 Please we cannot hear you clearly ma. You can hear me right? I can hear you. Yeah It's not loud We cannot hear you ma Okay, my volume is not good. Um, but for me it's good It's clear master Yes, oh it is clear Ah, then i'm so sorry success. Uh, you know, it may be your internet which is interfering hope it clears up Um I did try to increase my volume here Okay, yeah, uh, whoever is present here, uh, maybe yeah, um, you know, uh, pastor john paul if you could You know pray for us or we can get started. Yeah Yeah, gracious lord me. Thank you for this morning Or we humble ourselves once again before your presence and as we begin to learn from your word We pray your call that you would minister to us Help us all to understand your heart And to follow your words of god We pray for all of us in the class. We pray that All of us would be able to um listen to your word also to follow along What you are trying to teach this this morning god. We give you praise in jesus name. We pray Amen Thank you so much. Um Just a moment All right, uh, so we've had two sessions on holiness, um, and uh, we looked at Different aspects different facets of the holiness of god. Uh, that was our main focus Um, today we look at the importance of holiness. Why should I be holy? Why is it important for me to be holy? And uh under this topic pastor has tried to you know, um Deal with some practical questions which people may raise with regard to holiness. So it's in fact a good chapter Um, now those of you who watch, you know on google classroom, uh, the notes have been posted In the stream page. So you will be able to you know, go through that So what we are covering today is actually chapter five. Okay, so, um I've just kind of moved it up a bit because I thought it would be good to look at that before we you know proceed further with the subject so, um later When you get the time you can you know go through the notes for chapter five which talks about why we need to Come into our class lecture. Um, we maybe we could begin with one basic question with A sense in a race till our time. She said what is the difference between righteousness and holiness and at that point of time I think my answer was Um, righteousness is the position that we have in christ. He has already declared us as being completely justified You know and acceptable the eyes of god. Uh, so that would be righteous as holiness. Yeah, answer practical Uh, it we reflect beauty of god We reflect his nature the way we live in the choices that we make So holiness is for the practical side while righteousness is the established position Um, so that would be one way of answering that question. Uh now, um The question which may be raised by certain people is that At the moment of salvation If I was clothed in the in in the righteousness of christ Then where is the need for me to even do anything further? Am I not already perfectly righteous? Am I not already perfectly justified? I mean, um In the eyes of god, I'm already fully acceptable As as as acceptable as jesus christ himself because I am now clothed in his very righteousness So where is the need for me to even? Try to be holy. Where is the need for me to even, you know, make living sacrifices each day and You know, uh carry my cross and and give up the things which my flesh longs for Why do I need to go through those disciplines when anyway? I'm already completely righteous, you know, so That could be a question which uh, someone may raise So, um, we'll address that and then we'll move on to some other questions Which people may raise with regard to holiness So this first question If we already have christ's righteousness, then aren't we already holy? Do we really need to do anything more? um I'll use one of my examples, uh, you know, um, and hopefully that will help a little bit Let's take the example of a child with a very serious Learning disability now this child Is trying very hard Trying to give their best but They really wonder whether they'll ever make it to the next grade because they are so far behind all the other students You know and the child is struggling and the child has the tension Every day of whether He will actually make it to the next grade or not And so one day the teacher does something very wise for the child The teacher gives him his marks card, you know the marks card Which you would actually receive at the end of the term which will tell you what your scores are and Whether you have qualified at all to go on to the next grade or not so the teacher gives him his marks card and He sees that he has received 100 or 100. You don't even have to wonder whether you're going to make it the next grade So your your future is secure Now you don't have the pressure of you know, uh, uh, needing to perform needing to achieve Some impossible, uh, you know standard All you need to do now is just give your very best to reach your Personal full potential as a person. So, uh, as a student, you know, try your very best Each day try to learn as much as you can try to grasp as much as you know, you you are able to And uh, we'll see how far you go, you know in with this process So now what the teacher is saying you have been set free from this a need to Perform and try to achieve an impossible standard, which you never will be able to You know reach on your own Now you have just been given the freedom to just sit down And do your best whatever you can from your side Um, and you know, not be lazy not take advantage of the second chance that has been given to you But appreciate what is being offered and take hold of that eagerly and use this opportunity To develop yourself to become whatever you, you know, you can, uh, whatever you can achieve So, um, what the teacher is doing for this child is, um Giving him first of