Philippians3

People are sharing about their week and experiences in different countries. Lydia talks about protests happening in Kenya due to a new tax bill. Francine shares that the government in Singapore has been giving money to its citizens. They discuss the government's reserves and how it can afford to give out money. They then begin discussing the book of Philippians chapter 3 and take turns reading and discussing different verses. They talk about rejoicing in the Lord and forgetting the past. They also discuss the importance of pressing on towards the goal and the hope of transformation in Christ. Hello. Welcome, Lydia. Welcome, Mildred. Hi, how was your week, Mildred? Hello, can you hear me? Oh, good. How was your week? Oh, good. Yep. It's been very hot here in Ohio and I got to spend some time at the beach, so that was pretty nice. For sure. Hello, Lydia. Oh, really? Oh, my goodness. Is that normal for this time of year? Oh, okay. Yeah. Wow. All right. Well, welcome, Lydia. Welcome, Anthony. Welcome, Shannon. Hope everyone's doing well. Everyone have a good week? Yeah, I had a good week. Oh, good. Yeah, but you can hear from my country, there's a lot happening in Kenya that's not okay. I'm sure it's in the news. I don't know if you guys have seen. I haven't really heard. What's going on? A lot of protests. Well, the Gen Z, they're being called protesting a new tax bill that's been signed by Parliament today, so they're not very happy about what's on it and they've taken to the streets. They're already in Parliament. They're banning things. You guys have been shot. So, yeah, it was meant to be a peaceful march, but it's gotten out of hand. Oh, no. That sounds like, yeah, that sounds like what we experienced here in the U.S. not too long ago with all these so-called peaceful protests that were very violent. So, I'm so sorry to hear that and we will certainly lift up Kenya and its people and you all in our prayers. So, thanks for sharing that, Lydia. And hello, Francine. Welcome. How are you doing? Great. Doing good. Good. And how are things for you, Shannon? Doing great. Thank you. All right. And Anthony, how's it going? Singapore is always good. It's always great. The government keep giving up money. So far this year, they've given every citizen $5,000 because there's a surplus of budget, so. My goodness. Okay. Well, well, good deal, I guess. Do you have to do anything for that or not, really? No. No, you didn't. All you have to do is be a Singaporean and then you can use the money to pay for groceries. Not only that, they will, the government will give you another $4,000 for you to do, to attend courses like a JGPT, AI, for skills development. So, it's all free. So, where does the government get that money? The government has a lot of reserves. The government has more reserves, believe it or not. The government has more reserves than the US government. Wouldn't surprise me, I guess. Interesting. Okay. Wow. Well, oh, it looks like Terza is joining us as well. So, welcome, Terza. Hello. How are you doing? All right. Not sure if she can hear me yet, but all right. So good to see you all. And yes. Hello, Terza. I hope everyone has had a good week in general, and I'm excited today to be in Philippians 3 with you all. It's one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, but at the same time as I was meditating on it this week, it's one of those things where it's like, you know, whoever's I thought, you know, I had revelation on this, and I do, but they're just, it's so rich. It's like, there's just so much here that I don't even think one hour and 15 minutes can do it at all justice, but we'll do what we can for today, and it'll be good. So, praise God. Let's see here. Maybe some others will be joining us as we go, but we'll go ahead and get to opening up in prayer today, and I just wanted to share from, let's see here, Psalm 119, verse 18, which says, So, I just feel like as we pray today, we just want the Lord to open our eyes to the amazing truths and revelations out of Philippians 3. So, that's one thing we like to pray for, and I just love how, you know, we can just open our eyes to the amazing truths and revelations out of Philippians 3. So, let's pray. Psalm 119 really brings out the Word of God and how amazing it is, and that verse really stood out to me this week. So, okay, we will go ahead and get into prayer. Oh, and welcome, Desiree, I see you've joined us. Good to see you, and is there anyone who would like to open us up in prayer? Hi, Desiree. I'm sorry, were you saying something? No, not at all. I was just saying hi. Oh, okay. Hello. All right. Anthony, can you pray for us today? Of course I will. All right. We will be strengthened and we will be fully equipped in the body of Christ, that we will be fully equipped to call, to fulfill our calling and our ministry wherever we are called, wherever we are led. Father, we just feel so encouraged every time we're together in the company of the life spirit, our friends. We are so bold. We are so encouraged. We are so, oh, we just know that you are doing wonders among us. Father, thank you so much for Liliana. She's young, but she's bold. She's full of wisdom. She's full of the spirit. And she has appointed her over us to guide us, to lead us as we go on this path of discovery into the wonders of your world. Father, we thank you. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. Glory to God. Thank you, Anthony. That was beautiful. And let's go ahead and get right into the word. Okay. Philippians chapter three. We'll go ahead and read aloud as usual. And would anyone like to open us up with whatever translation you have? Let's do, let's say verses one through, let's see, six here. Would anyone like to read that for us? I'll just jump in, Lily. Thank you, Francine. No confidence in the flesh. Verse one, further my brothers and sisters rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evil doers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, who put no confidence in the flesh, that why myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law of Pharisee, as for zeal persecuting the church, as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. Okay, thank you, Francine. Would anyone like to read verse seven through verse 11 or so? I'll read. Thanks, Anthony. But whatever gain I have, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and have counted it as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having the righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know him and the power of his restoration and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the restoration for the dead. All right, thank you, Anthony. And okay, it looks like Mary has joined us. Not sure if that's Mary M or Mary A, but we will find out. And okay, in the meantime, hello, Mary. Welcome. Hi, it's Mary M. I'm zooming in in a slightly different way. That's why my credentials look a bit different today. Oh, okay. Well, glad you were able to join in. I saw your message, so praise God you're with us, yes. And we're just reading through the chapter so far in Philippians 3. We're reading and we're on verse 12 now, so just wanted to fill you in on that, and thanks for coming. So awesome. Okay, would anyone like to read verse 12 through 16? I can do that. Thank you, Desiree. Verse 12, not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this in mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Thank you, Desiree. Awesome. And finally, 17 through verse 21. Would anyone like to finish us off with that? Yeah, I can do that. Okay, thanks, Desiree. 17. Brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk so you have us for a pattern. For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. All right, that is awesome. Thank you, Mary, for reading. And okay, let's go ahead and dig right into it. Does anyone have any comments or thoughts overall on the theme or structure or anything at all about what we just read before we get into it more deeply? Okay, well, we'll just get right into it then and pick out lots of points to discuss. And this will be fun. So let's see here, just going back to the beginning. Finally, my brethren, now, it's not that he's done with the letter, because we're only halfway through, but he says, finally, I guess that could mean, you know, just in accordance with what's been said already. So he's saying, rejoice in the Lord. Well, we've heard that a lot, haven't we? Praise God, we can rejoice in the Lord, no matter what. It's in the Lord that we rejoice, not in circumstances or in anything else going on. But praise God that because he's the same, we can always rejoice in him. And now he's saying, for me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you, it is safe. So writing the same things, I guess, you know, sometimes we just need to hear the same things over and over and over again. We don't need new revelation all the time. I mean, I'm sure we've all probably read all or most of the Bible, maybe one or multiple times, but we know faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing the Word of God. And so you know what, you can never just read or hear something once and then say, well, I've heard that before, because that just shuts off your heart from what God wants to reveal to you at this time in your life and continually. So praise God that, you know, we just need to hear it again. Does anyone else have anything to comment on in the opening here? Verse one or so. We'll just keep going then. And you know what, if you want to go back and comment on it, that's always fine, too. But okay, let's keep going. Verse two. All right, I feel like now we're really getting into sort of where this chapter is going. We see a theme being brought out here, having no confidence in the flesh and rejoicing in Christ Jesus alone. And now, when he talks about these people, be aware of, I don't know how your translation, you know, states that exactly, but the dogs, the evil workers, the concision, or the mutilation, however your translation may put it, or something else. What types of people do you think that this is referring to, based on the context? Well, I think, Lili, maybe when you think of my translation, it says beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of mutilation. And when I think of the study that we just came out of, I think it would be referring to anything that keeps us away from the truth of the gospel, and that's relying wholly and solely on Jesus, and what is already done, and not getting into, you know, sometimes we can, you know, we've received such a great salvation, and we behold that wholeheartedly. And then when various circumstances and situations happen, in our respective lives, we can, and when it's real and tangible to you and I specifically, we can just get into the flesh, and we can get into that work. So, I think maybe what, when I read it now, I've been pondering on this when reading it before, but as I'm reading it now, it's that beware of dogs, and the dogs can represent things that we make idols within ourselves, things that we allow in. It can be things or people or situations that we allow to take away from the truth of the gospel, which is by Jesus and through him alone, and what he's already done, and of us attaining that by beholding that and believing that. And I once had a message of, you know, Greg Moyles really stuck to me, where he was speaking about faith being a sixth sense. And that hasn't left my heart, because, you know, when you lay a hold of faith, like, you know, Peter, when he looked at the water and looked at Jesus, you can't focus on two things at the same time. So, when I'm laying a hold of faith, and the way that Greg put it, I'm laying a hold of truth of the word of God. I'm hanging on to whatever it is I'm trusting God for, whether it's healing, whether it's financial relief, or whatever it is, and I'm holding on to the truth of the scriptures that he's already done for me. And if I can't focus, I'm worried about my sickness or whatever it is I'm trusting relationally, and trust in God at the same time. So, if I'm doing that, then it's indicated for me that I'm in my flesh. So, it's not just people, I think it sometimes can be a situation. It can be a focus or an idol. True. Yes. Thank you, Desiree, for sharing. And does anyone want to comment or have some dialogue on what Desiree had commented on, or anything on this verse? I'll leave it open to you before I jump in again, because I want you guys to also have interaction with one another. So, I think that it's referring, in this particular passage, to the legalists who are insisting on circumcision of the flesh to be called right. And all of those things that she said are excellent and certainly apply every day for us. But here, I think that he's saying, you know, the legalism that's being pushed upon you, it really is more about the rightness of your heart. And so, to be careful of those that are coming in with what seems like right doctrine of the Spirit, and then, of course, start to lay on requirements or, you know, quote-unquote circumcisions that we have to adhere to in order to be right. We're right by Christ because our heart has said, yes. Yeah. Amen. All right. Well, I think that makes sense based on the context. These are those who would try to, you know, draw the believers out of that grace. And, you know, he's saying we have no confidence in the flesh, but these are people who are putting confidence in the flesh or are encouraging others to do so. So, it's interesting how he uses this derogatory word, dogs, to describe, like, people who claim to have some degree of holiness. You know, it's still flesh. Either way, whether you're just reprobate flesh or if you're trying to earn righteousness flesh, all flesh is, you know, flesh, and that's not God's plan, and that's not his intention for us. So, anyway, yes. Interestingly, also, is that he's using the derogatory term that the Jews themselves would use on the Gentiles, saying you yourselves are actually dogs when you do this. Right. That's true. That is interesting. Praise God. Wow. Okay. Well, that's a funny irony there. So, thanks for pointing that out, Shannon. And, yes, for sake of time, we'll just keep going. But, like I said, if you want to comment on this and tie it in, that's fine. But he's saying in verse 4, though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless. So, what did Paul just do there with all those lax statements he made? What is that a list of? Words. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. What is he boasting in? Well, yeah, just to piggyback off of Shannon and Desiree, you know, what we see is just that religious spirit taking precedent and then just focusing on the self, which is what the Pharisees and Sadducees tended to do, focus on the self, focus on the works, focus on what they achieved. And so, Paul is referring to, you know, in his day when he did focus on the self and all his accomplishments and what he had attained, you know, by works and in the flesh. But none of that really, in the grand scheme of things, it's about Christ, and we have no accomplishments in the flesh. It means nothing. Rubbish. Yeah, that's like his list of accomplishments or his resume, and he's like, you know, here saying that those are all things that he took such pride in in himself, but, you know, now that he has this revelation of Christ, you know, that's all something else now. We're getting into that, but yes. Amen, Francine. Thank you. That is true. Would anyone else like to comment on that before we go on? All right. Well, like I said, we're going to go on, but, you know, it's all part of the context, so if you want to bring that point out from this again, feel free. You know, there's also the big picture, not just the verse-by-verse, you know, thinking here, so it all ties together. And then verse 7, he's saying, But what things were gained to me these? I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish or dung, however your translation says that, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. And then he goes on to explain why that is, so that he might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, that if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. So