Well, it is a privilege and pleasure to<\/p>\n
be with you uh this afternoon and I<\/p>\n
thank Pastor Nati and the leaders and<\/p>\n
all of you for welcoming us. Um just a<\/p>\n
few things or couple of us here. We're<\/p>\n
leading a a short-term trip just to<\/p>\n
visit and learn about Thailand and maybe<\/p>\n
some of these people will be called to<\/p>\n
serve here alongside with you. Amen. And<\/p>\n
uh I don't do we have some interns here<\/p>\n
as well? They're not here. There's also<\/p>\n
some intern. Yes. Well, yeah. Some<\/p>\n
interns here that are are here also um<\/p>\n
serving in the summertime and um so we<\/p>\n
are so happy to be here and um I love<\/p>\n
Thai food<\/p>\n
and it's so far we have nothing but good<\/p>\n
food. Um so let me introduce myself if<\/p>\n
you would allow just a little bit my<\/p>\n
background and so get to know me a<\/p>\n
little bit more. Um I have to start with<\/p>\n
my parents who weren't parents at the<\/p>\n
time but they're both from different<\/p>\n
cities in China and uh they left China<\/p>\n
their entire family entire extended<\/p>\n
family left China in 1948 ended up<\/p>\n
eventually in Brazil. That's where my<\/p>\n
parents met. Oh sorry that that's where<\/p>\n
my parents met<\/p>\n
and got married and so I was born in S.<\/p>\n
Apollo, Brazil. And then when I was<\/p>\n
five, we moved to America in 1963.<\/p>\n
So my parents, we've been there since<\/p>\n
uh in the So I grew up in the Los<\/p>\n
Angeles area. So So huge jump to now my<\/p>\n
uh we live in Virginia. Uh I'm a PCA<\/p>\n
pastor and now I as Pastor Nati said, I<\/p>\n
work for mission to the world world,<\/p>\n
right? is more work is to bring good<\/p>\n
news, life, and hope to the world.<\/p>\n
Right? I'm married. My wife and I have<\/p>\n
been married 33 years. We have three<\/p>\n
children. I have a son that's 31,<\/p>\n
another a daughter that's 28, and<\/p>\n
another daughter that's 26, and our<\/p>\n
26-year-old's the one that's married and<\/p>\n
has our granddaughter and a grandson is<\/p>\n
coming in September. So, with God's<\/p>\n
blessing, but so, thank you for just a<\/p>\n
little bit of introduction there. Um,<\/p>\n
and uh, so<\/p>\n
yeah, um,<\/p>\n
I just wanted to bring a word of<\/p>\n
encouragement to you today if if that's<\/p>\n
okay. Again, thank you so much for<\/p>\n
sharing the pulpit, Pastor Nati. And uh<\/p>\n
um<\/p>\n
and you know it's<\/p>\n
one of the most endearing titles and<\/p>\n
relationships we can have with our God<\/p>\n
is father, right? The word father just I<\/p>\n
mean because a father brings life, a<\/p>\n
father brings um he gives, he loves, um<\/p>\n
he sacrifices. There's so much that uh<\/p>\n
that word entails. Now, of course, we as<\/p>\n
humans, we have imperfect fathers like<\/p>\n
me and faulty fathers. That's okay.<\/p>\n
Under God's grace, uh he will redeem<\/p>\n
that as he always does. Um but he's the<\/p>\n
perfect father. So, it it is it's so<\/p>\n
endearing because it's a relationship<\/p>\n
that we have with our God. And I want to<\/p>\n
look at at at that relationship a little<\/p>\n
bit and hopefully we will have some<\/p>\n
um encouragement.<\/p>\n
Um<\/p>\n
our father is not just creator and ruler<\/p>\n
but he um he as well as the trinity um<\/p>\n
there's so much giving amongst the<\/p>\n
trinity relationship in and of itself<\/p>\n
right um<\/p>\n
John reminds us in first John that um<\/p>\n
let us love one another he says for love<\/p>\n
is from God and whoever loves has been<\/p>\n
born of God and knows God and anyone who<\/p>\n
does not love does not know God because<\/p>\n
God is love. And of course, there's<\/p>\n
always been an eternal relationship with<\/p>\n
the God the Father, God the Son, God the<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit, relationship of love and<\/p>\n
giving uh to each other. The Father<\/p>\n
loves the Son and the Holy Spirit,<\/p>\n
right? And the Son gives honor to the<\/p>\n
Father. Um and the Holy Spirit gives<\/p>\n
honor to Christ and the Father. And the<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit gives us life. He's the<\/p>\n
Lord, right? He's the Lord and giver of<\/p>\n
life as one of our confessions say which<\/p>\n
I love that you know so all the members<\/p>\n
of the trinity are constantly loving and<\/p>\n
that means giving to one another in a<\/p>\n
constant fashion and and so this reminds<\/p>\n
me of how uh the word<\/p>\n
lavish comes to mind and so you don't<\/p>\n
have to turn there but if you want to uh<\/p>\n
in it reminds me of the first chapter of<\/p>\n
Ephesians<\/p>\n
um and instead of just reading it as um<\/p>\n
these are these are all the specific uh<\/p>\n
gifts of God. Uh just look at it that<\/p>\n
way. Uh all the benefits that we gain<\/p>\n
from knowing our heavenly father, right?<\/p>\n
So just listen a little bit um on what<\/p>\n
God gives us from first um sorry<\/p>\n
Ephesians chapter 1 the first 14 verses.<\/p>\n
Again you can turn there if you want but<\/p>\n
just listen. Paul an apostle of Christ<\/p>\n
Jesus by the will of God to the saints<\/p>\n
who are father that's a gift God gives<\/p>\n
us grace and peace right through Christ<\/p>\n
um blessed be the God and father of our<\/p>\n
lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in<\/p>\n
Christ with every spiritual blessing<\/p>\n
another gift every spiritual blessing in<\/p>\n
the heavenly places even as he chose us<\/p>\n
in him and yes being chosen is a gift we<\/p>\n
won't go into all the theological<\/p>\n
background but being chosen chosen is a<\/p>\n
gift. Um uh because he chose us in him<\/p>\n
before the foundation of the world that<\/p>\n
we should be holy and blameless before<\/p>\n
him. In love, he predestined us for<\/p>\n
