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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you come in again come in again oh what a wonderful day it will be Jesus is coming again stand in before him at last trial and trouble pass crowns at his feet will pass Jesus is coming again come in again come in again may be morning may be noon may be evening and may be soon come in again come in again oh what a wonderful day it will be Jesus is coming again amen, alright, one of the hardest chapters to find in your Bible, Genesis chapter 1 please Genesis chapter 1 brother come up with a reading, Genesis Genesis chapter 1, thank you brother Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and the darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said let there be light and there was light and God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day and God said let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters and God made a firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so and God called the firmament heaven and the evening and the morning were the second day and God said let the waters under the heaven be gathered together under one place and let dry land appear and it was so and God called the land earth and the gathering together of the waters he called seas and God saw that it was good and God said let the earth bring forth grass and herb yielding seed and fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind whose seed is in itself upon the earth and it was so and the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind and the tree yielding fruit whose seed is in itself after his kind and God saw that it was good and the evening and the morning were the third day and God said let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night and let them be for science and for seasons and for days and for years and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so and God made two great lights and the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and he made the stars also and God set them in the firmament of heaven the heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good and the evening and the morning were the fourth day and God said let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life the fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven and God created the whales and every living creature that moveth which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind and every winged fowl after his kind and God saw that it was good and God blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let the fowl multiply in the earth and the evening and the morning were the fifth day and God said let the earth bring forth every living creature after his kind cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth after his kind and it was so and God made the beast of the earth after his kind and cattle after their kind and every thing that creepeth on the earth after his kind and God saw that it was good and God said let us make man in our image and after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth and God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him male and female created he them and God blessed them and God said unto them be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth and God said behold I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of the earth face of all the earth and every tree in the which is the fruit in every in every tree in the which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed to you it shall be for meat and to every beast of the earth and to every fowl of the air and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life I have given every green herb for meat and it was so and God saw that it was good and God saw everything that he had made and God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good and the evening and the morning were the sixth day let's pray dear Lord thank you for bringing us here and thank you for every opportunity that we have to share the gospel with people that we don't know and people that we do know Lord please speak through Pastor Kevin as he speaks to us in Jesus' mighty name Amen Amen, thank you Thanks man Okay Sorry that I'm wearing sneakers I don't mean to look like a youth pastor I thought I would have time to get to my parents house before church I think I changed my shoes but I didn't have time for that Anyway it's all down there you can't see it behind this pool but praise God Hey you know during COVID when we had the live streaming I was only dressed properly from up here I was just lecturing a little secret alright I wasn't wearing nice pants or anything like that in fact sometimes I'm wearing shorts but don't tell anyone else that's a secret for you guys alright Anyway it's just the shoes everything else is in it's proper order It's on YouTube now then it gets edited down so we'll edit down the sermon then everyone will forget Alright so we've been working through our Perfect Man series haven't we and I haven't reached for you guys for some time and within this Perfect Man series there is a trilogy of sermons that are really important really foundational to this series and the first one let me just remember what he was called again the first within this trilogy was knowing your station and the idea behind that was to recognise where you belong in society where you belong in family where you belong in your workplace and be content appreciate where you belong you know try not to lift yourself above your station but to appreciate where God has placed you in life and when God sees that you're content and you're thankful for what position God has given you then yes the Lord can give you more and then the next one in this series was everything in it's proper place and understanding that there are boundaries again look at at a family that there are boundaries within a family right and sometimes people have this idea that a pastor can just walk over people's lives or pastors can just get involved in other people's families no there are boundaries there's a reason why God's created institutions ok there's a reason why the manager of McDonald's cannot walk into KFC and command the staff around because you know they don't have the authority that authority is not in the right place but there's nothing wrong with authority there's nothing wrong with commands as long as you understand that you are to instruct yourself and you also have been given the privilege to instruct and to guide and to lead those that God has put under you you know at church I have the office of a bishop you know I'm to rule in the house of the Lord I've been given authority within the church but once church is over I don't have authority in your homes that would be crossing a boundary and so that's what the second sermon was all about make sure that everything is in it's proper place and when you start to try to have an influence and cross boundaries that are not yours to cross that's where you're definitely going to create conflict and that's where you're definitely going to create conflict within church environments when people are trying to lift themselves up or cross boundaries that do not belong to them and so this is the third one in this series and it's along the same lines but the reason I read there Genesis 1 to be read is because there is something within man and we have a hard time controlling this where we just have to give our opinion we just have to tell other people what we think and we just have this desire to pass judgement and this is why then you start crossing boundaries and you start to tell people you have no authority over how to live that life or what you believe is right and wrong in their life but why is that why do I have that desire to give my opinion is it wrong pastor actually it's not wrong everything is right in it's proper place but here's why you have that in you this is why it's hard to control because when God created man what do we see there in Genesis 1, Genesis 1 26 says and God said let us make man in our image after our likeness look at this