 I would like to request someone to please lead us in a word of prayer and then we can continue. Susan, is it possible for you to lead us today in prayer? Are you comfortable to lead? Yes ma'am. Yes please go ahead. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord. Thank you for this wonderful morning you have given us Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord. Thank you for the opportunity you have given us Lord to learn and to understand all your revelation which are kept for us all the mystery Lord. Thank you for a madam Lord Jesus bless her also Lord speak through her Lord Jesus and convey to us whatever you want to teach us. Thank you Lord Jesus bless each and everyone who has joined here Lord. Thank you for this wonderful day once again asking in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you Susan for leading us in that word of prayer. We will pick up from where we had stopped in the last class we were talking about seasons of preparation in our life and seemingly disconnected seasons and how everything is used by God to build us up. Everything is used in our lives to build our character to prepare our hearts for the vision that God has for each one of us. So we will continue along the same theme of preparation and you know there are many examples in the word of God of people who have gone through such preparation. So Joseph is a wonderful example. We know that you know he definitely knew that God was going to use him because God gave him a dream and you know he looked forward to mighty things in God. However the journey of his life was not so smooth. So in Psalm 105 I am in Kingdom Builders publication page number 35. So that's where I'm at if you're wondering where we are. So there is a passage from Psalm 105 verse 17 through 22 that describes the journey of Joseph. You know how he became a slave, how he became a prisoner and how he had to face so many challenges through his journey in Egypt. So this was definitely a preparation time in Joseph's life. Something that God was with him during that time. But then you know even though it seemed like it was so unnecessary for him to go through all this, God knew how to build Joseph up through this situation. So we're talking about the life of Joseph. So if you look closely and in our notes there is a very detailed assessment of the life of Joseph. Followed by the life of I think it's Moses and then the life of David. We will look at the number of years that elapsed after they got a word from God that they are going to be serving the Lord in whichever way God had called them to. So it was never a short period of time. So we'll start with Joseph. So when we look at the life of Joseph early on as a child, he had a dream from God and God showed him how all his brothers are going to bow down to him. And he was very innocent, right? Like he went and he shared his dream and little did he realize that it is going to cause jealousy among the brothers. So he went and shared his dream. And the next thing that happens is that he's sold by his brothers. He sold to Egypt. So Joseph was about 17 years old when this happened. And then you study about the life of Joseph. You observe that he lived in Egypt for 11 years. And what was he doing in Egypt? He found work in Potiphar's house. So for 11 years he was serving there. He was serving with excellence, of course, because we know that Potiphar was so happy that he entrusted him with everything, right? Every responsibility in his house. And he trusted Joseph. So 11 years he was a good steward of what was given to him. And then the incident with Potiphar's wife happens and then two years he is in the prison. So 13 years, right? From 17 to 13, sorry, 17 plus 13, if you add that about 30 years old, you know, Joseph is right now. And again, he must have wondered what happened to the dream that God gave me, that I'm going to be a blessing to my family, that I'm going to be a deliverer for my brothers. But then as you look at his life unfold, it took another nine years. At the age of 39 is when his family actually comes to Egypt to buy food. So he sees them for the first time at age 39 and the second time would be at age 41. So think about this. It's been a long, long time since the period when God gave him the dream. He was a child so we could say maybe, I don't know, 10 years old or something that he had the dream. But it took 30 years for Joseph to experience the fulfillment of that dream. So, you know, God, now we can ask the question like what, why God? Why is it that you communicate to us way ahead of time? And then it's only much later that we walk into your promises. Now there can be many reasons why, but one thing we know and we'll talk about it later also that, you know, God is really building us up not just in terms of our skill, not just in terms of our appointing, but also in terms of our character. So in Joseph's life, we observed that, you know, only around the age of 30 he took responsibility in Egypt. Like he kind of got elevated him to a position of second in command. And he faithfully served for about 70 years in that position to bless God's people and he lived up to, you know, 110 years old. So that is the journey that Joseph made