adoption. Adoption is an incredible gift<\/p>\n
from God, isn't it? To be adopted into<\/p>\n
God's family. What a a a great privilege<\/p>\n
um through Jesus Christ according to the<\/p>\n
purpose of his will to the praise of his<\/p>\n
glorious grace with which he has blessed<\/p>\n
us in the beloved. Again, more gifts of<\/p>\n
blessing. In him we have redemption.<\/p>\n
What an incredible gift that is from<\/p>\n
God. Redemption. He redeems us through<\/p>\n
his blood. The forgiveness of our<\/p>\n
trespasses. Another incredible gift from<\/p>\n
God. Right? We can have our sins uh<\/p>\n
forgiven according to the riches of his<\/p>\n
grace which he lavished upon us. God<\/p>\n
doesn't just give us grace, he lavishes<\/p>\n
it up. Lavish means to um abundantly<\/p>\n
give, abundantly overflow. Um it's it's<\/p>\n
just amazing. In all wisdom and insight,<\/p>\n
making known to us the mystery of his<\/p>\n
will. Again, it's another gift. God<\/p>\n
reveals the gospel to us. That's a gift.<\/p>\n
Um in him, we have obtained an<\/p>\n
inheritance. More gifts.<\/p>\n
having been predestined according to the<\/p>\n
purpose of him who works all things<\/p>\n
according to the counsel of his will. So<\/p>\n
that we who were first to hope in<\/p>\n
Christ, another gift that we are the<\/p>\n
first to be able to hope in Christ might<\/p>\n
be the praise to the praise of his<\/p>\n
glory. In him you also when you heard<\/p>\n
the word of God, the gospel of your<\/p>\n
salvation, the gift of salvation, it's<\/p>\n
ours. It can never be taken away. Right?<\/p>\n
And believed in him. Were sealed with<\/p>\n
the promise of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
the gift of the fact that we have the<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has<\/p>\n
sealed our salvation.<\/p>\n
Um, who is the guarantee of our<\/p>\n
inheritance until we acquire possession<\/p>\n
of it to the praise of his glory. That<\/p>\n
that's an amazing several verses, isn't<\/p>\n
it? I mean, just think of all that what<\/p>\n
what Paul is doing here. He's reminding<\/p>\n
the Ephesians by writing a letter to<\/p>\n
them. And the first thing he talks about<\/p>\n
is all the benefits of Christ, all the<\/p>\n
gifts that come from our God, the giver.<\/p>\n
And uh and these these gifts are the<\/p>\n
heart uh coming from the heart of our<\/p>\n
father. And he never stops giving it to<\/p>\n
us. So hopefully this is a little bit of<\/p>\n
an encouragement to you. And uh<\/p>\n
encouragement is we're going to be<\/p>\n
looking at in the passage in Joshua. We<\/p>\n
just now look at the three kind of<\/p>\n
general areas of how God encourages us.<\/p>\n
Um but encouragement is a tough thing.<\/p>\n
we live lives and life can be very<\/p>\n
discouraging. Um, as we read in some of<\/p>\n
the scriptures, life is is hard and<\/p>\n
there's lots of things that weigh us<\/p>\n
down from the world, from Satan, from<\/p>\n
our own sins, and we easily get<\/p>\n
discouraged, don't we? I do. Um, and<\/p>\n
it's a hard thing. Sometimes we look for<\/p>\n
encouragement from all quarters of life,<\/p>\n
from the world, from our circumstances,<\/p>\n
from our society, um from many places<\/p>\n
and especially from other people, right?<\/p>\n
We look for encouragement from them in<\/p>\n
this in the form of we want to be<\/p>\n
approved by others. We're looking for<\/p>\n
approval.<\/p>\n
Um and that's that's kind of hard<\/p>\n
sometimes. approval from our parents,<\/p>\n
approval from our children, approval<\/p>\n
from our co-workers, our bosses, uh<\/p>\n
approval from our pastor and our church<\/p>\n
members and one another. Um and it's and<\/p>\n
it's uh it's tough. Um<\/p>\n
you know that you I'm sure you<\/p>\n
experience this. You know, you can hear<\/p>\n
from nine different people who are<\/p>\n
nothing but encouraging to you and words<\/p>\n
of encouragement, but the 10th person<\/p>\n
has one criticism and our our human<\/p>\n
tendency is to hold on to that one<\/p>\n
criticism instead of holding on to the<\/p>\n
nine positive statements, you know, um<\/p>\n
because that's how easily we get<\/p>\n
discouraged. So, we can easily get<\/p>\n
discouraged in our walk with the Lord,<\/p>\n
can't we? um even when we have the Lord,<\/p>\n
even when we have all these incredible<\/p>\n
gifts that Paul has enumerated, we can<\/p>\n
still be um discouraged. So today, I<\/p>\n
just want to uh help us look at this<\/p>\n
passage and um again,<\/p>\n
God is our best God is the best<\/p>\n
encourager. Uh he knows us better than<\/p>\n
ourselves, doesn't he? He knows what we<\/p>\n
needs. He and um he of course ultimately<\/p>\n
is the best encourager because he gives<\/p>\n
himself. So let us um turn to Joshua<\/p>\n
chapter 1 and uh I'd like to read verses<\/p>\n
1-9. I'm not sure what your u your<\/p>\n
convention is here, but is it possible<\/p>\n
to stand for the reading of God's word?<\/p>\n
If you are able, please stand. Turn to<\/p>\n
Joshua chapter 1 and we'll look at the<\/p>\n
first nine verses.<\/p>\n
This is the word of God. After the death<\/p>\n
of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the<\/p>\n
Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun,<\/p>\n
Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant, is<\/p>\n
dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this<\/p>\n
Jordan, you and all this people, into<\/p>\n
the land that I am giving to them, to<\/p>\n
the people of Israel. Every place that<\/p>\n
the sole of your foot will tread upon, I<\/p>\n
have given to you just as I promised to<\/p>\n
Moses. From the wilderness and this<\/p>\n
Lebanon as far as the great river, the<\/p>\n
river Euphrates, all the land of the<\/p>\n
Hittites to the great sea toward the<\/p>\n
going down of the sun shall be your<\/p>\n
