Why Your Sins Keep Getting Easier to Commit | Bishop Mar Mari

0:01 We are continuing our journey in relationship in Christ. And today it is the second part of how to develop our belief system. How to develop our belief system. It's a continuation from last week. Now, just to have a recap of last week. We said last week that no one is born with a fully developed belief system. It is formed gradually through family, through experiences, through culture, through education, through friends, through media, through the church, and through the word of God. No one is born with a belief system.

0:46 We get it built up as we grow older and older. And all of these things are influential in building that belief system in every single one of us. Now, last week we also said the most influential ones are family and then friends. From the family, we said they teach us. Parents teach their children and raise them up. Today, we're going to look at friends, the second most influential category that influences our belief system. Friends shape our values. Parents teach us. However, friends shape our values. I'll talk about it later on a little bit. In Proverbs 13 20, he says, he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Also in Proverbs 18 24, a man who has friends must himself

1:54 be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And what did we say? What is closer than a brother to you? Husband and wife. So Do you see how influential friends are? It is more influential than your own brother, your own sibling to yourself. And what is that telling me and you? We need to be extremely wise on how to choose our friends because they are extremely close and therefore they are very influential in shaping our values. In shaping our values. We continue with the friends. The people closest to us often become the loudest voices in our lives. And it's so true.

2:46 The closest people to you are usually the loudest. And the most commonly spoken always in your ears. The closer they are, the louder they are. And they are more consistent into your ears, in your face, everywhere you turn. If our closest friendships continually draw us away from Christ, eventually our belief system begins to change. Your friends start taking you to clubs, your belief system will change. Your friends start telling you things contradictive to what Christ has said and taught, our belief system will start changing. Whatever we allow ourselves to be exposed to, eventually it will shape what kind of a belief system we have. What are we going to believe in is all determined on how much we allow things infiltrate our intellect. Another influential

3:52 category in shaping our belief system, the growled media. My beloved, today we consume more information in one day than previous generation consumes in weeks or I could say even in months. Nowadays everything is a press of a button. You could learn about anything and everything just by pressing a button.

4:19 And now with the latest technologies at hand, chat, GPT and AI, it's no longer complicated. Nick knock, quick walk, tick tock. It's now improving more and more and more. So judge, GPT, you want to be a doctor? It will make you a doctor. You want to be a lawyer? You will be a lawyer. You want to be whatever you want to be. Just the press of a button.

4:39 Can you do this for me? Can you search this for me? Can you find this for me? This is shaping what kind of a belief system we are having later on. And then you've got the TV, you've got all the other social media platforms, Facebook, the Instagram, the TikTok. Oh my, my, my. This brain, poor thing, is working beyond extra overtime. Beyond extra overtime. Everything teaches us something.

5:15 Everything teaches us something. Television teaches us something. Music, a different thing. Movies, a different thing. Social media, a different thing. Podcasts, different thing. Advertising, a different thing. Every single one of them, they teach us something, my beloved. The world says, live for yourself. And look what the gospel say. Die to yourself.

5:51 Do you see the difference? The world says live for yourself. The gospel of Christ says die to yourself. The world says you need to prove yourself. The Lord Jesus says you need to deny yourself. So if you expose yourself to worldly matters, you will only be Selfish. It is all about me and no one else. I don't care about no one else but myself. How I feel, what I want, where I want to go, who I want to mix with. That's the world says to you, focus on yourself and yourself only. But the Lord says you need to die to your old self. Live me, no longer you. That is the influence of media. The focus is on you, not on Christ. However, my beloved, the greatest teacher is Christ. Many voices compete for our attention,

6:58 but only one speaks eternal truth. Many voices speak to us, but there is only one voice that speaks eternal truth. John 14, 6, the Lord Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. There is only one voice out of whatever voices there are out there in this world. Only one speaks the truth. Therefore, every other voice speaks the lie. Which voice do you want to be exposed to?

7:34 Which voice are you allowing to enter your ear, your mind, your intellect? It's all up to us. It's all up to us. It's all up to us, my beloved. Now, Christ, the greatest teacher. Parents can make mistakes. Friends can disappoint us. Culture constantly changes, but Christ never changes. If Christ forms our beliefs, our lives will remain firm even when the world changes around us. See, the problem, especially with the younger generation, the problem with us is that we are too preoccupied with the surrounding world issues. with people around us, with social media around us, with this thing and that thing and reaching out there and reaching out over there.

8:46 There are so many things that circle us. We are too preoccupied with them, my beloved. But all of them eventually will vanish. All of them will disappear. All of them will not last forever except one. Christ the King. So you need to listen to the one that never changes. You need to listen to the one that never makes mistakes.

9:18 Never teaches wrong things. You need to listen to him. You need to listen to him. You may say but Bishop. Like it's very hard. Not to be distracted by the world because we live in it. And I have to do my assignment and I have to go on the computer and I have to research. I watch YouTube and I watch this and I watch that. I get distracted very easily. But it's up to you what you will allow to infiltrate. Like one of the church fathers says, you cannot stop a bird from flying over the tree.

9:56 But you can stop the bird from nesting inside. the tree. You can stop the bird from building a nest and laying the eggs there. You can push it away. But you cannot stop the bird from flying over the tree. You cannot stop a thought coming into your head. But you can stop it from making, building a nest in your head. You can. So when any negative thought come, kick it out, push it away. You need to be very watchful, very mindful. Can't be complacent, lethargic about it.

