SPEAKER_04: Indeed, we bless the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: This is the day that the Lord has made.
SPEAKER_04: We shall rejoice and be glad in it.
SPEAKER_04: And uh in a moment we will be reading the word of God.
SPEAKER_04: And as we do so, I want to ask my daughter, our daughter Dutta, if you could join us uh as I read the word of God uh this morning.
SPEAKER_04: We are reading the word of God from the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 11, and I will pick it up from verse 28 down to verse 32, Daniel chapter 11 and verse 28.
SPEAKER_04: The Bible says, While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant.
SPEAKER_04: So he shall do damage and return to his own land.
SPEAKER_04: At the appointed time, he shall return and go toward the south.
SPEAKER_04: But it shall not be like the former or the latter.
SPEAKER_04: For ships from Cyprus shall come against him, therefore he shall be grieved and return in rage against the holy covenant and do damage.
SPEAKER_04: So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant, and forces shall be mastered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress, then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation.
SPEAKER_04: Those who do wickedly against the covenant, he shall corrupt with flattery.
SPEAKER_04: But the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.
SPEAKER_04: This is the word of God, and God's people say, Amen, amen.
SPEAKER_04: We can have our seats in the presence of the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: I am joined by my daughter here.
SPEAKER_04: Um she has been asking me, Dad, when am I singing again?
SPEAKER_04: I think she sang some three or so years ago, and so today I have the opportunity, and I decided to give her that opportunity, even as I bring the word of God this morning, this afternoon.
SPEAKER_04: Daughter, the stage is yours.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Praise God, chat.
SPEAKER_00: Praise God once more.
SPEAKER_00: Today I have a song, and if you know it, you can sing along.
SPEAKER_01: Letting go of every single dream.
SPEAKER_01: Every moment of my watering never changes what you see.
SPEAKER_01: I try to in this war confess, my hands are weary, I need your rest, mighty warrior, king of the fight.
SPEAKER_01: No matter what I face, you're by my side.
SPEAKER_01: When you don't move the mountains, I need you to move.
SPEAKER_01: When you don't back the others, I wish I could walk through.
SPEAKER_01: When you don't give the answers as I cried to I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you.
SPEAKER_01: Truth is you know what tomorrow brings There's not a day ahead you have not seen.
SPEAKER_01: So in all things be my life and breath I want were you unloading nothing less Where do you don't move the mountains?
SPEAKER_01: I need a little mouth, I don't put the waters I wish I could walk through where you don't give me answers as I grabbed I would trust, I would trust, I would trust in you, I will trust in you, you are my strength and comfort, you are my study, you are my force, you can trust that your always higher, your blessing always good, that's not a good, you've got a matter, I need to watch our good walk through and trust, our trust, I would trust in you, I trust in you, our trust in you.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: The people who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: That is the subject of my sharing this afternoon.
SPEAKER_04: The people who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: Again, I want to acknowledge Pastor Diodone Chow.
SPEAKER_04: Diodone Chow.
SPEAKER_04: It is always good to have somebody show up and they say you went to school with them.
SPEAKER_04: Because we are in Kenya, it confirms that at least.
SPEAKER_04: Ah, I went to school.
SPEAKER_04: Brother Diodone and Pastor, welcome.
SPEAKER_04: Bishop and your wife, welcome.
SPEAKER_04: We are glad to have you today.
SPEAKER_04: The people who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: And as I bring this uh message, also receive greetings from my wife.
SPEAKER_04: They were here in the first service with our other two daughters, and she has taken them home.
SPEAKER_04: Later on, she will be coming for us.
SPEAKER_04: So today she's our uh she's the one ferrying us around, and we thank God for her great uh services.
SPEAKER_04: We bless the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: We live in an age of uncertainty and compromise, but also increasing hostility toward the biblical faith.
SPEAKER_04: We live in a time.
SPEAKER_04: I remember one time I was in a bank when we used to queue in banks, and for some reason, this bank there was music coming through the speakers, and it was very gentle gospel music, and there was a lady who was behind me, an elderly lady, and she started complaining.
SPEAKER_04: Why are they having gospel music in the bank?
SPEAKER_04: And she was very, very unhappy, and she complained until she got to the counter, she complained at the counter, and she left the bank complaining.
SPEAKER_04: We are living in a time of great persecution in parts of Africa, part of the parts of the world, simply because of the Christian faith.
SPEAKER_04: The passage that we've read this afternoon is a prophecy by Daniel, and he's not even talking about his time, he's talking about a time to come.
SPEAKER_04: That after many kings have come, many um um kingdoms will come up.
SPEAKER_04: And these kingdoms, one of the characteristics that they will possess is that they will be seeking to destroy the covenant people, and history has it.
SPEAKER_04: Many kingdoms have arisen, and they have desired to destroy, to persecute God's people, and particularly in this uh passage, he is referring to a ruthless king who would later come.
SPEAKER_04: His name is Antiochus the Fourth, Epiphanes, and this is a man who lived between seven uh the year 175 to 164 BC, according to history.
SPEAKER_04: He's a man who sought to destroy God's covenant people, and he did this through persecution, he did this through deception, he did this through intimidation, he mocked God's people.
SPEAKER_04: And since he was coming from Syria and fighting across with the kings of Egypt, then Palestine, right at the middle, where God's the land of God's people, became the fighting ground.
