Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
You guys might have heard like back in January, I had the whole AFib thing in my heart and
anyway, it was better since January and then it happened again last week and lasted for five days straight and
I was at the softball game on Monday and the doctors like yeah, you could play just listen to your body
I'm like, okay, I will and I said to the guys beforehand like watch
I hit like a grand slam or something
My heart just lands back into rhythm and I didn't hit a grand slam
But I did it a pretty solid double and by the time I got to second base
My heart was back in rhythm. So praise the Lord for softball
And I still am on those beta blockers, but that's alright
It blocked my beta male tendencies alpha male only, right? So there you go
but
Yeah, so no work. We're good
So softball though, you know another game Thursday. We have not won a game yet
So pray for that we could really use it. We could use a win. Alright, so we are in Joshua
16 we're gonna be talking about Ephraim and
I'm gonna give you kind of from Genesis up until even the gospel of John the story of Ephraim and
honestly, it's a story of so much potential that was then wasted like and
But God still redeems
Like he does with all of us, right? So let's turn to Joshua 16 and jump in at verse 1
So the lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan by Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east
To the wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains of Bethel
Then went out from Bethel to loves passed
along to the border of the archeites to
Ataroth and went down westward to the boundary of the Jephalites as far as the boundary of Lower Beth
Haran to gazere and it ended at the sea
So the children of Joseph Manasseh and Ephraim took their inheritance
the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus the border of their inheritance on the east side was
Ataroth Adar as far as Upper Beth Haran and
This is a bunch of names of cities and places that you know, you're not expected to know you won't be quizzed on it
so I'm gonna continue at verse
9 and
The separate cities of the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh all the cities within their villages
And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwell in gazere
But the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers
so
Right off the bat. I want to say something pretty interesting about how God redeems things the
Canaanites in gazere that they did not drive out
When Solomon was king
The Pharaoh from Egypt wanted
Solomon to marry his daughter
So as a dowry he went in and wiped out the Canaanites that were in gazere so that they would get married
Now he wasn't supposed to marry
He you know Solomon was not supposed to marry other people
But God used the enemy and used something he wasn't supposed to do and still turned it around for something good and drove out
The Canaanites out of their land, so I thought that was pretty cool
But tonight I just want to go through
the the story of Ephraim and all of the potential he had and
Where he and his tribe went wrong
So Jacob as you know he's also known as Israel he had 12 sons and
the 12 tribes of Judah and
The 11th son was Joseph so you saw in verse 1 the Lot fell to the children of Joseph
so Joseph was a son of
Israel of Jacob and
He went to
Go check on his brothers and in Shechem and so his father loved him the most
Played favorites and his brothers hated him for it. He had the special
Clothes you know the coat of many colors, and he was always telling on them
He's in charge of them even though he was the 11th and at the time the youngest and so it really created a lot of
Issues in their family and so much so that they wanted to actually kill him
So I want you just to remember Shechem okay the town of Shechem they
His brother his dad told Joseph to go check on his brothers, and he went to Shechem and
There his brothers were gonna kill him and instead decided to sell him into slavery
And so they threw him in a pit sold him to slave traders who then took him to Egypt and while he was in Egypt
He was the slave of this guy named Potiphar and things were good like he was you know became second command of the house
He was being blessed and Potiphar loved him and then Potiphar's wife
You know wanted to sleep with them, and he said no and she kept trying
He kept saying no until finally she just had it and she said that he tried to sleep with her forcibly
And so then you know Potiphar believed his wife threw him in prison
And so he went from already a bad situation to a much worse situation
An ex-slave in prison and through a turn of events
You know he interpreted some dreams, and he's about to get out
But then the people who he helped forgot about him for years, and he still sat in prison until finally he rose to power and
From prison becomes second in command of all of Egypt because God
Lifted him up right that first humble yourself under the mighty hand of God
And he will lift you up in due time
So he was obedient to God and he was raised up and was in charge of all
Egypt at that time and
So Pharaoh gave him a wife as Anith who was the daughter of Potiphar which is not Potiphar
It's not the same person. This is Potiphar. They kind of like similar names back then
But he was actually a priest of the the God of Ra so like not a good guy either and
You know the Lord blessed their marriage
