 It raised the Lord and Shalom everyone. Welcome to class. Welcome to all the online students, in-person students and also to our e-learning students who will be listening to these lectures later on. Hope all of you had a good weekend and a ready reflection for another week. We will continue our study on the kingdom of God. We will continue looking at kingdom thinking and then we will begin looking at kingdom living chapter 5. So we will begin with the word of prayer. Can one of the online students please... The mic is ready? Okay. Can one of you please... online students, anyone can unmute your mic and pray please? Anyone? Yes ma'am. Okay. Thank you, Chira. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this wonderful morning Lord. I thank you for the new day in our life, my Father. I thank you for all the grace you've given us, my Lord. As we're going to start our class, my Father God, help us to understand more from your word, my Father God. Help us to know you more through this lecture, my Father God. And Lord, help our ma'am and give her more wisdom and more revelation that she is teaching us, my Father. Whatever she is teaching us, my Father God. Lord, I thank you for all the students, my Father God. And I thank you for all the faculty. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Chira. Okay. So, last week we were looking at kingdom thinking. Okay. I hope you were... you put into action kingdom thinking. Chira, can you please mute your mic? Thank you. Okay. I hope you were doing some kingdom thinking, contemplating on your own thinking. Okay. Practicing kingdom thinking, right? Okay. Before we finished last class, we were... we looked at Mark chapter 10, verses 17 to 31. And this... the IO for needle. And I think Nina Santosh read it for us. We also have the same similar passage in Matthew chapter 19, verses 16 to 30. Okay. So, what is basically Jesus trying to say about kingdom thinking in Mark chapter 10, verses 17 to 31? Anyone? What is Jesus trying to say about kingdom thinking in Mark chapter 10, verses 17 to 31? What is he challenging us about? Okay. What about our thinking? He's challenging. What area of life is he challenging us? Riches. Wealth. Okay. And money. Okay. And what does Jesus say? Those who have riches, it's difficult and hard for them to enter and experience the kingdom of God. Okay. And so, does it leave that person with riches, you know, with no hope? What does he say? Yes. Thank you. And he says, yet he shows us with God, all things are possible. What does it mean? God can do anything. God can do anything. Yes. I know God can do anything. But what does it mean in this context? In this context of rich man, those who are with riches, you know, God is saying that it's hard for them to enter and experience the kingdom of. God. But then he does not leave them without any hope. There is some assurance. So what is the assurance he's giving them? With God alone. Yes. With God, everything is possible. But what is the possibility here? He says, God is implying that, you know, that he would see it implies here that God is saying, you know, that those who are rich in this world will have the necessary grace. Grace for what? Even though they are rich, you know, to you see their riches as tools that can be used to enhance and further and build the kingdom of God. Okay. So he gives them the grace to, you know, allow them to use their wealth for the right reason, for the right purpose and will prevent the riches from keeping them from entering into the kingdom of God. Okay. So he says that the love for wealth and riches can keep people away from the kingdom, can keep people away from experiencing the kingdom of God. But Jesus is saying that those who adopt kingdom thinking, okay, those who love the king and his kingdom far more than the wealth and the riches that God has given to them. You know, we'll consider these as just basically tools or some blessing that God has given to them to honor the king to serve the king and his kingdom. Okay. And this will not be allowed to be a hindrance from them experiencing the kingdom. I would just imagine if it says, Jesus says, you know, it's difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Some of us may not even, you know, be able to enter or experience the kingdom of, sorry, not some of us, all of us, you know. So he's not a God who wants us to be poor and, you know, famished in things, but he wants us to be rich in every area of our lives. Okay. Even in the area of wealth, but he will give us the grace to see our riches and to use it as tools to, you know, to honor the king and how can we honor the king to enhance and build the kingdom of God. Okay. So just coming to the last part of this lesson, it says more than the outward form. Okay. One of you, please read Matthew chapter five verse 20. Okay. Is the mic on, Nikhil? Okay. Okay. Thank you. So here it says the Lord Jesus was very strongly addressing theocracy of the Pharisees. Okay. And he is very strongly rebuking them very sternly. He's rebuking them. And he says in chapter, Matthew chapter 21 verse 32 that even tax collectors and harlots will enter the kingdom of God ahead of the Pharisees. Okay. So here, why is he so strongly addressing the, or very sternly he's addressing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Okay. We look at Matthew chapter 23 verse 13. Jesus says that