In this Gospel Partner episode, experience God’s mighty power and anointing in your ministry and in your life when you prioritize the four pillars of the church.
The four pillars of the church.
It is what makes the church strong,
it is what makes the church
flow, with the will and
the purposes of God.
Yes, you can receive from the Lord
directly. But that is not all!
The fullest extent by which God
wants to bring supply
into your area is via the church.
You have it in you, God has called you
and ordained you to be such.
Your light will shine, you’ll
impact them for Jesus.
Those who come in will see the light.
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Greetings, church. I pray that
this service finds you and your
family well, growing in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, we want to
continue from where we left off
last week. Now, if you didn’t
catch that sermon last week, it
will be made available online so
you can have access to it. But
even if you didn’t this message
today is complete by itself.
You’re able to receive what God
has for you in this word. But if
you hear the message that went
before last week, it will give
you a better idea from where we
are coming from, but
nonetheless, you still can
receive. It is complete by
itself. Praise the Lord.
Hallelujah! The Lord is
uncovering more and more the
treasures and the riches that He
has deposited in His church. See
the church is God’s idea. It is
not man’s idea. Once again, when
I say the church, I’m not
referring to this physical
building, I’m referring to the
many membered body of Christ.
There’s one new Man. And when we
gather together, all the
dynamics and all the functions
of the and operations of the
Holy Spirit in His many fold
grace. In His varied giftings,
will be made manifested in that
local church. And we see last
week, how all the local
churches, are the glory of
Christ. What a precious way of
looking at the church, the glory
of Christ. When you see the
church with all its faults and
imperfections God calls the
church, God esteems the church
as the glory of Christ. Isn’t
that beautiful? Praise the Lord!
And that’s why the Bible says
not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together because
that’s where all the action is.
That’s where God goes to work.
Yes, we can receive individually
at home and wherever we are. And
I know that at this present
time, these past few years, we
have taken time to be by
ourselves, with all these social
distancing and church at home,
but that’s not God’s best. And
we know it is so, and I have
shared that this pandemic, you
know, there is a purpose,
perhaps it’s to cause us to
appreciate our physical
gatherings together more than
ever. You know when, when Israel
was brought into captivity to
Babylon, when they came back,
when they came back, they never
reverted to idolatry again,
never! That stint in, in Babylon
cured them of idolatry. So, I
believe that many of the things
we go through it sort of wakes
us up. Praise the Lord. It
strengthens us even further.
Makes us appreciate all the
plans and purposes that’s in
God’s heart or else we get very
selfish, like in Haggai it says
that, Haggai told them the
people of God, you know, these
are people that just came back
from Babylonian captivity and he
says to them that, “Why is it
that when you, when you drink,
you’re not satisfied? You eat,
you’re not full. You earn wages
only to put those wages into a
bag full of holes.” That means
it seems like everything that
you consume, everything that you
have is not enough. Why is that
so? And the answer comes from
the prophet Haggai. He says,
“Because God is saying, ‘My
house lies waste.’” We don’t
prioritize what He prioritizes.
And for us, you know, it’s like
the idea that the devil has sort
of like put on the church is
that of something boring,
something mediocre. You cannot
find the best in people are just
backwards. People are you know,
full of old foggy people that
have no idea that the world has
moved on. Nothing could be
further from the truth. The
church is more contemporary,
more advanced and more in tune
with heaven. For example, the
Bible says in the book of
Revelation that something will
happen in, in Jerusalem and all
the eyes of the world will be
fixated on one location in
Jerusalem. Now many years ago,
maybe a hundred years ago, they
would read that. And the mockers
and scoffers would laugh at the
Bible and say, “How can
something happen?” And the Bible
says that every nation will see
that event in one locality in
Jerusalem. Well, no one is
laughing now with the advent of
television, you know on online
and just an instant online,
videos and all that we can just
receive in the privacy of our
own homes, something that’s
happening way out there
somewhere. Praise the Lord! So,
the Bible is more advanced than
we think, praise the Lord. And
some of the prophecies and all
that, you know, until we have
that technology, we don’t even
know how it will happen.
Especially that, which is in the
book of Revelation, but we know
it’s going to happen. Amen?
Praise the Lord. So let’s look
at the church. If you look at
the four Gospels, the church is
not openly declared. Jesus was
talking to the Jews and this is
something for all of us to
remember. When God looks down,
God sees only three groups of
people. The Bible tells us Jew,
Gentile, those who are non-Jews
and the church of God. So, you
belong to either one of these.
If you’re not a Jew and you’re
not saved, you’re not part of
the church of God. You’re a
Gentile, or if you are saved and
you’re a Jew or you are a
Gentile who just got saved, now
you are the church of God.
Praise the Lord, the most
successful organization in the
entire universe. And for all
eternity, see all the big
corporations and all that, that
you see around the, the tech
giants and all that. They are
not going to last forever. But
the church will last forever.
And that’s the reason why God
put all the giftings and all the
charisma and all the grace gifts
in you so that you can operate
in them for what benefit? For
the church, for the church,
because you are building the
church of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And of course, the expression
can only happen in the local
church. Hallelujah! Jesus said
in Matthew 18, “For where two or
three are gathered together in
My name. I am there in the midst
of them.” Now, like I said,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
He doesn’t talk about the church
much. All right. There are a few
mentions of the church. For
example, Jesus would say, again
in the gospel of Matthew “…and
upon your declaration, that I am
the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Jesus said to
Peter, “I will build My church
upon this rock and the gates of
hell, will not prevail against
the church.” Now He’s not saying
that the church is defensive and
the church is attacking the
devil with the gates. No one
attacks with gates. Okay. It is
the idea. The church is on the
offence and the gates of hell is
crashing down. Praise the Lord!
Amen. The church is making
inroads. The church is growing
hallelujah! And the church is
alive and well all over the
world. Praise the name of Jesus.
Jesus said, the gates of hell
will not prevail. It will not
prevail against the church. Now
it does not say that people that
come together and they want to
be a church, right? Unless they
are gathered together. Notice
what Jesus said, “…where two or
three are gathered together in
My name, I am there in the midst
of them.” I am there in the
midst of them, but these two or
three, by the way, two or three
are the smallest, plurality.
Right? The smallest plurality
they can come to is two. And
Jesus said where two or three
are gathered together in My
name, there I am in the midst of
them. Now, listen, He did not
say, by the way, that’s the
church. The church is made up
even of the smallest plurality.
Some people say that unless you
are a certain size, then you’re
not a church. That doesn’t make
sense. Okay. Based on what the
Lord said, where two or three
are gathered together in My
name, there I am in the midst of
them. And then notice that word,
“are gathered together”. This
word “are gathered together”,
notice it did not say that where
two or three meet together. He
didn’t say that. He didn’t say
where two or three, or even
gathering together. He didn’t
say that. This is not the
church. People decide to meet
together, it’s not the church.
People meet one another or
gather together in a cafe. It’s
not a church, but what is a
church? When they are gathered,
gathered means someone is
ministering the gathering power.
Someone is initiating the
gathering, who is that? The Holy
Spirit. And the Bible says, it’s
only when the Holy Spirit brings
these two or three or even more
together. If He is the initiator
and He is the one gathering,
it’s not a matter of me wanting
to gather, or I want to meet.
