians 2 verse 19. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send 15:49 Timothy to you shortly so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition for I have no one else. Now Paul at this point I believe must have had dozens if not hundreds of co-workers. He had planted many churches. I would say dozens for 16:04 sure. Dozens of co-workers, maybe hundred co-workers, something like that. All the people who are part of Paul's team traveling with him. We hear read about different ones here and there. He mentions throughout his epistles. And he says,"I don't have 16:20 anyone of them that I can send to you except Timothy because I don't have anyone else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare because all of them they still I don't know if they were still on Paul's team and he was 16:35 just like I guess I got to use him, I got to use her." But they really love the world. They are more more interested in their business and their success and how much money they can make. They're not really interested in the kingdom of God. 16:50 Verse 21, they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. Sad testimony that that's what was going on. And Paul, thank God for the example of somebody like Paul that he said, even if I'm the only one standing. 17:08 Think about it, family, dear brothers, dear sisters, young people. Many of you are turning your hearts to the Lord. You've given your lives to God. You're taking baptism. You've decided to follow Jesus. Like we've seen almost every time 17:20 there's a baptism. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. We heard about that turning back. Are you prepared to never turn back? Even if no one goes with you. Not a single friend of yours goes with you. Though none go 17:35 with me. None. It's so easy to sing the tune and moved emotionally. But what if it's going to cost you, dear young people, everybody. every single one of your friends and all the wonderful memories you've had with them and all the good things you've done 17:49 together adults. What about for you? If it's going to cost you everything, are you prepared to follow Jesus? Paul was willing. Jesus, our foremost example, was willing. Turn to Galatians chapter 1. The essence of what I'm saying, dear 18:11 church family, is this that we, and that's what you've heard already this morning from the other two brothers as well. We must know the truth for ourselves. Oh, keep a finger. Galatians one. I missed the phrase that I wanted 18:26 you to see in Mark 4. Mark 4 verse the end of verse 17. It says when affliction or persecution arises of the word immediately they fall away. Verse 17 actually was what I said. 18:43 They have no firm root in themselves. They have no firm root in themselves. In other words, that firm root wasn't there in them. And so they saw this tree falling and that tree falling and that tree falling and that other person 18:58 falling. And so they also fell. I was like, "Ah, I'm going to give up. Look, look at what happened to him. Look at what happened to her." And sure, God will judge those who have been a poor testimony of him. But there will not be a single person 19:13 ever in the history of mankind who will be able to say, "Lord, because that person fell away, I fell away. I have an excuse." And he'll say, "No, you have my word. You have the Holy Spirit. You should have, could have, and should 19:28 have had a firm root in yourself. So that even if the entire world turned against the truth, you didn't. And there are many people who are falling away today because they're seeing famous preachers falling away. You hear about 19:43 somebody committing adultery and then oh, all the people that followed his ministry fall away or somebody else something else came out. They're they they fall went into some false doctrine. Let's say this is happening in 19:55 Christendom. Paul says in Galatians 1 verse 6, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel which is really not another 20:14 because gospel means good news and it's not good news if it's not good news if it's another gospel. uh only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 20:29 And look at what he says. Even if we Paul says, even if you hear it from me, if all of a sudden you start listening to my messages and you notice something different, Paul's changed his tone. He's saying, "No, no, no. Okay, you don't not 20:45 really." He says, "Even if we or an angel from heaven," serious words, if an angel from heaven, I I I don't want to stir you emotionally, family, but I want to encourage that all of us know the truth, 21:04 know it well, know God's word, and know what the truth is. It's not my truth. It's not CFC's truth. It's not RLCF's truth. It's God's truth. You must know God's truth. So that even if an angel from heaven came and preached to you and 21:17 said, "I want to give you some other gospel," you'd say, "Ah, I know the truth too well." Brothers, sisters, and children, even if we I love Paul saying, "If I get up here and preaching to you something different, you say, "No, Santos, that's 21:35 different from what you preached to me." and and what you showed me was in God's word and now you're trying to tell me something that you cannot show me is in God's word. I'm not going to fall for it. Even if we or an angel from heaven 21:47 should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed as we have said before. So I say he has to repeat himself. So I say again now if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to 22:04 what you have received he is to be a curse because Paul Paul's saying listen now Paul wasn't that preaching another gospel because he says in verse 10 I'm not interested in pleasing men. If I was seeking to please men I would have gone 22:19 into some other line of work not God's kingdom. If I was really interested in making sure everybody was happy with me. Oh Santosh nice guy. Yeah, he's Yeah, he's got some quirks, but pretty good guy in the end. If that's what I was 22:31 after, I wouldn't have gone into God's kingdom. But if you want to build God's kingdom, you must be prepared that every single person may turn against you. We don't want them to turn against us, but they may because of the truth, the 22:47 affliction and persecution, because of the word. He says similar words a couple pages earlier. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2, I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I betrothed you 23:05 to one husband so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. And if somebody says, "Well, you can compromise a little bit." That's yeah, what's wrong with a little bit of this or what's wrong with a little bit of 23:17 that? Why can't I be attached to my friends or my family a little bit? What's wrong with that? He says, "No, I betrod you to be pure, to be married to Christ, where, as we sang earlier, he is everything. Christ, only Christ. 23:33 But I'm afraid, as we heard from also earlier this morning, as the serpent deceived Eve because of his craftiness and cunning, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 23:50 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached or you receive a different spirit, Paul says the same thing there. Don't receive this another Christ that's out there or another gospel. And so what is this simple pure devotion 24:09 to Christ? People say, "Well, you just talk about Jesus." Sure, let's just talk about Jesus. But we must know what Jesus is. And if somebody presents to you a Jesus that is different from the Jesus you see in the Bible, you reject that 24:27 right away. If you see somebody, for example, I'll tell you one example in the matter of money. Almost every church that I know of, even good churches, asks for money during their meeting. As far as I know, we have never asked for money 24:40 in any of our services and never will because Jesus never asked for money. And is this another Jesus? Or is it the Jesus that you say, well, every church in 2025 asks for money and that must be Christianity. And that's the trick of 24:54 the devil that if he gets everybody to do it, you think, "Yeah, that must be Jesus." Will you fall for it? You see, well, there are Christians, right? What's wrong with them? I'm not here to say who what's wrong with who else. I want to 25:08 make sure that I'm not wrong and that I don't fall for another Jesus. There's a lot of things like that that we do that people say, "Well, they're kind of a quirky church or they're odd odd group of people." Some even call us 25:19 a cult. I don't mind any of those accusations. I'll tell you what, when Paul said, "Yes, I'm a part of that cult that they call the way," he said it with a sense of pride, almost a healthy pride. He says, "Yeah, I'm not afraid to 25:34 be associated with that thing which you call a cult because it's the narrow way of following Jesus." And sure, we, you know, are we in danger of being a cult? Sure, but that's in each of our hearts. That club mentality we talk about, but 25:50 the way to life is narrow. So narrow that the world might even think that we are a cult. so narrow that there are certain things that others will want you to compromise on that you'll say no we're not going to compromise on that even those who once 26:05 upon a time used to stand for that truth let's turn to John 17 and I'll close with this beautiful passage is also in our Bible reading John chapter 17 so don't fall for something that's not the truth simply because you see quote unquote everybody 26:24 around you following that A that must not be the guide. You must have a firm root in yourself. And so that think about it brothers, sisters, children for a moment. If among this group of us in this church, you find that everybody has walked away 26:40 from the truth. Everybody here including me, let's say, would you say, I've known the truth. I know Jesus personally. I've meditated on his word. the truths that we have sought to preach in this church from many many years. Has it become real 26:58 in your life where if you see every single person around here, there's no more church retreat because there's nobody left to have a church. Oh, maybe the church retreat still happens. But, you know, it's not preaching the truth. The standard has 27:11 been lowered. The story has been changed. The truth has been corrupted in some way. Distorted was the word that Paul used. Would you stand for it? If so, you are one whom God will use to build this church. Every one of us, 27:28 think about it, in a beautiful way, must be those who have a firm root in themselves, not firm root in each other, firm root in themselves. And because you have a firm root in yourself, in Christ, you have fellowship with each other. This is 27:46 the only way to build a church. This is the only way we are going to build this church as by the grace of God that we encourage each one of you not to be attached to me or the teaching or anything else but to have a firm root in 27:57 yourself. Brothers, sisters, children, a firm root in yourself. If you have that firm root in yourself, I guarantee you will have fellowship with others who have firm root in themselves. And we must examine our hearts to see is that are you hiding 28:14 something? Is there secretly a spirit of lust in you, dear man, brother, that you hidden from your wife secretly? Or your children, they think you're a pure man, but others can who have discernment can see it in your eyes. You have a spirit 28:26 of lust or you have a spirit of gossip that you hide somehow, but secretly you love to little chitchat, gossip, whatever it might be. If the spirit of the world is there, you don't have that firm root in yourself and one day it 28:39 will be exposed. It's a good time these annual retreats that we have to examine our hearts. If you have that firm root in yourself then and then alone you will have true fellowship. Otherwise you will always be an outsider in this church. I hope there 28:56 are no outsiders in this