10:30 You need to be alert, my beloved, alert. Now, another category. The church shapes our mind. Now, why has Christ given us his church, which is the family? Why has he given us the church? To do what? Number one, to worship him. Number two, to receive the sacraments, the holy baptism, the body and the blood, the absolution. These are sacraments of the church. He gave us the church to worship him, to receive sacraments, also to hear his word and to encourage one another as church family. As one church family, we are members in the body of Christ, in the mystical body of Christ. Therefore, as members, we need to encourage one another. St. Paul in Hebrews 10, 24 to 25 says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Assembling

11:30 ourselves meaning every time we gather as a church, that is an assembly of the faithful of the Christian world. So when we come to the Holy Mass service, that is an assembly. When we come to Bible preaching, that is an assembly of the faithful. Any church service we attend, we are coming as one family. Therefore, we must encourage one another rather than looking in a despicable way towards one another. We need to love, care, and tolerate one another.

12:02 My beloved. Amen? Alright. Now we continue. Christianity was never meant to be lived alone. What did God say to Adam? Adam, it is not good for you to be alone. That's why I'm going to give you a helper. No human being was created by God to live alone. Even those who leave the world, leave everyone and live in the caves and the crevices of the mountains and the deserts, God sends them a saint, sends them an angel, sends them even sometimes animals because it is never meant for any one of us to be alone. That was not God's intention. That's why when you're alone, you are very vulnerable.

12:55 You cannot last alone. You need someone there with you, for you, to support you and sustain you. Alone, it's not God's way. Every divine liturgy shapes our hearts. Every prayer forms our minds. And every confession heals our conscience. When you focus on these words, they are absolutely deep and profound. I'll read that again. Christianity was never meant to be lived alone. Every divine liturgy shapes our hearts.

13:31 Every prayer forms our minds and every confession heals our conscience. Wow. Amazing. So you need to understand when you are coming to and attending the Holy Mass service. It is shaping the heart. What is the heart? I'll come to that later on. I'll come to that later on why the Holy Mass is shaping the heart. But every prayer forms our minds.

14:06 What is a prayer? A set of words. What do we hear? A lot of words from outside, from the world. Those words, what do they do when they enter your mind? They form it. Because whatever you allow is what you're going to think of. And whatever you start thinking of constantly, eventually you'll end up believing in. And whatever you believe in, the mind is formed, is shaped. Prayer... purifies that mind that has been distracted by the world. We need to make time to pray. We need to make time to come and receive the body and the blood of Christ.

14:56 And we need to confess our sins because the confession heals your conscience. Every time we do something wrong, our conscience is never at rest. It gives us a hard time. It kills us. I turn around and toss from one side to the other because my conscience is not at peace because I've done something wrong. You need to come and say, Lord, sorry, forgive me for I have sinned.

15:23 Help me not to sin again, my Lord. In Hebrews 10.22, St. Paul says, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Amazing how St. Paul puts it, my beloved. The body and the blood, what do they do? They cleanse the heart.

15:54 Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. What did we say last week about the heart? The heart is the spiritual subconscious mind, nous. That's where the image of God sits. Not the heart that pumps blood. No, no, that's the physical heart. This heart, which the Holy Bible, the Lord Jesus speaks of, is your spiritual subconscious mind, which is the image of God, the seed of the image of God. And the image of God, the image reflects the creator. We were created spiritually. To reflect God on earth. We are like a mirror. And the mirror reflects the one who stands before it. We are the image of God. Therefore we are that mirror. That should reflect God. Before the world which is godless. So when

16:51 will this mirror be clear? When the blood of the Lamb of God is sprinkled. Our hearts. are sprinkled from an evil conscience. The blood of Christ helps us to get rid of any evil thoughts that have come and dwelt in the spiritual subconscious mind, which is the heart in Greek called nous. So when you come and receive the Holy Communion, remember, it is cleansing the heart. Very vital.

17:33 Very vital you come and receive the body and the blood of Christ. Very vital. The word of God is another category that shapes our belief system. The Holy Bible does more than giving us information. What does the Holy Bible do when we read it? It transforms us. It is not about gathering information. It's about transformation, my beloved.

18:00 So if you haven't read the Holy Bible yet, you start reading my child from tonight and every night start reading the Holy Bible because it is not about I read it and I gather information. I read it because I want to be transformed, not conformed to this world anymore. I want to change from this worldly behavior. I want to be Christ-like. When will I be Christ-like? When I take and gain Christ's thought, which is His Word, the Holy Bible. The more you read the Word of God, the more you start thinking like God. The more you start thinking like God. And the moment you start thinking like God, it is the day that you will be transformed.

18:49 No more that old person. I am a totally new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen. All right. So the Holy Bible transforms us. Hebrews 4.12. The word of God is living and powerful. The word of God is living and powerful. It can change you. It can mold you and shape you and make you a brand new creation, my beloved.

19:15 Psalm 119, 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I've told you this story back in the olden days where there was no electricity yet invented. This blind man in this little town, he used to go out at nighttime with a lamp in his hand. That was the only mean of lighting, you know, having some light along the way. So the people of that town, they knew this man is fully blind. He sees nothing. So one night, two nights, three nights, four nights, they said, no, no, we have to stop him and ask him, why is he carrying a lamp for God's sake? So they stopped him one night. They said, please don't get us wrong.

20:06 We don't mean to be offensive or rude at all. Our dear neighbor, we know that you're blind. Isn't that correct? He said, yes. Then why are you carrying a lamp since you don't see nothing? He said, you don't understand, my goodness. I'm not carrying the lamp for my sake. I'm carrying it for your sake. I don't see, very true.