territory. No man shall be able to stand<\/p>\n
before you all the days of your life.<\/p>\n
Just as I was with Moses, so I will be<\/p>\n
with you. I will not leave you or<\/p>\n
forsake you. Be strong and courageous,<\/p>\n
for you,<\/p>\n
excuse me, shall cause this people to<\/p>\n
inherit the land that I swore to their<\/p>\n
fathers to give them. Only be strong and<\/p>\n
very courageous, being careful to do<\/p>\n
according to all the law that Moses, my<\/p>\n
servant, commanded you. Do not turn from<\/p>\n
it to the right hand or to the left,<\/p>\n
that you may have good success wherever<\/p>\n
you go. This book of the law shall not<\/p>\n
depart from your mouth, but you shall<\/p>\n
meditate on it day and night, so that<\/p>\n
you might be careful to do according to<\/p>\n
all that is written in it. For then you<\/p>\n
will make your way prosperous, and then<\/p>\n
you will have good success. Have I not<\/p>\n
commanded you? Be strong and courageous.<\/p>\n
Do not be afraid<\/p>\n
and do not be dismayed, for the Lord<\/p>\n
your God is with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n
This is the word of the Lord.<\/p>\n
Please be seated. Let's pray.<\/p>\n
Lord, we uh come to you this afternoon<\/p>\n
just in uh humility and and joy, Lord,<\/p>\n
that we can come together and uh worship<\/p>\n
you and bring you honor and be with<\/p>\n
God's people. Thank you for your<\/p>\n
inherent, infallible, inspired word,<\/p>\n
Lord, which is our life.<\/p>\n
this book is about you from you and<\/p>\n
that's why it is perfect and Lord just<\/p>\n
um we ask that your word be moving in<\/p>\n
our hearts, minds and souls that we<\/p>\n
would be changed, transformed uh into<\/p>\n
the likeness of your son more and more.<\/p>\n
May the words of my mouth and may the<\/p>\n
meditation of all our hearts be pleasing<\/p>\n
and acceptable in your sight, oh Lord<\/p>\n
our God and our redeemer in Jesus name.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n
So the context really quickly is that<\/p>\n
the uh Israelites have been wandering<\/p>\n
the desert now for 40 years. Uh as<\/p>\n
you'll recall, Joshua and Caleb are the<\/p>\n
only ones who survived the original<\/p>\n
generation 40 years ago because they<\/p>\n
were obedient and they had a good report<\/p>\n
about the land. Um and so<\/p>\n
um Moses has led them for 40 years and<\/p>\n
now he's dead. The Israelites sit on the<\/p>\n
east bank of the Jordan River, ready to<\/p>\n
cross over to take the land of Israel.<\/p>\n
Um, however, they face nothing but<\/p>\n
unknowns, unknown hazards, dangers. They<\/p>\n
don't know what's going to happen.<\/p>\n
They've never been here. They've been in<\/p>\n
Egypt for 400 years. Um, so think of it.<\/p>\n
You're in a new land, a foreign land.<\/p>\n
You've never seen this place before. You<\/p>\n
don't know what's ahead of you. Um, it's<\/p>\n
kind of fearful. Have you ever been in<\/p>\n
that situation? I remember uh since I<\/p>\n
grew up in LA, you know, I lived there<\/p>\n
for till I was 30 and then I was<\/p>\n
promoted in my job to a company<\/p>\n
headquarters in New Jersey. So I had to<\/p>\n
move from LA to New Jersey and um some<\/p>\n
people in America laugh at that because<\/p>\n
I moved to New Jersey, but anyway<\/p>\n
um but it's kind of intimidating because<\/p>\n
I don't know anybody,<\/p>\n
right? I have to go find a church. You<\/p>\n
know, it's intimidating walking into a<\/p>\n
church you don't know anybody and trying<\/p>\n
to, you know, find a new life and trying<\/p>\n
to find a new community. Um, and that's<\/p>\n
that's nothing compared to what the<\/p>\n
Israelites are facing, taking over an<\/p>\n
entire land um and uh trying to settle<\/p>\n
your family in the midst of all that.<\/p>\n
Anyway, it's um it's tough. And in the<\/p>\n
middle of these verses, as you as you<\/p>\n
saw, the Lord says to be strong and<\/p>\n
courageous to the Israelites. And he<\/p>\n
says it three times and it's a command.<\/p>\n
Um and so,<\/p>\n
uh it's easy to see the response of the<\/p>\n
people uh because um yes, since it's<\/p>\n
God's words, yes, on the outside, yes,<\/p>\n
Lord, we're we'll be strong and<\/p>\n
courageous, but I can easily see for me<\/p>\n
if I was there. On the inside, I'm like,<\/p>\n
I'm scared. I don't know what's going<\/p>\n
on. Um, and so,<\/p>\n
um, it's it's difficult. And the good<\/p>\n
thing is the Lord even knows our fears<\/p>\n
and our anxieties.<\/p>\n
And so, he wants to encourage us along<\/p>\n
the way. Not just command us, but<\/p>\n
encourage us. Isn't that just amazing<\/p>\n
for our giving, loving father? He He<\/p>\n
knows our frame. He knows our weakness.<\/p>\n
So, he carries us along. He doesn't just<\/p>\n
command it. He actually carries us along<\/p>\n
so that um we can actually experience<\/p>\n
this. So<\/p>\n
God gives encouragement on in three<\/p>\n
ways. Let's look at three ways from this<\/p>\n
passage. God gives encouragement through<\/p>\n
his word. He gives encouragement through<\/p>\n
his promises. And he gives encouragement<\/p>\n
through his presence. His word. His<\/p>\n
promises. His presence. Right? So, first<\/p>\n
his word, God's word tells us who he is.<\/p>\n
In verse eight, he says, \"This book of<\/p>\n
the law shall not depart from your<\/p>\n
mouth, and you shall meditate on it day<\/p>\n
and night.\" Now, there's a lot here<\/p>\n
already. I won't go into all the uh the<\/p>\n
implications, but<\/p>\n
uh at minimum, you can see a little bit<\/p>\n
here about the word. the word of God um<\/p>\n
uh is is obviously he's also talking<\/p>\n
about the fact that it's it's it's not<\/p>\n
just central for their life but it is<\/p>\n
vitally important. I think that's one of<\/p>\n
the way one of the things you can infer<\/p>\n