church but you know in your heart as we heard from the first message already this morning what is in your heart. You know whether you really love money, whether you really love this world and you're attached to 29:07 it in some way. If that's there, I can tell you, you will always be an outsider. I'm not here to draw the circle, but you will always be an outsider because the way this church is going, at least for the last seven years, I'll say, is this that we want 29:23 unity to be built on Christ and Christ alone, his truth. Let's say John 17, father one, the hour has come. glorify your son that the son may glorify you even as you gave him authority over all 29:43 flesh that to all whom you have given him he may give eternal life and this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent to know Jesus in a way that you actually have eternal 30:01 life see a lot of people read verse 13 yeah to know Jesus yeah of course even the atheists know Jesus Jesus. There's such a man who died on the cross supposedly. Even the other religions say they know Jesus. Some religions even 30:15 accept Jesus as somewhat of a God. Is that what Jesus was talking about? Are they all going to have eternal life? How do you really know Jesus? Do you know him in a way that you have that life inside of you? The life of Christ. 30:31 That's what we have preached. That you have eternal life in you. that you know Jesus in such a way that you have eternal life. Let's skip down. I want you to read the whole chapter sometime when you go home. It's a beautiful, beautiful chapter. 30:47 Came alive for me again this week. Verse six. I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours and you gave them to me. And look at this. They have kept your word. Which means what? Others lost it or kept 31:06 some of it. They kept your word. Oh, this is the burden of my heart this morning, brothers and sisters. We've heard so much teaching. We have conferences where we pack in 10, 12 sessions of teaching in two days or three days. We hear so 31:22 much. Have you kept it? Is it in your heart? Is it real? Have you kept God's word or has it fil dissipated? Has it been filtered through? Is there a hole in your bucket somehow where that word is not kept anymore? The memory verses, brothers, sisters, 31:37 children, have you kept it? Maybe you don't remember it by heart anymore, but have you kept it in your heart? Can you say like David who was a man after God's own heart, thy word have I kept? Have I hid in my heart? Because that's the only 31:50 way I will be kept from sin. Psalm 119 verse 11. Continue reading in John 16 verse 11. I am no longer in the world and yet they themselves are in the world. Jesus is going up now. We won't need this exhortation when we get to heaven. Jesus 32:09 says, I'm I'm in the world. I kept your word and I kept them in your word. Now I'm going up. And look at the burden of his heart. I love it so much. Verse 11. Um, and yet they themselves are in the world. And I come to you. Holy Father, I 32:24 see him pleading. Keep them in your name. The name which you have given me. Keep them in your name so that they may be one even as we are one. This is the only way to unity. It's not more retreats and getting along well 32:43 and being happy and all that. is being kept in God's name where the name of God and the glory of God is all that we seek that we're not seeking RLCF's name or any other name the glory of God and that's how unity comes verse 33:00 12 while I was with them I was keeping them in your name which you have given me and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of predition so that the scriptures might be fulfilled but now I come to you verse 13 and these things I 33:17 speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. Have you wondered what that joy is? I was meditating it on this week and the Lord gave me an answer and it's right in the verse we just read. Jesus's greatest joy was to be one 33:35 with the father. That's what he said. That they may be one even as you and I are one. So what was this joy? He says, "My joy is so full in me." And that joy he's had forever. The think about it for a moment. The thing that excited Jesus the most was 33:52 oneness with the father. You could tempt him with all these other things. As a man, he was tempted in the sexual area and the pleasure that you get from that. He was tempted with the lure of money. He was tempted with tempted with that, 34:04 tempted with the other thing. But he said, "You know what's the greatest joy? I'll give up all of those things to be one with the father. and I will never give up unity with the father for anything that you could offer me. And the devil offered him everything 34:17 at one point when he was 30 years old. He said, "Devil, you're you're you're trying to offer me something that is less joyful to me than what I know is true joy." And this is how he's building his church today. And he says, he prayed 34:31 for us, family. He prayed for us that we would have that joy. Claim it today. Say, Lord, I want to have that joy that you had. If if when I'm tempted with this and I'm tempted with that and the other thing, I seem to fall for that. I 34:44 seem to find joy in that. I enjoy the soccer game more than your word. Lord, I want to be one with you. I want to know what Jesus knew that oneness with the father would bring me the greatest joy of all that their joy may be made full in 34:59 themselves. That means you don't even need everybody else at RLCF to experience it. It's in you. Santo has a joy in him. He has found he has tapped into that like they say you you hit oil you keep drilling drilling drilling you finally hit it all right or 35:16 you hit gold back in the days of the 49ers that have you drilled enough dear brothers dear sisters where you have hit gold the gold of fellowship with the father then your joy will be made full and then everybody else could fall for 35:29 fall around you and you won't fall for it because you've