20:27 But you see, so I carry it so that you see me and you don't bump into me. When we read the Holy Bible, the word of Christ, the word of God, it is a lamp to my feet and light to my path. When I open the Holy Bible, it is the light of Christ I'm opening. I don't see Satan, but he sees me. So when I hold the Holy Bible and I open it and start reading it, Satan sees the light of Christ shining on me. He can't bump into me. But if I am listening to some Hollywood singer, oh man, Satan will not only bump into you, he will devour you. Devour you. Because you brought darkness of Satan, not the light of Christ. Are you with me? Very good. I think we need to continue, otherwise we're not going to finish. Listen to this or

21:27 read this. If we spend hours consuming the world and only minutes in scripture, our thinking will naturally begin to resemble the world. It only makes sense. Whatever you give it time, that's what you're going to be like. We become like what we continually feed upon. That's what we will become. You listen to old music, that's what you're going to sing. You listen to classical Christian music, that's what you're going to sing. You listen to Satan, that's what you're going to do. You listen to Christ, that's what you're going to do. Whatever you feed on, that's what you're going to end up doing. I'll give you an example here. I'll put it all on the board and then I'll elaborate what that means. A father tells

22:21 his child, tell them I'm not home. The phone rings. This 40 year old boy at home runs to the phone because he loves answering the phone. So he picks up the mobile phone and he slides it. He loves sliding that button. And then he says, hello. And then somebody on the other line says, is dad home? The son looks at dad. Dad is home. But then the dad with a signal saying, tell him I'm not home.

22:52 Tell him I'm not home. This 40 year old His intellect is not ripe enough to understand what dad had just taught him. He realizes that dad is home, but I don't understand why dad is saying, tell him I'm not home. So he ends up saying, dad is not home. Thank you, bye. Hangs up the phone. That four-year-old becomes 14, 15, 16-year-old young man. He says to dad, good morning, dad.

23:29 Good morning, son. Dad, I'm going to school. He goes with his friends. He doesn't go to school. The following day, dad finds out that his son lied to him and he never went to school because school called him and said, your son was absent today. So when the son came, he said, where were you yesterday? He said, I was school.

23:50 He said, don't lie, son. You were not at school because the principal just called asking about you. How dare you lie to your dad? The son will say, well, I'm just returning the favor, dad. Remember when I was four years old? I realized when I grew older what a lie is all about. But at the time, I didn't know you were lying. But thanks to you, dad, you taught me how to lie and I'm returning the favor.

24:18 As the old saying goes, what goes around comes around. What you teach your children, they will return it to you. Because what you plant, you will harvest. You will harvest. So don't be angry with your son for lying. Because you taught him. That's just an example. Parents teach children wrong habits. Without even realizing it. Maybe they are sometimes a bit selfish. Because they want their children to be like them. Not like Christ. Son, you listen to me. Okay, don't listen to your mom. Listen to your dad. No, son, you listen to the Lord through dad and mom. That's the way it's got to be. Amen? Is that right, parents?

25:15 Very good. Children learn values before they understand them. Children learn values before they even realize what they mean. Because they're still children. They're still growing. This is why our everyday actions matter. Our everyday actions matter. Our example often teaches more powerfully than our words. As the saying goes, Actions speak louder than words, don't they? So, our example often teaches more powerfully than our words. Parents lead by example.

25:58 Don't talk too much with your children. Show them through your deeds, not your words. Parents teach us. Friends shape our values. Media says it's you and you only. The church shapes our mind. The word of God renews our mind. Parents teach the children. And sometimes parents teach the children good things. They teach the children the fear of the Lord.

26:34 They teach them manners. They teach them respect. They teach them love, kindness, mercy. They teach them. But when the children grow older and they start mixing with other people called friends, what happens when they start mixing with the friends? The friends start shaping the values which the parents taught their children. And they'll influence those values. So the parents taught the children how to respect. The friends come and shape those values and say, who cares about respect? Do as you wish, friend. Don't ever respect no one. If anybody tells you anything, you give them an uppercut. So when these children mix with those friends on a regular basis, without parents' guidance, without parents being really watchful of who

27:33 their children are mixing with, one day the kids will rebel against their own parents. I know this mother who sacrificed her life for her two sons. Brought them from another country, somewhere in the Middle East, all the way to Australia. The younger boy, after God on earth, he adored his mom. 16-year-old boy at that time. Now he's married with children. He's much more older than what he was.

28:09 I know this family very well. I know them personally. So anyway, this young boy, 16 year old, adored his mom. Whatever mom said, it was never no. All the time it was yes. He started mixing with so-called friends. In a few months, he started going, coming back a bit late. Mom says, my son, please don't come back late. I want you home no later than 10 p.m. He started coming back at 11. And then a week later at 12.

28:41 And then a couple of weeks later at 1, 2. Few months later, he would not come back after two days home. Mom, crazy, not knowing where her son is, started yelling at mom, swearing at mom, throwing things at mom, breaking things at home. The mom called me. please come and speak to my son. I go there, I speak to him. Son, I want to see you at the church on Friday. He came once, he came twice, disappeared.

29:16 I went again. He came once, he came twice, disappeared. And he disappeared for a few months. After a few months, he was caught by the police. His case was so severe. The barrister, The barrister came to my place and he said, Bishop, like we need all the help that we can get. This is a young boy, but his case is so, so. so, so bad. He can face easily 15 years imprisonment. 15 years.

29:48 The mother is shattered. She started working two jobs, three jobs to come up with money to pay for Supreme Court proceedings. She spent $ 400, 000. The case went for over two years. This young boy, he was in prison awaiting his sentence. Over two years in prison. All the so-called friends, none of them showed up. None of them visited him, not even one single day in prison. Who was visiting him every time, all the time without fail? Mom. Mom.

30:24 The only true friend on earth. Mom and dad. The mother one day called me. She said, I went to see my son. He was crying like a baby. Not for being in prison. But he was crying. He said, Mom, I am begging the Lord Jesus just to get me out of this prison. Not that I deserve it. I deserve to rot in the prison. But I am begging him to get me out of prison. To compensate every moment I broke your heart. To compensate for it. Because this I will never forgive myself. That I went against you.