SPEAKER_04: And therefore, he would he came and and and and the Bible is telling us clearly that after being defeated by the kings of the south, the man went through the covenant people causing desolation, causing havoc.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, they defiled the altar of God, and that is what they are calling the uh abomination that causes desolation.
SPEAKER_04: This man uh erected, you know, uh the altars of other gods right outside the temple of God.
SPEAKER_04: This man sacrificed abominable things, specifically sacrificed a pig on the altar of God.
SPEAKER_04: And if you read the history of the children of Israel, you know that is an abomination, it is unheard of that an unclean animal would be placed on the altar of God, and it is in the middle of this great persecution, of course, we are told in history about the Maccabean revolt, a revolt that was led by a man called Matathias Maccabias and his five sons.
SPEAKER_04: When they saw what was happening in Palestine among their people, they could not take it any longer.
SPEAKER_04: Even though it was one man and his five sons, they were able to put together an army.
SPEAKER_04: But let me tell you, this army was not equal to the army that Antiochus had marshaled.
SPEAKER_04: And there in the middle of this kind of a context, we now find this passage that says, But the people who know their God shall be strong and they shall carry out great exploits.
SPEAKER_04: You will notice that it is in a context of persecution, it is in a context of great turmoil, it is a context that is anti-Christ.
SPEAKER_04: The spirit of anti the antichrist was reigning, and even today, as we speak, the spirit of the antichrist continues to wage war against the covenant people, against the people of God.
SPEAKER_04: But there is hope and there is a statement of hope in all this, because then Daniel says that even in those times, those who know their God, the people who know their God shall be strong and shall shall carry out great exploits.
SPEAKER_04: Three characteristics of these people who know their God is that number one, these people who know their God, they trust him completely.
SPEAKER_04: These people who know their God, they obey him courageously.
SPEAKER_04: These people who know their God, they display him competently.
SPEAKER_04: And those are the three characteristics that I want to bring to us this morning.
SPEAKER_04: That the people who know their God will trust him completely.
SPEAKER_04: And when we talk about the people who know their God, we are not just talking about people who have heard about God, we are not talking about people who have read about God, we are talking about people who have a deep personal experience and a personal relationship with God.
SPEAKER_04: It is such people who have such knowledge that produces the kind of confidence that they can trust God completely in whatever circumstance that comes their way.
SPEAKER_04: It is the people who know that God rules over history, they know that he is the Alpha, they know that he is the Omega.
SPEAKER_04: And so, even though they don't understand what will happen tomorrow, they know just like the song Dutta has sang that there is a God who holds tomorrow, and this God is trustworthy.
SPEAKER_04: They know that this God is a God who keeps his covenant.
SPEAKER_04: When he says that I will keep my covenant, he has covenanted with himself.
SPEAKER_04: And so they know that this is a God who is not man that he should lie.
SPEAKER_04: They know that this is God who is not the son of man that he should change his mind.
SPEAKER_04: Have we not put our hope in people and they have changed their minds?
SPEAKER_04: And there is nothing wrong with human beings changing their minds because they are human beings, they can change their minds at whatever point, they can break their promises, they can be unable to meet their obligations, but the people who know their God, they know that their God is looking for his word, his promise, is looking for a man that he may show himself mighty for his sake.
SPEAKER_04: That man must be you, that woman must be you, because you are of those who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: They know that their God never abandons his people, irregardless of the circumstances, because he is the God who says, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.
SPEAKER_04: He is a faithful God.
SPEAKER_04: One time I was walking with my brother home, my younger brother, and we were going home and it was dark, and all of a sudden, as we are walking, the odonne, you remember Karinde.
SPEAKER_04: We were walking around Karinde, but uh Karinde is for for those uh who come from that other side.
SPEAKER_04: The place is called Karen End.
SPEAKER_04: We were walking around Karen End, and it was at night, and as we are walking, we are walking the two of us.
SPEAKER_04: I'm the elder one, we are we are telling stories, and then immediately something passes next to us.
SPEAKER_04: Now we didn't see the thing, but what we know is that it was big.
SPEAKER_04: We have never agreed to date what it was, whether it was a donkey or it was a lion or whatever it was.
SPEAKER_04: But I remember because we were near the gate, each one of us looked at the gate, we forgot that we were brothers from the same mother.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, while still I forgot that he's my younger brother, and I was telling him to climb over the gate while I'm on the other side.
SPEAKER_04: The people who know their God, they know that regardless of the adversaries that come their way, their God will never abandon them.
SPEAKER_04: And so they put their trust in him completely.
SPEAKER_04: These are the people who say, If I perish, I perish.
SPEAKER_04: I will go before the king, and if I perish, I perish.
SPEAKER_04: They know it is not the time to go to the king.
SPEAKER_04: They know that there is a law that has been set in place that whoever goes before the king without an invitation, if the king does not extend his scepter towards you, you will be dead meat.
SPEAKER_04: But there are the people who know that beyond the king, there is a God who has already extended his scepter on me.
SPEAKER_04: And because God has extended his scepter on me, I will enter the king's palace, and God will cause the king to raise his hand and to point his scepter towards me.
SPEAKER_04: And therefore, because they know their God, they say, If I perish, let me perish, but I will go before the king.
SPEAKER_04: These are the people who, when God calls them, like I did call Abraham, and said, That one son that you have been waiting for for over 25 years, now I am calling you to come and sacrifice him.
