What You're Chasing Will Never Be Enough

So now, Genesis 32, 22 to 29. If we were to give it a title, these verses, we call it the spiritual struggle between Rachel and Leah. The spiritual struggle between Rachel and Leah.

The Israelite nation had or has three fathers or three patriarchs. And that is number one, Abraham, two, Isaac, and third is Jacob. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the patriarchs of the Israelite nation, the Old Testament Church of Christ.

Now, our topic today is about Jacob, the son of Isaac, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob, all his life was a failure. Jacob, all his life relied on himself.

Jacob, all his life was thinking day and night on how to earn and gain things. Even when he was coming out of his mother's womb, he was holding onto his brother's heels. And this is why he was called Jacob.

In the original text, in the original language, or in Syriac Aramaic, it is pronounced Ya'qub, Ya'qub, an, Ya'qub. And the word Ya'qub literally means to follow in the footsteps of another, to follow in the footsteps of another. In Arabic, they use the word Yata'qab, Yata'qab, meaning following in someone else's footsteps.

Jacob came out of his mother's womb, holding onto his brother's heels. So he followed in the footsteps of another. And that's why he was called Ya'qub, or Jacob.

Now, Jacob here symbolizes all of us. We are all Jacob. We all have failed in our life.

We all relied on ourselves, and we all were in thinking day and night on how to gain and earn things. I wanna buy this, I wanna build this, I need an empire, I want to have this, I wanna be famous, I want to be a celebrity. Every human being is in search of gaining and earning and becoming someone known.

We are all Jacob. As humans, we wish to have everything, including our neighbor's possessions, someone else's. We have envy and jealousy of others.

I wish I have what they have. I want their house, I want their car, I want their looks, so I'll go to Istanbul to look like them. Laser-guided missile, eyebrows, and the likes.

However, my beloveds, our Lord did two things with Jacob, did two things with Jacob, and I need your attention. Anybody falls asleep will wash my car. God did two things, the Lord did two things with Jacob.

First thing, Jacob loved Rachel. Anyone Rachel here? Thank God. And by the way, all the Rachels that are out there listening, nothing personal, please, I'm not talking about Rachels of the 21st century.

We are learning a lesson today about the spiritual struggle between Rachel and Leah. So God did two things with Jacob. Number one, Jacob loved Rachel.

However, Jacob did not love Leah. He did not love her. And today, we wish to address the spiritual struggle between Rachel and Leah.

The meaning of the word Rachel or the name Rachel, again, in the original text is Rahel, Rahil, or Rahel. Rahel. Now, Rahel or Rahel, even in Arabic, the word is Rahil.

Now, Rahel means to leave or to depart. To leave, to travel, to depart. In other words, the name Rachel means a stranger because who travels, who goes, who leaves? The stranger, a stranger, my beloved.

So in other words, it's the stranger. Rachel represents this world, which you see with your own eyes, its pleasures and its treasures. This world and everything that is in it is Rachel.

Rachel is the world and this is the estrangement or the alienation we live in. We are total strangers to this world. We are total strangers to this world.

On the other hand, Leah means fatness or richness. Leah means fatness or richness. You see, when Jacob was blessed by his father Isaac, his father said to him, therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth.

We read that in Genesis 27, 28. Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven of the fatness of the earth. The word fatness in Genesis 27, 28 literally means Leah.

Fatness or richness. However, the Lord entered Jacob in the school of struggle through Jacob's uncle called Laban. The Lord entered Jacob through the school of struggle through his uncle who was called Laban.

Number one, the Lord made Jacob leave his mother's bosom. Jacob was mom's favorite son, who was mommy's boy. The Holy Bible says about Jacob that he was a man of tents who lived in the tent, meaning he was mommy's boy.

Living in the tent, who stays in the tent? The mother, the father, and all the other guys, they go out hunting, they go out traveling, they go out fighting. Who stays at home in the tent? The female. Well, Jacob was called the man of the tent, meaning he was mommy's boy.

The soft little Jacob, favorite by mom. But Isaac, on the other hand, he was very proud of his son, Esau. He was very proud of his son, Esau.

Esau was a strong man, was a man of his word, and was the man of the sword. He was a fighter. He chopped heads.

He wouldn't hesitate to kill people. He was a real man. And any and every father, they are proud of their sons when they are real men.

The father will say, look at my son, eh? I'm proud of him. He makes me proud. He is a real man.

He's a warrior. Man, when I talk about my son, I feel confident. So Isaac was this way with Esau.

So Isaac, the father, loved Esau, and Rebekah, the mother, loved Jacob. The father loved the son, and the mother, Rebekah, loved Jacob, the other son. When the time came to give the blessing, the father, Isaac, to give the blessing, we notice that Esau, he represents the man of the flesh, and Jacob represents the man of the spirit.

So Esau represents the man of the flesh, and Jacob represents the man of the spirit. Now, what happened? Obviously, Esau was the older son. So normally, the blessings would go to the firstborn, not the young one, to the firstborn.

So the dad was going to give the blessings to Esau automatically, by law. The mother, since she loved Jacob more than Esau, she taught her son Jacob to lie to his dad. Now, his dad could not see very well.

