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The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. So what happens in a Christian gathering?
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What are the kind of things that happen? So the
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things you do shows your knowledge of it. Praise
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the Lord. Like for example, when the worship
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was going on, you decided to become part of the
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media team. Praise the Lord. You decided, you
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know what, I'm going to video what is going on.
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Oh, I love the singing. I love the prayers. I
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love the man who is preaching. Let me just record
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so that I can upload later on. Praise the Lord.
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It shows you don't know what is going on. You're
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in the wrong place. Praise the Lord. You're in
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the right place, but you're not conscious of
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what is going on around you. Praise the Lord.
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That's the reason why we have the media team.
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Praise the Lord. To be able to capture this moment
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so that you can find it later online or request
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from them the things that you want. Praise the
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Lord. Or the fact that you come to church and
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the service is going on and somebody calls you.
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Or people keep calling you and you keep going
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outside, picking your call, come back, keep picking
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and coming back. And then when somebody asks
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you, what are you doing? You say, my dad just
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called me or my mom just called me or somebody
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called me. It shows that you are ignorant of
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what is going on. Praise the Lord. Sorry to say.
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Okay. It shows that you are ignorant of what
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is going on in the meeting because this is a
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different kind of meeting. Praise the Lord. is
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a different kind of meeting. You're not that
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busy. Praise the Lord. There are many people
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here that are lecturers. There are many people
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here that are business people and they are doing
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excellently well. But when it comes to the house
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of God, they'll put their phones away. Praise
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the Lord. Every call will come after 1 .30. Praise
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the Lord. Most of their colleagues or most of
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their business partners will understand that,
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oh, you cannot reach this person by this time
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because they are in the house of God. Praise
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the Lord, because they have recognized the importance
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of what or where they have come into. Praise
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the Lord. Or you want to give your friends online
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the updates of what is going on. You know, let's
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tweet, you know, like Mr. Matthew. You say everywhere
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is fire or fire everywhere. You just put it and
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put those emojis that, you know, the service
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is powerful and you're updating on your Snapchat
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and different social media handles. It shows
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that you don't know what is going on. It is not
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just about a song that is being sung in the church.
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It's not just about the prayers. What is happening
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here is spiritual. Praise the Lord. It is spiritual.
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It is the things of the spirit. And what you're
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doing at that time is not necessary. It's not
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important to the things of the spirit. And again,
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we have to learn how to control the use of our
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devices. When you come into this place, you want
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to ensure that you turn off your devices or you
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put it somewhere knowing that you have come to
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an important place. If you switch it off, nothing
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will happen to you. You will not die. Praise
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the Lord. Matter of fact, if you switch off your
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phone for a while, even at home, it shows whether
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you are anxious. It shows the level of anxiety.
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I don't know how to call it, but it shows whether
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or not you are anxious whenever you're not with
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your phone. So you can test yourself. What happens
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when I switch off my phone for one day? Or when
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I switch off my phone for two hours? What happens?
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Am I anxious? Am I calm? Praise the Lord. Because
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you don't want anything to control you. Praise
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the Lord. You want to be led by the Spirit of
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God. So we learn how to control our devices.
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So everything that is going on around the world
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when you come to the house of God will be fine.
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Your parents will be fine. Your siblings will
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be fine. Your business will continue to progress.
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Matter of fact, there are people that are doing
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big businesses. Why do you think people close
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on Saturday and Sunday? Praise the Lord. Do you
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think there's no money to be made? They also
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understand that everything is not about working.
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Praise the Lord. There are so many other things
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that is pertaining to life than that. So putting
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away your devices, for example, gives you the
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opportunity to pray. Praise the Lord. Sometimes
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you notice that when you wake up in the morning
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and your challenge is not that you're not doing
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your morning devotion. We're going to come to
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the Scriptures, okay? Your challenge is that
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you're not doing your morning devotion or that
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you're not able to. But it is that when you wake
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up, the light of your phone goes off or you just
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pick it up and once you start to scroll, you
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can no longer go back to do the things you're
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supposed to do. Praise the Lord. So it gives
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you the opportunity to pray. It gives you the
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opportunity to think. Praise the Lord. As you
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have received, as information has come to you,
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you need to think about it. But if you keep scrolling,
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you don't know what to think about. Praise the
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Lord. It gives you the opportunity as well to
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spend time with people. So when you come to a
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gathering or even when you are hanging out with
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your friends, it gives you that opportunity to...
