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The Promises as a BlessingRemembering the promises of God.Fasting periods are an excellent opportunity to reflect on God's promises in our lives. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)Fasting helps us detach from distractions that can divert us from God's calling.Hold to the PromisesAnchor your life in God's Word and His unchanging promises. It is easy to let temporary hardships dictate our ultimate reality.We stare at concerning lab results, check our shrinking bank accounts, or receive devastating personal news, convinced that the story is over. However, we are called to live by what God has spoken rather than what our eyes can see.Jacob received the crushing news of his beloved son Joseph's death. Do you remember how that story unfolds in Genesis 37?Driven by bitter envy over their father’s favoritism, Joseph’s older brothers sold him to passing merchants as a slave. They covered the truth from Jacob. Taking Joseph's famous colored robe, they drenched it in goat’s blood and carried it back to Jacob.Jacob had all the facts, so he concluded: My son is dead.It was factual. All the evidence pointed to that conclusion. However, it was not the truth. But because all he could see were the facts, a lie became the grievous reality for Jacob. Genesis 37:34-35 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.This very sad scene I have experienced myself through my personal experience of losing a son. Unfortunately, I have also been present to comfort families such as mine. It's a devastatingly sad moment.In Jacob’s case, however, there was no real death. But he accepted the only evidence he had as the final truth. That was the only news Jacob had. A lie that became Jacob’s permanent truth. Jacob believed Joseph was dead for 22 years.Are you doing the same now with the last news you received from your doctor? Is the report from your family permanent, devastating news? Maybe you have been hovering over the loss of that broken relationship for years. But these facts are not meant to be your final truth.In the story, the same sons who had brought false news of Joseph's death years earlier returned from Egypt to tell Jacob that Joseph was still alive.Jacob was so accustomed to living with the undeniable pain of loss that he could not believe it.Genesis 45:26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. The good news of Joseph being alive has always been the real truth. But Jacob got so used to the pain and grief that when the good news was revealed, his heart was numb.Perhaps you are like Jacob now, with a numb heart from positive and hopeful words. You no longer believe, exhausted from confessing, praying, and declaring for that miracle. Maybe you are close to giving up.You have spent weeks, months, or maybe even years trying, feeding your faith, saying the right words, and forcing a breakthrough through your own spiritual willpower. You are exhausted.Genesis 45:27-28 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”It is time to believe God's old promises again.To beleive He is able and willing to do far more abundantly than all that you can ask or think."Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20)Only when Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent did his heart revive again.Today, God will open your eyes, and you will see his promises afresh.(2 Corinthians 5:7) "for we walk by faith, not by sight."Do not give up yet. Hold on to God’s promises. He knows how to turn our devastation into a miracle story.An entrepreneur spent over a year working late nights in a cramped apartment, building an online business with zero traction.Exhausted by mounting debt and dead-end analytics, he decided to quit, hovering their mouse over the button to shut down the server and delete the store forever.What he couldn't see was that a major industry influencer had just featured their product as a hidden gem, and thousands of orders were already quietly queued up to hit their site the very next morning.(Hebrews 10:23) "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."If you were considering giving up, today is another opportunity to try again. The strength you need doesn’t come from your own motivation; it comes from God's promises.(2 Corinthians 1:20) For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. Genesis 46:30 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”Jacob did not die. The truth revealed, the promise unfolded, the real good news sustained the old Jacob alive for more than 17 years.2 Corinthians 4:17-18 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.God's promises can accelerate the multiplication of His grace in your life.Genesis 48:3-4 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’That promise did not fully come to pass with Abraham. It did not fully happen with Isaac either. Jacob reminded God of the promises. He was passing on the promise not as a hopeful desire, but as a blessing.For Jacob, after he learned that even after the facts of death and hopelessness, God is faithful and will fulfill his promises, he declared the promise as a blessing. Genesis 48:15-16 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”Learn to declare the promises of God as an inevitable reality upon your children and upon your business and ministry.