all, uh, that, you know, um Free privilege of making it to the next grade even though the child, uh, is not actually qualified for it So that has been guaranteed and the teacher has also Given the child this chance to now develop himself, you know at his own pace You know based on his limitations based on whatever Skills he has just based on that to develop himself at his own pace Um, so now there is no pressure Now the child is free to just take that second chance and to All that he can now of course, you know, this is just an example So one main difference between this example and our position in christ, uh, is that We have the potential of the holy spirit in us I mean the human example which we used that child is going to be having his limitations So, uh, whatever he is going to reach is not really going to be, uh, the level of an a level student but in our case, uh The goal for us which jesus has which god has which god the father has for us is that we literally become Like the sun, uh, so We don't have to tell ourselves. Oh, you will never reach the full potential. No, we literally have been designed To reach the full potential one day. We are going to be like christ So we no longer have this pressure of wondering whether we're going to make it into heaven We obviously anyway would not have however hard we would have worked However, you know, we would have however hard we would have tried to keep ourselves Godly and all of that it would never ever have worked We are in at least in you know in that case. We are like that child in the example We have this spiritual disability To ever attain to god standards on our own it just cannot be done So freely as a free gift God has given us this privilege. He said see on your own you can never make it Now i'm clothing you in christ righteousness. I have declared you as acceptable in my eyes So it's a privilege that has just been freely given to us and now he says This is your second chance now without the pressure of you know performance of having to Wonder whether you'll make it or not. You already are in You already are in my family now Start acting like part of my family Develop yourself, you know on a day-to-day basis with the help of the holy spirit To to reflect the beauty of Jesus So it is a freedom that we are now stepping into to just you know Work towards this, you know at our pace because different people have different personality types and we all approach life Differently so each of us would begin to Act out this this righteousness that we have been given All of us would step into this holiness which we are being offered In our own different ways So we cannot really have a common grading system and say oh see this person has reached this level of holiness and Look at that person that person is at that level. We would never be able to you know make judgments like that so The thing is we now have been given the freedom By god the father to walk in step with the holy spirit You know cooperate with him hear from him be guided by him and learn On a day-to-day basis to live the way Jesus lived when he was on this earth Because when Jesus was on this earth He was you know hit with all the sins and the temptations and and all the situations that we do face And he knew how to overcome each one of those Because of his close association with the father He knew how to handle each of those situations And so now his spirit can teach us to learn those same things and So even as we are sensitive to the holy spirit and even as we walk with him We will be able to walk in holiness You know just as Jesus did because he's going to train us to be able to do that So this Righteousness that has been given to us it's been given as a free gift. It is not meant to be taken advantage of We are not meant to take it lightly We are meant to use the second chance that has been given to us, you know Recognize it for the privilege that it is and start using our second chance To really become like him because that is the goal with which he saved us So that we can be like him so that we can be part of his family so that we can have an honor Which has not even been given to the angels um I mean, this is just a supposition. Okay. I mean a pure assumption Nobody knows exactly what I know drove satan to what he did but You know people say that the reason that he hates Humanity so much and is always targeting us and always trying to bring us down is because he is jealous of us we You know the angels too were created, you know, like God they were given the thing the freedom to you know Make choices they too were given the reasoning faculties to be able to think To a certain extent the way God thinks so they too have many of the attributes which we humans have But we were created in his own image for a higher grander purpose. We are part of his family You know the angels are his servants They are his You know his holy ones who do all his bidding, but we are personal family We go around calling him abba daddy, you know, so They say that satan hates us so much because we have been given a Grander privilege Than even the angels and now that's just something that people say but you know I want us to appreciate the sheer Privilege that has been given to us by the lord so now Because we have already been declared righteous and we don't have to be worrying each day what our position is in god Now we can just relax in him Rest in him and use this amazing privilege that has been given to us to start Becoming more like christ that is god's goal for us So that is the reason why we press on Towards holiness, you know Like when paul says right in philippines. He says I press on towards that for which christ Jesus has taken hold of Him me he understands why christ has taken hold of him to change him into something