I know that that's a bit of a, you know, lengthier segment than we're used to, digesting all at one time, but you know what, guys, this is so extremely powerful. Like, as I was meditating on this chapter, verses 7 through 10 there, or I'm sorry, 7 through 11, it's just like, it was almost so much that I was thinking, I just need to like, pause and meditate on this, and just let the Spirit reveal this, because I mean, I know we can just go right into discussing, and you know, explaining, and all this, but this is, I mean, this is just revelation, this comes by such revelation of just what is God's purpose for us, and what do we do with ourselves, and all that we've done, and all that we've achieved, you know, lay it aside, and it's like, we just want to know Christ, that's the one goal we have in life. So, you know what, I just feel like, can we just take a moment right here, and I just want each of you to meditate on verses 7 through verse 11 for a moment, before we start talking about it, can we just like, meditate on that, pray on it for, I don't know, a minute or so, and then come back, and then just talk about what the Spirit has revealed, or does reveal as we do. All right, so just take a moment, and I'm going to just mute myself and pray for a moment, and yeah, let's just go ahead and soak in some of this truth here. All right, we can start to sort of come back here, and I know that we've already talked about this, it's not about our righteousness or our works, but I just feel like this takes so much reflection to really get the depth and meaning of this, so thank you all for just taking the time to be sensitive to the Lord, the Holy Spirit, just to, you know, make this about your relationship with God, we don't want any of this to be head knowledge, if the whole point is to know the Lord, that takes revelation from the Holy Spirit, so yes, I just want to encourage you all to consider as we ponder these verses, you know, we can ask ourselves some questions, like, you know, what sort of things do we lay aside, are there any things in your personal life that you would say maybe you could count as loss, you know, for the excellency of, you know, knowing Christ and being found in Him, and what does that mean to know Him, because, you know, Paul had walked with Him for years at this point, decades, and it's like, he still says that I might know Him, that's my goal, and so this is just so rich and so deep, I mean, this is a lifelong revelation that we're trying to dissect here in just, you know, a few minutes today, but does anyone have any thoughts or comments? I really want to take this in, you know, this whole section, verse 7 through 11, if you want to point out a particular verse and something that God's given you revelation on, please do, I have my own, you know, thoughts and revelations on this, you know, in my personal life, but I don't know, I just want to leave it open for a minute, does anything have, anyone have anything the Spirit has spoken to you, or a personal experience, or, you know, something you've walked out that reflects, you know, what Paul is, you know, stating here, or anything at all, I just want you all to feel free to share what's on your heart. If no one has anything in general, I'll just start to ask some questions to, like, just sort of draw a bit of a discussion out here, so when he says, and yeah, let's see here, okay, so it almost seems like, you know, in these first few verses, 7, 8, yeah, he's saying that there's things that he has to count as loss, and we know, we've just read his resume, we know he was talking about his accomplishments in the flesh, and things that he had taken pride in as a Jew, you know, in order to be accounted righteous, or as someone to be respected by God and man, or however that was, but is it possible to have, you know, our own achievements and, you know, the righteousness of God at the same time, or is it one or the other, and not both? Oh, I'm sorry, Lydia, did you want to make a comment here? I saw that you had unmuted yourself. Okay, maybe not. No, it just went off, yeah. Oh, okay, that's fine, just wanted to check, but is it, so is there any place for us, and us to glory in what we've done, is there any place for that at all, or is it one or the other, but not both, you know what I mean? Is it all God, and some of us, or is it all God, and none of us? Yes, Shannon, go on. So, these, as I was meditating on these first couple of verses, it reminded me of, you know, when we are living our lives pre-Christ, or even in the early days, there are things that we, the things that we're good at, you know, we have confidence in our ability to do things, our skills, our talents, maybe a gift, and, you know, that tends to be the direction our life goes, and the longer I walk with the Lord, and we tend to be fearful of the things maybe we're not good at, or that we might be interested in, that we don't necessarily have gifts in, and I've realized over the last decade or so that, you know, I've had a lot of, you know, I've realized over the last decade or so that the more I've laid down those things that I was really, you know, good at, or confident in, and counted it as loss, laying it down, it's your God. You might have made me with this bent that, you know, kind of helps me through life, but there's so much more. There's so much more that He wants to draw out of us, and when I lay down my confidence in where I might be gifted or good, He raises up things in me that I didn't even know were there, and then in order to pursue them, because there's, you know, a fear of failure, or maybe a comparison, or that I start to lean on Him in ways that I wouldn't have known to before, because I might lack a confidence in those areas He's turning me toward, and then my confidence in Him grows so much stronger that it just leads you into pieces of ministry you never consider. He's just opening doors that, you know, when you're, because you're so committed to His goodness and leaning on Him for confidence, you grow to understand more and know Him more and realize how much more you really don't know in any of it, and so it just, it gives you a courage and a confidence to trust Him, to walk in places that, and then to know that you can. You don't have to always be confident. You have to always know or have the right gift or talent. He's going to either, you know, provide it or bring someone alongside, or it's just amazing. He just shows up in such great good ways. Oh, that's really good. Thank you, Shannon, and you said a lot of points there that stood out to me as well, and in my own personal revelation and experience with, you know, these statements that He's making, and, you know, does anyone else here, can anyone else relate to these verses in terms of, not necessarily like religious works, but in those talents and those personal achievements, like even gifts that God has given you that you might have taken confidence in? I know I certainly can. Like, I don't know, Shannon, what your specific areas of gifting are or things that, you know, you have talent in that you were referring to, feel free to share on that, but for me, yeah, there's certainly things in my life that I would say God gave me a gift for something, and well, it just, it's almost a hindrance in some ways when you're really, you know, you have talent in something, because then, yeah, you end up trusting in yourself and depending on God less in that area, and then you think, oh, I'm really awesome, I'm really something, and, you know, for me personally, I, just growing up, I was like way ahead of my class always in academics, and I was reading, let's see, I was told I was reading six years above my grade level by my teachers, and, you know, I always scored in the 99th percentile in the nation on all of my standardized tests, and this was when I was like a 10-year-old, and, you know, my 8 through 12 or whatever, and I always thought, like, oh, by the time I'm an adult, I'm going to be some kind of like rocket scientist or CEO or whatever, and, you know, now here I am thinking what happened, but no, I'm kidding, but it's funny, because, like, and