the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees were hindering others from entering the kingdom of heaven. So that is why he's very stern. That's why he's very strong with them. Why? Because the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees are hindering them from entering the kingdom of heaven. Okay. Now, the problem with the Pharisees was what? What was the main problem with the Pharisees? Why does he call them a hypocrite? Yes, they're not living what the word or not living the law. They're just showing it with outward appearance. Okay. In fact, they tell others what to do and they do not practice it themselves. Okay. So that was a problem with most of the Jews. They were telling others, hey, you need to keep the law, you need to keep the circumcision ritual, even after they become believers. It was a problem that Paul addresses in most of his letters in the early church. These Jews who became Christians, who became believers, they wanted the Gentiles to keep the law, to keep the rituals, to keep the sacred days, to keep the circumcision rituals as a sign of the covenant. And Paul also tells them in Romans chapter 2 and chapter 3, he says, you judge others, you yourself are breaking the law. Okay, then how much more you will be judged. So here he's saying, you know, in Matthew chapter 23, verses 3 and 4, Jesus says the problem with the Pharisees is they don't practice what they're telling others to do. Okay. And whatever they did, why did they do it? To show people and to get praise from men. Okay. So Jesus is actually challenging us to have a lifestyle that goes beyond the lifestyle or the thinking or the culture of the scribes and the Pharisees. And then he says, only then can you experience the Kingdom of Heaven. Okay. So the Kingdom of Heaven cannot just be experienced in outward form. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is inside us and it translates from inside out. Okay, from inward to the outward. Okay. So that is why there should be a transformation of the heart and mind before there is a transformation in our lifestyle in the way that we live. Okay. So Kingdom thinking is not enough just to have the right knowledge, the right teaching. Okay, the right intentions, it must be translated into action. Only if you have the right thinking, the right intentions, the right motives, it will be the right desires, it will be translated into the actions that you show or you live. Okay. So we must live by what we know and what we teach. Okay. So that is what he is challenging the Pharisees and that is what Jesus is also challenging us that, you know, we might have the right knowledge. We might have the right teaching. We have the Word of God with us. We have the right intentions, but all of that has to translate into fashion. Okay. So our actions actually show us whether we are Kingdom citizens, we are Kingdom thinking, Kingdom culture, Kingdom lifestyle. Okay. So that is about chapter four. In conclusion, you know, the Kingdom of God is so different from the way that we are just the kind of summing up, you know, doing a recap of what we looked at even last week. The Kingdom of God is very different from the way that we are used to and we are accustomed to. It's different from the culture of this world. But we need to train ourselves and we need to adapt ourselves to Kingdom culture and Kingdom thinking. Can we do that? Yes, we can. Okay. So first of all, change our thinking. And how can we change our thinking? We need to think from a Kingdom perspective. Develop a Kingdom thinking in our life where you're learning to say, hey, that, you know, that my standard is much higher than the standard of this world. Okay. And you're saying, I'm not just trying to fit in the norm. I'm not just trying to fit here, the standards of this world. But I'm living a greater and a bigger standard. I'm living the Kingdom standards which are much, much higher. Why? Because I belong to the Kingdom and when I belong to a Kingdom, what is the norm in the Kingdom of God? Love is the norm. That's the first thing that we looked at, right? Last week. Okay. It's not normal for us to retaliate evil for evil. Okay. But it is normal as Kingdom citizens to return evil for good. Okay. So we also see that in the Kingdom of God, it's normal to see things to the eyes of faith. Yes. Okay. To see things to the eyes of faith, to see things in the invisible, see the impossibilities becoming possibilities. That's what we saw. Okay. Faith sees mountains like small speck of dust before the Almighty God. So whatever is our giant, whatever is our mountain, it's a very small speck of dust. You know the small speck of dust? You know on this floor, there's a lot of dust actually. We can't see it. Okay. Why? Because it's so small compared to the other, you know, the surroundings that is there around us. Okay. So our faith, when we look at our giants or our mountains will be like a small speck in front of the Almighty God. And also faith sees a doorway when there is no way, when there is no door, faith sees the doorway. Okay. And because we're looking at things from a kingdom perspective, we're thinking from a kingdom perspective. Also, we saw that in the kingdom of God, it's also worthy to lose your life for the king's sake, for the kingdom's sake and for the gospel. And then we looked at the kingdom of God is made up of people