when he says you shall meditate on it<\/p>\n
day and night. Um you could take that<\/p>\n
literally and say wow that means I got<\/p>\n
to be reading the Bible 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n
Well that's not exactly. I mean we<\/p>\n
should definitely have it in our lives.<\/p>\n
The word of God of course should<\/p>\n
saturate our life and we should be<\/p>\n
meditating and memorizing it and chewing<\/p>\n
over and thinking about and praying<\/p>\n
about it. Absolutely. Don't get me wrong<\/p>\n
on that. That we that's what we believe.<\/p>\n
That's what your churches believe,<\/p>\n
right? That the centrality of the word<\/p>\n
of God. But it also shows when you<\/p>\n
meditate on day and night, meaning this<\/p>\n
is very important for you. This is these<\/p>\n
are not just simple words on a page.<\/p>\n
This is not just another book, right? Um<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
um it shouldn't depart from your mouth.<\/p>\n
It it's always with us. The word is such<\/p>\n
that so saturated in our lives that it<\/p>\n
is literally a part of us. So that we<\/p>\n
are thinking, speaking, our attitude,<\/p>\n
everything exhibits the fruit of knowing<\/p>\n
God's word. Um and of course again like<\/p>\n
in our denomination the PCA we we<\/p>\n
believe in the inherency infallibility<\/p>\n
and the inspiration of scripture and<\/p>\n
that they are the very words of God<\/p>\n
itself. So um meditating on it day and<\/p>\n
night is not a worldly kind of<\/p>\n
meditation but it's more of a focusing<\/p>\n
ourselves on God's word which eventually<\/p>\n
really means that we're focusing on the<\/p>\n
person of God himself. uh not only does<\/p>\n
he want us to know him, but he wants us<\/p>\n
to love him. So that's one of the<\/p>\n
reasons for the word of God. Of course,<\/p>\n
there's many many reasons for the word<\/p>\n
of God, but some of the obvious things<\/p>\n
are uh it's so that we might know God,<\/p>\n
right? We're don't we don't memorize<\/p>\n
scripture so that we can pass some test<\/p>\n
or uh seem knowledgeable or uh whatever,<\/p>\n
win an argument with people. We want to<\/p>\n
know the word of God because we want to<\/p>\n
know God himself. Um uh God, our God is<\/p>\n
a relational God. It's not just facts<\/p>\n
about God. He wants us to have a<\/p>\n
relationship with him. So he gives us<\/p>\n
his word. He reveals himself to us. What<\/p>\n
another gift, another gift from our<\/p>\n
heavenly father. He reveals himself to<\/p>\n
us and he wants to reveal himself to us.<\/p>\n
um who wants to be in relationship uh<\/p>\n
and and he's the one initiating this. Uh<\/p>\n
it's amazing that you just think about<\/p>\n
this. God is amazing uh for toward us.<\/p>\n
Um and he he the Lord communicates with<\/p>\n
us and it's primarily through his word.<\/p>\n
yeah, it's like<\/p>\n
um it's like two people dating, right?<\/p>\n
Getting to know each other in the<\/p>\n
beginning. Um I'm old, so in my day, you<\/p>\n
know, two people are dating. We're like<\/p>\n
on the phone all the time. And I<\/p>\n
remember my parents were like, \"What do<\/p>\n
you talk about for hours and hours on<\/p>\n
end and on end, you know?\" And nowadays<\/p>\n
it's not the phone. Now it's texting,<\/p>\n
right? You're probably texting<\/p>\n
endlessly, right? So, um, and when I<\/p>\n
dated Nancy, it was kind of like that,<\/p>\n
you know, because when you're dating,<\/p>\n
you want to spend as much time with<\/p>\n
someone. Why? Because you want to get to<\/p>\n
know them. It's very, I know this is<\/p>\n
very simple, but it's like, let's<\/p>\n
translate that to the Lord, right? Um,<\/p>\n
you want to get to know them. And<\/p>\n
doesn't matter how small the detail is<\/p>\n
about their life, you want to know that,<\/p>\n
too, right? Because you love them. And<\/p>\n
if you love them, you want to know<\/p>\n
everything about them. So, same thing<\/p>\n
with the Lord, right? Um, the Lord is a<\/p>\n
our God is a relational God. He wants to<\/p>\n
know us and he wants us to know him. And<\/p>\n
so, we need to be saturated through and<\/p>\n
through with the word of God so that<\/p>\n
we're meditating so much on him that we<\/p>\n
know him and so we know how to love him,<\/p>\n
we know how to uh please him and enjoy<\/p>\n
him as right as well. Right? We believe<\/p>\n
the first answer to the first catechism<\/p>\n
question is you know what is the chief<\/p>\n
end of man to glorify God and<\/p>\n
enjoy him forever. We kind of forget<\/p>\n
that sometimes is um we often describe<\/p>\n
don't we enjoy the Lord.<\/p>\n
In fact um we often describe don't we<\/p>\n
when we talk to people who don't know<\/p>\n
about Christianity I'm talking about<\/p>\n
biblical Christianity. What is<\/p>\n
Christianity? It's not a religion in the<\/p>\n
worldly sense of the word, right? Well,<\/p>\n
it's not a system of of rights and<\/p>\n
wrongs, system of of how to do things.<\/p>\n
That's not biblical Christianity at its<\/p>\n
core. Certainly, we have structures.<\/p>\n
Yes, we have laws and rules. Yes, we<\/p>\n
have commandments. That's that's true.<\/p>\n
But that's not at the core the<\/p>\n
foundation of it. the core foundation of<\/p>\n
is that it is a relationship with God<\/p>\n
Almighty<\/p>\n
with no other religion in the world has<\/p>\n
that that's what makes Christianity<\/p>\n
unique right building relationship in<\/p>\n
fact Michael Reeves some of you know him<\/p>\n
he's a author in England a great author<\/p>\n
I recommend his book to you his he's got<\/p>\n
a book called Delighting in the Trinity<\/p>\n
he says this Christianity is not<\/p>\n
primarily about lifestyle change see<\/p>\n
that's just behavior modification That's<\/p>\n
that's that's the worldly religion,<\/p>\n
right? Do good, be good, look good.<\/p>\n