then also, like, God gave me, you know, gifts in music, and I pursued that for so long, and it was just something that I felt like, wow, you know, God gave me this gift, but I also really put a lot of pressure on myself to, like, achieve and come up with, you know, success in that way, but, you know, things, long story short, things just did not turn out the way that I had planned, despite me doing every possible thing that I could to make my career work out, and I really did work extremely hard, and I found the end of myself in that at a certain point, so, you know, it's like, you know, when you realize, oh, no, you know, no matter how hard I try, it's not enough, it's almost like in the same way that it is with, you know, relating to God in a religious sense, like, oh, you know, my works aren't enough to earn salvation, you kind of realize these same things with even your own natural talents and abilities God's given you, like, even though God's given me these gifts, if I, you know, approach them a certain way and have that confidence in myself, like, oh, I've got to make things happen, and, you know, I'm putting all this pressure on myself to achieve, and I'm striving, and, you know, it's almost like the same thing, there's a grace with that, too, you have to lay that aside, the fact that God has given you abilities is true, and that's awesome, but you lay aside the fact that you're trusting in yourself to develop and make those happen and to open doors for you, and, you know, all this stuff, it all goes back to God, and it's like how it says in, um, let's see here, um, what was the verse on, yeah, anyway, I think you all know what I mean, but, um, so, yeah, my revelation is, uh, yeah, personally, through having experienced, you know, loss in certain ways, like, I'm like, you know what, those talents don't define me anymore, and my goal is to know the Lord, I'm blessed just to be a child of God, and, you know, if He has given me any talent, I'm going to use it in the way that He directs and guides, and I realize it's not all about myself, but it's about what He's doing in and through me, so, yeah, does anyone else have any comments on this or any personal revelations or experiences or, um, anything from these verses? They're just so deep and rich that I think, um, we can never exhaust the depths of them, but. Yeah, I'm just going to share, Lily. Yeah. Yeah, just with what you're sharing, I love it, and I think that, I think the crux of, like, what I'm taking away from here is, one, you know, we're to pursue Christ and know Christ at all costs, but also the other goal is what I think is to advance the Kingdom of God, and we look at Paul's life, you know, not only is he, you know, not boasting enough flesh, but, you know, he's focusing on the Spirit, focusing on his relationship with Christ, but then, you know, he's teaching and preaching to his brothers and sisters, and when I think about us and our own abilities, like, I think it comes down to heart posture, you know, it's like we have all each been given a gift and a talent. I was thinking about, like, as you were talking and Shannon were talking, it's kind of like what, um, uh, what's his name? Oh, my gosh. He teaches on the Seven Mountains of Influence, Lance Wallnau. Oh, yeah. So, like, we each have been given gifts and talents, and, of course, we don't want to boast in them, you know, as in our own flesh and strength and, you know, prop ourselves up, but at the same time, if we've been given a gift of, you know, leadership or, you know, politics or, you know, science or, you know, education or what have you, you know, God wants us to go into those areas, and I don't know if I'm kind of squirreling and getting off topic, but I just was thinking as far as, like, how we can bring influence because, again, it's knowing Christ. So, it's us pursuing our relationship with Christ, laying down anything that would hinder our pursuit in Christ, and then taking that, um, growth and knowledge and revelation and then going out to advance the Kingdom of God in whatever sphere of influence or capacity that we have to be able to do that. Amen. Yeah. So, again, it's heart posture. Like, if you're, if someone is gifted in music and their heart posture is to glorify God in that gift, I think God is glorified in that. If we're going into education and we're being an influence and a light and, you know, I feel like God is pleased with that. So, I don't know if that is relevant to our topic, but I just thought it was good. Oh, absolutely, because, you know, you can take the same gifting and either make it a blessing or a curse to you and the world. So, yeah, we just have to be God-directed in how we pursue those things He's given us and let Him decide how it goes. And, yeah, I just think a lot of what you and Shannon have said is relatable to me in a lot of ways. So, thank you for sharing, and I know Mary has her hand up, and I just want to welcome Roy since he's joined us. Hello, Roy, good to see you. Thanks for coming today. And, yes, go ahead, Mary, and feel free to comment as well. Hi, Roy. Yeah, I just wanted to, I wasn't going to say anything, but just wanted to encourage you, Lily, because what you were saying, I really resonated with it. And that's kind of, I'm 30 years down the line. So, 30 years ago, when I just qualified as a doctor, and I was going to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology, and my husband was specialising in osteopedics, and our daughter was six months old. And so, we were both working all day, studying all night, and kind of would drop my daughter off with a childminder. We'd see her for maybe 30 minutes in the evening, put her to bed. And as we were doing this, the Lord started convicting me, and He was saying that, so you and your husband are both building your careers, and so who's building the home? And whose child is this anyway, if she's spending all day long with the childminder? And it's because my identity was so tied in with, you know, I'm the intelligent one, I'm the doctor, and at that time in my class, I was the only woman doctor, and all of this, that was my whole identity. Even in my family, it was like, you know, I'm the bright one, and all of that. And it wasn't that there was anything wrong with being a doctor, it's just that that's where I was getting my value from. And so, the Lord had to do some work in me to show me that your value doesn't come from your achievements, your accomplishments, or anything. My value is inherent, because He values me so much that He died for me. And it was like, I had to lay aside all of what I thought were my dreams, and I really, you know, I really fought with Him for about two years, and finally I submitted, and I was like, okay Lord, not my plan, Your plans. And really, as soon as I did that, you know, God is the one who created you, and He created you for a purpose. And when I look at my life now, it's like 30, almost 30 years ago now, and I'm so grateful for what the Lord did, because my plans, you know, my home, my marriage would have been wrecked, my family, my life, you know, would have been wrecked probably. But because I did that, and I was a stay-at-home mom for about 10 years, and other people thought that, you know, why are you being so ridiculous? You know, they thought I was foolish, but you know, the wisdom of this world is foolishness. And I'm really grateful for what the Lord did in my life, that He took the things that looked foolish, and He really, you know, just, you know, led me into my purpose and all of that. So we may think that, that's why I think what Paul said, you know, he counts it as dung, because it really is dung compared to the plans that God has for your life. And when I look back at my life now, I'm really grateful for what the Lord did for me, you know, 30 years ago, and what He's, you know, the path that I've been the past 30 years. Wow. Oh, amen. That is so beautiful, Maneri. Thank you for sharing your testimony, and that really glorifies God, and that's awesome that you were able to make, you know, God's priorities your priorities, and how that blessed your family. And, you