And he had these kids and they were the two sons which I want to read verse 40 or chapter 41 of Genesis
The two sons are Manasseh and Ephraim, so it says Joseph
To Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came who Asnath and the daughter of Potiphar a priest of on board
of him
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house
so Manasseh's name means to forget and
Then the name of the second is called Ephraim for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction
so the first one is to be forgetful to forget and the second one is to be fruitful and
You know my dad said it before it's much better to be fruitful despite
Opposition and affliction than just trying to forget it and we see an extra blessing on Ephraim's life
So there are three things that set Ephraim apart, which we're about to get into
One is the prophetic blessing that he receives from Jacob
two is leadership and
three is an inheritance of land that gives him proximity to the
Tabernacle of God so we see prophetic blessings we see leadership and an inheritance from God
So I want to turn to Genesis 48 to read about
The prophetic blessing that Israel gives to Ephraim
All right Genesis 48
Verse 5 and now your two sons
This is Jake Jacob speaking to Joseph and now your two sons
Ephraim and Manasseh who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine as
Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours
They will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance
So this is really interesting the grandfather adopts his sons so that both his sons
Get an inheritance essentially Joseph gets a double portion and both of his kids
Become equal partakers in the blessing of the land and then in verse 13
I think it's so funny it right after this he's like your two sons are mine and then his two sons are standing there and and
Jacob goes who are they he's like these are my two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, so he didn't have good vision
And he wanted to really double-check it was them because if you remember Jacob pulled a trick to get the blessing over Esau
so verse 13 and
Joseph took them both Ephraim with his right hand towards Israel's left hand and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand
And brought them near to him then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head
Who was the younger and his left hand on Manasseh's head guiding his hands knowingly for Manasseh was the first born
So here Joseph brought him up so he would lay his right hand on you on Manasseh and left on Ephraim
That would be the first born blessing the better blessings on the right hand and the second born the lesser blessing on the left
and instead of
rolling with it
Jacob goes like this and prays this way and he prays this prayer and you'll see in verse what happens ready
Verse 15 he blessed Joseph and said God
Before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac walked the God who has fed me all my life long to this day
The angel who has redeemed me from all evil bless the lads and let my name be named upon them and the name of my father's
Abraham and Isaac and let them grow and multitude in the midst of the earth
Now when Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on the head of the Ephraim of Ephraim it displeased him
So he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head
And Joseph said his father not so my father for this is the first born
But his father refused and said I know my son. I know he shall become a people and he shall
be great and
Truly his younger brother shall be greater than he and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations
So he blessed them that day saying by you Israel will bless will bless saying my God
Make you as Ephraim as Manasseh and thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh
so
He blessed Ephraim above his his older brother. So not only was it that
Joseph got the better blessing the firstborn blessing now his son Ephraim got the even better blessing over Manasseh
So Ephraim was the most blessed of all the sons of Jacob
So right off the bat he gets the prophetic blessings
And if you read chapter 49 after this a lot of these don't sound like blessings for the other brothers
They're pretty rough like
It's it says to Simeon Levi
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their counsel like that doesn't sound like a blessing
but this is prophecy of what will happen and then it goes all the way down to Joseph in verse 22 is fruitful bow a
fruitful bow by a well and his branches run over the wall and
Yeah, and he's fruitful in all these ways so it's amazing to see the blessing that is upon them and it's not just
Hopeful sayings. It would actually came to pass that Ephraim was a great and mighty
tribe of Israel
So they had the prophetic blessing things were looking pretty good right to start off his origin story like this
Things are looking really good for him and then you have leadership
Try the tribe of Ephraim were leaders. They were called when they went to the wilderness to lead the Western tribes
through the wilderness and not only that but you know Joshua this book the one who leads him into the promised land is from the
tribe at Ephraim and
Also, we'll read about in a minute
But when there's a division between the southern two tribes of Israel and the northern ten
Ephraim becomes the leader of the whole northern kingdom and Jeroboam who is an Ephraim might becomes king
