How to Rebuild a Broken Belief System - Bishop Mar Mari

0:00 Well my beloved um today we are continuing our journey in relationship in christ and today and next week to somewhat degree it's going to be a little bit sort of complicated somewhat um but there is a reason behind that and i'll i'll explain it god willing by his grace when we finish the next two weeks so relationship in christ and um Today we are looking at how to develop our belief system or our godly belief system.

0:40 So relationship in Christ and today is the third sort of lecture about this. And this will take probably two more lectures to go through on how to develop our belief or godly belief. believe system. So we'll go straight into it. Oh, last week we spoke in depth to somewhat degree regarding the form or the way God has created the human being. We are made out of body, soul, and spirit. And we addressed all those three. We spoke about the conscious mind, the subconscious mind. We spoke about the physical and the spiritual. And we said that the subconscious mind, the spiritual way is what we call the heart or in Greek nous, which is the seat for the image of God. It is the depth of your being called the heart. where the image of God sits

1:51 and lies. And this is where we have a true encounter with the Almighty God, if we truly are able to come and bring the mind into this heart. So today we'll be touching base on this. In the Christian theology, Our church fathers focused very profoundly, very profoundly on how to bring the mind into the heart where we truly have an encounter with our creator. Because the mind is scattered everywhere. Every time we come to pray and we have a million zillion thoughts coming into our mind, I can't focus on the prayer. Every time I pray, I start remembering things 500 years ago. Prior to the prayer, I was absolutely empty here. Forgotten everything. The moment I stand to prayer or kneel to pray, I start remembering

2:57 the food is on fire, the clothes are in the washing machine, I forgot to call somebody for their birthday, cousins is coming over, I have to go shopping. Everything comes when we start praying. How do I get the mind and the heart coming together as one? The mind must return to the heart. Christianity speaks of the prayer of the mind and the heart. And St. Paul alludes to this in 1 Corinthians 14, 15. 1 Corinthians 14, 15, St.

3:31 Paul says, I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the understanding. understanding he means the mind I will pray with the spirit meaning the heart and I will pray with the understanding if I can bring the mind and the heart together as one of the church fathers said the closest distance is the mind to the heart yet it is the most difficult distance to bridge together The closest distance is between the mind and the heart. Yet it is the most difficult distance to bridge together. Saint Paul did it. And so many other saints did it. Where I pray in the spirit heart.

4:19 And I also pray with the understanding the mind. Bringing the prayer of the mind into the heart. So now this means when we are able. to bring our mind into focus. When we're able to focus on what we are saying, what we are praying from the heart, it means that our thoughts become united with prayer. Our thoughts become united with prayer. What is the outcome? When our thoughts are united in prayer, with prayer, sorry, it will mean knowledge becomes love. And believe becomes worship. When we are able to bring our thoughts and unite them with the prayer, knowledge becomes love. You will no longer just know about God. You will be in love with this God.

5:29 Totally different. I know many people but I'm in love with one. So when you come to know God, you don't know him, you don't get to know him for the sake of information, for the sake of being able to speak eloquently before the whole world. No, you start loving him. And the only time, the only time When you are able to truly live with this living God is when you love Him. You cannot live with someone you do not love. You cannot. If you live with someone you do not love, it is an absolute hell.

6:16 So it requires love to be able to remain with this God. And then your belief in this God becomes worship. And what is worship? Your belief turns into total obedience to the Almighty God. What is worship? Being obedient to His law, to His word. Sometimes we love Him, but we're not obedient. Isn't it? We break the word. We break it. So we need to be obedient. And that's where our belief in him becomes worship. Becomes worship. Church father says, they say, descend with the mind into the heart and remain there before the face of the Lord.

7:14 When you bring your thought into the depth of your mind, which is the nous, the spiritual subconscious. Spiritual subconscious, which is the nous, the heart. When you bring that thought into that heart, the depth of your being, you will see God. That's why those church fathers whom we call saints... lived a totally different life to so many of us, my beloved. The mind must return to the heart. Many people know about God. However, very few truly know Him.

7:54 Many people know about Him, but do you know Him? You've heard about Him, but do you know Him? It's easy to say, I know about God, but do you know God? I know about this person, but do you know this person very well? I've heard a few things here and there. I've read a few words in Genesis. I've read a few words in the Gospel according to Matthew, St. Matthew, St. Luke.

8:23 I've read bits and pieces, so I know about God. But it's not enough. You need to get to know Him, not know about Him, but know Him on a personal level. God needs to be your holy personal companion. You need to build a true relationship with Him. No longer a lip service. No longer an obligation. But a natural reaction to His love. It's got to be natural. It needs to be natural, my beloved. Don't let nobody drag you to the church. You run to the church. Don't force yourself to remember Him. You need to remember Him Naturally.

9:14 The only time you will remember God naturally when you are in love. My beloved. There are some people that we remember here and there and every time we remember them, we say, oh no, Lord have mercy. But there is one that fills your heart, fills your mind, fills your entire being. That one you don't need to think about them.