31:03 And I hurt you so badly. On the final day. The Supreme Court judge. Is passing the sentence. The barrister. I went to see him as well. The barrister said. If he gets 10 years. He's a lucky young man. Very lucky. The barrister said. brought down that hammer and he said, I hereby sentence you to two and a half years which you already have served. Go home. My beloved, we need to be very careful with whom we mix, how we live. If a person is taking you away from the Lord Jesus, I don't care who that person is.

31:56 Do not associate yourself with them. They're not your friends. They're not your cousins. They're not. If they truly love you, they take you close to Christ, not away from Christ. We can lose anyone and everyone. We can't lose Christ. He is just simply irreplaceable. Anyone and everyone can be replaced.

32:22 Except Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The moment we lose him, no one can bring him back and no one can take his place. Be very careful, my child. Very careful. Anyway, every choice leaves a mark. Every decision strengthens something. When you decide on something, it strengthens that something. For example, if you decide on holiness, then holiness becomes easier the next time. But if you decide on sin, then sin becomes a lot easier next time. You see, the first time I sinned, I wasn't comfortable. But then I sinned again, and then I was, you know, less uncomfortable. But if I continue on sinning, it will become natural. I will sin without one little tiny regret anymore. Why? Because I became so accustomed to it, it became my life. So

33:21 we need to be very careful on what we decide on because that decision will strengthen the outcome. You decide on doing good, doing good will be easier and easier as you go along. But you decide on doing evil, evil will become a lot easier to do because practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect. St. Paul again in Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 to 8. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. This is the word of God through St. Paul. But it is the Holy Spirit, God speaking, inspiring St. Paul to write this. Whatever a man sows, he will also reap. If you sow love, you will reap love. If you sow hatred, you will reap hatred. Don't expect to reap love if you have sown hatred. Whatever you choose to sow, you'll end up

34:26 harvesting at the end, my beloved. Every choice leaves a mark. Look at this. Every repeated decision forms habits. Where do habits come from? From repeated decisions. I'm going to go to the club and I decided to go to the club again. And I decided to go to the club again and again and again and again and again. It became a habit. I don't need to think about it twice.

34:49 I just go naturally to the club. But I decided to go to church. The first time it was difficult to make that decision because my mom was nagging me all the time. Go to church, go to church. I was trying just to get her off my case. So I went with an effort. But then the next time I decided to go to church, it was easier. And then I decided to go again and again. The hundredth time became natural. Decisions, repeated decisions form habits in you, my child. And then what happens? Habits become character. Character is who you are and what you are. Character shapes our destiny. So vital. Am I going to end up with Christ or end up with Satan? Because your character is going to shape your destiny. And then because the

35:47 character shapes that destiny, this is why even small daily choices matter. No matter how small they are, don't take them for granted. You need to be responsible for your decisions. Responsible. Now, this was a bit negative, wasn't it? Now let's hear the good news now. Good news. Thank God for the good news. Our past influences us only. It does not imprison us. So whatever we have gathered along the way.

36:22 Now I am 25. I am 35. I am 45. I am 55. I'm 75. I'm 85. I'm 105. Whatever I gathered along my life journey on earth. I met friends along the way. I got married. I listened to this. I did this. I applied for this. I went there. I came here. I tried everything under the sun. All of these things put together made me who I am.

36:51 But all the influences along the way that shaped the character of me, I am still not imprisoned. It is only influenced what kind of a person I become. But it does not imprison me forever. Why? Because 2 Corinthians 5.17, St. Paul gives us this hope. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All you need to do, come back to the Lord Jesus. He'll make you brand new from scratch. As if you are born just now.

37:32 I've sinned a million times. I came back to Christ. I left Christ. I didn't leave him, but I walked with Christ. I ended up being sinless. What happened to the million sins? The Lord says, I washed it away for you with my own blood. I made you a new creation. Absolutely brand new spotless. In other words, don't ever lose hope and say it's too late. That's Satan whispering in your ears. Satan doesn't want you to come back to the Lord Jesus. He will say, just look at you. You know, how many mistakes have you made in your life? You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you think God is going to care about someone like you, a piece of wreck, a piece of filth? Step on it.

38:24 Go to Christ. Not only go, but run to him and say, Lord, forgive me for I have sinned against you and against heaven. I'm not worthy to be called your son, but accept me as a servant in your house, the prodigal son. Luke chapter 15. That prodigal son did everything wrong under the sun. But the moment he thought to go back and ask for his dad's forgiveness, dad came running, embraced him, accepted him as a son. Yet he said, I'm going to go and tell my dad, accept me as a servant. But dad accepted him as his own son. Dad, our heavenly father, God the father will say, you are my son, you are my son, and you will always be my son. The only thing you need to do, come back to me. Don't walk away from me. Come back to me. I'll make you

39:21 a brand new creation in my beloved son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen? Amen? Come on. we continue with the good news perhaps you were raised in fear perhaps you witnessed anger domestic violence children are traumatized by what they witness in You know, with their parents, the husband bashing the wife, yelling, screaming all the time, smashing things, breaking things, alcohol problems, drug problems, gambling problems, issues. Children are traumatized by it. Perhaps you learned bitterness. Christ can heal what the world has damaged in you. Christ can heal it all.

40:13 No matter what Has become of you. Christ can change it all. If you are truly. Meaning it. You need to mean it my child. Come back and say Lord. I can't do it anymore. I need your help. The Lord will. 100% he will. The moment the Lord sees that you are honest with yourself. He knows you. More than you. So don't act. Don't. Put a mask on.

