Congratulations! We've come to the 40th day in the 40 Days of Reconciliation, which is Day 4 in the Family Leadership Series. Glory to God. Let us start by thanking God.

Father, thank You so much for helping us go through these 40 days of reconciliation. Even me who has been leading this series, I will never remain the same. Lord, I hope You've transformed people in their thinking. I hope You've encouraged those who were already strong. Lord, I hope that the weak have been made strong by You. It's only You who can make them strong. These series only bring us to You; they show us who You are. Lord, may You reign in our hearts. May You continue to identify with us even as we go through the final topic. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today our final topic in the 40 Days of Reconciliation is Belonging. Just that—belonging.

Then we have another scripture from 2 Samuel 8:15:

"David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly."

There is one more scripture again, Luke 19:10. It talks about Jesus Christ:

"The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost."

We see from the days of Moses, God was preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. To David, He promises that a son from him would rule forever. And from David, we see Jesus Christ coming, who now rules forever.

It helps us remember that God has not forgotten His promises. He is ruling in Christ as the scriptures reveal. It shows there is a Kingdom running right now. God has promised more things about this leadership to come. There is a time coming and we will see this Kingdom much more clearly.

Revelation 19:15:

"Out of his mouth came a sharp sword with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron. And he will trample out the wine in the winepress of the furious anger of the Almighty God."

It shows that the war isn't over. There is a war. Don't think so much about these wars of the earth... those are rooted in human weakness. But there is a war with the right cause, bringing righteousness. And the scripture clearly reveals Christ Jesus as a triumphant warrior. One who has already won—we know where He won from, on the Cross—and we know that we are coming to victory. He is bringing His church to victory.

God sent His Son into the world so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. We find that in John 3:16.

So God has loved everyone. And we thank Him. This includes everyone in His Kingdom. You don't say, "Me, I'm left behind." No. God is the God of justice. This is where you are included.

Now for people who feel oppressed: Will you please come to Jesus? Because in Him there is no oppression. The oppressed are set free. In Him, you have your justice. You have your freedom. When you accept Him, He sets you free. This is what it takes. It takes you to believe in Him. It takes you to accept the sacrifice which was made for you for the forgiveness of your sins. And then you relate with Him.

It is the Divine Belonging. Belonging with Christ. You know He is your Savior. You surrender. Sometimes we surrender to humans when we are defeated. But here He defeated, not us, but the enemy who held us captive. Failing to come and identify with Him is ignorance that keeps us in the dark under captivity. We need to know that we've been set free by the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Deliverer. We need to know we are free and come back to Him and live triumphant with Him.

May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you strong. In our relationship with Him, He expects us to feel accepted, valued, and connected with Him. This gives comfort, and the feeling that you are respected. You can see this in His relationship with the disciples; He is still the same, full of love for you.

May God bless you. May He keep you strong. Thank you so much.

Focus on the Lord of salvation. Blessings will flourish in the lives of those who obey. Give God your life and teach obedience to your children. May the Lord help us to stay attuned to him.

God commanded the people of Israel to obey Him and instruct their children in righteousness. We must maintain commitment to setting a good example of obedience in order for children to practically witness the difference when God is so close to His people. Obviously no one has any greater capacity to do that than a God-fearing parent.

1. What are some of the challenges that hinder us from setting a good example of obedience before our children?
2. Read Deuteronomy 6:7, again: "Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates." Why is it that some parents find it very hard to teach God's word to their children?
3. If you were to make a deliberate plan for teach Godliness to your children, how would it look like?

Read your Bible with understanding and pray with your family continually. This will help you know and obey God's word yourself before you try to teach it to your children.

Consider making a deliberate plan for teaching Godliness to your children.

Ask God to help you overcome the challenges you have already observed, in your commitment to setting a good example of obedience before your children?

