Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel – Why Most People Don’t Truly Understand Free Will

0:00 See, my beloved, before, when I was lost and confused, wanting to fight, wanting to revenge, I argued, I shouted, I yelled, I wanted to break things. But instead of doing all of that, what should I have done when I became troubled? I should have gone into my own room, closed the door, and listened to a hymn. And then after listening to the hymn, I should have read from the book of Psalms a psalm or two. And then after that, I should have gone to the Holy Gospels and would have read from Matthew or Mark or Luke or John a chapter, few passages, few paragraphs. If I had allowed for myself... being in trouble rather than retaliating, rather than jumping into wrong conclusions and making wrong decisions

1:04 in that turmoiled, confusing time and moment. I should have hit on the brake and gone straight to my room, close the door and be in silent. And to calm myself down, I needed to be in touch with the Word of of God, the Holy Bible. When you go to your room being troubled, you listen to a hymn, close your eyes and be silent and listen to a hymn.

1:35 Then pick up the book of Psalms and start reading a few Psalms and then go to the New Testament and read from the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus. What will happen? You will see that troubled soul of yours is restored. The troubled soul of yours is restored. Prior, it was lost. And now you just found it again. See, my beloved, a troubled soul is like a dead person.

2:17 And what does a dead person need? That dead person needs somebody to come and revive that dead person. And the only one who can revive you is God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. When you read the word of God, the word of God is as King David also puts it in Psalm 119 verse 105. Psalm 119 verse 105, King David says and explains what the word of God is.

2:47 It is your word, King David says to God, 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. So when you eat the word of God, green pastures, which is verse 2. You are carrying the lamp. And when you drink the word of God, the still waters, you are being filled by the Holy Spirit, which is the oil that is placed in that lamp. Just the oil that is placed in that lamp. Let me tell you this, in the good olden days when they used to use those lamps or lanterns to see their way at night time. You see that lamp, if you don't put oil in it and you try to light it up, what will happen to that piece of string? It will give smoke. It will give out smoke. And what will smoke do? It

3:45 will suffocate the person. But when you fill it with oil, and that string, that piece of cloth gets drenched in that oil, when you light it up, it gives light and shows you the way. You see, the Word of God, without the oil of the Holy Spirit... When you read it, it suffocates you. And that's why some people open the Holy Bible and they close it as quickly as they open it. Why? Because they are not filled by the Holy Spirit, that oil to that lamp. You need to be filled by the Holy Spirit so that when you read the word, it becomes light, not suffocating smoke. So when I eat the green pastures, I'm carrying the lamp.

4:36 And when I drink from the still waters, I am being filled by the Holy Spirit to enlighten that lamp. That's why King David says, your word God is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. A lamp without light is not good at all. So the lamp is your body. And the oil is the Holy Spirit which you receive through the sacrament of the Holy Baptism when the Holy Spirit dwelt in you forever.

5:12 So when you have the opportunity by the grace of the Lord to have five minutes of sitting in silence at the feet of the Lord, please do. This is why I encourage you, my beloveds, turn your homes into a church. Make a place, a little corner at home where you have the Holy Cross, the icon of the Lord, the Holy Mother, a saint that is close to your heart.

5:36 Make a little church at home Where you have 5-10 minutes of absolute silence. Kneeling on that floor. And just staying silent. Allowing yourself to hear the voice of the Lord. If we talk always, we won't be able to hear the voice of Christ. We need to be quiet in order to hear Him. Because He may have something that He wishes to convey to you, my beloved. In these few words, we notice one thing. It is He who restores my soul, not me. He restores my soul, meaning it is the Lord's job, not my job. It is He who restores it, not me, my beloved. You see, sometimes, and I will stay with this word sometimes. I don't want to say a lot of times. So I'll stick with sometimes. Sometimes we ask certain people, our beloved faithfuls,

6:46 why don't you come to church? Father, believe me, I would love to come, but unfortunately, I'm just too busy at the moment. When I have time, trust me, Father, I'll come. They will never come. When I'm ready, I'll come. They will never come. Why? Because you can never find time for yourself. And you can never make yourself ready to face the Lord Jesus. It is He who restores the soul. It is He who brings you to the church.