That's that's that's what the world<\/p>\n
says. That's not Christianity. So,<\/p>\n
Christianity is not primarily about<\/p>\n
lifestyle change. It's about knowing<\/p>\n
God.<\/p>\n
To know and grow, to enjoy him is what<\/p>\n
we are saved for,\" unquote.<\/p>\n
That's biblical Christianity. It's about<\/p>\n
a relationship with God. And he dains to<\/p>\n
come down condescends and he initiates<\/p>\n
that and gives us his word so that we<\/p>\n
can know him and enjoy him and have a<\/p>\n
relationship.<\/p>\n
Do you have such a relationship with the<\/p>\n
Lord God Almighty?<\/p>\n
So it's given to us graciously. Um,<\/p>\n
again, we're imperfect, of course. Um,<\/p>\n
but God takes that into account, too,<\/p>\n
and helps us, right? Um, he gives us<\/p>\n
leaders and pastors and mentors and<\/p>\n
disciplers to help walk alongside us so<\/p>\n
that we can get to know him together,<\/p>\n
make our mistakes together, experience<\/p>\n
grace together, right? And and love uh<\/p>\n
love the Lord together.<\/p>\n
The other thing is a little minor uh uh<\/p>\n
point here is is that the Lord also uh<\/p>\n
communicates to us what he expects in<\/p>\n
the relationship. You know, if you're<\/p>\n
working or going to school or you take a<\/p>\n
class and you don't know what's expected<\/p>\n
of you, that's got to be the most<\/p>\n
frustrating things in the world, right?<\/p>\n
If I'm working for a company and they<\/p>\n
don't tell me what they expect from me,<\/p>\n
how am I supposed to do work? It does it<\/p>\n
doesn't make any sense. They give you we<\/p>\n
give each other's expectations. We do a<\/p>\n
project with someone, we we talk about<\/p>\n
everybody's expectations so everybody<\/p>\n
knows, you know, where they fit<\/p>\n
relationally and functionally. Same<\/p>\n
thing here. The Lord gives us um uh his<\/p>\n
expectations. Verses seven and 8. Be<\/p>\n
careful to do according to all the law<\/p>\n
that Moses my servant book of the law<\/p>\n
shall not depart from your mouth, but<\/p>\n
you shall meditate on it day and night,<\/p>\n
so that you may be careful to do<\/p>\n
according to all that is written in it.<\/p>\n
For then you will make your way<\/p>\n
prosperous and then you will have good<\/p>\n
success. So the Lord not only wants a<\/p>\n
relationship with us, he initiates that<\/p>\n
relationship to us. He communicates to<\/p>\n
us. He also communicates his<\/p>\n
expectations, which is great, right? And<\/p>\n
no, we don't work our way to heaven. We<\/p>\n
don't work our way for salvation. That's<\/p>\n
not what this is about. But this is<\/p>\n
about if we have a relationship with<\/p>\n
him, this is what the Lord expects,<\/p>\n
right? And he has the right to expect<\/p>\n
that because he is a holy God. Amen. Um,<\/p>\n
so it's not just simply words on a page.<\/p>\n
Like I said earlier, uh, Moses reminds<\/p>\n
us at the end of Deuteronomy, telling<\/p>\n
the Israelites to take heart, uh, all<\/p>\n
the words by which I am warning you<\/p>\n
today. He says in Deuteronomy 32, that<\/p>\n
you may command them to your children<\/p>\n
that they may be careful to do all the<\/p>\n
words of this law. For it is no empty<\/p>\n
word for you, but your very life. The<\/p>\n
word of God is our very life because it<\/p>\n
represents God himself and what God<\/p>\n
expects. Um and of course<\/p>\n
again<\/p>\n
he he gives us these expectations but he<\/p>\n
also sends us his son God the son who is<\/p>\n
the living embodiment of the word to do<\/p>\n
what? To help us to live in such a way<\/p>\n
to please him. What a thoughtful, loving<\/p>\n
father, isn't he? He doesn't just<\/p>\n
command it. He provides uh a way for us<\/p>\n
to do it. He gives us examples. Of<\/p>\n
course, Christ is the living word.<\/p>\n
That's one of his names to do that. So<\/p>\n
again, our God is an amazing God. Our<\/p>\n
father<\/p>\n
uh is such an amazing loving father.<\/p>\n
Okay, what about um the second point?<\/p>\n
God gives encouragement through his<\/p>\n
promises. One way that you could<\/p>\n
summarize the entire book of Joshua is<\/p>\n
promises kept right because in the first<\/p>\n
five book of Moses it's all the promises<\/p>\n
are made right the people will inherit<\/p>\n
the land the people will have this they<\/p>\n
will have that uh and now in Joshua it<\/p>\n
is starting to come through true God is<\/p>\n
fulfilling his promises the promises<\/p>\n
that were made to Abraham to the<\/p>\n
patriarchs to Moses himself right he<\/p>\n
says in verse three every place that the<\/p>\n
sole of your foot will tread upon on I<\/p>\n
Moses.<\/p>\n
The promises of course are that he's<\/p>\n
referring to mostly related to the land.<\/p>\n
Um in Genesis 12 the Lord appeared to<\/p>\n
Abraham and said to your offspring I<\/p>\n
will give this land. In Genesis 15:18 to<\/p>\n
your offspring I give this land from the<\/p>\n
river of Egypt to the great river um<\/p>\n
that is the Nile all the way to the<\/p>\n
river Euphrates to the north. Um uh and<\/p>\n
the Lord of course repeats these same<\/p>\n
promises to both Isaac and to Jacob and<\/p>\n
the other patriarchs and to Moses<\/p>\n
himself. Um and he reminds them in<\/p>\n
numbers a couple of times about the land<\/p>\n
that they are to receive. Deuteronomy 1,<\/p>\n
see I have set the land before you. Go<\/p>\n
in and take possession of it that the<\/p>\n
Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham,<\/p>\n
to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them and<\/p>\n
their offspring after them. And of<\/p>\n
course, he gave promises to to Joshua as<\/p>\n
well. Uh in verse 5, he says, \"Just as I<\/p>\n
was with Moses, I will be with you.\"<\/p>\n
Um and of course, so much is included in<\/p>\n
these promises. Now, the Lord does not<\/p>\n
