The Three Stones

And one work, one work. There we go. All right.

So, um, this evening, uh, we are coming back to the book of revelation, which we had a small break and recent times I was looking, you know, time really flies. And the last time we spoke about the book of revelation was, I believe on the, um, 22nd of Feb somewhere along those dates. So it's been just over a month since we have actually touched base on the book of revelation.

So today we're coming back to it and we are going to chapter 21 and we'll be reading from verses 18 to 20 inclusive. So revelation chapter 21 and verses 18 to 20 and let's see what the Holy Spirit is trying to reveal to us this very day by the grace of the Lord and the love of God, the father. Amen.

Then the construction of its wall was of Jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third Calcedony, the fourth Emerald, the fifth Sardonyx, the sixth Sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth barrel, the ninth topaz, the 10th chrysoprase, the 11th just Jason and the 12 amethyst and all glory be to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ forever and ever.

Amen. Um, book of revelation. The last time we stopped just a very small intro so we can follow through with our topic for this blessed evening.

The last time we spoke was about the wall of the city that had 12 foundations and we said that 12 foundations are the 12 apostles of the lamb. These 12 apostles are of the lamb. Why? Because the lamb gets slain and IE killed and the biblical terminology self denial.

In other words, we are coming to serving the Lord in absolute self denial without humility. There is no serving of the Lord Jesus and the city laid out as a square, meaning the length, the width and the heights are all equal length representing the patience of God with love, height, glory. Now in heaven, the length, the width and the height are all equal in measurements.

Whereas on earth, everything is unequal. Then that is why we have a lot of quarreling arguments, frictions, envy, jealousy because the love is not equal. The patience is not equal.

The tolerance is not equal and so on and so on and so on. But in heaven, everything is as equal to the next. And we said also the angel measured the city with a golden reed using furlongs and was about 12,000 furlongs, which a furlong equates to 200 meters, meaning the city was 2,400 kilometers even in the literal sense.

I don't think there is any city on the face of this earth, this big, this wide and this high, 2,400 kilometers, meaning the Lord said it in my father's house, the rooms are plentiful. There's a place for every human being. It will never be running out of vacancies there.

There will always be a room for every single human being. He measured the walls using cubits and was 144 cubits. The Holy City is far by using the furlong measurement.

It's 2,400 kilometers. It is far for those who live distant from God and it is in cubits, meaning 144 only compared to 2,400 kilometers. 144 meaning it's close.

This is the Holy City, Jerusalem. It is close to those who are close to God. It is far if you live far away from him and it is close within breach if you are living under his jurisdiction and in total obedience.

Now we come to verse 18 which is today's topic. The construction of its wall was of jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass. Wall of jasper.

This is a precious stone, one of the precious stones, and jasper is a, is a clear color, is a transparent color, what we refer to as crystal. Jasper is that crystal or crystal. It's a clear color, meaning everything in heaven is pure.

It is transparent. Everything is in clarity. There is nothing ambiguous, nothing absecure.

Everything in heaven is pure, holy, transparent, and absolute clear. The city was pure gold like clear glass. The city itself was pure gold like clear glass.

We take it that even the floor of the city, the heavenly Jerusalem, even the floor of the city is pure gold. What do we learn from this? The very gold on earth which we fought for and made it our own glory, we will step on it in heaven. So all the pleasures and all that treasures and all the glories of this world will be under your foot in heaven.

In other words, do not let anything of this world control you and make you a slave to it. Don't let anything worldly to control you and enslave you. Don't ever do that.

The only treasure and glory on earth needs to be Christ. If you are truly seeking him, he is your gold. It is the, he is the one that you need to acquire and possess because the treasure and pleasure of this world will end up being under your foot in the next life because Christ is the only treasure you need to possess for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.

Mark eight 36 the Lord said it. What will you gain if you gain the whole world but at the end you lose yourself, you've gained nothing, you've lost everything, lose everything and gain Christ who is the everlasting treasure, the everlasting gold and the everlasting glory in heaven. He is your true portion here and in heaven, my beloved here and in heaven.

Verse 19 the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third Chalcedony, the fourth Emerald, the fifth Sardonyx, the sixth Sardius, the seventh Chrysolite, the eighth Beryl, the ninth Topaz, the 10th Chrysoprase, the 11th Jacinth and the 12th Amethyst. I was a handful when we read the holy Bible and especially the book of revelation where it is a symbolic prophetic book.

