Pastor Gail – Welcome
1. It’s the day of the Lord, Amen? It’s good to be here together and everybody looks good. It’s always good to see the smile on your faces, especially after several of you have said you’ve had lots of guests. And my Greek father-in-law, he had a saying he would always say, company is like fish. After three days they begin to stink. So, it’s good to see that you’re smiling after a continuous company, Amen. Let’s just praise the Lord, let’s pray, all right.
2. Father, we love you and we thank you for today. It is a brand-new day, everything that has happened in the hours and days before, it’s closed, it’s settled, it’s done. So, we have a new day to praise you, to honor you. We want to praise you, Lord, with all of our hearts today. So, we say come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, and lead us to worship around the throne this morning. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Pastor Gail – Reading the Word
1. In Jesus’ name. If you don’t mind, we need to stand up for the Word. We’re reading a little bit different passage today from 2 Chronicles 34. And there are Bibles around the room if you’d like to read from a paper Bible, which we encourage. 2 Chronicles 34:8-12, starting with verse 8. Josiah was probably one of Judah’s last great kings. And before him, there had been kings that had even sacrificed their children in the fire. They had burned them in the fire. But I love this. At 8 years old, he became king. But he decided that when he turned 16, I’m going to serve the Lord. He made the decision. And let’s see what he did after he decided to follow Him.
2. “In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah, son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God. They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple.”
3. And the end of verse 11 says, “…For the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.” And in the beginning of verse 12, “…The men did the work faithfully.” And in the end of verse 12, “…The Levites, all who were skilled in playing musical instruments, had charge of the laborers and supervised the work.”
4. There’s something powerful about loving this body first (our own body) that the Lord places His Spirit in. This is our temple of worship, yes? But also, so powerful when the body together says, ‘O Lord, we want our place where we worship to be full of worship, and that means to beautify it for you.’
5. It may seem like a strange passage today, but I do think the Lord is calling us to believe in excellence in our lives as we worship, and excellence together when we gather, Amen? I’m glad you’re here today. And as we worship together, we bless the Lord, Amen.
6. And it says, “The worshippers led them in repairing the temple.” Let’s worship. Our temple together will become so beautiful for the Lord today, Amen?
Pastor Gail – Prayer
7. Who alone has the final answer for everything? Amen! God, Jesus, amen. Who alone will never leave us nor forsake us? Amen! Amen! Who alone never goes to sleep even though we do? Hallelujah! It is the Lord Almighty. Who alone is the great physician? And who alone says, I will be your burden bearer? Always. Amen! Amen!
8. I’d like our prayer team to come forward. I just want us to pray a little bit to take a few moments today. For those that you might need prayer this morning, we may not feel that He is there to heal. Or to answer our prayers. But we stand on the Word. He says, I am the God. Who knows you?
9. I am. I am. Amen. He says, there is no problem too big that I cannot solve it, Amen? So, we invite you to come forward this morning. We want to pray for if it’s you or some loved one, that the Lord will heal today. And if you don’t want to come forward, find someone near you. Hold their hand and say, ‘I agree with you today. I agree. Where two or three agree, in the name of the Lord, it is done.
10. He hears. He hears. The Lord says, “I hear. I hear. I hear.” Hallelujah. Trust Him. If you’re having trouble trusting Him. Today ask the Lord, ‘Give me faith in the waiting Lord. Give His hope in the waiting Lord. You are the great physician.’ Bless the Lord Oh my soul.
Pastor Gail Announcements
1. We want to make some announcements. Praise the Lord. This Wednesday night. Well, let me go back a moment. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the church is open at 10 a.m. I believe Mrs. Rebecca, Mrs. Rebecca, is our prayer door opener, and she’s just leading us in prayer on those mornings in the building. We’re so thankful, Rebecca.
2. The Lord has told us very clearly, that we have a year of prayer. And that’s probably the theme until Jesus comes again. Because without prayer, we can do nothing. Through prayer, we rely on Him. And so, now, what I was going to say, we always have prayer in the building. There’s never been a year since the church opened that we did not have at least one day of prayer in the church.
3. And I won’t have Sunday service because of weather or something, but prayer from the day the church started. We’re so thankful for that. I think that’s why the church continues. So, this Wednesday night, prayer at 7 p.m. will be on Zoom. We had a wonderful prayer last Wednesday. Some of you, yeah, we had a really good time. Some of you joined us, and it was just wonderful. And it was about thanksgiving. And thanksgiving last Wednesday night.
4. So, next Sunday, Pastor Brian will be preaching. Y’all be late, 10.30. I know it’s August, but 10.30. And I just want to say, I love all of you, but I want to give a special thanks today for those of you that consistently try to be here on time. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s a blessing to start with a few people in the building. There’s not much left of summer, so enjoy it.
5. A little advertisement for all of you to pat me on the back. People have always said, August is the hottest month. No, I’ve always said July. Am I right? Yes, yes. But it’s beautiful, the water is beautiful, enjoy. Invite some of your family, your church family, to go swimming with you, or just have a sandwich by the seaside, a little cup of coffee, amen.