It’s a Holy Spirit gathering.
And when we gather together and
He is the gathering power. He
gathers us. That’s the church!
And Jesus promised, “There I am
in the midst of them.”
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Thank You, Lord Jesus. So when
God looks at you, God sees you
as the body of Christ in first
Corinthians 12, it says, “Now
you are the body of Christ and
members individually. Now you
are the body of Christ.” What
are you? The body of Christ and
members individually. In another
place, Paul, by the Holy Spirit
said we are members of His body,
of His flesh and of His bones.
Now I know it sounds mystical.
It is called the mystical body
of Christ, but yet the body of
Christ today in heaven is made
up of flesh and bones, glorified
flesh, nonetheless. And the
Bible says that we are members
of that body here on earth of
His flesh. And I’m sure that He
has healthy flesh. Hallelujah.
Right now, we are members of His
flesh and of His bones. And
that’s why we need to identify
ourselves in Him. And that’s
when we become like Him, not by
our own energy, but by the power
of the Holy Spirit. The more we
see Him and our focus is on Him,
the more we claim that oneness
with Him. Amen, we are members
of His body. Does not say try to
be part of it. It doesn’t say
try to be the body of Christ.
No, you are the body of Christ,
you are His member, praise God,
and you are part of His flesh
and of His bones. Praise the
Lord. Hallelujah. And I like to
say like this – as Jesus is, so
are we in this world. He has
healthy flesh and bones. I have
healthy flesh and bones. I may
not look like it, I may not
experience it right now, but
that’s what I claim and praise
the Lord, truth will outlast
fact. Is a fact I feel the pain
in my body right now, but if I
claim the truth that I am one
with Jesus, praise the Lord,
that pain will have to go away.
That pain is temporal. The truth
that I’m one with Jesus is
eternal. Praise the name of
Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah.
So, don’t forget, you are the
body of Christ and members in
particular. Now the birthday of
the church happened in the book
of Acts, the book of Acts. And
the Gospel of Luke was written
by Luke. Paul calls Luke in one
place in Colossians, the beloved
physician. He is a partner of
Paul and he is a medical doctor.
Notice Paul says a beloved
physician. Luke is a beloved
physician. And that’s why he has
insights into like, when Jesus
cures a disease, he will say,
he’ll notice that compared to
the other Gospel writers, he
will say the right hand of that
man, alright, was withered. Now
when the right hand of a man is
withered, he can’t have any
means for, to provide for
himself because right hand is
usually the, the main arm for
the man to work with. And he’ll
noticed things like that. Okay.
And Luke wrote in the opening of
his Gospel, he writes this, “It
seemed good to me also having
had perfect understanding of all
things from the very first, to
write to you an orderly account,
most excellent Theophilus.”
Notice this guy’s name? Most
excellent Theophilus. So, in the
opening chapter of the Gospel of
Luke, Luke mentions that he’s
writing the entire Gospel of
Luke for one person. And of
course, the Holy Spirit is
involved in this for all of us
to read, right? But he’s writing
specifically, he said at that
time, to a man whom he calls
most excellent Theophilus. Most
likely is a Roman. And because
of the word “most excellent”, in
other places that phrase is used
in the book of Acts for a
governor, a Roman governor here,
most likely, this man is either
a governor or Roman governor or
someone of, of a high rank. And
obviously this person got saved
and he wants to know about the
life of Jesus. So, Luke writes
and he says, I’m going to give
you a proper account, an orderly
account oh most excellent
Theophilus. That you may know
the certainty of those things in
which you were instructed. So,
this is the Gospel of Luke. Now
look at Acts, Acts was written
by Luke also. In Acts 1:1, the
very first verse of the book of
Acts, “The former account I made
oh Theophilus.” Now doesn’t call
him most excellent anymore,
probably Theophilus said, “Hey,
look, don’t call me most
excellent anymore. I’m your
brother in Christ.” Okay. It
says the former account I made…
Oh Theophilus of all that Jesus
began both to do and teach. And
that’s how he opens up. So you
can see that the author of both
books is the physician, Luke,
who travelled with Paul and
many, a times in the book of
Acts, he will say “we”, because
he’s writing, “we”, including
himself with Paul and the other
partners and other companions.
And here, when he wrote this, he
was writing to Theophilus to
give an account of the life of
Jesus. And then in the book of
Acts, he is writing another
account to Theophilus as well,
this time more about the body of
Christ. Amen. Here, the life of
Jesus, here the body of Christ.
Hallelujah! If you look
carefully, when Jesus was born,
the narrative about Jesus’ birth
and all that can only be found
in the Gospel of Matthew, as
well as the Gospel of Luke. When
Luke wrote that, Luke mentioned
in Luke 1:35 “…and the angel
answered and said to her, ‘The
Holy Spirit will come upon you.
And the power of the highest
will overshadow you. Therefore,
also that the Holy One is to be
born, will be called the Son of
God.’” So, Jesus was born in a
manger where? In Bethlehem. Now
the timing in Galatians 4:4, it
says, “But when the fullness of
the time had come, (not any
earlier. Not any later) but when
the fullness of the time had
come, God sent forth His Son
born of a woman born under the
law.” So Luke writes that He was
born in Bethlehem. Now notice
that he’s talking about Jesus.
When the fullness of time came,
Jesus was born. But here in
Acts, it says in Acts 2, “When
the day of Pentecost had fully
come, they were all with one
accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from
heaven, the Holy Spirit filled
them all.” And that is the
birthday of the church. So, you
have Luke in the Gospel. He
talks about the birth of our
Lord Jesus. And in the book of
Acts, he talks about the birth
of the church, the body of
Christ. Again both were in the
fullness of time. God had a
time, and when the time was
filled, when the time came with
a fullness of time came, not any
earlier, not any later, Christ
was born. The same for the
church, on the day of Pentecost,
when the day of Pentecost was
fully come, the birthday of the
church happened. Hallelujah! And
the church goes on. That’s why I
say the church is the most
successful organisation ever.
It’s still going on until today.
Amen. Is growing larger, and
wider. Praise the Lord! The
church is winning people. I know
you see physical things and you
might even see professors,
people who claimed that they’re
saved and they are, they are
doing all sorts of things that
are, you know, people are
thinking “My goodness, is this
what the church is all about?”
But don’t be discouraged by
this. And maybe even some people
have backslidden and all that,
but the devil will make you see
what is visible, what is
palpable, what is out there in
the open, but he will never show
you by revelation how the church
is like, even right now. So I
want to share that with you,
because it’s crucial to even
having your needs in your life
met, because the fullest way,
the fullest extent by which God
wants to bring supply into your
area is via the church. Praise
the Lord. Yes, you can receive
from the Lord directly. You can
never go to church, never be
part of a fellowship anywhere.
You don’t have to say you belong
to any church and still receive
from the Lord. Can you? Yes.
Most people are saved that way
actually. Most people hear a
sermon at home or they read a
book, Amen, of a man who has
even passed away and they get
saved right where they are. But
that is not all. To be saved is
wonderful, but God wants you to
belong to His church. Amen. That
mystical body of Christ.
