Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
5:00 I know the Bible doesn’t specifically mention yoga but what should we always remember before engaging in any activity?
8:11 So what does the Lord God say about worshiping pagan gods, or things they see in nature for example, the sun, S-U-N, Brother Philip?
9:46 What would you say to someone who’d like to exercise by doing yoga whether they do it at the gym, or whether they do it at home by following a DVD?
17:01 What does the Bible say about tattooing?
27:34 What does the Bible say about that (drinking)?
You asked Brother is gambling forbidden?
37:05 But what does the Bible say that should convince us to say no, when offered the chance to gamble?
41:49 Why else should Christians not love money?
46:00 Do we love the world? Or do we love our Almighty God?
[Show open]
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INC International Edition
Brother Edwil Zabala: Hello, I’m Edwil Zabala and this is the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition. Today’s topic: Winning God’s favor or man’s.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Edwil Zabala: Do you tend to be influenced by opinion polls? Are you striving to be popular in school? Whether we like it or not at times our behavior is shaped by those around us. For example, do you strive to be or rather for the latest styles and go with the latest fads? Does peer pressure affect your decision making? What if what is popular with this world is unpopular with God?
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Well, we’ll answer this and so much more today on the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Friends, joining us today is Brother Rommel San Pedro in San Francisco,
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Glenn David from Sydney
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: and Brother Phillip Velasquez in London.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Hello Brothers.
Brothers: Hello, Brother Edwil.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Well Brothers today we’re talking about fads and what’s in so let’s take for example, yoga.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Edwil Zabala: So many people are getting into it. In fact, many gyms can even keep up with the demand from Hot yoga to Hatha Yoga. Now, here’s an interesting video that I found that tries to explain the conflicts some people find with practicing yoga.
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
[Video Starts]
[Source: YouTube]
Narrator: The term Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means ‘union.’ Yoga is rooted in the Hindu philosophy and seeks to unify the mind, body and spirit.
Dr. Dilip Sarkar: It is basically practicing divinity within me. It is pluralistic. Everybody is saying it’s okay to be different.
Narrator: Some Christians who practice yoga say you can make it what you want, depending on what you think about during class.
Penelope Haws: Well, Jesus isn’t absent for me because that’s the beloved that I relate to. And yoga has no specific gods or anyone that you’re expected to worship. The word Lord is used. God is used. But if you’re not comfortable with that, you can even think about the Divine Mother Earth.
Narrator: But others disagree. New Age specialist Doug Rhodeheist says all forms of yoga involve occult assumptions. And Southern Baptist seminary President Albert Mohler says, “When Christians practice yoga, they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga.” Since some Christians object to the spiritual focus of traditional yoga, Christian yoga is an alternative. And the classes are often held at church. Students of Christian yoga say it maximizes the breathing and movements of traditional yoga, while minimizing the Hindu influence that disturbed them.
Hope Crane: They would say, the spirit in me honors the spirit in you. And I was thinking, I’m not really sure what kind of spirit you’re talking about.
Dee Smith: It seemed like you were almost worshiping in the pose. Some kind of animal so not feeling comfortable. I walked away from it.
Narrator: Instead, Christian yoga incorporates readings from the New Testament. Christian praise music and a narrative that is Christ centered.
[Video ends]
Brother Edwil Zabala: Here’s a question, Brothers, how popular is yoga when you’re at Brother Rommel, for example?
Brother Rommel San Pedro: It’s extremely popular. You drive around and you look at all the different signs from the gyms and there’s so many different types of yoga. There’s so many. There’s like what was mentioned, Hatha Yoga, there’s hot yoga, this wara yoga. There’s all kinds of yoga and different variations of it. So it’s extremely popular here in the Northern California area in America in general.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Is it the same in London for example, Brother Phillip?
Brother Philip Velasquez: Oh, yes, Brother. I mean, in my gym alone, which I go to nearly every day, they have yoga classes numerous times a day, which I of course don’t attend. And it’s very popular because people speak about its health benefits and other things like that. Yeah, very popular in this country.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Is that the same in Sydney, Brother Glenn?
Brother Glenn David: Oh very much so. Many gyms, which I don’t attend, therefore, do yoga. Well, here Yoga is the 13th most popular physical activity here in Australia. Just read that before we went on air. So it is very popular, especially what is surprising, with the strenuous environment that people live in now, especially with the financial crisis or trying to make financial ends meet or family worries. They have to find some way to try to relieve themselves of these worries that they face in his life. So yoga is an alternative for them.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Glenn, I know the Bible doesn’t specifically mention yoga but what should we always remember before engaging in any activity?
Brother Glenn David: Well, we could read this particular verse here in Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 2 in the New English Translation, it reads this Brother:
The LORD says, “Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe.