9:41 The moment you open your eyes, naturally they come. Right before you. The moment you think, naturally they come first. The moment you walk, the moment you talk, it is naturally. The Lord Jesus wants us to live for Him. in a natural way. Why? Because He is love. And you want to be with Him, you need to enter a relationship based on true divine love. Where everything with that love is natural. You don't have to be To say, oh, I have to do this for the Lord. No, you don't have to. You need to say, I can't wait to do this for the Lord. Because He's my sweetheart.

10:29 Just like Rachel is your sweetheart. The Christian life is not merely filling mind with information. It's not about getting information. You don't come to Bible preach to acquire more information and say, oh yeah, I know what this verse means now. No, you come to live the Lord, not acquire information. You need to come and live the Lord. It is allowing Christ to transform the deepest center of our being, which is the nous, the heart, the spiritual subconscious mind. He needs to transform that heart. You know, when the Pharisees and the scribes approached the Lord Jesus and they said, your disciples are breaking the law of God. He said, why? Why?

11:17 They said, well, they are eating with unclean hands, dirty hands. They're eating. He said, you hypocrites. It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the man. It is what comes out of the man that defiles him. Out of the heart of men comes out all evil. When the Lord said out of the heart, he wasn't referring to the heart that pumps the blood. No, he was referring to the noose, to the spiritual subconscious mind, the depth of your being. That's where evil lies. If you allowed evil infiltrate you, Through your mind. It will go deep down.

12:00 And it will hold. A very strong grip there. Where. All you're going to be thinking of is evil. Let Christ. Transform that. Renew that heart. Lord. Take my old heart. That piece of wreck. And give me your sacred heart. I want to see things through you. I want to see things through you my Lord. Amen? Come on, don't fall asleep on me. Christ restores the mind. We read in Romans 12.2, St. Paul says, Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Also, St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2.16, We have the mind of Christ. How do you obtain the mind of Christ? The Holy Bible. The Holy Bible, my beloved. When you read the Holy Bible, you are reading the mind of Christ. What he was thinking, he

13:06 put it on paper and sent it to you to read. So every time we read the Holy Bible, we are reading the mind of Christ. The more you read the Holy Bible, the more you get adjusted, transformed, renewed to the way Christ thinks and Christ talks and Christ walks. The more you allow the world to shape your mind, the more you're going to live worldly. So how do I change from worldly things? Ways to spiritual ways. When I allow Christ to renew my mind. And how does that happen? When I start allowing his word to enter me.

13:50 No longer the world. No longer people. But his word, my beloved. Christ does not simply forgive us. He restores us. He heals our thinking and he renews our desires. No one was born a drug addict. No one was born a serial killer. No one was born to be doing any evil. Everyone was born a little angel. What happened to this little angel? As they grew older and became mature, they turned into a vicious human being. Why? Because they allowed evil thoughts enter them. And what enters here eventually will shape you. What you think of is what you will say later on and what you will do later on. So, You let the world enter your head, you'll become worldly.

14:55 You let Christ enter your head, you'll become Christ like my beloved. It's simple yet complicated. It depends how much do we allow the Lord to influence us, my beloved. Let Him do not close the door in His face. Let Him, my beloved, let Him He transforms our lives. So many sinners ended up being saints because the Lord Jesus changed them. The Lord Jesus transforms you from a sinner to a saint, from a slave to the son, from dead to a living one. When that prodigal son came back in Luke chapter 15, what did the father say about his son? He said, my son was dead and now he is alive. That's transformation. That's transformation. And when people wish to compare the Lord Jesus to other religious figures, philosophical figures, any other figures in the world,

16:11 when they want to compare the Lord Jesus with any religious philosophical figures in the world, I'll say this to all of them with love and respect. All the religious leaders in the world, And all the philosophical figures in the world, the ultimate they could have achieved in any human being's life is this. They brought some good values, good principles, good morals, good ethics. And the ultimate they could have achieved was to change a bad person into a good person. That is the ultimate they could have achieved.

16:46 But Christ did not come to change a bad person into a good person. Christ came to change a dead person into a living one. In this, no one can be compared to Jesus Christ. The only one who gives life is Jesus. He who believes in me, even though he dies, but he shall live. But he who takes my body and drinks my blood shall live in me forever.

17:17 No religious figure ever dared to claim this statement except Jesus. You believe in me, you will live forever. No one said it. Why? Why? Because they were all mortal beings like all of us. The only one who is immortal is Christ the King. That's why he has it. That's why he was able to say it and give it to those who believe in him. Let the Lord Jesus take over your life. Stop shutting the door in his face.

17:51 Stop my beloved. Now. The goal of Christianity is not simply to avoid sin. But rather, the goal is to become more like Christ. My beloved, keep an open eye here and an open ear, please. We try frantically, especially the young people, boys and girls. We try frantically not to make mistakes or sin, as the Holy Bible puts it.

18:23 So I say, I promise I'm not going to take drugs anymore. I promise I'm not going to gamble anymore. I promise I'm not going to be naughty with boys and girls anymore. I promise I'm not going to go to the club anymore. I promise, Lord, and every time I promise, I do worse and worse and worse and worse and worse. I will not smoke. I smoke. I will not use a foul language. I use it. Why?