Israel, remember this! The Lord—and the Lord alone—is our God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.Questions to Ponder:Suggested Action:Prayer Prompt:

We are concluding the 40 days of Reconciliation series in the next four days. We are going to have an overlap. Day 37 of the 40 days of Reconciliation is going to be day one of our Family Leadership series.

The only thing that is not yet certain is how many episodes we are going to have. At minimum, they might be seven, but there will not be 40. The maximum will be 20. That should help you to expect how long this journey is going to take.

We encourage you to participate more than you during the 40 Days of Reconciliation series. I hope everybody here is part of a family, you are either leading a family or you are just young in your parents' home. This is relevant to everyone. We are all born in families.

We are going to look at the significance of helping children grow in the fear of God, and we are going to look at biblical examples. The first one being Moses. We see God walking with Moses as he is leading the people of Israel.

But there is one thing that happened: when God told him to speak to the rock, Moses remembered that God had earlier told him to hit his rod on the rock. So what happened here is that he dwelt on the past and forgot the current.

God told him to speak to the rock, but the people were very hard, so they made him angry, and he ended up hitting the rock in anger. This did not please God because he did not do what God had told him to do.

He is also a very good example because the people you lead can really make you angry to the extent that you even forget where you were. So Moses is a very good example. You really don't have to be so angry to the extent that you lose focus.

So, the lesson we learn as we lead our families—there are about three things in this one element: Paying close attention to God's word is essential. We should not take it for granted. Many times don't we think that what God did yesterday is what he's going to do today? We know He is alive, he's not static. But we think He works like a machine. We don't think He has a mind.

God changes things. Even when he doesn't change, he changes things. He's a God of innovation, and as some people will tell you, He is also a God of humor. He's a God of wisdom. If you don't listen intently, you will miss a lot. Our elder Moses missed this because the people made him angry.

Why is this crucial to us? Respectfully, Moses was a very key prophet. There has been no one like him from history to date. That's why we need to carefully address this topic as we pick our lessons. So may God help us.

When we deal with our children, they can make us angry and we speak to them harshly, thinking that we are disciplining them. In the end, we lose our relationship with them, and we also cannot pray effectively because we are covered in anger. May God help us.

We find the story about Moses in Numbers Chapter 20, verse 1 to 13.

We also have an example of Eli, the High Priest. His story teaches us to raise our children in the fear of God. Unfortunately, for Eli, this wasn't a priority for him. He thought he was serving God, but the challenge is he did not give attention to his children. In the end, these children disobeyed God. Imagine children who are cooking meat, who are sacrificing animals at the altar, but they can still remove pieces of the meat and take it for themselves. Imagine at the altar! These were Eli's children!

It had to take young Samuel to rise up and speak God's prophecy against them. This helps us know that by keeping quiet as our children continue to live ungodly and doing abominable things before God, we are shooting ourselves, we are hurting our own children. We should be awake and attentive, and we should walk with them and help them to grow in the fear of God. The sons of Eli missed this. You really don't want to repeat Eli's mistake...

Thank you so much. See you next time.

We are concluding the 40 days of Reconciliation series in the next four days. We are going to have an overlap. Day 37 of the 40 days of Reconciliation is going to be day one of our Family Leadership series.

The only thing that is not yet certain is how many episodes we are going to have. At minimum, they might be seven, but there will not be 40. The maximum will be 20. That should help you to expect how long this journey is going to take.

We encourage you to participate more than you during the 40 Days of Reconciliation series. I hope everybody here is part of a family, you are either leading a family or you are just young in your parents' home. This is relevant to everyone. We are all born in families.

We are going to look at the significance of helping children grow in the fear of God, and we are going to look at biblical examples. The first one being Moses. We see God walking with Moses as he is leading the people of Israel.

But there is one thing that happened: when God told him to speak to the rock, Moses remembered that God had earlier told him to hit his rod on the rock. So what happened here is that he dwelt on the past and forgot the current.

God told him to speak to the rock, but the people were very hard, so they made him angry, and he ended up hitting the rock in anger. This did not please God because he did not do what God had told him to do.