Hallelujah! So, Luke writes
about the birth of Christ and
Luke writes in the second
account to Theophilus the birth
of the church, the body of
Christ. Hallelujah! Amen. In the
Gospel of Luke, Luke writes the
entire Gospel of Luke, he writes
about Jesus 30 plus years of His
life. In the book of Acts, Luke
writes about the 30 years from
Acts 1, Acts chapter one to acts
chapter 28, the last part of
Acts, all these spans about 30
years. So, in Gospel of Luke, he
writes about the 30 plus years
of Jesus’ life. In the book of
Acts, Luke writes about the 30
years of church life of its
history on earth. Hallelujah! Do
you see the parallel my friend?
Praise the Lord! I’m coming to
something here. I want you to
see this first, because you need
to see that today, today, the
expression of Jesus, many people
are trying to, I want the Lord
in heaven. I want the Lord to
directly, but God has ordained,
you know. Recently, I was
sharing with my son, Justin. I
said that, if someone gave you
the authority to do something,
for example, a policeman, a
traffic police and he’s
directing traffic, and he’s kind
of a small puny size man wearing
a uniform and a huge truck comes
right in front of him. What does
he do? All he got to do is just
lift up his hand. Now does his
size make a difference? No! Why?
His authority makes a
difference. Amen, because behind
him is all the police force. And
behind the police force is all
the army, the Navy, the land
ground force, and all the, the
entirety of the wealth and the
weaponry of Singapore will be
behind that man. So, when he
lifts up his hand, he’s not
standing there in and of
himself. So I was telling him
that, you know, when you say in
the name of Jesus, you feel
like, you know, fear is coming
to you say “In the name of
Jesus, fear depart from me!” And
fear has to obey, it’s not what
we are, is not our, how much we
know. It’s not whether we are
grown to a certain extent, but
if you know the name of Jesus,
all authority is in His name.
Jesus said it like this, I told
him, “All authority.” Just
before He left, Jesus says, “All
authority is given unto Me in
heaven and on earth.” Now He’s
going to do it directly? No, He
says to His church. He turned
around to the disciples and says
“Go you therefore.” Notice the
“therefore”? It’s connected with
“all authority is given unto Me
in heaven and on earth, go you
therefore and teach all
nations.” Praise the Lord! Now,
we see something. He’s
authorising us. So, that’s why
when we use the name of Jesus,
we pray for the sick, and we use
the name of Jesus to come
against that disease, to curse
that disease to its roots, to
command it to be plucked up and
be removed from that body, it is
not us. We’re not the healer,
but He is. Amen. He is still
working, like in the last few
verses of the Gospel of Mark. He
went back to heaven, and the
Bible says, “The Lord working
with them.” Remember the ox? The
picture of the ox is from the
Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel
of Mark portrays Jesus as strong
to labour, like an ox, and
that’s why in the very first
chapter, it says that… The
words, “Immediately,” I told you
last week to underline, alright,
the first chapter of the Gospel
of Mark, where it talks about
Immediately, forthwith,
straightaway, straightaway. It’s
like a servant, an untiring
servant. It doesn’t open with
His genealogy. It opens with His
service, how He went about doing
good, healing all. Once a work
is finished, He goes on to do
another work. Amen. Once He
casts out devils, alright, He
goes on to teach, and then,
after He’s finished teaching, He
goes on to heal. Untiring, Amen,
strong to labour, like that ox.
So, the ending of Mark’s Gospel,
the last few verses, it says
that disciples went everywhere,
the Lord in heaven, the Lord
working with them. Notice, not
apart from them, not directly
without them, but the Lord
working with them. Amen. So, all
authority in heaven on earth is
given to us and not long after
that, my daughter asked me the
question. One of the care group
members was asking her a
question about why pray, why
must we pray if God knows
everything? Now, I have an
entire sermon on that. It’s got
to do with authority, how God
gave the authority of this earth
to Adam, the very first man, and
Adam committed high treason. Ok,
so, God cannot directly just
intervene and take back the
authority, because what God
gives, God gives. God has to
find a legal channel, a
righteous ground to get back
that authority, and that’s why
Jesus is called the ‘second
Adam’, the last Man. Amen. So,
He came and He wrestled that
righteously from the hands of
the enemy, and of course when
the enemy had it, he bought in
death, he brought in all kinds
of destruction, all kind of
uncleanness, all kinds of mayhem
into this world. Death came in,
disease came in, and that
authority that he had, he used
for evil. But now, Jesus has
wrestled it from him, but then
Jesus says, “All authority is
given unto Me, in heaven and on
earth.” In another place, He
says, “I have the keys of hell
and of death.” But then, He
tells the church, “Go yea,
therefore.” That’s why we pray.
When we pray, we are enforcing
it. We are enforcing the victory
already accomplished. Now, the
enemy is stubborn. Sometimes he
will still fight back, but then,
you’ve got to stand firm, you’ve
got to keep on enforcing the
authority, because at the end of
the day, authority, like the
policeman, is greater than the
power of the truck. The truck
has to stop because of its
authority. Amen. Praise God. Ok,
let’s go on. We look at the
birth of Christ and how it is
portrayed by the same writer
Luke, in the Gospel of Luke and
in the book of Acts, the
birthday of the body of Christ,
the church. Hallelujah. And it
talks about, in the Gospel of
Luke, the first 30 plus years of
Jesus’ life. In the book of
Acts, the 30 years of church
life, Amen, of what the church
is like in its beginning of
history. Hallelujah. Another
thing is this: we see the Holy
Spirit, very clearly, in the
book of Acts. Why is that so? In
fact, we say it’s the acts of
the apostles. But then, it is
the Holy Spirit, time and time
again, the Holy Spirit filled
them all in the upper room. The
Holy Spirit is the one that
whispers to Peter, saying,
“Three men are looking for you.”
It was the Holy Spirit that told
Philip, “Go, join yourself to
this chariot.” And there was a
man there needed his ministry,
and the man got saved. It’s the
Holy Spirit, while Paul was
praying with his companions, the
Holy Spirit spoke at Antioch,
“Separate Me Paul and Barnabas,
Saul and Barnabas.” And his name
back then was Saul. And it was
the Holy Spirit that said,
“Separate Me.” Alright, and
“Separate Me Barnabas and Saul.”
In other words, “Give to Me
Barnabas and Saul. I have a
commission for them.” Praise the
Lord. They heard the Lord, they
followed the Lord, they were in
the flow. At one time Paul was
about to preach the gospel
somewhere, and even preaching
the gospel, we’ve got to be led
by the Spirit. There are times,
like in the gospel, it says that
Paul wanted to preach in a
certain location and then the
Spirit suffered him not. The
Spirit forbade him. The Spirit
did not allow him. He was very
sensitive. Perhaps God’s timing
for them has not yet come, their
hearts are not prepared and God
knows it. They’re steeped in sin
and they refused to hear. Paul
will just be wasting his time.
But whatever it is, the Holy
Spirit knows, even the right
time for our preaching the
gospel. Amen. So, it should be
called the, instead of acts of
the apostles, it should be acts
of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah.
