Welcome. Today I would like to share with you a part of my testimony that I haven't shared a lot on before. I'm gonna be quite vulnerable with you guys here today. This pertains to some of my time as a teenager in school. And it's a story about bullying. It's a story of loneliness. It's a story of being a misfit. And a unique situation where I was to confront the system that was around me. Some traditions in my school that were not healthy. And as a teenager, it cost me dearly. But we're gonna see if it was worth it. The culture that I was in in that specific school was a school where a man was defined by how macho he is. A man was defined by how big of a sportsman, a rugby player he was. And this. Here comes our first problem. I was born skinny. I have lived skinny my entire life. I will probably die skinny. It's just the way the Lord has made me. And just based off appearance, I'm already a misfit. On top of that, I'm a very quiet person. I'm not the outgoing, best type of extroverted teenager as the world would consider that to be the ideal. And kicking off from there, you know, while I would love sports, I just didn't see sports as the ideal ambition of life for me. And so what happens thereafter is I am in school, I am getting to my latter years of high school, and I'm confronted by a tradition. This tradition is that the Grade 11s would play a rugby match against the Grade 12s, and the guys who would want to be a part of this could, you know, volunteer. And then they would have their rugby match. And then the grade that loses would have. Not just the guys who played the rugby match, but all of the guys of that entire grade would need to shave off their hair. Now, you can think practically why and what this means, right? This is a. A very radical change of appearance, right? If you've ever seen someone with normal hair suddenly shave off their hair, you know that it. For a moment, you even, like, may not even recognize them. And this signifies in the school, if you see a kid walk down the halls and they've got a shaved head after their rugby match, they're the losers. And of course, teenagers being teenagers, they would point and they would say, they would ridicule. They would say, you guys weren't good enough. You guys are the losers. Ha ha. And this tradition didn't sit well with me. I didn't feel that it was profitable. And for the Welfare of the children to do this. Because what are we teaching our children? The teaching that if you set out to do something, you go out, you do your best. Like they went to play that rugby match, they did their best. But if you lose, you will be ridiculed, you should be ashamed, you will be mocked and punished. But what I realized growing up very quickly is that you can't live life afraid of failing, afraid of making mistakes. Speaking of productive mistakes, you know, I'm not talking about sin right now. I'm talking about going out there and. And doing something. I'm talking about trying your best like we did that day, playing that rugby match. And yet losing. We need to learn to lose successfully, because to lose is to learn. And so that's what. What I did in my life, right? I started losing a lot. I've always been a loser. And so I started at some point embracing losing and started learning instead of just having a pity party, instead of allowing myself to be humiliated, instead of punishing myself for allowing others to punish me verbally, socially, or whichever way I took on losing as a privilege that allows me to learn so that I can be better the next time, right? But the kids were instead taught that you're to be humiliated and. And punished for failing. And so what did I do? I didn't cut my hair. It was initially me and a few other students of my grade. But then, of course, as you can imagine, the students who did cut their hair and a lot of the rest of the school came to ask, why don't you cut your hair? The peer pressure became very great. The other students, one by one, went to cut their hair. And I don't blame them for there was a lot of verbal attacks. And later I was the last man standing out of my entire grade. I was the one who had hair amongst all the other guys who didn't. And you can imagine walking into the schoolyard in the mornings, going to sit in the public square where we would have our gatherings before school started. We're sitting in our rows, and I'm the only one who's got here. There's suddenly bullying that increases. There's suddenly teachers who start in front of all the other students, calling me out in class. And then eventually one day, the. The teacher who was in charge of the traditions of the school, he pulls me into his office and he says to me, what does your dad say about this? For he knew my dad. And I told him what my dad said. My dad told me that I need to stand up for what I Believe is right. And sir, I do not believe that this tradition is right. I don't believe it's life giving and I don't believe it is for the welfare of the students and the school. He then told me that my actions may incite other students to follow suit. And for this tradition to fall away and I need to be careful. And that's basically it. I was let out of his office. See, when you spot a tradition, something that's been done before, that's been going on for years and it's continuing on, and it will continue on, you are just a part of the process, step in line. But what if that tradition isn't good? What if it's even damaging to the hearts of people? And you know, I don't think that the school, they were thinking this through. I