[Jeremiah 10:2 NET]
Brother Glenn David: So yes, even though the Bible does not specifically mention yoga here, Brother, but what it does mention is that we should not be in awe or fascinated about things in the sky, or things of nature. Why? Because it has a great relevance to pagan religious practices. That’s the very reason Brother.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: A very similar prohibition is also recorded here in Leviticus 18, went to 5:
Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am Yahweh your God. Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs. You are to practice My ordinances and you are to keep My statutes by following them; I am Yahweh your God. Keep My statutes and ordinances; a person will live if he does them. I am Yaweh.
[Leviticus 18:1 HCSB]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: So very similar to what Brother Glenn read. We also can read here from the Holy Bible, our Lord God’s command through Moses, to the first people of God, the Israelites, God’s nation, they were not supposed to follow the pagan practices or customs of their… for example the Egyptians where they came from as slaves, or the land of Canaan, where Lord God is bringing them there are different cultures within Canaan different practices that were pagan, and our Lord God commanded them not to do any of those practices.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Glenn David: In fact, Brother Edwil we can read online many, many articles that state that yoga is actually a pagan religious practice.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: Yes, I came across this article also, on the internet, Brother Glenn, where it speaks of, you know, yoga, being actually a pagan, a pagan ritual, a pagan practice. I mean, it has all the hallmarks of paganism, you know, paganism believes in many gods, they worship and revere the celestial beings. And that’s basically what yoga is really about. It’s thanking the sun.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: That’s S-U-N, the great big ball of fire in the sky, the star in the sky, that gives us light during the day. That’s not, it’s not referring to the Son of God or Lord Jesus Christ, the S-O-N. This is the s-u-n. And if you notice their poses, they even say that they’re in their articles that the poses they make are acts of worship, or bowing down or kneeling before the sun because a pagan like for example, the Hindu religion, in various forms, they worship the sun as their god, the S-U-N, as their god, small g-o-d.
Brother Edwil Zabala: So what does the Lord God say about worshiping pagan gods, or things they see in nature for example, the sun, S-U-N, Brother Philip?
Brother Philip Velasquez: Yes, Brother, it’s actually clearly written here in the Bible, in Deuteronomy, 17, and 3, and this is what we can read:
For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars— the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden.
[Deuteronomy 17:3 NLT]
Brother Philip Velasquez: So it’s not surprising. It has been strictly forbidden by our Almighty God, to perform any acts of worship, or praise, honor to the celestial bodies, sun, moon and stars, even especially on the gods.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And like to add that bowing down. Yes, bowing down or kneeling is an act of worship. As I could read here in Psalm 75:6:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
[Psalm 75:6 ESV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: So kneeling, or bowing down as an act of worship. So when they act when they kneel, or they bow down before the Sqn, or the great big ball of fire in the sky, they’re doing an act of worship. It’s very similar to those who say they’re not worshiping graven images, their idols, but they’re bowing down or kneeling before this giving them it just they’re doing an act of worship, and that’s forbidden by our Lord God to the Holy Bible.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Glenn, what would you say to someone who’d like to exercise by doing yoga whether they do it at the gym, or whether they do it at home by following a DVD?
Brother Glenn David: Well stretching, simple stretches Brother or any other exercise that promotes a healthy lifestyle. These things don’t involve any pagan practices at all. For example, walking the dog maybe or going for light walks like jogs. And as I mentioned before in Australia, yoga is the 13th most popular physical activity. Swimming is probably the most popular physical activity here in Australia. Swimming is very popular here because it is an island, it’s close to the beach, the swimming pools accessible to everyone, and it’s good for relaxation. It helps provide remedies for things like asthma, osteoporosis, and also provides a relaxation for drug and alcohol recovery. And also helps with the healing of sports injuries. So something like that, and it doesn’t involve any pagan religious practices at all. So something like that it’s something simple.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brothers, let’s turn to another practice that’s popular these days. Let’s leave yoga behind because at least you’ve clarified it, not just for me, but for the people watching us right now. You’ve clarified it from the Holy Scriptures. Now let’s turn to tattoos. I see a lot of people supporting tattoos. Many think it’s cool to have a tattoo. So let’s watch this video about tattooing or tattoos.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
[Video Starts]
[Source: YouTube]
Don Blackwell: In the last several years, tattoos and body piercings have become extremely common, perhaps more popular than they’ve ever been in history. The movie stars have them, the sports figures have them. In fact, a new story dated April 30 2009, says that Barbie now has them. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Barbie doll. Mattel has created a new Barbie complete with tattoos and a toy tattoo gun so the children can stamp themselves with washable tattoos. The American Academy of Dermatology website references a 2004 survey with people from the ages of 18 to 50, which revealed that 24% of the people surveyed reported having a tattoo. A Harris Poll dated February 12 2008 stated that 32% of those ages 25 to 29 had a tattoo, and 25% of those aged 30 to 39.
Tattoo Artist: Today, we’re going to be finishing basically the front part of Todd’s torso. We were tied to his chest and we tattooed his left side and today we’ll be touching his right side. And the right side is the casting out of Lucifer by Archangel Michael.