We need to understand in a, in that kind of an approach in a symbolic prophetic book, we need to understand what the holy Bible is trying to reveal and teach us today and every day of our life. Um, um, we find all these stones, 12 different colored precious stones mentioned in revelation 21 verse 19. We find them in the book of Exodus mentioned in chapter 28 and 39.

Moses, the prophet mentions the exact stones in Exodus 28 and 29 and 39 and here Moses is talking about when he mentions it in Exodus, he's talking about the dress or the outfit of the high priest. The high priest used to wear a plate here on his breast and on that plate, there were 12 stones and different colored stones and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel were written on these stones. Each stone had one name written on it.

Example, Simon, Ruben, Levi, et cetera, et cetera. All the 12 tribes of Israel, each stone representing one tribe of the 12 and those 12 tribes were the children or the sons of our father Jacob who were later called Israel and this is the church of Christ and the old Testament. Now between Moses, the prophet and John, the beloved, the book of revelation writer, there is a history of 1600 years approximately, 1600 years approximately.

Yet both of them are talking about exactly the same thing. Isn't that incredible? 1600 years and they both write exactly about the same thing. We will look at what are these colors first and then also the order.

Why are they placed in this particular order? We'll look at the colors of their stones and why are they placed in this particular order? Why is the reason now let's come to verse 19 again. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, a Chrysoprase, Jasenth, and Amethyst.

Jasper, it is a transparent color where we call or refer to as the crystal clear glass. That is Jasper. Sapphire is a blue color that reflects heaven.

Chalcedony, white color, Emerald, red color, Sardonyx, it is reddish brown stone with white or black bands symbolizes responsibility. Sardius, Maroon or dark red, Chrysolite, light green color, Beryl, it is red, but this redness is the color of blood when it dies. It is the color of blood when it actually dies.

Topaz, yellow, Chrysoprase, green, Jasenth, purple, Amethyst, stone with all the rainbow colors in it. Very good. Who's who just memorized what we just said? Wonderful.

Now, we will put these stones in this particular way to make the picture much clearer to everyone. Why in this particular order? Now for the next hour or so, we'll talk about the first three stones only. We won't be able to go through the 12 stones today.

Im-pa-so-ble. All right. So we'll come to the first three stones.

That is Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony. Jasper, Sapphire and Chalcedony. Who are they? What are these three colors? Who are they talking about? Not what are they talking about? Who are they talking about? They're talking about the 12, the first three apostles of the 12.

So the 12 stones are the 12 apostles of Christ. And why are we saying that? Because in Revelation, the same chapter 21 verse 14, it says that the foundations had the 12 names of the apostles of the lamb. Therefore we re we know from verse 14 that the foundations are the 12 apostles.

Therefore these 12 precious stones, each one representing one apostle out of the entire 12. So, and then it goes on and says, and the 12 gates are the 12 tribes of Israel. So the foundation of the holy city Jerusalem are the 12 apostles and the 12 gates of the holy city Jerusalem are the 12 tribes of Israel.

12 tribes of Israel, old testament church, 12 apostles, new testament church. Christ is the good shepherd to the two branches, to his beloved church, old and new testament. And when John, the beloved, so in Revelation chapter four, the, the, the Lord sitting on the throne, the lamb of God sitting on the throne, surrounded by 24 elders.

The 24 elders are 12 of the old testament and 12 of the new testament. Coming together in the end and uniting around Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the two becoming one in heaven at the very end. So now each apostle is referred or symbolized by one of the colors.

So who is Jasper? Jasper is that transparent crystal kind of a color that is Simon Peter and who is Sapphire? The blue color James and who is, um, Calcidone white color John, the beloved, the writer of the book of Revelation. So the first three stones, Jasper, Sapphire and Calcidone are Simon, Peter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Now Jasper is crystal and Jasper here represents Simon.

Now the name Simon, what does it mean? In Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac is shum on shum on shum on means listen to him. So the word, the name Simon means literally in the original text or in the original language, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac means listen to him or to him. You shall listen.

I can put it in this way as well. To him, you shall listen. Now the one whom I should listen to, who is he? Christ.

So who am I listening to? Jasper. So what is Jasper? Crystal. What is crystal? See through, transparent, clear, meaning just by he represents the one that is never changing.

It is always crystal clear. It is always transparent and will always be the same. Never changing.

In other words, never changing means the inside is exactly like the outside. It is clear. It is transparent.

The inside is exactly like the outside. What's in his heart is exactly what's on his lips. It's transparent.