tapped into it I mean if you if you had Actually, let's say back in the days when they were digging for gold or digging for oil and you actually hit oil and you knew it was 35:43 real because the oil worked, the gold was real. It had value and then somebody came to you and says, "Hey, there's no gold around here. Sorry. Let's leave." Would you fall for it? If you actually got to the gold, you could never fall 35:56 for it. And I'll tell you this, dear brothers, your sisters, is the burden of my heart. If you have actually hit the gold of joy that Jesus talked about and prayed that we would have fellowship, oneness with the father, everybody could 36:09 come and say something else. Yes, you can have a little bit of health with Jesus and a little bit of wealth with Jesus and let's compromise in this and let's do that and let's look like the world a little bit more like this 36:19 because we want to win them, right? You'll say, "I'm sorry. I can't give up any of that because I found joy." Let's continue reading. I'm almost done. Um, I have given them your word and the world has hated them. 36:36 You see that hatred because of the word? Has Jesus given you his word in such a way that the world hates you? Even so-called Christians, you're too radical, bro. The world has hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of 36:52 the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one that we read about, the deceiver. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Make this a goal. If it's not been the case, the 37:09 world ought to know that I am as little a part of them as Jesus was. They are not, this is John 17:16, they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. We're going to go to work tomorrow. Will people be able to say Santos is not a 37:27 part of us because Jesus is not a part of us. Verse 17. Sanctify them in the truth in your word. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they themselves may also be 37:44 sanctified in truth. In truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word sitting in RLCF 2025. There we are. That they may all be one, even as you, Father, and I are in me and 38:02 I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. Think about what we just experienced, the richness of oneness this weekend. Was it oneness in us? that is Jesus and the Father and the Holy 38:18 Spirit. If not, it's going to fade away. You're going to get disgruntled or disappointed with somebody. They're not going to treat you a particular way. You're going to get some correction or rebuke and that's going to offend you. 38:29 But if it's the unity, the oneness that comes from being in the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit, it will last forever. This is the church that Jesus is building here. I believe it and I pray for it. So that the world may believe that you 38:48 sent me. Verse 22, let's read the rest of this chapter. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them that they may be one just as we are. I in them and you in me that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world 39:01 may know that you sent me and love them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me, be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you have loved me before 39:15 the foundations of the world. Oh righteous father, although the world has not known you, yet I have known you and these have known that you sent me. There it is. There we come into the picture. Jesus knew the father. And do you know 39:27 the father in the same way? Like Dave was saying yesterday as well. John 14 verse 286. and I have made your name known to them and will make it known so that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them. 39:44 Did you love your brother, your sister today, this weekend with the love that Jesus loved you? It's a good question for you to meditate on. And are you experiencing oneness in your marriage and in your home and in the church with other brothers and sisters 40:02 like Jesus had with the father? It starts dear friends by having a firm root in yourself. Having found that joy of fellowship and oneness with the father alone. Let's pray. I thank you heavenly father first of all 40:23 for your goodness and mercy in giving yourself to us through Jesus. Jesus alone deserves all the glory and honor Lord. So we thank you father and we thank you Lord Jesus for coming. You deserve all the glory and honor because 40:38 you came and you were here and you made these things that we have heard about and have heard about for years possible. It was just word before that and now it's become life. It's become flesh because of you Lord Jesus. So we praise 40:54 you and honor you and glorify you. And I thank you, Holy Spirit, as well for coming and making Jesus real to us where he's no longer a historical figure who lived 2,000 years ago and lived a good life, but he's a real person who lives 41:08 in us through you, Holy Spirit. A person who's real, who speaks to us, who whom we can see with eyes greater than our physical eyes, whom we can know more deeply than we could ever know anybody in the physical realm. Thank you, Holy 41:23 Spirit, for that work that you're doing in our lives. And I thank you for for this time that you've given us, for the privilege of being a part of a church family that loves you and wants to follow you. Lord, I pray for every 41:35 single person here in this church and those listening online, but especially for us here at RLCF who you called into this local fellowship. Heavenly Father, I pray that you will that not a single one of us will fall away through 41:49 unbelief or through disobedience or through the love of this world or through the affliction and persecution of the word or the cares and the worries of this world and the deceitfulness of riches that would choke out your word. I 42:02 pray father that every single one here will be preserved until the end by you by your holy spirit in the truth that is in your word. Lord, we