with regard to the God-given vision which was so important to him. So again, you know, the God-given vision that he will be in a position of influence, that he will be a deliverer for his own family and others. Now he lived that vision for, you could say, 70 years. But the journey of preparation before those 70 years of execution began, it was not easy. And it was several years of being in a position, you know, they say like pit to prison, right? And then prison also happened before the position came about in Joseph's life. So that is Joseph's life and we observe, you know, the passage of time. And in the case of Joseph, we could also observe that there was something that others did to put him in trouble. So why did he end up in Egypt? His brothers sold him out of jealousy. Now can God redeem, can God restore when evil things happen to us? Answer is yes. See God knew that he was going to elevate Joseph no matter what. Even though it was not Joseph's fault that he ended up in Egypt. Even through that God knew how to, you know, open the doors for Joseph and position him. But of course, in the life of Joseph, we do see that spirit of excellence, that spirit of faithfulness. He didn't give up even in the most difficult circumstances. So that is about Joseph. Now moving on to the life of Moses. It's kind of similar because Moses was protected by God supernaturally when his Jewish children were dying. And then he was supernaturally sort of protected through his childhood. The Pharaoh's daughter takes him in. He gets the best of education, the best of care. And, you know, Moses' mother takes care of Moses. And so, you know, it's like he's being equipped for the purpose of God for his life. And it's only at the age of 40 that it comes into his heart that he has to deliver his own people. Was Moses aware that he didn't belong to Egypt? Yes, Moses was very much aware. And again, like Joseph, Moses had these grand dreams of delivering the Jewish people. However, we see that, you know, he tried to attempt doing something in his own ability. When he saw a Jewish man fighting with an Egyptian, he tries to be the deliverer. And out of his anger, he ends up murdering the Egyptian, right? And that causes a disturbance in the plan of God. And then Moses has to like flee for his life because people are against him now. So he flees into the wilderness and then he has to be in the wilderness for 40 long years until sort of, you know, the wrath of the king cools down. It's only after another 40 years, so at age 80 that he comes, he resumes his mission and you could say that he walked into his divine mission at the age of 80. So it took him 40 years because of the mistake. Now, Joseph, it was a different situation. People put him in trouble. Moses created his own trouble, you know, in that sense. He tried to push the plan of God and he ended up, you know, spending another 40 years before he could actually step into his calling and be that leader and the deliverer for the Jewish people. So that's about the life of Moses and Moses again, he died at the age of 120. So even as we consider the lives of these people in detail, we're able to observe that they made a journey. They made a journey, God was with them and through the seemingly disconnected or you might want to look at it as wasted season, you know. Both Joseph and Moses, they could have immediately swung into action and they could have come into position and taken over their divine mission but it didn't happen in both cases and there was a passage of time before they actually could step in. Now, let's look at the life of David. I'm on page 37. So David, like Joseph, very early on in his life, he knew that God had called him for something. So at the age of 13, David is, you know, like anointed. At that point in time, Samuel kind of, you know, he identifies David and he speaks about God's plan for David's life. But then the initial years of David were just about, you know, taking care of his father's sheep, taking care of responsibilities that his father gave. Then, you know, he was a good musician. So he was totally into music, writing songs for the Lord and then you see him fighting the lion and the bear and eventually, at the age of roughly about 15 to 17 years, he has his first national fame because he slays Goliath. So even at this point, we could be wondering, you know, how come this child is aware of his destiny but nothing is actually happening. However, then there's the whole unfolding of the events in David's life because Saul doesn't like him. Saul is trying to kill him. So the next several years, you know, David is trying to escape from Saul. He's living like a vaderborn and during that time, you know, God causes mighty men to come and join David. And you know, they're also people like him. So they kind of understand each other and through these mighty men, you know, David becomes that man of war and that, you know, valiant person. So it's only at the age of 23 that we notice that he became the king of Judah. So like roughly about 10 years from the age of 13, it took 10 years for him to become the king of Judah. And then again, you know, there is the passage of time and it is said that, yeah, he was 30 years old. 