Amazing, he was just this person who was going around persecuting christians But now christ took hold of him to turn him into something amazing And so he says I will just keep pressing on Till i'm able to take hold of that and so that Is what we all are also trying to do Christ has taken hold of us to You know raise our status to a greater level than even that of the angels And so now having understood the privilege that has been granted us We begin to work towards that so Even though positionally we have been already declared righteous in christ now. We are Practically working towards reflecting him being like him, you know, so that when When god, you know, like i'm just symbolically fictionally if god were to have to introduce all his children And then he would say, uh, here's my eldest one Jesus and then he would point to you next and say, uh, this is my you know second child And then there should not be like this horrible Contrast between the first child and the second child All of them should be bearing the same nature because the children of god are representing him, you know, so So We are now trying to be like our elder brother in all aspects We are working towards that because we are part of that royal family. We're not just People we are part of his family that has the that's the privilege that has been granted to us All right, so that leads us to the second question which people ask, you know And the answer is already uh been kind of partially answered So if I already have my ticket to heaven, why should I even try to be holy ticket is guaranteed I'm anyway going to make it. Uh, so why why put in the effort and yeah So the one main thing is because we have now been given the status of being belonging to his Very family and the angels do, you know, um Gods bidding on our behalf when we pray god sends off the angels to you know Do things in the spiritual realm on our behalf, you know to fulfill god's purposes for us for our lives So it's such a high status that has been granted to us So we remember that privilege We recognize that privilege and we do not abuse the second chance that has been granted to us But there are other additional benefits, you know, when we walk in holiness Because one main thing about sin it affects our relationship with this god Who loved us so much that he was willing to make us part of his family family members You know of the the private circle. He's made us part of that. Um, so Sin affects our relationship with this amazing god and we would not want that, right? Uh, so If you know, you could we could have one person read out first john chapter one versus six to seven um Yeah, we could maybe uh reflect a bit on this on this passage first john one six to seven Please Wow, are any of the students there? first john one six to seven, please First john chapter one verse six to seven If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness We lie and do not live by the truth But if we walk in the light as he is in the light if we have fellowship with one another And the blood of jesus his son purifies us from all sin So god wants this relationship with us. He wants this daily fellowship with us and uh, so Like it says in the last portion of verse seven He is willing to purify us from all sin Because it's important for him this personal relationship with us this personal walk with us on a daily basis He enjoys it. I mean, I don't know how many people on earth actually enjoy us You know, sometimes even our own family members are a little fed up with us But he actually enjoys our company. He wants that walk with us on a daily basis and So If I am continuing to live in sin not even appreciating the second chance that I have been given And he you know and I claim that I'm walking with him and having fellowship with him That would be such a lie Okay, uh That would be such a farce and that is not what we are, you know, required To be doing and so he says, you know, if you're claiming to be having fellowship with jesus and walking with him At least behave like you know, you are having that walk Don't be walking in darkness and say, oh i'm walking with jesus. Jesus does not walk in darkness So he says, you know, live in the way you're meant to because the blood of jesus Um, you know is has been poured out to purify you from sin not to encourage you to continue in sin No to purify you and give you a second chance to be royalty to be part of god's own family Okay, so god is always near his presence is very very close to each person It is we who choose not to reach out to him from our side and strengthen that Connection from his side. He's always there for us But from our side, we get to choose whether we want to connect with him and strengthen our connection with him Or whether we just want to maintain a weak link, you know, just to hold on to that ticket to heaven Um, that is entirely up to us So we must choose to reach out to him and you know maintain and and keep increasing that bond with him um Now when it talks about a walk with him, uh, you know So a walk is not just a few steps, right? A walk goes on and on, uh, you know, um Make kilometer after kilometer. Uh, it's it's a walk. So here it's talking about the lifestyle It's not talking about, you know, um us Committing a sin now and then it's talking about a lifestyle of sin Where a person has decided that they like the way they are living They have no desire to change they have no desire to honor god And so they continue to walk the way they wish So, uh, here it's not referring to people, you know, who May sin because they are still learning to walk in holiness and so they slip up now and then and they fall into sin So it's not really talking about that. It's talking about people who are saying Oh, I have fellowship with and I've