18:52 Because I'm trying to avoid sin. You cannot. What you need to do is you need to find Christ because Christ can change your mind. The moment the mind is changed by the Lord, sin automatically evaporates. We try very hard and we fail miserably. You know why? Because the thought comes from an idea. You see, an idea, when it ripes, becomes mature, it turns into a thought. When the thought matures, turns into a word. When the word matures, turns into an ideology. When the ideology matures, turns into a philosophy. When philosophy matures, turns into a way of living.

19:50 The way we live now, it all began with an idea. The idea became a thought, became a word, became an ideology, became a philosophy, became a style of living. So how did I end up a killer? It started with an idea. How did I end up a drug dealer? It started with an idea. The idea cannot be killed. When we try to kill that thought, destroy that thought which came from an idea, we're wasting our energy, our breath, our time.

20:23 The more you fight it, the more you will fail. The only thing you can do with an idea is replace it with another idea. That's the only way to get rid of it. And the only idea that will replace any worldly ideas that infiltrated your mind is the word of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Grab the Holy Bible.

20:47 Be close to the Lord Jesus and let him give his thought, his mind to you. There, once his mind is embedded in you, that will drive every evil thought that entered your head through this evil world. And you will see, when Christ takes over, you don't need to fight sin anymore. It's gone. Amen. Amen. So you need to be watchful what you see, what you hear, and what you do. Very watchful. Don't take it lightly. It will come back and haunt you later on. All right. Now, as our minds are renewed, our lives begin to reflect His holiness, Christ's holiness. Some of the wisdom of some of our church fathers. Saint Anthony the Great. Saint Anthony the Great says, a man who knows himself knows God.

21:55 A man who knows himself knows God. True repentance begins with honest self-examination. If you are really meaning it that you want to be A repentant soul. You want to give up on all the wrong things you've done in your life. You really want to come back. You mean it from the heart. What you do is you'll start examining yourself with honesty. with integrity, not faking it, not acting, not shedding a couple of tears and you'll be seen like as if you're a saint now. No, you need to look from within. It is not an external gesture.

22:38 You don't reflect it outside, but you'd rather go deep down inside and you cry inwardly before your Messiah and truly mean every time you've hurt him, you've gone astray, you've broken His word, you've broken His heart, when you truly are honest with yourself, that's the beginning to true repentance.

23:05 That's the beginning to true repentance. So it's not about putting on a show. Christ's life must be lived. Amen? Come on, are you with me? Very good. Now, St. John says, Climax or The Ladder. That was his title, The Ladder. He wrote a book called The Ladder. And it was named after that book. Profound, very powerful spiritual book. Amazing, amazing St. John Climax. He says, the beginning of prayer is the rejection of thoughts. The beginning of prayer is the rejection of thoughts. When you truly start praying... is when you start stopping bad thoughts coming in now that's when you are truly praying when you start stopping wrong thoughts coming in now you're praying now you are really coming into the presence of the Almighty God, where by

24:13 His grace, He'll start bringing this mind that stopped the bad thoughts and bringing it into the heart, the nous, the spiritual subconscious, where the image of God is seated. When the mind and the heart are united, now what will happen? The lips will speak shut. The heart will start talking. Very profound prayer. There is no more words.

24:45 Just heartbeat. The connection is so powerful. You know when you are connected so strongly to somebody. You don't need to say to explain yourself. They look into your face. They know exactly what you want. Ha ha. When you become too close, too familiar, too accustomed, just by looking at them. Okay, honey, no problem. I got it. Now, this is what the Lord wants. This is what the Lord truly wants. Now, we need to go much quicker.

25:25 I think there's a lot to go through today and it's going to get just harder as we go. So sorry. Come on, say something. Say something, I'm giving up on you. Prayer starts by gently turning away distractions and fixing the mind on Christ. Get rid of those distractions. So my beloved, when you come to pray and you start having all these thoughts coming in where they are distracting you, what do you need to do? You need to stop your prayer.

26:02 What you need to do is you need to have like sort of a preparation before the prayer. So when you come to pray, don't come from a busy sort of life straight into the prayer because you were busy there you come into a prayer that busyness is going to come with you it's not going to let you pray so what you need to do is you need to hit on the break take a deep breath close your eyes put a hymn or soft music spiritual music put a hymn and listen for a few minutes Take a deep breath, relax. Calm that wild ocean inside of you.

26:41 Bring it to absolute calmness for a few minutes. Then grab the book of Psalms. Read one, two or three Psalms. But when you read, it's not about showing off that you are brilliant in English. It's not about that. Read it very slow. Read it with contemplation. You know, when you stand up, And say the Lord's prayer. Don't get up and say. Our father who art in heaven. Thank you very much. No. You need to contemplate. Breathe it in.

27:16 Absorb it. Say our father. Wow. God you're my dad. Our father. The most beautiful name ever. Our father. Like. Make the prayer, I'm talking to you now. I'm not reciting a statement. I'm entering a relationship. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, not mine. Give me Your beloved son, our daily bread. He is our daily bread. Your son is the bread of life. Give me your son every day.

28:12 Because without your son, I can't do anything. You need to contemplate. Don't ever rush when you pray. Because the enemy, one of his attacks, every time he sees a person praying, he makes them rush. If you stand and say, our Father who art in heaven, no, no, no, no, stop. Go back and repeat it. It's okay. Go back, slow it.