30 years old when he was finally made king of Israel and Judah. So similar to what happened to Joseph in his lifetime. In David's case, again, we could we could look at his circumstances and say Saul caused a lot of difficulty. Then, you know, the kind of decisions that David made or we could look at even different instances and say, oh, this is the reason why David did not take his take up his throne immediately. But whatever happened in David's life, we know that God is a mighty God that he is able to redeem. He's able to reposition us and he is able to fulfill the promise which he has made upon our lives. But what is most important is that we remain aligned, that we remain yielded to God, we remain surrendered to God. Because again, if you look at Moses's life, when he tried to do things on his own, he was not aligned and that ended up wasting more time in Moses's life. So here we notice that at the age of 30 in the life of David, that's when he took on the role of king over Israel. And then he reeled for 40 years. And then, you know, you kind of read about the life of David. He died at the age of 75 years. So he remained in his mission and he died at the age of 75. Now, looking at somebody from the New Testament, Paul the Apostle, I think this is covered in fulfilling God's purpose for your life, which is there in your first year course. So you probably already know about the life of Paul. So the life of Paul, we see that at the age of 33 is when he had an encounter with God on the road to Damascus. So that's when the journey actually begins. But soon after that, even though he wants to do ministry, he's not accepted by people because people doubt him. People doubt his integrity. People wonder whether he is, you know, he is like a wolf in sheep's clothing, just claiming to be a believer. So his ministry is not received immediately after Saul's conversion. We read about him spending time in the areas of Damascus and Arabia for some time and then he visits Jerusalem for about 15 days. So, you know, there is all this happening and then later he goes to the regions of Tarsus, Syria and Cilicia. But the Bible does not record any kind of details about the ministry of Saul. Now, obviously we know that he received his revelation, a lot of his revelation during this time. He was not even connected to the apostles because in the writings of Paul, you see that he only spent 15 days in Jerusalem and that too, I think he spent with Peter. 15 days he went there, he spent with, he only met Peter there and that was about it. So what kind, like who are the people in his life? What was he teaching in his early years? We don't have much information. But later we see that after 13 years is when Barnabas comes to Tarsus and he brings Saul to Antioch. So he brings Saul to Antioch and over there for one year we notice that Saul becomes a teacher. He becomes a very well respected figure in the Church of Antioch. So it took 13 years of preparation and then as you study a little more about what he was up to and all, it's only around the age of 17 or sorry, after 17 years had elapsed that Paul was launched into notable ministry, like Acts 13, he steps out on his missionary journeys. So by this time, Saul or Paul is about 50 years old and then he goes ahead with his missionary journeys and writing his epistles and everything and I think around age 66 is when he died. So that's about the journey of Paul and there are 17 years that are called as the silent years of Paul. So what are we trying to say? We're trying to say that God gives us a vision and the God given vision, even though it's very vivid within us in our hearts, in our minds and we want to see the fulfillment of that vision tomorrow. That may not be how God leads us into that God-given vision that can be a good amount of time that passes by for whatever reason. It could be for the right reasons. For example, in the case of Paul, he went and he was still doing ministry. It's not like somebody pushed him into the regions of Tarsus, Celicia and all of that. But he went and... What? Okay. Sound disturbance here. Sorry, I'm going to mute. You move it up there. You move it down there. Okay. Yeah, sorry. Yeah, we shall continue. So yes, for the right reasons or for the wrong reasons, whatever the case may be, there is an element of time. And we have to wait upon the Lord for... We've talked about this, the Cairo's moment or the right timing of God for things to unfold. And God is not in a hurry. God is not in a hurry. And we have to depend on the Lord for His appointed time to initiate things, to execute things, to fulfill things. So we look at it this way. No, we need God all along. We need God when the vision is given to us. We need God when we step into the vision. We need God when we are executing the vision. So all along, we need God and we have to go by how God is leading us. And never look down or feel bad about the preparation time. Because preparation time is essentially a waiting time. And in this waiting time, God is able to do so many things in us. And God might be doing other things around us, which we are not realizing. But that waiting time is not a wasted time. And from the lives of the people that we have