and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth you see God created man to have dominion the word dominion is like the word dominate to have authority over and so God created man to have dominion over this earth this is why you can't help but give your two cents about everything you know you struggle to hold back your thoughts and emotions and you just want to say something because God's actually created you to have dominion to have a desire of authority God has created man to have a desire to work hard and find a wife and lead a better wife and have dominion in his family you know God's created women with a desire to have children because she too is to have dominion over those little ones that God gives see this is within man ok, but again everything in its proper place and because God's given us this dominion and this desire to just give our judgement you know this is empowering you know like if someone said to you look just you know never seek to be a leader, never seek to have authority never seek to be able to be pass judgement in a certain institution it's going to kind of eat you up within, it's going to eat up because you've been created to have the ability to lead about you know whether it's a wife or in a family or a mother, her children this is within the nature of man it's why it's so hard to sometimes stop ourselves from giving our opinion but again your opinion, your judgement your words need to be found in its proper place, alright so the title for the sermon tonight is The Empowered Man The Empowered Man alright now this does apply to ladies as well but I really want to talk to men because our society is trying to destroy man they're trying to castrate men and to lower men and in fact society speaks of the empowered woman right, the empowered woman in the workplace or the empowered woman in politics, I mean it's just something that you hear you know years you know every year you hear about some women who rise in power and they're praising her because oh man you're the first woman that has done x, y and z, and look again there's nothing wrong with a lady, there's only some dominion this is why naturally you have a desire to have children okay, to lead about these little ones, to raise a children that would love the Lord but you know God wants us to be empowered he's created us to have dominion okay, but you need to figure out what dominion God has given you yes for Adam and Eve they were the two here before they sinned against the Lord they were given dominion over all the earth okay but we have institutions we have families, we've got churches, we have workplaces there are different dominions and you need to understand that hey maybe you do have authority and that's fine you know you might have the authority to dominate that institution or you have some power and that's fine for you to pass judgement and give your opinions but if you've been made subject, if you've got authority over you, you need to learn how to be in subjection to that authority because they've got dominion over you within that institution but I want you to be empowered people okay, and I'll explain to you in a minute what this is all about you know the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1 7 I'll just read it to you, 2 Timothy 1 7 you know this one, it says for God have not given us the spirit of fear right, he's not given us the spirit of fear but what, of, does anyone know power, God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind okay, you see God as a saved individual, you have the new man within you alright, and that spirit is one of power and if we talk about being empowered people, we must also look at the new man that God has given us which is powerful as well okay it's a man that has perfect love, a man that has a sound mind and we have a desire to become this perfect man, we must understand and tap into this power that God has given us you know as I've been going through this sort of mini series within the perfect man I've been bringing up the idea that you know it's not for me to interfere with your family affairs right I'm trying to explain the boundaries and look I still get people ringing me for, you know and look I'm not trying to stop people to ring me look I need you to understand, but there's something that I've definitely learnt is that when someone gets too much help they're not being empowered in fact they're being weakened okay they're being weakened and my desire is that you become empowered people okay and I'll explain all that in a minute, so let's talk about workplace so if you guys have worked in an office environment you probably know what I'm referring to here, have you ever worked for someone or it doesn't even have to be a workplace like an office environment, have you ever worked for someone that you would call a micromanager do you guys know that term micromanagement it's basically you've got a boss and every little thing you do, they're on top of you they're checking every little thing that you do, you know they don't just tell you what to do like this is what needs to be done by the end of the day or by the end of the week they're not just telling you what to do, they're telling you how to do it, and if you think oh I've got a better way to do it they're so micromanagers they want you to do it exactly how they want even though you who does it can think of better ways to do it okay, these are micromanagers sometimes people want me to be a micromanager pastor, pastor what do I do in this situation, what do I do in this situation what do I do in this situation, what do I do in this situation some people actually like this micromanagement level, where they're not just being told how sorry, not being told what to do, but how to do it, one thing that you'll notice me as a preacher, and not that I'm a great preacher or anything like this, but one thing you'll notice is that I'm more often teaching you what God requires from you I'm not so much teaching you how to do it because we've got God's word God has given us his instructions and there are many ways to do what God has asked us to do when you come to me how do I do this, I've only got my opinion I've only got my experience like think about you as a parent people look at my family and they're like their children sometimes they'll have a parent come up to me pastor can you teach me how you raise your children pastor can you teach me how you discipline your children, or to my wife can you teach us how you homeschool your children but no if you're just doing things like the pastor, or you're just doing it like another family it's not going to work out for you it's not going to work, you're going to become dependent on that other person to tell you how to do things when mums and dads, husbands and wives should come together and say, honey let's work out our family how do we want to raise our kids how do we want to have our family home what does God's word say and how can we align our family how God's word teaches us and when you start to make those decisions amongst yourselves it'll strengthen your marriage remember I want you guys to be empowered it'll make your marriage stronger it'll make your leadership decisions better and you'll know exactly why you're carrying certain things out in your family because you guys came together you measured up the cons and the pros and you said look, this is the best way for our family because no one's like our family we all have different personalities we all have different number of children we all have different jobs, we all start at different places and we all have different backgrounds so you can't just copy someone else but when you start to copy someone else you start to weaken yourself because instead of becoming someone that goes to God's word and say, Lord direct us you start to look at man or look at family you start to look at some other program and you say, I like that, I want to be like that and Brevin, I'm telling you, it always fails it always fails I do not want to be a micro-manager pastor I just want to preach God's word to you you guys know what God's word says alright, now I'm going to do it, how am I