He was almost blind. So what did the mother do? The mother came with the skins of the kids of the goats. She brought that skin of the goats and put it on the hands of Jacob, and on certain areas on his neck where it is smooth skin.

You see, Esau was very hairy, where Jacob was very smooth, no hair at all, just like a girl. Now they do laser. Back then, they didn't have laser.

So now, Esau was very hairy, whereas Jacob was absolutely hairless. So the father couldn't see. The mother told Jacob, she said, I want you to steal the blessing from your brother Esau.

So I'm gonna put the goat skin on your hands to make him hairy and around your neck. So when you go to your dad and your dad holds your hand to give you the blessing, he's gonna feel the hair. He will say, this must be Esau.

Sometimes what mothers go through and do to destroy their children's lives. My goodness, be careful, mom. Don't love your son too much, where you ruin his future.

Now, Jacob put on the dress of Esau. Now, Esau represents the man of the flesh. And Jacob represents the man of the spirit.

Now, the man of the spirit, Jacob, put on the dress of the man of the flesh, Esau. And Christ put on the man of the flesh. What happened? The word of Isaac were very strange.

The words of Isaac were very strange. He said to his son, he said, the voice is Jacob's voice. Because Isaac said, who is it? Jacob replied, he had to reply.

So when he heard the voice, he said, the voice is Jacob's, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Jacob is the man of the spirit. Esau is the man of the flesh.

The voice is the voice of Jacob, the man of the spirit, but the hands are the hands of Esau, the man of the flesh. Christ put on the flesh. God became man.

When we saw him, we saw a human being. When we touched him, when we held him, we held the hand of a man, of a human being. But when he spoke, we heard the voice of God.

We heard the voice of God. The voice is the voice of Jacob, the man of the spirit, but the hands are the hands of Esau, the man of the flesh. We saw him as a man, but in this man, God spoke.

And when this man came, called Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the flesh, Esau, the voice, Jacob, the voice of the spirit. This man rebuked the sea, and the sea was silent. This man rebuked Satan, and Satan fled.

This man called the dead out of the tomb, and the dead came out of the tomb alive. The voice is the voice of God, dressed in the human flesh. No one else could have done these things what Jesus did, unless he is really God.

So Jesus Christ is either God, or he is absolutely nothing. He cannot be a prophet. He cannot be a holy man.

He cannot be even the son of man only. He cannot be even the son of God only. He is God revealed in the flesh.

Yes, he is the prophet in the sense prophet tells you what the future holds. He prophesied the Lord Jesus, and told you what will happen in the future. In that sense, he did the deed of a prophet.

But he is the son of man, he is the son of God, who is God. And as John puts it so beautifully and so clearly in the gospel according to St. John, chapter one, verse one, in the beginning was the logos, the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. This Jesus Christ of Nazareth is perfect God, perfect man, perfect man, Esau, perfect God, Jacob.

The voice is the voice of God, but the flesh is the flesh of a human being. After Jacob took the blessing from his dad, Isaac, he left. The Lord wanted to show Jacob the lessons which he was going to learn.

The Lord showed Jacob the lessons which he needed to learn in order not to remain mommy's boy, but the man of God. First lesson, first lesson was called Laban, his uncle, his mother's brother, his uncle from his mom's side. So Laban, the word Laban means white, and Lebanon also derives from the word Laban.

Lebanon also derives from the word Laban. The word Laban means white, and Lebanon derives from this word. And why does Lebanon derive from the word Laban, which means white? Because in the Song of Solomon, chapter five, verse 15, it says about the Lord Jesus the following.

His countenance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. Lebanon, the cedars, talk about Jesus Christ. Very blessed place.

We need to look after Lebanon, and we need to pray that we all become Lebanon in the sense we imitate Christ, amen? Now, in Genesis chapter 29, Jacob arrives at a well, and he sees three flocks of sheep laying by that well. Three flocks of sheep, meaning there were three shepherds, because the shepherds mine the flock. So three flocks of sheep, meaning there was three shepherds at that well.

There was a large stone that covered the mouth of that well. There was a very large heavy stone that covered the mouth of that well. Jacob asked the shepherds, where are you from? They said, we are from a place called Haran.

Then Jacob says to them, do you know Laban? They said, yes, we do. And actually his daughter, his daughter Rachel, is coming very soon with the sheep of her fathers to this well. He said, oh, brilliant.

I was looking for my uncle, his daughter is coming. Oh, what a blessed day this is, baby. I'm gonna meet the love of my life.

Slightly. So now they said, your Laban's daughter is coming very soon with her dad's sheep to this well. Jacob says, well, till she comes, how about you guys pull some water out of this well and give water to the sheep? They must be thirsty.

It's a very hot day. Those shepherds who were three, they said to Jacob, we can't move the stone, it's very large, it is extremely heavy. It takes anywhere between seven to 10 shepherds in order to move the stone.

And we are only three. And while they were talking, Rachel shows up and Jacob sees Rachel for the first time. Love at first sight.

When Rachel comes in, Jacob starts dancing Sheikhani, which is an Assyrian dance. In other words, his heart started going, what a, what a, duff, duff, what a, what a, duff, duff. He saw Rachel, the beautiful, breathtaking, stunning, gorgeous.