think they were just doing this as they would say for the spirit of the school. But what if the spirit behind this is not clean? And just because it's a tradition doesn't mean that it's okay. And so what happens next is the next year this tradition would continue. And yet there was a bit more of a standing up against it, more resistance from the students. The year thereafter, there was even more resistance and the tradition soon died. To which I say, thank goodness. Now, I don't know how much of a role I played, but I do know that standing up, being the only kid to persevere through it all, it was witnessed by the whole school. It was well known and they didn't like it, of course, but this emboldened the younger grades that when they came to that time where they would one day lose and have to cut off their hair and be humiliated and mocked at for having lost, I believe that there was a greater boldness. But at the end of it all, besides for my closest friends, I suffered great ridicule, great rejection and persecution, I would say, for this, for opposing this tradition. And I want to give a word to my young friends. The pressures of youth are high. There is perhaps no other stage of your life where you will feel more pressured to fit in. You know, as a teenager, you're trying to figure out who are you? And you're trying to, you know, fit in because you're scared of. Because we put a lot of emphasis on our own image. And yet that is the time in our life for God, if he calls you as a teenager or as a young person, that's what he's calling you to surrender. He's calling you to surrender getting your identity and what other people think of you. And see, that's what I needed to do. That is because around the time where, you know, all that happened to me in high school was around the time I gave my life to God in a very real way. And that means that I need to be willing to surrender my self image up. As Yeshua said, the one who desires to keep his save his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. In the schools and in groups of youth, the opposite is pushed just fit in. That's what we want to do. But what if God didn't call you to fit in? What if God called you to stand out? What if, like me, in a moment like that, you can bring a radical change by standing up in the moments that matter, for things that matter. Now, let's take care not to rebel against that which actually is good. Let us take care not to stand up against things that are helpful. Let us make sure that when we stand up that there are good motives and that we don't just rebel for the sake of rebellion. But what I am trying to say is that there is a place to rebel against traditions that need to die. When I finished high school and I entered university, little did I know that all that I went through in high school was only to prepare me for what the Lord wanted to do in my life. And I started studying the Word of God like never before. Deep. For I devoted many hours. I found the Lord and the Holy Spirit revealing things to me that were opposing many of the traditional mindsets of religion of my day and in my culture. And this is exactly what happened in the life of Christ. I want you to see this parallel, for God will allow you. The more you draw near to him, you will start seeing the same things that happened to the life of Yeshua happen to you. Christ was in his, found himself in a world, a religious world, opposing so many of the traditions of men that were actually harmful to the gospel, to the Word, the commandments of God, opposing that which God actually set forth as holy. We see that the Pharisees had so many issues with him because he did not want to submit to their traditions. He healed a man on the Sabbath, said, pick up your mat and walk. While certain Pharisees had healthy traditions that forbid a man from walking a certain distance on the Sabbath, and many such traditions he opposed. As he said, for you nullify the commandment of God by your tradition. Perhaps one of the primary reasons he was crucified is that he was coming and saying things that came against the traditions of men. Even though he was the one who had received the most revelations, who was without sin, perfect. He was persecuted and ultimately pierced because of the revelations that he stood up for in a culture that held to their own traditions instead. And think about this. When he was killed breathing his last breaths, there was but one disciple, John, with some women at the foot of the cross. The world had abandoned him. Even his best friends had abandoned him. Even Peter was not there. And you know, I can't imagine the loneliness that he must have experienced hanging from the cross. And his dearest, closest friends, his disciples, had scattered and left him there to die. And with that, I want to share with you that we will face the same at times. If we are willing to stand up for what the Lord has revealed to us, we will face great persecution at times from even our closest friends, at times our closest family members, at times people who, they do not understand what the Lord shown us. And maybe they don't completely reject us, but they keep us at arms length because they don't understand and they're, they're awkward around what, what we have to say. And even if we're not, you know, we're not coming against them, but. But what we know what we say. It's. There's always this arm's length relationship that some people will just always hold us to. And you know, I have faced that in many ways, but I want to share with you that it's