He is also a very good example because the people you lead can really make you angry to the extent that you even forget where you were. So Moses is a very good example. You really don't have to be so angry to the extent that you lose focus.

So, the lesson we learn as we lead our families—there are about three things in this one element: Paying close attention to God's word is essential. We should not take it for granted. Many times don't we think that what God did yesterday is what he's going to do today? We know He is alive, he's not static. But we think He works like a machine. We don't think He has a mind.

God changes things. Even when he doesn't change, he changes things. He's a God of innovation, and as some people will tell you, He is also a God of humor. He's a God of wisdom. If you don't listen intently, you will miss a lot. Our elder Moses missed this because the people made him angry.

Why is this crucial to us? Respectfully, Moses was a very key prophet. There has been no one like him from history to date. That's why we need to carefully address this topic as we pick our lessons. So may God help us.

When we deal with our children, they can make us angry and we speak to them harshly, thinking that we are disciplining them. In the end, we lose our relationship with them, and we also cannot pray effectively because we are covered in anger. May God help us.

We find the story about Moses in Numbers Chapter 20, verse 1 to 13.

We also have an example of Eli, the High Priest. His story teaches us to raise our children in the fear of God. Unfortunately, for Eli, this wasn't a priority for him. He thought he was serving God, but the challenge is he did not give attention to his children. In the end, these children disobeyed God. Imagine children who are cooking meat, who are sacrificing animals at the altar, but they can still remove pieces of the meat and take it for themselves. Imagine at the altar! These were Eli's children!

It had to take young Samuel to rise up and speak God's prophecy against them. This helps us know that by keeping quiet as our children continue to live ungodly and doing abominable things before God, we are shooting ourselves, we are hurting our own children. We should be awake and attentive, and we should walk with them and help them to grow in the fear of God. The sons of Eli missed this. You really don't want to repeat Eli's mistake...

Thank you so much. See you next time.

Forgive me, I'm not a seasoned speaker. So I'm going to go slow and steady, because clarity is more important to me.

Let's begin with prayer. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for this opportunity to share this podcast. Lord, I pray that you will help us to understand and to put this into practice. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Our topic today is "Surrendered." We are looking at a gentleman called Peter, the apostle. After Jesus had given him a test—you remember when Jesus asked him three times, "Peter, do you love me?" After that conversation, Jesus told him, "Let us go." As they were going, he looked back and he noticed somebody else, another disciple, was following. Just like us today, he reacts. Let me read for you what this friend did.

And before I read, don't forget that this is our nature. We want to consolidate power and authority in our leadership. So, do we keep the people who we find strong around us or we try to discourage them and let them go?

Our purpose today is to help us understand that Jesus wants us to grow skill in our workplaces, to be surrendered, to care less about ourselves, but much more about the kingdom of heaven.

John chapter 21 verse 20: "Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus had loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him, and said, 'Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?' When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me.'"

In other words, "Peter, what's your concern? Stay focused."

I thank Jesus. I know many people really don't want to associate with him, but I want to tell you the whole fact. The greatest men and women of the world today, if Jesus was here physically, you would be looking for him seriously. And your desire would be that even if he mentioned your name, that would be enough. Just mentioning your name positively, that would be enough. But here, people are under delusion. They don't want to talk about him confidently. Leave him to us. We know whom we have found.

So, let me tell you about this man. Jesus teaches us, he changes us, he transforms us, he makes us better people. We thank him for that. Peter had this opportunity to learn this. Now, for us here, our message, since we are reading this story, may we also allow God to transform us inwardly so that we can grow skill around us, and we bless people. We should care less about ourselves. We should care more about the kingdom of heaven.

God does not run short of blessings. He's God of heaven and earth, creator of heaven and earth. He created the world out of nothing. So, why are we concerned about the leadership, the positions that he has given us, that we don't want to grow capable people around us?

So the message today is, and before I even continue, I would like you to know that even me who is speaking, I'm not different. I'm not any better. I am not an angel. But I still have to share so that we can learn this and do what God wants.