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To discuss and to share and to learn. Praise
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the Lord. So we have to ensure that our devices
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are not a distraction to us or that technology
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does not become an idol to you. So sometimes
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again, you are in church, rather than participating,
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for example, when they were praying, when they
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were singing, you just... They are singing, people
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are clapping, or people are singing, Helios,
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look it. People are praying, you're just sitting
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down. It shows your lack of understanding of
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what is going on. And my aim this morning is
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to ensure that you have understanding. Praise
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the Lord. It's to ensure that you are blessed,
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to ensure that you go home and you have understanding
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of what makes this place a different kind of
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meeting. Praise the Lord. That whenever they
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are praying, you don't just sit down or you don't
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just look at what they are doing, but you participate.
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Praise the Lord. You participate. You join what
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is going on. So we don't want to be ignorant
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of what is going on here. So Matthew... where
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we read, tells us that, he said, Jesus spoke
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to them saying, all authority is given to me
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in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
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disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
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name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
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teaching them to observe all the things I've
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commanded you and lo, I'm with you always, even
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to the end of the age. Praise the Lord. In verse
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19, he tells us to go and make disciples. Praise
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the Lord. In King James, it tells you to go and
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teach. Praise the Lord. So it means that word,
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go and make disciples or go and teach, right,
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in the KJV, is a word to make disciples, to make
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a student of the word. Praise the Lord. It is
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to make a student of the word, to make a disciple.
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So God gives us this responsibility of making
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disciples. He gives us this responsibility. He
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says, go and make disciples of all nations. This
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responsibility is ours. Praise the Lord. So when
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this responsibility is ours, what do we do? What
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are our response? How do we respond? So if there's
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somebody around you that don't know the scriptures
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or a Christian that does not have a lot of understanding
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or knowledge concerning the things of God or
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somebody who is an unbeliever. Praise the Lord.
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It is your responsibility to teach them, to make
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them a disciple. And what that means is that
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you teach them. Praise the Lord. It is your responsibility
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to make them a disciple. Somebody's not coming
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to church. It's your responsibility to make them
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to come to church. Praise the Lord. It is your
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responsibility to pray with them. It's your responsibility
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to pray with them, to go out with them, to train
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them, to go out and say, come, let's go and see
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or come, let's go and practice evangelizing.
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Praise the Lord. Come, let's go together and
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do this thing. Come, let's pray together. You
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find out that your friend is struggling and he's
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not praying as the way he should or he's not
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praying at all. It's your responsibility to say,
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come, let's pray together. Praise the Lord. Come,
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let's pray together. Don't tell them, this is
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your life. I don't know where you are going to.
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Praise the Lord. It's your responsibility to
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train them. You see it as an opportunity. Oh
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wow, what a great opportunity to make somebody
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a disciple or a student of the Word. It's your
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responsibility to teach them to pray. To help
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revive or... to help flame their prayer life.
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That is what we do. We go with them to preach.
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That is what believers do. It is our responsibility
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to preach the gospel, to make disciples, to make
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a student of the word. So to make disciples means
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to train people to do God's work. Praise the
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Lord. To make disciples means to train people
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to do God's work. It's a word, matatio, which
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is that word to teach or to make disciples. So
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in verse 20 now, he says, teaching them to observe
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all the things I've commanded you and know I'm
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with you always, even to the end of the age.
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So one of the things that we'll see in the midst
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of this teaching is that God has also commanded
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the gathering of believers. Praise the Lord.
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So he says you teach them what? Teaching them
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to observe all the things I've commanded you.
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So we also see that part of God's command or
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part of Christ's command to the believers is
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that they gather together. Praise the Lord. This
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is one of the things that God wants us to do,
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to gather together. It is a practice that we
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should have, right? The coming together of us
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all. We have to follow that command. We ought
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to keep that command. It's a practice that we
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have to continue to do. So when they say you
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have to go to cell meeting or you have to come
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for midweek service, what they are trying to
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say to you is that this is Jesus' desire for
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your life that we gather together. Praise the
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Lord. It's not extra labor. It's not extra assignment.