28:38 Our Father who art in heaven, no, sorry, Dad. Go back. Our Father who art, no, it's too fast. Our Father who art in heaven. Take your time. Don't ever rush when you pray. Don't ever. Saint Isaac of Nineveh, he was one of our church fathers. In the 7th century, Saint Isaac of Nineveh, he says, make peace with yourself.

29:05 And heaven and earth will make peace with you. If you make peace with your own self, heaven and earth will make peace with you, my beloved. The problem, we are always in chaos because it is not the external issue. It is the internal issue. Internally, we are not at peace. We're blaming everyone under the sun except ourselves. When we find our own peace, trust me, everything else is okay.

29:34 Even if they are against you. When you are at peace from within. people go against you you'll never lose your peace they can't the boat as long as it's above water let the water be wild who cares but if the boat allows the water to come in oh we're in trouble now This is exactly how we are. If we let the waves of the world, the currents of the world, the gossips of the world, and the acts of the world enter our boat, our life will start sinking. Don't let nobody affect you except Jesus Christ.

30:18 So let them say whatever they want to say about you. God bless you. We love you. Thank you so much. Thank you for swearing at me. Isn't that wonderful? Thank you for stabbing me in the back. Oh, that was absolutely gorgeous. When you do that, Christ is going to be with you always. He's going to give you that inner peace no one can give except God. Then you'll understand what peace is. You will stop blaming everyone around you.

30:51 You will never blame nobody. Even if they are hurting you, you will never blame them. You need to have Your inner peace. An inner life healed by God's grace bears peace in every relationship. Wow. An inner life healed by God's grace bears peace in every relationship. Whether it's easy, hard, difficult, annoying, you will bear peace when God is touching you from within.

31:25 Doesn't matter what's happening from without. When you have that inner peace. Outside matters not anymore. It's all good. It's all cool. People love me. People hate me. It's all the same. I'm not here for people. I'm here for the Lord Jesus. If you're at peace with the Lord. Everything is okay. Amen. Now. Practical illustration. Imagine your mind.

31:57 As a window. What does sin do to this window? It covers the glass with dirt. So your mind imagine it. It's like a window. When we sin. That sin covers the glass with dirt. And then what happens after that? Passions keep adding more stains. Because you see when we make a mistake. That mistake will attract more mistakes. It's not going to stop at one. Have a cigarette first time.

32:29 I fell into this trap. I smoked. Next, I started drinking. Next, I started gambling. They're all cousins. They're all cousins. Stop the cigarette. Don't fall into that trap. You will be able to stop other cousins to come along. Say, go to your own cousins. Don't come here. All right. So passions keep adding more stains. But repentance washes the window.

32:58 Repentance washes the entire window. And then prayer keeps the window clean. So what happens? Your mind, imagine it's like a window. You sin, it puts dirt on that window. Passions add more stain. You come and repent and say, Lord, forgive me. Washes it all clean, becomes absolutely crystal clear. then when you start praying, the prayer keeps the window clean.

33:31 The prayer keeps the window clean. And then the Holy Spirit will allow the light of Christ to shine through that window. Wow. The Holy Spirit will enlighten you with the light of Christ. You will never ever say, where is God? How come he's not coming? The problem, my window is not clean. I can't see him. Repent, my child, to see the light of Christ. No one can say the sun is not up when the sun rises. You can't deny the light. The light just shines, can't be hidden. Amen.

34:19 Christ says, I am the light of the world. I am the S-U-N and the S-O-N of the Almighty God. And when I shine, how can you say, where are you, Lord? The problem, you've blocked me because you are living a sinful life, my son, my daughter. Come back to me and say, Lord, I'm sorry, forgive me. When you repent from the heart, when you are genuinely repenting, I will wash you clean with my precious blood that I shed on Calvary for your sake, for your salvation. When that window is clean again, my Holy Spirit that dwells in you is going to shine. My light upon you. You will be glowing like that star in heaven. The world that lives in darkness. Will see the star shining. And they will say. Who is this person? Let's go to him.

35:17 Hopefully he will lead us. To his God. You'll be a reason. Not only to coming back to Jesus. But you will be a reason for bringing others. To the Lord Jesus through you. Amen. So now, my beloved, the goal is not to stop thinking. The goal is to see clearly. Don't we say that sometimes? I don't want to think anymore. Do we say that or not? This thinking is driving me mad. Like I wish somebody takes it away. I can't. I don't want this anymore. Stop it. No, it's not about stopping your thinking. Why? Because you have to think. God created you to think. What God created, nobody can change or stop. So instead of saying, I don't want to think this way. Say, Lord, make me think clearly. When I think clearly, I love it. And

36:20 I will say to the Lord, Lord, keep me this way. I want to be thinking this way all the time. We want to have clarity in our thinking. Don't fight your thoughts. Let Christ cleanse them for you. Okay, when the window is clean, we see God. We see God. We see ourselves and others as He intends. Not as we, as He intends. When the window is clean, you will see God, you will see yourself, and you will see others the way God wants you to see. Not you.