Todd: Like all my tattoos are religious, and they represent faith by getting tattooed by turbot and knowing that he’s religious, and he’s orthodox. And I’m a Christian. And it’s like when he tattoos me when we talk about it, he knows the meaning behind it like, I guess what I am going through or what the tattoos gonna mean when we’re doing it. And I really like that, that he knows it’s not just a random guy who’s doing Jesus on me. Oh, this sleeve, I guess is the story of Jesus from the crucifixion. The angel came to Mary, John the Baptist, the rose represents love.
Tattoo Artist: This is by no means a small feat for anybody getting tattooed on your side is a very painful experience for someone to willingly go through so it’s gonna be very good. I’m excited about the way the tattoos come out so far. Todd has my best and my best work on so it’s gonna be great.
[Video ends]
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Philip, let’s start with you. How popular are tattoos there in England?
Brother Philip Velasquez: It’s very popular here, Brother Edwil, actually, it’s quite alarming because you’ve got people from different walks of life, you know. You’ve got people of different ages spending hundreds of pounds on tattoos. I know some people who you know who are actually in the process of getting their whole bodies tattooed up. And that’s how it is over here. There has been recent research on the popularity of tattoos.
Brother Edwil Zabala: And how about there in San Francisco, Brother Rommel?
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Not just in San Francisco, but all over the United States of America and Canada. Almost every block, there’s a tattoo parlor and you could always see people lining up even as young as preteens getting tattoos. And they’re getting tattoos for various reasons. Just like the video, there are those who try to show that there’s a religion or they call it Christian significance to their tattoos. There are gang members that have tattoos. They’re people who tattoo the name of their girlfriend on their arm, and then when they break up, I don’t know what happens to that. But there’s all kinds of people with tattoos for different reasons, and it’s very, very popular.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: And how about they’re in, in Australia, Brother Glenn?
Brother Glenn David: The same would go here too Brother. It’s not only just the bikees, the big guys riding those Harleys who have those big tattoos, but nearly everyone, all ages, huge demographic, even the young ones as well these days and they don’t really know the meaning behind but maybe because of peer pressure to belong to a group. They have the same tattoo being imprinted upon them. So it is quite alarming and it’s something that they should know deeper about. And hopefully this episode will bring an insight into that and show them what you know, give them a choice on what we should do.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: I heard from you earlier when we were watching the video. Did you have another video for us, Brother Glenn?
Brother Glenn David: Yes. Quite a strange thing about Barbie. And in fact, Barbie actually has tattoos. So watch that video right now Brother.
[Video Starts]
[Source: YouTube]
Narrator: Barbie is reinventing herself yet again. This time she’s covered in tattoos. Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Each generation is different. And what’s, you know, Elvis was evil at one time. But not everyone thinks Barbie getting inked is appropriate for children.
Female: I think it’s too young. I think it’s attracting kids that are too young. I want to expose parts of their bodies to show off tattoos.
Female #2: I guess I’m old school now. But that would not fly. I would not buy that for my granddaughters.
Narrator: Despite the controversy, the new tattoo Barbie seems to be a hit.
[Video Ends]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: I noticed something.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Yes, but Rommel.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There’s no Ken doll that was in the video that has a tattoo. And whether that’s the case or not, little children are practicing tattoos, even fake tattoos at first, for what will happen, they get older in real life. So even having a temporary tattoo, that’s not something that parents or grandparents should encourage. In fact, they should discourage the little children from putting any kind of even a fake tattoo in their body because that’s an indication of what will happen as if it’s okay to them in the future.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Philip, turning to the Bible. What does the Bible say about tattooing?
Brother Philip Velasquez: Well, it’s actually quite shocking, because, you know, for those two people we saw early on in the video, those self proclaimed Christians who were you know, getting tattoos, you know, expressing their faith, they will be very surprised to find out that what’s written here in Leviticus 19, and 28, our Almighty God says:
Never slash your body to mourn the dead, and never get to get a tattoo. I am the LORD.
[Leviticus 19:28 GWT]
Brother Philip Velasquez: So you see, it’s funny, because, you know, many people are saying they’re getting it to express their Christian faith, but actually, it’s God’s command to his people, especially Christians, not to get a tattoo. So it is controversial, especially with these dolls, you know, influencing these young children at an early age, getting tattoos, it shouldn’t be done, and it should be extremely discouraged.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And there’s another reason why it shouldn’t be done. And Deuteronomy 14, one to two, this is what it says:
You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves, or shave the front of your heads for the dead.
[Deuteronomy 14:2 NIV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: You know, based on the Holy Scriptures, God does not want his chosen people to follow the practices of the pagans, in cutting themselves. Just like what we read, we discussed earlier, but yoga and the pagan practices, the practice of, of tattooing is a pagan practice. And when you cut yourself or you put tattoos, then that person’s not a child of God, that person does not belong to the Lord or God, because our Lord God prohibits or forbids his people from having tattoos or cutting themselves, so they could be different from the people of the world.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Philip Velasquez: Actually, whether or not this there’s another reason as to why God prohibits those things, you know, marking your bodies, getting tattoos, cutting yourselves. And we can read that here in First Corinthians 6:19 to 20 We read that Apostle Paul teaches us:
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
[Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV]
Brother Philip Velasquez: That’s the reason why God also forbids us from marking our bodies, getting tattoos, slashing our bodies, because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have to honor God with our bodies.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Well, we hope that convinces those who may be seriously considering getting a tattoo, think about it friends. The Bible disagrees with that. And if we believe in the Bible, if we say we have faith in the Bible, we shouldn’t do anything that goes against what the Bible says we should not be doing.