who are childlike. Okay. Not childish, but people who are childlike. Okay. So childlikeness characterizes the people who belong to the kingdom of God, which means that in the kingdom of God, we just implicitly just trust the Father. Okay. We just depend completely on God, which is abandon ourselves completely in the arms of the Father just like the child abandons themselves in the hands of their parents just to be loved and cared and taken care of. Okay. We also saw that in the kingdom of God, servanthood is a pathway for what? Servanthood is a pathway to go up to greatness. Okay. So willingness to be insignificant. Okay. Willingness to be small insignificant and willingness to be insignificant is the first qualification to become great. Okay. And we also saw that in the kingdom of God, we always celebrate what the king or the Father is doing in the lives of others. He will do just as he pleases. Okay. And so even as we looked at all of these kingdom thinking just basically just did a small brief recap. Now I want to challenge us to have this kind of kingdom thinking. Okay. So if all of us begin to think this way and live this way and have this kind of culture, you know, imagine the kind of culture that we'll have in our church. Imagine the kind of culture that we'll have in our community. Imagine the kind of culture you'll have in Bible college as well. Okay. Imagine the kind of culture you'll have in the boys hostel, the girls hostel in our homes, in our relationships. The culture will be so different in our church, in our community, in our families, wherever we are in living. Okay. And I also want to not only just challenge us to kingdom thinking but also want to encourage us to read the rest of the gospels. You know, even as we're doing the kingdom of God, read the gospels, read the teachings of Jesus because that forms the basis for our kingdom thinking and our kingdom culture. That's when we would begin looking at things from a kingdom perspective. It's important for us to keep reading and re-reading and keep on reading. Okay. In this chapter, we just talked a handful of things, you know, from Jesus teaching about kingdom thinking in the gospels. But there's a lot more in the New Testament. So just like us all to read, assimilate, you know, just create a framework in which to think, in which to act, in which to behave so that you will begin to look at things from a kingdom perspective. Okay. Any questions on chapter four before we move on to chapter five? Any questions? Kingdom thinking? Online students? Anyone has any questions? No questions? Okay. There are no questions. We move on to chapter five, kingdom living. I'm just jumping so fast. Okay. To chapter five, kingdom living. And I like one of us to read Colossians chapter one versus 12 and 13. It's not there in your, in the publication but I like to read that please. Colossians chapter one versus 12 and 13. Go ahead. Just somebody read. Colossians chapter one versus 12 and 13. To make that to your father, bring that qualification to be partakers of the inhabitants of the saints in the United States. He has savorers from the power of darkness and conveyers to be the kingdom of the Son of God. Okay. So here, what does Jesus say? We believe in Jesus have been taken out from where? The kingdom of darkness and we've been put into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Okay. Look at John chapter 18 versus 36. John chapter 18 versus 36. Can somebody read that? It's not there in your, in the publication as well but it's like you're to read. John chapter 18 versus 36. John chapter 18 versus 36. Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight and so that I could not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not something. Amen. So Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world. So you and I are not part of this world but we are part of the kingdom of God that is not of this world. Okay. We are part of the kingdom that's out of this world and that is, so if it's out of this world, it is a heavenly kingdom which means it comes from heaven. So what are we trying to say? Much of the stuff that we see in the world, you know, does not belong to us or we are not part of it because we don't really belong to this world. We come from a different world. We belong to the kingdom of heaven. So much the things that we see in this world actually does not or we are not part of that because we do not belong to this world. Okay. So as kingdom people, our lifestyle should be very, very different. Okay. And hence we call it as kingdom living. Okay. We live according to the kingdom of heaven and not according to the kingdom of this world. So most of what we do as believers, you know, our lifestyle is very, very different and should be different. Okay. Then your neighbor, your lifestyle should be different. Okay. Now, of course, there are some similarities that we have in this world. Okay. We wear the same clothes, we eat the same food, you know, we live in the same planet. But yet our living is different because we are part of the kingdom of God and not of this world. Okay. Look at Luke chapter 17, verses 20 and 21. Now, when he was asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God does not come with observation nor will they say, see here or see there. But indeed the kingdom of God will be with you. Amen. Okay. So Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and