noticed, they were not idle in the waiting time. Joseph is the best example. What was it? Did I say 13 years? Something like whatever number of years? Yeah, 13 years in Egypt. When his vision was not fulfilled, he could have just sat there and sulked and said, when is the door going to open? When is the door going to open? What he did was, he was faithful to all the small responsibilities, big responsibilities. Whatever came to him, he was faithful during that time. And we could examine his life further and say so many other things that God built skill, God helped him build character. So a lot of development would have happened in Joseph's life. And God knew that that is the kind of preparation he needed to be second in command. And similarly, when we look at the life of Moses, Moses in the wilderness, God did other things in his life. He got married and he was able to take care of his father in Lawsheet. So he was engaged in something while he was still waiting on the Lord. And then the burning wish happened and God's instruction came and he could step out to deliver the people of Israel. In the case of David, so many things that David did during the waiting period. He raised up an army, he engaged in important battles. He learned how to hear from God, trust God for his victories. So there was a preparation that was going on within David. And Paul obviously, he received revelations and he would have learned other things like how to teach, the anointing of God increasing over his life. So many things that God did during his silent years. So this is the manner in which God works in our lives and there can be different seasons. There can be an entire process that God takes us through. And we must be ready to grow in God, to learn through everything, to learn through everything. And that's when God will be able to equip us and open the doors at the right time. So any thoughts before I proceed further? Are you all doing okay? Yes, Samil, you have a question? No, I'm just saying we're okay. Okay, that's fine. Okay, I think we are on the same page, so it's good. Okay, let's proceed. A few more sections here for us to touch upon. The next section says the unfolding of a God-given vision may differ from our expectation. And we've already discussed that. That the journey that each person made was very, very different. Though they might have thought that, okay, now for example, Joseph, he probably thought that wherever he was, God would raise him up and God would make him a king or something like that in his own land. But that was not the case. God had a way of leading him and God had a way of causing him to even come out of adverse situations to fulfill the vision which he had. Similarly, in our lives, when we go through a phase or a season, which seems different. Okay, now ideally, you might think that God will put you through a certain course and give you a certain position for you to gain the experience that you need to do what God has called you to do. Now, God may not do it that way. God may do it in a very different way. But whatever it is, whatever it is, the unfolding, we have to be open to receive. We have to be open to receive the way God is working in our lives and even if mistakes happen because of our decisions or because of something that someone has done against us, we have to have the faith that, you know what, God is greater. God is greater than what I'm going through. And he's able to bring me back, align me to the purpose of God for my life and God has done that in the lives of people and he continues to do that. So the unfolding of the vision may be very different from the way we assume it to be. Yes, Christopher, please go ahead, Christopher. You have something to ask. Yes, Pastor. So this is just a thought that occurred to me. In Jesus' life, you know, he spent 33 years on the earth and of which 30 years we don't know very much about. Now, I can't really say that there's preparation time for him, but it was obviously a time where he was not really in ministry. So just to try to understand, trying to get your view on those 30 years. What did that actually mean for Jesus? And sometimes I feel that, you know, why was it just three years? If it was more years, it could have been much more different. So I just wanted to understand from your point of view how this, you know, what sort of, you know, constitute these 30 years and, you know, how it lets to, you know, a time where Jesus was not really in ministry, but, you know, he was doing, he was basically at home and leading a normal life. Yes, yes, Christopher, I think that's a very relevant question. Just to talk about it, I want to share a scripture. So this is Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 8. This verse says, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. I ended up copying the King James Version. But basically what it says is that he learned obedience by the things which he suffered or the things that he went through. So when you read about the early years of Jesus, you're right, we don't think too much about it, except the fact that he was an obedient son to his parents. And he was, he was even more obedient and committed to God the Father. If you recall, his family was