okay. I want to share with you that the Lord is enough and that as long as you stand up for what is actually true, don't make sacrifices for that which is actually a lie and not worthy of making sacrifices for. Don't alienate people over matters that aren't important. Don't alienate people or oppose people or condemn or rebuke people over that which is not true. If you suffer, let it be that you suffer for that which is true and righteous and holy. Amen. But if you do stand up for that is that which is righteous and holy and worthy of making sacrifices for, and you get persecuted for his name's sake, for Yeshua's name's sake, then take joy, for your reward is great in heaven. Take joy, for he sees you. He is with you. And that's perhaps how it will be for many of us, that in this world and in this life, our road leads lonely. And it leads even to a place of crucifixion where we will be as lonely as lonely could be with no one but our mother. And maybe, you know, some other individuals in our life there, while the world condemns, while the world points fingers, or while they've run away because they don't want to be associated with what the Lord has revealed to us. Yet as lonely as Christ was as his crucifixion, he would be resurrected from the dead and glorified. And when he was glorified, his name became the most famous name, from the most persecuted without cause to the most exalted and famous with great cause. For he has laid his life down truly for the world. And so when we lay our life down for the kingdom of God and we walk that road that is a lonely road at times, we will one day be resurrected as he was resurrected. And we will. If we laid, if we made sacrifices here, we will receive that back and more in the kingdom to come. We will receive the acknowledgment from our king, which is an acknowledgement that that is the only acknowledgement that matters. I want to remind you that Yeshua said in Matthew 19:29, and everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or lands for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first. And so even to this day, right now, where I am living, my life is quite lonely at times. I have my beautiful wife who I love dearly and who I can share all things with. Right. And I have family who I love dearly. I have people in my life, absolutely. But apart from this very close circle of people. Right. I absolutely do feel the loneliness that Yeshua felt at times. Not to his degree, but I feel that. And especially with what the calling of spirit and truth worship means. See, to worship in spirit and truth in the full definition of the Word, which few people in this world actually understand, even though many pretend to understand it, few people truly understand what that means. And I think that that type of worship is very isolating from man because it isolates from most traditions, denominational traditions. You know, in this world, there's a bunch of traditions that try and worship the Lord in spirit, and that's great. And there are traditions of Christianity that celebrate the Lord in truth and focus on the keeping of the commandments. And that's great. But the big divide is still here. The big divide of there's this group here, there's this group there, and the people of God who are. They don't have it figured out, but they're trying to worship him. They see it. They see the vision of spirit and truth, and they're trying to worship him in spirit and truth, bringing it all together. They are the people who are misunderstood and they will walk a life that is going to suffer rejection from the world and friends and family at times especially. And I'm just sharing all of this because I want you to know that it's okay. When I was confronted by that teacher and he said, what does your father say about this? I actually think that there is a prophetic picture in there that I realized later it is like what the world would say to us. What does your father say about this? And it should be that your Father who is in heaven, your heavenly Father says, this is my son, this is my daughter. I have given this to them, and they will stand up for what I have given them. And you will not oppose them, for I am with them where I believe our Father will stand up for us. And it will leave our opponents without words. And so you can ask, how can I belong in this world? I feel like a stranger in this world. And I'll say to you that you were never supposed to feel like you belong. You were always supposed to be a misfit. Because fitting into this world means doing the things of this world, going along with the ways of this world, while you were made to be a citizen of another world, a kingdom that is not of this world, following a king that is not of this world. Yeshua said, I am not of this world. And so I want to submit to you that we have to be a people that walks in our identity in Christ, takes joy in that, and be the person that stands up when everyone else is too scared, when the peer pressure is too great for anyone else to do it. And let the Lord fight your battle. And that's the only way, brothers and sisters, that we can see things that returned in this world that we see is not good. Whether it's something, as you know, this school tradition that I stood up against as a teenager, that was a small thing, right? It's comparative to the real issues in this world. But even in the small things, we can fight for something in the hearts of men. We can fight for things that others do not even see we are fighting for. And we can fight for generations that will