SPEAKER_04: And Abraham receives that message.
SPEAKER_04: You know, I have realized in this journey of knowing God, there are times you will need to walk alone.
SPEAKER_04: Bishop, there are times you will need to leave your wife behind unless she has agreed to that word, because she will be a hindrance.
SPEAKER_04: If Sarah knew, Bishop, that Abraham had left the house to go and sacrifice Isaac, Sarah would have made a trip to heaven very quickly.
SPEAKER_04: Deal with God and come down, deal with Abraham, because that was an unacceptable conspiracy between God and Abraham.
SPEAKER_04: But Abraham leaves his wife behind.
SPEAKER_04: This is a man who knows that there is a God of promise, and as they are walking together, they are going to sacrifice.
SPEAKER_04: Those other days they have carried a lamb for sacrifice.
SPEAKER_04: This day they only have fire, they only have firewood and their slaves and donkeys, but there is no lamb for a sacrifice.
SPEAKER_04: And then at some point, Isaac asks a daddy, is there something strange today?
SPEAKER_04: Where is the lamb for sacrifice?
SPEAKER_04: The man who knows is God.
SPEAKER_04: He knows that God has said, I sacrifice you, but I can't tell you that because you can't accommodate it.
SPEAKER_04: And so he tells him, The Lord shall provide for himself, because this God is a provider, he knows he's a provider, he doesn't know what he will provide, but he knows he's a provider, and so he also gets to some place where he has to leave his slaves behind.
SPEAKER_04: Can you imagine if Abraham made it to the mountaintop with the slaves?
SPEAKER_04: They will not have allowed him to sacrifice the son.
SPEAKER_04: They knew the struggle he had gone through to get this son, they would have talked about children's rights, they would have talked about human rights, but there are no human rights that are greater than being obedient to the king of kings.
SPEAKER_04: That is the greatest human right, and so Abraham walks alone, he leaves this man behind and he walks by himself.
SPEAKER_04: Brothers and sisters, sometimes this journey of trusting God completely is a lonely journey.
SPEAKER_04: Sometimes this journey of trusting God completely does not require a crowd.
SPEAKER_04: Sometimes this journey of trusting the Lord completely, it does not even require your closest friend.
SPEAKER_04: This journey requires a conviction in the heart that I know my Redeemer lives, a conviction in the heart that says, I know whom I have believed.
SPEAKER_04: And that's the conviction Abraham walks with, and he goes all the way to the mountain.
SPEAKER_04: Parklands Baptist Church, we are celebrating the Jubilee.
SPEAKER_04: And let me say this it is very easy for us to despise the year of Jubilee.
SPEAKER_04: It is very easy for us to despise it and ask ourselves what is there to celebrate.
SPEAKER_04: In the year of Jubilee, it is very easy for us to look at our circumstances, even as a church or even individuals, and wonder what is this special about the jubilee.
SPEAKER_04: But let me tell you what is special about the jubilee.
SPEAKER_04: The jubilee is not about an individual, the jubilee is about a God, it is about the God of the universe.
SPEAKER_04: And the children of Israel were invited to take the year of Jubilee very seriously.
SPEAKER_04: And they were told to consecrate, they were told to set it apart because God had a plan and a design.
SPEAKER_04: There is a special blessing for Parklands Baptist Church if we are going to trust the Lord completely in this year of Jubilee.
SPEAKER_04: You remember when Eso came to uh he had gone out and he came back and he was very hungry.
SPEAKER_04: He was very hungry, and his brother had made some little stew, and he looked at him and said, Hey, can I have some of that stew?
SPEAKER_04: And and and and the brother said, First of all, before I give you this stew, sell me your birthright.
SPEAKER_04: And Esau said, After all, I am about to die.
SPEAKER_04: After all, I am dying.
SPEAKER_04: What is a birthright to me?
SPEAKER_04: And with that, Jacob said, No, first of all, make it as an oath.
SPEAKER_04: And Esau made an oath to Jacob and said, From today you are the firstborn.
SPEAKER_04: What he didn't know is that he had transferred a blessing.
SPEAKER_04: Is that he had despised a blessing?
SPEAKER_04: Is that he had forsaken a blessing?
SPEAKER_04: And so when he said, What is it for me?
SPEAKER_04: He transferred it to Jacob.
SPEAKER_04: And from that day, Jacob became the firstborn.
SPEAKER_04: And everything, every favor, every blessing, every grace, every anointing, every opportunity of a power of a firstborn became Jacob's from that day.
SPEAKER_04: And the only thing that was left for Eso was to serve Jacob to date.
SPEAKER_04: Brothers and sisters, I pray that we are not going to miss the triple blessing.
SPEAKER_04: Because the Bible says in Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 20 and 22, it says that on the sixth year, whatever you are going to reap, I will cause it to multiply.
SPEAKER_04: So that you shall eat it in the sixth year, you shall eat it in the seventh year, and you shall eat it in the eighth year as you wait for the new harvest.
SPEAKER_04: The triple anointing, the triple blessing.
SPEAKER_04: That is our portion as a church in this year, in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_04: People who know their God will rest in his sovereignty in every circumstance.
SPEAKER_04: How I pray that as Parklands Baptist Church, in this year, we are going to march with confidence because we are those who know our God, and we know that he is the God of all seasons.