So there is both prophetic blessings over them real blessings. I mean everything's going right for them
leadership, you know, God is using them to lead the people and
Joshua and Ephraim might leading them into the promised land. Everything is looking great
so then we even get the inheritance which we just read about in chapter 16 and
There's something really interesting. I said remember Shechem right the town of Shechem
So when Abraham before all this began
He was in the land of Canaan and the very first promise saying this promised land will be yours when he was there
He was in Shechem and he built an altar there
So at the very beginning of all this in the town of Shechem
the promised land was given to Abraham and he built an altar there and
now
Jacob when he was living in Canaan, he actually bought the land of Shechem
He purchased it and in this chapter verse 40 chapter 48 when he is blessing
Ephraim he gives him the plot of land which is Shechem
Which is that whole area there for his own which has Jacob's well in it, which we're gonna get to here
So not only was it the first altar
It was the very first form of inheritance that Israel ever had it was owned by them. This was given to
to
Ephraim as well and at Shechem Joshua renews the covenant
so, you know an amazing time where they come in the promised land in the same spot where the where the
the original altar is where the purchased land is they renew the covenant with God and
This same place of Shechem was a place where the Levites lived
So the people who ministered to God in the temple, this was one of their villages that they lived in
It was also a city of refuge
So mercy and justice was done there because when there was an accidental killing which we'll see in a couple chapters in Joshua
This was a place that people could run to and say like this was an accident. I need justice
We need to figure this out. You can't just come in and and wipe me out because something
accidentally happened so it is a place of spiritual leadership of justice
Mercy, and then it even becomes a place of a throne
So Shechem is where the northern kingdom set up its throne when it's split apart
So it's rule a place of rule and dominance and not only all that
But the tabernacle of God before went to Jerusalem rested in Shiloh, which is in Ephraim's land, too
So this was a place of the religious center where everyone would come and worship God and this is right in Ephraim's backyard
He has it all like even Samuel the prophet was from Ephraim like everything was going for them, right?
and
so from here both having
Leadership having a prophetic blessing having the blessing of the land where all this good stuff is happening
from here the heights of success and
so much potential
Ephraim Falls
You know pride comes before the fall, right?
And so there's a lot of stories of pride that you'll see with Ephraim
But I want to turn to first Kings
So now the descendants of Ephraim have grown and grown and grown until we get to this story in first Kings chapter 11
And I know I'm bouncing all around a lot, but I hope you're enjoying it because it's an interconnected story
That really is amazing. So first Kings
Chapter 11
Okay
We're gonna look at verse 29. So
Jeroboam I told you about he was a servant of Solomon and
He was an Ephraimite. He's from Ephraim
So verse 29 now it happened at the time when Jeroboam went out at Jerusalem that the prophet
Ahijah the Shillanite met him on the way and he had clothed himself with a new garment and he tore them
And the two of them were alone in the field and he took hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it
Into 12 pieces and he said to Jeroboam take for yourself ten pieces for thus says the Lord the God of Israel behold
I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give it to the ten tribes to you
But he shall have one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem the city
Which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel because they have forsaken me and worship
Asherah's the Goddess of the Sidonians
Chemosh the God of the Moabites and Milcom the God of the people of Ammon and have not walked
In my ways to do what is right in my eyes
So he takes the land away from Solomon because he just he had a thousand wives and started worshiping all their Gods
You know, I don't know how you can actually have that many wives
It's insane, but very expensive and he was very rich. So it worked out. No, I'm just kidding. It's fine
and
so
He's taking the tribes away and giving them to Ephraim and guess what he says to him ready
Verse 38 it shall be if you heed all that I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight
To keep my statutes and my commandments as my servant David did then I will be with you and build for you an everlasting
Enduring house as I built for David and will give Israel to you
he was gonna set up a similar covenant an
Everlasting covenant with Ephraim if he just listened to him and did what he said just like David you hear about David all the
Time you could have heard about Jeroboam all the time as well the Godly king that in the midst of Solomon's fall
He led the people back to God
And guess what happens?
Let's look at verse 12 or chapter 12
ready
Verse 25 chapter 12
then Jeroboam built Shechem
Shechem again, look at that in the mountains of Ephraim and
dwelt there and he went out from there and built penuel and the
Jeroboam said in his heart now the kingdom made return to the house of David go back to Solomon's house, right?