going to do it? Lord, teach me how to do it if it's about family, okay, spouse let's come together and work this out together let's strengthen our marriage let's strengthen our family instead of just relying on some man I'll just read the definition to you what a micro-manager is the definition is to manage with excessive control or attention to details, excessive control I've experienced micro-management okay, now let me just read about micro-management to you now look, let me explain something to you if I'm a manager and I hire staff the reason I hire staff is what? so they can do the job that needs to get done, so I have time to do higher level things right, but the micro-manager it's like they're doing the job for them they're involved, it's like well why'd you hire that guy? if you're going to be involved in every little decision every way they work, why did you hire them? no, you can't do the higher level things because you're so involved now within micro-management, I just read about this to prepare for this sermon it says micro-management is a form of leadership that may produce results in the short term I would say most often than not it does produce good results in the short term but it hurts employee and company morale over time usually micro-managing has a negative connotation because an employee may feel that a micro-manager is being condescending toward them due to a perceived lack of faith in the employee's competency so it makes an employee stronger or weaker? weaker, because they're like well my manager doesn't trust me I can never experience or try something different and see if it works or I can't take risks and every time I make a decision I better go check with manager so I don't get in trouble you see that kind of management system makes you weaker it may produce good results in the short term, in the short term it might look good but how do I do this? I can tell you in the short term you'll have results but it'll just make you weaker in the long term so you have to make decisions yourself you see when you make your own decisions in life you have nobody to blame if you're being controlled every single part of your life and something doesn't work out people are like well it was bad advice it was my manager, it was my pastor it was like Adam, when he sinned and God comes to Adam, who does he blame? Eve and then God speaks to Eve, who does she blame? the devil instead of taking personal responsibility the person that is weak would like to blame other people because of them well how about you be strong how about you be empowered and make your own decisions this sounds good, knowing God's word and making decisions based on God's word but also it comes with accountability you have to own when it works well praise God you've done well but when things don't work out for you you've got to own it and say man I messed up but you know what how do you learn you learn from mistakes as well don't you sometimes in life you've got to take certain risks say Lord I think this is the right way please help us look if it doesn't work out well Lord I've learnt that I want to do it like that again but this empowers you, this gives you experience this helps you not to make the same mistakes again in the future and instead of blaming someone else for it take responsibility and accountability for yourself about micromanaging it says also a manager who implements this management style creates an environment where the team develops insecurity and a lack of confidence in its work in the absence of the manager the team may find it difficult to function what does it say it says a micromanager will usually use up most of their time supervising the work and direct reports and exaggerating the importance of minor details to subordinates time that could have been used to get other important things done why am I talking about this the reason I'm bringing this up Reverend is because God is not a micromanager God is not a micromanager God is a God that has given us liberties God has given us free will okay listen you even have free will in terms of salvation when you go out and you preach the gospel to someone and you explain to them that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone and you ask them do you want to receive Christ as Saviour if someone says no leave them alone try to encourage them maybe give them a few more words say look we don't know if we're going to live past tomorrow or live past today but if that person says no they've got the free will to say no God does not hold a gun to your head and say be saved but even the Christian life you know if God was a micromanager you know every time we make a mistake every time we sin God will just strike us down immediately God is long suffering isn't he God is patient toward us and brethren when you're in sin when you've done wrong against the Lord and you don't oh I got away with it no you didn't get away with it the Lord knows everything it's just that he's not a micromanager the Lord is waiting to see whether you're going to acknowledge Lord I messed up the Lord is waiting to see whether you're humble enough to go before him and say Lord forgive me I messed up again help me to make the right decision in the future but the Lord is not a micromanager the Lord is long suffering now what is a macromanager a macromanager is the opposite the macromanager highlights what needs to be done rather than how it needs to be done as a pastor this is my philosophy to be a macromanager so what needs to be done rather than how it needs to be done this is why I let men preach and men preach at New Life Baptist Church and look if someone says something that I don't really agree with I'm not just trying to shut down that person the moment they've opened their mouth and said something it's fine as long as the main meat of that message is good and clear and we're not dealing with any major heresies I praise God that people are trying to learn the Bible and doing the best to serve in the house of the Lord of course if something is preached that's completely out of hand of course I'll step in and correct that but this is a system that I know works well I know this is the best way and the issue that I have found in church and this is not in the Bible you won't find a pastor like this in the Bible there's a lot of churches where people feel I can just take all my issues, all my problems to the pastor or to some person and look are there going to be short term results? yes, we saw with the micro management there are short term results but in the long term it just weakens that person if I get involved in your life I can probably improve your life if I really got involved in your family affairs I could probably fix it for the first three months, six months but you'll be weaker you'll be more dependent on someone else you'll be thinking the only way I can make things better in life is by going to someone else no, you can make it better God has given you the spirit of power of love and of a sound mind God has given you his Holy Spirit God has given you the Bible so you can make the best decisions for your life and when you make those good decisions in life it'll make you stronger think of a family think of a man who's going to be given authority in his household and the wife constantly sees him running to the pastor every time there's a problem running to the pastor every time there's a problem do you think that wife is going to have the confidence in the leadership of this man? no okay, maybe short term results are alright I'll tell you what to do but I'm not going to tell you how to do it you've got to figure it out, man because you've been given dominion over your family and when your wife sees you taking leadership power, love and of a sound mind all those qualities within you she'll see you as a strong leader and she'll be easier for her to submit herself to your authority now let me give you there's a lot that I there's a lot that I teach behind this pulpit of my own experience there's a reason why I brought up this management system but very quickly you're there in Genesis, so come to Genesis chapter 2 please