He fell in love with her with that first sight. And it's kind of cute, love at first sight. It's very cute, isn't it? First time ever you see this girl and there is a connection so strong, you can't help yourself but to be dragged like a magnet to her and say, G'day, my name is Jacob, what is your name? She said, Rachel.

He says, is this my uncle's daughter? Where was I? Shame on you, Jacob. You've been away and your uncle has got the most beautiful looking girl in this world. So when Jacob sees Rachel so beautiful, he tries to be a show off.

So he goes himself and pulls the sleeve up and pushes the stone by himself from the mouth of that well. Everybody who says, wow, what a strong man. Mommy's boy became a man when he met this good looking girl.

Where were you before, Jacob? With Mama, you were, oh, Mama, I don't like working today. Please, Mama, I would like to take a break because I just took some fresh air and I feel tired already. But when he met the good looking Rachel, he became Tarzan.

Pushed that stone by himself. So everybody was in awe, one man in the place of 10 men. Now, any girl would go and fall for this man.

The problem, my beloved, when Jacob showed his own strength, God will never reveal his strength in Jacob. When Jacob showed his own strength, God says, I can't work in you anymore. The day God will work in any one of us, when we reveal our weaknesses, not strengths.

When I say, I'm blind without you, Lord. When I say, I am dumb without you, Lord. When I say, I am weak without you, Lord.

When I say, I am nothing without you, Lord. When I say, I am dead without you, Lord Jesus. Then the Lord will reveal his strength in you.

But the day you say, I can do it myself, by myself, on my own, God says, since you don't need me, there is no need for me to do anything in your life. And since Jacob showed his own strength, his entire life was one big failure. Because a person that relies on themselves 100%, they are nothing but a failure.

Success is only made possible when Jesus Christ is king over your life. Is king over your life. First thing Jacob did, was he saw Rachel being so beautiful.

However, his uncle Laban deceived him. He gave him Leah instead. See my beloved, back in the olden days, when that man gets married to his beloved woman, the wife, you know when he will see her face the first time ever? The next day after marriage.

She would come to the wedding fully covered from head to toe. There are some people fully covered nowadays as we speak. So she would come fully covered from head to toe.

He would not see her face at all. And then when the marriage has happened, then they come and that marriage is consummated. The following day, the moment he wakes up, in that morning, the first day after the wedding, he sees his wife's face and he will say either, oh my God, what have I done to myself? Or thank you Lord, I married Mariah Carey.

Hello? Oh yes. Looks like we'll leave Mariah Carey alone. We'll pray for her anyway.

So now, so Jacob wakes up the following day after wedding. He sees his wife's face for the first time. And he says, oh Lord have mercy.

This is not Rachel. It's his sister. It's her sister Leah.

Poor Jacob. So he goes to his uncle. He says, uncle, you deceived me.

I said I wanna marry Rachel. Why did you give me Leah? But I've realized too late, I've already married her. He said, I did not deceive you.

Our rules will always be withheld. And that is we can never marry the younger sister before the older sister. Her older sister must get married first, then the younger one.

That's why I gave you Leah. I did not deceive you at all. So what do I do now, uncle? I fell in love with Rachel.

I fell in love with Rachel. I don't love Leah. But you gave me Leah.

Now it's too late, I'm already married to her. He said, oh, but I still wanna marry Rachel. He said, you'll need to work for Rachel seven years as a slave.

He worked seven years for his uncle just to marry Rachel. After the seven years had ended, he came to his uncle. He said, now you can give me Rachel.

He said, no, I've changed my mind. You need to work another seven years in order to marry Rachel. And Jacob did it, 14 years just to marry Rachel.

Poor Leah, he married her for free. Not even one day of hard labor. Leah came for free.

Rachel took 14 years of his precious life. Wow, what a lesson. For every single Christian, and I'll dare to say for every single human being.

14 years of sacrifices for Rachel and for free Leah. And he complained and whinged. The Holy Bible, now please pay attention.

The Holy Bible never mentioned that Leah was ugly. Sorry if I use the word ugly. There is no one ugly.

It's just human perception. No one is ugly. God never creates anything ugly.

Everything is beautiful, but it is our problem when we misdefine and misperceive things. So the Holy Bible never mentioned that Leah was not beautiful, never. But the Holy Bible mentioned one thing about Leah, that she had a weak vision.

Her eyesight was very weak. What do we learn from this, my beloved son and my beloved daughter? We learn that Leah here represents eternity. And Rachel represents temporal life, this world.

My beloved son and daughter, eternity for us is a weak vision. I don't see eternity, but I am all ears and all eyes and I am focused on this vanity of all vanities, this world. I only see this world.

I only look at the pleasures and the treasures of this world, but eternity is a weak vision, not interested in it. I only see Rachel. I don't see Leah.

Leah was given to me for free. Eternal life was given to me for free on the cross on Calvary. And I'm whinging and complaining.

I don't want it, but the world is given to me with my own blood put on the lion and I'm fighting to gain this world that is vanity of all vanities. I say to someone, let's go to church. It will take me maybe a lifetime to get them to the church, but one little phone call from a friend, let's go downtown and I am Superman.