6. Praise the Lord. We want to give the Lord our tithe and offering this morning. It is a praise to give to the Lord. It is a praise; it is a worship. It’s like telling the Lord, ‘You’re first in my life. Not just when I sing a song, not just when I come to church, even Lord, with the money I have, Lord, You’re first.’ Stavro, will you pray for the offering.
Leto Karantoni – Vassili – Main Message
1. Good morning to everyone. It’s nice to be in the in the house of the Lord, isn’t it? I have to confess that this week I missed it even more, to be among you. I was for two, three days in Cyprus. And I know that over there is my natural family. But I truly missed my spiritual family those days. And I give thanks to the Lord for being here. And I give thanks to the Lord for having the privilege to share with you, His Word. As you may already know, God’s Word is really beautiful. It is like honey in our palates. And he fills our hearts and life. God’s Word is alive. And this aliveness of the Word of God gives us life. Therefore, everything we do, the glory goes to him only. I think that all of us now can say praise God. Our God is great. Praise the Lord.
2. Let’s go to the book of Psalms. Psalm 1:3, it says, “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
3. The Psalms are considered to be poetry. The truth, though, is that although they were written like poems, they were written like poems that they can be sung and worship with them. And you know that poetry sometimes, many times, brings to our mind very strong pictures. It is different from literature. It has contrasts, rhymes, repetitions. It has everything. In the case of Psalms, there is something that I like a lot. The essence of this poetry is to pave the way to heaven, is to illustrate to us the way that leads to heaven, to the sky.
4. In these past days, these verses were in my mind while I was in Cyprus. I have been bringing to my mind the picture of pastor Gail talking about being trees planted that we sing, and these words that we just read. And I have always been thinking about the passion that we are trees planted by the rivers, by the waters.
5. However, the most beautiful picture that this Psalm has is the contrast between the righteous and the non-righteous person. If you read the verses before, it says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” The person that reads and obeys the Word of God is blessed.
6. And this person, this man, the righteous one, looks like a tree planted by the waters. This person has his leaves always green, and it says that he always bears his fruit at the right time. And even this illustration of the tree planted by the waters, for Israel, it was a very intense illustration.
7. I am from Cyprus, and I know very well what it means for a nation to not have abundance of water, and Israel is the same. Therefore, a tree that is planted by the waters, this was an intense picture for Israel.
8. I have traveled to Israel. I had the privilege to travel to the lake of Galilee, and I saw the trees planted next to the lake. You can see that huge contrast with the rest of the country. And God here says that He wants us to be like these trees planted by the waters. That their roots spread out and find the water. Our ground, our soil, is Jesus Christ. Our nutrition comes from Jesus Christ. And our God planted us in Jesus Christ, who is the living waters. And God wants us to extend our roots within Jesus Christ, as deep as possible.
9. Our Father gave us Jesus Christ, his Son, because he loves us so much. And Jesus Christ himself loves us so much that he gave himself for us. The deeper our roots go into Jesus Christ, so much more we understand God. That much more we comprehend God’s love for us, that the Bible itself says that no one can comprehend the love of God. God’s love is even deeper than the sea itself. It’s even hotter than the sun itself. And no one can love the same way that he does. And many times, I’m disappointed of myself because I say I cannot love like Jesus Christ.
10. But God always encourages me. He says that, ‘If you go deep in me, if you read my Word, if you pray, if you worship me, if you adore me, if you praise me, I will reveal my face to you every day, daily. You cannot attain that by yourself. But as far as I reveal Myself to you, and as I reveal to you my love for you, you will be able to understand more and more.’
11. And I believe that my message today is not only for me, but I believe that that applies to all of us, that if all of us reach out to God, God will reveal to us his love daily. And I tell him daily that I cannot make it, I fail. I cannot love by myself. Praise the Lord.
12. He didn’t abandon us. He didn’t leave us in agony and anxiety to try to achieve something. But he told us, ‘I will send you another helper, who is going to be with you. He will strengthen you. He will empower you with strength to do whatever you need to do.’ Our roots must go downwards.
13. And sometimes for us to grow, it is necessary that our roots go deeper. Our roots need to go deeper. And I have a great joy in me that this year our main theme is prayer, and also to look to God even more.
14. We need the communication with Jesus Christ. We need it for all the things in our life. For our finances. For our health. For our home. For our children. For our studies. For our future. For our career. For anything in our life, we need him. We need to walk in the way of the righteous. We need to walk in God’s Word. For whichever situation in our life, we need to do so.
15. You know that this reminded me of another picture. I lived in a village. And I lived in an era where the farmers didn’t have these big machines to farm or even to separate the seed from the chaff. They had a big, like a shovel. That it had three tridents in the front. And they would throw the chaff in the air in order for them to distinguish it. And the wind would blow away the chaff. And the seed would fall because it was heavier.
16. Our God wants us to be seeds. To fall on the soil. To be planted where Jesus Christ is. Fertile soil. Good soil, with all the nutrition needed for us to grow. And sometimes the work, that is done underground, doesn’t show. Because the tree hasn’t come out of the ground yet. But however, the roots underground grow and grow and go deep.