have to prove himself, right? He keeps<\/p>\n
promises. So, he doesn't have to prove<\/p>\n
himself. Um nevertheless,<\/p>\n
we can see his actions and so can the<\/p>\n
Israelites in redemptive history. and<\/p>\n
they automatically attest to the fact<\/p>\n
that God keeps his promises, right? Um,<\/p>\n
for example, these last 40 years, the<\/p>\n
Israelites have been traversing through<\/p>\n
the desert. They didn't know where they<\/p>\n
were going. They were literally<\/p>\n
wandering in the desert wherever the<\/p>\n
Lord brought them. Um, and so he's<\/p>\n
brought them through so much. And<\/p>\n
through it, he has preserved them. He's<\/p>\n
promised to preserve them. He fed them<\/p>\n
with what? What? Every day? Mana. Yeah,<\/p>\n
that's Hebrew for what is it? By the<\/p>\n
way, he fed them with mana every day. He<\/p>\n
provided water miraculously many times.<\/p>\n
Uh fought their battles for them. And he<\/p>\n
he even did a miracle with their<\/p>\n
clothes. Remember in Nehemiah Nehemiah<\/p>\n
recounts this Nehemiah 9, you gave your<\/p>\n
good spirit to instruct them and did not<\/p>\n
withhold your mana from their mouth and<\/p>\n
gave them water for their thirst. 40<\/p>\n
years you sustained them in the<\/p>\n
wilderness and they lacked nothing.<\/p>\n
Their clothes did not wear out and their<\/p>\n
feet did not swell. Imagine wearing the<\/p>\n
same clothes you have on for 40 years.<\/p>\n
You know it was stink but<\/p>\n
they lasted.<\/p>\n
The people witnessed all this. They<\/p>\n
lived through it. They saw God's<\/p>\n
provision uh plentiful provision. He<\/p>\n
kept his promises and all they had to do<\/p>\n
was look back. Um,<\/p>\n
right.<\/p>\n
And um the same thing with us, you know,<\/p>\n
look back at your life,<\/p>\n
think about God's general provision,<\/p>\n
God's general generally keeping his<\/p>\n
promises. Has he done that? Yes. It's<\/p>\n
kind of like, you know, people ask, um,<\/p>\n
do you remember what you ate three days<\/p>\n
ago for dinner? Nobody remembers. You're<\/p>\n
going to have to sit here and go, nobody<\/p>\n
reme or in this in case of church, you<\/p>\n
know, it's kind of funny if pastors ask<\/p>\n
that. So, do you remember what last<\/p>\n
week's sermon was about? That's a hard<\/p>\n
one. Sometimes we don't remember. We<\/p>\n
don't remember what we ate three days<\/p>\n
ago. But the other question is more<\/p>\n
important is, were you fed?<\/p>\n
Yes. Were you fed with the word of God?<\/p>\n
Yes. You were nourished by it. Promises.<\/p>\n
And of course, we're talking about<\/p>\n
relationship, right? So, relationally,<\/p>\n
what does this do? It's very simple, I<\/p>\n
know, but still this is for our<\/p>\n
encouragement. So, okay. So, God keeps<\/p>\n
his promises. Now, what? Well, it's a<\/p>\n
relationship, right?<\/p>\n
If I say something uh to you and I<\/p>\n
promise to do something or whatever and<\/p>\n
I do it, what does that do for the<\/p>\n
relationship?<\/p>\n
Builds trust.<\/p>\n
If I don't do it, the opposite happens.<\/p>\n
The relationship gets strained and<\/p>\n
depending on what it is, it could even<\/p>\n
break the relationship, you know. And<\/p>\n
even though we know this intuitively,<\/p>\n
but when you think about it, trust is<\/p>\n
the foundation of every single<\/p>\n
relationship. Without trust, no<\/p>\n
relationship. And by the way, therefore,<\/p>\n
you can't do anything together. You<\/p>\n
can't get anything done together. That<\/p>\n
is major implications. And that's all of<\/p>\n
human life, right? Everything's based on<\/p>\n
trust. Just look at the basic thing like<\/p>\n
a bank. If I trust the bank to keep my<\/p>\n
money and keep it safe and not not throw<\/p>\n
it away or waste it, that's great. I<\/p>\n
trust I'll keep giving the money. But if<\/p>\n
they take my money and they steal it or<\/p>\n
they waste it,<\/p>\n
that stops. The relationship stops. No<\/p>\n
more commerce, no more trade, life<\/p>\n
stops.<\/p>\n
That happens around the world all the<\/p>\n
time. It happens here all the time,<\/p>\n
right? This is why corruption, for<\/p>\n
example, is so destructive because it<\/p>\n
destroys not only relationships but<\/p>\n
stops everything you can do together.<\/p>\n
Anyway, so building trust is is<\/p>\n
important because trust is a precious<\/p>\n
relational quality<\/p>\n
that requires constant care, thought,<\/p>\n
prayer. Um, you can't have it. And God<\/p>\n
knows, of course, our weaknesses. He of<\/p>\n
course is always trustworthy. But he<\/p>\n
walks alongside us and he gives us<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters together so that we<\/p>\n
can help each other walk in a way that<\/p>\n
builds trust with the Lord. And then we<\/p>\n
by the way we can also do ministry<\/p>\n
together, right? Uh we can bring the<\/p>\n
gospel to those that don't know him yet.<\/p>\n
Um and so<\/p>\n
anyway, so God's grace through it all.<\/p>\n
It may not be apparent at the moment,<\/p>\n
but God, in looking back on our lives<\/p>\n
and our history with him, always<\/p>\n
trustworthy, always has been, always<\/p>\n
provided. Maybe not to the exact degree<\/p>\n
that you that you wanted, but he has<\/p>\n
always provided. And he will always be<\/p>\n
trustworthy in every way. All the uh<\/p>\n
whether sweet or bitter providences,<\/p>\n
everything that the Lord has for us, we<\/p>\n
can trust him because that's the kind of<\/p>\n
father that he is. Um, and so the more<\/p>\n
we see that, the more we can help each<\/p>\n
other out as well. So God gives<\/p>\n
encouragement through his word, through<\/p>\n
his promises, and finally through his<\/p>\n
presence. Verses 5 and N. Just as I was<\/p>\n
with Moses, so I will be with you. I<\/p>\n
will not leave you or forsake you. Do<\/p>\n