I will run to go to the club. I will run to go to the pub. I will run to go to Star City Casino.

I will run to Las Vegas, but I don't want to run to the church to Christ, but I'm running to Satan and I'm paying my life just to be with Satan. But Christ who gave up his life on the cross to give you and me and all of us eternal life, not interested. It's a weak vision.

The church is boring. I don't want to waste my Sunday to go to the Holy Mass. I want to be at the beach.

I want to be in a restaurant. I want to be on holidays. What is the meaning of going to church? Because the church is going to give me Leah for free eternal life.

Not interested, it's a weak vision. But anything to do with this world, Rachel, I'm all eyes. I just came back from a 16 hour shift, extremely exhausted.

And my friend said, let's go out. And it was midnight, 1 a.m. I said, I'm coming. But wake up to go to church in the morning.

It's a battle. It's a battle to pray. It's a battle to read the Holy Bible.

But it's so easy to listen to a Hollywood vanity of all vanities song. Vanity. What's that song? I wanted to dance with her and she was dancing with another man.

Something along those lines. I don't know, I can't remember. But like when you listen to these lyrics, I mean, I'm talking with love and respect.

They're stupid, nonsensical, absolutely empty. I came to dance with her and she was dancing with another man. Ash on your head and on that man as well.

That's an Assyrian terminology. Or he will say, I'll give you the stars. Listen, brother.

You haven't even seen Fairfield, Nita City properly. How are you gonna get the stars for your fiance? What a liar. And you are my world.

Which one? I love you to death. Hmm. Lying.

When death comes, he will be the first one to leave you behind and run for his life. My beloveds, you listen to the world. The world is absolute vanity of all vanities.

King Solomon says it in his book of Ecclesiastes. Why? Because St. Paul elaborates. He says, it is very well known that I came from my mother's womb empty-handed and it is also very well known that I will go back to my mother earth, the grave, empty-handed.

You are all eyes for a world that was never yours, never will be. You are so interested to see this world, to know this world, to embrace this world, to chase this world, to live this world, yet you know very well, one day I was born, one day I will die. And when I die, I will take absolutely nothing from this world.

All the money, the fame, the position, the properties, the wealth, death will steal everything from me. But I worked 14 years of hard labor to gain Rachel the world. I will give up my life to live in the world, but I will not give one second to live eternity, Leah, Christ.

This had to be the first lesson for Jacob who symbolizes all of us, who represents all of us. This had to be the first lesson that Jacob needed to learn. And what is that first lesson that he needed to learn? He needed to learn what is the fruit of this world, Rachel, and what is the fruit of eternity, Leah.

That's the first lesson all of us must learn. You know, when King Solomon in his book of Ecclesiastes in chapter one, when he says everything is vanity of all vanities, but he says everything that is under the sun. When we walk on the face of this earth, which way do we walk? This way, correct? What is this way called? Horizontal, come on.

Don't be afraid, I'm not testing you. What is this way called? Horizontal. What is this way called? Vertical.

When King Solomon says everything is vanity of all vanities, he is saying when you gain everything on the face of this earth, this way only without this way with it, then it is all vanity of all vanities. Why? Because at the end you will die and you'll take nothing with you. When you are chasing materialistic things only, when you are living the flesh only, when you are living worldly only, all you want is to dance, to drink, to laugh, to enjoy, to go holidays, all your thinking is worldly, worldly, worldly matters, nothing spiritual, then everything you've gained is vanity of all vanities.

And let me tell you what it means, vanity of all vanities. Vanity, King Solomon says, it is this world and everything that is in this world is vanity. And when you, my son, and when you, my daughter, chase what is vanity, you end up being the vanity of all vanities.

When you chase a nothing, you end up a nothing. When somebody comes and says, I believe in nothing, then they will end up a nothing. When there is no God, when there is nothing, then you're nothing.

And what is the vanity of all vanities? The grave. The grave. The grave took all the things that I chased that were vanity, because I tried to earn them in a horizontal way only, meaning I did not include God in it, which is the vertical line.

When you exclude God, the vertical line, everything you gain horizontally is vanity of all vanities. But when you do it for God, then whatever you gained, God will give it back to you in the next life. What is the fruit of this world, Rachel, and the fruit of the next world eternity, Leah? We give our life and we sacrifice our life for worldly things, and at the end, we gain absolutely nothing.

There is nothing, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with working hard and establishing something for yourself, but don't do it outside of Jesus Christ. Don't ever say, I'm too busy for the Lord Jesus, I don't have time, I really wanted to go to the church, but I'm too busy. You know, life has got too many responsibilities, and I'm going through a lot of rough seas in my life.

You better come to the Lord, because whatever you're doing outside of the Lord Jesus, it is a lie, vanity of all vanities, it is a lie, my beloved. And I have said this to you so many times, what is a lie? A lie, my beloved, is a story told without foundation, without a base to it. A lie is a story told that has no foundation, no basis to it.

And what is a lie? A dream of the awakening. King David puts it. See how the Holy Bible explains itself by itself? King David says, the human's life on earth is like a dream at the awakening.