36:59 The way God wants you to see. And how does God see his everyone? He said it. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they're doing. But also, he said, you are the sons of the snake. God will give you wisdom to discern who are your true friends and who are not. Who you can associate with or who you cannot. You will receive the wisdom of God where you will discern everything and everyone that comes your way. So you don't fall for the trap. Ah, this is the best friend. You know, they're so nice to me. Every time I talk to them, they're all happy, bubbly and make me, they make me feel good. It's not about how you feel. So they took me to the wrong places. They taught me the wrong things and

37:50 they destroyed my life. And you're still calling them your best friends. It requires wisdom. It requires clarity. The window must be cleaned. for the Holy Spirit to shine through you, for you to understand where true love is and where fake love is. You need to discern, my son, my daughter, don't mix with the wrong people just because they're nice to you. No, you need to know. You need to know.

38:24 The Lord Jesus as the man, perfect man, when the Pharisees came and spoke to him and they said, And they said some nice things about him. But he looked in their hearts. He said, oh, I see your intention is evil. And he realized why. Because he is all light. His window is ever clear. That's why God shined through that body, that human being, that perfect man. He shined completely.

38:52 He shined perfectly. That's why nobody could lie before Jesus Christ. He knew everything. What was in men. He was in need of no testimony of no one regarding anyone, any human being. Because he knew exactly what was in every person. He was not in need of anyone's testimony. Because God, the Father, testified and said, watch out for this one.

39:19 Be careful of that one. No, this one is alright. This one is very naughty. This one is lying. This one... They can put a great. show very great act on God will teach you my beloved God will teach you if our minds are shaped by what we allow into them then who has been then who has been shaping your mind If we are allowing everything to enter our mind, then who is shaping our mind? Well, no one is born with a fully developed belief system. It is formed gradually through one family, experiences, culture, education, friends, media. The church and the word of God. No one is born with a perfect complete belief system. We build it up as we grow older and older. Mixing with friends. Mixing with the world. Mixing in the social media. At family level.

40:26 At church level. Friends. Wherever. All this builds and shapes and makes our belief system. It's what we allowed. To enter our personal life is what shaped our belief system. But we allowed, my beloved. Look at this. In Proverbs 22, 6, King Solomon says this. Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he grow older, he will never depart from that path. If you plant the seed of love in that child, when they grow older, that love will remain in them. If you put the fear of the Lord in them, no matter how old they are, they will come back to what you planted in them at childhood level. Are you listening? Are you listening,

41:24 my beloveds? What you hear is what you're going to eventually believe in. And what you believe in, you will live. You will do. You believe the lies of the world, you'll end up like them. But you believe the truth, who is Christ Jesus, you'll end up like him. Very simple. What you allow is what's going to shape you. That's going to make you who you're going to be later on in the future. That's why we cannot gamble with this life. I beg you. Don't ever take it easy when it comes to your spiritual salvation. Don't ever take it easy. Don't ever say, oh, well, it's, you know, nothing wrong with it. I'm just going to go and spend a couple of hours out there with my friends.

42:24 Or my cousin called me and he said, you know what? Can we, let's go to the club. I've had a very busy week, a very tired one too. I need to relax a bit. So I'm going to go out to the club for a couple of hours just to, you know, cool down a bit. Well, why don't you cool down by reading the Holy Bibles? Why don't you go down by praying? What is the club going to do for you? My son, my daughter, the Western world has deliberately, deliberately abused freedom. Because freedom is a very sensitive area. So when they give you freedom the wrong way, And they say, you are 18. You can do whatever.

43:15 Go out there. You know, if your parents say something, if the bishop says something, don't listen. You're a man. You're a grown-up woman. You can do whatever you want. The government will support you. That is evil. That is evil. When a country has no God, it's an evil generation. When the church loses Christ, It scatters everywhere. It becomes divided.

43:46 It is in ruin. The only place where you receive the truth is Christ. Nowhere else. Only Christ. Our belief system is not created overnight. Remember this. Every experience leaves an imprint. Every experience. No matter how small. How short lived. It leaves an imprint. I heard something. It left an imprint.

44:11 I saw something, it left an imprint. I walked somewhere, it left an imprint. I did something, it left an imprint. Relationship leaves an imprint. A phone call, they all leave imprints. And the more you do them, the more you become good at them. As they say in that simple saying, you know, practice makes perfect. You know, practice makes perfect.

44:39 Every relationship shapes us. Every question, the question is not, am I being influenced? But rather the question should be, who is influencing me? It's not, am I being influenced? I am already being influenced. But the question we should ask, who is influencing me? Is it mom and dad? Is it the media? Is it my friends? Is it my workplace?

45:05 Is it the church? Is it the good-looking bishop? Who's influencing you? That is the question. Now, let's look at this. There are three stages that shape our character. These after we are born. And I will elaborate before we are born as well. So please pay attention. Three stages that shape our character. Number one, before birth, the child begins receiving love, security and stability even in the womb. There is this medical terminology for the baby being in the mother's womb. They call it pre-embryonic, embryonic, fetal, and then the baby is born. Pre-embryonic, it is the time that the baby is in the mother's womb from the day, from the number zero to two weeks. The first two weeks, that baby from birth, from that baby is in the womb.