SPEAKER_04: But secondly, the people who know their God obey him courageously.
SPEAKER_04: They obey him courageously.
SPEAKER_04: Remember that Daniel has just prophesied about a time that will come.
SPEAKER_04: It is a time of great persecution.
SPEAKER_04: It is a time that many people will not only be persecuted, but we are told that this king had a flattering tongue.
SPEAKER_04: So not only was there persecution, but there was also persuasion.
SPEAKER_04: And so many of God's people abandoned the covenant.
SPEAKER_04: Daniel is very familiar with these circumstances because in the land that he was living already, he knew in Babylon that there was always a call to worship and to bow to other gods other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
SPEAKER_04: There was always pressure.
SPEAKER_04: But those who know their God, they will demonstrate this knowledge through their obedience.
SPEAKER_04: The people who know their God, they don't settle on cost.
SPEAKER_04: They don't just look at what will it cost me.
SPEAKER_04: They don't just look at uh, you know, what will they suffer?
SPEAKER_04: They go beyond the cost and they are able to pursue loyalty.
SPEAKER_04: They look beyond the consequences and they say, even though there are possible consequences, the one that we have put our trust in, we are going to obey him, even if we shall obey him with our lives.
SPEAKER_04: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the young, uh, these young Hebrew boys who are already serving uh as administrators in Nebuchadnezzar's administration.
SPEAKER_04: And Nebuchadnezzar wakes up one morning.
SPEAKER_04: There were crazy kings.
SPEAKER_04: He wakes up one morning and then he just decides, you know, uh I want to call all the artists, bring all the craftsmen, let them put together quickly a big statue.
SPEAKER_04: And so he puts up a big statue, and then he calls the the singers, all the musicians and all the trumpeters, and he says, Now from today, when you hear the trumpet sound, when you hear all manner of musical instruments, we have a new God.
SPEAKER_04: You know, some of these things are crazy when you when you read about them, when you think about them.
SPEAKER_04: He says, Now we have a new God.
SPEAKER_04: Just like the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness, and and Aaron, Moses goes to the mountain of the Lord for 40 days, and and they say, Oh, we are now in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_04: We have forgotten about the God who brought us from uh Egypt.
SPEAKER_04: And and and and and so Aaron puts together uh a calf, and then he brings the calf before the people and he says, Behold the God who brought you from Egypt.
SPEAKER_04: You know, if you see your God created, you shall run for your life.
SPEAKER_04: At you see your God created and then comes before you and then says, Now let's worship.
SPEAKER_04: This is what Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneco.
SPEAKER_04: And because they knew their covenant God, they said, We are not going to bow.
SPEAKER_04: We are not going to bow.
SPEAKER_04: Now, when I was reading this particular passage, I even thought about this.
SPEAKER_04: You know, first of all, remember they are in the land of slavery.
SPEAKER_04: Is it not enough that God has abandoned them into the world of slavery?
SPEAKER_04: But even when they are in slavery, they are still saying, This God who brought us to slavery, we will still worship him, we will be loyal to him.
SPEAKER_04: And why do you think they were loyal to him?
SPEAKER_04: Because it is the same God who said in Jeremiah 29, verse 10, that you are going to go to the land of slavery.
SPEAKER_04: But while you are there, marry, while you are there, acquire property, while you are there, you know, pray for the land, because I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: And so when they are standing to obey him, they were standing to obey a God who had made a promise to them.
SPEAKER_04: And then the king said, You know, we are going to have this furnace uh heated seven times.
SPEAKER_04: They said, Well, we will still not bow.
SPEAKER_04: And the king was furious.
SPEAKER_04: And the king said, Maybe your God will not even save you.
SPEAKER_04: Because, oh, you are here, you have just distracted me.
SPEAKER_04: That is my wife.
SPEAKER_04: When did you come?
SPEAKER_04: Karibu Salah.
SPEAKER_04: You know, Pastor Simon, I'm wondering, hey, who is this that looks like my wife?
SPEAKER_04: And on staring a little bit, then I realized it's actually her.
SPEAKER_04: So, what was I saying?
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, what was I saying?
SPEAKER_04: I was talking about I was uh in cloud nine, eh?
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04: Hey, these people confuse, huh?
SPEAKER_04: Well, let's a kutwa kit in a itwa timing.
SPEAKER_04: Okay, Karibusana, anyway.
SPEAKER_04: So, so so you see, you see, let me get get back to to shape.
SPEAKER_04: So, so this king says, You know your God, which God is going to save you from my hands?
SPEAKER_04: And they say, Oh yeah, maybe he may not save us, but even if he doesn't save us, we'd rather die in him.
SPEAKER_04: Those are people who decide to obey God because they know this God, even if I die, I die in him.
SPEAKER_04: He is a living God, he is not a dead God, and that's why the Bible says that he is the God of the living, he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
SPEAKER_04: He is our God, and for that reason, even death is not a threat.
SPEAKER_04: And they stood, they stood.
SPEAKER_04: These are the men who obey, they know that they are going to look up to God in whatever circumstances.
SPEAKER_04: Parklands Baptist Church, anytime I think about this year, I think about 40 or so men when you go to our history as a church.
SPEAKER_04: 40 or so men and women and children who are just a small number, they received the assignment to go and plant a church in Parklands and to start this ministry 50 years ago.