been walking with him daily But their lifestyle shows that on a daily basis. They've actually been doing something else And so uh, here this uh in the scripture John is saying do not be done. Do not be like that. Don't live out that kind of a lie. Okay, so, um sin can destroy the relationship that we have with the lord and Because we value him we value, uh, this this fellowship that we have with him We choose not to you know, live in sin. We choose to be holy so that our Bond with him is strengthened on a daily basis Also, it is very important to recognize that it is only through holiness that we can be a part of him You know, it makes us remember the that passage where Jesus washed the feet of the people And the conversation that took place between Peter and Jesus at on that note during that instance Um, so if you could actually read that please now if someone could read out for us john chapter 13 Versus 8 to 11 john 13 8 to 11 John 13 8 11 Peter said to him you shall never wash my feet Jesus answered him if I do not wash you you have no part with me Simon Peter said to him lord not my feet only But also my hands and my head Jesus said to him he who is bathed needs Only to wash his feet But he's completely clean and you are clean But not all of you for he knew who would be who would betray him. Therefore. He said you are not all all right, so So Peter is saying lord. Why are you washing my feet? You know, you're the master You're not supposed to be doing that and then Jesus says unless I wash you you have no part with me So on a daily basis The lord washes us Okay, so that we can continue having a part with him um It's like this, you know, example that he uses of the wine and the branches for the branch to maintain its connectivity To be really strongly connected to the wine. It needs a symbolic washing uh, so on a daily basis Jesus Wants to wash us and which is what you know, we saw in the earlier verses where it says that his blood purifies us From all sin on a daily basis. He's purifying us from our sins So that that connection of the branch to the wine can be strong Because when we are connected to him that is when we are going to be bearing fruit Otherwise, it's such a pointless existence You're just going to be like all the other people on earth who are trying to get by on their own And there's not going to be any difference between you and the others You only when you are a part of him Then his life is flowing into you and then, you know, you're going to be living a A different life from the others. Uh, you're going to be at a higher level than than than others and uh, so Jesus says I need to be washing you every day and you need to come to me for that washing You need to want to uh, live in that higher walk of holiness If you you know, wallow in your sins the way everyone else is Then you will not be a part of me. You know, it's what god is saying Uh, so when peter gets to know that he can only be part of jesus if jesus washes his feet, you know, um The because the love that he has oh then in that case if if you know washing is going to mean that I'm going to get to be a part of you then please go ahead wash my head wash my hands You know wash all of me and jesus says, you know, what you already been washed You already been cleaned. Uh, it's just the feet on a daily basis that has to be done So that you can continue being a part of me, but the rest of you, uh, it has already been cleaned What did jesus mean? Uh, you know, he kind of clarifies that later in john chapter 15 versus three to four So if one of us could read out, please john 15 three to four John chapter 15 who is three to four You're already clean because of the word I have spoken to you Remind in me and I will remind in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself It must remain in the wine neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me I'm the one you are. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that should that should be enough Uh, so here jesus explains You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you There are this bunch of people who believed what they had been told They accepted the words of jesus and they began to live according to those words So when they did that, they were cleansed by his word his word cleaned them Now there was one disciple who heard the words Pretended to have accepted it and followed it, but he did not so that man Uh, will continue to remain unclean, but the others who had placed their trust in jesus Uh, who is literally the word of god when they place their trust in jesus the word of god They were cleansed because of their faith. Uh, okay, so Now that they have been cleansed Now they must continue to remain in him. Okay, so that is a Conscious step that each of us would need to take on a daily basis where we choose to continue remaining in him Because only then, you know, we will be able to bear fruit. So We it is true that we have our ticket to heaven But for us to maintain that strong connection with him and be a part of him, uh, that daily Conscious discipline of laying aside the sins and the temptations that are coming to us and consciously Working towards living the way jesus lived when he was on this earth being like him Responding like him to different situations. That is something that we consciously do so that we can continue being part of him Okay, so, uh, holiness is necessary for us to maintain that relationship with the lord another thing that we notice actually in that first john chapter one, uh, you know passage which we read is that, um You know, I'll just read out the passage again And then if you observe, uh, it says if we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness We lie and do not live out the truth and then it says but If we