What does King David mean, our life on earth is like a dream at the awakening? He means this, when we see a dream, do we realize it's a dream? No, we think it's reality, isn't it? Now in the dream, I'm Donald Trump, even though he's slightly better looking than me. I'm the president of the most powerful nation in the world. Now while I'm dreaming, I'm not realizing it's a dream, I'm saying this is reality.

So for me, I'm the president, and for me, as the president, you know what, I'm powerful, I can do a lot of things, and no one can stop me. And before I come and grasp this realization, my mom taps me on the shoulder and says, get up, it's time to go to school. And then I wake up and I realize I'm in year six, and I'm going to Fairfield High School.

Hello, is it working? So when my mom woke me up, I've realized I'm in year six, primary school. I'm not the president. King David says, the person's life is like a dream at the awakening.

You know, while we are living in the flesh on this earth, we think this is it and there is nothing else. I am free and no one can stop me. I'm powerful, I have money, I have wealth, I have fame, I have prestigious life, I have this position so powerful, I can do anything and everything.

And before I realize this and come to grasp it, the angel taps me on the shoulder and says, it's time to leave this world. The spirit leaves the body, is the awakening time from that dream. Like I woke up from the dream and I realized what I was living was nothing but a lie, so as when the spirit leaves the body, I'll wake up from this dream called the world, this realm, this physical, tangible materialistic realm, when I wake up from it, then I will realize then and then only that everything I had planned for was nothing but a lie.

Don't ever put all your hope on this world. Don't ever put all your hope on the flesh. Don't ever rely on yourself and say, I don't need anyone including God because before you know it, the spirit will leave that body of yours and you will realize this was all one big lie and I'm facing the ultimate judge who art in heaven.

What will I say to him when he asks me, what have you done for me? What will I answer? We need to realize the fruit of the world and the fruit of eternal realm. We need to realize before it's too late. Now, I'll sum it up and I'll leave you with it and thank God, Elias is here.

Leah, whom Jacob received for free. By the way, we'll continue this topic next week. Leah, whom Jacob received for free, not even a day he worked to earn Leah.

Look, the one who came for free, what she gave Jacob. And next week we will realize the one that he worked for 14 years, he sacrificed his life just to earn and gain Rachel. See what Rachel is going to give Jacob.

The one who came with a sweat, what she's done for Jacob and the one who came for free, what she's done for Jacob. Leah, the one who came for free, she gave Jacob four sons. She gave Jacob four sons.

Number one, Reuben. Number two, Simon or Simeon. Number three, Levi.

Number four, Judah. Four sons, Reuben, Simon, Levi or Levi and Judah. Let's come and see these four sons, which Leah who came for free, what she's given Jacob, my goodness.

Reuben, Reuben symbolizes the birthright, i.e. firstborn. And the firstborn gets the most according to the law. She gave him the firstborn, Reuben.

And the name Reuben means, I saw the son. I saw the son. Which son? This one.

This one. I saw the son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So that Leah who came for free gave him Reuben, the firstborn, the birthright.

And Reuben means, I saw the son. Number two, Simon. Majority of the scribes of the Israelite nation who wrote the Old Testament Bible came from the tribe of Simon.

The writers of the law of God came from Simon. The scribes came from Simon. And the word Simon means, to him you shall listen.

To who? The son that I saw, Reuben, to him. The son, Jesus Christ, Simon, to him you shall listen. Levi, third son.

Levi gave us the priesthood. And the word Levi literally means, joined in matrimonial bond. United with God in a matrimonial bond.

The church is the bride and Christ is the heavenly groom. Levi. Priesthood.

And number four, Judah. Judah gave us salvation. Jesus Christ of Nazareth came from the tribe of Judah, if you're not aware.

He came from the tribe of Judah. And the word Judah means, let him, meaning God, let him, God, be praised. Let God be praised.

So we put it together. Leah brought for all of us, Reuben, the blessing of the firstborn. Simon, the word of God, to him you shall listen, the word of God.

Levi, the priesthood that will bring you closer to God and unite you and make you one with God. And Judah, the savior. The savior who came to save you from all that is yours and give you all that is his.

The savior came to save you from all that is yours in order to give you all that is his. In Revelation 3 20, the Lord Jesus is saying, I'm standing at the door knocking. He who hears my voice opens the door, I will enter and dine with him.

And he with me. I will enter and dine with him and he with me. He came to save you from all that is yours and give you all that is his.

I will enter and dine with him and he with me. I will enter and have dinner. Dining is at night, not in the morning.

And night represents our sinful status and the wages of sin is death, Romans 6 23. The Lord Jesus as the only true savior came to give us all that is his, dine with us. He enters to eat from our table and us to eat from his table.

He came to give us his plate and he came to take our plate. He ate from our plate. Those who opened the door to him, he entered at nighttime in our sinful status.

While we were sinners, God loved the entire world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes within him shall not perish but have everlasting life, John 3 16. So he came to eat from my plate and I eat from his plate. What is my plate all about? Lust, pride, bigotry, envy, jealousy, hatred, division, murder, filth, all the ugly things.