This Jasper is really the Lord Jesus. Now Jasper represents the apostle Simon, but the name Simon points to the Lord Jesus to whom you shall listen because God, the father at the river Jordan, what did he say about his beloved son? He said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased to him. You shall listen.

You shall listen to him, Simon. So who is the true Simon? Jesus Christ of Nazareth to him. All of us should listen.

So who is Jesus Christ? Jasper. So what is the nature of Jesus Christ? Crystal clear, transparent inside and out the same, the never changing God, the never changing savior. And the word Jesus again in Hebrew Yeshua means Yahweh, the savior, God, the savior.

That is the meaning of the actual name Yeshua or in Aramaic, Yeshua, Jesus is source in Greek meaning Yahweh, the savior. Jesus came being the Jasper fully transparent, fully clear, fully never changing. Jesus came Jasper Simon to whom you shall listen.

His word is forever unchanging. That's what Jasper means. His word is everlasting.

So whatever he says, he will never go back on his word. His word will never ever change no matter what happens. He says is once and it is once forever, never changing.

So he is the Jasper meaning his word is the never changing. The Lord says, I came to say this, I came to save you from sin and I have no hidden agendas because I am Jasper. I am crystal clear.

I came with one intention and that is to deliver you to save you from that sinful status once and for all. This was my only soul intention to come to give you salvation. In other words, I Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I am absolutely genuine inside and out, head to toe all over.

I am absolutely genuine to whom you shall listen. Jasper Simon, when you listen to the Lord Jesus, he will take you to the second stone. And what is the second stone? Sapphire.

And what is the color of Sapphire? Blue, which represents heaven. That will take you. When you listen to the Lord, he will take you to the second stone, the second foundation, which is Sapphire blue representing heaven.

In other words, the one who came whose word is never changing is heavenly. He came from heaven. Sapphire, James and the word James means to follow in the track of someone else, to follow in the footsteps of another.

That is the meaning of the name. James the proper pronunciation, nothing to do with James. Jacob is a little bit more close, but means to follow in the footsteps of another person, to follow someone else.

So Sapphire, which is the color blue represents James, which is to follow in the footsteps of another. Now who's that person that I need to follow in his footsteps? The one that I need to listen to who is Jasper, Jesus Christ, Simon, to him you shall listen. When you listen to Jesus Christ, what do you need to do afterwards? You need to follow in his footprints.

You cannot listen to him and stand silent and stand foot put in there, not moving. The moment you listen, you believe in him, you accept his word. You need to take the next step.

Follow me. The Lord says, you've heard my voice, you've heard my word being delivered to you. If you believed in what you heard, then you need now to take the next step by following me.

And that is Sapphire and that is James to follow in the footsteps of someone else. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. As he says about himself in John chapter 10, I am the good shepherd, not a good shepherd, the meaning there is no one else but me.

There are many shepherds. None of them are good because good implies to God. I'm the only good shepherd.

I am the only God that came and became human to shepherd you to green pastures and still waters. So Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. When I first listened to him, then I followed and walked in his footsteps.

When I listened, I am Simon Jasper, then became James following him. And the Lord says, my sheep hear my voice and follow me. So hear my voice, Jasper Simon, follow me, Sapphire James.

See the foundations of the city. You want to be the foundation to the city, the holy city, Jerusalem. You need number one to listen to Jesus Christ and number two to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he guides and leads your steps.

Otherwise you cannot end up in the heavenly Jerusalem without listening to him and following in his footsteps. Now when I heard his voice, Jasper Simon and I listened to him, I followed him in Sapphire James. I followed in his footsteps.

Now Sapphire is the color blue and blue. He represents heaven, the color of heaven. Now when I'm following in the footsteps of the good shepherd, where are his footsteps? Are they on earth or are they in heaven? Where did he come from? He came from heaven.

So when you're following the Lord Jesus, his footsteps are heavenly, not earthly, are heavenly, not earthly. Meaning I am living on earth, but following someone in heaven. I am living on earth, but following someone in heaven.

Why I need to follow him in heaven because it is the only way to salvation. It is the only way to salvation. When I followed in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, my life became heavenly because his footsteps are heavenly.

He came from heaven and footsteps means the way I live, the way I talk, the way I walk, the way I dress, the way I fix myself. It needs to be all heavenly reflective. I can't say I'm a Christian and live for the world.

I can't say I believe in Jesus Christ and I'm imitating the world and the people. The world, it does not work. You're either heaven or earth.