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Now when we come back we’ll find out that servants of the Lord God are allowed to engage in social or casual drinking? Well, all this and more on the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition
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INC International Edition
Brother Edwil Zabala: Welcome back to the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition. Today we’re talking about practices forbidden to Christians to servants of the Lord God. And we left off by asking, What does the Bible say concerning casual or social drinking alcoholic beverages? For example, today, drinking red wine is very popular, but very few people realize it is dangerous. I came across something on the internet, an article lists five negative health risks of drinking too much wine. Number one on the list is obesity. Number two, heart disease. Number three, stroke. Number four, pancreatitis. Number five, it may cause infertility.
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Brother Edwil.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Yes, yes.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Brother Edwil, I noticed that there’s a lot of negatives, because there are people who assume that red wine might have positive health benefits dealing with the heart. But there are studies that show the opposite, that there are actually negative benefits. And the allegedly positive benefits can also be found in cranberry juice, in grape juice, because of resveratrol and also antioxidants. So there are safer alternatives. So what turn to a negative there that has good health benefits as you mentioned, obesity, heart disease, pancreatitis, all those things that are negative in nature, causing a low fertility rate. But the Bible never changes, even though science might, what people think as the point of science at a time or studies at the time.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There could be contrary, so-called scientific findings or evidence until science is close to its true nature. The Bible never changes, the word of God has always been correct or true, and it doesn’t change. And these are the negatives of drinking alcoholic beverages in Proverbs 23:29 to 32:
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try to mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
[Proverbs 23:20-32 ESV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Notice the negatives here, according to the Bible, about drinking wine or mixed drinks or alcoholic beverages. There’s so many negatives.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There’s so many things that can cause which is the woe. It’s referring to, of course, a cursed lifestyle, sorrow, suffering, it leads to depression, strife, people mostly get into fights, they lose their tempers, when they’re drunk, or even when they’re kind of drunk. They’re more prone to fight others. There are those who start complaining, causing domestic quarrels, domestic abuse, there are those who, for example, abuse their children when they get drunk, when they’re out of control. And the Bible says it causes wounds without cause because those who get drunk forget what they did when they were drunk. They might have done all kinds of bad things when they’re drunk. And the Bible also mentions there that you don’t even look at it when it’s red. So the Bible here is averse to red wine or alcoholic beverages, because in the end, it bites like a serpent, it bites like a snake, no one in their right mind would pick up a poisonous snake and play with it, like a cobra, or some kind of poisonous snake. We avoid those types of creatures because they are very dangerous. So in the same sense, we should avoid drinking alcoholic beverages.
Brother Philip Velasquez: I have. I have a friend who is a policeman. He’s actually a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police here in the United Kingdom, specifically London and he says that 80% of crime is alcohol-related. Most of the stuff that he has to deal with is alcohol-related. So we can already see that’s a big negative and staying on the subject of negatives, there is a bigger, a bigger disadvantage if one is to indulge in alcoholic beverages. And we can read that here in Isaiah 5:22. And it says here:
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drinks,
[Isaiah 5:22 ESV]
Brother Philip Velasquez: What’s another negative in alcohol when drinking alcoholic beverages? The Bible says ‘Woe to those people who drink who mix wine, who take a strong strong drink.’ What does it mean woe? Be accursed. They will be punished.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: So not only does it have negative ramifications on the health, but even when it comes to our relationship with our Almighty God.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Glenn?
Brother Glenn David: Also in that same verse, in the New Living Translation, we could read this:
What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
[Isaiah 5:22 NLT]
Brother Glenn David: So the irony here is that they think they are heroes, how much they can drink, how drunk they can get, in fact, they boast about it. But in reality, in the end, it only ends in sorrow.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Why is that?
Brother Glenn David: They cannot control themselves, and they end up losing everything they have, they lose their loved ones, they lose their material possessions, they end up even being homeless. So who’s the hero now?