not be afraid. Do not be dismayed, for<\/p>\n
the Lord your God is with you wherever<\/p>\n
you go.<\/p>\n
This is a little bit hard to describe<\/p>\n
God's presence with us. And I just want<\/p>\n
to make two observations. One is um what<\/p>\n
does that mean? I mean we can be with<\/p>\n
someone, right, and not really be with<\/p>\n
them, right?<\/p>\n
I'll just use my example all the time<\/p>\n
because then I can point me being bad.<\/p>\n
So I could be with my wife or I can be<\/p>\n
with my children when we were when they<\/p>\n
were growing up in our household. I can<\/p>\n
be there physically.<\/p>\n
All the wives are like and all the<\/p>\n
ladies are like, I know where he's going<\/p>\n
with this. Um, the guys are like,<\/p>\n
\"What?\" Um, sorry guys, don't don't mean<\/p>\n
to, but it's like I could be physically<\/p>\n
present with my kids, right? But if I'm<\/p>\n
not paying attention to them or I'm on<\/p>\n
my phone or I'm doing work, it's<\/p>\n
actually worse. I'm not really with them<\/p>\n
and they see that and it's like we're<\/p>\n
we're supposed to have a relationship,<\/p>\n
right? We want to build that<\/p>\n
relationship. Or, you know, my wife will<\/p>\n
say, \"You're not listening. See, I'm<\/p>\n
hearing everything she says. That's not<\/p>\n
what she means. Yeah, audibly I'm<\/p>\n
hearing it, but I'm not following her<\/p>\n
heart with my heart. I need to<\/p>\n
understand my wife at a deeper level.<\/p>\n
Not there. I might be present<\/p>\n
physically, but I'm not really present.<\/p>\n
Right, wives?<\/p>\n
He's not really listening. Anyway, so um<\/p>\n
so what does it mean? It means one of<\/p>\n
the things it means is that it's not a<\/p>\n
passive state. It's active. When God is<\/p>\n
present with us, it's not passive.<\/p>\n
He's actively doing things. What is he<\/p>\n
actively doing? Well, he's actively<\/p>\n
being a father to us. He's actively<\/p>\n
loving us. He's actively caring for us.<\/p>\n
He's actively um uh looking out for us<\/p>\n
in every way and in every level. Is that<\/p>\n
not right? Is that not true? That's why<\/p>\n
we call him our father because he gives<\/p>\n
uh he gives endlessly and he gives<\/p>\n
lavishly<\/p>\n
and our heavenly father has promised to<\/p>\n
be with us all the time. So I'm going to<\/p>\n
go being with us is<\/p>\n
something that's indescribable. So I'm<\/p>\n
going to go into something to try to<\/p>\n
describe maybe if you will the the<\/p>\n
importance of God's presence with us.<\/p>\n
Um,<\/p>\n
all of us experience being lonely,<\/p>\n
right? I'm an only child that has its<\/p>\n
own loneliness factor to it. We all<\/p>\n
experience no matter who we are, even in<\/p>\n
this world where we have the most more<\/p>\n
communication devices than ever in human<\/p>\n
history. Yet, you know, like studies say<\/p>\n
in many countries, including America,<\/p>\n
were the loneliest people around. So,<\/p>\n
everyone experiences loneliness, but<\/p>\n
only one person has ever<\/p>\n
truly experienced absolute loneliness.<\/p>\n
And that's Jesus.<\/p>\n
When Jesus hung on the cross,<\/p>\n
he was suffering the wrath of God for<\/p>\n
our sins, right?<\/p>\n
aside from just the physical pain and<\/p>\n
suffering, there was a spiritual anguish<\/p>\n
and suffering that we will never know.<\/p>\n
That is those that call on the name of<\/p>\n
Christ and are followers of Christ. We<\/p>\n
have been saved from that horror.<\/p>\n
That is real hell, right? Spiritual<\/p>\n
um suffering. And um<\/p>\n
so here's a question. At what point was<\/p>\n
it the most hellish for Jesus or the<\/p>\n
worst experience ever? What was the<\/p>\n
worst moment on the cross?<\/p>\n
I would suggest it was when at one point<\/p>\n
and Jesus even voiced it. Uh he voiced<\/p>\n
his anguish at one point. What did he<\/p>\n
say?<\/p>\n
My God. My God,<\/p>\n
why hast thou forsaken me?<\/p>\n
So I would put forth for your<\/p>\n
consideration that the worst moment,<\/p>\n
the most hellish experience that any<\/p>\n
human has ever experienced<\/p>\n
is when God the Father turned his back<\/p>\n
on God the Son because he couldn't look<\/p>\n
upon the sin that was on him and he<\/p>\n
abandoned the Son for that moment. He<\/p>\n
removed his presence from God the Son<\/p>\n
for that moment. And Jesus experienced<\/p>\n
that and cried out.<\/p>\n
First time in the history of the Trinity<\/p>\n
between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
where there's perfect love, perfect<\/p>\n
fellowship, perfect giving amongst one<\/p>\n
another was disrupted for a moment.<\/p>\n
I would put forth that was the worst<\/p>\n
moment<\/p>\n
is when God removed his presence,<\/p>\n
God the Father removed his presence from<\/p>\n
God the Son.<\/p>\n
If that's the case, my brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters,<\/p>\n
that rem God's removal of his presence<\/p>\n
is the worst that anybody can<\/p>\n
experience, then conversely, the<\/p>\n
opposite of that has got to be the most<\/p>\n
amazing, stupendous, phenomenal, aren't<\/p>\n
any words for it thing in the universe,<\/p>\n
which is that the presence of God that<\/p>\n
is an intimate, close father, son,<\/p>\n
father, daughter presence with us. He's<\/p>\n
got to be indescribable. There are no<\/p>\n
words for it. Amen.<\/p>\n
Hallelujah. We should all be standing up<\/p>\n
and be charismatic. Sorry. No, not<\/p>\n
really. But<\/p>\n
so if you name the name of Christ, you<\/p>\n
follow Jesus, you are adopted as a son<\/p>\n
and daughter into his family,<\/p>\n
you have the presence of God with you<\/p>\n
intimately right now.<\/p>\n
right now.<\/p>\n
So that should be the most joyous thing<\/p>\n
in the world. Are we enjoying God right<\/p>\n
now in the moment? We can enjoy God all<\/p>\n