40:47 Come as you are. Yes? The Lord rebuked the church leader in Thyatira. You know, in the book of Revelation, when you read chapter 2 and 3, it talks about the seven churches in Asia Minor. Thyatira. Thyatira is where the word theater comes from. He says, whatever you do, don't ever go on that stage and start acting before me.

41:11 You better come to me being honest with yourself. Not faking it, my child. The moment you genuinely repent, the moment you genuinely ask for forgiveness, the Lord will change everything in you. No matter how bad you've been and how far and deep you've gone, the Lord will bring you back home. Not a problem. The gospel is not merely about forgiveness. The gospel is more so about transformation, my beloved. Transformation. Transformation. If our belief system has been shaped by many influences, then one question remains. Who ultimately decides? See, my beloved, God has given every human being one extraordinary gift.

42:04 The freedom to choose. What is that extraordinary gift to choose? It is called the will, my beloved. One of the most precious gifts God ever gave the human race, not Christians only, every single human being. It is the will. He gave us the freedom to choose and the power to choose through the will, my beloved. One of the greatest gifts God has given humanity is free will. Why?

42:36 Because love cannot exist without freedom. Love cannot exist without freedom. That's why he gave us free will. God invites us to love him. He never forces us to love him. God invites us to love him. He never forces us. That's why in marriage, when any of the parties is forced to get married, that marriage is actually null and void.

43:14 The church does not classify it as marriage. If the church finds out later on that it was done by force, not through free will, that marriage is not valid in the first place. That's what they call annulment. Annulment meaning marriage never took place because it was done forcefully, not willingly. Because you're supposed to marry the one you love, yeah?

43:40 So when it's to do with love, love cannot exist without freedom. You cannot marry someone you don't love. That is life imprisonment in a way. It is life imprisonment. That's why when it comes to love, God will never force nobody to love him. He will only ask you to love him and never order you to love him.

44:10 Love is a choice, even when it comes to God. You choose to love people. You choose to love the one whom you are about to get married to. And you choose not to love and walk away. Love is a choice. That's why love cannot exist without freedom. And freedom cannot be expressed without the will. Because with the will, I decide to say yes or to say no. And that happened through freedom and based on love. That's why, my beloved, when God created Adam, he placed him in the Garden of Eden. And because Adam was his son, and as a son is free. The slave is not free, but the son is free. That's why God said to Adam, from these trees you can eat. From the tree of life you can eat. But from the tree of the

45:00 knowledge of good and evil, you cannot eat. If you eat from it... Surely you shall die. But he left the choice for Adam to decide, not God to decide. He just warned him out of love based on freedom and with the free will. Adam just decided to eat from the forbidden tree. It was Adam's full responsibility in choosing freely, willingly, with love to listen to his wife instead of his God. That's what happens, husbands, when you listen to your wife and disregard God. You get yourself into a lot of mischief, a lot of trouble. All right.

45:39 So here we go. Listen to this. Deuteronomy 30, 19. It says, I have said before you, it's the Lord God speaking. I have said before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life. God is saying you need to choose. I've put life and death before you. Blessing and cursing. It's up to you. What do you want to choose? I put the light and darkness. There is Christ and there is Satan. You choose, my child.

46:09 You want to come with Christ or you want to go with Satan? It's up to you. But when you decide, don't blame God on it. You chose. It wasn't God's choosing. It was yours. You choose the wrong friends and then you hurt yourself and then you blame God. It doesn't work. Doesn't work, my beloved. All right. God created us with free will. Unlike robots, we are free to choose. Every day we choose. Every single day. We choose either obedience or disobedience. We choose either forgiveness or bitterness. We choose truth or lies. We choose Christ or our own self.

46:48 God never removes our freedom because genuine love must be freely given. Genuine love cannot exist without freedom. That's why freedom is indispensable to love. Inseparable, cannot be separated. Wherever there is genuine love, there is freedom. Wherever there is freedom, there is choices. Wherever there is choices, there is the will to choose on what to do, what to say, and how to walk. And that will is used every single day by all of us. By all of us.

47:25 My son, come to church. I'll think about it. No, you need to decide and say, yes, I'm coming right now, dad. Let's go. Look at this. The will chooses the direction of our life. So the conscious mind presents the options. The conscious mind is your rational mind. The one you use on a daily basis. The conscious mind presents the options.

47:54 The noose, the subconscious mind, the heart, desires options. So that the conscious mind, what does it do? It presents the options to you. The heart desires what has been presented to it. The will decides on what the heart desires. So I think about it. Then I long for it. Therefore, I will choose it. Yeah? I thought about stealing. Man...

48:29 It felt good. Because I said I'm going to be rich. Shortcut. The quickest way becoming rich. I'm going to steal. So the heart desired that. The will will fall for that desire. And will choose that desire. Now when the will. Decides. What does the body do? It carries out that decision. So I need to steal. I'm at home. I need to go to the bank. So I'm going to pick myself up with the body. The body is that car that drives me to my destiny where I want to commit that crime. Yes. So the body carries out that decision.

49:15 And look at Joshua. Joshua, son of Nun, 2415. 24 15 he says choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve you want to serve God or do you want to serve Satan choose for yourself today my beloved make a choice decide say Lord from now on I want you Lord Jesus no one else From now on, I'm going to go to the church. No more clubs.

49:42 From now on, I'm going to praise you. I'm not going to swear anymore. From now on, I'm not going to go to those dark alleys anymore. I'm going to come to the light of Christ. From now on, I'm not going to lie. I'm going to speak the truth. From now on, no more Satan. It is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Decide. Choose, my beloved. Make that decision and make it Confidently. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.