have no affiliation. We don't have allegiance to anything or any person here on this 42:16 earth. But our allegiance is to you, Lord Jesus, the captain of our salvation. And I pray like the members of a body, that every single member of this body will have a connection with you, the head, most importantly that we 42:29 won't leave this room this morning until we have established and decided that we will have that connection with you in ourselves irrespective of anybody and everybody else around us. Make that connection real, heavenly father. A 42:42 refresh this morning. Your holy spirit can and will do that. I believe. And m out of that connection with the head. Every single part, every single member, hidden or or visible, every single member of the body firmly connected to 42:57 the head. Now Lord, give us unity in your body through that and that alone. And Lord, if we go astray from it, if we start to get attached to each other in some earthly way, open our eyes and save us from that earthly club mentality so 43:11 that what we bu what we're here doing, Lord, and the church that you're building will be pure. We'll have nothing of the corruption of this world or self or attachments or earthly attachments in it. Won't have our own little earthly temperaments and 43:25 personalities and getting offended and irritations in it anymore. Lord, purify this church, we pray. Sanctify us. Let your truth in your word become so real and living in us that it burns up the chaff of all other things that have 43:40 hindered us from deeper fellowship. Lord, I don't think we've even scratched the surface of the level of fellowship that you want us to have. It's like you and the father had, Lord Jesus, have had for all eternity. We're not even close 43:52 to that. We're just a millimeter, Lord, compared to the infinite unity that you have. Will you do a work in this church that builds unity that will last forever, that will last the tests of time, the tests that are coming this 44:05 year and in the years to come? I believe you're going to test this church, Lord, to see who are those who are committed to what we've heard and the unity that we you've called us into oneness as you and the father are one, Lord Jesus. 44:17 Oneness in our marriages that as as husbands and wives, we'll experience deeper unity than we've had yet. Not just satisfied by how many years we've been married, but experiencing the quality of unity that you have. Give us 44:30 that, Lord, in our homes, in our marriages. Unity between parents and children like you and the father have, Lord Jesus. Unity in this church, between families, brothers and sisters, and children, not just getting along, 44:42 but being one. Lord, I pray do that. Thank you. You're here in our midst. You've been in our midst, Lord, through our meetings and all the day long. Thank you that you're here. You're hearing this prayer. It's the prayer of faith 44:53 from RLCF rising up not as a corporate body, Lord, but by individuals whom you've knit together and love. And you're going to seal this. And one day, we're going to see the bowls of these prayers poured out. And you will see the 45:05 work that you were able to do in these broken, useless people that you called together at RLCF and others who are listening to this prayer. Lord, do it. to build your church wherever there are such hungry godly people who want to be 45:18 a pure testimony for your name's sake and will refuse to lower the standard of your truth even a little bit preserve us Lord we can't do it it's not our agenda it's yours we want your name to be pure and exalted and high and highly lifted 45:31 up we want to maintain the standard of your word because it is your word not ours we want to maintain the standard of your truth because it's yours we want to m maintain and experience the quality of life that at the highest this standard 45:43 because it's your life and you've given it to us freely. Thank you, Lord. Pour out your Holy Spirit aresh, I pray. Pray with me, family. Ask God to pour out his Holy Spirit within you to fill your cup. If you're thirsty, if you're desperate, 45:56 if you're needy, he's here. Draw near to God. He will draw near to you. Don't miss this opportunity. Heavenly Father, I cry out to you for my own life, Lord. Now, I need a fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit. I lift up my cup to you, 46:08 Lord, and ask you to fill it and give me a greater capacity for your love and for your Holy Spirit, Lord. I pray fill us with the fruit of Christ, the life of Christ in every single one of us, Lord, in our marriages, in our homes, and in 46:19 this church. Thank you, Lord, that you will do that, Lord. And give us gifts. I pray as even we heard this morning, Lord, that every one of us will receive such an anointing and the outpouring and filling of the Holy Spirit that you will 46:31 give us gifts to build up the church. There won't be any lazy lacadasical people who sitting moping or depressed or discouraged Lord but everyone is fulfilling their ministry not just in service in physical ways Lord but in 46:43 spiritual ways that were everyone building up the church. You said the promise was for our children Lord I pray that you will pour out your Holy Spirit even now aresh on our children and give them gifts. Our young people give them 46:55 gifts Lord with which they can build up the church. We thank you Lord. This is your will. You are the head. This is your church. We're here to make your name glorious and great and make may I may we decrease Lord more today. May we 47:07 all decrease a little bit more today that you might increase in our LCF. This is your church Lord. You will build it and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Take us to those gates there wherever they are this week. Lord, take 47:19 us to those gates wherever they are in the days to come. And we know we shall triumph in the name of Jesus. We thank you. We praise you. We glorify you in Jesus name. Amen. [Music]