And what is his plate? Love, humility, light, purity, holiness, kindness, perfection and the likes. These are the fruits with Jacob reaped from Leah whom he never wanted yet he received it, received her for free. She gave him eternal life.

She gave him Reuben, I saw the son. I saw the son of God in the form of the son of man. The hands are the hands of Esau, the flesh, but the voice is the voice of God.

I've never seen a man saying to a dead, rotted in the grave for four days, come out and he came out just like that. The voice is the voice of God because it is only God who raises the dead, the human cannot. I saw the son of God, the voice of God in the form of the flesh, the son of man.

And when I saw this son of God in the form of the son of man, when I saw God revealed in the flesh, perfect God, perfect man, the person of Christ where divinity and humanity were united, when I saw him, she gave me Simon and said to me, this God, perfect God, perfect man, you need to listen to Simon, listen to him. And when you listen to him, I'm gonna give you Levi. And Levi is gonna come and take you as his bride.

And bride wedding, my beloved, why the Lord Jesus revealed himself as the heavenly groom, it is the matrimonial bond between him and the faithful who are the church. Why? Because it is only in marriage the two become one. It is only in marriage.

Parents and children are two separate bodies, two separate individuals, brothers and sisters two separate, friends separate, it is only in marriage and marriage alone where the two become one. And God said it in Genesis, what God had united shall no man separate. And Christ wanted us to be one in him, with him, by him and for him.

Father, just like where I am, I want them to be with me. Just like I and you are one, I want them to all be one in us. I want them all to be one in us.

Levi, we are united in a matrimonial, holy matrimonial bond where God and man become one. One, united, just like in marriage. And when you are united in Christ, when you are submitted to Christ's commandments, when you submit to him, when you make him your king, when you make him your Lord, when you make him your God, Leah gave us Judah, the fourth son, salvation.

Salvation is only made possible when we are united in Christ. These are the fruits of eternity, Leah, which is a weak vision. So many people can't see this, don't wish to see this.

They don't want to go and fix their vision in order to see that what really matters and what truly lasts and what truly is mine forever is eternal life, not this temporal realm which is vanity of all vanities. I went and I had fun with my friends till three o'clock in the morning. We drank alcohol, we took drugs, we gambled, we had fun with men and women, and we did everything under the sun.

And at the end, let me ask you, my son and my daughter, where are you now? I'm lost, I'm ruined, I'm destroyed. I don't know who I am, I don't know where I am anymore. I don't know, I feel so lost, so empty, so disorientated.

I want to end this miserable life. Yes, of course, why? Because you chased something that was never yours. You forgot about God, you forgot about Leah.

You didn't want to marry Leah for free. How many hundreds and thousands of dollars we give to see a Hollywood singer in a stadium? Yet coming to church is for free. In this church, we don't take that little plate around.

I don't force you to put money. The box is outside the church, not inside. It is outside the church.

It is entirely up to you if you wish to put something in that box or not, because Christ did not die buried and rose from the dead for you to give him money. He did it for you to give him your heart, not your pocket. The pocket, he's dealt with it long time ago.

Before creating you, he put the gold in the heart of the earth and the precious pearls in the heart of the seas and the oceans. He doesn't need your money, he needs your heart. That's what he died for.

It's a bit cold. I don't know. I normally sweat when I'm preaching, especially when I'm screaming, but I still feel there's a bit of a cold breeze.

So my beloveds, my beloveds, don't focus on the temporal realm and forget about who you belong to. I beg everyone that is present in this holy church and everyone who's listening, if you are living close by to this church, don't ever say, I'm too tired to come. You're not coming for the bishop, for God's sake.

You're not coming for nobody. You're coming for the Lord. And isn't the Lord worthy of your little tiny sacrifice, which I should be ashamed even to mention it.

What he's done for me, when will I ever be able to repay him back? Never. He gave his life up for me and you. That life is so expensive, no one can afford it.

But the least we could do for the Lord. Is honor and respect what he's done by coming to his holy house, the church and saying, Lord, I love you. That's why I chose willingly and freely to come to your house.

I chose, I wasn't dragged by force. I wanted to come. I want to be with you.

I want to hear your voice. The voice is the voice of God. But the flesh is of a human.

This bishop is a human being. But this voice is not the bishops, it's God's speaking through the flesh. Please.

The Lord Jesus is good. And the only one who is good is God. Because he is God.

And that's why he is good. Because he is simply God revealed in the flesh. I beg you, my son and my daughter.

Doesn't matter what your age is. Even if you're a hundred years old. You're my son and you're my daughter in Christ.

If you're a teenager, if you are in your 20s, in your 30s, in your 40s, 50s and so on. May God bless you all and give you a very long and blessed life here on earth. But I beg you, I beg you.

Whatever you do, take the Lord Jesus with you. And don't take the Lord where it is dark. He is the light of the world.

Don't go to those dark alleys. Don't go to the places for the wrong reason, with the wrong crowd. Don't.

Don't go to places where they will take you away from Christ. I beg you. Yes, it is a struggle.

We said today is the spiritual struggle between Rachel and Leah. What is Rachel? The world. And what is Leah? Eternal world.