SPEAKER_04: Today we are standing and celebrating the fruit of their obedience.
SPEAKER_04: Today, when we think about the four campuses that we have, today, when we think about the mission stations that we have, today when we think about the more than 10,000 congregants online and in person, today when we think about our presence in the diaspora, we almost have somebody from Parklands Baptist Church in each of these nations that you are seeing their flags.
SPEAKER_04: Today, when we are thinking of even other flags that are not here, and we have men and women who associate with Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_04: Today, when we see the nations coming here and being part of us, ambassadors and and and leaders of high commissions and nationalities from all over the world, we know that we are standing on the fruit of obedience 50 years ago.
SPEAKER_04: And the question today is 50 years from today, what will be said of 10,000?
SPEAKER_04: What will be said of the 10,000?
SPEAKER_04: Shall there be a story to tell?
SPEAKER_04: Because we had men and women in Parklands Baptist Church who obeyed God courageously, men and women in Parklands Baptist Church who saw possibility in the impossibility, men and women in Parklands Baptist Church who saw a God of abundance in the year of scarcity, men and women in Parkland's Baptist Church who did not despise the days of humble beginnings, such that when we said it is J100, they were among the first ones to participate.
SPEAKER_04: It is a hundred shillings, but when it is placed in the hands of the Lord, he knows how to multiply it.
SPEAKER_04: This God was able to multiply two fish and five loaves of bread is able to multiply a J100 and make it a J1000 and make it a J ten thousand.
SPEAKER_04: He is even able to convert it into a J1000 dollars because there is no currency that is not in heaven, all currency belongs to him.
SPEAKER_04: That's why the Bible says that silver and gold belong to him, and so ours is to tap into that anointing, ours is to connect into that anointing, and as we do so, we are going to do exploits for the kingdom.
SPEAKER_04: It calls for simple obedience.
SPEAKER_04: Do you remember Naaman?
SPEAKER_04: You remember Naaman when he went to Elisha?
SPEAKER_04: And when he went to Elisha, the man was sick, he had leprosy.
SPEAKER_04: The man was on his way to die, to death.
SPEAKER_04: He was a dying man.
SPEAKER_04: There was nobody to heal him.
SPEAKER_04: And when they send him to Elisha, Elisha said, in a very he did not even come out to see him, he just sent his servant Gehazi and said, Go and tell that general to go to the river Jordan and dip himself seven times.
SPEAKER_04: Sometimes it is the small things that have greater breakthroughs.
SPEAKER_04: It is the tiny things that God uses to expand our horizon so that we are able to look back and say, Come and see what the Lord has done.
SPEAKER_04: And Nahman despised that simple act.
SPEAKER_04: And as they were going home, his soldiers and his attendants said, You know, if this man had said you do a complicated thing, if he had said, Come in front of him and somersaw 15 times backwards, forwards, if he had said a very complicated thing, go and look for a black chicken that has a small white spot, uh, just one white, one white spot.
SPEAKER_04: If he had said, go and look for for for hair, hair, just brown hair, you know, those complicated things.
SPEAKER_04: If he had said, go and bring the tail of a rat, you know, those complicated things that you cannot get easily, you would probably have gone to look for it.
SPEAKER_04: He's only said, simple, J100.
SPEAKER_04: He's only said, simple, dip yourself seven times.
SPEAKER_04: And the Bible says this man listened to reasoning and he went back and he dipped himself the first time, nothing happened.
SPEAKER_04: He dipped himself the second time, nothing happened.
SPEAKER_04: Probably he was about to give up.
SPEAKER_04: He was telling his servants, You see, I told him this thing we are doing is nonsense.
SPEAKER_04: But he dipped himself even while complaining.
SPEAKER_04: He dipped himself the fourth time, and he came out again and the fifth time.
SPEAKER_04: The man is still complaining the sixth time, and then he said, Now I am out, I'm about to leave.
SPEAKER_04: But he was told it is only one, it is only one that is remaining.
SPEAKER_04: Then reluctantly he went for the seventh time.
SPEAKER_04: But it is the seventh time that the man came out of the water and he was clean.
SPEAKER_04: The man was as clean as a baby.
SPEAKER_04: Obedience.
SPEAKER_04: Obedience, obedience.
SPEAKER_04: God is not looking for half obedience.
SPEAKER_04: You know, nowadays in school uh chair, we have moved to a very interesting system.
SPEAKER_04: You know, our system, you either passed or didn't pass.
SPEAKER_04: You know, there were not those that you are almost passing.
SPEAKER_04: What is almost passing?
SPEAKER_04: Now there is approaching pass.
SPEAKER_04: You are just there.
SPEAKER_04: It's a very interesting, eh?
SPEAKER_04: If you fail, you failed.
SPEAKER_04: Now we have approaching what?
SPEAKER_04: Approaching pass.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you are almost approaching pass.
SPEAKER_04: Brothers and sisters, I pray that we are not approaching pass as far as obeying Christ is concerned.
SPEAKER_04: Let us go to the exceeding expectation so that when we obey Him, heaven is moved your direction because you exceeded expectation.
SPEAKER_04: When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire.
SPEAKER_04: God had to do something.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, he did not even send an angel, he showed up personally.
SPEAKER_04: There are things we do, and God shows up personally because we have exceeded expectation in our obedience.