7:19 So stop saying, when I'm ready, I'll come. When I have the time, I'll come. Because you'll never come. Because you can never find time for the Lord. It is the Lord who finds the time. for you to be in his holy presence. So now that you are in the church, who made the time? The Lord, not you. Trust in this, believe in this. It wasn't you who said, you know, this evening I'm deciding to go to the church to listen to the preach. You didn't say that.

7:50 The Lord put it in your heart, in your mind to say to yourself, I'm packing up and I'm going to the church. It was the Lord, not you. You better believe in this because this is the truth and the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is the Lord who brings you to the church, my beloved. All we need to do is to turn around and face him. That's all that is needed of me. I need to go to the Lord and say, Lord, I can't come to you. Can you bring me to you?

8:20 I don't have the time for you. Can you make time for me to give to you? I can't do it. Can you do it, please, Lord? That's all you need to do. You ask the Lord to make you ready. Otherwise, it is not difficult. It is impossible for you to be ready for the Lord. Impossible. Because He restores my soul, not me. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus did.

8:50 The good shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23 verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd. So what did the Lord do when he brought me back, when he restored my soul? He put me in his track, in his path. He led me to the path of righteousness. Righteousness is himself. He is righteousness. So he put me in his track, in his path, lest I walk away again.

9:14 He glued me in that track. Amazing. I'll give an example of what I really mean here. One day, the Lord Jesus was talking. And in that crowd, in the midst of that crowd, a certain woman raised her voice and spoke to the Lord and said, we find this in Luke chapter 11, verses 27 to 28. Luke 11, 27 to 28. Look what happens here. And it happened as he spoke these things that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts which nursed you. But he said, the Lord replies, but he said, more than that blessed are those who hear the word of god and keep it wow this woman was referring to the holy mother Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you. But the Lord says,

10:18 but more than that, he didn't say no. He said, but more than that, blessed is the one who hears the word of God and keep it. Meaning blessed is the one who hears the word of God and live by it. Keep it meaning living the word, not just hearing it, hearing it and then living the word. The Lord was literally saying to this woman, woman, let me tell you something about my mother now, since you are referring to her. Let me tell you what kind of a mother I have. Now this is to everyone who has an ear to hear, let him hear. He said, woman, my mother was not blessed only for burying me in her womb and breastfeeding me. Why? Because if this was the case, then the blessings of my mother would have been short-lived. Because if she was blessed for bearing me,

11:20 the day she gave birth, that blessing is gone. And that if the blessing was for breastfeeding me, that day she stopped breastfeeding me, also that blessing would have been gone. But my mother's blessings is forever and ever and ever. You know why, woman? Because my mother not only bore me, not only breastfed me, but she heard the word of God and lived by it every single moment of her life on earth. That's why her blessings are everlasting. Now, when you hear the word and live the word, you are in the path of righteousness. You are on the track of Christ where you cannot come off that track.

12:03 You see, the Lord was saying to that woman, he said, woman, you see, God dwelt in her womb for nine months, but he came out. But when she heard the word of God and lived the word of God, God dwelt not only in her womb, he dwelt in her heart. And when God dwells in the heart, God never leaves the heart. He remains in the heart forever. But in the womb, he remained nine months. But in Mary's heart, he remained for eternities. And the only way for God to dwell in Mary's heart and remain there forever because she heard my word and she lived by my word.

12:48 She walked in the paths of righteousness. When I led her to the tracks, she said, I am all ease and I'm willing to walk in that track and never come off it. Just like the train. Luke 2.19 speaks about the Holy Mother and says, The Holy Mother did not say anything to the shepherds, but rather she pondered all the things which they said in her heart. Why?