come with me to Genesis chapter 2 and just a reminder that God is not a micromanager okay you've got free will alright, I mean if you do well in the eyes of the Lord he's going to bless you if you do things that displease the Lord he's going to chastise you he's long suffering, it'll take a while but he'll chastise you but God is waiting to see how you're going to respond when you've messed things up and just a reminder, you guys know this but I love this principle that you find in the book of Genesis, especially the first chapters because it really is the bedrock it really is the foundation to life Genesis 2 16 it says, and the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat does God give liberty? may freely eat of all the trees of the garden Adam? alright, verse number 17, there's only one but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die now the reason I wanted to bring that up is God tells Adam what to do eat of all the trees, Adam? does he tell him how to eat of every tree? does he say, Adam, you've got to eat of this tree in the morning and make sure your portions are only this amount and then Adam, when it comes to morning tea you can eat of that tree over there that produces strawberries and then for lunch you can eat of that tree and make sure you get your veggies and make sure you get some lettuce and some cucumber as well and for dinner, make sure you go and eat of that tree Adam, he gives Adam freedom out of all the trees just don't sin against me and eat of that one tree but you've got free will you've got free will God is not a micromanager so why would I want to be a micromanager as a pastor? you know, sometimes people come up to me and ask, I'm concerned about brother so and so at church or sister so and so at church, why? because of this or this stuff is it your business? or not really, I'm just worried about them well, pray for them then go to God and say, Lord, I'm worried about brother so and so and leave at that what do you want me to do? go into their life, into their family and get involved in their life and all their little issues I'm just going to make things worse, I'm just going to weaken them let me give you the example that I want to speak to you about here so in the workplace there was a time when I worked in a call centre environment I've never worked as a call centre operator I've never been that person that takes calls but the department that I was working in I was appointed as a supervisor even though I had no experience they just liked my management system and so they just threw me into the department I knew nothing of customer service I knew nothing how to introduce myself on the phone I knew nothing about taking customer complaints and issues and problems and I was given a team of 10 people my memory might not be 100% correct but I believe I had a team of 10 people but the customer service team was about 30 people all together so we had three supervisors and I come in and all the staff under me know they've got more experience than me of how things run I really don't know and so I had these staff under me and there was one particular staff member my first day in the job she would come up to me and I think my first day she gave me four escalator phone calls where she's taking a customer call the customer's angry about something and the customer's like can I speak to your manager so she'll come and say hey you've got a customer on the line and I'm just taking these this is my first introduction to customer service just taking customer complaints and trying to cool down the situation, trying to understand what they're saying and trying to find a solution for them so I didn't know what I was doing and so I don't know, I guess this is normal I don't know, I just came into the job, I've got no experience and day after day after day after day for about two or three, maybe a whole month it was like this, this same individual come and bring me escalator calls they want to talk to the supervisor, they want to talk to the manager I'm taking these calls, taking these calls, taking these calls alright, then I understood this idea, this concept this employee is becoming too dependent on me and by becoming too dependent on me this employee is becoming weaker you know, this employee doesn't have the confidence, she doesn't have the strength to deal with a customer issue, or maybe she doesn't understand the policies of the business or the terms and conditions that exist and when the customer is right and when the customer's not right because customers aren't always right and I just perceived there was a lack of confidence, even though she knew this environment and this workplace much more than I did so I pulled her aside and I took her into an office and we had a meeting for about half an hour and I, you know, we spoke about why is that so many people, why do you escalate calls to me, which is well, these customers are asking to speak to the supervisor, they're not happy to speak with me and we got talking and I started to highlight to her where she's lacking confidence and we looked at the company from start to finish, we looked at the policies of our company, we looked at when she's allowed to give a refund, we looked at the terms and conditions when is the customer right, when are they wrong, alright, when can a customer return back a product, when can they not return back a product, we looked at all these things and we highlighted, so look I'm going to give you a level of authority, I'm going to give you I think it was $100 or $120 where I, you know, if you need to refund, you know if you've done, you've perceived the problem and you feel like the issue is our fault as a company I'm going to give you the authority to just refund that customer $120 there's something along that, I can't remember, $120 alright, and she goes but I don't have the confidence to just throw $120 back at the customer, I said look I've got your back just go and do it, just deal with it okay, if the customer's not right, you know the terms and conditions now, say look unfortunately you know, we can't give you a refund but perhaps we can give you a discount on your future order, etc, etc, I've given her the tools, you know and by doing this, it built up confidence and then she went back to work the next day and I'm expecting alright, I'm getting full complaints a day, maybe I'll get full complaints a week, is what I'm expecting you know, as she continues to improve you know what happened the next day? No complaints, next week no complaints, no complaints, never any more complaints never ever, Nick I need to speak to the manager, why? Why? And not only that but this employee became one of our star employees okay, why? Because she was empowered, she had confidence okay, instead of being micromanaged, she was being macromanaged, alright, instead of being told how to do every little thing she's being told what to do and she's making her own decisions and I said to her look, even if you make a mistake as long as I can see that you did your best to follow company policy, I'll back you, alright, instead of someone blaming you, I'll take the blame on your behalf alright, and I saw an employee who was lacking confidence an employee that wasn't performing at a decent level, all of a sudden becoming one of the best, maybe even the best employee within our department and I realised wow, she's empowered and all it required is her to not become dependent alright, on someone else her to find out what her dominion was, you know, what her authority was, you know, how fast she could push things you know, what were the boundaries that she could work within, what her authority levels were, and once she found that, man, she became a great employee and I learnt this, I said wow this works you know, and here's the unfortunate thing, there are many people that love to be micromanagers there are a lot of pastors and, you know, like therapists that want to be micromanagers because when they have people come into them all the time they feel special, oh, everyone needs me you know what, my job is not for you to go, man, we need our pastor my job is for you