50:13 Many people say, I couldn't help myself. I tried it, but I couldn't help myself. But the scripture teaches us that by God's grace, we are never slaves to sin. We are never slaves to sin. The will is weakened by sin, but it is not destroyed. The will is only weakened by sin, but it's not destroyed. The grace of God strengthens us to choose righteousness. Now, when we sin, my beloved, it weakens the will. Every sinful choice makes the next sinful choice easier. What I said earlier, the first time you choose something wrong, bit of a struggle.

51:01 The second time, a little bit easier. The third time, the hundredth time, it'll be just naturally done. So every sinful choice makes the next one easier. Every act of obedience makes the next act of obedience easier. Look at this St. Paul in Romans 7.19. For the good that I will, I'm willing to do, I do not do.

51:28 But the evil I will not to do, that I practice. The will is weak when we sin. What Saint Paul is saying, he's saying, I want to choose to do good. And every time I'm coming to do good, I'm ending up doing something bad. Like I'm struggling. And every time I say I will never do anything bad, I keep on doing it. And every time I say I want to do good things, I'm not doing it. I'm doing the evil things. What is going on? Well, sin has made your will extremely weak. Therefore, that will is now being dragged into committing sinful acts all the time because you made it used to it. You made it used to it. Look at the church fathers, what they say.

52:19 The passions, passions, my beloved, are those habits that That sinful habits that we keep on doing all the time. You know when you do something wrong all the time, all the time, all the time. The church fathers called that a passion. It becomes a passion, not a desire. It becomes a passion. The passions are habits formed by repeated misuse of our natural powers. I watched on YouTube something I shouldn't have watched. I said I'm not going to watch it again. And then again, second day, I watched it again. I said, no, I'm not going to watch it again. And then I watched it again. And I said, I will never watch it again. And I watched it again. And I watched it again. A hundred times, a thousand times, a million times. You won't be able

53:06 to escape it. Every time you'll just run to it. It becomes addictive. It's a habit. It's a passion now. It's a passion. My beloved. My beloved. Sin is rarely an isolated event. It becomes a habit. The fathers call these habits passions. A passion is something that begins to control us instead of us controlling it. The first time I took that white powder, I hated myself the following day.

53:48 I said, I will never touch that white powder again. But then my friends, thanks to my friends, they said, come on, man. You're a man. Come on. Don't be weak. Take it, bro. Prove that you're a man, brother. Pee pressure. So I took it again. And then I hated myself. But then I went again. And I went again. If you keep on taking that white powder, you will be a slave to it. Next time, you will break everyone and everything. to give you the white powder you'll start doing everything wrong under the sun just to get it because now I am shivering I have to take it why?

54:28 because those habits became passions by repeating them all the time imagine you repeat the word of God all the time in your head you'll overcome every addiction every addiction You'll overcome it. Attach yourself to the Lord Jesus. To His Word. To His person. To His beloved church. Come to Christ even if it's a struggle. And it will be a struggle coming back from the worldly habits. It is a struggle because it's not easy to come off those chains. But you want to live? You want to be free? You want to have peace? Come back to the Lord Jesus. Stop going to the wrong places, to the wrong people, for the wrong reasons. Stop it, my child.

55:26 Make that choice today, my beloved. Decide on it. Say, Lord, I can't do it on my own. I need your grace and mercy to carry me. Help me, Lord. Set me free, Lord, from my sinful nature. Set me free from the bondage of Satan. From all the habits and the addictions that I have inherited along the way. Release me, Lord.

55:56 I want to be your child. I want to be your son. I want to be your daughter. And I want to make you proud, Lord. Amen. Repentance restores the will. Sin weakens the will, but never destroys it. It only weakens it. Repentance restores the will. And makes it strong. Repentance. Repentance is more than feeling sorry. It is a change of mind. True repentance changes the following. Please listen. True repentance changes the following. Our thinking. Our desires. Our direction.

56:34 Acts 3.19 Repent therefore and be converted. Repentance changes our thinking. Our desires, don't let the desires be passions. And our direction, what kind of a direction are we walking in? Is it dark? Is it light? Where are we going? Repentance changes all that and brings you back to the Lord Jesus, the true way that leads you to eternal life. Also, my beloved, notice the connection. Repentance begins in the mind.

57:09 That's what it begins. Repentance begins in the mind. Therefore, before behavior changes, your thinking has to change. You cannot stop going to the club. You need to change your way of thinking in order to stop going to the club. You can't say, I'm not going to go to the club. I'm not going to go to the club. No, just change your way of thinking and say, instead of saying, I'm not going to the club, say, I'll start going to church. I'm going to go to the church. I'm going to go to the church. I'm going to go to the church. You keep on saying that, you'll end up going to the church. The moment you change your mind, your behavior changes. Your direction changes. Instead of going to the club, now I started going to the church. Stop

57:54 fighting the behavior. Fight the way of thinking. And how do you fight the way of thinking? Feed your mind with the word of Christ. Read the Holy Bible. Read the Holy Bible. And keep on reading the Holy Bible. And keep on coming to church. And keep on coming to the body and the blood of Christ. Receiving that body and blood. Keep on coming. Don't come once, twice, three times and say, oh it's not working. There is no use. No. Consistency pays off. You will change. Christ never lies. All those who are in Christ Jesus are a new creation. Christ never lies. That is why repentance is the doorway to transformation. You want to change? Ask the Lord for forgiveness. And you mean it. Don't act.

59:03 Because the Lord knows. He knows if you are meaning it or you're just faking it. That's why people don't... change because they don't mean it. Deep down they don't want to let go of those sinful habits. Say, Lord, let me hate those sinful habits. Let me hate them. When you repent, we become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

59:28 1 Corinthians 3, 16 to 17. Look at St. Paul. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? At baptism, God does not simply forgive us. He comes to dwell within us. When you receive the sacrament of the holy baptism, you put on the temple of God, which is Christ. That temple that you put on through baptism, God now is dwelling in you. When he came, he was called Emmanuel, God with us. But when we received the baptism, the holy baptism, it became now God not only with us, but now God in us. And there is a humongous difference between God with us and God in us. God is with you, but are you with him?