You're either with Christ or with the world, but the world is ruled by Satan. So you need to decide my child and the Lord is saying the moment you hear my voice and you follow me, remember I am heavenly. My footsteps are heavenly.

You better live heaven. Don't cling to this world and it's filth and still say I'm a Christian. What kind of a Christian are you? There is a contradiction and a very big one.

Also when I become heavenly because I followed the footsteps of the one who is heavenly, I should no longer fight over any earthly matters anymore. I should no longer fight over any earthly matters because now I'm following the heavenly Christ. I look at us in the church, certain, some leaders still fight for the throne.

Well, they are not walking in the footprints of the good shepherd and the heavenly footprints. They're still walking on earthly prints fighting over thrones. My goodness.

At home we're fighting over material things. This is my room. This is my house.

This is my car. This is my Chanel baby. What are you fighting? This is my money.

This is my property. But the truth of the matter, nothing is mine. The moment the spirit leaves the body, you tell me what is yours and what is mine? Nothing.

It's just a delusion and Satan is very good when it comes to delusional things. He wants you to live in a fantasy, chasing the mirage thinking it's water. Stop, give it up.

There is no water. Stop chasing something that does not exist. You need to face the truth, the never changing Jasper, the crystal clear.

He is all clarity. There is no confusion about the Lord. He is the light of the world.

When you walk in the light, everything is of clarity and transparency, but you go to the world, everything is deceptive. Everything is falsified, twisted, and we still are chasing the world. Incredible.

Incredible. Stop it. My child, don't go to the club.

Come to the church. Don't swear praise. Don't lie.

Speak the truth. Don't walk in darkness. Walk in the light.

Don't be a slave. Be the son of God free because when the son of God sets you free, truly you are free and that son of God is Jasper clear crystal. He is Sapphire.

He is heavenly. Everything about him is heavenly. Nothing earthly.

Why are you seeking the Lord in the alleys of this world? Why are you seeking the Lord in Hollywood? Why are you seeking the Lord in star city casino? Why are you seeking the Lord in that powder, white powder, alcoholism, gambling men, women, women, and men don't seek the Lord in a place where God disapproves of. You need to walk heavenly like your Christ who came from heaven. What heavenly? I don't need the club.

I don't need the pub. I don't need that anymore. The Lord set me free.

I am not a slave to nothing that is of this world. Nothing. Nothing.

My beloved, nothing. Now, Jesus Christ who came is number one, Jasper crystal clear. There is no hypocrisy about the Lord.

No hypocrisy is found in him says, I came to save you and you better believe in that because I am crystal clear. What I say is what I mean. What's in my heart is on my lips inside and out is the same.

I don't say one thing and do something else. People say things they don't mean. So many times we say to people, we love you yet we don't.

I trust you yet we don't. I believe in you yet we don't. But Jesus, when he speaks, he is the truth.

He does not falsify things. There is no hypocrisy about him. When he says, I love you, you better believe in everything he says.

Because what he says is who he is. Now that is called character. When he, when he, when he hears somebody say this person is of a good character, meaning behind your back in front of you is the same person.

So when he says, I love you in your face, rest assured he will say it behind your back. Now this is a person you need to trust and it's only Jesus Christ, my beloved. There's no one else but him, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Amen. Come on. Amen.

I can't hear you. Ah, come on, shout for the Lord, baby. Now the Lord says, I came to save you.

However, in order for me to save you, you need to build yourself on the second foundation, sapphire blue. I am heavenly. Uh, do not search for me on earth.

Lift up your heart. And live me in heaven. Live Christ in heaven.

When I listened to him, that is Jasper Simon followed him, Sapphire James. And by listening and following him, it led me to the third stone, precious stone, Chalcedony. And that is the color white.

And this is John, the beloved represents John, the beloved, the color white, John, the beloved. Now, the name John, like we said, Simon means listen to him. James follow him.

John means God, the compassionate. Yo Hanan or Yo Hanan, depending on the dialect. Yo Hanan or Yo Hanan means Yod, which is an equivalent of an E letter in English.

It stands for Yahweh. Yahweh. So Yo Hanan is a compounded word.

Yahweh, God, the compassionate. Hanan or Hanan or even in Arabic, Hanan or Hanan means compassionate. So Yo Hanan means God or Yahweh, the compassionate.

And that Chalcedony, which is the white color and the white color represents here, purity. We put the first three stones together. Jasper, Simon, listen to him.