know, you didn't care what others thought, you were just going to do what the Lord said, and wow, that just really resonates with me. So thank you for sharing that. Praise God. I love to hear all of your personal journeys, and that's why we do this, so that we cannot just, like, talk about the word, but fellowship, and, you know, learn how, you know, we've lived this. So, and, you know, even if we're going through struggles, or if we're in ruts, you know, that's part of this, too. So we support each other, and yeah, thank you all for just being open and sharing, and I love this. So, amen. Yeah, that's another thing I realized, like, when I'm reading these verses he's talking about, I count that stuff rubbish, and dung, and garbage, and whatever. Yeah, I mean, honestly, if I look back at, like, all of my own, you know, efforts, and I made tremendous sacrifices over the last, you know, like, there were 10 years of my life where, like, I look at the things that I gave up in order to, like, pursue, you know, my goals, and my music achievements, and yeah, it was just craziness. I missed out on a lot of stuff, but a lot of the stuff I missed out on was probably worth missing out on, too. But anyway, I just look at all that, and I realize, like, part of that was just, like, really frustrating, and, like, grating on me the whole time, and I just ignored that, so I could pursue, like, this goal, and this, you know, thought in my head, but it's like, man, my life is so much better now. Like, I'm in ministry, I'm with Andrew Womack, and I'm with all of you, and, you know, I'm able to relax now. Like, I could not relax for one moment, and I was constantly in a rushed lifestyle, and, you know, always, you know, I had to, you know, make sure that I looked so smart to everyone, and, like, keep up this front, and put on this mask, and I had to be, like, the most talented person in the room, and I had to earn every little thing that I got, and it was like, oh my goodness, just, I cannot even, you know, there's so much involved with all that, I can't get into it all today, but, yeah, it's like, I look back at all that stuff, now I'm like, garbage, you know, forget all that, I just can't believe that I used to, like, take glory in some of that, you know, but then it's not that music is bad, it's just, like, you know, the way that you do it, so, yeah, just if you're doing things the way God has given you, and for His purpose, and the way He sees, it won't be a burden like that, so, yeah, praise God that a lot of that distraction is over, but, you know, I believe God's still got, maybe, things for me in music, so, anyway, yeah, does anyone else want to share on, I know we've talked about this a lot, like, in a sense to where, you know, we're talking about stuff we do as far as, like, personal achievements, or goals, or, you know, life, you know, talent things, or things, good things God's given you, but if anyone has revelation on this section from some other angle, feel free to share on that as well, I know that the word is, like, multifaceted, and there's many applications of one truth, so, you know what, someone might have something entirely different to add to this, but go on, and now is your time to share, oh, and welcome Mary A, so glad that you're here as well. Okay, so, for me, my story is more like Mary's, because I was working, my husband was working, I had three kids, and then my husband had to work outside of where we were living, and so it was a bit of a lot of pressure for me, because I live in Lagos, and the traffic in Lagos is something else, I would have to leave my home by 5 a.m. daily, and then get home very late, usually by 10 p.m., and I didn't get to see my kids, of course, the same way told me to leave my job, but it was a tough decision, because I was contributing to the home, I was contributing to my family, my parents, my siblings, and so it was difficult to trust God, and I didn't have the revelation that I have now about, you know, depending on the Lord, but one day I took the decision, and I said, okay, I'm going to trust you, Lord, and this time I was in serious debt, I was owing about 45 million naira, and so I had taken that money from my, it was a home loan that was given to me by my organization, I was working in a bank, and so it was tough, I was working to pay off that loan, and I didn't know how I was going to pay it off, but I took the decision to follow God, and I did, and I can tell you, of course, it was rough, because I didn't know how to trust God, but little by little, He taught me to trust in Him, and that loan is all completely paid off, my life is much better than it ever was when I was working. In fact, about three weeks ago, I saw some of my former colleagues in the bank, and they were looking at me and saying, how come you're looking so young, you're looking at 15 years ago, there's no difference, and I'm like, oh, it's God, because the work was stressful and going and coming, and I had to work Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays, it was a terrible situation, but thank God He got me out of it, and now I'm at peace. So, this is the testimony to the fact that God is so good, and when we descend to trust in Him, so many things happen, so many things happen. God sorted out my family, God sorted out this family I am in, my parents were well taken care of, my siblings were well taken care of, and one day God was saying to me, you thought you were all that, that if you were not there, these people would not survive. I did not survive it now, and I was like, thank you, Jesus, they are surviving, and all without me. Oh, wow, that's awesome, glory to God. As we're reading this portion now, the verse that came to me is that one in Proverbs, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, if you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will direct your path, and that is it. When you put all these things aside and say, Father, I choose to trust in you, I know you've got my back. Amen. Wonderful thing. Oh, absolutely. Wow, well, thank you, Mildred, for sharing that, your personal experience, as well as that word, absolutely, we just trust in the Lord, and yeah, He's the one who will establish our ways as we do, so amen, that is awesome, and okay, just for sake of time, let's see here, we will continue, and he's saying in verse 10, his goal is that I might know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, that if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. So, let's see here, so he's saying his righteousness is found in God, by faith, his faith is in Christ, his goal is to know Him, and does anyone want to share on what are these sufferings, or what is this death that we're conformed to? I know, you know, we all probably are familiar with that resurrection, and the resurrection life of Christ, but what about the sufferings, and what about the death there in verse 10? Does anyone want to speak on those terms? And in what ways? Is it every kind of suffering that we suffer with Christ, or is it every kind of, you know, redemptive, I guess, punishment that He bore on Himself, do we receive that same thing, or is this a different type of suffering and death, perhaps? I'll share just a note from my study Bible. It says, you know, Paul gave up everything, he gave up family, friendship, freedom, in order to know Christ and His resurrection power. We, too, have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully. So, what are you willing to give up in order to know Christ? A crowded schedule in order to set aside a few minutes each day for prayer and Bible study, your friend's approval, some of your plans and pleasures, what is it? Knowing Christ is more than the sacrifice. True. So, yeah, there are physical things that I think Paul went through, too, but, I mean, I just think of terms of, like, relationships and things that I've had to just lay down, you know, just being, you know, unequally yoked, not that you don't love them and try to, you know, minister and seek life, but there are just things that you do have to give up to pursue Christ in an effort. For sure. Yeah, it