1:00:18 But when God is in you and you allow him to work through you, no, you will become a totally different person to what you were before. God changes that human being 100%. God no longer dwells only in the temple made by human hands, meaning the church building, you know, the building, out of brick and mortar, not only dwells in it, but through baptism and the life of the church, he dwells within his people. You are the true temple of God. God is dwelling in you, not just in brick and mortar, a church. You are the true church.

1:01:00 God wants your heart. That is the temple. That is the altar. The holy altar is your heart. My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways. You are the church. When we come to the church on Fridays and Sundays, yes, that is the church of the Lord Jesus, but don't forget He's dwelling in you.

1:01:28 If you don't have a place for Christ in your heart, you come to a building, you're not going to find Jesus Christ. You need to find the Lord inside of you first in order to find Him on Sunday at that universal church. Amen. This gives every Christian incredible dignity and responsibility. I am dignified for being the son of God, but with the son of God also comes responsibility. If I'm expecting God to be my dad, then this dad expects me to be his son. Dad has given me everything that dad is supposed to give, but then dad will ask of me to be his son. Am I his son? If I'm swearing and lying and stealing and all, what kind of a son am I to the Almighty God?

1:02:19 The son has to behave like his dad, isn't it? Yes. So as Christians, are we reflecting our Heavenly Father in our daily life? Or are we reflecting the enemy? My beloved. I'll finish it off. Trust me. Baptism begins... A new life. Galatians 3.27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Holy baptism washes away sin.

1:02:49 It unites us with Christ. Gives us the Holy Spirit. Begins our journey of sanctification. Baptism is not the finish line. It is the beginning. When we are baptized, that's when our Christian life begins. Is about to start. Don't say I received Christ in the holy baptism. Thank God. No, no, no. Now you need to live Christ. Your life is just beginning now with the Lord Jesus. So what are we doing after baptism? Where are we heading? What are we doing with our life my beloved? It is the beginning.

1:03:28 From that day forward. Every Christian is called to cooperate with God's grace. The church fathers called this synergy, God works and we willingly respond. So as Christians, it is no longer our work. It is God's work. Because when I became a Christian, I started walking in God's path. Therefore, it's no longer my path. It is his path. Therefore, the work is of God's. It's not of mine. So what am I supposed to do as a Christian? I allow God to work in me. And the other side of the story is I willingly... Cooperate with God and say, yes, Lord, do in me as you please. Don't close the door in Christ's face and say, I'm not doing it. When we became Christians, Christ must work in us. He cannot allow Satan to work in us. That's why he will

1:04:33 fight over our salvation. And he will use any and every mean to bring us back to him. So as Christians, when we are disobedient to him, he'll start breaking us until we surrender. Because he will not lose me. He gave his blood for me. So if I don't listen the easy way, he'll make me listen the hard way.

1:05:00 The choice is ours, not his. He can work with both, by the way. No problem. The easy and the hard. But since we are of Christ, we're walking in his way. We are following in his footsteps, the good shepherd. Therefore, it is his work. This path is God's. Our intellect can't fathom. Then God works. And we need to respond to God's work willingly, freely, lovingly. So as a Christian, what are you doing? Where are you going? And who are you going with? We need to ask ourselves. Amen?

1:05:50 Spiritual warfare. Every day there is a battle. Not for your body. but for your heart. The enemy wants, Satan wants your attention. He wants your thoughts. He wants your desires. He wants your belief system. That's what the enemy is after. Second Corinthians 10.5, look at St. Paul, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. St. Paul is saying, any thought and every thought that is against Christ, I grab it, I tie it. I put it under my foot.

1:06:24 I step on it. So that Christ conquers in me. No more Satan. No more anyone else. So you. A negative thought comes into your head. Hold it. And make it captive. So that Christ is reigning and ruling over you. Yeah. Don't follow with that thought and say. I'm going out there. Because out there is Satan. You have to be very careful.

1:06:49 My son. My daughter. Spiritual warfare often begins quietly. A little temptation. I'm sitting at home with my family and then a thought came into my head. I hit the jackpot in Marconi Club. Or Star City Casino. Or I'm with my friends. I'm imagining I'm with my friends and we're driving on the highway going downtown, brother. And I said, wow, what a feeling. And then... I pick up the phone and I follow through this thought and I call my friend.

1:07:23 What are you doing, bro? And the magic word comes back. Nothing. You know, when anyone says to you nothing, please do not fall for this trap because there is no such thing as I'm doing nothing. You are doing something. Even if it's not with deed, with a thought, you're doing something. It's not nothing. So you follow through with the thought.

1:07:44 You sit in the car with your friend and you go downtown. And you come back with a big mistake on your shoulders. Be very careful, my child. Satan will come quietly with a temptation or resentment. Or he will come with a proud thought. Makes your head a big balloon. Pride kills the spirit. You see what made that Satan.

1:08:21 Satan was an angel before. What are angel spirits? So what is the enemy of the spirit? The first ever mistake by the angels was pride. That's why Satan comes and tries to put this pride in every single one of us. Why? Because he knows the pride will get to the spirit and destroys it. And when the spirit is weak, the body is captured by Satan. The will is weak. Everything is weak. So you have to be very careful. If left unchecked, these thoughts begin to shape our beliefs. We have to have a checkpoint. We have to have a scanner. We have to have a CT scan or MRI. Put everything through it. What's happening in me?