17. We live in a world where everything is done quickly. We are like, okay, we have to do it now, right now, this minute. And usually, we behave towards God in the same way. I want it right now, right here, in this way.
18. But God says, wait. First of all, build our relationship. Build this relationship. Understand me. See me. See my love. Grow into my love. And I will take you, wherever I need you to go. I will take you to your destiny, to your purpose. And it says that this tree bears its fruit at the right time. Some of us believe that as soon as a tree grows, it’s going to bear fruit right away. But there are trees that need up to seven or eight years to bring the very first fruit. This doesn’t mean that these trees are useless. This doesn’t mean that these trees are sterile. But they are going to produce their fruit at the right time.
19. Esther was the protagonist for just one moment. But God used her for that specific moment to do his work. She brought her fruit at the right time.
20. Our hearts sometimes are flooded with anxiety. And we say, God, I pray. Because I don’t see the result. Why is the answer that I’m looking for not coming. Why my tree doesn’t have fruit? I have been speaking to my husband for so long and he hasn’t yet believed. I speak to my children about you and my children run the other away.
21. God knows his time. Sometimes we pray, Lord, I want to go now to university. And the Lord says no. And then we think that God hasn’t answered. But God instead says that this tree is not ready yet to bear fruit. It’s the root first that needs to be fed. Its branches need time to grow, the leaves as well. We are like trees planted by the waters. That we bear our fruit at the right time. And our leaves never dry up.
22. In Cyprus, we have a place called Platania. It is high up on the mountain. It has a lot of creeks. Living water that runs down the mountain. And whenever you visit this place, you feel a nice coolness. You feel rested. Your eyes find rest on the green of the trees. And I will tell you something that is very strange.
23. That although many people visit this place, and there is a lot noise, suddenly you realize that you don’t hear all these different voices. It is like these trees absorb these voices. And they enable you to enjoy what is before you.
24. And God compares us, to trees planted by the waters. He wants us to filter out the voices of the world. He wants us to clear up the voices that we are listening to. And he also wants us to transfer the right things that come from his Word. If I speak his Word only through my mouth, and just say, oh God is beautiful, he is great, praise him. And as soon as I face the first difficulty, I fall, and I say that God didn’t hear me, he did not answer me, he is not here, he didn’t see me, he abandoned me. He didn’t show mercy to me. Then I haven’t really known God.
25. If we really are trees planted by the waters, that we let our roots go down deep into the ground, that we let the tree trunk come out, and the branches are extended, and our leaves are green, even during our difficulties, even during our difficulties, this three will be full of leaves.
26. Nowadays in Cyprus, as well in Greece, there is a shortage water, and the running waters are less than what they used to be, but in this region, named Platania, continues to have plane trees with green leaves, because their roots are so deep that they are able to drink water from really deep down. And the Bible says that these kinds of trees, are not going to be afraid of really hot weather. This doesn’t mean that we are not going to feel sad about something, but given what the Word of God says, is that when the difficulties come, we will be so steady, because our roots are so deep into the ground that we know the faithfulness and the faith of God, and because of that faithfulness, we are standing.
27. We stand to endure, to overcome, to be more than conquerors. Our God is in front of us, and we follow Him. Hallelujah, praise the name of the Lord. Our God is powerful. And there is a verse which says that ‘God achieves whatever He aims for’. I don’t know if you are able to achieve everything you say you would, but I don’t.
28. But I don’t believe that this verse talks about earthly achievements, but the Word of God says, I can give you whatever you want to, a house, a car, a fortune, whatever. But the most important thing for our life to be fruitful, for us to achieve whatever we want in life is to do what God wants us to do. And if He has called us for something, He will also equip us with whatever we need in order to achieve that work.
29. Our life belongs to the Lord. From the time that we denounced the things of the world. And we turned our backs to the worldly things; God called us for a specific work. For all this time, our theme was that we are blessed. And we are gifted. God gave us a lot of gifts. Some people are more gifted, some a little bit less, but the bottom line is that all of us are gifted. And He called every one of us for a specific reason.
30. We are not here just by chance. We are not here in this church by chance either, neither. And it is not a chance that we are in the Kingdom of God. But we are here to do His Word. To give Him glory and honor, in whatever we do.
31. That is why, if God has called you to do something, wait, God will equip you to do it, and He will bless whatever you do. Because it is His work; because it is for His Kingdom; because it is for His Bride; because it is for all of us sitting here to praise His name.
32. The name of the Lord is glorious. As you may know, Moses, chose not to become Pharaoh’s son but to be a simple Israelite. Daniel chose not to worship the king, but to give glory to God. We have been chosen to get out of the world and we have decided to be here and give glory to God.
33. I encourage you to remain rooted in the waters. Remain rooted in God’s love. Enjoy His grace and His mercy, and remain wherever He wants you to stand.
34. May God bless you all. May you always be well, and may God’s love guide you all the time.