SPEAKER_04: We have gone beyond while obeying him courageously.
SPEAKER_04: But finally, brothers and sisters, as I bring this to a close, the people who know their God they display him competently, they display him competently, and that's why the Bible says that they will carry out exploits, they will do mighty things, they will not do mediocre things, they will do things that will move mountains.
SPEAKER_04: These are the people who do not merely survive in difficult times, these are people who influence difficult times.
SPEAKER_04: These are not just people who are passive believers, you know.
SPEAKER_04: They are passive believers, believers who are just believers.
SPEAKER_04: What are you?
SPEAKER_04: I am just a believer, but there are believers who are in action for the king of kings and for the lord of lords.
SPEAKER_04: Whenever you give them an assignment, they take it not as unto man, they take it as unto the king of kings and the lord of lords.
SPEAKER_04: They produce uh uh courageous servants, men who and women who participate in God's mission.
SPEAKER_04: These are the men and women who say, Here I am, Lord, send me.
SPEAKER_04: These are the men who say, Here I am Lord, I want to respond to that call that has made, has been made.
SPEAKER_04: These are the men and women whose lives become visible, a visible demonstration of God's strength, a visible demonstration of God's wisdom, a visible demonstration of God's faithfulness.
SPEAKER_04: These are the ordinary men who do not settle for ordinary, these are the men and women who pursue the extraordinary.
SPEAKER_04: The book of Daniel is a very interesting book because in chapter 6 it gives us a profile of this man, Daniel.
SPEAKER_04: And the Bible tells us in chapter 6 that this man Daniel had exceptional qualities.
SPEAKER_04: He was not just a man of amen, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: Yes, that is good, but the Bible tells us that he was a man of exceptional qualities, so exceptional that the king wanted now to create a new position for him.
SPEAKER_04: The king had already created uh positions for three commissioners commissioner one, commissioner two, commissioner three, and Daniel was one of them.
SPEAKER_04: And then under them there were 120 set traps.
SPEAKER_04: But as Daniel continued to distinguish himself, he continued to display that he is a man who is connected to God.
SPEAKER_04: And the Bible tells us that now the king started thinking of adding another layer so that Daniel himself can be right below the king, while the rest of the people are below him.
SPEAKER_04: Exceptional people, exceptional children of God, they alter organizational structures.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, people sit down and say, No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_04: This talent we need to find a new position.
SPEAKER_04: This what there is already an executive officer.
SPEAKER_04: Okay, add executive super officer, because this person is beyond executive.
SPEAKER_04: Put something else, exceptional qualities.
SPEAKER_04: But this man, also, the Bible says that he was trustworthy and there was no corruption.
SPEAKER_04: Now there was I want you to hear this right.
SPEAKER_04: There was no corruption, not little corruption, not approaching expectation.
SPEAKER_04: There was no corruption.
SPEAKER_04: They actually went to his office and they ransacked the office.
SPEAKER_04: They tried to look for some invoices that were exaggerated, they did not find them.
SPEAKER_04: They tried to look for for for some uh tenders that had been given to girlfriends and boyfriends and clan mates, they found nothing.
SPEAKER_04: They tried to look for monies that might have been stacked in some corners in the offices, they found nothing.
SPEAKER_04: They said this man, this man is not corrupt.
SPEAKER_04: Corruption was not his portion.
SPEAKER_04: Now, let me not ask whether we are corrupt.
SPEAKER_04: I won't ask that.
SPEAKER_04: Ask that.
SPEAKER_04: I won't even ask whether corruption can be found in us.
SPEAKER_04: I won't ask that.
SPEAKER_04: But I will make this statement.
SPEAKER_04: Brothers and sisters, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that if Daniel lived in our days today, there will be found no corruption in him still.
SPEAKER_04: That quality will not have changed.
SPEAKER_04: It will not have changed.
SPEAKER_04: And then what does that mean?
SPEAKER_04: It means it is possible for the people who know their God to display him in an exceptional manner.
SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, in the office it was very clear.
SPEAKER_04: If you want something, this is these are people I knew by the way.
SPEAKER_04: So I I knew Furah Karibson, good to see you, only Fura Johnstone.
SPEAKER_04: Now you know, in this office, the consumer chair, they knew that if you want this particular assignment to be done like this, and then it appears on the other side, brother so-and-so will sort you, brother, brother, but then they also knew.
SPEAKER_04: But if you want it to be done well, hallelujah, hallelujah, there is also brother, it is your choice, but it is interesting, even these other brothers, they chose this other brother, so it was done like is it possible for God's people today who know their God to be found corrupt, free?
SPEAKER_04: Yes, it is possible when they determine to display God exceptionally.
SPEAKER_04: But we are also talking about Joseph, this guy who was a dreamer, he was a dreamer from a dreamer to the pit, from the pit to Potiphar's house as a slave, from slavery and false accusation to prison, from prison to the palace, his life is characterized by extraordinariness.
SPEAKER_04: If there is such English, his life all along in every circumstance.
SPEAKER_04: What do I mean when this guy is dreaming?
SPEAKER_04: He dreams as a little boy, he dreams extraordinary dreams.
SPEAKER_04: When his brothers are dreaming about girlfriends and boyfriends, and there is nothing wrong with that.
SPEAKER_04: When his brothers are dreaming about bling bling and small things, this man used to stand before them as a little boy and say, I will rule over you.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, call your father and mother, tell them to come.