(1 Thessalonians 5:24)"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."The Grace AdoptionJacob called Joseph's sons to his side to impart his blessing. What a father spoke over his children in his final days carried immense weight and would affect them for the rest of their lives.(Genesis 48:5) "And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are." Jacob surprised everyone in the family, saying, "Joseph, I am adopting Manasseh and Ephraim as my own sons. They will receive the exact same inheritance as my other children." The boys’ mother was Egyptian. That means her family did not know or serve Jehovah; they were idol worshipers.You might think you are disqualified from God's blessings because you come from a family with a terrible history. Maybe you are the first to beleive in Christ, and all the others are still in false religions or atheism. You may have many reasons why you feel you do not deserve His goodness.God adopted us into His own family. "Despite your past, despite your mistakes, and regardless of what your family has done, I am adopting you as My own son, as My own daughter."Be free from every fear of generational curse. God chose you to begin a blessed generation. He is establishing a generational blessing through you.We believe that even from a young age, children can understand important values. Recently, a brother shared that his partner received a call from his 4-year-old child while he was working. The child was proudly showing off himself riding his new bicycle. The dad told him, “I love you, son." The son replied, “I love you too, Dad, but I love Jesus more." When asked if he attends church regularly, the partner said, "Not often, but my son is a student at Vine Christian Academy. And man, They really teach these kids to know Jesus." You will positively affect all your descendants.Accelerated blessingsWhen Jacob surprised the entire family, he ignored the boy's mother's heritage. But also, as grandsons, these boys naturally would have had to wait an entire generation to receive what Jacob was giving them.Normally, the blessing would flow first to their father, and then Joseph would pass that inheritance down to them much later. Instead, these boys received an inheritance way earlier in life.Breakthroughs that would normally take years of human effort to accomplish can come quickly. It can take years to get out of debt, years to break free from an addiction, and years to establish a new standard of living. If you believe, God will do for you exactly what He did for those two boys: He will propel you years ahead of schedule.You will see things happening much faster than you could ever imagine, because you have honored God. Because you have declared, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," things will accelerate in your life. What might normally take a lifetime to achieve through striving will happen in a fraction of the time by His grace.When Joseph's brothers saw his sons receiving t

Why People Give Up.Recently, as we’ve been preparing for the mountaintop on October 1st, I have been in meetings every single morning at 5:30 AM.The Christian life was always intended to be intense, intentional, and passionate.Why do some give up? Why do some let discouragement take over?First, know there is a difference between giving up and surrender.It is ok to surrender."Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22)"but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)We are not called to just go through the motions, punch a spiritual timecard, and coast. If it is not to live a passionate, purposeful, meaningful life—it’s honestly not worth it. Christ did not give His life so we could live lukewarm lives.How to overcome discouragement? How can we keep a burning heart?I know that life happens. Disappointments come. Our expectations get shattered, and the passion we once had can quickly cool off into apathy or discouragement.How does that happen? How to overcome hopelessness?Read Luke 24:13-35The right placeThe two disciples were actually a husband and wife: Cleopas and Mary.They are walking away from Jerusalem. Later, Jesus would make it clear that Jerusalem was the specific place they needed to stay to wait for the Holy Spirit—the place they would be filled with power. "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)There is a specific place you need to be to stay encouraged. Many believe it's about finding a new place or leaving God's designated place, but in reality, doing so often leads to discouragement instead of encouragement.The right place brings Multiplication.A hundredfold multiplication is ahead. Just stay in the right place. Genesis 26:1 1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.Genesis 26:2-3 2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.Because Isaac chose to settle in Gerar, Genesis 26:12 tells us that he planted crops in that land and "the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him." He experienced supernatural multiplication of favor, precisely because he decided to stay where God planted him.Genesis 26:12-13 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.For Isaac it was Gerar. For the disciples it was Jerusalem. Do not walk away from your Jerusalem.There is a specific place where you must be in order to stay encouraged.This is beyond a geographical location. This speaks of the people you are connected with. You may even move to another place, but your heart remains connected to the correct, godly, purposeful group of people who are part of the purpose of God for you now.However, if you don’t set your heart correctly with