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It's not something different. It is not something
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new. Praise the Lord. It might be new to you,
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but it's not something new. It is the command
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of God that we gather together. This is one of
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his commands. It should be the priorities of
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our life that we gather together. David said
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that, I was glad when they said to me, let's
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come to the house of God. Praise the Lord. So
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it should be your gladness, your hard desire
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to come together, to want to come to church.
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You cannot wait for Sunday. Praise the Lord.
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And sometimes we are faced with this challenge
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that maybe the church is, the way it's structured,
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is structured within the week at the end of your
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day. Praise the Lord. And you have done all the
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work. You have done your work and you're tired.
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So sometimes if you're not very careful, you
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begin to say, oh. This church this evening. What
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should I do? Should I just sit down or should
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I go? Praise the Lord. It's part of what your
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day should look like. Praise the Lord. So when
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you are coming, although you are tired physically,
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you know that you'll be refreshed. Praise the
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Lord. You're tired physically, but you know that
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your spirit will be refreshed. You know that
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your strength will be renewed. Praise the Lord.
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So you're not looking at it as, oh. Another thing
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to do. Another task to do. No. You look at it
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as a place of refreshing. Praise the Lord. You
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see it as a place where I come to receive strength.
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Where I come to be with the people of God. It
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should be priority of our lives. So don't say
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to yourself, you know, I like a... Okay. Okay.
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So it should be priority of our lives. Mark chapter
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16. Mark chapter 16, verse 15 to 18. Mark chapter
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16, verse 15 to 18. And he said to them, Go into
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all the world and preach the gospel to every
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creature. He who believes and is baptized will
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be saved. But he who does not believe will be
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condemned. And these signs will follow them who
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believe. In my name they will cast out demons.
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They will speak with new tongues. They will take
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up sapiens, and if they drink anything deadly,
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it will by no means hurt them. They will lay
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their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
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Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I want us to
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look at these scriptures together and begin to
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highlight some of the things that it says there
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about the person who believes. The sign of a
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believer. The sign of the person who believes.
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Praise the Lord. And the first sign he says is
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that, he said they will cast out demons. Praise
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the Lord. To them that believe God, they will
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cast out demons. To them that are saved, they
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will cast out demons. They will speak with new
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tongues. The second sign that will follow them.
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And the third sign is that they will take up
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serpents. Praise the Lord. Referring to the works
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of the devil. Right? I'm going to bring some
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scriptures to help us. And also, he said, if
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they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt
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them. And the fifth sign there is that they will
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lay their hands on the sick, and the sick will
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recover. Praise the Lord. These are signs that
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follow them that believe. These are signs that
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follow... the believer. Praise the Lord. So he
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said they will take up serpent, referring to
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the work of the devil. That is, they will confront
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the works of the devil, which include a persecution.
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Luke chapter 10, verse 19. Luke chapter 10, verse
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19. Luke chapter 10, verse 19. He said, Behold,
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I have given you authority to trample upon serpents
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and scorpions and over the powers of the enemy,
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and nothing shall by no means hurt you. Praise
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the Lord. So he's talking about what? The power
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of the enemy. So when he says that he takes up
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serpents, he's talking about, referring to the
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work of the devil, that you are going to trample
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upon the works of the enemy. Praise the Lord.
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Talking about the power of the enemy. Praise
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the Lord. If you drink anything deadly, it will
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by no means hurt you. So let's go back to Mark
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chapter 16, verses 15 to 18. So this sign shall
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follow them. We said that the signs that will
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follow the believer is that one, they will cast
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out demons, right? They will speak with new tongues.
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They will take up serpents and it will not hurt
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them. They will drink deadly things and it will
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not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the
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sick and they will recover. Praise the Lord.
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So this is what a believer is like. And I want
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you to say this after me. Say, I cast out demons.
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I speak with new tongues. I take up serpents.
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I say, if I drink any deadly thing, it will not
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hurt me. I lay my hands on the sick and they
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recover. Praise the Lord. These are signs of
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the believer. This is the way of a believer.
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Praise the Lord. If you're looking for what the
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believer looks like, these are the signs you
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should be looking at. Praise the Lord. These
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are signs. These are the supernatural signs of
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the believer. So this is one of the signs of
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a believer. And these signs are supernatural.