they kind of misunderstood the whole message. That Jesus was teaching about the kingdom that he had come to inaugurate. You know, Jesus had come to inaugurate the kingdom of God. So they thought what he was talking was a physical kingdom. Okay. They thought that he's going to bring in a literal physical kingdom where he is going to come and establish his rule and reign, which means he's going to have the Jews free, you know, free from all the Roman rule, Roman subjection. And they're going to be independent people. So here is this king who's coming and he's establishing a physical kingdom. But what was Jesus, what kind of kingdom Jesus was talking about? He was talking about a spiritual kingdom. He was not talking about a physical kingdom. So they were misunderstanding what Jesus was saying. And so they were not able to comprehend. They were not able to understand. So they were, you know, they asked Jesus, what is the sign of your kingdom? So how does a kingdom, they were asking Jesus, how does the kingdom of God come? How do we know that the kingdom of God has come in us? How do we know that the kingdom of God is around here? So actually the Jews or the fantasies and the fantasies and the scribes, they were looking for a king. They were looking for somebody who would come on a horse, you know, with a crown, with a big sword. And, you know, with all the fanfare and, you know, kind of liberate the Jews and have them as their own nation. And they would come back into power because they had this mindset, you know. The forefathers is ours. Ours is the covenant. Ours is the law. Ours is the promises that are given to us. And everything belongs to us. So we are a kind of a superior race, you know. And here they were under the subjection of the Roman government, which they did not like. And they were looking for the Messiah. So when Jesus came as the Messiah, it was the Kairos moment. Because the Jews were more than before looking for the Messiah. But the Jews, you know, they were looking for more of a king who would come and have a physical kingdom. And Jesus had come to inaugurate the spiritual kingdom. It was a Messiah who came to die for the sins. And so there was a total misunderstanding. You know, and Jesus was preaching about the kingdom and he was preaching about the spiritual kingdom. And so he responds to them in Luke chapter 17, verses 20 and 21. And Jesus says, the kingdom of God is within you. So he was, when he was saying the kingdom of God is within you, he's basically making a statement. He's saying, look, the kingdom that I'm talking about is not about the externals. It's not about this king coming on the horse with the crown and, you know, with the sword. And he's going to, you know, bring deliverance and you are going to be free and all of those things. It's not about externals, but it's a spiritual kingdom. It's something that works from inside out. It's something that works from within you. Okay. So as believers, we do need to understand that the kingdom of God is within us. So what do we mean when the kingdom of God is within us? Of course, we said, you know, the kingdom of God is within us. Our thinking will translate. But in this context about kingdom living, what do we mean when we say the kingdom of God is within us? It's not only about. Okay. In our actions. Okay. It's not only about teaching. It's not about just talking and teaching, but it's about living. Okay. When we say the kingdom of God is within us, it means that wherever we go, the kingdom is there. Okay. Wherever we go, we are releasing the kingdom there. Okay. Whichever place you go, you are releasing the kingdom there because it is within us. We are carrying the kingdom within us. We're carrying the kingdom authority. We're carrying the kingdom power. We're carrying the kingdom's rule and reign. We're carrying the kingdom's presence. We're carrying the kingdom's name, his authority. So wherever we are going, the kingdom of God is there enough. That's where wherever Jesus went, the kingdom was seen through him. Okay. He exhibited the rule, the reign, the presence, the authority, the power, and the name of the father that he identified with that he assembled. So wherever Jesus went, whether it was in the temple, it was in the marketplace. It was in the place where sick people were there, the pool of Bethesda. It was in the mountain. Wherever he went, he carried the kingdom because the kingdom is within us and it comes from within us. It comes from inside out. So Jesus said, you know, hey, what I'm talking about is a spiritual kingdom. Sorry, it's a spiritual kingdom and it comes from inside out. So the kingdom lifestyle is just like that. It's outworking of the kingdom of God that is within us. It is outworking of the kingdom of God that is inside us and it affects our lifestyle, it affects the way that we live. Okay. So what are the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle? I'm going to be looking at some of the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle. Just like we looked at some of the characteristics of kingdom living or the framework in which we need to think. We're also going to look at some of the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle. lifestyle. So what are the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle? What do you think is