almost seems like if you hang on to certain things or relationships, like you said, Francine, that they become a hindrance. It's not that God doesn't love you, but it's like, you know, your walk, you know, we have to walk out the grace that we've been given, and that can be inhibited if, you know, we're in the wrong place or with the wrong people. So, that's true. Yeah, there are things to let go of, and you know what? It's easier to let go of something than it is to take on something. Like, letting go is just, you know, it seems like that would take less effort, but in some ways, we just love to hang on to, you know, old things, but, you know, if God says let go, then, you know, you'll be freer if you do. So, praise God for that. That's true, you know, there's, like, things we give up, there's opposition from others, there's denial of the flesh, so those are all involved in that as well. And, hi, Anthony, I see you've unmuted yourself. Did you have a comment there? Oh, I'm enjoying listening to all of you. Oh, okay. Yeah, just enjoying. I think Francine's talk about giving up something, giving up friends, reminds me of Abraham willing to give up his Isaac in obedience to the Lord. What is precious to us that we are willing to give up when the Lord calls us? It could be very painful. It could be something that we don't like, but again, Romans 1, living sacrifice, being prepared to walk that walk, being faithful, because we want to present ourselves as pilgrims to Jesus when He comes. We are betrothed to Him, and we want to be faithful to Him. We want to be faithful to one husband, that's Jesus, when He comes. And that requires us to forego things of this world, to forego things in the flesh. And I think what Paul is saying here, just let me make a few comments about Paul. When Jesus, in John 16, He told His disciples, many things I want to share with you, but you will not be able to bear it, you will not be able to understand. Paul met Jesus three times. If you go through the old episodes, he actually had revelation, he saw Jesus three times. And only Jesus is able to reveal the truth of His, the truth of righteousness to Paul, to the Pharisees. So what we are reading in the episodes is really the words of Jesus, which he could not share with his 12 disciples. So in righteousness and everything, what Paul is saying is, he wants to do nothing but Jesus' death and His resurrection. And why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? Let me just quote from Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54 comes after 53. Isaiah 53 talks about Jesus' death and what He did on the cross for us, right? Isaiah 54, it says, in righteousness you shall be established. Righteousness you shall be established. Many times we know about righteousness, but we heard about it, but are we established? Do we know? Do we believe? Do we hold it? Do we meditate? Do we look into the gifts of the righteousness? Because once we are established in that righteousness, your children will be taught by the Lord. That's one benefit. Grace will be the peace of your children. Your children will have shalom, will have all the blessings of shalom. You shall be far from oppression. Enemies will come, but they cannot come near you, and you will have no fear. So this is in Isaiah 54, 13 and 14. I think what Paul's ministry is, all he's talking about is nothing but the flesh, right? The flesh is our own effort. And he only wants to know Jesus and His, nothing of the flesh, but Jesus and His resurrection and righteousness by faith. And that is what we, though we heard about righteousness, we heard about it, but are we conscious about it? Are we holding on to it? Are we believing on it? Are we meditating on it? Are we meditating? Why is the resurrection? What is listening to messages on the righteousness? Anyway, it was just a long thing in my head to talk about. Why Paul, what Paul is potentially sharing in his episodes are even more important than what Jesus shared to His disciples, because they will not be able to understand His complete ministry. Yeah. Amen. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's powerful, Anthony. Thank you for sharing. Yes, what do we now have? The righteousness of God that was never yet revealed fully before Christ, but now we enjoy this new covenant established on better promises. And yeah, praise God that now we can receive that grace and know Him by faith. And oh yes, thank you for sharing on that. And just for sake of time, we'll keep going. Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, guys. I know we shared a lot on, you know, these verses, but I think that's all good too. So I do want to get through everything if we can. So let's see here. Let's go on to verse 12 onward. So he's saying, not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also has laid hold on of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those that are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. So he's saying he's still pressing forward to something. He's still not perfect in a sense. What do you think is this one thing or this goal that he has in mind? I mean, I know he states that here, but how would you explain that in your own words? Gerza or Roy or anyone, Mary A., who hasn't spoken, would any of you like to have a chance to comment here? If not, that's okay. Well, I think when I think of the upward call, I think of, I think somebody mentioned this last week too, Romans 12, 1 and 2, and verse 2 where it says, we're not to be conformed to the patterns of the world, but to respond by the renewing of our minds. And then it kind of gets me to think about Romans 8, 29 on how God calls us all things to work together for our good, but that the purpose of it is that we look like we'd be conformed, but conformed to the image of God's Son. And so that's what came to mind when we were reading that. Oh, yes, that's really good, Mary. Thank you for sharing. And I would agree with that, because, you know, in our spirits, our spirits are already perfect, but we have to walk that salvation out with fear and trembling. So we're not perfect in our walk until we're, you know, fully submitted and surrendered. But yes, as we surrender, you know, we can attain to what he's saying here, that upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And Paul just wanted to give God as much glory as he could with, you know, not just being saved and stuck, but living that life of a disciple and even, you know, perhaps a martyr, as he thought. So yeah, he was just going to be committed to that one thing, knowing God and making him known to others and just glorifying the Lord in his life. So he was obtaining like a heavenly prize that he saw in his future. Anyone else want to comment on that? Yeah, about the heavenly prize in his future, I think he just wants to hear Christ say, well done, good and faithful servant. Yeah, amen. That's good. Amen, Lydia. I would say so too. And that was really, you know, motivating for him. So yeah, he was heavenly minded. And yeah, he had that eternal perspective. So, amen. Thanks for sharing. And let's see here in verse 15, he says, therefore, let us as many as are, your translation might say perfect or mature or something like that, have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal this unto you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we've already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. So I love that there, how in verse 15, he's saying, you know, basically be of this one mind, this one focus on just knowing God and living for Christ. But you know what, if you're not being of a perfect mind in some area, or if there's some lie or wrong thinking that you've embraced, God will reveal it to you. So it's not like we have to like be so self-focused on every, you know, thought that crosses our minds and every, you know, false thing or every sin or whatever, you know, it's not about self-consciousness here. It's still, you know, let God do the job of revealing error to you if you fall into error. And I just love how freeing that is, because we can get so caught up in ourselves and our own