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Praise the Lord. So as Christians, we are children
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of God. As believers, we are moderate people.
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We are conservative people. But that is not all
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about us. Praise the Lord. That is not just all
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that we are. We are not just moderate people.
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Praise the Lord. We are not just people that
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show love. Praise the Lord. There are supernatural
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signs that accompany the believer. The believers
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have signs, and these signs are supernatural.
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Praise the Lord. These signs are supernatural.
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Thank God that some of us, God has helped us
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to dress properly. Praise the Lord. But that's
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not dressing properly. If dressing properly is
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all the signs, that you have as a believer is
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not enough. Praise the Lord. They are supernatural
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signs. Praise the Lord. They are supernatural
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signs. It is not good enough. They are supernatural
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signs. As Corsi was teaching us about the word
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of knowledge. Praise the Lord. These are signs
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of a believer. That you go into a place and you
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are able to give a word of knowledge. Or you
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pray over somebody and you are able to get a
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word of knowledge. Praise the Lord. That you
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prophesy. Praise the Lord. That you manifest
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the things of the Spirit. These are supernatural
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signs. And these signs are not like the signs
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or the stickers that you put in your doorpost
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or your car. Praise the Lord. They are supernatural
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signs. Those ones are not supernatural. I'll
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give you a free game. Those ones are not supernatural.
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Right? Those stickers you used to put, there's
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nothing there. Okay? It's just a sticker. Right?
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Supernatural signs are the signs that is in you.
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Praise the Lord. So if Jesus says that this sign
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will follow them that believe, it means that
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he has commanded it. Praise the Lord. It means
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it's a command. You see, this sign, shall follow
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you, is a command to us. So that's why we will
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teach you time and time again as a church, so
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that these things begin to manifest, or you begin
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to walk in the light of these things. You begin
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to walk in the light of God's commandments. Praise
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the Lord. You begin to walk in the light of God's
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commandments, that you're not ignorant. That
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you're not ignorant of the spiritual. Praise
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the Lord. That you're not ignorant of the gift
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of God that is upon your life. That you're not
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ignorant of the things of the Spirit. That you're
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not ignorant of the meetings of believers. So
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to preach the word, to heal the sick, to minister
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to one another through the power of the Holy
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Ghost is called to what we do. Praise the Lord.
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It's called to what the believer do. It's what
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we have been teaching. It's what should be. The
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things that should be seen of a believer. Praise
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the Lord. It's the things that should be seen
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of a believer. So when you have somebody around
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you or an opportunity, just like the opportunity
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of somebody not being a disciple or not saved
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or struggling with their prayer life. When you
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see somebody who is sick, what you do is that
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you pray over them. Praise the Lord. What you
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do is that you pray over them. Praise the Lord.
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What you do is that you pray over them. Say,
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I lay my hands on the sick and they recover.
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I cast out devils. Praise the Lord. We're not
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oppressed by the devil, but we do the oppression.
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Praise the Lord. We're not oppressed by the devil.
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Yesterday I was looking at somebody who was preaching
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and he was saying, every power that is working
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inside my life go out. And I was like, thank
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God for my life. Praise the Lord. Praise the
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Lord. There are things that can be working somewhere
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but not here. Praise the Lord. They can be working
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around me but not in me. Praise the Lord. They
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can be somewhere, right, but not in me. The devil
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might send somebody to provoke me, but they cannot
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from inside of me. Praise the Lord. Somebody
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can be doing something to ensure that you are
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angry or that you do something that you shouldn't
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do, but not from the inside of you. Praise the
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Lord. You have the Spirit of God. Luke chapter
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24. Luke chapter 24, verse 25. He says, Then
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he said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart
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to believe all that the prophet has spoken. Ought
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not the Christ to have suffered these things
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and enter his glory? And beginning at Moses and
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all the prophets, he expounded to them in all
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the scriptures the things concerning himself.
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Verse 44 -45 Then he said to them, These are
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the words which I have spoken to you while I
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was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled
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which were written in the law of Moses and in
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the prophets and in the psalms concerning me.
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And he opened their understanding that they might
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comprehend the scriptures. Praise the Lord. So
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we see here that he started to say to them that
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beginning from Moses, he said the law of Moses.
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Praise the Lord. Talking about from Genesis.
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Praise the Lord. Talking about from Genesis.