the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle? Don't look in your book and we have some answers even from our online students. What are some of the characteristics of kingdom lifestyle? Righteousness. Righteousness. Peace. Enjoy. Holiness. Okay. Holiness. Forgiveness. Love. Love. Yes. Yes. Yes. How can it be different? That's why they said holiness. Righteousness. Peace. Joy. Love. Forgiveness. What else? Thank you for looking in the book. Power, authority and dominion. What else? What else is kingdom lifestyle? Our online students are you there? Yes. Humility. Pain. Servanthood. What else? Good conduct. Good conduct. Endurance. You know, willing to go through persecution and suffering, stewardship. Okay. Jack in Joel says meekness and gentleness. Yes. Very, very important characteristic traits of kingdom culture and kingdom living is meekness and gentleness. And Osiradas has been faithful. Yes. Okay. So let's look at some of the characteristics of kingdom living in, you know, second Corinthians chapter 6 Paul, you know, describes to us or basically contrasts people of the kingdom and people of this world. And he draws a very clear separation. He draws a very clear distinction between these two in second Corinthians chapter 6 verses 14 to 18. So can somebody please read second Corinthians chapter 6 verses 14 to 18, please? Second Corinthians chapters 14 to 18. Do not be unequally yoked to mellow with unbelievers. A war fellowship has righteous with smallnessness. And war communion has right with doubt. And what a part, what a part has Christ with? The Lamb. The Lamb. Or what part has a believer we cannot believe on. And what agreement has the temple of God decided? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be sufferings, is the Lord. Do not touch what is underneath and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord of my heart. Okay. Amen. So here, many times, you know, the scripture passage is used in what context usually? Marriage. Marriage, yes. The first thing when you go to your pastor and says, you know, you tell your pastor, I want to marry so and so. What's the first question your pastor will ask? Is she a believer? Is she or he a believer? Okay. So, so this sword pass and if the person is not, then the pastor will basically open up to 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 14 to 18. And this is something we also teach all our young people. Okay. So, this passage is basically used for, you know, when you want to get married. But this passage has an application, of course, in the context of marriage, but that's not the only reason that this, you know, Paul is writing this or it's only in this context of marriage that he's writing. It has to do with everything concerning our lives here on. It has to do every area concerning our lives here on earth. So, this was his whole truth for every area, for every facet of our life. So, God is saying, you know, you're a believer and as a believer, you've got no communion, no fellowship with darkness. Why? Because you are in, you're a light, you belong to the kingdom of God, you're in Christ and hence you've got no fellowship with Bilal, okay, which is another title for Satan or it's simply the word Bilal means worthless or, you know, it's another word for Satan. So, you have no connection with Satan because you are a child of God, you're part of the kingdom of God, okay. So, you're righteous and hence you have no fellowship with unrighteousness. You know, if you don't fellowship with, you know, if you don't fellowship with the world, then what is going to happen? Your Heavenly Father is going to be proud of you and is happy to call you as his sons and his daughters, okay. Now, this does not mean that we totally disconnect from the world. It means that, yes, we know that there is a distinction, okay, and that distinction becomes very, very evident even as we live our lives here on earth, okay. Look at John chapter 3, verses 19 to 21, okay. Can somebody read that? John chapter 3, verses 19 to 21. Can somebody read that please? And this is the condemnation where the light has come into the world and when there are darkness, there are thunder, because they reach the ring. So, everyone practicing evil takes the light and has not come to the light, less his deeds should be exposed, but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done according to what God wants us to do, okay. So, John is writing here and he's saying that we know that the light has come into the world and what who's the light that he's referring to Jesus Christ, but he says even though the light has come into the world, men love darkness because why do the men love darkness? Their deeds are evil, so why do they love darkness? He has to hide their evil deeds because when light comes it shows everything is very evident, everything is very, very clear, okay. So, he says whoever practices evil, they don't like the light because they don't want the light to expose all of the evil things that they're doing or the evil deeds that they're indulging in or they are doing, but he who does the truth loves the light or wants to come to the light or live in the light because their deeds can be clearly seen as what they're doing is good or what they're doing is according to the will of God or what they're doing is solely and pleasing and acceptable in God's sight. So, John says that men