13:14 Because I am walking in the track of my Lord Jesus. I heard the word and I lived by the word. I thought of the word in my heart, not in my head. Because if you think in your head only, you're walking on the road and the head, can take you right can take you left but when you walk with your heart i.e. love not logic the heart is love the head is logic so when you think of it in your heart you are loving the Lord when you love the Lord you will never come off his tracks the paths of righteousness what an amazing holy mother she is what an amazing holy mother she is Never came off the tracks. And this is why I'll challenge everyone with love and respect. Read the entire New Testament.

14:06 From Matthew to Revelation. I will challenge you with love and humility. If you can find anywhere in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit saying that the Holy Mother made a mistake. You will not find it. I challenge you. Because she never came off the track. Ever. Because she lived the word. Not only heard it. But lived the word as well.

14:28 The Lord... expects from us to keep His name always holy. The Lord expects from us to keep His name always holy. When the disciples approached the Lord Jesus and asked Him, Lord, teach us on how to pray. The Lord's prayer, Matthew 6, 9, Luke 11, 3. The Lord says, every time you pray, you say, our Father... who art in heaven hallowed be your name wow your name be holy hallowed be your name now a question is God's name not holy until we make it holy he's holy his name is holy it is not us who make him holy Or not.

15:27 He is in his nature holy. In his nature. In his nature. In his being. He is holy. But the Lord taught the prayer and said. When you pray you say. Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Let your name be holy in me. Ask your heavenly father every single day that your name, my heavenly father, to remain always holy in me. Why you will ask this of our heavenly father? Because I'm saying to our heavenly father, your name is holy, but I am not.

16:05 And my fear, when you give me your name, because I'm unholy, I will stay in your holy name. That's why I'm praying and begging you. When you give me your name, help me so that I can keep your name holy. For it is worthy of every holiness. Fear is, I'm not holy. I don't want to stay in it. Like the prodigal son again, when he left to that faraway country and dwelt in the pig's field, he stained the name of his father. What did he say? He said, I'm not worthy to be called his son once again.

16:45 I'm not because I've stained your name. Your name is holy. You gave me your name and you called me son. But your son was unholy. And he stained your holy name. For his name's sake, the Lord keeps on restoring our souls. And he keeps on bringing us back to him so that we don't remain staining his holy name with our filthiness, with our evilness, with our wrongdoings, with our sins, with our inequities. That's why he restores us. He brings us back so that his name remains holy in us. It's amazing.

17:32 You know, when the disciples asked the Lord, teach us on how to pray, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. They wouldn't have asked Him, but it was meant to be anyway. When we come and pray and say, our Father who art in heaven, the Lord is saying to all of us, I came, I Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I came for one reason. To make God daddy and to make you his sons. I came to make God your dad and to make you his son.

18:18 But there is an issue here. Your dad is the holy of holies. So every time you come and you say our father. When you are invoking God's name as your own dad. Are you ready to be his son? This is the question. You see it is easy to build a church. But it is not easy to have people ready to enter the church and worship the owner of the church. We build churches yet we are not ready for it. We build churches and we enter and we fight. We enter and we argue. We enter and we are jealous. We enter and we attack one another.

19:04 We enter and we seek positions in the house of the Lord. From clergymen to the laity. We fight in the house of the Lord. Why? Because I entered the house of the Lord who is the Holy of Holies. Yet I entered as a sinner. That's why he is always faithful. I'm not. He's always loyal, I'm not. He's always holy, I'm not. That's why the Lord is saying, the reason why I kept on restoring and restoring and restoring over and over again your soul, because I wanted to bring you back to my path, to my track, to keep you in that path of mine in order to keep my name holy. holy in you. I don't want you to stay in my name. I don't want you to stay in my name. In a simple approach.

20:02 A Christian doesn't swear. Because Christ doesn't swear. A Christian doesn't take drugs because Christ never took drugs. A Christian doesn't lie because Christ never lies. A Christian can't kill because Christ never killed. A Christian can't walk in darkness because Christ is the light of the world. A Christian can't be worldly because Christ is heavenly. A Christian can't be materialistic because Christ is spiritual. That's why the church, the day the church imitates the world, has lost the Messiah.