walk in the light as he is in the light We have fellowship with You know, if you have to fill up the blank over there, what would you gen? You know, You know just logic wise. What would you fill up over there in the fill in the blank? But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with Him is what you we would generally say, right? But if you look at the wording over there, it says if we walk in the light as he is in the light We have fellowship with one another. He is what it says over there So there's an additional point being made in that passage Not only uh, by walking in the light by maintaining a holy lifestyle Not only are you remaining a part of him? It actually also helps you to have fellowship with other believers If you have noticed when No, you and I are struggling in our relationships with certain people not being able to live in love Um, not being able to live in unity. Uh, it is mainly because At some level our relationship with the lord has is not going right Because when a person is really walking with the lord, uh, you know in perfect unity and fellowship and you know honoring him and loving him We automatically find ourselves also living in love and unity with the believers But when things are not very good between him and us, uh, when that when that branch has, you know Kind of loosened its connection with the wine and not really well connected and we have neglected that You know building up of the bond which we are supposed to do on a daily basis when you and when we neglect that connection to him It automatically affects our relationship with other people. We are no longer able to relate with them As easily as we were able to before because all these other negative things, you know creep and selfishness and ego and um, you know, uh, Anger and all of that so One byproduct of staying connected to him is that we are able to uh, live In a you know in in the right way with other believers Even when those believers are rather tough to get along with we will be able to do it if our connection with him is Really strong. Uh, so that's another additional thing. Uh, we may have our ticket to heaven But we will still need to walk in holiness if we wish to have good relationships with other people So that that's um, that's a very essential thing holiness leads to better relationships. Um And then a third thing that we can see is that uh, we may have our ticket to heaven Satan cannot do much about that because we finished making our commitment to the lord and the lord has accepted us into his family But he can he will do his best so that we don't enjoy Any of the privileges and benefits of being part of god's household That he will do his best, you know, he could not prevent us from getting into the household But at least now maybe he can you know, um, keep us from enjoying the blessings of being in that household So he will do everything possible to To to weaken that bond between the wine and the branch So, um, you know, uh, just to use a very simple example Maybe we can look at Ephesians chapter four versus 26 and 27 If someone could read out Ephesians four 26 and 27 Ephesians chapter four Was 26 and 27 be angry and do not sin Do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil Yeah, it says do not give place to the devil Um, you know in in in niv it says do not give the devil a foothold One little foothold in your life And that's it, you know, he's going to establish himself there and try to keep you from the blessings of god He's going to see to it that you never enjoy Your relationship with the lord you're all you're always be miserable You'll always be drawn towards sin and your heart will not be here in the kingdom. You will be wishing Oh, I wish I could be out there, but still hold on to my ticket. You know, you're going to be having all those um Very unsatisfactory feelings always constantly churning around inside you because there's this foothold that satan has uh, and uh, so His desires will partially be your desires The best way to deal with this is you know to get rid of him completely Do not give him any foothold because as long as you allow Entertain satan to some extent in your life um satan's desires Kind of corrupt your desires and so you will be longing for the things of the world. You'll never be happy in the lord It's always better to make a clean break When you make a clean break and you know, just walk in the lord and be a part of him God's desire starts becoming your desires. You start thinking the way he thinks you start looking at everything from his perspective And you're free You enjoy where you are But if you got one foot there in the world and one foot over here It's a very miserable existence. You will never be happy because there's a part of you which will be longing yearning for uh, you know all the filth that you left behind and If you actually go and wallow in that then you'll be even more miserable because uh, yeah, that does not satisfy You know It's just a very horrible existence Better to you know, not give satan even one foothold So each day when he comes along and you know puts his foot in Um As quickly as possible get that foot out, you know close that door say lord. I'm so sorry. I've done this particular thing, but lord Forgive me purify me. Like you said your blood fury purifies me from all sin Purify me from this lord. Take away even that little bit of desire which you know Towards that thing which drove me into that act of sin. Oh lord, just clean me I want to be on your side 100% on your side If you can just make that clean break Every day and not allow satan to even get one foothold into your life Then uh, you will be able to walk like jesus You will have the same desires that jesus has you will enjoy your your relationship with him You'll