love darkness, men means men and women, okay. Men and women love darkness rather than light and they prefer staying in the darkness so that their deeds are not exposed. So, what's the point here? What is the point we're trying to say? Connecting this to kingdom living? We should come to the light. We should do the right things. Okay. So, should have the holiness, okay. I think you need to take the mic, otherwise, you know, the online students will not be able to hear. It's okay. You can go ahead, Nina. So, even as people love darkness, their deeds are bad. We are living well. We're living in this world but we're living not, we live off this world even though we are living in the world, which means we exhibit kingdom culture, kingdom thinking, kingdom lifestyle and we are amongst the people who are, you know, love darkness because their deeds are evil and if they don't see the lights, you know, they won't have, they won't know the difference between light and darkness. They'll be so used to, they'll be so accustomed to the darkness. Okay. So, that's why Jesus says we are the light of the world. Okay. He calls us as salt and light. We are the light of the world. Okay. So, when we live the way God wants us to live, you know, people will be able to clearly see the light of the gospel, the truth of the gospel. They were able to clearly see Jesus Christ in and through us and hence it's important for us to be light here in the darkness but we need to also be careful that we don't fellowship with darkness, right? Sometimes we have good intentions. We want to be among people who love darkness. We want to be people who are living in sin because we want to reach out to them. We want to build bridges with them. We want to be with them and it's a good intention, right? And we must do it but in the process, if we, if we lose, you know, or we compromise or we give in and we do things that are wrong, then we fail to be that light, you know. We are losing out on our calling and that is very, very sad that many, you know, many of us as believers, Christians, you know, we have failed to be that salt and that light. We begin as salt and light but we fail to walk and be that light and salt in this world, okay? And hence when we do that, we are compromising and we are not being pleasing to the Father. And it's so sad sometimes when you see believers go away from the truth, go away from the world, go away from living righteous lives, you know. Just two weeks back, you know, just listening to two people that I know very well was so strong in their faith, in their walk with God, you know, just compromising their, their stance, their ethical, their moral life. And when I heard it, I was just too shocked because I could not believe that it is these two people and I was just so grieved and so heart and so pain in my heart and I was just thinking, you know, how, how much God would be so grieved and pained in just looking at them, you know, how they would have broken the heart of God, how they would have quenched the spirit, how they would have grieved the spirit. But then I quickly moved on to this thought, you know, hey, you know, you also need to be very careful about how you work out your salvation. So it came back to me saying that you be careful, you know, you're looking at, you're looking at other people and saying so sad, how terrible, how bad, how God's heart must be grieved, but you need to be so much more careful that you can even just make one mistake and break the heart of God, you can go away, just that sin that knocks at your door, you know, that's waiting to devour you and, you know, but you know, you need to be so much more careful and I, and then I just cried out to God and say, God, you know, in every little aspect of my life, whether in the secret, in the quiet depths of my heart, my thoughts, my motives, my passions, my desires, God please consecrate me, show me if there's any sin, show me if there is anything that I'm doing, because that can be such a small opening, but can lead to sin. So, you know, it actually brought me to a place of greater fear and living in greater fear and reverence and holiness before God because thinking that when these two people can happen to them and they can go away from their faith, you know, what about me? You know, so how much more I need to be accountable, how much more I need to live my life, how much more I need to be in the presence of God and ask God to sanctify and cleanse and wash me. So, you know, it's a powerful reminder for all of us, you know, when we see people, you know, we need to be reminded that we can also fall, we can also go away and just one little thing can take us away from the truth and, you know, stop us from being the sword and light when we compromise with the things of this world and when we're not pleasing to the Father. Okay. So, Paul is very clear about this when he's writing his epistles to the church at Corinth, to the church at Galatia and epistles when he's writing Corinthians, Galatians and Ephesians and all the belief is that he's writing to Paul is very clear. He's very clearly indicating that sinful lifestyle is unacceptable before God and that will prevent or that will stop you from entering and experiencing the kingdom of God and he was so strong in his, you know, understanding about the kingdom of God and who would inherit the kingdom of God. So, just