20:49 Has lost the Messiah. Doesn't matter you are a pope, you're a patriarch, you're a cardinal, you're a bishop like me. Who cares? It doesn't matter. What matters is where is your treasure? Who is your treasure? Is Christ your treasure? Is He everything to you? Well, guess what? The Lord says, wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be.

21:14 The Holy Mother made Jesus Christ of Nazareth her entire treasure. That's why her heart was with the Lord 24-7 non-stop. That's why she is the Holy Mother and we're not. So when some little kid comes along and says things inappropriate about the Holy Mother, in a way, I don't get angry to a certain degree because they don't know any better. They're still little kids. If they had known, They wouldn't have dared to say anything but love and respect and utmost veneration to the Queen of Heaven. The Holy Mother Mary. You came off the track. The Lord Jesus has come, says, drink me in that wine that was turned into my true blood by the power of the Holy Spirit. And you go and drink the wine of drunkenness of this world. You came off the track.

22:22 The moment you walk away from the Lord, you came off the track. When you come off the track, your soul is lost. And when it is lost, you are absolutely in a very chaotic way. You don't know where is your head and where are your toes. You can't differentiate between your right nor your left hand. You're lost.

22:42 You're dead. It takes God to bring back a dead soul into life again. It takes God. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul and leads me to the path of righteousness for his name's sake. See, when you want to do something, you need to decide on doing it. And to be able to decide on doing it, you need the will. You see, without the will, I don't have that tool to be able to do it or not to do it. It takes the will to do something that I chose to do. But the problem is, I will never choose something unless I love it. So you see, choice has got to do with will and love.

23:45 With the will you choose, but you don't choose something you don't love. You need love to enable you to choose it. And with that will, there is no choice. And with that love, there is no choosing. So now for the Lord Jesus to choose to be our shepherd, what is that telling you? He chose us. Willingly. Freely. Why?

24:13 Because he loves us. That's why he chose. You don't choose someone you don't love. You only choose the ones you love. So for the Lord to choose us. He must have loved us. He must have loved us. And for him to choose us. Then he was free. Because he is the Lord. He is God. He is free. So freely he chose. Lovingly. He chose. That's why even when I am lost, He never loses sight of me.

24:51 When you love someone from the heart, no matter what they say or do, you'll never let go of them. Who lets go easily? The one that doesn't love. But the one who loves hangs on till the very end in the hope that maybe they'll come back. Till the last drop of my blood. Till the last breath of my life. The Lord is holding on to me. Because he chose freely. And he chose lovingly. He will never let go. Because the one who loves is stuck. No matter how painful it is. But they hold on till the end. Why? Because they love. Love doesn't let you go.

25:45 Doesn't allow you to let go. You're stuck with the love. God is not weak. But he is weak because he is love. So love is the strongest and the weakest ever. When you love, you move mountains. But when you love, you get shattered and broken very easily at the same time. You are the most powerful and you are the weakest.

26:16 A muscly guy, all tattooed, he can put his hand through a brick wall. But one Juliet, so weak and fragile, shatters this muscly guy and he goes into depression and ends up in Liverpool Mental Hospital. Because she left him for another guy. The mostly heavy duty is gone, finito. Why? Because he loved from the heart. He was broken when he was hurt. But even though she left him, he will always remember her wherever he goes. Every time he drives to a certain place, he'll remember we used to sit here. We used to eat here. We used to walk here. When he gets a message, she used to message me. I used to message her. When he gets a phone call, maybe it's her, maybe it's not. He will always remember her. Why? Because love is painful. That's

27:20 why the Lord suffered. Because he loves you. Freely He chose. Lovingly He chose. We hurt Him all the time, but He never hurt us. Never. He never hurt us. We walk away from Him, He never walks away from us. We deny Him, He never. We sold Him with 30 pieces of silver. He purchased us with His own precious blood.