be secure, you know in your walk with him. So, um, you know, um You're it's not enough to have the ticket to heaven. It's also Uh, important to strengthen your bond with him because when you do that, then you can begin to enjoy your christian life Uh, so do not give uh You know sin or satan any axis And you have another verse which kind of talks about that First john chapter three if someone could read out versus 21 and 22 first john three 21 and 22 please First john chapter three was 21 and 22 Beloved if our heart does not condemn us we have confidence toward god And whatever we ask we receive from him Because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight Yeah You know, uh, john tendon says right when what's the one goal that satan has to steal and kill and destroy Doesn't want us to enjoy the blessings of god doesn't want us to be happy You know, it doesn't want us to see going up to higher levels. Um, it just makes him so jealous so, um We rather uh on the other hand if we choose to you know, walk with god and do what pleases him This is what happens for us first john three 21 and 22 but it says, you know, our hearts will no longer condemn us because we are living, you know, Right with him. So we will feel this confidence to just go into his presence And when we ask for anything he will do it for us. He will, uh, you know, grant us what we are requesting because we are living in a way that pleases him and this harmony between him and us um, it's such a nice life so Best to you know Take your foot out of that other thing Let it put both your feet on god's side on this side of the fence and stay here and just enjoy Being in the lord. That's the best thing that a believer can do. Um also if We continue to live in sin and do not choose to walk in holiness It really affects our ministry. I mean, you may not be a person in full-time ministry You know, you may be a person who you know holding a secular job But uh, even there wherever you are You will not really be able to do any of the things that god, you know has uh destined for you I mean Doing anything for his kingdom is a privilege, right? I mean, we're just humans. We don't have supernatural powers, but he chose to Use people like us for his kingdom plans So we all you know, even in our secular office, we have a role to play Uh, even when we know hanging out with friends, we have a divine role to play I mean, we're just people but god uses ordinary people like us to achieve supernatural things And so we have this dimension where we are called to achieve supernatural things for him And we will never be able to do that when we are living in sin Because you know People will look at us talking big about god, but then they look at our lifestyle and think, huh He's just like us. So what's the big deal? He can talk big. Maybe he can quote scriptures But when it comes to basic lifestyle basic choices, he's just the same as us So we you know, they don't know but it's going to take us seriously So it will affect our testimony So it is important for us to walk in holiness and also when it comes to exercising our gifts Um, usually once god grants us a gift. He will not withdraw it So, you know, if I have the ability to talk, I will always be able to talk talking will not be something too difficult I will be able to you know preach and teach but What about the backing of the holy spirit? You see Whenever we do any act of you know, ministry using our giftings, you know, whether it's the, you know gift of hospitality or whether it is, you know, uh the gift of evangelism The such a thing as backing of the holy spirit Even as we are doing a little bit The holy spirit goes out in his power through us and does something in those people, you know, who are receiving The service which we are offering So, uh, there's this divine angle to that and so which is why you know, when those people walk away and they forget all about us, you know God continues to work inside them because something happened that connect happened where When you were ministering to that person using your little gifting and you know, you did whatever little bit you could God went forth the holy spirit went forth through you Into that person and did something divine in there and he's going to continue You know watering that seed and going to continue working in that person's life Now that's not going to happen if you have been living in sin You will be able to operate in your gift. You know, if you're if you're a teacher, you'll be able to teach If you're an evangelist, you know, you you will be able to share the gospel But that effectiveness of what you have done that's not going to last That person may feel good while you're doing it. But later There's no lasting fruit because for that you need the backing of the holy spirit and that will not be there If you are if you are living in sin So at all these different levels, it is important holiness is key Um, uh, so it's not enough to just have a ticket to heaven We need to be able to walk in spiritual authority and that happens only when we are leading a life of holiness and uh, so James 4 7 to 8 gives a very sensible piece of advice if someone someone could read out James chapter 4 verses 7 to 8 Therefore, submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you Draw near to God and he will draw near to you Uh, cleanse your hands use innocent purify your hearts you double-minded. Okay, so, uh Double-mindedness absolute no no because it'll just leave you very very confused. You'll be one confused christian So you need to make up your mind? Uh, do I want to be on god's side or do I want to be on the world's side? Double-mindedness gets a person nowhere It just leaves the person stagnating at one level or in fact, it may take him downhill You may