the people God has placed in your life, and you don't make a deliberate decision to honor that, you can be taken prematurely from where God wanted to bless you abundantly.May the lord open our eyes today. May our ears be discerning today.Many, when they feel spiritually dry, look for a new place, a new job, a new church, or isolate themselves entirely. But moving out opens you up to discouragement instead of encouragement. When the pressure at work gets too heavy, or when family dynamics break your heart, the temptation is to pull away from the Church, to stop going to your LifeGroups, and to walk that seven-mile lonely road to Emmaus.How is your hope?The couple listened to the good news of resurrection. But it had no effect in their hearts.Luke 24:21-23 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was aliveYou are here today listening to the good news of Jesus’s complete work.Let your hope be in the right person. In the case of these two disciples, they were hoping for a “different Jesus.” A political leader. A revolutionary. A prophet. Have you ever been there? I had hoped this marriage would go more smoothly. I had hoped my finances would be stable by now. I had hoped having children would be simpler. I had hoped my kids would be walking with the Lord. I also imagined other results by pursuing ministry.Unmet expectations are the breeding ground for a cooled-off heart. These two disciples had a very specific framework for how God was supposed to act. When the cross shattered that framework, they couldn't even see the Jesus walking right beside them. It seems all the disciples had the same attitude with the gospel message.Luke 24:10-11 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them Fear and doubt dominate. Their hopes have been crushed. Their leader was crucified. Their hearts were cold and heavy. The news of an empty tomb didn't matter to them. The tomb was empty, but Rome was still in charge, so as far as they were concerned, God had failed them.You think, “If I can just fix this. If I can just get my finances to this specific number, if I can just control my family, then I will have peace…”You sit in the service, and the pastor preaches the gospel. It is the greatest news in the universe! But you walk out to your car feeling just as heavy, just as anxious, and just as discouraged as when you walked in. You wanted Jesus to fix, balance the budget, and change your boss.A customer relationship that will always frustrate you and an unsatisfiable heart attached to things, time and worries.May the Lord open our eyes today. The risen Christ, the resurrection and life, the joy of heaven, the peace that exceeds knowledge, is here speaking and rekindling our hearts again.Exhort one another every dayHebrews 3:12-13 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.I asked my son to take care of the lawn, which he was supposed to do weekly. Grass grows quickly, so it needs to be mowed regularly. However, he decided to mow a week early, thinking, “Let me cut the grass as short as possible because it will grow back anyway, and I’ll have less work next week.” When I saw the lawn, I was very frustrated. The grass was sparse and bare in places. I knew what was coming—improper pruning weakens the grass. Weeds tend to grow faster than grass, choking it and stealing nutrients from the soil. So he had another brilliant idea. He used a heavy dose of fertilizer and applied it at the wrong time of day. It burned the weeds and any other grass buds. As a result, I now have neither healthy turf nor grass, as it is all dead.Weeds appear. No matter what. Naturally, you will be drawn to an unbelieving heart. That is why you must be surrounded by other believers. Weekly pruning. Weekly mowing. That is how we grow.If you don’t do the daily work of "exhort one another every day” eventually the good news will not sound like good news to you.Hebrews 4:2 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.Have you met brothers who, when we try to speak the good news to them, seem almost offended? They think, “Pastor, what are you talking about? Jesus takes care of me. What do you mean? Don’t you see the immigration situation? Don’t you know the cost of gas? Have you made groceries recently? And about the “snowbirds…” they are already here, getting on our nerves…”I have a problem with believers who, instead of being inspired by the invitation to lead a group, serve on the encounter or the mountain track with us, reply that we have crossed a line of disrespect by challenging them. I will tell you, if you don’t like to be challenged, you will have to choose another God to follow.Let the Scripture reveal JesusIn the coming days, we want you to see Jesus Christ every single day. If your eyes and ears are open, you are certain to see Jesus Christ through Scripture; your heart will burn again.(Luke 24:27) “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”For years, historians and scholars had stared at ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on tombs and monuments. They had all the facts in front of them, but the language was dead. It was a mystery to the world. In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt discovered a heavy slab of black basalt that we now know as the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone contained the same decree written in three scripts: hieroglyphs, Demotic, and ancient Greek. Because scholars could read Greek, they finally possessed the key to unlock the entire Egyptian language. Suddenly, everything that was confusing made perfect sense.Jesus Christ is our Rosetta Stone.When we look at Scripture to see Christ, everything changes. The entire Old Testament points directly to Him."In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs

The Bible calls us sheep because we are ruminating, cud-chewing animals. That means you eat here, but you need to keep eating later on. Amen, everybody.Now, you need to keep meditating on the word of God. So I don't want you to just come here, you know, receive a word, some sort of religious lecture, and you go home, put this in a drawer of your memory, and forget about it. You have to meditate.And I believe the Lord today will feed you with fresh nourishment and food. I am literally taking this word fresh from the oven for you, and you are not going to leave this place the same way you came in.Amen. Close your eyes, bow our heads. Let's pray for the Lord to open the eyes of our hearts.Father, I pray that you speak to your children in a personal way that only you can do. Answer their individual needs, God, and their concerns, cares, and worries.Lord, speak to us. We bring our minds captive to your obedience, Jesus. We surrender our hearts as we sang today. Speak to us, Lord, breathe your spirit over us again to remind us of your promises, so we can leave this place confident in your promises. We pray in Jesus' name. Everybody said, amen! Are you guys ready for the word of God, everybody?Amen. Ask somebody close to you, "Are you ready for the word of God?" Pastor Simon shared with me a story about his daughter, Jessica Jasmine, studying at Oral Roberts. She was with us here for a couple of months. She was coming back from the grocery store when suddenly a stranger's car made a U-turn and came in her direction. She was using her AirPods, and a lady inside the car shouted, "Come in! Come to my car! Right now! Come, come, come!"And she was super scared. She said, "What do you mean? I don't know you." The lady said, "Come right now to my car." Then she noticed there was a Bible on the top of the dashboard of the car. And she just trusted, thinking, "Because there is a Bible, I can get into that car."Now, you can imagine a father listening to this story, how he became so anxious just hearing it. I myself here, got, you know, breathless just now.And then the lady drove Jessica to her door, and finally, Jessica asked, "But why were you in such a rush to put me in your car?" And she said, "I saw you walking distracted back to your door, but there was a man, probably with either a gun or a knife, right behind you. And he was up to do something very evil against you. So I rushed to pick you up in the car." She added, "My husband works here in the security system of this college, and I'm going to call him right now to take care of your safety."And then Pastor Simon looked at me and said, "Pastor, my friend, I know that the Lord protects my children." And that consciousness of the walls of grace around us is what allows us to have confidence to dare, to believe bigger and greater. It is when we are reminded that we have God as our shield. El Elyon fights our battles. When we are conscious of that, when we are firmly grounded in this truth, you go back to your ministry with confidence. Despite your weaknesses and failures, you can give yourself a chance again because the Lord is a wall of fire all around you.In 1937, before World War II, in San Francisco, a man-made wonder of the world was being built: the Golden Gate Bridge. The challenge was to cover a 4,200-foot span. And the project budget surpassed $27 million in the first half. Now, $27 million is nothing now, but back then it was more than a fortune.The reason why the work was so expensive and slow is because nobody wanted to work on that bridge. It was known that more than 23 men had fallen into the cold bay waters and lost their lives, until the engineers understood they had to stop the construction and build a safety net. It cost a lot—at the time, $100,000. But that cost was quickly surpassed because the workers were now 25% more effective. And they saved money for the builders, because now, nobody was worried about losing their lives. The knowledge that they were safe gave them the sense of security they needed to finish the job.Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." The Lord has a ministry, a calling, a purpose, a divine assignment over your life. Say a good amen!But you are afraid. "I may not be able to sustain myself. I may slip and fall. I don't think I can. I don't think I should get involved with this." But the Lord has prepared beforehand all the resources we need so we can walk in them. God desires us to live a life of purpose. But while we are in sheer terror of God, with the feeling that at any time he is ready to strike us down because of our mistakes—because we fail to keep our motivations pure—now our relationship with God is fear-based. Not the reverent fear of God; it is dread, it is concern, it is terror.So that's why today I want to start first by dealing with your eternal security. If we are talking about security and safety in the walls of grace, first I need to speak over your eternal security. Serving out of fear hampers our best efforts and robs us of joy. True service springs from a grateful, loving heart, knowing that we are always under God's protection. Like that safety net I just mentioned.But if you die