46:16 It is the first two weeks, it's called pre-embryonic. Then from three weeks to eight weeks, it's called embryonic. From nine weeks to the birth, fetal, and then once it's nine months, the baby has to come out into this world. Guess what? From the moment of conception, the baby begins to learn From how the mother is behaving throughout the pregnancy period. The baby behaves. If the mother is comfortable.

46:49 If the mother is happy. If the mother is calm. The baby will come out comfortable, happy, calm. They'll say, oh, this baby doesn't give me a hard time. Sleeps all the time, eats, drinks, and make number one and two. And then I change them and they go to sleep. They are beautiful. They don't wake up all the time.

47:09 They are easy, baby. Why? Because you were easy. But if the mother is troubled, if the husband is giving her a hard time, you know, and she's angry and she's upset, crying, Mixed emotions, the baby will come out unsettled. The baby in the mother's womb, that nine months is one of the most crucial times in anyone's life. After the baby is born, the most crucial times are the first three years after birth. The first three years. Let me say this. The first three years of that child are foundational. They are foundational when the baby is in the mother's womb. Nine months, foundational. After birth, the first three years. Whatever, whatever you teach that child in the first three years, they will never forget it till they

48:13 go to the grave. This is a promise from God. May God bless and heal every person who has dementia. I pray for that. But you go to somebody who has dementia. They will not remember what they ate, what they said five minutes ago. But they will remember their childhood as if it was five minutes ago. They'll never forget the childhood. They forget five minutes ago, but 90 years back, they will tell you what they did. Oh, my dad was this and my mom was this. Why?

48:50 Because God said in Proverbs... You teach a child, you raise the child in this way, when they grow older, they will never walk away from it. It's a promise from God. It's a promise from God. So those who are newly married, about to have a baby, please, I beg you, be good to your baby in your in your womb my daughter and after the baby is born the first three years mom and dad you must work extremely hard on that baby in those first three years very hard very hard the next influential time in any one of us life is between 13 and 18 between the ages 13 and 18, after 18, the person is now mature. When we reach 18 and we start passing it, we start selecting certain things that we've learned all along

49:57 from the mother's womb till the age of 18. What I saw what I heard, what I learned from mom and dad, from friends, from TV, from TikTok, WigWalk, NickNock, whatever I've learned in those 18 years. After the 18, I start selecting and choosing what kind of a person I want to be. If my dad was lying all the time I selected to be a liar if my dad was loving all the time I chose to be like my dad if my mom was nice I chose to be nice because I learned from my mom every day I saw her before my eyes being nice to dad to other people I learned that I need to be nice to my parents and other people if the parents fight the child will run away. And you'll see him bashing people everywhere. Our belief system is not born yesterday.

51:01 It takes ease for us to build that belief system. Whatever that belief is, whether it be in God, in yourself, in people, In the world. Or to some in nothing. Atheist. That belief system started from the mother's womb. The brain is powerful. The mind is powerful. But you need to feed it the right food. In order to grow straight.

51:38 Otherwise it will grow crooked. Otherwise it will grow crooked. So the first nine months in the mother's womb, foundational. The first three years after birth, foundational. And 13 to 18, so sensitive time. Because I am growing, I'm maturing now. I'll have mood swings all the time between 13 and 18. You know, they throw in a tantrum, they want a bicycle.

52:03 And then the parents go and buy a bicycle. After five days, they throw the bicycle, I want a motorbike. After a couple of weeks, I don't like the motorbike. I want a car. I want this. I don't know. And then after getting everything, you ask them, what do you want? They'll say, I don't know. Because I'm changing all the time. That's why I don't know. But after 18, oh, I know what to do. I'll be this. I'll be that. Now, these stages do not determine our destiny, however. What do they do? They simply explain why people often struggle in certain areas. That's why when you see people struggling in certain areas, remember that struggle began in the mother's womb.

52:51 It didn't happen when I was 18, when I was 20. I don't know what happened to my son. I don't know what happened to my daughter. I don't know why they are this. No, you need to know why they are this way. Because you didn't spend enough time as mom and dad on your child. That's why they are who they are now. Did you ask them when they went to school and came back from school? Did you sit with them and say, show me your homework. Show me your exam paper. What happened today, my son, my daughter at school? Who did you speak with? What happened?

53:22 Explain to me everything. Your mom is your friend. Your dad is your friend. Trust me. You need to trust me with everything. Tell me, my son, whatever you did, tell me. Even if you lied. Even if you killed. Even if you did something wrong. You took drugs at school. You smoked marijuana. Whatever. I want to know I'm your friend.

53:44 I am not here to judge. I am here to help you my son. To help you my daughter. You spend time with your child. They'll grow fine. But you want to go out and throw your child out. The biggest mistake is child care centers. Biggest. The government subsidized these child care centers with enormous money. They could have paid the mother to stay at home. Because nobody knows how to raise the child more than the one who gave birth to that child. You put your child in the hands of a teacher. What teacher? She's not the mom.

54:34 The child is growing in a child care center. There is no care. The only true care is the bosom of the mother who carried that child for nine months. This is God's law. The mom looks after the home. The father provides for the home. In those early years, the child is in need of mom's emotions and feelings.