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We're going to look into that briefly. But for
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now, he said he expounded to them in verse 27.
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He said, beginning from Moses and all the prophets,
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he expounded to them the things. He expounded
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to them. In all the scriptures, the things consigning
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himself. In verse 45, he says that he opened
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the understanding that they may comprehend the
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scriptures. Praise the Lord. Meaning that one
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of the signs or one of the traits of a growing
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believer is that they are able to interpret the
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scriptures. One of the... sign that you are growing
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as a believer is that you are able to interpret
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the scriptures, that you are able to explain
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the scriptures, that you are able to expound
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the scriptures. Praise the Lord. That you don't
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just leave it to your pastors or to your leaders.
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Praise the Lord. That you are able to do these
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things yourself. So, I know that in this school,
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Near East University, lots of students don't
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like statistics. Praise the Lord, because they
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don't like maths. Some of them, not everybody,
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right? Some of the nursing students don't like
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the maths in the things they have to do. Praise
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the Lord. So they don't like the statistics.
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Whenever they just come, they'll start shouting.
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Praise the Lord. But if you give an engineering
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student that maths, you just look at it and say,
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what is this? Praise the Lord. Because these
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are very simple mathematics to him or her. Praise
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the Lord. But because it's in their curriculum,
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they have no choice. Praise the Lord. You don't
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have a choice. You must write statistics. You
26:16
must pass it before you receive another course.
26:20
So it's not elective. Praise the Lord. They cannot
26:24
say, okay, let's choose something else. They
26:26
have to do statistics. So explaining the scriptures
26:29
is not elective to the Christian. Praise the
26:34
Lord. You might, just like some of the nursing
26:37
students, you might struggle. You might dislike
26:39
it. You might have your feelings about it. But
26:42
it's not elective. You cannot change. Let's change
26:45
course. Let's change subject. Or let's change
26:48
that. Give me another course. Praise the Lord.
26:51
Maybe give me... There is no such course anyways
26:57
that I know of. Give me... Give me charity and
27:04
nothing. Something like that. As an elective
27:06
course. There's nothing like that. Right? But
27:10
you have to do that course. So the same thing
27:13
for a Christian. That you have no... You have
27:18
no... You don't have the luxury to choose something
27:22
else. It's a compulsory course. It's a compulsory
27:25
thing for your growth. It's a compulsory thing
27:28
for your life. Praise the Lord. So imagine somebody...
27:32
Maybe one of your friends, and then you'd come
27:34
to him and say, please, can you explain these
27:36
scriptures for me? Praise the Lord. Or maybe
27:39
you go and meet Matthew and say, Matthew, please
27:41
explain these scriptures for me. He'd say, ah,
27:42
me, explain scriptures. Praise the Lord. Just
27:46
imagine what that would look like. Matthew, you
27:49
have been in this church for a very long time.
27:52
You have learned from the pastors. You have been
27:54
around. What's going on? Praise the Lord. So
27:57
it's going to be something shameful, something
27:59
that is not okay because the person has been
28:02
in training for a long time. So not being able
28:05
to explain the scriptures or the Bible, right,
28:08
is not good for a believer. Don't say you're
28:12
not a pastor. Praise the Lord. When they say,
28:15
explain this thing, don't say, you can tell,
28:17
if you don't understand it now, you can tell
28:19
them, meet me tomorrow, I'll explain it. Praise
28:22
the Lord. But you cannot say, no, I'm not a pastor.
28:24
Me, my own thing is just to sing. Or I just like
28:28
to praise God. Or I like to worship God. Anything
28:31
Bible interpretation, I'm not in that category.
28:35
Praise the Lord. Or you say that this is not
28:39
part of your ministry. Your ministry is not interpreting
28:43
the scriptures or preaching the gospel. Your
28:46
ministry is just, I can sing, I can do ushering.
28:50
I can welcome people. I'm very lovely. If you
28:53
look at me, you know that my smile alone is very
28:55
charming. People can come in and sit down. They'll
28:58
be blessed by God. Praise the Lord. No, part
29:00
of your responsibility is that you are able to
29:04
explain the scriptures. You cannot say that you
29:08
like other parts of Christian activities or Christian
29:12
dealings, but you don't like the word. Anytime
29:14
they say word, you say, I know. Don't. Don't
29:17
go there. Or they say, come, let's go and pray.