Sapphire, James, follow him. Follow who? The one who came from heaven because Sapphire is blue. The one who came from heaven to do what? To save you by cleansing you from your sin, to give you with his compassion, which is the third stone, Chalcedony, white, John, to give you with his compassion, John, Chalcedony, purity, because Chalcedony is the color white purity.

Sapphire, listen to me. No, sorry. Jasper, listen to me.

Sapphire, follow me. And when you follow me, I am heavenly. And when you follow me, the one who came from heaven came to give you salvation by his compassion, which is John to give you Chalcedony, the color white purity.

When he cleanses you from your sins, there is nothing left in you but white because sin is darkness and holiness is white purity. He came to purify you, my beloved child. You probably, when you read, when you read the new Testament, you will see these three names were always together with the Lord more than any other names.

When the Lord Jesus wanted to go to on top of Mount Tabor, which we call the Feast of Transfiguration, where the Lord transfigured and then Elijah, Moses and Elijah appeared. Who did he take with him? Simon, Peter, James and John, sons of Zebedee. When he entered to raise the daughter of Jairus, he took the three disciples with him.

The three disciples accompanied the Lord in specific times and specific locations. Why? Because these are the three first stones foundational for your spiritual life and for your nourishment in the spiritual sense. If you truly wish to be a follower of Christ, you need to start with these three names.

Simon, Peter, James and John. Simon, Peter, two names. The first name given to him by his earthly parents.

The second one given to him by his heavenly father, Simon given by earthly parents, Peter given by God himself. When the Lord addressed the 12 apostles and he said, what do people say about me? In Matthew 16, you read from 16 to 18. What do people say about me? Some disciples said, Oh, some of them, they say, Oh, you're John the Baptist.

Come back from the dead. You're Elijah, the prophet. You're this.

He said, what about you? What do you say about me? I, the son of man, Simon jumped and said, you are Jesus Christ, son of the living God. The Lord replied and said, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my father who art in heaven. Therefore, from this moment onward, your name will no longer be Simon, but Peter.

Who called Simon Peter, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God revealed in the flesh. This name was given to him by God. Simon, earthly, Peter, heavenly, Simon, temporal, Peter, eternal, Simon, weak, Peter, strong, Simon, dying, Peter, living.

And in the human's ear, there are certain chords. These chords, they are so, so, so fragile because of their fragility. When the sound wave hits them, they vibrate.

And this is the way we're able to hear. This is the way we're able to hear because God created them so fragile. When the, when the sound wave hits them, they started vibrating and through vibration, we hear the surrounding because they are extremely, extremely fragile.

Anything and everything can break them. God, out of his infinite wisdom, shielded them with this kind of a cocoon, kind of a cover. That cover, it is so, so, so strong.

Even if you bring the most powerful drill, you can't drill through it. The cover is called Peter Stone. God covered the weak in that solid cover to protect the fragility of the chords, lest they break and you lose your hearing.

God came to every single one. He said, all of you at the start were Simon. You are the weak one.

You are the temporal one. You are born from earth. You need to be saved.

The savior has come. When you have listened to my voice and adhere to my voice, I put a covering on you and from Simon the weak, I made you Peter the strong. When you are covered in Christ, nothing breaks you.

Even if the whole world goes against you by the grace of the Lord Jesus, I am against the world. Saint Athanasios said it. If the whole world goes against me, by the grace of the Lord, I am against the world.

Now I am born in Christ. I am covered and shielded by Christ where no one can penetrate me. No Satan, no snares of Satan.

Nobody can break me when Christ becomes my shield and my cover. How did Christ become my shield and cover? When I heard his voice, I became James and followed in his footsteps. I followed the Lord Jesus.

When you follow the Lord Jesus, no one can take you away from the Lord. No one. You're still that weak person.

But now I'm born in Christ. I'm under his protection. Now I'm under his guidance.

No one can penetrate. Simon, who denied the Lord Jesus and he swore. Yet in Matthew 16, he said, you are Jesus Christ, son of the living God.

In that courtyard of the high priest. Before not a Roman soldier, before a woman, he swore, I do not know who this man is. Simon denied Christ both his humanity and divinity.

He denied the Lord in both of his humanity and divinity. Simon's sin was greater than Judas Iscariot. If you did not know this fact.

Judas, my beloved, never denied Christ being the Messiah. Never. All he said, get him.

Even though it's not our topic, but I'll elaborate a little bit since I've mentioned it. The problem with Judas was one thing. He was waiting for this Messiah to come and establish a kingdom on Earth where the Messiah becomes the king.