55:13 That's why same-sex ain't gonna work, baby. Because the man is driven, influenced by logic. The woman is influenced by feelings and emotions. Two different systems created by God, embedded in the human being by God. How dare us we try to change it. That's why societies are a failure because we failed God. That's why our children are in turmoil, lost, confused, don't know their right hand from their left hand because they are not raised in a balanced environment. Parents are vital, foundational.

56:01 Dad is logic, mom is feelings. So if they're two females, they just give feelings, no logic. The child is scarred psychologically. And if they're two males, they are logics, not feelings. The child is scarred psychologically. The balance is logic along with feelings and emotions put together. That is a balanced lifestyle.

56:27 Christ can heal every stage of life. It's never too late. We thank God for Jesus Christ. No matter how ruined your life has been, my son, my daughter, no matter how many mistakes we've made, no matter how many sins we have committed, no matter how deep we've gone, how far we've strayed off the way, come back. The Lord can wipe every memory, every wound, every damage caused by Through our own ignorances, influences of other people around us, influences of Satan, influences of the evil world. Come back to Jesus Christ. He will clean you right out and heal every wound. that has been afflicted upon you, whether through you, through others, through Satan, through the entire world.

57:20 Jesus is more than capable of making you wholesome, perfect once again. Just come back and give him all of you. Give him all of you. Give him all of you. Amen. Parents are our first teachers. Um, children learn long before they understand so they learn before they understand that's the way the child because they are not mature enough to understand but they will learn everything they see they hear without understanding it's only natural for a child to do that they will imitate they will observe and they will absorb ephesians 6 4 saint paul says bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Teach them the way of the Lord Jesus from childhood. They

58:23 will never stray away from that way even when they are a hundred year old. You know, parents work very hard on their children. They raise them in the love and the fear of the Lord. And they grow older and they start mixing with people. And they start walking their way, distancing themselves from the Lord Jesus. They veer off.

58:44 Parents frantically seek their comeback without prevail. That child is now 80 year old. The Lord Jesus will bring them back. Because the Lord never forgets what the parents did for that child when they were young. He will bring you back. And there is no two ways about that one, my dear friend. The Lord is faithful. the Lord is faithful parents are the first teachers mom and dad it's marriage is not fun marriage is a responsibility marriage is the most responsible thing ever in existence It is not a joke.

59:31 It's not, oh, I love him, she loves me, and we're going to go to Hawaii for honeymoon. No. It is the biggest responsibility any couple can take on their shoulders. Biggest responsibility. Because now you are entrusted with a life and that life's destiny. You're entrusted with it. What are you going to do with that child? Are you going to give him to Satan or to God? To Jesus Christ.

1:00:01 It's not easy. So when parents want to take it easy and hoping for the best, it's not going to work. Mom and dad must work very hard, tirelessly in raising their children in the love of God. You bring that baby in the pram, let them cry, let them whinge, let them, and they don't let you sit in the church.

1:00:25 But you bring them to church, even if they don't let you sit in the church for one minute, and you're running crazy around, you know, the church with that baby trying to calm them down. Doesn't matter, bring that baby to the church all the time, regardless what happens, because that baby knows more than me and you. He knows mom and dad took me to the church and I was naughty. When I grew older, I thanked them for taking me to church because they showed me the way to the Lord. I was saved when I grew older.

1:00:57 I was saved. So bring that baby. Don't say, no, it's too early or it's too cold. Don't. No, no, no, no, not this Sunday. It's too cold. I'm not taking my baby out. Excuse me. Are you the protector of your baby or is it the Lord? Who gave you the baby? Who made you? Give everything to the Lord. Amen. Parents do not only teach with words. They teach by example.

1:01:36 Children notice. How we speak, how we pray, how we forgive, how we treat others. Long before children know theology, they know whether Christ lives in our home. Because what they see is what they learn. And they'll know if mom and dad are good. They love the Lord. They'll know that. Is mom and dad praying together? Is mom and dad mentioning Jesus Christ when they talk to their babies? Is mom and dad putting that baby to sleep with a passage from the Holy Bible? A bedtime story now. My baby.

1:02:17 Come on, my darling. Aren't you gorgeous? You look exactly like your mom. That's why you're beautiful. Your dad is ugly. Don't worry, my child. And then we put him to sleep and we read the passage from the Bible. And mom and dad must be present. Must be present when they put that baby to sleep. Because the baby is learning. Wow. Wow.

1:02:38 That's why the family is beautiful because God is in it. The baby is learning to love God through mom and dad. And when they grow older, they'll interpret it by start praying, reading the Holy Bible, going to church and listening to this good looking bishop. They will do it naturally. Because you taught them from childhood. I'm not good with PowerPoints.