of our life on this earth. And nothing<\/p>\n
and nobody can take that away nor<\/p>\n
diminish it.<\/p>\n
I hope that's a little bit of<\/p>\n
encouragement, right? Um so brothers and<\/p>\n
enjoy God. Enjoy his presence. It's an<\/p>\n
incredible privilege. It's an incredible<\/p>\n
blessing. And he's he's given us his<\/p>\n
word. And his words uh are true because<\/p>\n
he fulfills them. He keeps his promises.<\/p>\n
And there can't be anything greater than<\/p>\n
keeping the promise that I will be with<\/p>\n
you always. How as a missionary of not a<\/p>\n
missionary myself, but as working in the<\/p>\n
mission field, you know, Matthew 28, the<\/p>\n
great commission is always on our minds<\/p>\n
and lips, right? How does it go? Matthew<\/p>\n
28, \"Go therefore and make disciples of<\/p>\n
all nations, baptizing them in the name<\/p>\n
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,<\/p>\n
teaching them to observe all that I have<\/p>\n
commanded you.\" Right?<\/p>\n
And behold,<\/p>\n
I am with you. How<\/p>\n
my brothers and sisters,<\/p>\n
the Lord God Almighty, God the Father<\/p>\n
sent God the Son to live a perfect life,<\/p>\n
to die an excruciating death,<\/p>\n
so that we can have redemption, so that<\/p>\n
we can have forgiveness, we can go to<\/p>\n
heaven. I would argue the best thing is<\/p>\n
so that we can be with God and he can be<\/p>\n
with us now and forever more.<\/p>\n
His presence<\/p>\n
with us.<\/p>\n
God the Father, imagine this wants to be<\/p>\n
with you.<\/p>\n
There's no greater gift than that, is<\/p>\n
there?<\/p>\n
nothing.<\/p>\n
That's how much God the Father loves us<\/p>\n
and wants to give everything to us,<\/p>\n
everything that is good.<\/p>\n
So God gives us encouragement through<\/p>\n
his word, through his promises, and<\/p>\n
through his presence. And I'm just going<\/p>\n
to end with this<\/p>\n
one last thought. um<\/p>\n
is that<\/p>\n
think of someone who is always an<\/p>\n
encouragement in your life.<\/p>\n
Don't you want to be with them always?<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
That's the same with the Lord. Uh we<\/p>\n
want to be with him. And one of the<\/p>\n
doctrines I can think of, it's kind of<\/p>\n
weird. You think of doctrines like one<\/p>\n
of the doctrines that I thought about<\/p>\n
during this preparing the sermon is the<\/p>\n
union of Christ. And it's like what is<\/p>\n
that union with Christ? So what you know<\/p>\n
well generally speaking just just<\/p>\n
quickly when we are in a relationship<\/p>\n
with the Lord and and we are been<\/p>\n
justified by God now we live a life<\/p>\n
where he's changing us into the image of<\/p>\n
Christ more and more. We have union with<\/p>\n
Christ once we have been justified. We<\/p>\n
are in one. That's what it means to be<\/p>\n
in Jesus. Usually it's in union with<\/p>\n
Christ. And why is that important?<\/p>\n
Because if we are united to Christ, that<\/p>\n
means that everything that Christ<\/p>\n
benefits from his from the relationship<\/p>\n
with the trinity, guess who also<\/p>\n
benefits? We do. We benefit from that.<\/p>\n
All the benefits of Christ we get to<\/p>\n
experience.<\/p>\n
All right. So when God the father loves<\/p>\n
the son, he also loves us. When God the<\/p>\n
father um gives to the son, he gives to<\/p>\n
us. When God the father encourages the<\/p>\n
son, we also are encouraged.<\/p>\n
And does God the father, son, and holy<\/p>\n
spirit does that ever end? Does that<\/p>\n
relationship ever end? It's eternal.<\/p>\n
So<\/p>\n
our encouragement from the Lord is<\/p>\n
eternal. It's constant. Nothing can stop<\/p>\n
it. Nothing can diminish it. So my<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters, when you're down,<\/p>\n
when you're stressed, when you're<\/p>\n
anxious, when you're fearful, when<\/p>\n
you're depressed,<\/p>\n
turn to the Lord. Remember who you are<\/p>\n
in Christ. Remember, your heavenly<\/p>\n
father loves you, is endlessly lavishing<\/p>\n
his grace upon you, and<\/p>\n
wants to be with you<\/p>\n
and wants to be present with you. This<\/p>\n
is mind-blowing, isn't it? Every moment<\/p>\n
of our day, the Lord is with us. Let's<\/p>\n
pray.<\/p>\n
Lord, uh it is overwhelming to just<\/p>\n
think about this, to meditate upon this<\/p>\n
more and more, but Lord, thank you for<\/p>\n
the this incredible truths, the truths<\/p>\n
you have given us. Um Lord, help our<\/p>\n
disbelief sometimes or our dullness to<\/p>\n
you. Uh Lord, instead uh enliven us with<\/p>\n
your spirit. Lord, point us to Christ.<\/p>\n
help us to know uh your love um and to<\/p>\n
remember that you've kept all these<\/p>\n
promises, to remember you've given us<\/p>\n
all these gifts and you continue to<\/p>\n
lavish us with these gifts. Um and Lord,<\/p>\n
help our lives uh display this in front<\/p>\n
of others, not in a prideful or showy<\/p>\n
way, but may our your presence in our<\/p>\n
life also show forth for others. And so<\/p>\n
they can see there's something about us<\/p>\n
and it's not us. It's because Jesus is<\/p>\n
present in our life. The Holy Spirit is<\/p>\n
present and it is obvious in the way we<\/p>\n
live in in the way we do things in our<\/p>\n
attitude in our speech. Everything in<\/p>\n
our being is Christlike.<\/p>\n
Uh Lord uh that is the best witness we<\/p>\n
can be. Not just speaking the gospel but<\/p>\n
also embodying the gospel. So we pray by<\/p>\n
the Holy Spirit you continue to do that<\/p>\n
and encourage us. We pray all this on<\/p>\n
the merits of Jesus Christ alone. Amen.<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20250613","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HNImVnHfV3g","video_id":"HNImVnHfV3g","video_duration":"47:08","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}