SPEAKER_04: Even you, God has showed me, I will also rule over you.
SPEAKER_04: Extraordinary dreams as a little boy.
SPEAKER_04: But he moves to the pit, and this man has what we call extraordinary resilience.
SPEAKER_04: You he's he he came to check on the welfare of his brothers and even brought them food.
SPEAKER_04: And when they saw him from a distance, they said, There is the dreamer.
SPEAKER_04: Come, let us take a hold of him and extinguish this dream.
SPEAKER_04: Extraordinary dreams live beyond the forces of men because they are God dreams, and so they come and get him, and all of a sudden, can you imagine your own brothers?
SPEAKER_04: Your own brothers, they turn against you, they strip him of his clothes, they throw him into a cistern, and they are not even whispering, they are talking among themselves and they are saying, Let us kill our brother.
SPEAKER_04: And this man still stood up, they threw him in a cistern, and the man is down there, is crying for help.
SPEAKER_04: He's saying, Oh, you guys are my brothers.
SPEAKER_04: He's calling them by name, Reuben, can you save me?
SPEAKER_04: He's calling them by name, Issachar, can you save me?
SPEAKER_04: He's calling them by name, God, can you save me?
SPEAKER_04: And they are all there, they are laughing, they are saying, Let us see what will become of your dreams.
SPEAKER_04: Today, our children just lock them in the bedroom for five minutes, ten minutes.
SPEAKER_04: You will be looking for a counselor.
SPEAKER_04: And it was in the bedroom.
SPEAKER_04: Oh, you know, when I when they locked me in, oh, I I suffered, I I'm you know, now I don't even know what I will do.
SPEAKER_04: I they don't love me, they don't like me.
SPEAKER_04: This man is later on sold by his brothers, and he watches as the distance continues to grow between him and his brothers, and he's still crying out, brothers, why are you leaving me?
SPEAKER_04: Why are you selling me?
SPEAKER_04: And they disappear.
SPEAKER_04: What manner of resilience.
SPEAKER_04: But then now, life has what it has brought to him.
SPEAKER_04: He finds himself in Potiphar's house, he has been sold as a slave, and for every assignment he was given, he did it better than anyone else.
SPEAKER_04: When he's told to mop the floor, he mops like any other person, like no one else.
SPEAKER_04: When he's told to go to the garden, he goes, he digs very quickly, he does a smart job.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, he worked in such a way that even Potiphar's wife was attracted to him.
SPEAKER_04: You know, Potiphar was not attracted to him just because of the beauty.
SPEAKER_04: The guy was romantic even in his work.
SPEAKER_04: His work was just romantic.
SPEAKER_04: Potiphar had never seen a man who works like Joseph.
SPEAKER_04: I don't know what attracts people to you.
SPEAKER_04: Is it your work?
SPEAKER_04: Is it just your physical appearance, or do you even make people, you know, you know, get attracted to you?
SPEAKER_04: This guy is just working.
SPEAKER_04: And Potiphar is like, yeah, I have not seen such a worker.
SPEAKER_04: The man is sent to prison, and even there he has extraordinary stewardship.
SPEAKER_04: The man is finally sent to the palace, and there he has extraordinary leadership.
SPEAKER_04: Brothers and sisters, we are standing at a time of greatness as a church.
SPEAKER_04: And let me say this that the moment that we are celebrating right now of Jubilee is actually not our moment, it is an outcome of the diligence of men and women who focused on prayer, who focused and gave sacrificially, men and women who've got focused in missions, men and women who are focused on the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: Today we are standing on men's the work of men who pursued extraordinary pursuits for the King of Kings.
SPEAKER_04: It is our time to create our own moment.
SPEAKER_04: We have an opportunity that 50 years from now, with Parklands Baptist Church having a campus in every major city of this continent, men will be standing and saying, 50 years ago there was a congregation in Westlands, Parklands Baptist Church in Westlands, Nairobi, and there were men and women of great persuasion, men and women of extraordinary dreams, men and women of extraordinary resilience, men and women of extraordinary faithfulness, and it is the stewardship of this men and women, it is the leadership of this men and women, it is the sacrifice of this men and women that now we are standing with a church in Accra, we are standing with a church in Addis Ababa, we are standing with a church where else mention that city, there is a church, Kampala, there is a church in Juba, because men and women in Parkland's Baptist Church have created their moment.
SPEAKER_04: Extraordinary moment.
SPEAKER_04: And this man at only the age of 33, he had turned his world upside down.
SPEAKER_04: This man at Gethsemane was praying.
SPEAKER_04: This man was sorrowful to the point of death.
SPEAKER_04: This man was pleading with his father.
SPEAKER_04: That father, will you take away this cup from me?
SPEAKER_04: But not my will, but your will.
SPEAKER_04: He was even sweating blood in Gethsemane.
SPEAKER_04: This man, then the hour came, the Bible tells us.
SPEAKER_04: And he was betrayed by his own.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, they betrayed him through a kiss, an action that is supposed to show affection, turned out to be the stinging, the sting of betrayal.
SPEAKER_04: And he was wrapped up like one leading a rebellion.
SPEAKER_04: Then all his disciples were deserted him, they fled away from him.
SPEAKER_04: In fact, one of them records that he even fled naked.
SPEAKER_04: And so this man was left alone.