So, what Jesus did in the Gospel
of Luke, He went about doing
good, healing all that were
oppressed of the devil. He’s
still doing, but via the Holy
Spirit, through the Holy Spirit,
and through His church. So,
where is the Holy Spirit found?
In the church. In the church.
And friend, when you look at the
world today, you think that the
world is bad, well, now it’s
because the church is here. It’s
not that bad yet when the Bible
says when the restrainer, the
Holy Spirit in the church. Where
is the Holy Spirit? In the
church. When the restrainer is
removed, you’re going to see
what kind of darkness and
lawlessness there will be on
this earth. The Bible says, the
church, you are the salt of the
earth. Jesus says, “You are the
salt of the earth. You are the
light of the world.” What does
salt do? Back then, it is their
refrigerator, alright, it
preserves things from becoming
corrupted. Just being there in
your workplace, you don’t have
to speak out, Amen, that you are
a believer, you are a Christian,
Amen. You don’t have to jump on
the chair and preach the Word of
God and tell them all about the
mystery of the horsemen, you
don’t have to talk about all
that, Amen, just your sheer
presence, you are bringing the
Holy Spirit to work. And the
whole atmosphere, there is a
sanctifying influence. Now,
imagine when the church is
removed in the rapture, Amen,
the Holy Spirit in that sense is
removed. Amen. Then, what we
have on earth, the Holy Spirit
will still be working, but not
in the fullness like He did
through the church. It will be
like before the church time in
the Old Testament, remember,
people still got saved, people
still believe in God although
there are very few, right, and
it was the Holy Spirit also back
then. But it’s not the fullness
of it. In other words, we are
living in those days of grace
where it’s almost like, if I can
say this, the Holy Spirit makes
things effortlessly easy. Amen.
There is a flow, that’s what the
anointing does, right, the
anointing of the Holy Spirit.
It’s like you put oil on the
hinge of the door that is
creaking all the time. You put
the oil down there, guess what?
It’s a flow, and there’s no
noise, you know, relationships
need that. They need the
anointing of the Holy Spirit.
That’s why Paul says, “Be filled
with the Spirit, Amen, and
speaking to yourselves in
psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs.” And talks about husbands
love your wives. Amen. It talks
about relationships after that.
Why? Because the anointing of
the Holy Spirit will cause us
not to grumble, not to be
speaking words that will not
edify, not build up, destructive
words, and you know, like the
creaking of the door, once the
oil comes on it, it’s a flow,
Amen, everything prospers,
effortlessly easy. You turn the
door effortlessly easy. Praise
God. And that’s what God brings.
And it’s all available in the
church. So, the worst is not yet
to come, my friend. Yes, you
might think that, you know, wars
and rumours of wars like I
shared last week what Jesus told
us. But Jesus says, “See that
you do not be alarmed. See that
you’re not troubled, for the end
is not yet.” The end is not yet.
So, because we’re here, alright,
evil is restrained. Hallelujah.
You, child of God, because of
you, that evil in your household
is restrained. Amen. It could
have been worse. Because of you,
that workplace that you are in
right now, you say that, “I
don’t like the environment here,
I want to work in a Christian
organisation.” Well, if all the
salt goes into the salt shaker,
and salt is not among
corruption, what value is there?
Amen. It’s time for us to get
out of the salt shaker and salt
the corruption that’s in the
world. Praise God. Amen. Praise
God. You have it in you. God has
called you and ordained you to
be such. That’s the power of the
church of Jesus Christ Amen.
Praise God. Thank You, Jesus.
And another thing is that you
see the Holy Spirit, Jesus was
conceived in the Holy Spirit in
the virgin’s womb. In the Gospel
of Luke it talks about that.
Luke 1:35, Amen, “The Holy
Spirit will come on you, and
overshadow you, also, that Holy
One that is to be born will be
called the Son of God.” So, the
Holy Spirit is involved in the
conception, the Holy Spirit,
alright, was in the womb of
Mary, Amen, conceiving the Holy
One, who is the Son of God.
Praise God. And the early
church, the birthday of the
church, the Holy Spirit filled
all of them. Acts 2:4, “And they
were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with
other tongues as the Spirit gave
them utterance.” We need to
depend upon the Holy Spirit, my
friend. Another interesting
thing is if you look at both
books, at the chapters 2 of both
books, Luke chapter 2 and Acts
chapter 2, the very last verse
of both chapters, you will find
this. Luke 2:52, it says, “And
Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God
and man.” This is the very last
verse of Luke chapter 2. What
about the other book that Luke
wrote to Theophilus, the book of
Acts? This is the very last
verse, verse 47 of chapter 2 of
Acts. “Praising God, the early
church… Praising God and having
favour with all the people. And
the Lord added to the church
daily those who were being
saved.” Can you see that? Now,
in Luke chapter 2, the very last
verse says, “Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature, and in
favour with God and man.” In
Acts chapter two, the very last
verse, it says, “Praising God,
and having favour,” the church,
the many membered body of
Christ, “Having favour, just
like Jesus had favour, Amen,
growing up, “having favour with
all the people, and the Lord
added to the church.” Now, isn’t
this like Jesus? He increased in
wisdom and stature. When the
Lord adds to the church, the
church increases in stature, in
growth, Amen, daily those who
were being saved. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Do you see the
parallel, my friend? These two
books written by Luke, the
beloved physician under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
You can see that God’s focus is
now on the body of Christ. You
see, I always tell people this:
that if you want a solid
ministry, or you want a strong
church full of grace and truth,
praise the Lord, it’s important
you always remember this: the
three legs of the stool, a stool
that’s on three legs. The first
one is the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Amen. You’ve got
to emphasise Jesus. Amen. Your
life got to revolve around Him.
Your teachings got to revolve
around Him. Everything that you
say and do, it’s to His glory.
He is the center of your life.
Amen. That is important. Of
course, it’s possible for us to
say, “God, God, God,” and not
say, “The Lord Jesus Christ.”
Amen. God has ordained that the
fullness of the Godhead dwell in
Him. Praise God. Hallelujah. The
Holy Spirit has come only to
glorify One, not even Himself.
“He shall not speak of Himself,”
Amen, “He shall glorify Me,”
Jesus said. The Holy Spirit even
wants Jesus glorified and He
will anoint anyone that wants to
see Jesus glorified. Praise the
Lord. Hallelujah. So, it’s vital
for us to remember this, that as
we study the Word of God, Amen,
we want to see Jesus, above
everything else. Not how to make
money, alright, not how to have
a successful marriage. All good.
These things are fine, Amen, God
wants us, to bless us with all
these things. But the primary
reason to open up the Scriptures
is to see Jesus. And when you
see Jesus, these things won’t
suffer. In fact, many a time,
when you see Jesus, the supply
is there. Or when you see Jesus,
the wisdom comes, to know how to
act in this specific situation
that you are beset by. Amen. You
will know, just what to do just
by seeing Jesus.
Well, about 2 years ago, I was
just on my couch and listening
to Christian television, and
just happened to be flicking
through the channels. And there
was Joseph Prince. And he was
speaking a message about grace
and I’ve been listening to him
ever since. And I’ve fallen in
love with Jesus all over again.