to go, we need the Lord I need God, Lord please give me guidance, give me wisdom, give me instruction, you know, I want to see empowered people in this church, you know I want to see empowered soul winners you know, you know what needs to be done I don't want to micromanage every little element of your soul winning presentation no, no, look, your soul winning presentation should improve, there should be some order to it but if you use one verse and I use that verse, I'm not going to worry about it I'm not going to be like, oh, why can't they be more like me, I want you to be empowered you know, I want you to be empowered by that new man that God has given you and make the decisions, learn and gain experience because you're going to be greater Christians for it I hope that makes sense as to what I'm talking about today and this is why, you know, I'm not a counsellor as a pastor in that sense where I'm just involved in everyone's little life and it sounds like I'm uncaring but it's the complete opposite the reason I don't want to be a counsellor in all the issues of your life is because I know it's going to weaken you short term results, yes but long term, it's just going to make you weaker I know the best thing for the people at church is to be empowered is to tap into the Holy Spirit that they've got living within them to know God's word and to make decisions that do not transgress the laws of God and everyone's going to do it differently every family's going to be different everyone I never patterned myself after another family I never patterned myself or my ministry after a pastor you know, what does God's word say and what's the best way for me to do what I can in accordance to God's word I'm free to eat of every tree just not that one, I'm not free to sin alright, and even then God still allows you to sin and to get right with God and bow your head and say Lord I'm sorry I messed up help me move forward give me the strength to overcome that sin that I fell and struggled with so I want you to be empowered can you please turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 5 1 Peter chapter 5 verse number 2 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 2 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 2 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 2 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 2 and I don't know, maybe I'm just like this as a person I don't know, but I just I don't like people that want to control other people's lives because I say to me it's like you're just doing it for yourself you're doing it to feel important you're doing it to feel needed but you don't really care about the person you're so called trying to help you're making them weaker they get short term results so they feel like it works going to so and so is working yeah the short term results but in the long term you're going to be weaker and I just see a weakening of men I see a weakening of families in society and I think we need to get back and become empowered people once again the way the Lord intended for us to be the liberties to choose and the free will the people that God has given us sorry we're going to have to turn first Peter chapter 5 verse number 2 this is instructions for pastors feed the flock of God which is among you pastors, this is for pastors, feed you know when someone hears a sermon from a pastor they also say, you know what, I've been fed I feel fed I came to church and I'm full I came to church and I took a bite of some doctrine I've learnt something, praise God alright not only that it says, taking the oversight thereof, so oversight supervisor bishop, the word bishop means to oversee so there is authority that a pastor has so you can see yes oversight, alright there's a rule, there's authority when it comes to a pastor but then it says not by constraint willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind a pastor ought not to be doing a ministry just for filthy money I mean there's not much money really with an independent fundamental Baptist church anyway unless you're going to go and start a Hillsong or something like that I guess but you know an IFB church, you're not going to get much of that filthy lucre anyway but look at verse number 3 neither has been lords over God's heritage but been ensembles to the flock Reverend I don't want to be your lord I don't want a lord over you I've been given authority when we come together for church then you take the lessons from God's word and you go out in life and you put it into practice I'm not there to just watch and are you doing it right brother, are you stepping up, you know why aren't you doing what I said to you on Sunday and I come into your life, why aren't you leading the family the way I told you brother, that's not my position instead of being a lord over God's heritage there's been ensembles to the flock my goal is just to be a good example to you, alright you say well this is a man, this is a pastor that loves the lord, or this is a man that loves God's word, or this is the man that loves God's people, loves the church and look at his family, you know his wife loves the lord, his children love the lord and they're doing what they can as best as they can in a fallen world, in sinful flesh to serve God as best as they can but it's not about being lords you see there are boundaries there are boundaries in life and the best thing that you need to learn in life, what are my boundaries and you know, recognise when someone's trying to infringe, maybe they're even well intended, but they're trying to infringe on those boundaries and you need to learn to say no you're not a lord over me okay, and brethren I'm not a lord over you, I don't care if you tell me, pastor come to my family, come to my house pastor, look at my family and tell me everything I'm doing wrong, I say to you brother, it's none of my business who's the head of that home okay, that's your authority you figure it out you become empowered, you take ownership for what God has given you but there are people that love it, they want to get involved they want to give their true sense because again, God's created us to have dominion, okay, but instead of fixing their own issues, instead of looking at what dominion that God has given them, they want to go and enter someone else's dominion and feel important, look what I've done to fix something, yeah, short term results you can pay yourself in the back, but you've only made them weaker, you've not helped them in the long run brethren, the person you go to for help is the lord why not go to the lord, you know, why run to a man I mean look, every man is a sinner you know what if I knew, if I could get a magnifying glass and look what's in your heart right now, every one of you I'm probably going to be like, I don't like any of you and if you got a magnifying glass and looked at my heart, you'll be like, I don't want a man to be on the pastime so why run to man we're all sinners we're all sinners, aren't we, run to God who has all wisdom run to God that has got all knowledge that knows all your struggles that has given you your personality who's given you your families who's given you your workplace who's given you a church run to God and say, lord, you guide me you instruct me lord, thank you for the examples that you've given me in my church or hopefully your pastor but lord, I need to set my eyes upon you and lord, you need to give my direction please, lord and if I've been given authority, please make me empowered please teach me, help me to understand where my authority lies and how I ought to lead and to guide and be a good influence and I want to make sure when I have dominion I'm doing it the way you intended it to be I think a man's going to give you that answer that's why I'm not a how preacher I'm a what preacher and that you guys go and figure it out for your lives I don't want to be a how preacher if I tell you how to do things I'm going to end up telling you just how to live like the Sepulvedors and you're all going to become Sepulverites alright, and all your children are going to be named after me or whatever and