today, do you know where you would spend your eternity? Or would you agree with those who say, "I don't think we ever know where we spend eternity until we actually die"? Well, I believe you can know where you will be in eternity.Let me speak about four types of people that exist everywhere. (I put a slide up there, Skyler.) An old proverb says: He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple; teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; awaken him. But there are the ones who know, and know that they know, and they are wise; follow them.All of us fall into one of these four categories. Some don't know and don't know that they don't know. Therefore, they are lost. They are separated from God. The message for those people is in Romans chapter 3, verse 10: "None is righteous, no, not one," or Romans chapter 3, verse 18: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." They cannot see. Or Romans 3, verses 22 and 23: "The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All men without Christ stand sinful before God, condemned, separated to an eternity without his presence.Some, however, don't know, and know they don't know. The message for these people is 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." It is a matter of just explaining, because they are in the search, they are seeking. Or we can also read part of Romans chapter 3: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." It's a matter of showing the message.But the most tragic category includes those who know, but don't know that they know. They are believers who are saved, and whose destiny is certain, but who do not know they are saved and are not sure of their eternal security. And the consequence of that is that they keep hiding themselves in the corners of the church building like bugs, trying to run away from the pastor. As soon as the service ends, they run away, because they know the pastor will always come with a challenge: "It is time for you to stand as a disciple-maker. God is calling you as a minister. There is an opportunity, a calling upon your life." And they say, "No, me, pastor? Not me. Poor me." Because they don't even know where they're going to be in eternity.No one has more peace and rest in this life than the person who knows God the Father through God the Son, and knows that he knows him. This isn't about being presumptuous or overly confident. It's about the truth.You know, the Lord is moving in our church in such a beautiful way. Mainly through this—like the most, for me, distinctive way is this Holy Spirit-led move over adopting kids, fostering kids in our church. Such a beautiful move of God. No one can convince a young family to bring this stranger child into their home to literally disrupt their schedule so hard. But now the Holy Spirit is moving and bringing these children from all the places in Southwest Florida to be fostered and adopted among us.And one element is so clear: some of them come to us in such a fearful place of insecurity. Some of them, in the beginning, don't stop crying. They are afraid to give their little arms to anyone who tries to approach them. But in very few days, suddenly, their little faces change from crying to a continuous smile. You can see that once they really understand they are adopted, and without any deserving it, they feel secure. And now they can rest, they finally can rest and enjoy peace.When a parent adopts a child, no matter how many rules the kid breaks, they are still part of the family. That permanent relationship can never be undone. However, bad choices may ruin the closeness and the perception of the closeness. The kid might face discipline or lose some of their privileges, but they never lose their identity. They are forever adopted.John chapter 1, verse 12: "But to all who did receive him..." Raise your hand and say, "I have received him." "...to all who did receive him, who believed in his name..." Say, "I believe in his name." Come on, church, say, "I believe in his name." God gave the right to you to become a child of God. And you are not born out of the desire of any man, nor of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will o

Introduction and GratitudeThank you so much, my dear brother. I always love being with you all. I am especially thankful for this church; whenever I come to the USA, I love being here because I feel completely at home. You are my true brothers and sisters. I am also deeply grateful for the hospitality of my dear brother and his wife; for the last few days, I have been staying in their home and thoroughly enjoying the meals she has prepared for me.Before sharing the Word of God, I want to clarify something: I normally preach in my native language, Urdu. Since most of you are from Brazil, English is neither your first language nor mine. If I use any English expressions incorrectly, please forgive me. I believe that even if I make a mistake, the Holy Spirit—our Helper—will ensure you understand everything I am trying to say.The Power of Obedience: The Example of AbrahamToday, I came here to encourage the church with one specific word: obedience. Whenever I read the Bible, I am deeply inspired by the story of Abraham because his obedience unlocked God's promises in his life.In Genesis 12:1-4, the Lord tells Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father's household to go to a land God would show him. God promises to make him into a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, and