come after us, that will not need to endure the things we endured and that can learn the lessons that were prevented from our generation of learning it, right? The lesson in this case, that you can go out and start a business and even if you fail, you are not to be ridiculed, you will not allow others to ridicule you. You will not allow others to socially reject you for it. For your God is with you. And you will continue. You will continue with. Even if you studied a test, you struggled, you failed, you will get up and you will continue on. That is the lesson that the Lord showed me and it has allowed me even on this, this YouTube channel that you're watching right now. I started out not knowing anything or how to do it. I've always, I've not been a good, I wasn't a good speaker. I was the worst kind of public speaker that there could be, literally. And I knew the Lord was telling me to do it, even though I didn't feel like I had the skills and truly I didn't. And yet just over going, I'm putting myself out there and all the old videos, by the way, they're on this channel. You can go see how I struggled at times, and yet the Lord sustained me. I got up and tried again. I got up and I allowed even my, my struggles and everything to be very public. And so, you know, go and watch some of my old videos. You know, I kind of, I don't like watching them because I'm like, you know, But I'm also glad for the evidence to see how far the Lord has brought me and how he has grown me and, and how he has taught me and he's never left me. And I ask of you to do the same. No matter what it is the Lord puts on your heart. Go out there, do it, fail at it, struggle at it, make some mistakes along the way and stand up, try again and learn. And let the Lord do what he was always wanting to do through you to change the world around you. I am concluding here with telling you that you know, I am well and it is well with my soul. Do not worry about me. But I ask that this year you go deeper, that you pray more, that you fast and fast for that which you do not even know that you are missing. You know, there are things that I'm fasting for right now that I do not know, that I need to still learn. I'm fasting for those things that the Lord would teach me, those things that he would allow me to see the mistakes that I have made in my past that I may not see right now, so that I may take that lesson with joy and not with humiliation, but with joy. That Lord, thank you for showing me this, that I can now walk not in shame, but in righteousness. Adam and Eve, even when they made their big mistake and fell in the Garden. Their first response was to be ashamed, to hide in the bushes. And yet what did the Lord do? He did not shame them. He did not shave their heads. He rather came and walked among them and said, where are you calling their name? And that's what the Lord does with us. When we have made mistakes, he calls our name. He wants to show us what we've done and show us a path to salvation. And so we all have mistakes that we are making, that we are learning, that we are being refined in fast. This year. Pray this year for the Lord to show you the things that's on your face, the mud that's on your face that you don't see right now, because there are things that he wants to teach you that is going to be glorious. And it will cost you social status. You will be in a place where you will need to say no to peer pressure, but it will be glorious because one day you will be with him and you will be blessed. But the ones who today are those who just fall in line with the traditions of men, those who simply say, I will do what those who have come before me have done, and I will just trust that they have been doing the right thing for, you know, a few hundred years or however long it's been. Be careful of that. Because you can't stand before God one day and say, well, the generation before me did it that way. Surely it must have been right. It's not my fault. We each have a relationship with our Lord. We each have a Bible. We each have a responsibility to inquire of him. For he is alive. He breathes, and he can breathe life and revelation into our souls. He's done that for me. And I'm far from arriving anywhere near the life of Christ. But he has revealed things to me, and I can testify to you, he wants to do that for you in greater ways than you can ever imagine. And the younger, and the sooner that you give your life to him. For me, it was as a, you know, young person, I radically gave my life to him. Radically. No matter what. I. I told him, no matter what, I'll do it. As a teenager, I lost friends. People didn't understand me. And the younger that you begin, the more he will only honor your devotion absolutely. Because how he. How much is it that he says, let the little children come to me, and he will come. He will give you bread, and he will let life flow out of you. Dear young child, I pray that the Father would embolden you. I pray that the Father would give you a voice. I pray that the Father would allow you to have the discernment to know when to stand up for something that's even greater than yourself. The name Yeshua thank you for joining me in this off the cuff discussion. Go into the comments and please tell me what your life's journey has been. Have you felt lonely at times? Have you felt, you know, the Lord's revealed things to you that have been isolating? Let me know and subscribe to this channel if you're new here. Can't wait to see you guys in the next video. Blessings to you. Much love to you. Sa.