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Because again…
Brother Edwil Zabala: Yes, yes.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: They become addicts. It leads to addiction. And like it was mentioned, all those crimes, all those negatives that were mentioned earlier. And yet, you also see that there are so many wild parties where, for example, in fraternities or sororities where people are competing to see how much alcohol they can drink, or how much after they could hold. It’s right there also in the Scripture that even in time past, they’re doing the same type of thing.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And even today, they’re doing the same type of thing. They’re boasting about how drunk they could get or they could hold. Yes, exactly, exactly. But it’s really very awful, because according to the Bible it talks about drunkenness, and the dangers. There’s the greatest dangers recorded in Galatians 5:21:
Envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[Galatians 5:21 ESV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: So as you mentioned, it’s woe. There’s a punishment, there’s a curse, the greatest curse is those who get drunk or drink alcoholic beverages, according to the Bible, are in danger of not inheriting the kingdom of God. In other words, they’re in danger of not being saved.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: But based on what Brother Rommel just read, it says drunk, getting drunk, drunkenness surely, as long as you don’t get drunk, some people might be saying? If you don’t get drunk, that wouldn’t be bad. I mean, it’s just casual drinking, social drinking. So Brother Phillip, turning to you. What does the Bible say about that?
Brother Philip Velasquez: Well, I mean, Brother Edwil, I mean, you know, you could even ask a drunk person, are you drunk, and he’ll tell you, he isn’t drunk, you know. So basically, what the Bible says, here in Ephesians 4 and 27, Apostle Paul says clearly here:
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
and don’t give the devil a chance.
[Ephesians 4:27 CEV ]
Brother Philip Velasquez: So we’re instructed here not to give the devil any chance. And if there is a chance that we may get drunk, we have to make sure that we stay away from that, we get rid of that chance, any risk.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Glenn David: That’s right, if you give the devil an inch, he’ll take a whole mile because he knows exactly our weaknesses. He knows how to take advantage, take the most of what we yearn for, especially for a person who yearns for wine or alcohol.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Glenn David: And so in that case, for example, say if one was to take a sip of beer, it will just be one sip and then another sip, and then all of a sudden, it’s from one glass to another glass to a bottle to two bottles, all because you know, they cannot control themselves, and they in the end, they become drunk without them even knowing it.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There are a lot of tragedies associated with drinking alcohol, there’s the organization called MADD or Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, because unfortunately, they lost their children, because of people who thought that they could hold their alcohol, people who didn’t think they were drunk. Because when you’re drunk, you don’t realize that you’re drunk. And so people don’t know the difference. Everybody has a different biochemistry, it’s different at different times of the day. It also depends on how much they eat. And so they take that risk and the end result they become murderers. They end up killing people unintentionally, but the intention was to drink so as not to end up killing or ending the life of somebody’s son or daughter. And there’s other things also that happen when people get drunk. That’s why there’s teenage pregnancies. The children thought they could have a bright future, they could finish their studies or schooling. And then because they got drunk at some kind of wild party, the end result is now they have a child to take care of and they can’t go to school, and they’re burdened with trying to find childcare. Or maybe they put the burden on their parents or their grandparents to take care of those, their child or their children.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Then you have an incidence of attempted rape, rape, murder, all kinds of violence associated people who drink alcoholic beverages, and it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it at all because what they’re doing is giving the devil a chance, a chance to ruin their lives, a chance to ruin also their chance to have eternal life or salvation.
Brother Philip Velasquez: And it’s not only alcohol, you know, it’s also other mind-altering substances like drugs, illegal drugs. You know, as I said, my police friend, he said, it’s not only alcohol, it’s also a drug-related thing that he has to deal with most of the time. And it’s these things where they alter your mind, it drives people to do things that they wouldn’t normally do, you know, they wouldn’t normally do. So after they come out of it. You know, they’re full of regret. They’re full of, you know, remorse, but it’s too late. It’s already done. It’s already committed.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There’s a lot of drugs all over the United States like in, especially California, they’re trying to legalize marijuana or pot, there’s cocaine, there’s ecstasy, there’s new drugs all the time and combinations of drugs that people are using by injecting. There’s heroin, and I’m sure in other parts of the world, they’re also called by different names.
Brother Glenn David: Just coming from what Brother Rommel mentioned about how they tried to legalize certain drugs in the United States, here in Australia actually, marijuana or what they call pot is actually illegal in Canberra, which is the capital of Australia, where the politicians meet which is quite ironic as well. So it is a bit ironic, but it does happen. It happens Brother.
Brother Philip Velasquez: Yes, but there are actually some places here in Europe where you know, smoking or taking ingesting marijuana is is absolutely legal. Example in point is Amsterdam, where, you know, you could walk into a cafe and order some marijuana drink or coffee, or marijuana in a button and some food, you know.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: But at the end of the day, you know, we could be surrounded by this culture, it could be made legalized, it could be it could be legalized everywhere, we could be in the middle of it, but as God’s people, as God’s people who are bound by God’s laws, just because it’s legal with the law of the land, it doesn’t make it legal for us, God’s people who are bound by his law.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: There was even a campaign a long time ago about the use of drugs and how it affects the brain. And we even have a video about that, about the dangers of using drugs. Please watch this video.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
[Video starts]
[Source: YouTube]
Man: Is there anyone out there who still isn’t clear about what doing drugs does? Okay, last time. This is your brain. This is drugs.
This is your brain on drugs? Any questions?