It might happen if these people go up to offer
Sacrifices in the house of the Lord Jerusalem then the heart of the people will turn back to their Lord
Rehoboam king of Judah and they will kill me and take and go back to Rehoboam the king of Judah
therefore the king asked advice and
And
Where was that the king asked advice and made two calves of gold and said to the people
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your Gods Oh Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt
What a turn of events
Like if you just listen to me, you'll have an everlasting kingdom, but you could tell he had zero faith
No faith whatsoever because he thought oh like if they go back and worship God in
On the other side in the other two tribes land of the king of David, right?
His family's land they're gonna start following him again. So I don't trust with God saying instead
I'm gonna do exactly what we did in the wilderness and create instead of one golden calf
I'm gonna make two golden calves and I'm gonna set them up and say these two calves brought you out of Egypt
But we know how that works, right?
And he set up shrines and all the high places and led the people away into
Idolatry and
you know all
Through the rest of the Old Testament talks about Ephraim
I specifically talks about Jeroboam and says when all these bad kings that says they walked in the ways of Jeroboam
They sinned like him. He went from having a possible
Eternal kingdom with God that would endure like, you know
He would be reigning his family be reigning on the earth
just like David's family and instead just threw it all away because he was afraid that he would lose what he had right then and
You know what ended up happening after that
They were completely conquered by the Assyrians and the Assyrians came in and by the time the Old Testament ends
You never see another mention of Ephraim ever again
He's not even in the New Testament his tribe anymore
They're considered the law that one of the ten lost tribes of Israel because after the Assyrians came in
They intermarried they threw him into exile. They just dispersed into all the other nations of the people and
They didn't even have any identity anymore
So going from the strongest tribe everyone to be everyone wanted to be part of Ephraim
So suddenly no one even knows who Ephraimites are because they're just wiped off the planet and it all happened because from the heights
Of success and pride they turned to other Gods and they wanted to cling to what they had in that moment
There was so much
potential that was wasted
But there is
Something good that comes out of this
When the Assyrians intermarried and they lost their identity
They became known as as the people of Samaria the Samaritans
So the Ephraimites were a major piece and a major
The blood of Ephraim was a huge part of the Samaritans
Now Samaritans were despised by the Jews. They were considered like half breeds. They intermarried
They didn't actually worship in Jerusalem. They had different customs and all
but
We see something amazing happen. So all that happened in Shechem, right?
Well God wants to redeem everybody and he wants to redeem Ephraim and he wants to redeem Shechem this place that had so much
potential where the first altar was right and
What it fell and we saw Joseph betrayed and sold into slavery. We saw
Jeroboam having, you know a kingdom set up against God in
Shechem and here in John 4 can we turn there John 4 verse 5
So this is speaking of Jesus he Jesus came to a city of Samaria
Which is called Sikar near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph
This land that he gave to Joseph was the land that he gave to Ephraim and
Sikar
They don't know the exact spot of Sikar, but they say that you it was right next to
Shechem you can actually see Shechem that so this well if you stood at the well
You could look right there and there's Shechem the town. So in the exact town where all this happened
All this rejection of God and now Ephraim ran away and they're not even a people anymore
They're the Samaritans Jesus comes there
to the same town to the same people and he says give me a drink to the woman at the well the Samaritan and
I love this right here verse 10 if you knew the gift of God and who it was who says to you
Give me a drink. You would have asked him and he would have given you living water and
She said
Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob? Yes
Who gave us this well and drank from it himself as well as his sons and his livestock and Jesus answered
Whoever drinks with this water will thirst again
But whoever drinks to the water that I shall give him will never thirst
But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life
speaking of eternal life in the Holy Spirit
and then let's jump to
22
You worship what you do not know we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews
But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the father and spirit and truth
For the father is seeking such to worship him God a spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth
He's offering salvation to the same exact people
That rejected him
that ran away from him that did horrible horrible things and just
essentially disappeared into the people of the world that they weren't supposed to be a part of and
Even this place that was supposed to be a holy place a shrine to God
Became a picture of rebellion and they still to that day were worshiping in a place. They weren't supposed to worship
still rebelling against God and
That's why he said in the day is coming the hour is at hand when you will truly worship in spirit and truth
It won't just be outward, you know religion. It'll be from your heart in your spirit
You're actually worshiping God from within and then also in truth
Not in like fake versions of the gospel or of the truth. It's the real truth. Like you're not worshiping here
This is a fake version of
Judaism the true version of Judaism is what Jesus brought which is actually
Faith in him and salvation and you don't need to go to a place anymore. He's saying to the Samaritans
It's not about you anymore. It's not about your land. It's not about what you have to offer
It's all about him come to him and that water will
Bowl like fill you up. The Holy Spirit will fill you up. And so
the thing I'm taking away from this is if
He can redeem me for him
Who weren't even people anymore and he can redeem Shechem in John 4
How much more can he redeem you and me right here in land sale, Pennsylvania?