29:20
It's like, hi, you know what? I've done my prayers.
29:24
Praise the Lord. So it's not elective. It's not
29:29
something that you can choose. You can choose
29:32
something else. It is important for the believer.
29:35
Praise the Lord. Somebody say, I understand the
29:38
Bible. I treasure the Bible. I'm able to explain
29:43
it in the name of Jesus. You should be able to
29:49
explain the Word of God. Praise the Lord. It
29:52
is basic. It is a basic thing. If you don't understand
29:55
it, you can tell them, there's nothing wrong
29:57
with saying, come and meet me tomorrow. After
29:59
all, if you go to some of your teachers, and
30:02
maybe you are one of the smart kids in class,
30:04
and then you ask them a question. If they are
30:06
not able to explain it then, what would they
30:08
tell you? Come next week. Praise the Lord. Will
30:10
you say the teacher is not your teacher? you
30:14
will come next week and he will explain it or
30:16
she will explain it to you. Praise the Lord.
30:18
Because they know, okay, let me do some research,
30:20
let me do something, and I'll explain it. So
30:21
there's nothing to be ashamed of when somebody
30:24
comes to you and they say, I don't understand
30:26
this. And you as well don't understand it. Just
30:28
tell them, I can. Just contact me tomorrow. I
30:32
will be able to explain it. Praise the Lord.
30:35
So do we understand that? So in verse 27 of that
30:41
Luke, tells us that beginning at Moses, right,
30:45
going back to that, and all the prophets, he
30:48
expounded to them in all the scriptures the things
30:52
concerning himself. So when he says beginning
30:54
at Moses, he's talking about Genesis, right?
30:57
Talking about Genesis. So we said that the supernatural
31:04
nature of the Christian gathering. Now, there
31:11
are different types of gatherings. Right? There
31:14
are different types of gatherings. We have office
31:16
gatherings, office meetings. We have class meetings.
31:20
We have family meetings. Right? If your family
31:27
is quite peaceful, it's a very peaceful meeting.
31:29
If you guys are not quite peaceful, it's a lot
31:31
of fights and a lot of quarrels and a lot of
31:34
insults. Praise the Lord. But we have different
31:36
types of meetings. Right? But it's not the same.
31:42
It's not the same as the Christian meeting. Praise
31:45
the Lord. It does not have the same impact as
31:48
a Christian meeting or importance as a Christian
31:51
meeting. We don't get the same thing from such
31:54
meetings. So in every meeting, there's something
31:58
that is common that brings you together. Maybe
32:01
as a result of the office, you're in a particular
32:03
department, or your family because you are families
32:06
and you are brothers and sisters and you have
32:08
to meet because you have to discuss this or that.
32:11
Praise the Lord. But when it comes to a Christian
32:13
meeting, what is the common thing? What is common
32:17
about our gathering? What is the common thing
32:24
about our relation? What is the basis of our
32:28
relating? So in Genesis chapter 1, from verse
32:34
1 to 2. So we want to know what is the common
32:40
between the beginning and the earth. And the
32:43
earth was without form and void, and darkness
32:46
was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of
32:49
God was hovering over the face of the waters.
32:52
Praise the Lord. So from the very first beginning,
32:55
we see in chapter 1, he says, God. We have God
33:00
in chapter 1 of it. And in the second verse,
33:04
he talks about the Spirit of God. Praise the
33:07
Lord. So from the very opening of the Scriptures,
33:10
we begin to see supernatural happenings. Praise
33:15
the Lord. Or we begin to see things that are
33:17
supernatural. Praise the Lord. We begin to see
33:21
things or we begin to talk about supernatural
33:23
things. So the very opening of the pages of the
33:26
Bible is about the supernatural. Praise the Lord.
33:29
He says God, and he says that the Spirit of God
33:32
was hovering over the face of the deep. Praise
33:36
the Lord. So the moment you are born again, right,
33:41
that is, you believe in God, right? So you believe
33:46
in God that you physically with your eyes, you
33:49
cannot see, right? You believe in Jesus Christ
33:53
because he had died for your sin as a substitute.
33:58
And as your Savior. You also believe that this
34:04
life, you believe in the life that Christ gives.