And Judas and the likes of Judas become ministers and princes in those in that kingdom. So he was waiting for an earthly kingdom, not realizing Christ came not to give us an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly one that lasts forever. So when Judas realized that the Messiah does not wish to show power.

Why? Because it is written in prophecies and the Old Testament, the Messiah never dies. Judas realized this fact, this truth, the Messiah never dies. And he's watching the Lord to see when is he going to wipe Caesar? We have been enslaved by the Roman Empire for over 200 years.

When is he going to wipe the Roman Empire? They have enslaved us, Messiah. We know. Now I believe you're here now.

So you need to wipe Caesar and his empire. The Lord came and said, if somebody hits you on this cheek, give him the other. If somebody drags you by force a mile, go another mile with them.

He said, no, no, no, it's not working with this Messiah. The only way he will be forced to show power and wipe the enemies when I put him and to make him face death. When he faces death, he will have no choice but to wipe the enemies because it is written the Messiah cannot die.

That's why he hand him over. He wasn't handing him over because of what? No, no, no. He wanted Christ to face death in order to be forced to show his powers.

When he saw the Messiah kept quiet. He took the money back and gave it to the to the Jewish, to the temple priests. And he said, I cannot take the money because I've just handed over an innocent blood.

He didn't know, poor Judas, that the Messiah truly never dies, but he had to taste death in the flesh because he was carrying our sins, but he had to rise from the dead because he never sinned himself. The reason why he died in the flesh, because he was carrying our sins. But the reason why he had to come out of the tomb or the grave, because he never sinned and death cannot conquer sinless people.

So the Messiah lives forever. But Simon said, woman, I swear to you, I don't know who this man is. Wow.

He denied his divinity and humanity. Incredible. After resurrection, the Lord called Simon to him.

The first out of the apostles, 12 apostles, he called Simon. Simon is, I'm just imagining this, what was going through his head when the Lord Jesus said, Simon, come over here. Oh, my goodness.

Probably he was shaking inside and out, so scared. What is the Lord going to do to me? He's going to wipe me. He's going to decimate me.

He's going to put me to shame in front of everyone. To a shocking surprise, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? What? Sorry, do you love me? Oh, Lord, you know that I love you. What did you notice here? In the last supper prior to the crucifixion, the Lord is sitting with his 12 apostles.

He said, it is written about me, I, Jesus Christ. What is written? Meaning prophecy. What is prophecy? The word of God.

What does that mean? God never lies. Let everyone be a liar, but God be the truthful one. So it is written about me that I will be striked, the shepherd will be striked and the sheep will scatter.

Simon gets up in that last supper and says, I will never deny you. The Lord says, Simon, are you listening to what I'm saying? It is written, Simon, that the shepherd will be struck and you sheep will run away out of fear. He said, if all of them to his other brothers, the apostles, if all of them deny you, I will not deny you.

He said, Simon. Let it go, bro. Oh, I'm paraphrasing, right? The word bro is not, you know.

This is the American way, bro, wassup? He said, let it go, let it go. Simon really left the Lord no choice. He said, Lord, I am with you even unto death.

Oh. Said Simon, I've been trying very hard not to put you to any embarrassment, unnecessary one, now that you've stepped on the. On that grenade.

Or that mine. I'm going to say this to you, Simon, tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And by the way, and I'm telling you some things that are not of this topic.

But anyway, did you know the rooster is not the like that animal thing? I mean, you've seen the movie of the Lord Jesus. Yeah, they show a rooster going cuckoo, cuckoo. No, my beloved, you need to understand the history of the Israelite nation.

The rooster crow was the fourth trumpet. The fourth trumpet, they called it the crow of the rooster. It's not an animal.

It's actually a trumpet. There were four trumpets. The Israelites used to blow them to prepare people for prayer.

To cut it short, the first trumpet, they would face the east and blow the trumpet only east. The second trumpet, they will face east and west. The third trumpet, they will face east, west and north.

The fourth trumpet, which was called the rooster trumpet, it would be blown in all corners of the world, east, west, north and south. When the Lord said before the rooster crows tonight, you will deny me three times, Simon. Your denial, the whole world will know about it.

East, west, north and south. And isn't it the case? Everybody now knows that Simon denied him three times. Amazing is the Lord.

So it's not a rooster, poor rooster. It's a trumpet, my beloved. It's a trumpet.

We need to read the history behind things that are written even in the Bible. Holy Bible. So anyway, Simon denies him three times.