a devout family. They would go for worship, they would go to the temple and at age eight, you know, that he stayed back and his parents had to come get him. Because he was so devoted to the Father even at that age. And he knew his calling that we know because he talks about how he's there to do his father's will and his father's works. So from the passages that talk about the early life of Jesus, few things we can pick up. That he was obedient to the Father, he was devoted to the Father, he was obedient to his parents. Even from his later life, we know that he was a good son. Even when he was crucified on the cross, he's worried about many. So he kind of entrusts her to one of his disciples. So he lived an obedient life to God and to the authorities that God had placed upon him. And he did life with responsibility because we know that the people said, isn't this the carpenter's son? And we know that Jesus himself was a carpenter. So he did work and fulfilled his responsibilities. So things like this, we learn that. And from this verse, we know that there are things that he went through. But through all that, we are sure that even in the life of Jesus, there was some sort of a preparation that God was doing. And was Jesus perfect? Yes, because the same book he talks a lot about how he was tempted in every way yet without sin. So he was already perfect. But there was something more that the Lord was doing in his life. He learned obedience success. He learned obedience through the things that he suffered or the things that he went through. So that's as much as we know about the life of Jesus. But Jesus was so well prepared. Now in John chapter 2, we read for the first time, he manifested his glory when he turned the water into wine. And that was the beginning of the signs, miracles and wonders that Jesus performed. Now from then on, Christopher rightly said three, three and a half years is the duration of his ministry. And he was crucified at the end of that period. But those three and a half years where he was so aligned to the will of the Father that he fulfilled everything that God wanted him to do in three and a half years. So that's the beauty of that. Why did God allow Jesus to prepare himself for 30 years and only minister for three and a half years? I don't know. It's quite mysterious to me as well. But that's how God worked in Jesus's life. So we are just human beings. He was the son of God, though he was fully man. So we learned something from that. So Christopher, just some thoughts. I don't think I have answered your question, but do these thoughts make some sense? Yes, definitely. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. So usually I've heard Pastor Ashish share that he started preaching very young while he was a teenager. And he was so passionate for God that at some point, I think before his 10th or after his 10th standard, he wanted to go to Bible college. So, and he was very, you know, very insistent that that's what should be done. And his parents took him for counseling through one of the church pastors. And the pastor told him, he said, look, God waited for 30 years in Jesus's life and launched him into ministry only after 30 years. Why are you in Sachari? So that's when he kind of decided that, oh, okay, fine. You know, let me finish my 10th standard. Let me study some more. And later, you know, as the Lord leads, I will step into full time ministry. So you're just one testimony there, which I've heard him share. So yeah, similarly, even in our lives, God takes us through a preparation season and a preparation time. And we must embrace that. Yes. Yeah. And the way the path is the way God's vision unfolds might be very different from what we have imagined. But, you know, we must wait for the Kyros moment of God for the fulfillment of his vision. Okay. Otherwise, what will happen if you don't wait for the Kyros moment? We end up causing things to become more difficult. Oh, okay. Okay, so Anita is saying he was preaching. Okay, Jesus was preaching from a small age. Okay. Yeah, he had a wisdom. We hear about that. Okay. Anita, is that a question you want to ask something or just a comment? It's just a comment. Okay, sure. Yeah. All right. I say, yes, please go ahead. Yes, Ma'am. I just wanted to add to what you said. You know, there's a verse in Galatians that says that at the fullness of time, Christ was brought to the earth. You know, and we see that as the redemption plan of God was unfolding, history too was playing itself alongside. So I believe one of the reasons why it was three and a half years was because at the time when Jesus Christ was to die, it collided exactly with the timing and setting which you referred to as the Kyros moment. You know, it just was, it was right on point, you know, at that moment, how to die in the time of how history was unfolding, how time was unfolding, because the Roman government was just on the way they crucified the criminals. Everything just tallied alongside with how Christ was going to die. So I believe, yeah, timing, the timing was just right. And so I believe this is what God was working with at the same time as history was unfolding. God too was unfolding his salvation plan for both