1:09:11 What's going on with me? What is happening? The last one is, that is why watchfulness and repentance are essential. Watchfulness and repentance are absolutely essential, my beloved. Look at this chart. Imagine your heart like a beautiful cathedral. Sin covers its walls with soot, that dark ash. And then repentance opens the windows. Confession cleanses the walls. Holy communion fills it once again with the light of Christ. And then Psalm 51 10 says, create in me a clean heart, O God. Your heart is like a beautiful cathedral. Sin covers its walls with soot that Black ash. Repentance opens the windows. Confession cleanses those walls, dark walls. Holy communion fills it again with the light of Christ. And then

1:10:14 Psalm 51 10 says, create in me a clean heart, O God. Saint Ephraim, one of our church fathers, Saint Ephraim the Great says, Lord, cleanse the hidden thoughts of my heart. Wow. Look how deep he was in his spiritual life, in his spiritual journey. Lord, cleanse the hidden thoughts of my heart. Even the thoughts that I do not know and I'm not aware of, yet you are. Please, deliver me from them. I don't want to fall into them when they come my way. Because they haven't surfaced up yet. They're so deep. They're hidden. They'll come like a thief. Protect me from those hidden thoughts of the hard Lord. Repentance removes the darkness. God never tires of restoring those who return to him. Repentance is not a punishment.

1:11:11 It is the path back to joy. Now, how do Christians renew their mind? The church gives us practical ways to cooperate with God's grace by daily prayer. Also, Holy Scripture. Read the Holy Bible. Watchfulness. Be careful. Be watchful of what you see, what you hear, and what you say. Be careful, my beloved. Repentance. You need to repent when you do something wrong. Don't leave it. Don't let it accumulate.

1:11:41 Don't keep on sinning and let sin accumulate because it will be a much greater burden for us to carry. It will break the camel's back. You make a mistake, run to the Lord. Say, Lord, I'm sorry. Straight away. Don't leave it till the next day. Holy confession. Holy communion. Fasting. We're fasting now for the Holy Mother. Shall I do an act of love? Humility, so vital. Romans 12.2, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, St. Paul says.

1:12:26 Another thing, how do Christians renew their mind? Notice, my beloved, that every one of these practices forms our belief system. The Christian life is not changed by one dramatic moment alone. It is transformed by daily faithfulness. So we do not get our belief system overnight. Or just because I prayed now I'm going to be a saint. or I went to the church and received the Holy Communion, I'm going to be a saint. It's collectively all put together. You need to pray. You need to fast. You need to do good deeds. You need to walk away from negative vibes.

1:13:03 You need to walk away from bad friends that take you to the wrong places for the wrong reasons. There is no point coming to church and then going to the club. There is no point coming to Christ and then going back to Satan. There is no point coming and praising the Lord and then going back and swearing and using foul language You will never change even if you come every day to church. You must stop everything that is worldly evil and attach yourself to Christ in order for Christ to start working in you, transforming you and making you a new creation in him, my beloved.

1:13:41 I beg every young man and woman, Do not mix with the wrong people and call them friends. Do not go to places that are negative influences in your life. Don't say, I'm going to go with my friends who take drugs, but I won't take drugs. You can't guarantee that, my dear friend. Before you know it, they've changed you and made you one of them. Bad friends ruin good habits.

1:14:29 You need to walk away. You need to walk away. In conclusion, who is shaping your belief system? God created us in his image. Sin distorted our thinking. Christ renews our minds. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. Every day we choose Christ. whom we will follow. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2.5.

1:15:00 Saints did not become saints just like that. They held on to Christ all their life. I'm not saying become a monk or a nun. I'm not saying close the door behind you and don't go and don't come and don't do anything. All I'm saying, be watchful of what you say, what you do, and who you mix with. It's not a huge ask. It's not. We need to know if these people are good for us or not.

1:15:36 We need to know if this way is good for me or not. I need to know if this direction is good or not. I need to know. I can't Be complacent. I can't take things lightly because this is your destiny. At the end, where will I end up? And remember, none of us will remain on earth forever. I'm not saying these to make you, you know, kind of be negative or pessimistic, but rather optimistic and also watchful and mindful, responsible and sensible in everything you do.

1:16:11 That's all I'm asking and this is what the Lord is asking from us. We cannot be taking things lightly and easy and hope for the best. It doesn't work. I have to be responsible for my actions, for my thoughts, for my way of life. Being in the wrong place causes dramas. Stop going there. Stop going there, my beloved.

1:16:38 Next week, We won't be using this anymore. PowerPoint, thank God. I'm not good at it. We'll be talking about relationships, right? More now is he, she, me, you. I love you. You love me. So we're going to be talking about that, about marriage. About marriage. Relationship in Christ, but more so about marriage. Don't forget Christ is the heavenly groom. And his bride is the church. And the church is all of us. All Christian baptized souls in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is the bride of Christ. All of us are his one unique bride. So this holy matrimony, what is it about?

1:17:28 How does it work? And God gave us this marriage to reflect what is the invisible marriage between Christ and the church. This is the spiritual marriage, which the naked eye cannot see. So God wanted to show us in the tangible realm since he created us in this tangible realm. So through the tangible realm, he wanted to show what the true spiritual marriage between Christ and the church is all about. So he put the man and the woman together.

1:17:59 And called them into that matrimonial bond called marriage. Between Adam and Eve. Not anyone else. If you get my meaning. Adam and Eve. So next week God willing. Encourage others to come. Let us stand for the finale prayer please. In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, whether it's hatred, let me so love, whether it's injury, pardon, whether it's doubt, faith, whether it's despair, hope, whether it's darkness, light, whether it's sadness, joy, or divine master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that we receive. It is in

1:18:52 pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen. May the Lord Jesus bless you, guide you, and protect you all the days of your life, now and forevermore. Amen. Go in peace. The peace of Christ be with you always, my beloved. God bless. Thank you.