I’m a pastor’s son. So you know,
I kind of got out of the way and
through his message, he had
brought me back into the path
where I should have been from
the beginning. So it’s taken us
from a real preoccupation with
ourselves and given us just an
incredible view of Jesus Christ
where we’re more thankful, we’re
more energetic, and we feel just
very free. I used to condemn
myself, be so hard on myself,
but once I heard the message of
grace, I love it! It’s so
freeing! What you have just
watched is a glimpse of the many
lives that have been touched by
the gospel of grace. This is
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Praise the Lord. Just by seeing
Jesus, you end up at the right
place at the right time. When
Mary wanted to share her love
for Jesus, obviously Jesus is
central in her life. Amen. She
was occupied with Christ.
Remember she anointed the Lord,
and the Lord says this is done
for His burial? Later on, when
Jesus had died and was buried,
some women came on the third day
with spices to anoint Him, but
they were too late. Amen. Only
Mary, she was able to do the
right thing at the right time
just because she was occupied
with Christ. You see, we don’t
have to worry about what to do,
when to do it. Are we in the
flow, are we on time, are we in
the right place, right time? All
that will be taken care of as
you occupy yourself with Christ.
You will end up like Mary, doing
the right thing at the right
time. Hallelujah. Praise the
name of Jesus. Amen. The second
leg of that stool is the church.
The Lord emphasises the church.
So, after the person of Jesus,
what we need to emphasize is the
church, the church of Jesus
Christ. It is dear to His heart.
Even though it was a mystery in
the Old Testament. The Jews
cannot see the church of Jesus
Christ, and that’s why they
could not understand this. Even
Peter couldn’t understand it.
And God had to raise Paul for
the revelation, he calls it the
mystery. And the mystery above
every mystery is the mystery of
the church. Amen. And Paul
revealed that. Hallelujah. We
need to be occupied with what
His heart is focused on. Praise
the Lord. And the third leg for
that stool is Israel. And
nowadays, you know, you have
people saying things like,
“Well, God is through with
Israel. They rejected Jesus
and…” Replacement theology. Okay
and all their end time… Israel
is not in the picture. And in
fact, when they interpret the
Bible, a lot of things that is
meant for Israel, the
restoration of Israel, they will
just say it is for the church.
Ok. They don’t see the
importance of Israel. That is
faulty doctrine, ok? You have
got to have these three legs of
the stool to have a stable,
solid ministry. Amen. The person
of our Lord Jesus, the church
and Israel. Amen. Ok, let’s go
on. And I want to take off from
where we left off last week.
This is Acts chapter 2 verse 47.
The very last verse of chapter
2. You go earlier on to verse
41, it says that: “Those who
gladly receive His word were
baptised; and that day about
3,000 souls were added to them.”
Like I have alluded to before,
on Mount Sinai, God gave the
law, the Ten Commandments, 3,000
people died. On Mount Zion here,
God gave, not the law, but the
Spirit, and 3,000 people were
saved. The letter kills but the
Spirit gives life. Hallelujah.
And 3,000 souls were added to
the church. “And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine…” Notice what they
continued steadfastly in? Number
one, the apostles’ doctrine.
Number two “and fellowship”.
Number three “in the breaking of
bread” and number four “in
prayers”. Now friend, I call
this the four pillars of the
church. Notice not only they
continued in it, they continued
steadfastly. It was a revelation
to them that they must not let
go of these four pillars. It is
what makes the church great. It
is what makes the church strong.
It is what makes the church flow
with the will and the purposes
of God. Hallelujah. And if you
look carefully at the church
today, you find that either they
emphasize on one or two more.
Right. But one is lacking or two
are lacking. And again and
again, we must come back to
these four pillars of the
church. It is also for our own
personal lives, my friend. It is
important for us to see that
these are in our individual
life. But the picture here is in
the local church. Amen. So, we
express this in the local
church. Like for example,
breaking of bread. You can break
bread at home. Yes, you can.
Praise the Lord. The Bible says
they broke bread from house to
house in the early church. In
fact, in this passage, it tells
us that. “So, continually daily
in one accord in the temple,
they broke bread from house to
house, ate their food with
gladness and simplicity of
heart.” So, they broke bread
from house to house. But when
you come together like the Bible
tells us in the book of Acts,
when the apostle Paul and all
the rest came together upon the
first day of the week, to break
bread. Notice the purpose for
which they came together on a
Sunday, the first of the week?
To break bread. Not even to hear
the greatest teacher at that
time and preacher. The apostle
Paul was there. It is not even
to listen to him. Although he
preached. It is to break bread.
I believe that breaking of bread
or Communion is the highest
watermark of worship. It is
really geared to God’s heart.
Jesus says, “Do this in
remembrance of Me.” And for the
lack of this, the church has
suffered. And also, the
provision that God wants us to
receive in the Communion has
been neglected. Amen. And we are
trying our, all kinds of ways to
get the answers from the world
that can only be found in the
church of Jesus Christ. Amen.
So, the four pillars again. We
have the apostles’ doctrine,
fellowship, the breaking of
bread and in prayers. And notice
the results of these four
pillars in the early church.
“Then fear came upon every soul,
and many wonders and signs were
done through the apostles.”
Hallelujah. And I believe that
if you continue steadfastly in
these four pillars, again
wonders and signs will be done
in the name of Jesus. Drop down.
“So continually daily with one
accord in the temple…” They had
a physical gathering as well as
breaking bread from house to
house. I know that at this time,
in this season, it is not
possible, depending on where you
are and all that, to meet so
freely as you can. But if you
cannot, just remember online is
just fine. Praise the Lord. We
get together with God’s people
and have a sense that you are
breaking bread with all of them
collectively. But this is only
temporal. Amen. God is waiting
for you to come together to
break bread. Praise God. And it
says that: “They ate their food
with gladness and simplicity of
heart, praising God and having
favour with all the people.”
That’s the early church. “And
the Lord added to the church
daily those who were being
saved.” So, just continually
steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine, in fellowship, in
breaking of bread and prayers,
the Lord added to the church
daily. Now, if you look
carefully at these four pillars,
you can also find them, if you
meditate carefully on what I
shared about the four horsemen
and the four faces of Jesus. And
then bringing it to the
direction, the direction by
which they attack, and you see
that the provisions that God has
placed all around. If you
meditate on that, you will
invariably come to this. If you
look at Acts 2:42, these four
pillars and look at the
tabernacle. Remember last week,
we look at the tabernacle and we
see the attacks coming from the
four corners. So, that is the
tabernacle. Actually, the
tabernacle proper will be the
one that you see inside there,
the rectangular shape. Right.
That is the tabernacle proper.
But the entire thing sometimes
is called the tabernacle. Now,
if you uncover the curtains from
the tabernacle and you look
down, you find on the south side
here is the menorah or
lampstand. Opposite the table of
showbread. Then you have the
altar of incense. And then the
ark of the covenant. Ok, so
let’s look at the top-down view
– north, south, east, west. And
you will see that I place the
apostles’ doctrine at the east.
And then you have fellowship in
the order that it appears in
Acts 2:42. Apostles’ doctrine.
Fellowship in the south. And
breaking of bread in the north
where the table of showbread is.
And prayers where the altar of
incense is. Can you see that?