to intersect and then with Christ to save him. Yes, yes, thank you, say thank you. Yeah, that's, that's so true. So even outside of Jesus, the world was kind of, you know, being prepared for the ministry of Jesus. So the timing, the Kyros timing is important and we must wait for that Kyros timing of God. Now, there are some examples. In fact, the example of Moses has been put down here in our notes for us. The fact that, you know, he tried to, he tried to move into the plan of God before it was time. And so, you know, he ended up wasting 40 years of his life. So these kind of mistakes that we make can cause a delay. Now, in fulfilling God's vision, when we think about the life of Abraham, we said that the spirit versus the flesh and what is this? Ishmael, Ishmael is a picture of the flesh. So Abraham, when he tried to complete God's vision, it created, it brought about an enemy, right, for the actual promise of God, which is Isaac. So, you know, when we try to do things in our own strength, when we try to do things in our own timing, that brings about mistakes. Okay, and yet we've said that even if that happens, when we acknowledge our mistakes, we go back to God, God is able. There is a beautiful scripture in Joel chapter 2 and verse 25. It says, So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you. So I will restore the years that the locust has eaten. So in our lives, when we look back at our years and sometimes we might think, if at all I had done this earlier, if at all I had learned this skill earlier or joined that college earlier or not done this or not done that, we can look back all we want, but that's not the way to go forward. You know, looking back to learn some lessons is fine, but just staying in the past is not going to help one bit instead. You know, we must trust that God can restore. Even if mistakes have been made, God can restore the wasted years and look ahead because probably so it says, ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. So looking ahead, thinking ahead, planning ahead is what is important. Hand raised. Say, do you have another question or is this from the form? No question, it's a question. So we saw that Moses, due to what he did, killing the Egyptian, extended his time, extended the time he was supposed to fulfill his purpose to deliver the children of Israel another 40 years. Now we see that God promises Moses and Abraham, back then that the children of Israel would be taken into captivity, but after 400 years, they will return back to the promised land. So my question is, I've always been of the opinion that I think that 40 year delay was what led to 430 years, that the 30 years extra they spent in Egypt. I don't know if I'm correct, I'd just like to know your opinion. Is it right to say, due to Moses taking actions into his hands, making that mistake, cost the extra 30 years that the Israelites spent, instead of 400 years? Yes, I think so. So you want to know exactly if those 30 years cost an additional... So if the extra 40 years that Moses had to spend in the wilderness before he returned back, he went back to Egypt when he was 80. He left Egypt when he was 40. So he spent 40 years in the wilderness with Jethro and Hoda. So I'm asking myself, could it be that due to Moses' action, that led to the Israelites staying an extra 30 years, whereas God told Abraham, they only spent 400 years in Egypt. I don't know if that's right this day. Yeah, so that's a thing to say. I haven't given that a thought. Well, in my head, I thought those 40 years were included in the 400, but I would need to look it up. I would really need to look that up and let you know. Would anyone else know in class here, the exact number of years that it took for the Israelites to leave Egypt? Was it 440? No, 400. Oh, ma'am, because I also had the question while reading Bible, why it is 400, yeah. I do remember it vividly, why it is 440, I wanted to know. No, no, no, it was 430 years that after 430 years, Israelite left. My question is, could it be that that extra 30 years, God told Abraham specifically, 400 years, they will be in captivity, but they will leave after 400. But when they left with Moses, it was 430 years. So I'm asking myself, could it be due to Moses' action of killing the Egyptian that led to that extra 30 years? I don't know. That's been my opinion so far. I just started to bring that question. Or maybe it's something we can check out later on. Yeah, so anyway, we have a break time now, so we can do a little bit of researching and maybe come back with the exact number of years. And if it is 430 years, I'm just thinking, wow, one human being's mistake can cause others, so many others, 30 more years. Yeah. That's what I've been thinking all this while since I read that. Yeah, right. So, yes, everyone. Okay, so how about we just take a break here? It's not yet 1050, but it's 1048. So let's take a break now and then come back, sort out this issue, and then we will proceed from here. Okay. Yes. Okay, Louis, I think this is in Genesis 15, if I'm not wrong. So you'll have to go back to Genesis to read the promise that God gave Abraham. Okay, so sure. Okay, all right, class, we're on a break now. We will meet at 1058. Thank you.