end up at worse levels than you ever were before so double-mindedness is a is a complete no So make up your mind to be on the lord's side and once you make up your mind to be on the lord's side Submit to him in everything. There are some there are some things which are easy to submit to because you know We don't really mind But then there are some things which are more painful. We don't want to give up those things We don't want to do it god's way regarding those particular things and Even with regard to such things the basic instruction is submit yourselves to god Okay, you have chosen to be on his side now that you have made your choice Submit to him even in those things which you don't really feel like doing So when you submit to him Then you are in a position to resist the devil. What on earth can the devil do? You know once you have decided i'm going to submit to the lord I'm going to listen to what he is telling me to do When you do that you can just say in jesus name satan, you know leave this situation You have no authority over me regarding this thing and he will have to leave He has no choice because you have chosen to submit. He has no foothold Because you have submitted to the lord and you're doing what the lord wants. So We gain great authority over evil and the evil one when we have consciously Submitted to the lord and are in line with him and doing his will No regarding the different things in our life So when we are in that position of submission We will be able to resist and command satan to leave in jesus name And he has no choice but to submit To us to our world in jesus and leave flea. Why because he has no foothold He has no foothold, you know into our lives So walking in holiness gives us that spiritual authority The prayers that we pray for ourselves and our family the things that we do for other people when in service All of these things will carry greater authority because now we have authority against the works of the evil one And you know all that he you know is trying to Bring bring in Yes So a person has accepted christ and still lives in sin till his last hour. Does that mean that he would go to heaven? Yeah, that's a question which people raise Maybe we could look at that after we come back from the break because it's like three minutes So let's just continue with whatever we can fill in those three minutes after we come back from our break You know, we'll we could maybe deal with that question Yeah, just to look at another one verse second timothy chapter two versus 19 to 21 a very very important Bible passage second timothy to 19 to 21, please someone could read out second timothy to 19 to 21 Nevertheless, the solid foundation of god stands Having this seal the lord knows those who are his And let everyone who names the name of christ depart from iniquity But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver But also of wood and clay Some for horn some for honor and some for dishonor Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter He will be a vessel of honor Sanctified and useful for the master prepared for every good work prepared for every good work so in In a large household you have two kinds of vessels There are vessels which are reserved for special purposes and there are vessels which are used for You know it says over here very decently common for common use It just basically means you know for all the trash and The waste and I know these are really dishonorable purposes for which certain vessels are used So here it's saying in this passage You will be a vessel used for special purposes If you have cleansed yourself from the latter What is the latter that is being talked about over here that refers to your verse 19 where it says You must if you have confessed the name of the lord you must turn away from Wickedness from all sinfulness So if you have cleansed yourself from wickedness and sinfulness and all of those wrong choices Then you will be a vessel which will be used for honorable things Otherwise you will just be the vessel In which satan dumps his filth his trash And he will see to it that your life never rises, you know to a higher level and so If we all long to be used by god, you know, then we have to cleanse ourselves from the latter We would have to cleanse ourselves from all unrighteousness You know on a daily basis And when we do that Then it says by and by you start getting, you know, god starts the master starts preparing you for every good work It really doesn't matter what kind of a, you know, challenge comes your way You will be able to help in that situation You will be able to, you know, be god's hands and feet in that situation and be a blessing to someone Because you are now really equipped for every good work because you are a vessel of honor The god can just flow through you And reach out to that person and do what is required for that person So it really doesn't matter whether you're a person working in a secular office Or whether you've been someone called into full-time ministry You will be a vessel that the holy spirit can just flow through Into the workplace into people's lives and and you will be a blessing And my that day on uh, you know judgment day your reward will be great because you were that kind of a vessel Okay, so it is so important for us for ministry and when I say ministry I mean even people who are in the secular field it is important for us, uh, you know to be vessels of honor So that god can use us wherever he has placed us whether he has placed us in ministry Or they has placed us in the secular field. So we will get into our break now when we come back, uh at 11 Okay, so if we can all come back at 11 o'clock we'll continue with our lesson and we'll also, you know, uh address jeffina's question. Thank you