Alright. And why do I place it
like that? Because the apostles’
doctrine is teaching. And you
have the bronze altar and the
laver. Amen. When you come in,
the first things you see is the
bronze altar, which speaks of
the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus
Christ. That’s where the
sacrificial victims are placed.
The burnt offering. Amen. And
the four corners speak of the
four corners of the cross that
the efficacy of the work of
Jesus goes to the four corners
of the earth. Amen. So, the
altar of burnt offering is the
place of sacrifice, the place of
Calvary, if you would. Amen.
Jesus Christ’s death. And then
the laver is where the priests
go there and wash themselves.
Amen. The washing of water of
the Word. Amen. So, it is
referring to the Word of God.
The Word of God teaching on
Jesus and the finished work.
That is the apostles’ doctrine.
Not Mosaic doctrine from the
book of Exodus and Leviticus.
Not the patriarchal teachings.
Amen. We can learn the Word of
God at that time for them but
this is the apostles’ doctrine.
It is based on the cross. It is
based on the finished work of
Jesus Christ and His person. And
that’s the apostles’ doctrine.
Amen. Then we have the
fellowship. Fellowship because
this side here you have the
menorah on the south side. And
that’s the church of Jesus
Christ. The Holy Spirit is in
all His fulness in the church of
Jesus Christ. Amen. And that’s
the place of fellowship. Then
you have the breaking of bread.
Why is it in the north? Because
from the north comes evil, the
Bible tells us. And that is the
direction that evil comes to
attack Israel throughout the
Bible. Usually, it comes from
the north. Even all the enemies
of Israel, usually will come
from the north. And here you
have the table of showbread
placed on the north. So, that is
the breaking of bread. Can you
see that? Then on the west side,
you have the altar of incense,
which is the altar of prayer.
Prayer and intercession and
praise and worship. Hallelujah.
It goes up as a sweet-smelling
incense to God. And the prayer
is there on the west side. Now
when the enemy attacks. Remember
last week we saw the attack of
the enemy? We saw from Scripture
alright, the reason why God
placed them in the different
directions so that we can see
what counters them. Notice from
the east, the apostles’
doctrine. What attacks the
church from there will be the
false doctrine. And that’s why
God place the apostles’ doctrine
right at the door. It is
important we hear the preaching
and teaching about Jesus and the
finished work. Anything else is
anti-Christ. Any other teaching
that devalues Jesus and His
place or negates the finished
work of Jesus, saying that you
can get those things without the
cross is anti-Christian
teaching. Alright. It is false
doctrine of which this rider on
the white horse represents. And
the fellowship. Notice the rider
with the scales. Right. He rides
from below the rider on the
black horse. And this is famine
and lack. He is the one that
brings famine. Now all these are
principalities of darkness. And
if you want to know about them,
you can get my message, listen
to my message, which will be
made available. Ok. Listen to
it. And then you will have
clearer understanding. But
because of time, I am just going
to show you today how in the
church of Jesus Christ, these
four pillars counter all these
things. Amen. Fellowship in the
menorah. Amen. Praise God. If
you look at the menorah, the
lampstand, Jesus calls the seven
assemblies, the seven churches
in the book of Revelation.
Obviously, He is referring to
the specific local churches.
Now, there were in existence at
that time when Jesus spoke to
them. But it is also prophetic.
The book of Revelation is also
prophetic. So, it talks about
all the way from the first
church that Jesus address –
Ephesus. Ok. All the way to the
church of Laodicea. Amen.
Laodicea. So, you have here the
panorama of seven churches that
cover 2,000 years. I believe
right now, we are in the area of
the church of Philadelphia, as
well as Laodicea. Ok. Either you
are part of the church of
Philadelphia, which is the
church that did not receive any
rebuke at all from the Lord.
Amen. Just a commendation. Or
the church of Laodicea. I look
at some places sometimes and I
shudder to hear people saying
things like, they are very proud
they have money. Exactly the
language that the Lord says
about the church of Laodicea.
People will say things like, “I
am rich and I have need of
nothing.” As if their
stronghold, alright, and their
joy is based on this false
fortress of wealth. They will
say things, “I am rich and have
need of nothing.” And it is
something like confession of
faith gone wrong. Notice that
Jesus is not in his mouth. “I am
rich and I don’t need anything.
See how much money I make.”
Alright. The Lord is not in
their thoughts. Ok. That is the
end time, the last church,
Laodicea. May we never be like
Laodicea. Amen. May we be like
Philadelphia. Hallelujah. Praise
the Lord. And notice that what
counters the famine and lack is
the fellowship in the body of
Christ. Like I have said in the
church of Jesus Christ, God’s
way of having all your needs
met, God says, “Honour the Lord
with your substance and with the
first fruits of all your
increase; so shall your barns
(your own personal barns) be
filled with plenty, and your
wine press burst out with new
wine.” I mentioned just now
Haggai telling them, alright,
that you put money in a bag full
of holes. Why? Because My house
lies waste. If you will
prioritise My house, I will take
care of your wages. I will take
care of your supply. I will take
care of your needs. Amen. Amen.
The Bible says things like,
“Honour the Lord with your
substance, the first fruits,
your wine press will burst out
with new wine.” Amen. Burst out
is the idea of overflowing.
Hallelujah. Amen. Praise the
Lord. And God talks about
bringing the tithes into My
storehouse. Praise God. Bringing
the tithes into My storehouse.
So, this is how you counter
famine or lack, Amen, in the
church of Jesus Christ. And the
fellowship that goes on, is the
fellowship of helping one
another, even meeting the needs
of one another. Amen. You know
it is a sad thing when you see
the Gadarene demoniac. The Bible
says in Mark chapter 5 verse 5.
He was so possessed, always,
night and day. In the mountains.
In the tombs. Crying out and
cutting himself with stones. No
fellowship. You see the devil
will never want you to
fellowship. He will try to
withdraw you from fellowship.
Live among the tombs. Live among
the mountains. Now, I am
speaking prophetically here that
this is going to happen in these
last days. People will start to
distance themselves more and
more. Not because of the
pandemic. They will distance
themselves because they have
perhaps tasted life on their
own. They don’t realise that
they are suffering mentally.
They are actually finding that
they need to shut everything
out. Or they become so critical.
All churches are bad. All
churches. There is no good
church and all that. And you
know what? You are right. There
is no perfect church. If you
find a perfect church, don’t go
there or else you will make it
imperfect. Amen. There is no
perfect church. But the Lord
calls it the glory of Christ.
Amen. Praise God. And that is
how God sees the church.
Hallelujah. And they get
disillusioned. They stay in the
darkness of their room. Just in
front of the computer. And just
cutting off from all social
interaction. It is exactly like
this guy, this man here, the
Gadarene demonic. He was the
most demonised man. Notice the
activities of demons in his
life. To become anti-social. And
cutting himself. Crying out day
and night. Crying out and
cutting himself. Well, our
Saviour heard that cry. Because…
If you are on the opposite side
in Capernaum, and Gadara is just
opposite of Capernaum, that cry,
the waters will carry that cry
all the way to Capernaum. I am
sure the Lord, many a times,
when He heal the sick and all
that, He will hear that cry. And
He says, “I must go there. I
must go there.” At the right
time, he went over there and
that’s why there was a storm.