[Video ends]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: So as you can see from the video, there are a lot of dangers associated with drug abuse, such as using drugs while drinking alcoholic beverages, which are dangerous for health or Lord God commanded that we should be in good health. Our Lord God wants our temple or body to be strong physically, so we could use that body to serve Him. But when he uses drugs and alcohol, it ruins our body and causes ill health. And not only that, although God prohibits it, it’s against the Bible. And Christians shouldn’t do it, because it would ruin their chance of being saved.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: Well, that was very clear, it was biblical. Now when we come back dear friends we’ll talk about gambling this time. So many people like to go to Vegas, for example, for more than just the buffet. So we’ll focus on that when the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition returns.
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INC International Edition
Brother Edwil Zabala: Welcome back to the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition. Friends, you saw that very popular Last Vegas slogan. Now today we’re talking about practices of the world that may be popular but are against the Lord God’s will and we left off by talking about gambling.
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: So before we continue by reading from the holy scriptures, let’s first take a look at this video.
[Video Starts]
[Source: YouTube]
Narrator: Nearly 315 million dollars…
Jack: We won…What are we going to do?
Narrator: On Christmas Day 2002. Jack woke up with his stockings full of more loot than Santa could haul on the sleigh. Santa has chosen to stay in West Virginia. So how did this turn into this?
Jack: You know my wife had said she wished she tore the ticket up. Well, I wish that we had torn it up, too.
Narrator: Like Emely, it began with the best of intentions. But before long folks started figuring out one good deed
Jack: I need $68,000 or I’m gonna lose my home
Narrator: Deserved another.
Jack: Please put a check for $195,000 in the return envelope.
Narrator: God forbid if Jack turned to cold shoulder.
Jack: A lot of time people get angry.
Narrator: Everything was changing. Even Jack. His marriage began to crumble. He started hanging out at strip clubs. He was in dire straits.
And it got worse, much worse. This is his beloved 17 year old granddaughter Brandy he showered with cash.
Jack: I gave her about $2,000
Narrator: And cars. But his cash and karma stained brandy too. She and her boyfriend Jesse both became heavy drug users. And in the course of one tragic year, he died of an overdose and Brandie’s body was discovered in a place called Scary Creek cause of death: unknown.
Jack: I pretty much lost everything I held dear in my life.
I got lots of money, but the thing is I don’t have my family.
[Viden Ends]
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INC International Edition
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brothers, I don’t know about you, but I’m heartbroken for that gentleman who won that lotto Brother Rommel, what are the other kinds of gambling or your app in San Francisco?
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Rommel San Pedro: I’m also heartbroken because the guy thought he was a winner. But how can you say that he won anything when he lost everything?
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And that’s what people don’t realize is that gambling causes an addiction to gambling, people who had a lot of money, lose that money. All kinds of evil are a result of all those things. But here in the California area and the United States of America, it’s not just in Las Vegas, there’s gambling. There’s also gambling online. There’s also poker being played in many different places. I just preached in the Reno region, and while we were driving there, I noticed there’s a lot of casinos and different Indian territories, there’s also gambling casinos. It’s very, very popular in America, sports betting as well. When people vote for their favorite UFC champ or they vote for their favorite boxing champ, then they also bet on who’s going to win and who’s going to lose.
Brother Edwil Zabala: So Brother Philip, I want to ask if it’s legal there in England to gamble. I assume it is some form of gambling, at least. But what does the Bible say that should convince us to say no, when offered the chance to gamble?
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Edwil Zabala
Quezon City, Philippines
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: Yes, well, before I get to that Brother Edwil, it’s yes, gambling is absolutely legal here. And especially in recent years, especially in recent months, you know, online gambling and online bingo. I don’t know if that’s what you call it. You have bingo in the United States and Australia. That’s a massive thing.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Glenn David: We have that in Australia.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Philip Velasquez: There’s bingo in other churches, not our church. But I’ve seen it. Bingo in the Catholic Church. I’ve been doing all kinds of Protestant denominations.
Brother Glenn David: It’s very popular with the older people.
Brother Philip Velasquez: They do that here as well in other churches too, but specifically, and very alarmingly online. This is one of the big things now and the number of TV commercials promoting online gambling and online bingo has shot up in recent months.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: You asked Brother is gambling forbidden? Well, it might be legal here when it comes to the law. But how about when it comes to the law of our Almighty God? Here in Galatians 5:19 to 21 this is what we can read:
People’s desires make them give into immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I’m telling you again: no one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom.
[Galatians 5:19-21 CEV ]
Brother Philip Velasquez: So the question was, Brother Edwil that early one you posed is gambling forbidden? Well, it may not have been mentioned specifically in the verses that we read. But what is forbidden is greed. What is forbidden is being selfish. And that’s what gambling does. It makes people greedy. It makes them selfish. It makes them desire for material things, instant wealth. And if that is forbidden, then that’s what we can see in gambling. Gambling is also forbidden in the eyes of our Almighty God.