to bless all peoples on earth through him. Verse 4 simply says, "So Abram went, as the LORD had told him". Later, in Genesis 22:18, God reiterates that all nations on earth will be blessed through his offspring specifically because he obeyed.When God called Abraham, he was 75 years old and likely the richest, most well-settled person in his area, with livestock, servants, and an established household. It is not easy for a 75-year-old to leave a comfortable zone. However, Abraham obeyed God. He did not rely on his current wealth or resources; he trusted God's call and took a step of faith, knowing that obedience would unlock greater promises.God initially released the promises of blessing and protection, but He did not immediately reveal Abraham's final destination. Despite the unknowns, Abraham trusted God to provide a better place. God does not usually call extraordinary or highly intellectual people; He calls ordinary people to do extraordinary jobs. God can do the same in your life if you are willing to obey Him.A Childhood Promise and God's FaithfulnessI have experienced God's extraordinary favor in my own life. I was born into a very poor but deeply committed Christian family in Pakistan, where the life expectancy is generally only 60 to 65 years. My given name is Simon Peter Kaleem, and I am the only one in my extended family without a traditional Pakistani name. Because of my name, I faced intense persecution and discrimination in school. I was treated as "untouchable" by my classmates and was not even allowed to drink from the communal water cooler.During those difficult early years, I made a promise to God. I told Him that for the first twenty years of my life, I would focus on my studies. For the second twenty years, I would work hard, earn a lot of money, and establish my family. And for the last twenty years—or however many more He would give me—I promised I would serve Him. As I grew up, I forgot about that childhood promise, but God remembered.God granted me incredible favor during my first twenty years. I graduated with top honors in microbiology, zoology, and biochemistry. Earning a gold medal as a poor Christian boy was not a normal achievement; it was God's direct favor. Although I initially wanted to pursue a Ph.D. and become a doctor, circumstances required me to move back to central Pakistan, where I took a basic entry-level job at the multinational pharmaceutical company, Novartis.God blessed me tremendously in the corporate world. As my second twenty years were coming to a close, I had achieved the second-highest position in the company, managing 75% of the marketing and sales teams across Pakistan. I enjoyed a six-figure salary, a company car, and a very comfortable lifestyle.The Trial and The Call to MinistryEventually, a new boss joined our company who was a Muslim Imam. When he realized I was a Christian enjoying high-level corporate privileges, he began to actively persecute me. He set completely unrealistic targets designed to make my life miserable. Believing I could easily find a parallel position elsewhere, I resigned.However, for six or seven months, I could not find another job. I drained all my savings and lost all the company benefits. It became incredibly difficult to even pay my children's school fees or put food on the table. I began to complain to God, asking why this was happening when my family was so committed to the church and to studying the Bible.One day, I was sitting alone in my bedroom reading the Bible. When I came across John 21, reading the conversation between Jesus and the apostle Simon Peter, it felt as though Jesus was speaking directly to me. When Jesus asked, "Simon Peter, son of John, do you love me?" I felt the fire of the Holy Spirit burn within my body. I began to cry like a child.Then, I heard the audible voice of Jesus Christ. He said, "Your first twenty years have passed. Your second twenty years have passed. Do you remember the promise you made to me? Now, it is my time. According to your promise, you must serve me".Filled with the Holy Spirit, I asked how I could possibly serve Him since I had no seminary education and was not a pastor. God told me not to worry, promising to teach and lead me. He instructed me to leave my comfortable home in Lahore and begin teaching children in the rural villages. When I worried about how I would feed my family without a car or an income, God promised He would provide everything we needed. Since 2009, I have been serving the Lord in those villages, and He has never let us lack anything.The Flow of Blessings and The Great CommissionFollowing God’s call always carries a cost. It requires leaving behind comfort zones, ambitions, and sometimes financial security. But while the cost is temporary, the reward is eternal. Every sacrifice made for God's kingdom—whether it is finances, musical talent, knowledge, or influence—is never wasted.God blesses us so that we can become a blessing to others. God’s blessings are not meant to stop with us; they are meant to flow through us. Consider the Dead Sea: water flows into it, but there is no outlet, resulting in a body of water with no life. In contrast, the Sea of Galilee takes in fresh water and continuously gives it out, allowing it to remain vibrant and full of life. When God's blessings flow through us, we experience more life and receive even greater blessings from the Lord.When we walk in obedience, we also receive the immense blessing of