God wants us to grow skill around us, and to love his people. To strengthen his people. Not to consolidate power and authority around us.

And again, I want to remind you, friends, don't watch, read or listen to these podcasts with a political or religious eye, you'll miss a lot. Just be who you are.

Thank you so much. May God bless you.

When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.

Esther 8:15-17

1. The king of Persia removed his wife, Queen Vashti, from the position of Queen, for disobedience. A search is held for a new queen, and a young Jewish woman named Esther is chosen for her beauty and grace. Esther had kept her Jewish identity a secret.
2. Mordecai was Esther's cousin and guardian, he overheard and exposed a plot to assassinate the king and saved his life.
3. The king's arrogant and powerful official, Haman, planned to hurt Mordecai, for he had refused to bow to him. Haman made plan to destroy all the Jewish people in the empire. He convinced the king to issue a decree for the jews to be killed.
4. Mordecai learned of the plot and urged Queen Esther to intervene. He warned her that she couldn't remain silent, for she may have become queen for such a time, to save her people.
5. Risking her own life, Esther approached the king without being summoned. Instead of making her request immediately, she invited the king and Haman to two separate banquets.
6. At the second banquet, Esther revealed her Jewish identity to the king and exposed Haman's plot to kill her and her people. Eventually, Haman was executed on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.
7. The king issued a new one decree allowing the Jewish people to defend themselves against their enemies. The Jews were victorious. Mordecai was promoted to a place of honor, and the freedom of worship for the jews was restored.

LESSONS FROM QUEEN ESTHER'S STORY:

DO NOT SURRENDER TO THE ENEMY. PRAY UNCEASINGLY, INSTEAD.

"pray continually" 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

The Jews could have also chosen to die. Are there cases where we surrender to the enemy instead of praying and listening to God with steadfast faith?

How about the challenges we face, are you ready to give up and surrender? In your opinion, why is it important to listen to the Holy Spirit in spiritual warfare?

DO NOT FEAR, DO NOT STOP. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT GOD IS ON THE THRONE, HE NEVER SLUMBERS, HE NEVER LOOSES. MAY HE BE NEAR TO THOSE WHO FAITHFULLY CALL ON HIM FOR HELP.

The Example of Queen Esther:

When we receive Christ as our Lord and personal Savior, it’s the beginning of a new life, the start of an exciting learning journey filled with amazing experiences. In the walk of salvation, the most significant form of learning is experiential.

God is Spirit and communicating with Him will be extremely hard unless we have surrendered fully to Him, remain obedient and full of the Holy Spirit each second of our life on earth. When we receive the Holy Spirit we should never assume all struggles are over. The mind will need to be trained in the knowledge and fear of God experientially. This underscores the importance of keeping the mind pure, attentive and sober each second of our life on earth.

Filling our minds with the word of God will bring healing and eternal life if we obey God continually. The word of God is sharper than a double edged sword, with great power to fight against the devil’s evil tricks. It’s strong enough to protect us from any form of corruption and enslavement. Blessings will flourish in the lives, families and generations that obey God as Abraham did. God desires everyone to live with each other in harmony, sober, loving and ready to pray. It’s very important to pray and read the word of God together regularly.

A true Christian should know Christ personally as his Lord and Savior and should endeavor to be active in Church. Take on the armor of God and pray without ceasing, asking God to direct your paths so that, even if it may be hard for you to find effective opportunities for sharing your faith in Church, you can influence your Church to a revival through your lifestyle. Allow God to live mightily in your life and to work through you for your redemption and healing. By this God will work through you for the redemption and healing of many souls, even when you may not be physically aware.

While we all wait for our Lord’s return, it’s much safer to regard each day as if it were our last day on earth. There will no longer be any more opportunities to repent or correct our wrongs after death.

God does not expect us to be spirit-filled and just rest with it. Just as water refreshes, a spirit-filled life will bring healing and restore Godly worship to as many as believe.