Brother Glenn David: And from that video if I could just mention there Brother Edwil. It just goes to show like I do feel for the guy as well just shows that money is money cannot buy happiness. So anyway, off that if we could just take what my Brother Phillip mentioned here, what I want to point out here is about wild parties also mentioned here. Wild parties and raves that are forbidden by the Lord God.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Glenn David: So Christians should not go to those places, especially the younger generation. Especially Friday nights the TGIF was Thank God It’s Friday, especially a hard day’s work. They would like to go out with their friends to wild nightclubs where there’s alcohol involved and leads to more unruly behavior on their part.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And not only that, but it’s not that money itself is evil. It’s the attitude towards money that you can find in those who are gamblers. And this is what our Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 16:13:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you’ll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
[Luke 16:13 NIV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: In this prohibition, our Lord Jesus Christ is warning us that we can’t love both our Lord God and money at the same time.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: We want to emphasize there’s nothing wrong with money. Money is a part of the prosperity that God blesses His people with. With the money we are generous as God, Lord God commanded in our offerings for buildings or places of worship. Money is also being used to fund charities like our Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, our Aid for Humanity, where people who are devastated by calamities, and all kinds of disasters are being helped by the Iglesia Ni Cristo or the Church Of Christ, and also the Felix F. Manalo Foundation. So there are good uses of money. However, the warning here is about the devotion to money, the love of money, to the point that people don’t no longer love our Lord God, or they’re not gonna love our Lord Jesus Christ are no longer devoted to serving both the Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And that’s the danger of people gambling. There’s that greediness, there’s that selfishness, their attitude towards making all that money, that they lose sight of the one who’s truly more important that could bless our lives with prosperity, and that is a Lord God for with Him all things are possible.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Brother Glenn
Brother Glenn David: And on with that point Brother.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Actually I was going to address that question to you, Brother Glenn. Why else should Christians not love money?
Brother Glenn David: That will be written in First Timothy 6, chapter 10. Brother, it says this:
Because it is the root of all kinds of evil. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
[I Timothy 6:10 NIV]
Brother Glenn David: Because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It leads people away from their own faith, to do things that are out there in this world that go against our faith, especially as members of the Church Of Christ. Because for the people outside in this world, because of money, people are willing to do anything for it, they will lie and be a false witness. They will even sue anyone, someone wealthy, who is someone who is wealthy in order to gain money, or even to the more extreme kill for the sake of money. And that’s why we’re not surprised when we watch the news or open up the newspaper. Listen to the radio, the motives of most crimes are because of money, the love of it, too much of it.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And you can see that there’s a lot of like it was mentioned in their crimes, there’s fraud, there’s extortion, there is bribery. There’s all kinds of evil doings when it comes to having so much love for money. And that’s why we live in very dangerous times. There’s all kinds of mafias, there’s all kinds of criminal organizations. And that was forewarned, the danger of these times because of love of money, as a sign that the end is truly near or the Day of Judgment is near. As you can read here in Second Timothy 3:1-5:
You can be certain that in the last days, there’ll be some very hard times. People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud, stuck-up, rude, and disobedient to their parents. They will also be ungrateful, godless, heartless, and hateful. Their words will be cruel, they will have no self-control or pity. These people will heed everything that is good. They will be sneaky, reckless, and puffed up with pride. Instead of a loving God, they will love pleasure. Even though they will make a show of being religious, their religion won’t be real. Don’t have anything to do with such people.
[II Timothy 3:1-5 CEV]
Brother Rommel San Pedro: What I just read a biblical prophecy from a Lord God through the apostles that in the last times, it’d be very hard difficult times in other translations, perilous times, dangerous times, because the custome, the culture, the people will be that of loving money, they’ll be pumped off puffed up with pride, they’re going to do all kinds of things that are sneaky. So again, you still have con artistry these days, you see a lot of people trying to rip other people off. There’s all kinds of insurance fraud schemes. There are all kinds of people who are doing all kinds of things just to get that money. And so it’s also making the world a very, very dangerous place because instead of loving our Lord God, loving pleasure, the living all these things, which is what we could see and that phrase again that popular saying, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It’s not real. Because our Lord God sees everything that happens, he says everything is going on. And besides that, there’s nothing wrong with going to Vegas if you want to go to the buffet, if you don’t want to watch an Elvis impersonator, if you want to watch a Ultimate Fighting Championship final round, if you want to watch her famous popular boxer, maybe Pacquiao or someone else. There’s nothing wrong with going to Las Vegas for those things. What’s wrong, is what we do in Vegas, if it’s prostitution, if it’s illegal drugs, if it’s gambling, that’s what’s wrong. That’s what’s evil in the sight of the Lord God.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: And also I’d like to point out based on what you read, loving money is a sign that the day of judgment is very near.
Brother Philip Velasquez: So as we’ve seen, in the course of our study today, not everything that’s popular or trendy in the world, should be popular or accepted for us members of the Church Of Christ. You know, we Christians, we have to make a decision. You know, we have to make a choice. Do we want popularity with the world? Or, you know, do we want to be popular and known by our Almighty God?