27:50 We swore and we said we don't know him. I swear to you I don't know this man. And the Lord says before my father I said this is my son. Welcome to my father's house. Wow. Amazing is his love. Is it too much for such a loving God? a loving shepherd, a loving friend, a loving heavenly groom? Is it too much to give him two hours a week by coming to his holy house? Is it too much to kneel at home for five minutes and say, Lord, I love you? Is it too much to read his word?

28:36 Is it too much to do something good in his name? Is it? Isn't he worthy of every love we offer him and we give him? What hurt the Lord Jesus, and I'll leave you with it. What hurt the Lord Jesus immensely were not the nails, nor the crown of thorns. Because these wounds can be healed after a little while.

29:05 You remove the nails, after one month, after one year, the wounds will be healed and the pain will be gone. But the wounds where the Lord is suffering from was the wounds of his beloved ones who denied him and ran away. The very ones whom he died for were the very ones who said, we don't know him. And they ran away and left him alone. And he said, you will leave me alone, but I'm not alone for my father is with me. But at the same time, it hurts because I loved you from the bottom of my heart. When I needed you the most, I could not find you. You were all gone. These are the wounds that never heal. When you love somebody from the heart and they don't appreciate that love and don't see that love, In fact they deny it and walk away

30:01 that easily. That is the wound that never heals. Love the Lord Jesus my beloved. Please I beg you. Let me show you once again. May the Lord strike me dead this very moment when I'm standing before you. If I am lying or falsifying anything. Let me tell you, the Lord Jesus himself showed me heaven and hell. Literally I saw it. Literally I lived it. He showed me both sides. There is definitely heaven and there is definitely hell.

30:39 Don't ever say there is no Satan. Satan is the ugliest, the most poisonous thing you could ever come across. He hates you with the passion. He hates you to the core. If it wasn't the Lord who is my shepherd that protects us every single moment, Satan would have destroyed us all before we even blinked our eyes. He is very powerful, very cunning, very deceptive, very poisonous. He is the old snake and he is the father of all lies. But on the other hand, the truth, Christ the King is real.

31:23 And he is God revealed in the flesh. You will never ever find anyone when the spirit leaves the body. Don't ever expect to find anyone else but Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There is no other God but Him. There is no other way but Him. There is no other life but Him. There is no kingdom without Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is the way to the kingdom. He is the one who makes heaven heaven. He is. Without Him there is no heaven. Without Him there is no existence.

31:59 For this I live. For this I die. Non-negotiable. Jesus Christ for me is God revealed in the flesh. My creator. My savior. My redeemer. My good shepherd who leads me beside the still waters and he makes me to lie down in green pastures. He's everything. But it shouldn't be just for me. It should be for every single human being.

32:37 For every single human being. But how much more for you when you claim to be a Christian? Don't be fanatic about your faith in the sense where you say, unless you are from this group, you'll never make it to heaven. That's a joke. What takes you to heaven, and I'm going to be blunt here. What takes you to heaven is not Catholicism. It's not Orthodoxy. Definitely not Protestantism.

33:10 What takes you to heaven is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. God revealed in the flesh. For God's sake, please wake up. But be proud to be a Catholic. Be proud to be an Orthodox. Be proud that you're not a Christian. No, a follower of Christ. A follower. A follower. Because Christian alone is not good enough. You need to be a follower of the Lord. What does it benefit for me to be a Christian and I'm not following the Lord?

33:34 So many Christians don't follow the Lord. It means nothing being a Christian. You need to follow Him. Meaning walking on His tracks. So you don't veer off the road. But you see, to walk on the tracks, he needs to lead you to the still waters. And leading you to the still waters means you need to follow him, i.e.

33:55 you need to choose to follow him. I was born in a Christian family. I was forced to be a Christian. But I'm not forced to follow Christ. So that's why there is no difference whether you were born in a Christian family or not. A non-Christian family. There is no difference. Christ is calling every single human being. Because, see if someone said, I was born in a non-Christian family, it's not my fault not to know Christ. Christ will say, so many were born in a Christian family and never knew me. And so many were born in a non-Christian family and now they know me. I don't differentiate. I don't differentiate. So you can't blame me. Why didn't you make me a Christian? Because I made people Christians and

34:44 they still walked away. Because it's not about being born in a Christian or a non-Christian family. It's about are you willing to give me your heart? Because it is not that family that brings you to me. It is I Jesus Christ when you give me your heart. And that's why People were born in a Christian family and now they are atheists. And there are atheists who became Christians.