divine protection, just as God promised Abraham. God's presence is our greatest security. Just as God promised to be with the disciples until the end of the age in the Great Commission, He promises to be with us today.This call is for everyone. Revelation 7:9 gives us a glimpse of God's ultimate vision: a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before His throne. This mission is not just a program for the church; it is the final call for every believer. You can participate by going to the nations, by sending and supporting those who go, or by dedicating yourself to praying for those suffering in places like Pakistan, Nigeria, and Cambodia.God at Work in PakistanGod is doing amazing things in Pakistan. Through the faithful obedience and financial support of people like Pastor Rafael and the wider church, we have seen tremendous growth. Since planting our first church in 2019, we now have twelve brand new branch churches in Pakistan. We recently completed a brand new school building to provide biblical education for our children.We are also reaching unreached tribes who have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ, and we have established schools right in the middle of brick factories where Christian families are essentially enslaved. Even Muslim families in those factories have started sending their children to our schools, resulting in them learning the Word of God and receiving miraculous healings through prayer.All of this is happening because ordinary people chose to obey and share their blessings. As we conclude, I urge you to ask God what His specific purpose is for your life. Ask Him how you can use your time, talent, and treasure to bless others and fulfill the Great Commission. Your obedience today can literally change eternity tomorrow.

Supernatural Rest How can we experience the power of multiplication? The place of power is the place of rest in God’s word. Here is the logic. Grace is the opposite of striving.  If one feels a sense of debt and strives to pay God a price that is already paid in Christ, you miss the point of grace.  God is calling you and me to enter the rest. That is the only striving we are encouraged in the Bible. “9. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10. for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience." (Hebrews 4:9–11) Grace is multiplied when we rest in Him.  There is a principle of biblical interpretation called the principle of first mention, which teaches us that the first time a major theme appears in Scripture, it establishes a foundational principle. And curiously, the word "favor" or "grace" that appears in the Bible is related to the very well-known character Noah."But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8) The Hebrew name Noah literally means "rest." That conveys this idea: "Rest finds favor in the eyes of the Lord.” I'm curious about this connection, especially with Noah. Have you ever worked on something that consumed all your time for days or even months? What about a project that might take 100 years to complete? (Genesis 5:32; 7:6, 11).Only those who learned to rest in the Lord can go that far.  Ahead of us there are about 40 weeks of the academic year. We drive, we lead, we study, we buy and sell, we pray, we fight, we rise every morning and put in and put out kids in the car. We build, we clean, we share, we wake up again. Oh Jesus, we need Your rest.This week, as I was having my meeting with the disciplers, one of them had one little head popping out to see what dad was doing.She came in. Said, “Hello, pastor.” Stayed there, as she knew everything we were discussing about the church and the semester. But ultimately she was saying, "Daddy, I just want to sit with you."There was nothing she could add to the father’s job. There was no contribution. But her joy made our meeting have another color. Why? Because she was at rest with daddy. It is time to rest completely in the finished work of Christ. The more you rest in His provision, the more His grace overflows.  An inward rest that produces outward favor.seated"Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number." (John 6:10) In the Bible, sitting is always a symbol of rest. It speaks of a position of authority, once you are seated in your royal position to reign in life in Christ Jesus."And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…" (Ephesians 2:6) But now, in the miracle, we learn that, before it happens, we must rest in the Lord. Rest allows the multiplication to take place. It is a permission for Jesus to do His way.  Many of us question, "How will multiplication happen? Where will the provision come from?" Sitting is our answer to say, "Lord, I don’t know how you will do it. But, not my way, not with my useless help, not with my strength. Do it in your way.” Imagine if everyone had rushed forward to grab a piece of bread and fish for themselves; chaos would have damaged the moment. The Spirit of God moves in an atmosphere of order and peace. Most of us, when we are seeking a solution, instinctively try to work harder to make things happen. We grip the handle a little tighter, trying to push through the exhaustion, and force a solution. What if the solution is to accept God’s ways?  