1:03:16 I was supposed to finish this. We'll talk about friends later on. Actually, we'll leave that. I think we'll stop at mom and dad. We'll stop at parents. That's it. Um. Just to recap, in a nutshell, St. Paul says that faith cometh through hearing. Faith comes through hearing. That's the only way. Faith does not come through seeing. And I'll tell you why. Maybe a miracle happened somewhere. And so many miracles have happened throughout the world. And people in the thousands and in the millions went and saw the miracle with their own naked eye. They saw maybe the Holy Mother appearing. They saw an angel appearing. They saw signs appearing everywhere in churches, on icons, in places throughout the world. In El Zaytun, a place in Egypt, in 1968,

1:04:32 the Holy Mother appeared For two years, literally, she transfigured on top of the dome of the church. Millions upon millions of people saw her with their own eyes. And endless accounts of healings, Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, you name it. You name it. In fact, the first person that saw the Holy Mother and then started spreading the word was a Muslim guy who had an illness. The moment he saw her, he said, women, be careful. What are you doing on top of that dome? You're going to fall.

1:05:14 And then he looked deeper. He realized this is not any ordinary woman. Something wrong here. Not right. And then he realizes it's the Holy Mother. Afterward, he came back to his senses because that vision... Blew his mind away. He realized his illness was gone. A Muslim guy. Then millions came. For two years. What happened after that? I pray they haven't forgotten. So by seeing, faith doesn't come.

1:05:54 And if it comes, it comes only for a short time. And it will fade away when the miracle goes. But the true faith that remains, which the Lord made an emphasis on, is you need to believe through hearing, not seeing. I am the Word. And the Word cannot be seen first. It can only be heard. That's the nature of the Word.

1:06:20 It can only be heard first. It cannot be seen. I'm saying words now. Can you see the words? No, but you can hear the words. Christ is the Logos. He is the Word. who is God himself. So the word naturally can only be heard. The Lord says, when you hear me, if you believe, then I will transfigure myself and reveal myself to you. You don't look for me, I look for you. I'll reveal myself to you, but you need to believe. So my beloved, what you hear is what you're going to believe in. Let me say this.

1:06:53 I can't make enough emphasis on it. What you let in your ear is what's going to shape your belief system. What you hear through your friends, parents, social media platforms, colleagues, you name it. Relationships you enter. Whatever comes through this is what's going to shape your belief system. The Lord says, The problem is out there everything is temporal. Doesn't last forever.

1:07:30 I'm the only one that lasts forever. That's why everything that is temporal is a lie. But what lasts forever is the truth. Let my word enter through your ear. Open your ear. Open your mind, open your heart to my word, to my voice. It's not the bishop talking to you now. It is Jesus Christ of Nazareth through this useless, hopeless vessel. It is the Lord who scared the bishop. He could have gone two years ago. By the way, I was dying. Maybe I've said this. I was literally dying I tasted almost death. It was so peaceful.

1:08:25 Maybe I was going to a good place. I hope. I pray. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. I'm not worthy, but you make us worthy through your grace and mercy. Everything came, started closing. I was fully alert. I was fully alert. I saw the people all yelling, screaming, crying, doing this, that, and The blood was gushing out of me.

1:08:48 It was beautiful. And then all of a sudden, like a circle closing in, closing in. It was like that. You know, sometimes when you watch a movie and then it closes in a circle. Exactly like that. everything started going dark dark dark dark dark and then as the circle became very small every noise every cry everything gone I was in a place extremely calm extremely quiet not a whisper I lost contact with the external world. I lost contact. I just remember, I said to the person who was standing next to me, I said, I'm leaving.

1:09:31 Because I knew I was leaving. It wasn't like I'm going to be unconscious. No, I knew I was departing. It just closed, closed, closed, closed, closed. It became a tiny circle. In a split second, bang, everything came back to life. But it was so peaceful. But it was very weird. Can't talk much. It's alright. See the Lord has to give a permission. Let me tell you this.

1:10:09 Life is so precious. It's so priceless because it's very expensive. We cannot afford to gamble with it. We cannot. This life is made possible by the blood of the Lamb of God. He paid the ultimate price to give us eternal life. We can't play with this. The cross is not taken lightly. Never do that, my child. The blood of Christ, you cannot gamble with it. You need to be serious. So my son, my daughter, I beg you, don't mix with the wrong group of people. Don't go to the wrong places. Don't let yourself to be in an environment where it's going to affect you in a negative way. Then you will have no control over yourself.

1:11:08 And before you know it, you've slipped and done the wrong thing. Don't say I'm going to go to a dark alley and I'm not going to do anything wrong. Don't say I'm going to sit in a car and drive around and I'm not going to do anything wrong. Don't say I'm going to go to the club and I'm not going to do anything wrong. You put yourself in a dark environment, you will end up doing dark things.

1:11:32 Come to the light, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, where you are constantly reminded of his holy presence, of his word. coming through this E. Faith cometh through hearing. Let Christ transform you. Renew your mind. Let Him reshape you to take all those bad substances that got attached to you because of our ignorances. Let Him cleanse you and make that gold nugget Once again, pure. Let Him purify you.

1:12:17 Mix with people that love the Lord. Come to church. Fridays, Sundays. Read the Holy Bible. Start praying. Start learning how Christ thinks and talks. Then you'll start imitating Him. What comes in is what's going to shape the heart. Let the Lord come in to shape your heart so that he can shine through you to the rest of the world.

1:12:55 Love the Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and 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 me. whether it's doubt, faith, whether it's despair, hope, whether it's darkness, light, whether it's sadness, joy. O 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.

1:13:28 It is in 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. Amen. God bless.