named after my wife and our pastors have 12 kids on the way so we're all going to have 12 kids now you know what? if everyone's a Sepulveda in here it's going to be the most boring bunch of people I've ever preached to I have more fun speaking to people that do things differently and that I can learn from you know, iron sharpener fire we learn from one another, that's better and you guys might do some things a different way to me, as long as it's not sinful praise god, go ahead and do it you don't have to line things up like pastors so and so or some other favourite pastor that you might have you're all different just don't eat of that one tree eat of all the trees that god has given you but just not that one don't sin against the lord come with me to Matthew 28 please Matthew 28 to be honest with you brethren, I'm all over my notes I don't even know where I'm preaching from anymore Matthew 28 Matthew 28 verse 18 Matthew 28 verse number 18 okay I've kind of given you the theory alright, I've given you the theory, let's just look at this a little bit deeper when it comes to the new man that god has given us don't forget brethren we're not just another human being walking this earth yes we have our flesh but you've been given a new man, you've been born again if you're saved okay, you've got something that's very special okay, you have that inner man within you that is perfect without sin that is within Christ Jesus okay, and you have the permanent indwelling of the holy ghost okay, you can open god's word and understand god's word you're very special okay, you're very special, you're god's children okay, and you can actually lead people to heaven come on I mean think about the power that you have let's talk about powerful people on this earth say well, the richest usually the most powerful people on this earth are very wicked by the way okay, because the devil is the god of this world alright and how many stories have you heard of celebrities or music artists that have so-called sold they're sold to the devil and the devil's given them power and authority you know, even when Christ was tempted, didn't the devil didn't satan come and say hey if you worship me that it would give Jesus Christ power over all the earth okay, satan has power but you have the power to change the eternal destiny of a soul from hell to heaven who can do that on this earth but you it's you, you've got it, you've got the words of eternal life okay, in Matthew 28 verse 18 you guys know this great commission and Jesus came and spake unto them saying look at this all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth don't forget that, even though I just mentioned the devil has power on this earth Jesus has got all power in heaven and in earth Jesus has all power so when you start to get worried about how wicked our government and it's seemingly, you know, the most powerful politicians are devil worshippers you know who's got the greatest power on this earth is Jesus and you're in Christ Jesus all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth go ye therefore, therefore because Jesus Christ has this power you go therefore and teach all nations baptise in them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost teach in them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you all the way even unto the end of the world, amen Christ is with you all the way, all the way here right here in Sydney, right here in Fairfield Christ is with us and he has all power but everyone we need to be empowered people we're not just another human being on this earth you're a child of God you've been made kings and priests in Christ Jesus you're going to rule and reign for a thousand years on this earth with Jesus Christ, don't forget it's not just a hopeful dream, it's going to happen one day we're going to be walking Fairfield and you and I are going to be kings in charge of this place maybe not necessarily this place but I'm hoping the Sunshine Coast, I don't know I mean I don't know how much God's wrath is going to change the nature of this world I don't know but if I get the Sunshine Coast that's awesome if I get Fairfield okay fine but you know I want you to understand you guys are very very special people, come with me to Acts chapter 1 Acts chapter 1 verse number 6 because I want you to be empowered you say pastor but I'm a sinner, I mess things up I know that then when you mess things up you don't run to me you'll run to some other man, you run to Jesus say Jesus you just told us you've got all power and Lord I need some of that power in fact it says here in Acts chapter 1 verse number 6 this is before Christ rises or sends back up to heaven it says when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying Lord will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel these people that are asking they're too preoccupied about earthly powers Christ you're going to start the kingdom now you know and look sometimes I know what we're like we get concerned we see advancing technologies and we see digital currencies and we see things like mandated vaccinations and all these things and people start to say oh I don't know don't worry Christ has power over all things and how does Jesus Christ respond is Christ so worried about this earth and the earthly powers here he says in verse number 7 and he said unto them it is not for you to know the times of the seasons which the father have put in his own power but ye shall receive power brethren you've got power but ye shall receive power but ye shall receive power why worry about the wicked powers of this earth when you've received power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye what power do we have here and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth who cares about the powers of this earth right now you've been given power to be a witness of Jesus Christ in Fairfield in Sydney, Sunshine Coast Brisbane are you going to Fiji brother? Jackson? Fiji maybe? wherever we go we've been given power so focus on that power God wants us to be empowered Christians you know what's sad? most believers I'll say believers because Christians are such a general term most believers have never won a soul to Jesus Christ that's the truth that's the truth if you've won at least one soul you've done more than 99% of believers today you've demonstrated the power of God more than most people and what's sad about this is that when Christians are not preaching the gospel they are not tapping into the power that Christ has given them I want you to be empowered Christians not empowered to take over wicked governments but empowered to change the eternal destiny of a soul think about how important your soul is to you and how thankful you are that you're not going to hell you're going to heaven and you know what? every other soul in Fairfield in Sydney is just as important as yours Christ died for them as much as he died for you God's given you the power to change the destiny are you going to be empowered as a Christian or not? it's up to you, free will God's not a micromanager He's given you the power to be a soul winner He's told you what to do get out there and preach the gospel but it doesn't tell you go for this hour on this Sunday and at the end of this week because all our lives are different but still you know what you have to do you know what a macromanager does? instead of controlling someone's job of every detail it's not that they don't care they of course care that the job gets done but what a macromanager will do is say look, employee you've got to finish project A project X by the end of the month I've employed you to get the job done so I'm not going to get involved every single day and tell you what to do, that's why you're there so I can focus on other things but at 4pm on Wednesday you come and give me an update every week as to how things are going give me an update, are we on track? where are we ahead? where are we behind? if we're behind in a scenario, what are you doing to catch up to make sure we meet the deadline by the end of the month and then he goes away and does what needs to be done comes back next