The problem here is our pride. "I know how to handle that complicated child. I know how to convice my spouse. I can grow my ministry…I need no help. I need no one." What if you can sit down at Jesus’ feet today and say, "Lord, not my way, but yours"? A foster parent once shared they met the biological mother of their foster child at a hospital where the sick child needed medical care. When the mother arrived, the child stayed on the foster parent's lap, without showing any recognition or affection towards the biological mother. Due to severe family negligence, the child was entirely dependent on these foster parents for safety and care.These foster parents carried no malice. They genuinely desired to see restoration and told the mother with deep compassion, "Do you know that we are on your side? We want to help you be permanently together with your child." only to receive a contemptuous look. Instead of receiving grace, the mother responded only with disdain and pride What makes this story so sad is that pride prevented the mother from regaining her guardianship, and the only one truly affected was the young child who could not return home. All because the other wanted to do it her way. How often do we respond to God with resistance? The very things we clutch onto out of self-reliance are often what we ultimately lose, simply because our pride keeps us from receiving His help.The Lord looks at our frantic striving, our anxiety, and our desperate attempts to manage our own lives, and He whispers, "Do you know that I am on your side? I have a good plan for your future. Trust Me. Rest on me. What you cannot manage, I can resolve for you. Sit down.”  Rest is not laziness. It is an act of absolute trust. It is stepping back from our own exhausted efforts so that His grace can take over. Before Jesus made the miracle, He was sitting down.Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. (John 6:3) Today, take a moment to enjoy the feast. The Lord invites us to sit at the table to receive His provision, a measure that our efforts could never reach.Today, my parents called to wish me a "Happy Father's Day, son.” Why? Because in Brazil it is Father’s Day. There’s always a special day for you somewhere.Have you heard the saying, 'It's 5 o'clock somewhere, so relax'? That applies to you today.With 24 time zones worldwide, there is always at least one place on Earth where the local time is 5:00 PM at any moment. Grass in the desertMark 6:31 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” The KJV says, “a desert place”. The invitation is to rest in the desert. There, in the desolate place, the Lord finds us grass.And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. (Mark 6:32) Jesus was with His disciples when a large crowd gathered around them. To give themselves some rest, He told them to get into a boat. The crowd followed their move and arrived before them, waiting. Jesus then started teaching. Later, the disciples told Jesus, “It’s nearly night, and we’re in the desert with no food. Send the crowd home.”  Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “How? We’re in the desert, and we have no food for all these people.” Jesus asked them for what they had. They gave Him two fish and five loaves of bread. And then you read something really odd in the story.Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. (Mark 6:39) Three times in this passage it says they were in a desolate place. Now Jesus is telling the crowd to sit on green grass."And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves... And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late.’" (Mark 6:31–32, 35) Scholars note that the Greek word translated as "deserted place" or wilderness (erēmos) does not necessarily mean a scorched wasteland devoid of all life; rather, it speaks of an uninhabited, lonely region.  However, the explicit mention of green grass is a deliberate theological echo under the pen of Mark. The people were tired, hot, hungry. He actually led them to green pasture. How not to connect that with Psalm 23? "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” (Psalm 23:1–2) Jesus lightened their load without stopping them from entering the desert. We all face desert places—problems, giants, bad breaks—which should overwhelm us, but amidst the challenges, His grace will sustain us. We will find strength and courage to endure."Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) If you reflect on your life, you probably have moments that you wonder how you overcame that loss, that sickness, that difficult challenge. It was God's grace—giving us grass in the desert and easing hard times—that helped us endure.  Without His favor, sickness might have defeated us, and breakup could have broken us. He didn’t stop the trouble, but He kept it from stopping you. You could have fallen apart or had a breakdown, but God gave you green grass in a desolate place, sustaining and feeding you when you felt overwhelmed. Despite stress, there’s grass in the desert. God has not done yet.  You haven’t seen the promise fulfilled, so stay trusting for healing, promotion, a spouse, a child.  The good news is on its way.  While you wait, God is inviting you to green grass.  You might not notice it, but without God's goodness, sickness could have overwhelmed you. Without His favor, trouble could have defeated you. Without His mercy, addiction could have taken you down. No matter what you go through because you’re a child of God, there’s going to be green grass in your desert."We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…"(2 Corinthians 4:8–9) God is going to do things that don’t make sense. It is supernatural. He’s going to gi