The Ties That Bind

Yeah, yeah. Hello everyone and thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Roderick caesar the third on the lead pastor of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle in Jamaica queens new york. And I’m so excited that you decided to join me for the full Gospel hour. Right here on Global seven. My prayers that you will be blessed. You’ll be encouraged and inspired by this message. Thank you so much for joining And God bless how he loves us, How he loves us. Oh how he loves us. The reckless love of God. The calculated love of God. The intentional love of God. God was intentional when he did what he did when he sent his son to die on calvary’s cross so that we could have life so that we could have life and life more abundantly. The Lord loves us and I’m so grateful for his love. I’m so grateful for his care. I’m so grateful for his concern for us as his people. Praise the Lord everyone. God is a good God. Amen. I said, God is a good God. Amen if you agree he’s a good God. Good God in the chat. Good God! Good God! What a blessing it is to know God to follow God to be able to do as well and walk in the way that he’s called us to walk in. So praise the Lord everyone. I said, praise the Lord everyone. This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it. I said let us rejoice and be glad in it. No matter how you’re feeling this morning, this is the day that the Lord has still created has still crafted and let us rejoice and be glad in it. I want to have a reminder tonight at five PM tonight at five PM on zoom, join us as we celebrate our bishop, our bishop, our bishop. His birthday is tomorrow. Tomorrow is his birthday will be celebrating 74 years of life, 74 years of life in 24 years as bishop. And in 2017 before I became the lead pastor here at Bethel, he was serving for 33 years as pastor and we’re just so grateful for his life. So grateful for his example. So grateful for him. What a testimony! A testimony of longevity, a testimony of commitment and of strength. Many of us would not be here if it were not for our bishop. If it were not for our bishop continuously depositing into us. The spiritual condition that we’re in. Uh, the things that we’ve learned to rely on God for our bishop has has continuously given us gems and, and nuggets of truth and spoken words of inspiration, Words of truth that we can hold fast to time and time again. And he’s walked many of us through some painful and challenging seasons in our lives. Our bishop and his dedication to God and to God’s people is something that needs to be celebrated. It needs to be celebrated and we’re doing that tonight at five PM. I literally would not be here. If it were not for this man, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for literally because he’s my father. But also if you think about spiritually he’s my spiritual father as well and he’s continued to mentor and deposit uh into me and so I’m just so grateful. Uh dad, I just want to say that I am thankful for you. Uh, and I speak for my sisters as well that we say we’re proud of you and we’re glad that we can call you father. So thank you for being you. We all um, we fell asleep and woke up to a different morning, fell asleep to a different night and woke up to a different morning. Uh, right now there is a new president and new vice president on the horizon and President elect. Yes, you can applaud if that’s, you can applaud for that. Um President elect joe biden will be our oldest president, showing the elderly that there is still work to be done and your years of life are no discredit to you. Um, and Kamala Harris will be our first vice president who was both a woman and a person of color of south asian and african american descent, which is a huge accomplishment for women and women of Color everywhere to show them that the glass ceiling that uh can be shattered and the power of the people in power that were long held by men. The places in power that long held by men don’t have to stay that way. And regardless of who you voted for, that is history. That is history and change is in the air. Now I’m just making an observation. I’m not necessarily condoning policies or anything like that. But some people today woke up feeling like Diana ross and Michael Jackson in the Wiz. Can you feel the brand new day? Right? Super excited. But then you have another, another group of people. Some people also woke up today feeling like, you know, where’s the sackcloth? Where’s the ashes o come o come Emmanuel and ransom captive. Right? They there’s there’s a division their attention there. And we, as believers are called to wrestle with that tension. A job as believers is to fight for unity, not glow. We can celebrate victory, but also not necessarily a globe. What’s the fight for Unity? And so our text today comes from the Book of Colossians. Chapter three Colossians, chapter three versus one before. If you then have been raised with christ, seek the things that are above, where christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with christ in God for when christ, who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory Today. I’d like to talk about the ties that bind the ties that bind. Dear God I thank you so much for this time. I thank you for who you are. I thank you for your goodness for your love, for your compassion, for your mercy. For even when things take place that we don’t understand that we can’t really realize or put accurately into words that you’re still in control. That you’re still in charge. That you didn’t wake up nervous. You didn’t wake up uh biting your nails trying to figure out what’s happening and what’s going on with our nation. God but you are still in full control. We thank you and praise you for all of these things. We thank you and praise you because you’re still a good guy. We love you and we think that you love us in jesus name, we pray these things. Amen. Amen. We are called the United States of America. And yet we are in a time in our nation where we are