After resurrection, the Lord calls him. In the last supper, Simon says, if everyone denies you, I will not deny you. After resurrection, the Lord calls Simon.

He says, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said, Lord, I've learned my lesson. Yes, yes, I got it. I got it.

I got it. Lord, you know that I love you. Have you noticed something? In the last supper, I, Simon, will not deny you, Jesus.

But after resurrection, you, Lord Jesus, know that I, Simon, love you. In the last supper, Simon put himself before the Lord. He had to fall.

He learned his lessons. When he said to the Lord, you know that I love you. Now the Lord says, here's the keys.

Now that you put me, I, Jesus Christ, before you as the shepherd to my flock, I can entrust you with the keys. I will not give my keys to a shepherd that puts himself before Christ because he will destroy himself and my entire flock with him. But now, Simon, that you said, you, Lord, know that I love you.

Now you're talking, Simon. Since you've put me before you, then you are Peter. You put yourself before me, you're Simon.

Satan will devour you and devour the entire flock. But when you put Christ before you, Bishop Murray, then you are Peter. I'll protect you and everyone who comes to you.

Because you put Christ before you. Yeah, I see that. Amen.

Isn't it? Without the Lord, we're all nothing. So what? I'm the Pope. So what? I'm a cardinal.

So what? I'm a bishop. So what if I don't make Christ the crown of my glory? I'm nobody, nothing, zero, gone with the wind. Gone.

It is Christ who protects no one else. My job is to put him before me and say, Lord, lead us all, me and the fold, because I am a sheep at the end. There's only one shepherd, Christ the King.

No one else. Amen. Simon, Peter, now you are the rock.

You're strong now, Simon, because you put your Jesus before you. Well done. Now, when you put me before you, what does that mean? There is only one thing you can do, Peter, is to follow me because I'm ahead of you.

I am the shepherd and you're the sheep. So you need to follow. You are James now, Sapphire.

Now, when you follow me, guess what? Sapphire is blue, I came from heaven and everything about me is heavenly. So the church should never be worldly institution. If the church is going to fight over thrones, position, fame, prestigious life, money, wealth, gold, silver became a worldly institution, Satan will devour it.

And the opening of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. And please, I'm not talking about the Catholic Church. I love the Catholic Church.

Yes, I love I love every Catholic person and I'm willing to die for every single one of them. I love them, but I'm talking about Christ here. When the St. Peter's Basilica was being opened, the whole world came to witness this historical event.

Now they walked in, they saw, my goodness, precious stones everywhere, gold, silver, extremely expensive. And it's named after St. Peter, the poor fisherman whose boat would have been the maximum, would have probably was about 300 bucks. Worth 300 dollars.

St. Peter's Basilica is worth billions of dollars. Just one. One of the cardinals stood up and he said to the Pope, please permit me, Holy Father, I would like to say something.

So the Pope said, go ahead. He said, Pope, with absolute confidence, I can stand with my head up now and say the day has gone where I say I have no gold nor silver to give you. That day is gone.

Look at this magnificent building. But the Lord always have witnesses for himself, no matter what it is, how it is and where it is. Another cardinal gets up and he says, Holy Father, please allow me to answer my brother.

He said, go ahead. He said, my brother, with absolute sadness, I will say to you as well. The day that I say in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk, that day is also gone.

So that cardinal that said the day where I say I have no gold nor silver, that day is gone. He was talking about Simon Peter and John, the beloved, when they went up to the temple to pray. There was a paralytic sitting in front of the beautiful gate.

Simon came back to him and he said, silver and gold. I have not. But I have one thing to give you.

And now I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Get up and walk. And that man jumped and walked.

So this cardinal is saying today there is no more. I don't have gold nor silver, the other cardinal said. And today also, my dear friend, with great sadness, there is no more in Jesus Christ mighty name.

Get up and walk. That day is gone. You chase gold and silver.

Christ is lost. The church is lost. You chase earthly wealth as a church.

Satan has devoured you. Who are you befriending? Political people, influential people, people with wealth, with caliber. Have you forgotten that two pennies of that widow moves mountains? Have you forgotten? Simon Peter.

Peter is the one who follows Christ. Simon is the one who creates a false Christ to follow him. No wonder the church is in turmoil because they're not all Peter.

There's a lot of Simon's, but a handful of Peters. We need Peter to come back. So all of us follow Christ, the head of the church, the head of the church.

James, follow in his footsteps. You cannot follow Christ until you deny yourself. You cannot follow Christ until you say, along with Saint Paul, I live, but no longer me, but Christ who lives in me.