looking at Paul when he's writing all of these things, you know, how much more he must be holding himself accountable, how much more he must be spending time with God, how much more he must be crying out to God for holiness and sanctification because somebody who has a great apostle, somebody who's written all of these, you know, he could have also fallen, right? He could have also gone away from the truth. He could have also lived an immortal life and done things that are the species after writing all of these things and all of his works would have been so worthless but, you know, like as Paul, you know, is a model just like Jesus, you know, when we look up, we can see that not only just doing and not only teaching but also practicing and living so, so important for us. So, he's very strong, you know, in these episodes when he's writing to the churches, in these three churches, his understanding about the kingdom of God and who would inherit the kingdom of God. So, for instance, look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9, 10. Before that, I'd like to read what Nina John says that the kingdom is also God's present rule in the lives of his people, the dynamic new life in Christ showing itself in a humble life dedicated to Christ and his church. Yes. Thank you, Nina. That's quite profound and good. Thank you. Yeah, I can someday read 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10, please. Do you not know that the un-credited, un-righteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, will not be deceived, neither for the takers, nor adulterators, nor idolaters, nor adulterators, nor homosexuals, nor socialites, nor thieves, nor colleges, nor druggers, nor invilers, nor extortioners within the kingdom of God. So, Paul is talking here about the kingdom of God, in that context, he's saying, listen, you know, don't fool yourselves. You know, if you continue in unrighteousness, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. And he talks about all of these things. He talks about conicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, soloites, thieves, covetous people, drunkards, revelers, extortioners, and he says all of these will not, you know, enter the kingdom of God. He also mentions the same thing in the relationship to 5 verses 19 to 21. He also lists out several things there he calls, and he calls it as a work of the flesh, okay? And he talks about things like jealousy, anger, hatred. Imagine some of these things we think is okay, right, Norman? Jealousy is okay. We think anger is okay, we think hatred is okay, but he says, you know, these are all things of the flesh. And he says those who practice these things, meaning those who continue in this, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. And he's writing to whom? He's writing to believers, he's writing to the churches in these areas, okay? And the same thing he repeats in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 3 to 5, where he's talking about conication, all kinds of uncleannliness. He's even talking about foolish talk and cause chestache, okay? That means sometimes we indulge in just foolish talk, you know, you know, making some jokes that are, that are dirty, you know, but we think it's okay and we all laugh at it, okay? But he's even saying those kind of things are, you know, is displeasing and unrighteous. And he says, those who do these things do not have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. So once again he's talking to believers. So what is he basically saying in these three, you know, scripture passages? He's telling believers, you know, I know you've received, you know, I know you're saved by face, but yet I'm telling you, you cannot practice these things, okay? Because if you practice these things, this is not part of kingdom living, this is not part of kingdom culture. And if you practice these things, what is he saying? Let me tell you upfront straight away on your face, you know, what does he say? Those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of God, okay? And so, you know, some we can, we can tell Paul, hey Paul, you know, all along, you know, the believers in churches could have also asked Paul this question. We can also think, hey Paul, you know, all along we thought that we are saved by grace through faith. And so where does works come in? All of these are works, right? But we are saved by grace through faith. So what do you think Paul's answer is? What do you think he'll tell you? Can you take the mic please? Before that, Nina has a question. It says a list of people mentioned in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 was 9 and 10. If they're able to come out of it, can they inherit the kingdom? Yes. If they're able to come out, they can surely inherit the kingdom of God because we have a God who is gracious for giving and he is not somebody who condemns us and leaves us in our sin and forgets about us. He's somebody who works in us so that we can come to repentance and forgiveness. And it's referring to people who continue in these practices who cannot inherit. Yes. Those who continue in these practices cannot inherit. Yes. Yeah. So what was my question? You have to live a holy life. Okay. They say by grace through faith, then what works having to do with our salvation. So we'll come back after the break and look at that. Okay. Thank you.