week, gives an update comes back next week, gives an update and then when he comes to the deadline, what happens? what happens if that employee got nothing done? what if that employee was just lying the entire time about getting any work done and project's not getting done? well that employee's going to face disciplinary action isn't he? hey, but if you've got the project done, guess what's going to happen? maybe a promotion, maybe a pay rise a pat on the back, maybe a nice reward something, okay and if there's ever an opportunity for a promotion in the future of course, the people that are getting the job done they're going to receive that you see, God's told us what to do we need to preach the gospel are you getting the job done? are you getting it done? or not? are you giving Christ the updates? Lord, you know, I've gone out Lord, I'm going out next week or I'm going out next month Lord, I need your power, I need your strength because I want to be a witness unto you what's Christ going to say when he comes back? is he going to say to you thou good and faithful servant? have you served the Lord with your life? you don't have to serve the Lord with your life salvation is not, salvation is Christ's work for us, isn't it? his death, his burial, his resurrection his payment for sin and look, if you receive that, praise God praise God for that, okay but what are you going to do in return? what are you going to do for Christ today? you've got free will and I want you to be empowered, people I don't want you to just be a church goer because there's too many church goers I want you to be an empowered Christian and brethren, there's nothing greater than seeing a soul saved for Jesus Christ and look, even if you don't get a soul saved just being a witness being used to give someone the gospel just stepping out there you say, pastor, I went out soul winning last week and everyone rejected me, okay but brother so-and-so got someone saved that means instead of brother so-and-so getting trapped in all these houses you did the hard work and he went out there and got the blessing and hey, we get to rejoice all together for what was achieved, right? I don't know, Sydney is not a receptive area Sunshine Coast is even less receptive sometimes it's exciting to go to the Philippines or something look how much work are you doing? I personally believe the soul winner in the Philippines that does 10 hours of soul winning and the soul winner in Sydney that does 10 hours of soul winning will receive the same reward because you both went out there serving Jesus Christ with your time now obviously one's going to get 200 and one's going to get 5 salvations but you know what? doesn't matter when you got those 5 salvations you'll steal the power of Christ in you that got that work done empowered Christians God has given you his word there's no greater wisdom on this earth than God's word honestly the lessons in life I didn't read my Bible cover to cover until I was in my early 20s but even though you experience a lot of life I realize when I go and read God's word it was always there there's mistakes that I've made in life if I just read the Bible I wouldn't have made that mistake I would have had that wisdom yes it's right even in my workplace dealing with people that I'm not even saved I see the truth for God's word it's so precious the word of God and it's given you the ability to understand it and to practice it we need to be empowered people not weak people come with me to March 12 to be honest with you brethren I am not anywhere near my notes here I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore but I hope it's a blessing March 12 verse 24 March 12 verse 24 let me just read it quickly in my own mind for a minute and Jesus answering said unto them do ye not therefore err because ye know not the scriptures because ye know not the scriptures neither the power of God you won't have the power of God in your life what do you have to know you have to know the scriptures you've got to read the Bible guys have you read the Bible cover to cover don't show me your hands if you haven't why not I bet you watched the Hollywood movie before you finished reading the Bible cover to cover I bet you finished watching that TV series that doesn't please the Lord before you read the Bible cover to cover guys God wants to give you power and it's found in his word it's found in his word you need to know direction in life you want the best result in your life you've got to read the scriptures coming to church is good but I can only read so much scripture to you you've got the time to read it all keeps going verse 25 keeps going verse 25 that's basically there's no marriage in heaven once you go to heaven there is no marriage because marriage is till death do us part and once you die there is no marriage verse 26 the God of the dead but the God of the living ye therefore do greatly err brethren you've been given the power to live forever just like Abraham it says here he is not the God of the dead is Abraham dead? Abraham is not dead Abraham is living Abraham is in heaven God has given you the power to live forever to never die I guess this flesh is going to die go die because it's full of sin it's full of sickness Lord give me that resurrected body but we've been given the power to never perish spiritually one day God is going to give us a new resurrected body we have eternal life think about that for a minute because I tell you now is this a myth? You guys tell me if it's a myth but I've heard that Disney the guy that started Disney has had his brain freeze or something that one day technology will put him into some cyborg and that he can have eternal life on this earth you know there are wicked people you know spending huge amounts of money I could be wrong about that I don't know maybe it's just another conspiracy internet stupidity that I've heard but you know in reality there are powerful rich people on this earth that when they die they want their heads frozen or they want their brain data downloaded onto a hard drive so one day to live forever but you're going to live forever think of the power you've got you're going to be here brethren you're going to live you're going to have a new resurrected body you're going to be with Christ on this earth you're going to be able to achieve more than the people so called that have the greatest power on this earth you've been empowered I mean I think sometimes we forget just how powerful we truly are I mean someone's walking this earth that you know will never perish, never die they're immortal I mean you'd be like well that's you that's you, you're never going to die can we move to Genesis 32 Genesis 32 and I'm sorry if the end of this sermon is a bit all over the place because my nuts are all over the place now but Genesis 32 verse number 26 I want to show you some more power that you've got here now in Genesis 32 we're going to read about Jacob who got his name changed to Isaac and you may recall the famous story that he wrestles with Jesus Christ that he wrestles with God okay but it's you know obviously this is what took place and I believe it took place literally but there's a greater lesson to be learned here and it's a lesson about your prayer life it says in Genesis 32 26 so Jesus Christ turns up on the scene pre-incarnate Christ we know it's God, it's a man as well and the only God-man there is in the Bible is Jesus Christ and we know that no man has ever seen the Father so this is Jesus Christ it says so they start to wrestle they start to see who's stronger than the other and of course we know Christ is strongest but at the end of the day Christ is saying let me go, I've got to go this is all over and Jacob says I'm not going to let you go till I receive a blessing verse 27 and look I don't have time to really deepen the whole sermon on its own but this gives us the illustration these guys are wrestling all night brethren when's the last time that you've had an all night prayer session with God when is the last time that you've taken God and not let go of him and say Lord I've got a lot of things on my mind I've got a