The devil tried to hinder him
from delivering that man.
Because, that man, when Jesus
delivered him, he became an
evangelist, Amen. The Bible says
he went and publicised in
Decapolis; ten cities. He became
an evangelist in ten cities.
Hallelujah. Praise the Lord,
Amen. You see, whenever you have
a revelation, you know what the
Lord does? He puts you on the
menorah. He puts you in the
church. He puts you in a place
where you will shine the
brightest. No other place can
you shine. In fact, in Mark
chapter 4, Jesus says, “And
these are they which are sown on
good ground; such as hear the
word, and receive it, and bring
forth fruit, some thirtyfold,
some sixty, and some a hundred.”
And Jesus said unto them, “Is a
candle brought to be put under a
bushel?” Now you know what is a
bushel? Here’s a picture of a
bushel. Right? A bushel in those
days; it speaks of commence. It
speaks of business, finances,
ok. Because the farmers in those
days, that…this is their wages.
This is how they make money.
This is their commercial
enterprise, Amen. Selling wheat,
selling barley. Selling the
grapes. And they will measure it
with a bushel. And there are
different basket sizes. And the
baskets are called bushels; the
idea of commence. So Jesus says,
“Who lights a candle to be
brought under a bushel? Or under
a bed? And not to be set on a
candlestick? So in other words,
God says, “Once I light you up,
once I give you a revelation,
once you see things,” God says,
“I won’t keep you hidden. I
won’t keep you under the bed.”
“Bed” can speak of indolence, or
sexual sins, indulgence in that
will cause your light to be
impeded, you know, will destroy
that light. Just like when David
killed Bathsheba’s husband,
Uriah. His name, Uriah; Ur is
“light,” yah is “the light of
God”. It’s as if he put out the
light of God in his life, Amen.
So the bed can represent sexual
sins or indolence, laziness,
Amen. All these things will
kill, destroy that light that
God wants to shine forth in your
life, Amen. The Lord says, “I
won’t put it under a bed, I
won’t put it under a bushel.”
Now what is bushel? Again, being
involved so much, being obsessed
with making money, being
obsessed with making money.
Friend, making money is our
responsibility, alright, but
it’s the means to an end, that’s
all it is. Remember, don’t be
obsessed with it. If you hear
ideas about making money fast,
it may be true. There are people
making money, it is true. There
are also people losing money.
Beware of this idea of making
money fast. The Bible, as a
whole…you read the Book of
Proverbs alone. It talks about
those who are hasty to be rich.
He that is hasty to be rich has
an evil eye. And does not
consider that poverty shall come
on him. That’s why gambling, and
anything that smacks of
gambling, alright, in its
principle, like, “Come on,
invest fast. Do this fast and
you’ll make money fast.”
Anything that tells you you’ll
make money fast. Whereas the
Bible says, in the Book of
Proverbs, “He that gathers by
labour shall increase. And then
it tells you, you know, you make
money fast; it’s the principle
of gambling. And God doesn’t
bless that, my friend. Be
careful. That is putting your
light under a bushel, Amen. The
commence has put out your light.
That business has put out your
light, Amen. Make sure it is in
its right place. The light is
shining, praise the Lord. And
everyone can see it. So He
doesn’t put it under a bed,
doesn’t put it under a bushel.
What does the Lord do? Now, I
believe the Lord is the one that
lights us, and then He puts us
where? On a candle stick. Even
if you’re a successful
businessman, the place He’ll put
you is on the candlestick. In
the church, where your influence
will be received in a way that
will glorify the Lord Jesus
Christ and serve His purposes.
He’ll make you prominent…where?
In the church. In the menorah.
He’ll set you there. Not under a
bed. Not under business,
commercialism, where it drowns
you out. Now, again,
commercialism itself is not
wrong, but when you’re obsessed
with it, your light is put out.
Another passage in Matthew; this
is the sermon on the Mount.
Jesus says, “Neither do men
light a candle, and put it under
a bushel,” again, the idea of
commence and business, “but on a
candlestick,” and look at the
effect, “and it gives light unto
all that are in the house.” This
is a blessing for everyone in
the church. God says, “When I
light you up, when I give you…I
impart to you a revelation. You
know what I’ll do? You are
precious now. Very precious to
me. You have value that you
didn’t have before. So I’m going
to put you on the candlestick,”
Amen, “I’ll put you there, so
that your light will shine
brightly, and your influence
will go far and wide. And you
will influence people.” Those
who have the gift of commence,
Amen, to use that to glorify the
Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Another
passage; He talks about this. In
fact, He mentioned all these in
the Synoptic Gospels. “No man,”
Jesus said, “when he has lighted
a candle, puts it in a secret
place. Neither under a bushel,
but on a candle stick, that they
which come in may see the light.
Just now, in Matthew, He says
that, “It gives light to all
that are in the house.” Not only
in the church, but also in your
house. Everyone is blessed. Just
like in Exodus, it says that
there was darkness in Egypt, but
in the household of the
Israelites, the Bible says there
was light in their dwellings.
Praise God. You were…all your
family will experience that
light in the house, praise God,
Amen. And also the church will
experience the light in their
house. So this is blessing on
the house. Be it the church, or
your own personal house, Amen.
But the… Luke 11 is different.
Here it says that, “They which
come in may see the light.” This
is testimony for people who are
looking to the church, people
who are trying out the church;
people who want to know about
the Lord. Your light will shine
to impact them for Jesus. Those
who come in will see the light.
Just like Egyptians; they saw
light in the household of the
Israelites. And they know it is
supernatural light. Because if
it’s not supernatural, then they
will use the same means; whether
it’s flint or whatever to cause
fire to come out. And yet they
could not do that. Because the
Bible…it’s a supernatural
darkness, they could not light
any fire. And yet in the
households of the Israelites,
they can see light. It’s
supernatural light. So that it
will give light to all who are
coming into the house, Amen.
Let’s go back again to the
tabernacle. So that’s the
fellowship. Now, opposite the
north side, you see the breaking
of bread; I’ve touched on this a
lot. So because of time, I don’t
want to spend too much time on
this but just suffice to say
that, that the breaking of bread
counters death and disease. We
have so many testimonies of
people who have received healing
through the breaking of bread.
And that’s the reason why the
Bible says, when you take the
cup and the bread; discern. Make
a distinction between them. The
cup, the blood, is for the
washing of our sins, cleansing
us from all sins, Amen. But what
is the bread, the broken body
for? What happened to Jesus
before He was put on the cross,
He was scourged? The Bible says,
with His stripes, we are healed.
If we discern this, the Bible
says, you are partaking
worthily. You are giving glory
to Jesus. And you are
proclaiming His death until He
comes, Amen. So this counters
the death and the disease. Now
prayers, prayers is where you
have war and strife. The rider
on the red horse brings war and
strife. This is the rider that
is causing problems, this is the
principality of darkness that’s
causing problems right now in
Ukraine even as we speak. And
the Bible says to counter this
in a smaller form. In a daily
way, it manifests as strife.
Strife in our families, in our
relationships. And how to
counter strife? Pray. Pray,
Amen. Don’t use your words to
have your way, or to convince
someone if they refuse to see
it. Pray. Amen. When you pray,
it’s hard to criticise someone
or continue to be angry with
someone when you are praying.