divided. The fact that the election was not uh the fact the election was so close speaks to that division Speaks to that split for four years. Donald trump was president of this country and he led in what some feel was an unorthodox way and now that unorthodox way was a refreshment and a relief to some but it was appalling to others. Some they saw some of what he put in place as progress and to others. They were concerned about some of the things that were done and in in some way that alone speaks to the division. A lot has changed in four years. A lot has changed in four years. But no one could have predicted how much would change in less than one COVID-19 racial unrest, economic hardship, the trauma that this year has given us or shown us has pushed us to this point where now we’re deciding how our nation is going to look for the next four years. Now, whether you’re relieved or grieved that we’ll have a new president come January. Here’s some things that I believe that we can all hold on to God did not vote, but he has the final say. God did not vote. You didn’t cast a ballot and say I’m voting for this person over. But he has the final to say too often we box God into our thought process, our ideology, our political party. And we never bothered to ask God the same question that Joshua asked God, are you for us or for our enemies? But look at God’s response, God says neither the real question is are you for me or are you for your own desires? Are you gonna pray God? Let thy will be done. And will you be okay? Even if the outcome wasn’t what you desired As believers. We have a responsibility a mandate. Even to not let the issues of the world affects the issues of the world that do affect us divide us. As believers, we have a responsibility a mandate not to let the issues of the world that do affect us divide us and that’s why today we’re gonna be talking about the ties that bind, even though there are differences in how we may vote our ideologies, but as believers in christ as family in the household of faith, these are some things and there are some things that should unite and bind us together. In the book of Colossians, Chapter three Paul says if you have been raised with Christ, then seek things that are above. Where christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth for you have died and your life is now hidden with christ in God. When christ was your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. The text suggests that our hope, our main focus our energy, our zeal should not be focused all on the things of this world, but on the world to come. Now. That may be difficult because this is the world that we can see, this is the world that we can touch. This is the world that we can taste. This is the world that we can see. This is the world feel this is the world that the decisions and outcomes actually affect us or our finances, our wallet, sometimes our health and our very life and so it’s something that we care deeply about. But paul is not saying don’t care, he’s saying this should not be the first priority in the life of a believer because for lack of a better expression, we have bigger fish to fry and it doesn’t mean that this particular instance and what’s going on is not important, It is extremely important. But it is not the only thing that we should be focused on. If you have been raised with christ, if you consider yourself a believer in jesus christ and follow his teachings, then seek the things that are above, seek ye first the kingdom of God above where christ is seated at the right hand of God, set your mind on things that are above, which means you should be thinking through the things that are happening on earth with a heavenly perspective, not just thinking about the things that are on earth with an earthly perspective because you have died. You’re not thinking about things how you used to, you’re not processing through things how you used to because your life is now hidden with christ in God. And then christ is coming back one glad morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away, he’s gonna crack the sky and come back and he is our life and when our life appears we will also appear with him in glory. So the text suggests that our focus should not be solely on the things of this world, but also on the world to come because this is not our home. I want to say that again for the people that were dozing off by their computer screen or a tv screen or that covers it too comfortable. This is not our home. We have a location change. We have an address change. We have a life change. We’ve moved from sin to salvation. We’ve moved from hopelessness to hope in him. We’ve moved from dead in sin to life in christ. As a result of that we think differently as a result of that we live differently as a result of that we operate differently. And it may seem strange for those of us, for those of uh for those who do not know christ, strange, for those who do not have a relationship with jesus. And it may even be strange for us as believers that who are still wrestling and dealing with the idea of co laboring with someone or even coexisting with someone who you disagree with so so passionately. So what are the things that bind us together? Because like it or not in christ, we are a new creation in christ. We are bound together. You are my brother, You are my sister in christ. And even though we may disagree on key and important issues, there are some things that tie us together. What are some things the ties that bind marijuana should be our mindset. We should be thinking differently in our thoughts And in the book of Romans chapter 12 Paul writes, I appeal to you therefore brethren by the mercies of God. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable to God. Which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. That by testing, you may discern what the will of God is, what is good, what is acceptable and what is perfect. Paul calls us to renew our minds to have the mind of christ, let this mind be in you. That was also in christ jesus. That means we approach our conflicts differently in battle. One that controls the individual or the team or the army that controls the higher ground often has the advantage and the enemy wants to control. Our mind wants to influence our mind. All he wants is mind control. I got mind control over Deebo, right? He wants mind control. There’s a fight for the high ground. There’s a fight for the high ground Philippians. Chapter three verse 19 Paul writes, he says their end is there destruction. Their God is their belly. Their glory is in their shame with their minds set on earthly things. Your mindset can affect everything that you do. Your mindset can stop you from operating in joy and cause you to live in bitterness. Your mind is set can keep you from living in freedom and have you living in chains your mindset can stop you from telling the truth in love and cause you to be silent in fear or spew venom in anger and hate. What is your mind set on today? What is your mind set on today? Because you can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair. You can’t stop a thought from from coming, but you can fight it so that it does not stay, paul writes, take every thought captive. Yes. In that text, he’s talking about the thoughts and philosophies that are contradictory to the mission and vision of jesus christ. But also I believe this this verse can be applicable to the thoughts that try to flood our minds every day. So the thoughts that try and speak to our mind and say, set your mind on me, set your mind and me. We can take those thoughts captive and submit them to the true and living God. The fruit of the Spirit is self control. The fruit of the Spirit is love. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. The sport of the spirit is peace and all of these things. And so many times there are some things that come into our mind or come into our our our our our thought process that try to drive us away from the things of God. We have to watch the thoughts that we think I want you to think about this question. This is a rhetorical question that you don’t have to answer right now. But what are your thoughts opinions? How do you think about someone that voted differently than you do or that votes differently than you do? It may not have bothered you as much as it did until this election or the election prior or even the election before then, but I think it’s very important for us to realize how we see people that especially consider themselves believers are of the household of faith that have a different political view than we do. We must consistently submit our thoughts to God so that we can be bound together in our mindset and serve one another in love despite of our differences. The next way that we are bound is we are bound in our responsibility and our responsibility as believers. Our posture toward leadership. Whether we agree with them or not, whether we agree with their policies or not, whether we agree with their uh decisions or not, whether we agree with their pace or not, whether we voted for them or not, we should pray for leadership, stand up with them and stand up with them. Where you can disagree with them, where you must but we must pray for leadership because they are in authority romans. Chapter 13 says let every person be subject to the government governing authorities for there is no authority except God and those who have existed have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists God what God has appointed and those God and what God has appointed and those who resist will incur judgment a heavy text, but one that we have to uh be able to to to read and let the text read us how we’re responding to those that are in authority over us. First, timothy, chapter two says, first of all, I urge that supplications prayers and intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and those who are in high positions that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives godly and dignified in every way. We are called to pray. We are called to intercede. We are called to submit. We are called to wrestle with the tensions. We are called to pray for those that are in leadership. And now what we realized is especially when we’re looking at the text, we may look at those two, but there are countless examples of individuals in scripture that served in the political sphere, but they were also resistant to some of the things that would ultimately go against their allegiance to the kingdom of God. Why? Because who they were as sons and who they were as daughters was paramount to the things that were being put in place and instituted by the political leaders of their day. We realized that Daniel, Yes, daniel, the one that got thrown into the Lion’s den. He didn’t get thrown in because the king was upset with him. He got thrown in because haters gonna hate. Right? And so what takes place is Daniel was serving the king while still being captive in a foreign land. You see, Daniel was in Babylon as a result of Babylon’s attack on his nation, on the people of God. And as a result of this, he’s in captivity and God’s hand is on him. God is still using him. God is still elevating him. God is using his gifts are making a room for him, all of these different things. But when the king puts a charge out, that is directly against what what Daniel knows to be true in, in uh in scripture and what knows to be true from his upbringing. As, as, as a believer, he says, oh, I can’t do this. So he prays in secret. When the king says, no one should pray to anyone except me. As a result, he pays the penalty. But God ends up saving him. But we realized that he was a man of influence, a man of power, a man that God could trust with a very important assignment, but a man that was also uh married to his convictions, married to his convictions, we see joseph as well, joseph in the text, he rose to one of the highest heights that anyone could ever rise to in Egypt without being pharaoh second in command. Now, this did not happen as a