It is a struggle for every human being, but also I'm addressing the Christian world more so. It is a struggle for us as Christians and as human beings. The struggle is how can I live a spiritual life in a tangible physical realm? The temptations are many.

They are surrounding me from every angle I look. I turn here, there is the social media platforms. I go out, there is people.

I come in, there is family members. I be silent, there is the head that never goes silent on me. The thoughts are haunting me.

People around me are haunting me. Social media haunting me. The world haunting me.

I don't know what to do. Lord, I'm struggling. So the best and the easiest way for me is to give in to the flesh.

It's a lot easier to live in the flesh than to live in the spirit. And some people fall short. They stop halfway.

Don't. No matter how many times you fall, my son. No matter how many times you go astray, my daughter.

Come back. Christ is still opening his arms wide and far stretched, just waiting to embrace you once again. No matter how sinful you are, one little tiny drop of his precious blood can wipe away the sins of not yours only, the entire world.

The entire world. The entire world. There is nothing that can stand in Christ's way.

Nothing. He is God and God does the impossible. And the Lord said it.

What is impossible to you, men, it is possible to me because I'm God. Don't fall for Satan's trap. Don't be tempted.

Friends, people, situations, struggles, trying to take the shortcut. There is no shortcuts with the Lord, by the way. The Lord doesn't walk in shortcuts.

His way is only one. It will never change. His way is the truth.

Shortcuts veers off the truth. But the truth will get you to eternal life. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14, six. I am the way, the truth, and the life. So my beloveds, you wanna go out to a restaurant? You wanna go to a birthday party? You wanna go to a wedding? Take the Lord.

You're struggling with your own weaknesses, your addictions, whatever they are? Seek the Lord and beg him. Say, Lord, I can let go of you easily, but don't ever let go of me, Lord. I betray you, but you never betrayed me.

I lie, you speak the truth. I'm weak, you are all-powerful. I'm dead, you are the living Messiah.

I need you, Lord, and whatever happens, Lord, at the end, I wanna come home, and my home is you, is you, Lord. You are my home. You are my kingdom.

You are my heaven. You're my everything. You're my everything.

The Lord came, he says, take Leah for free. Take eternal life for free. It was made possible by my precious blood, which I shed on Calvary on the cross, but my vision became so weak, I did not want, and I was not interested to see Leah.

I wasn't interested in eternal life. For me, it's a weak vision. For me, it's boring.

For me, it's not what I'm seeking, but Rachel, the world, I will kill myself just to have fun in a world that is vanity of all vanities. My goodness, my goodness. Look at the world, just look at the world.

Sick, it is one big sick world. People lying to each other, spying on one another, and technologies, and vaccines, and pandemics, and lies after lies after lies after lies. Why, why is this happening? Why do they lie? Because the world is placed in the bosom of Satan, the father of all lies, the Lord Jesus says.

I mean, just listen to what Christ is saying. His word is the truth, not because he said it, because it is manifesting in our time and age. There is no one that spoke so truthfully like Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

All his words are 100% coming alive in our time and age, no one else has ever spoke like Jesus. No one, no one. And he spoke about the church and the end of times.

He says, he says, my church would walk away from me, would walk away. When a Christian leader speaks the truth of Christ, they will stone him to death. Not from outside, from within the church.

Because they don't want to hear about the truth. They don't. But Christ is the never changing God.

He is forever. And this is home. This is home.

This is what you can inherit. This is in fact your inheritance. Christ is the only home, the only person you could ever have.

Everyone else will fade away. Where is my earthly mother? Where is my earthly father? Not here with me in the flesh anymore, not. I go into the house, it's empty.

Into the room, it's empty. I lived with my mom for 53 years. I've never left her side.

Maybe in a way I was Jacob, mommy's boy. But you know, but the Lord teaches you so many, so many vital lessons in life that don't ever rely on people and forget me. Because I'll show you when you rely on people and you forget your God, I'll show you what people are.

When I take them away from you, then what are you gonna do now? You see, your mom left you, your dad left you, but I, Jesus Christ, never leave your side. So who is your true father and mother? It is I, Jesus. But I said honor your father and mother, the earthly ones, because you have your heavenly father and mother who is Christ.

Through your physical parents, learn how to honor your spiritual parent. But at the end, it's the Lord. The Lord is Christ.

All will go, all will fade, all people, all things. Only this man. The hands are the hands of a man, but the voice is the voice of God.

His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Hallelujah, amen. So you're gonna come to church always? You're gonna read the Holy Bible always? You're gonna sing and shout for the Lord always? You're gonna rely and trust in the Lord? No matter what happens, I know you're going through struggles.

Maybe it's emotional, maybe it's material, maybe it's relational. Whatever it is, whatever it is, whatever it is, spiritual, you're lost. You don't know.

You wanna get to Christ, but you don't know how. You wanna make up with this person, but they don't wanna see your face. At home, there is problems between the husband and the wife and the kids.

Work is not doing well. Money is not enough. Rates, bills are accumulating.

I don't know what to do tomorrow. The kids are in danger. The schools are teaching the wrong things to my beloved children who are my life.

I don't know. I'm going here, it's dangerous. I'm walking over there, it's unknown.