35:19 I am fair with everyone. So no one can blame me in the end and say, I didn't know. You didn't tell me. No. So as a Christian, it's good. Not good enough. Follower of Christ. Thumbs up. Follower of Christ. I'm walking in his tracks. Like a train. Can't come off now. A Christian walking on the road. Very easily to veer off. Follower of Christ is walking on the tracks.

35:56 If you struggle getting to Christ. A piece of advice. Ask the Holy Mother. She'll help you. I did. I did. Not only I did, I always do. Till this very moment, I always do. People agree, disagree. That's their choice. That's fine. That doesn't matter. But Mother Mary, she's the love of my life. She's my crown of glory. She's my pride.

36:25 Whenever I'm in trouble, I go to Mama. Actually, there was a video that was done maybe, maybe in a not a nice way. Thinking that the bishop is saying, don't pray to Mary. No, no, no, no. I will never say that, my dear friend. The Holy Mother is the love of my life. I adore her. I venerate her to the utmost. For me, the Holy Mother is one side and all the saints are on the other side.

36:49 There's no comparison. The Mother will always be the crown of glory of every saint. Of every saint. So whenever I'm in trouble, I go and say, Mom, I need your help. She never... Man, she comes quick. Hold on to the Lord Jesus. You know, I pray the Lord blesses you all here in the church and everyone who's watching.

37:13 I pray the Lord Jesus grant you your wishes. I pray the Lord Jesus, heal your wounds. I pray the Lord Jesus, relieve you from your heavy burdens. I pray the Lord Jesus, release you from the chains of Satan, from bondage. I pray the Lord Jesus, bring you out of that slavery. Whatever addictions, whatever trouble you are going through, whether it's a marital issue, whether it's a financial one, whether it's a social one, whatever it is, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, whatever it is, may the Lord, who is God revealed in the flesh, who is the shepherd that lead us to green, make us to sit down in green pastures and lead us beside the still waters. May He heal all your wounds. May he set you free from every

37:59 evil tribulation. May you be in his light, for he is the light of the world. May you walk in his way, for he is the way, the truth, and the life. May you be resurrected, for he is the life and the resurrection. May he shepherd you, for he is the good shepherd who lays his life for his sheep. May you hear his voice and follow him. For the Lord said, my sheep hear my voice and follow me, but they don't follow the voice of a stranger. I pray that you always discern the voice of Christ in your life and never follow the voice of the enemy.

38:32 For the Lord is the only one and there is no one else but him. May God bless you, bless your families, bless your loved ones. May God make you prosper in everything you do for His glory. May God show you the way. May God lead you. May God enlighten your intellect, your soul, your heart, your entire being.

38:52 May the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords reign over your life. Control your life. Takes it all in His capable hands where He engraved your name and those wounds that were afflicted upon Him through those nails. May the Lord be always your home. Always your home. Always your home. My son, I kiss your hand and feet. Don't go to those dark places. Don't walk with so-called friends that take you to the wrong place.

39:30 for the wrong reasons. My beloved daughter, I kiss your hands and feet. Don't do things that would upset the Lord. You are beautiful in His eyes. That's all you need. Who cares what the world thinks of you? Don't ever make yourself beautiful to the world. The world is nothing The world is vanity. The world will fade away. Christ remains forever. You are beautiful in His eyes because He is the one who shaped you, who mold you, who made you. It is Him who fashioned you. My beloved daughter, you are beautiful for Him. Remain beautiful for Him. Don't try to prove it to anyone else outside of Christ.

40:11 And if anybody says to you, you are not beautiful, say, well, the Lord sees me beautiful. That's what matters. I don't need this elephant man to say to me, I am beautiful or not. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord, my beloved. Amen.