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Philip Velasquez: Do we love the world? Or do we love our Almighty God? The Bible helps us to make that choice. And that’s written here in First John 2 and 15:
Stop Loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him.
[I John 2 and 15 ISV]
Brother Philip Velasquez: So if we as Christians say that we love our Almighty God, then we will renounce anything, you know, that the world may say, is trendy or popular that goes against the law of our Almighty God and I think we covered many of those things today in the course of our study.
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Today’s Topic: Winning God’s Favor or Man’s
Brother Glenn David: So I think it’ll also be worth saying that are we willing to risk a lifetime or eternity with God for a short term, short, something short, like something of pleasure or leisure, that goes against the will of God risking that eternal life? It’s not worth doing that at all. So to prove our love for God, to choose or to choose him that we do truly love Him is to obey his commandments, which is taught to us by the Holy Bible.
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Glenn David
Sydney, Australia
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: And I want to add something. People might argue that these things that we’re talking about here are very fun. And there’s no denying that there’s some kind of attraction for the people of the world to do these things.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: But when it comes to those things, those things are against the will or the commandments of our Lord God. As we studied here, we’re not talking about our own personal opinion. But what the Bible says. And as true Christians, we strive to live a life that’s pleasing before Lord God, although our Lord God is not against His people having fun. That’s why we have all kinds of fun activities. As members of the church, we have the Unity games, we have all kinds of sports, sporting events, we have all kinds of Christian Family Organization activities, there are times that we as members of the Kadiwa and Binhi Organization go out to the movies. These things are fun, and gathering together like those things are also fun, there’s a Christian, to Christians up have fun, that’s not against the commandments of our Lord God.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Thank you so much for that.
Brother Philip Velasquez: The mere act if I may address the mere act of worshiping God, you know, performing one’s duties and living a life which is in accordance with the will of God that has a pleasure in its own. It brings so much joy to those who truly love our Almighty God, you know, it’s a life of peace and contentment.
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Philip Velasquez
London, United Kingdom
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Rommel San Pedro: I also want to add something because that video that lotto so-called winner brought something to my attention that you look at the servants of the Lord God that were faithful: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, King David, those people who are very close to our Lord God, our Lord God bless them, including Job with great wealth. Our Lord, God bless them with prosperity. But those that’s a blessing of God that don’t have a curse associated with it, or the blessing of God that doesn’t have any negativity associated with it. Their lives and their family lives are blessed. They had the peace in their heart, the peace in their mind, because when our Lord God blesses someone, then there’s nothing that will ever be negative about that, because the blessing is from our Creator. Nor God is a God of love, who wants His people, His children, to have happiness, to have peace in this life. And that’s what we strive for to be as close to God as popular, we strive to be popular with God.
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Rommel San Pedro
San Francisco, California
Minister of the Gospel
Brother Edwil Zabala: And that brings us to the point we were making earlier. People should be careful what practices they adopt, because they might be doing something that would lead them away from our Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, the true source of happiness, the true source of joy, and peace.
Brother Edwil Zabala: Thank you so much Brothers. Brother Rommel San Pedro over there in San Francisco, Brother Philip Velazquez in London, Brother Glenn David in Sydney. Thank you for giving us those Bible-based answers so that, as the Apostle Peter said to the members of the church, we will be ready to speak up until anyone who asks why we’re living the way we are. Well, that does it for us here in the Iglesia Ni Cristo International Edition. We hope you’ll join us again next time. I’m Edwil Zabal. Please join us for a prayer.
Brother Rommel San Pedro: Our most kind and loving Father. We call upon your most holy name to offer to you our thanks and our praise. Thank you for blessing our show, for blessing us with the wisdom to explain Your holy teaching. Because it is our fervent desire that all of us, including our viewers, would live a life that’s pleasing before you. You know, our desire is for everyone to be saved on the Day of Judgment. Thank you, Father. Please bless all of our viewers. Open up their hearts and in their minds. And please also allow them to feel the power of your Holy Spirit so that they would realize that what they’re listening to is truly Your Holy Word, the truth they would need to be close to you. If there are those doing the practices that we studied in this lesson, help them to break free from those practices that are displeasing before You. Truly may we may be holy before you, we may be spiritual, we may truly prove to you our great love. And be worthy to enter the holy city. We know that by what’s happening around us, that’s only proof that the end is truly near. Please prepare us for the day when you send forth your son. We praise and honor You, Lord Jesus. We love you with all of our heart. Would you please beg the Father to bless the show even more and to even add more fruits to the Church Of Christ in these last days that many more souls will be ready for your return. And on the great day of our salvation, You would allow all of us to enter the Holy City. Once more, Father, we call upon your holy name. Please unite us with the spirit of the Church Administration. Bless always our beloved Executive Minister Brother Eduardo Manalo. Continue to fill him with the wisdom to lead your people in these last days, all the more your name would be glorified and the Church would continue onwards towards its perfection. We offer to you all the glory, all the honor. As we all ask these things through the Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
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