00:00The truth in God's Word is not just to get us through life, it is to get us to heaven.
00:10Because heaven is our home and eternal life is the sole end and purpose of our activities here
00:17on earth. But the effectiveness of our lives here on earth is directly connected to the assurance
00:26we have of where we are going eternally. The more heavenly minded we are, the more focused
00:33we will be on our true purpose here on earth.
00:44Thank you so much, Brother Chris. It's a pleasure to get the opportunity to speak and share the
00:52conversation that's been shared today. So yeah, for me as a believer, as a Christian, it's been a very
01:01difficult time. I'm basically responsible for a company that's across two countries and we're
01:10facing very difficult times financially. And yeah, so for the last couple, actually we've been working on
01:21a certain contract, if I may say, for the last two years and it still hasn't worked out. So
01:28yeah, I was just having a lot of stress, you know, not knowing what to do because I've been praying
01:35about it consistently, you know, doing fasting, and it got to the point where like I just didn't know
01:44what to do because it got to the point where I was even thinking, I was being asked essentially to
01:49let go
01:51of some people. That was very difficult for me. So, you know, like you start to think, to feel almost
02:00like you're giving up. And so just, you know, you wonder where maybe God like is during this difficult
02:09time. And, you know, just hearing this message comforts me to the point where I feel like actually
02:18God is hearing me. And right now I feel like God is speaking to me, you know, and, you know,
02:26cheering me
02:27to basically go through this process. And also, not everything that I go through is a demonic attack
02:37or because I've done something wrong or, you know, maybe it's because of that dream that I had
02:43and the devil is attacking me. But, you know, just realizing as well, like there's a crown
02:50at the end of the journey, like it gives me perspective as to why I'm going through what I'm
02:57going through and also encourages me to actually go through it with joy and with peace. So, yeah,
03:07I thank you for that message. On the question aspect, yeah, I would like to understand, you know,
03:16the trials that we go through by the grace of God, is it only to reward us in this life
03:25or, you know,
03:26is it for some purpose and some goal in the next life, meaning spiritually as well? Thank you.
03:33The devil's intention is to speak to us through a situation, to mislead us to a sinful response to it.
03:41Whether that manifests in, you know, giving up or falling into anxiety or fear, or as I mentioned
03:52in the example earlier, you know, trying to distract yourself from the problem by worldly sources or
03:58resources. But his intention is to infiltrate the way you handle that situation, to push you to
04:05actions or attitudes that are wrong in God's sight. So, the key thing for us as Christians is we
04:14recognize the responsibility that comes each and every day with our response to the challenges of
04:23today. Like what our brother said, sometimes the situation can be persistent. Like he's talking
04:27about a situation that has been ongoing, not just for a day or a week or a month, this is
04:33over a year.
04:34And of course, the flesh speaks. The flesh reacts to the senses and what the circumstance around
04:44says to us, which is why it's so, so important we do what we are doing right now, which is
04:50feed our
04:51souls with the Word of God, with the truth, because that now helps us to see the bigger picture,
04:57to see that perspective. And I think this brings us to the answer, brother, because
05:02of course, whatever involves God is not just connected to this life. No, there's an eternal
05:10perspective that governs everything we must do in this world. Now, the truth in God's Word is not just to
05:21get us through life. It is to get us to heaven, because heaven is our home, and eternal life is
05:31the
05:31sole end and purpose of our activities here on earth. But the effectiveness of our lives here on earth
05:39is directly connected to the assurance we have of where we are going eternally. The more heavenly minded we
05:48are, the more focused we will be on our true purpose here on earth. And so in answer to your
05:55question,
05:56yes, there can of course be rewards physically or materially that come from our persistence and
06:03our pursuits of purpose. And that can certainly manifest in this world, but everything has that
06:11eternal perspective. Because even if a visible physical reward comes, let's say in the form of,
06:18I don't know, a promotion materially or an increase financially, the purpose of that blessing is not
06:24for your comfort, or for your indulgence, or for your excessiveness. No, the purpose of that blessing
06:33is to be a tool by which you can help more people, not just materially, but spiritually. So everything is
06:42going to fall back to the bigger picture of our purpose here on earth and that eternal perspective.
06:51So it's very possible someone could go through a serious trial here on earth and seem to not have
06:59a material reward from it. And yet the reward is great spiritually, not just in heaven, but peace here
07:06on earth and effectiveness and the assignment God has given them. But it's also possible that when you
07:12go through a trial and come out the other side, part of that will include something you can attest as
07:18a material reward or a visible physical sign of God's goodness that we can point or touch,
07:25but that's not a focus. I think it's really important we don't try to, as I said earlier,
07:31the misunderstanding of God's promises and His purpose. If we think God's promise is our material
07:39prosperity, then we miss the mark. God's promise is our spiritual prosperity. And oftentimes,
07:47if we are prosperous spiritually and we are good stewards of what we have materially,
07:53we can enjoy more than enough. But the purpose of that blessing is to be a blessing to others.
07:59It's not for our personal indulgence or just our personal comforts. I hope you understand the
08:05distinction there, brother. So everything has to have that eternal perspective. Even as you're
08:10navigating this trial in your workplace, the real victory is not necessarily that you overcome the
08:17financial circumstance in your workplace. The real victory is that your relationship with God grows
08:23through this and you learn the necessary lessons that God has for you through this. Because God may equip
08:31you with those lessons and you may not necessarily implement them in your current workplace.
08:36Destiny may take you to another place because it's not necessarily connected to the material
08:41advancement here on earth, but our spiritual purpose. So that would just be my encouragement to you,
08:49brother. Yes, of course, there is a reward because I will quote something Prophet T.B. Joshua said,
08:57a very profound statement. He said this, everything in your life is a test and a reward. And you will
09:05be
09:05rewarded for the way you handle your test. You can write that one down. That is a very insightful
09:12statement. Everything in your life is a test and a reward. And you are rewarded for the way you write
09:25your
09:25test. You manage your test. You manage your test. You handle your test. Now, the primary reward is spiritual.
09:34And that often overflows into things we can touch or point to physically, but the primary reward is spiritual.
09:48We don't pray despite a troubled heart because it's conventional. We pray with a troubled heart so that
09:57we can strike the roots of that trouble, which only God can do. Because as I said, an issue of
10:04the soul
10:04the soul can only be settled by the owner of the soul.
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