joker didn’t happen uh overnight, it took a long and difficult and painful journey. It was not even joseph’s goal, he wasn’t saying here, scheming, like, yeah, you know about to be second affair. No, no, no. This was this was old, old God, all God. And the way it happened uh, was difficult for joseph, but he submitted to the process and understood that his gift made room for him to be able to speak to those in high positions and do what was best for God’s people Esther in the same way did not choose the life, the life she had. It was a door that God ushered her through for the time that he knew was coming so that the people of God could be saved. But when an edict came about that was going to be harmful to God’s people Esther rose up and it ultimately and ultimately saved the people of God in the same way, uh, theologian and scholar, it’s not a biblical text, but a theologian and scholar. Dietrich, Bonhoeffer wrestled with this because in Germany he had to decide, okay, what what do I what do I, what do I do here with what’s going on with World War Two, and with Hitler and all of these things taking place, how do I proceed? He saw injustices and all of these things happening and ultimately, ultimately, it’s something that uh that he wrestled with. But he chose to take part in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler and that plot ultimately was discovered and cost him his life. Now he was a theologian and a scholar and he wrestled with the text and it seems that he took drastic measures which costed him his life. But I do believe in all that all that is said is it’s letting us know that we have a deposit the God has given us as the people of God, a deposit not to load up A KS and and take matters into our own hands, but a deposit to speak to and speak out and speak in the political arenas of the day, Jesus says, what render unto caesar? What is caesar’s right? And in that context, he’s speaking financially, he’s speaking about uh give to caesar, what is caesar’s from a financial standpoint, but I also believe that there is something that God has deposited within the body of christ to be a soundboard to be uh one that speaks out into the politics of the day and too often as believers were just so spiritually minded that we don’t get involved, but we don’t realize that God wants his kingdom to come. How is that going to come if we do not speak out if we do not speak up, if we do not walk out in the way that God has called us to walk out. And so we are supposed to be united in our responsibility to pray for our leadership and to seek God when it comes down to our leadership and seek the kingdom first when it comes down to our leadership were also supposed to be bound in our location in our location or that means our destination and our geography bound in our location, our destination and our geography, our geography is where we’re going, it’s our location, where we are and it’s our destination, where we’re going, our location, where we are in our destination, where we’re going bound in our geography. Uh there’s a theological concept which says already but not yet and this pretty much means that we are already raining with jesus were already seated in heavenly places, but it hasn’t happened yet. So it’s already happened. We’re already raining but not yet. We’re living right now in the tension between two worlds were here on earth, but we’re seated in heavenly places, Ephesians. Chapter two paul says God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he has loved us. Even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with christ it is by Grace, you have been saved and raised up with him and he seated us with him in the heavenly places in christ jesus so that in the coming ages he might show us the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in christ jesus. We’re seated in heavenly places already, but not yet because we’re still dealing with the tensions here on earth as a result of this. We must be mindful of our location. Be mindful of our location Philippians. Chapter three verse 17 Verse 18. I’ll start at Verse 18. For many of those who I have told you now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the cross of christ their end is there destruction? Their god is their belly their glories and their shame with their mind set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior. The Lord jesus christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to even subject all things to himself. You have to know where your home is. You have to know where your home is. Steven Spielberg’s classic movie E. T. Alien crash lands here. He makes some friends and they have the magical uh bike ride off into the moon where they where they fly off and um but the constant thing is E. T. Says throughout the whole movie. E. T. Phone home. E. T. Phone home E. T. Phone home. He’s here he’s understanding how things function how things operate. But at the end of the day he’s still an alien at the end of the day. He’s still trying to trying to go back home at the end of the day. He’s his constant mission is to say, oh I’m I I enjoy it here, but I’m not I’m not trying to stay here forever. Like I know where I’m going and I have to get back there. And I think for us that’s something that we have to keep in mind, know where your home is, nowhere, your home isn’t. It doesn’t mean that we don’t fight and stand up for and and be prayerful in and seek God’s kingdom first with the issues of today because the issues of today are important and do affect us and they affect our Children. So that things were passionate about, we should rise up and and and take a stand for. But I do believe it also. We should also have a mindset where we know where our home is and know where home isn’t. Lastly we are bound in our surrender in our surrender, surrender to the true and living God Proverbs. Chapter 16 verse 33 says the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is for is from the Lord. The ballots are cast, the votes are cast, the votes are counted and