lot of issues Lord I need a lot of answered prayers and I'm not going to let go of you Lord until I receive a blessing I'm not going to let go of you Lord until I see answered prayer here that's what the illustration is really most of our prayers honestly a minute long and even then might be too long probably a few seconds we're not much when it comes to wrestling with God let's take a hold of God and say God I can't let you go of you Lord because I just need an answered prayer I need a blessing I need you to come through for me God and look when we see this example of Jacob it says here that his name was changed to Israel because as a prince that has power with God and with men and has prevailed now brethren have you ever seen answered prayer in your life have you ever gone to God and said God I need this done and God's come through for you think about that power that you just had with God well you've gone to God and God I need this and God says there you go think about that power that you've got and the reason Jacob has power of a man here is because he was fearful if you know the story of his twin brother Esau Esau had made a vow that he would kill Jacob and so Jacob needed an answered prayer Jacob needed God to come through for him to have power over man and God is there to step in and change the heart of Esau and then they were reunited once again as siblings there's probably people right now that you've got conflicts with close family friends close family, extended family friends and you know that if I just came across him he'd probably spit in my face we might have conflicts within the church I don't know, I don't know everyone's life but you need to go to God and say God you've given me this power you've given us the power to pray you've given us the power to come before you Lord and to bring our requests Lord there's a conflict with an Esau, whoever that is Lord can you please give me power over this man can you please help us have peace one with another you've been given much power you need to tap into the power that God has given you the new man not a spirit of fear a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind the power to know God's word to search the scriptures and know what God has to say about this world the power to speak to Almighty God and for God to step in and answer your prayer and to change the natural events of the world so he can come through and give you what you need what more power do you need than that to get through life so brethren don't be just another human being don't be a low performer be empowered be empowered in your life be empowered in the dominion that God has given you but don't forget you've been given the new man which has great power has power with God has power with men but we need to make sure that we sometimes just take a hold of God that we spend a solid hour of prayer with God and that we weep and that we cry out and say Lord help us you've been given power can I get you to turn to one passage sorry guys Revelation chapter 2 Revelation chapter 2 verse number 26 Revelation chapter 2 verse number 26 I've already brought this up but we know that Christ is coming back look Christ is coming back one day Christ is going to be walking this earth and he's going to have power over every government over every king on this earth and when he comes back he says these words in Revelation 2 verse 26 and he that overcometh and by the way who overcomes? the one that believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that's you you're already an overcomer because you've trusted Christ and he that overcometh and keepeth my words unto the end to him will I give power over the nations not only do you need to be saved brethren but you need to live a fruitful Christian life keeping his works not for salvation but to have greater authority when Christ comes back to this earth you see God's willing and able and wanted to give you power over these nations I mean that blows my mind like just being the Prince of Jesus Christ is enough but Christ says look I want you to be an authority in this world when I rule for a thousand years you know I want you to some of you guys potentially or brethren that you know and love that serve the Lord faithfully some of them are going to be the presidents and prime ministers of the nations when Christ rules this earth the mayors, the premiers whatever authority levels that might exist within God's kingdom I don't know how it all works to him will I give power over the nations look at verse 127 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron that's us we know that Christ is going to come to rule with a rod of iron but he's speaking about those that he gives the power and he, this is Jesus Christ speaking right and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers even as I received of my Father so in the same rod of iron that Christ had received from the Father he's going to give to his believers to rule over the nation for a thousand years no more the power to rule with Jesus Christ we're excited about Christ coming back but don't we forget that man we're going to be given such great authority so brethren if you're going to have great authority and great power learn it today because you've got that power today you've got the power to change the eternal destiny of a soul you have the power to understand the scriptures and to improve your life you have the power to go to God in prayer and to see him come through so brethren in conclusion the empowered men be empowered with the dominions that you've received from God hey know your boundaries what is your boundary what dominion has God given you hey be empowered within that whatever authority that God has given you don't let yourself be weakened by those who wrongly desire authority over you they might look like they're trying to help you but really they are weakening you okay don't be deceived tap into the power found within the new man and be a witness for Jesus Christ and don't underestimate your coming importance over the nations okay let's pray Heavenly Father Lord I just want to thank you for your word thank you for the power that you've given us Lord many times we feel weak we feel maybe cast down Lord by the weakness of this world but Lord just remind us that we're your children Lord that you've brought us into the royal family of God Lord you've given us a kingdom that is within us and a kingdom that one day will be upon this earth and Lord Jesus Christ has all power over heaven all power over earth Lord help us not to be fearful help us not to be afraid Lord whatever developments whether it's laws whether it's technology whether it's finances Lord and people start to get worried about the end times Lord we know it's going to happen Lord we can't change it Lord because that is from man you've given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind Lord help us to tap into that power of the new man help us to tap into the power of prayer that you've given us Lord and I thank you Lord for making us your children thank you Lord for the promise that one day we can rule with Christ with all authority we pray these things in Jesus name Amen alright guys hymn number 261 hymn number 261 so I mentioned that we are not to have our eyes on man and try to imitate our lives the way a man does 261 we turn our eyes upon Jesus 261 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus 201 turn your eyes upon Jesus Votes came, Inaudible retail him, And the veins of earth Will grow Strangely dim In the life of His Glory and Grace carry on Amen I don't really have any announcements. Anything important? Hey, be praying for Maffin Carissa's wedding ceremony. They're already married. This is the party. This is the ceremony. But keep all that in prayer that we go smoothly and that some of the family members would hear the word of God and hopefully be saved by hearing the gospel. And I'll be here again on Sunday as well to preach. We've got full baptism so far that will happen after the service. So we've got Sabi and Raj. What's your wife's name, brother? If anyone else needs to get baptised, please let me know.