I don't think we're in as bad as Shechem was
But like if he did this
He can easily redeem us right he can redeem anyone his love is so great
His mercy is so strong his cross is so powerful that no sin can separate you from him
And all we have to do is come to him. He has redeemed us like despite our mistakes
Wasted time wasted opportunities or gifts failures faithlessness
rebellion and sin just look at the story of Ephraim the heights he fell from and
God still redeems like no matter what we've done even maybe if it was today
If you're in him, you are forgiven you're a new creation and he won't hold anything against you. He forgives you
he forgave even the darkness of
Ephraim and like if if we have
Sinful tendencies which we do right? We have a sinful nature. God not only forgives us that
He gives us the ability the empowerment by the Holy Spirit to have victory over them and
It all comes to that moment right there like he had with the woman at the well. It's not just outward
Religion and trying to do all the right things in your own strength. It's just simply coming to him at the well, right?
He has he is the water we need we need to drink from his well
we need to come to him for forgiveness for mercy and for strength and
I love this because what he offers to the Samaritans there and then to all the Gentiles is an amazing thing and and 1st Peter 2
Says something that's truly profound 1st Peter 2 verse 9 says you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood
This is 2 Gentiles
This is like, you know, you couldn't say this in the Old Testament only the Levites could be could be royal priesthood
But you are chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people
That you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness even the darkness of Ephraim, right?
Into his marvelous light who once were not a people but are now a people of God
Like the Ephraimites they lost their identity. They were no longer a people
But now they were a people of God and so are you and I and they did not have mercy
But now they have obtained mercy through him
And I also love 2nd Corinthians 1 20 for all the promises of God are yes
And amen in him to the glory of God through us. So if we're in Jesus
Every single thing that he promises promises us in his word is true and it's for us
it's not some promises for us depending on how good we are it's all of them and
You know, I just want to close it with one more point and
You know, sometimes I don't if there's anybody in here that it's I think we all do at times we can forget how
powerful the love of Christ is that he actually redeemed us from our past like
Like he redeemed Ephraim. He can redeem us like
Psalm 103 says as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us like
Even if it just happened today
In him our sins are separated as far as the East is from the West
They never touch if you keep going east to keep going west
I know we're on a planet so you do kind of come back around
That's not the point but they don't touch if you go that way East and West that is how far our sin is separated from us
and
Beyond just being freed. He also calls us to redeem the time
Right redeem means to buy back and to use for a good purpose
Ephesians 5
Says see that you walk circumspectly or carefully walk carefully and wise
So work walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise for deeming the time because the days are evil
Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is
So he's called us
He's forgiven us he's freed us
He's empowered us to live for him and he calls us to redeem the time like he redeemed us
We're called to redeem the things in our life in the time that we have
and I have a really
Interesting story of redeeming some time that you know might be interesting to you guys
Sometimes we think like redeeming the time has to be something so like profound or like oh my gosh
I just you know preach in front of a thousand people like Billy Graham and they all raised their hands or like I I
Prayed over all these people and they every single one was healed, but you know redeeming the time
Just means using the time for him
That could be that is alone at home reading the word and becoming more like him and that is praying for the people and
Then receiving salvation and being healed all those things
But it's every single part of our day
We use and redeem for him in our work and our families in our in our hobbies and whatever we do
wherever we are we are using the time for him and
Some of you know the story. I know gail knows it's I told it in a small group of time, but
So when I was an intern at this company, you know
this this verse definitely applied to me because I
Was not expected to do a lot
You know, I was I was in a band
I was touring and working part-time for this company and they were like just have me do some simple Excel stuff
But I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to learn, you know
I wanted to use my time not just to get like an easy boring paycheck
but actually like do something to help the company and
so
We had this old system that used
Like it was like green and black and you couldn't even click on stuffs all function keys
Like it was from the 80s. That's how old the software was so you could program stuff
To speed things up and I never I didn't know how to program
I did really bad in college with my programming class and I
Wanted to be able to do this because one I thought it would be cool to learn and what the other
Piece I wanted to you know, help out the company and I wanted this to somehow give like glory to God
so I literally prayed I'm like God I
Want to learn how to do this and I want to get really good at it
And somehow I pray this would glorify you like what a weird thing to pray like this random programming language
That I never learned that might not do too much. I just pray that somehow glorify them and sure enough
I picked it up pretty quickly and like it just things were making sense and I got pretty good at it
And I was doing these programs that were like speeding things up a lot for the company and the guy
I was doing it for it was so funny. He one day
He messages me and he's like, hey his name is Mike Tobin. Maybe he's watching. I don't know and he goes
He's like, hey Jesse, you know, you got really good at this really fast
And you know, I was telling your boss like I don't know what it is
Like how how you were able to do this, but I know you go to church
We're both saying maybe we should start going to church, too
And you know, maybe we'll get better at our jobs and and also become better people
I'm like, what the heck like how does this boring random little programming language that an intern is trying to learn?