every decision is from the Lord, whether we like it or not. Every decision is from the Lord. Whether what took place uh brings us joy or brings us grief, whether we’re uh happy about it or sad about it. Every decision is from the Lord and we are called to be bound in surrender to say you know what God, I’m picking up my cross and I’m following you because the politics of the day and what’s going on are not going to triumph over my belief in jesus christ over my faith. My faith is going to influence that. It’s not going to be the other way around. We must be bound in our surrender. And this is so important because had this, had Covid not happened and had we had a full church today, you may have been sitting someone who voted differently than you do. You may be having a uh social gatherings or something with someone who voted differently than you do with all of the climate and everything that’s going on. We have to keep that in mind specifically as believers in the household of faith. Think about this for a moment when Joshua Speaks to the angel of the Lord in Joshua, Chapter five says Joshua was by Jericho. He lifted up his eyes and looked behold, there was a man standing before him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went to him and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? He said no, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. And now I have come and Joshua fell on his face on the earth and worshiped him and said, what does my Lord say to his servant and the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, take off your sandals from your feet. For the place where you are standing is Holy Joshua said, look are you for us or for our enemies? Thinking that the Lord was going to say, oh we’re for you, Joshua. We’ve got you. But God said no, no, Do you have me? Are you on on on my side? Are you about what I’m about? Because I put people in place, I move people around. I do this and I do that. And you may not understand it fully. You may not comprehend it fully. He says, are you for us or for our enemies? The angel of the Lord says no, no neither. I’m I’m about God’s business. And what about you? What about you? We need to be about God’s business no matter what your political alignment. Your assignment does not change, assignment does not change. We need to serve God you for us or for our enemies. The only enemies are the Principalities that we are called to wrestle against. We need to serve the true and living God Colossians. Chapter three, as I close says. If then you have been raised with Christ seek things that are above where christ is seated at the right hand of God. So your mind on things that are above not things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with christ in God. When christ, who is your life appears that you will also appear with him in glory, we need to be bound Saints of God, bound by our mindset, bound by our responsibility bound by our geography or location and bound by our service to God and our surrender to God. Let’s pray Dear God, I thank you so much for this time. I thank you for your word, which is holy. I thank you for who you are and who you have called us to be as the people of God. I pray Lord that as this word has gone forward in this season when we have a new president elect, the new vice president elect Lord where we have people that maybe uh happy about this and also people that may be sad about it. Lord. That you see both and God. I pray Lord that we would see you father. That we wouldn’t be so caught up in the politics of the day but know that you are still in control that we would yes be joyful or yes be morning or whatever season we are in right now. But I pray that ultimately we would trust in you, trust in who you are and trust in who you’ve called us to be sons and daughters. And we would not let our differences divide God, but that we would see you and see your shed blood and see father how you gave your all. So that we could come to the saving grace, the saving knowledge of who you are and of salvation. So we thank you God. We praise you Lord. We give you all the praise all the honor and the glory. We ask these things in jesus name. Amen and Amen. Now, if you are here, you’ve heard this message, you’re listening and you’re watching right now when you don’t know, jesus christ and you want to have a relationship with him, I’m going to ask you, uh, just to pray this prayer with me, there’s gonna be a bar that comes across the screen text saved to that number. Will have people that will dialogue with you about salvation. You gotta thank you for your people for those that maybe don’t know you father. Don’t know the fact that you called us to unity. Don’t know the fact that you’ve called us to new life through your son, jesus. I pray Lord. But as we wrestle with these tensions father that we would trust that you are good that you are God and that you know best that you are good that you are God in your mercy endures forever. We thank you and we praise you. We give you all the glory and we pray Lord, that for those that don’t know your father, they would come to know you. They would pray the prayer of salvation that they would trust that you die and rose again to save them from death and from the power of sin. Thank you and praise you for all that you are and over. You’re gonna continue to do in our lives. We ask these things in jesus name, Amen and Amen and God bless you today. Hello again and thank you so much for tuning into the message at Global seven. Once again, my name is Roderick caesar the third, the lead pastor of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle. My prayer is that you were blessed and encouraged by the message. And if you want to contribute and give to the ministry, you can text B G T F I 277977 again, you can text B G T F I 277977. We’re so thankful for you and my prayer is that God will continue to strengthen and empower and encourage you as you listen to this message, we hope you tune again later and God bless you. Thank you so much.