shortcomings. But I just like how that he points that out there, that stood out to me a lot. So, and then he's saying, to the degree we've already attained, let us walk by the same rule and be of the same mind. So whatever has worked for you, whatever, you know, revelation or truth of the word that you've lived out, just continue in that, you know, the truth doesn't change. So, praise God, it'll work again. You know, if you've seen victory in the past, abide by that same, you know, principle of truth from the Lord and, you know, you'll see victory again and again. So, anyone else have a comment on these verses, like 15, 16, or any of that? All right, maybe we'll just keep going then. And verse 17, Brethren, join in following my example and know those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. All right, so now he's bringing back those enemies, those people who oppose the cross, like he had started with in the beginning of the chapter. What does he say, what kind of mind do these people have? What does it reveal there in verse 19? What's their mind about? My first glance, at first glance to me, it's just more focused on the world system, as opposed to Paul is one, number one, he's, you know, Christ-focused, but he's also others-focused, and then again, circling back to advancing the kingdom of God, you know, just he's focused on heaven. He's focused on the eternal and bringing, obviously, as many as he can, you know. Yeah. It just, it's just not eternal, but it's basically like that contrast is being worldly-focused or being kingdom-focused, heavenly-focused. Yeah, what a contrast indeed, and those who, you know, take so much pride in the things they obtain in this earth, well, one day, you know, it's going to be revealed by fire, whether it's wood, hay, and stubble, or gold, silver, and precious stone, and there's so many people here on earth who just glory in all their achievements, like we talked about, and, you know, how the world views them a certain way, and, you know, puts them on this pedestal, but that's all going to be, perhaps, burned up in the fire if it's not of God. So, yeah, absolutely, we need that eternal perspective, and I just, I think it's so funny how he describes these people who are, you know, these people who oppose the cross of Christ, these, you know, legalists, and those who oppose grace, he describes them as, like, these gluttons and, you know, carnal people, but it's true, like we said, you know, flesh is flesh, whether it's, you know, trying to obtain godliness, flesh, and it's flesh, or if it's just completely indulging in worldliness, so it's all the same. I just, I think that's funny. All right, so let's see here. Anyone else have any thoughts or comments on this last section? Any verses that stood out to you, or anything about Francine? Yes, go on, Shannon. I have a note in my Bible for verses 17 through 21 that says, in addition to the Judaizers, other carnal believers stood to affect the Philippians by advocating a perversion of Christian liberty and taking freedom from the law as license to sin. So, we see that a lot in our day-to-day, as well. We do, for sure, yeah, and that's not the gospel truth, either, but some things never change. There's nothing new under the sun, right? Right. Yeah, all right, that is true. Thanks for sharing, and anyone else have any comments on either someone else's comments, or these verses, or just any overall thoughts here? I was going to just say, really quick, on verse 18, where he says, for, as I have often told you before, and I'll tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. And then, that verse just stands out, or jumps out at me, is just, again, like, false compassion for people, and he was moved to compassion, even though, you know, they were of a religious mindset, a religious spirit, and, you know, they were enemies to the cross, but that he, I don't know, there was a compassion that he felt, because he knew that they were, you know, separated from God, and so his heart, again, was other focused to see people reconciled to Christ, and to know Christ the way that, you know, he knew Christ. So, I just, I don't know, that jumps out to me, and it's a reminder to me, through Paul's example, that, like, even in our world today, as, you know, just how far away people really are today, and I just know that, you know, our heart ought to break, you know, what breaks God's heart ought to break our hearts, as well, and then thinking about how we can minister, and sow seed, and, you know, be light in capacity. Oh, amen, Francine, that's true, because, you know, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and, you know, Jesus died for all, so, yeah, we want them to know Christ. Oh, Mary, you had a comment, go on, Mary M. Yes, sorry, I forgot to unmute. Yeah, verse 20, just something that I want to meditate on more, so I'm still developing my thoughts on it, but just about our citizenship being in heaven, and what that means, and what that means for how, the way I live. Yeah, I was just thinking, like, for me, okay, I'm from Malawi, my daughter has British citizenship, and because she has British citizenship, she's entitled to different things that I'm not entitled to, if I go to the UK, and so I'm just thinking, if my citizenship is in heaven, even though I'm here, they say we're in the world, we're not of the world. What does that mean for me, as a citizen of heaven, living in the world? What am I entitled to? How should I be living? And that kind of thing, so it's just something that I want to meditate on more, and I believe, as I really understand it, I'll live more powerfully as a believer, looking in the Spirit. Amen, for sure. Oh, I love that, and that's true, how, you know, if our citizenship is in heaven, and then the next couple words there, it says, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, so, I mean, at least that's the New King James version I'm reading, that's saying that we're actually from heaven, waiting for the return of Christ, as if we're already there, because, you know what, in a sense, we are already there, because, like, doesn't Colossians 3, like, verse 2, or somewhere around there, says, focus not on earthly things, but on the things that are above, for you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God, and then, like, Ephesians, what, 2, 6 says that we're seated with Christ in the heavenly places, so that's amazing how, like, our actual life is not really here, it's right now, it's there in heaven with God, and that's just amazing, like, do we ever actually meditate on that? That this actually is not my real life, and do you ever see yourself in the throne room of God, like, seated there, and what does that look like, and how does that feel? I mean, sometimes I've done that, like, I've just kind of meditated on that, wow, like, I am on the throne with Christ, and that's just amazing, like, our natural mind can't comprehend it, but, like, that's just something that the Spirit of God reveals to you, and I just love that, that is so amazing, like, not only is Jesus above it all, and all things are under His feet, but He's put us there, too, in His grace. Amen. We're seated with Him in heavenly places. Amen, Shannon, that's right. Yeah, but are we living that way? Are we thinking that way? Are we communicating that way? Are we imparting that to others that way? Are we receiving the promises? Are we, you know, whatever, like, there's no sickness in Heaven, there's no debt in Heaven, there's no, you know, condemnation in Heaven, so how are we walking through this life? Yeah, that's true. What is our, yeah, what is our expectation as we receive? Amen, yeah, and if we already have this life in Heaven and this existence, then why do we go to, why do some Christians, not us, go to God like a beggar, as if, you know, He might or might not, and you have to beg and plead for Him to, you know, meet a need or something? I mean, oh, God is so much richer than that, and He's given us everything He's got, so praise God, we're heirs with Christ, we're children of God, and we should, you know, view life from that perspective. Amen, and