I live, but no longer me, no longer me. Meaning I have denied myself for Christ to be revealed in me. I want Christ to lead me.

I want Christ to show me the way. I want Christ to protect me, to shield me from the snares of the enemy. Without Christ, I cannot make it.

So in order to walk in his footsteps, I cannot do it my way as a bishop. It has to be the Lord's way. Till this very day, I have no idea what is happening in my life.

If anybody asks this piece of wreck, Bishop Murray, what are you doing? I don't know. All I know, Christ is in charge. All I know, Christ is always doing, working.

It is him because I look at myself, I know myself. It is impossible for me to do something, not even the slightest of what has happened in my life. I cannot.

It is only him. It's only him. It's the Lord.

When you truly follow the Lord, things will happen the intellect cannot fathom. You know why? Because you're following in the footsteps of someone who is heavenly. My intellect can only relate and fathom what is earthly, not heavenly.

This is where the struggle is with Christians. And this is where we go wrong. And a piece of advice, my beloved, so many people, some people, I don't want to say so many, some people will come.

Bishop, I'm trying to pray, but it's not working. I'm trying to come to church, but it's not working. I'm trying to get rid of this habit and it's not working.

I'm trying. I'm trying. I say, wait, wait.

Pay attention to the way you talk. You just said, I'm trying to come to church. I'm trying to be with the Lord.

I'm trying to pray. I'm trying to preach. I'm trying to build.

I'm trying to protect. Give up on. I'm trying.

Say, Lord, I've tried. I failed every time I've tried miserably. And 100% today I'll say, Lord, I will no longer try.

You lead me, Lord. And let me see if he's not going to bring you to church. And let me see if you're not going to start praying.

And let me see if you're not going to start stepping on those certain habits that have enslaved you for years. Stop trying. It's not your work.

It is the one who came from heaven. It is his work. Follow in his footsteps and walk in heaven.

No more on Earth. Yes. So it's not about your intelligence.

It is about the wisdom of God being revealed in your life. You'll end up with John, the compassionate God embracing you and says, my son was dead and now he's alive. My son was lost and now he's found.

Came back from filth, the pig's field into the bosom of his father. Purity. White, chalcedony is a white stone.

When when the Lord touches the heart, beg him for this. Beg him for this, Lord. I'm not going to ask you for anything.

One thing, but just touch my heart. Change me, Lord. Change me, Lord.

The moment Christ, the king, God revealed in the flesh touches your heart. The rest is all history. The heaven of all heavens is yours.

What earth, what dirt, what mud, what clay, what filth? Who cares? Who cares how I look? Who cares what people think of me? Who cares whether they accept me or reject me? Who cares? And I'm saying it with love and humility because it is truly who cares. Because what matters is God, Jesus Christ, not what people say, perceive or do for me. It is God what he has done for me on Calvary.

That's what matters. I'll leave you with this. One of the mighty saints of our church, St. Ephraim the Great.

He was a deacon in the church in the fourth century. He used to make himself like a lunatic in order not to attract people's false glories because God used him in enormous ways, showed mighty powers through this wonderful saint, St. Ephraim the Great. In his writings, in one of his writings, he says, he says, I'm asking the soul, I'm asking myself, soul, what are you afraid of? She replies and says to me, I am afraid of three things.

I asked her again, what are the three things you are afraid of so much? She said, one is when I hear people yelling and shouting, get ready, be ready, the king is approaching. And we see that in Matthew 25, the parable of the ten virgins, five, the wise and five, the unwise. She says, when I hear that shouting saying, be ready, the king is approaching.

I am fearful of that moment when the king is approaching. And he says, what is the second thing you're afraid of, dear soul? She says, when the king comes and stops and points the finger at me and says, you. I'm afraid of that moment.

And what's the third one? He says, when he points that finger at me and says, you. All of his servants get him and get him when the spirit leaves the body. He says, when the spirit leaves the body, I don't know in whose hands I'll go.

The angel that came from heaven or the foul spirit that came from Satan. I don't want to scare you, but that's the truth. He says, I want to be ready, Lord.

And the only way I'll be ready, you have to make me ready. And how will you make me ready? Allow me to hear your voice, Jasper. Allow me to follow you, Sapphire.

Allow me to be embraced and be purified by you, Chalcedony, White. These are the first foundations. We need to build ourselves on in order to be with Christ.

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 show 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 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.

Amen. God bless.