I don't know. I'm lost, I'm weak, I'm scared. Call out to Christ instead of going through all this nonsense.

Leave it all alone. Say, Lord, I just need you, Lord. Is that, because I can't do without you.

You know, if there's one thing Simon Peter said that I would love him for it forever, and I will wash his feet forever and kiss those feet and drink that water is the word that Simon, this mighty warrior said when the Lord said to the disciples, the apostles, do you also wish to go and leave me? Simon said, where do we go and the word of life is with you? Where do you want us to go? And the word of life is with you. Where shall I go and leave you, Lord? If I go, I'm dead. If I'm gone, that's it, it's the end of me.

That's why we can't leave you, but we're weak. So we need you to keep us with you. Lord, keep us with you.

Strengthen my vision. I wanna see Leah, not interested in Rachel. Turn the cycle around, reverse it.

Stop sacrificing your life for this world. Sacrifice it for the next. And definitely I'll leave you with this.

One of the church fathers said a profound statement. One of the church fathers, he says, we all know that this flesh will perish. We all know that this flesh will perish.

I pray that this flesh perishes for good things, not bad things. I pray. Since it's gonna perish and there is no two ways about it, I pray that it perishes for the Lord, not for the world.

Amen? Amen. God bless you. We shall continue this topic next week, God willing.

Please tell more people to come. Fill the church, fill the foyer, fill the streets, fill everywhere. You need to come to the Lord Jesus, my beloved.

I love it. And let me tell you this. You will hear people going against this bishop.

And you've heard it. And let me tell you this. I will never ever say anything against the people that speak against me.

I will love them, I'll bless them, I'll pray for them. But let me tell you one thing. One thing I know for sure.

I don't only believe in it, but I know it. Because you see, after faith comes knowing. Faith gets you to Christ.

But once you get to Christ, you need to know him. Why are you gonna keep on believing that, oh yeah, I believe there is Jesus, I believe. Well, the Lord, through that faith, brought you to him.

Once you saw him, why are you gonna believe in what? You don't need to believe anymore. You're seeing him, for God's sake. So you need to know him now.

You're living with him. Not only I believe, but I know. Jesus Christ is my sweetheart.

I've seen him face to face. I came to know him. I'm weak, the weakest of all, I admit.

I'm a sinner, and the number one sinner. But I know my Jesus. There is no power, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor beneath this earth, that could say to me, Jesus Christ doesn't exist.

Nor to say to me, Jesus Christ is not God. He is God, revealed in the flesh. He was crucified over 2,000 years ago, due at the time of Pontius Pilate.

He was buried and he rose from the dead on the third day. He went up to heaven and sat at the right hand of his father and he will come again to judge the dead and the living. Jesus Christ is God, revealed in the flesh, creator of everything, visible and invisible.

He is the only way, the only truth, the only life. He is the only true savior and the true redeemer of the entire world. He is it, and there is nothing else outside of him.

This, I not only believe in, I know, I know. So when people try to plant the weed, which is the seed of confusion, don't listen for your sake. Christ sent this piece of wreck to this world and he said to this piece of wreck, you are the voice of God on earth.

It's up to you. One day I'm gonna go, but let me tell you this. I know where I'm going.

It's been revealed to me a long time ago. Nothing takes away from me, no one. You know why? Because I not only believe in Jesus Christ, I know him.

And I know what he's capable of through what he revealed to me by his grace. And in that little revelation, more than enough to get me to the heaven of all heavens. I'm saying it for your own sake, whoever you are out there.

Listen to the voice of God. Stop looking at this piece of flesh, stop. Listen to the voice of God.

And if you're having your doubts and you're walking away because Satan is trying to distort, because he doesn't want you to hear the truth, one day you'll realize that this bishop was the voice of God on earth. Because the Lord will make sure that you will know it. And you will realize how much this bishop loved you even when you hated him.

My beloveds, our life on earth is extremely short. Time is very precious. Don't waste it on vanity.

Go to church every Sunday. Come to Bible Preach every Friday. Read the Holy Bible every day.

Thank the Lord all the time. And ask for his help always. And tell him every day, Jesus, I love you.

Lord, I love you. And also, I'm sorry, Dad, for hurting you. I'm weak.

Bear with me, Lord. Be patient, be tolerant. I'm sure through your grace and mercy, I'll be a good boy and a good girl one day.

I'm trying. Don't let go of this piece of wreck, Lord. His name is Bishop Murray.

Because I can't. Where shall I go, Lord? And the word of life is with you. Amen.

Amen to Simon Peter, man. What a mighty warrior. What a mighty apostle.

The word of life is with you. Stunning. Stunning.

Breathtaking. Take Leah. Don't worry about Rachel.

And I'm talking in the spiritual sense, please. If Rachel is a good girl, you go and marry her. But as long as Rachel takes you to Leah, which is heaven, okay? Not Leah, the other, a human being.

I'm talking about eternal life. All right, my daughter? All right, my son? Have fun with the Lord. Be happy.

You have Jesus. Why are you worried? Why are you upset? Why are you crying? Why are you angry? Let it go. Let go.

Trust in the Lord. Amen.