yes, we can walk that out, too, so, because that's our new nature. All right, and then I see Desiree has put a comment here, what does a kingdom citizen mean to us personally? Yes, that's definitely something we can continue to ponder on throughout our days and weeks and our life, and amen, thank you all for sharing on this as well. Yes, so powerful, these discussions, I love it, and if anyone has any concluding remarks or thoughts, feel free to share, and I'll leave it open for a moment as we get to the end here. Oh, yes, Roy? I just wanted to add, you know, when you guys talk about Heaven, you know, um, can you guys hear me? I think I'm breaking. Yes, I hear you. Can you guys hear me? Yes, sir. Oh, sorry, my connection was a bit, uh, yeah, no, oh yeah, now I just think, uh, when we're talking about talking about Heaven, you know, I'm just thinking of, you know, just during the weekend, you know, we're just attending this, um, revival conference where, you know, in this auditorium, they had the flags of all the nations, around the auditorium, and as we were just worshipping, you know, a thought just popped on my mind to say, you know, this is how it's going to be in Heaven, you know, when we're going to have all nations, uh, worshipping together, you know, you know, that faith that says, you know, the angels are crying, holy, holy, you know, all the elders are crying, holy, holy, before him, and just imagine that this is how it's going to be, and I just thought, you know, the Lord's Prayer talks about, you know, Jesus telling the disciples, and I believe us today, just you must prepare that as it is in Heaven, so must it be here on Earth, you know, that how it is in Heaven at this moment, so must it be already, you know, we must just live that experience, that Heavenly experience already here, you know, in our time, you know, like you say, that we are already even seated with him in Heaven, so even in our generation right now, you know, it's not like we need to postpone that later on, yes, I mean, it's going to be more glorious when we are in Heaven, but we are already at this place when Jesus is instructing us that, you know, just pray as it is in Heaven, so must it be on Earth, and just my thought just went back to that space when I'm looking at this face again, yeah. Amen, that's awesome, Roy, praise God, yes, that through Christ, you know, we bring, or he brought Heaven to Earth, and you know, the Kingdom of God dwells in us, and yes, we can certainly take our authority and pray that way, and live that way, so that's awesome, Jesus overcame this world, and we overcome because we believe in the name of the Son of God, so amen, amen, so I believe that that would be a great time to, you know, transition into prayer, because we do need to pray for Lydia's country of Kenya, for some unrest going on there, and I'm not sure Mary A, I'm sorry, Mary M, how things have been going in Rwanda since we last prayed, feel free to share on that, yeah. Oh, in Malawi, sorry. Oh, I'm sorry, why do I keep saying, I always get those two countries mixed up, Malawi, I apologize. Yeah, so they're kind of, I mean, there's lots of murmuring and things, but there's an investigation going on at the moment in the airplane crash that happened, so people, it's kind of just a wait and see at the moment. Okay, yeah, all right, so we'll list that up into prayer, and anyone else have any prayer requests to share? Yeah, Lydia, I just have a request. I've been, you can ask God for anything, I've been thinking, I've been having a migraine from this morning, and I'm getting really nauseous, and my blood pressure is quite high, so I just, yeah, I just want to thank God for that meeting, so they can come down and whatever it is, just need to see my body. Okay, so you said migraine and blood pressure? Yeah, that's right. Oh, okay, yeah, well, praise God, that has to go, yeah. Okay, yes, well, thank you for sharing, Desiree, and we're speaking healing over you. Anyone else have anything to share as a prayer request? Or a plea support? Sorry, I know we're going a bit over here, but, you know, if someone has to go, just go. I'm sorry about that. All right, let's go ahead, and last call, anyone? Okay, well, there's also an event going on this week, and Todd White is coming to Cleveland, Ohio, which is, you know, my area, and I'm going, and there's this event where it's not just about, like, receiving ministry, but it's an event where we actually go out and do ministry, so I'm just praying for, you know, signs and wonders for people to know the Lord, and, you know, for whatever we end up doing to be a blessing, so, yeah, let's go ahead and go to the Lord, our Father. Yes, Lord, we just thank you for being such an awesome God. Thank you for your love and for showing us great things in your word today, and for every answered prayer, Lord. We just thank you for making these truths so real and alive to us, our new nature in Christ, and the fact that we're seated with Christ, and our citizenship is with you in the heavenly places. Yes, Lord, help us to live and walk like children of God. Live and walk like our new identity, Lord. That's who we truly, really are. So, Lord, thank you for helping us to lay aside things that we can just count as loss and shut off like an old garment, Lord. Thank you that we are new creatures walking in a new kingdom and a new reality. Thank you, Lord. We just pray right now, as Roy said, that let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray over the country of Kenya, and we just pray that this evil and the spirit of division and strife be dispersed in the name of Jesus. We pray for an end to all violence and unrest in these protests, that there would be peace and order, Lord, because we know that that's your will. We just pray for the hearts of Gen Z and the young people, Lord. Help them to know you, and we bind the blindness of the enemy over their eyes and hearts, and pray that the light of Christ in the gospel will shine through unto them, and they can have an experience like Saul who became Paul. Yes, Lord, and we also pray for Malawi, Lord. We pray for this investigation, that the truth comes to light. We pray for that everything will be seen clearly and for justice, Lord, in all that has happened, and we just pray again for the hearts of those who have suffered throughout this tragedy, for your comfort and grace upon them and all those in the nation, that there would be unity in Malawi and Kenya, Lord. And Lord, we just pray for Desiree as well, and we just command that migraine and high blood pressure, you be gone in the name of Jesus. That's of the enemy, and Lord, we thank you for freeing her from every curse by your sacrifice. Right now, we just thank you, Lord, for freedom from pain and, yes, for freedom from pressure, for healthy levels. We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name for regulating Desiree's body. Thank you, Lord, for you take care of your own. Yes, Lord, we just pray that we can lean on you always and not have confidence in our flesh, but Lord, in what you have done for us, help us to find rest in that, Lord, the realities of who you are and who you've made us to be. We worship you and praise you, Lord. We give you all the glory, thanks, and praise, and yes, Lord, we receive your goodness today as we pray. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' mighty name, we agree. Amen. Amen. Amen. Wow, gosh, you know what, you guys? I feel like this study is just going to keep getting longer, and longer, and longer. Next time, I'm going to be like, oh, we got to do an hour and a half. I'm sorry, but I think it's just good. I don't know what else to say. I love you all. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for doing this with me and for helping me learn, too. Yeah, what a blessing you all are, and I hope you all have an amazing, fantastic week. Feel free to always be in touch through the chats, and I guess I'll let you go on about your days now, reluctantly. We should just stay here all day, but some of you, it's bedtime, so all right. Be blessed, you all. You're welcome. Bye, everyone. Bye. Bye.