Somehow connects the dots in this guy's head and it wasn't it was the Holy Spirit connecting the dots that God did this
And now he wants to you know, grow closer to God and sure enough like I don't know where he's at now
I believe I feel like he's probably saved but he told me he doesn't work at the company anymore
But like a year later, he's like, hey, I had a business trip out to Colorado
And I just want to tell you like I got to the top of the mountain
I felt God's presence like I don't know how to explain it
I felt him there with me as I looked off the top of the mountain
It was so beautiful and I fell to my knees
I was just like crying and I was like wow God is real. I'm like just this story of like something so
insignificant with a work project turning into this guy is like so aware of God and really it was all him, right and
That's what he wants to do. He wants to redeem everything
he wants us to redeem the time that we have even if it's insignificant and
Boring and random like if we just do things for him and ask him to use it
God will use it and glorify him and he will redeem the time. So not only are we redeemed from our past
But we're called to redeem whatever we have for him and God will use us in powerful ways
So let's pray and
I could think up some questions for small group real quick, but Lord we just thank you
For this story Lord to see something so inspiring that despite all the failures of this tribe
God that started so great and ended so bad
Lord that you met
The people Lord who became Samaritans and we're still living in rebellion that you met them God and you offered salvation
And that is us Lord. We are the people that
Lord maybe had good or bad beginnings Lord, but before we met you either way
We were just messed up Lord and we needed you were lost in our sins God
I just thank you for your love and what you went through on the cross or the
Incredible pain that you went through Lord for us
Lord to free us to redeem us from our sins in our past and I thank you God that you didn't just stop there
But you empower us Lord to live this life for you not still enslaved to sin God
But triumphing over it by the power of your cross and I pray that all of us tonight
we have good conversations and you would highlight and
Show us areas of our lives God
That you have been faithful and have redeemed and that we can testify God and and glorify you in it tonight
And I also pray Lord that um there if there are areas that we need to give to you Lord
And then we need to repent from and allow you to further redeem God
I pray that we will that we'll listen to your spirit and I also pray that we would listen to you as you lead us
To redeem the time that we have and this the situations and the relationships in our life
So that you can be glorified in all of it. We love you in Jesus name. Amen
So I guess I got like two questions
Maybe three. Let's try them out. I have one
If you have a story of someone, you know that that God redeemed their life
It could have been a crazy testimony that is just inspirational. Like wow
God God saved them from this terrible thing and look at them now
Another thing is your own life
So if you don't feel comfortable sharing about your own life
You can share about somebody else if you have something that you want to share that's personal that God has freed you and saved you
from that's an amazing thing to share because we all have them and
Then finally, are there any areas in your life that God is highlighting to redeem the time?
Is it a relationship? Is it a place you go like the gym or your job or whatever it is?
That you feel like okay, I want to step up and really be intentional allow God to redeem this area
So that's it another person or your own life of redemption and then an area that you want to allow God to redeem and use you
That is it
Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss his word
Don't forget to join us for worship lives Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube
Be blessed and have a great day