SPEAKER_04: But one man followed him.
SPEAKER_04: His name is Peter.
SPEAKER_04: And you may think he was following him so that he can stand with him.
SPEAKER_04: But when he followed him at some point, he denied him three times.
SPEAKER_04: They falsely accused him, they mocked him.
SPEAKER_04: He was beaten.
SPEAKER_04: They spat on him.
SPEAKER_04: They made a crown of thrones and put it on him.
SPEAKER_04: They pierced his side.
SPEAKER_04: They hung him on the cross with sinners.
SPEAKER_04: And there he breathed his last.
SPEAKER_04: But it was not a breath of defeat.
SPEAKER_04: Because while he was about to breathe his last, he said words of victory, words of person as somebody who knew his God.
SPEAKER_04: And he said, It is finished.
SPEAKER_04: He declared that for you and for I it is finished.
SPEAKER_04: And then they buried him and they thought it was over.
SPEAKER_04: And Peter took off with the disciples and they went back fishing because they thought it was over.
SPEAKER_04: But brothers and sisters, I have good news.
SPEAKER_04: Those who know their God, like this man, they will not sleep forever.
SPEAKER_04: Because on the third day, the Bible says that he raised him from the dead.
SPEAKER_04: The third day, the Bible says that God exalted such mighty power that he rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_04: And the Bible says, This man, God has exalted him to the highest places.
SPEAKER_04: He has given him the highest name.
SPEAKER_04: That at the mention of the name of Jesus, extraordinary things begin to happen.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, there is salvation.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, there is release.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, there is a reset.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, there is restoration at the mention of this name.
SPEAKER_04: There is revival at the mention of this name.
SPEAKER_04: There is reconciliation at the mention of this name.
SPEAKER_04: There is redemption.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, there is rain.
SPEAKER_04: And at the mention of this name, there is jubilee for Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_04: That is the Jesus we are standing on.
SPEAKER_04: A man of extraordinary display of God's power and might.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for you.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for your family.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for your business.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for our country.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for your marriage.
SPEAKER_04: That name is available for our children.
SPEAKER_04: At the mention of this name, extraordinary things happen.
SPEAKER_04: Why don't you mention that name to your situation?
SPEAKER_04: Why don't you mention that name to your marriage?
SPEAKER_04: Why don't you mention that name to your situation?
SPEAKER_04: Because at the mention of that name, the Bible says, Every name shall bow.
SPEAKER_04: And every tongue confess that is Lord.
SPEAKER_04: You are at the pavilion.
SPEAKER_04: And you have not connected to this name.
SPEAKER_04: It is the only name that brings salvation.
SPEAKER_04: It is the only name by which we must be saved.
SPEAKER_04: The name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_04: You cannot trust him completely.
SPEAKER_04: You cannot obey him courageously.
SPEAKER_04: You cannot display him competently until you have connected with his name.
SPEAKER_04: It is only the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_04: It is only a relationship with Jesus that can move you to the place of extraordinariness.
SPEAKER_04: So this afternoon, I want to give you an opportunity.
SPEAKER_04: If you are the one that I'm speaking to, today put your faith in the Lord Jesus and say, Lord Jesus, I open my heart to you.
SPEAKER_04: That you may come into my life.
SPEAKER_04: Forgive my sins.
SPEAKER_04: That by faith I open my heart.
SPEAKER_04: That you may come in.
SPEAKER_04: And with that prayer, Jesus has come into your heart.
SPEAKER_04: You are no longer ordinary.
SPEAKER_04: You are extraordinary.
SPEAKER_04: Because you have become a child of God.
SPEAKER_04: And from today you can obey Him, you can trust Him.
SPEAKER_04: You can display Him.
SPEAKER_04: So if you have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I will ask you that after this service, don't be in a hurry to leave.
SPEAKER_04: Just come.
SPEAKER_04: Our pastors here are here.
SPEAKER_04: Pastor Felista is here.
SPEAKER_04: Our chair of pastors and deacons board.
SPEAKER_04: Deacon Wamboko is here.
SPEAKER_04: Deacon Gakunjo is here.
SPEAKER_04: And other leaders are here to receive you.
SPEAKER_04: To receive you into the kingdom.
SPEAKER_04: And so, Lord, I pray.
SPEAKER_04: May this week be a week of extraordinary dreams.
SPEAKER_04: May this week be a week of extraordinary stewardship.
SPEAKER_04: May this be a week of extraordinary faithfulness.
SPEAKER_04: May this be a week of extraordinary display of your great power in our lives and through our lives.
SPEAKER_04: And therefore, Lord, we now declare Monday blessed.
SPEAKER_04: We declare that Tuesday is blessed.
SPEAKER_04: We declare that Wednesday is blessed.
SPEAKER_04: We declare that Thursday is blessed.
SPEAKER_04: Indeed, Friday is the day of those who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: And therefore, it is blessed.
SPEAKER_04: Saturday is blessed.
SPEAKER_04: And Sunday we congregate back here to continue displaying your greatness and your goodness in our lives.
SPEAKER_04: Because we have prayed this prayer with thanksgiving and joy in our hearts.
SPEAKER_04: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_04: And God's people say, Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Let me invite you to be on your feet.
SPEAKER_04: You are the people who know their God.
SPEAKER_04: Walk in that anointing in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_04: And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: God bless you indeed.