And the prayers that they were
involved in…It’s very
interesting that it says “in the
prayers,” the definite article
is there, in the Greek. They
continued steadfastly, all of
them, in the apostle’s doctrine,
in the fellowship, in the
breaking of bread; very
specific. In other words, it’s a
specific thing they have in
mind, Amen. Some people say,
“The breaking of bread here is
just their daily meal.”
That…what is so out of the
ordinary of the early church
partaking of their daily meal?
Of course not, it’s referring to
Communion. The breaking of bread
and the prayers. So obviously
the prayers…and there’s an idea
of a prayer that is specific,
Amen. And what came on the day
of Pentecost, when they were
filled with the Holy Spirit?
They began to pray in tongues,
praise God. They began to
Spirit. And then, they’ll speak
in tongues, or prophesy. But
usually the mouth speaks, Amen.
So the prayers here is actually
praying in tongues for the
greater part; I believe that,
that’s why the definite article
is used. “The prayers,” a
specific kind of prayer, Amen.
Of course, prayer and
understanding is here as well.
So as you pray, you will stop
the strife, in Jesus’ name. Pray
for your enemies. Pray for those
who persecute you, who abuse
you. Pray for them. Amen. Bless
them. I pray when I hear people
saying things or whatever
against me or whatever. I just
stop; the first thing I do, I
pray for them, Amen. You know,
if they are right, may they
prosper, Amen. If they are
wrong, they’ll need my prayer,
ok. So pray, Amen, praise God.
Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. So
church, the Bible says, the
early church; not only they
continued in these four pillars,
they continued steadfastly.
Hallelujah. And the Word of God
grew, and grew, and grew. In
Acts chapter 6 verse 7, the Word
of God spread, the number of
disciples multiplied greatly in
Jerusalem. And a great many of
the priests were obedient to the
faith. In Acts chapter 12, it
says the Word of God grew and
multiplied. In Acts chapter 19,
it says the Word of the Lord
grew mightily and prevailed. The
word “mightily” there can be
said like this, in a Darby
translation, “Thus with might,
the Word of the Lord increased
and prevailed.” My friend, the
Word of the Lord increased and
prevailed…where? In the church,
from the church, Amen. We need
to come back to the Word of God.
We need to see the priority that
God places on His Word. In the
Apostle’s doctrine, that’s the
first thing mentioned. The
priority is always on the Word
of God, Amen. Keep on hearing
the Word of God. Make sure it’s
the apostle’s doctrine, based on
New Covenant teachings, New
Testaments teachings, Amen. You
know, I teach a lot; this sermon
and my last Sunday’s sermon, is
based a lot from the Old
Testament. But what you do is
that, you look at the shadows,
and you bring out the Word of
Christ. That becomes an
apostolic doctrine, Amen. Keep
on listening to apostolic
teachings, more and more, more
and more. And see the blessings
of God grow and grow in your
life, as the Word of God grows
in your life and multiplies,
Amen? Praise the Lord, thank You
Jesus. I see someone holding his
stomach, and for some reason,
while you’re watching this, your
stomach is causing problems.
It’s causing you problems
yesterday as well. And right
now, in the name of Jesus, I
rebuke that pain, I command it
to go from you in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise
God. Now you feel like fire, I’m
telling you, you’re feeling like
fire, and God is healing you.
There’s an ulcer in your
stomach; you know it. And now
God is healing you, sealing up
that ulcer. Once you have
confirmed this with a doctor,
right, write to us and let us
know about this. Thank You Lord
Jesus. Someone, you fractured… I
see like a… I think your
clavicle, or your shoulder, this
area. And right now, you cannot
lift your hand, but I want you
to do it right now, because God
is imparting to you His healing,
and His strength. Do it right
now, in Jesus’ name. There you
go, praise the Lord, you are
healed. You are healed, in the
name of Jesus, Amen. Write to us
and let us hear about it. Will
you praise the name of Jesus?
Someone, I see it…someone’s toe,
all black. Black and blue,
alright, blue-black. And right
now it’s clearing up. Look at
your toe. Look at your toe right
now. Look at your toe.
Praise…all the pain is gone. The
Lord has healed you. I don’t
know when you stubbed that toe
but even small things, the Lord
cares for it; even a small toe,
Amen. He cares for it. Thank
You, Jesus. Praise the Lord
Jesus. If you’ve never made
Jesus your personal Saviour and
Lord, I want to invite you,
right now, to receive Him as
your personal Saviour and Lord.
Friend, whatever other decision
you make on earth will only last
in this life time. This decision
will last forever, Amen. Jesus
Christ will be your redeemer and
your Saviour forever. So if that
is you, pray this prayer with me
right now. Say, “Heavenly
Father, thank You for Your love
for me. Thank You for the gift
of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that
You are giving to me right now.
I confess my Lord Jesus Christ
as my Saviour, as my Lord, and I
believe that Christ took all my
sins and all my diseases on the
cross. And I believe that You
raised Him from the dead when I
was acquitted, when I was
justified in Him. Jesus Christ
is my Lord and my Saviour now
and forever, in Jesus’ name.
Thank You Father, I am saved, I
am now Your child, and I am
blessed with every blessing in
heavenly places in Christ. In
Jesus’ name, Amen.” If that is
you, please write to us and let
us know, Amen, that you have
received salvation. The greatest
gift you can ever receive, Amen,
through Jesus Christ. Stand to
your feet, church. Praise the
Lord, Amen. Get involved, my
friend. Get involved in the
local church. You’re going
through a trial; all these four
pillars apply. Amen. Get
involved in prayers, in the
breaking of bread. Call someone,
share with them your problem.
Don’t go through it alone, Amen.
Find someone in the body of
Christ, not from the world,
Amen. And receive counsel or
receive just the fellowship.
Have you noticed that even
online when you meet someone,
another brother in Christ or
sister in Christ; there’s like a
current, there’s something that
goes on that lifts you up? Amen.
I know you can complain about,
you know, Zoom-fatigue and all
that. But friend, get together,
especially when you’re going
through a trial, Amen. Just
being together with God’s
people; there is an elevating
going on. There is a lifting
going on, Amen. You leave them
not the same as when you met
them earlier, Amen. There’s
something that happens. Every
time God’s people come together,
Amen, the Holy Spirit is moving,
Amen. Amen. It’s like, He’s the
vine, we are the branches. His
life, His electric power, Amen.
His powerful virtue flows in and
through us. Amen Amen Amen.
Praise the Lord. Lift your
hands. This coming week, may the
favour, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you and
your family. And may the love of
God, the love that saw our need
even when we didn’t think about
Him. That love, that loves you
still, and will love you
forever, as Jesus has described
that love; He will love you to
the end. May the love of God and
the sweet friendship and
communion of the Holy Spirit be
with you and your loved ones,
now and forever more. In the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s
episode. If your life has been
touched by the gospel of grace,
please share your testimony with
us in the comments below. Once
again, thanks for tuning in
today, and I would appreciate it
if you would share this sermon
with someone who needs to hear
it today. God bless you and see
you in the next episode!