34:07
Praise the Lord. You are born again. You believe
34:10
in God. You believe in what Christ has done.
34:13
You believe in the life that he has given you.
34:15
Praise the Lord. All these things, right, are
34:19
supernatural things. All of these things are
34:23
supernatural things. The belief in God, the belief
34:26
in Christ, the belief in the life that God has
34:29
given are all supernatural things. So the very
34:36
basis of our Christian faith is supernatural.
34:40
Praise the Lord. The very basis of our Christian
34:43
faith is supernatural. So you talk about angels.
34:51
ministry of angels or ministering of angels right
34:54
you talk about demons not because you believe
34:58
in demons but because you believe they are demons
35:01
praise the lord there are two different things
35:03
you believe in demon is different you believe
35:06
there are demons is a different thing praise
35:08
the lord so you don't believe in demons you believe
35:11
they are demons praise the lord you believe they
35:14
are angels right These things or these beliefs
35:19
are supernatural themselves. You believe that
35:22
we are supernatural beings. You will say life
35:27
is spiritual. Praise the Lord. All of these are
35:30
indicators of the supernatural. You even believe
35:36
that humans are supernatural. Praise the Lord.
35:41
Because you believe that when a person dies,
35:43
you will say something like, He or she has gone
35:46
to be with the Lord. But you can see their body.
35:48
Praise the Lord. Right? You believe that they
35:51
had gone to be with the Lord. So all of these
35:54
things show that you believe in the supernatural.
35:59
You believe the supernatural. Praise the Lord.
36:02
You believe that God answers prayers. That you
36:04
pray and you have seen the evidence of God's
36:07
prayer. Of God answering your prayers. They themselves
36:10
are supernatural. So all of these things are
36:14
meant to give us the consciousness of the supernatural.
36:18
Praise the Lord. So your salvation, your faith,
36:22
all of them are indicators of the supernatural.
36:25
You believe that the devil, sorry, you believe
36:27
there is the devil, right? All of these things
36:30
are evident in themselves that we believe in
36:34
the supernatural. So we believe in the supernatural
36:42
because we are saved. We believe in the life
36:47
that God has given us, right? We believe in that
36:52
man is supernatural. Praise the Lord. We believe
36:56
the life that Christ has given. We believe there
37:00
are angels. We believe that there are demons.
37:05
We believe there are works of the devil. Praise
37:09
the Lord. All of these things, we believe them
37:12
because we are children of God. But what happens
37:16
to us sometimes is that we don't have or we lack
37:22
the culture of consistent consciousness of the
37:26
supernatural. So that's why we started to teach
37:31
concerning spirituals. We started to... teach
37:38
concerning the gift of the Spirit, the life that
37:42
you have in Christ. Praise the Lord. Now, if
37:45
you don't believe these things, or you don't
37:47
believe this, I don't know what to say to you
37:49
right now. But, I think, within this week, I
37:55
was thinking about some things, and several people
37:58
that I've met, and they're not following Christ.
38:04
They're not... Christians, right? They do so
38:07
many crazy things to get money. But the way they
38:12
speak about God, right? You'll be like, you that
38:17
God has been faithful to, you're not speaking
38:19
about him like they are speaking about God. Matter
38:23
of fact, they go to the extent of naming some
38:26
things after the faithfulness of God. But they
38:29
do not get those things in a godly way or by
38:32
the means of God. Praise the Lord. So you are,
38:36
let's say you are joking if your mind is telling
38:40
you that some of these things are not real. Praise
38:45
the Lord. So the people that, they speak about
38:49
God, but they have no knowledge of God. They
38:52
don't know what salvation means. They don't know
38:55
what the life of God is. They don't know that.
38:58
But their own is that God has provided for them.
39:01
Praise the Lord. And you have evidence. Praise
39:04
the Lord. You have evidence. You have the life
39:07
of God. But you're not speaking about the things
39:09
of God. Praise the Lord. You're not speaking
39:14
about the things of God. You see the sick. You
39:19
say, okay, yes, we need to go to the hospital.
39:22
As we know, it's very important, right? But we
39:25
also need to pray. Praise the Lord. you see some
39:31
things happening, rather than pray, you would
39:33
begin to look somehow. Praise the Lord. So we
39:37
have evidence, right? Because we have the life
39:40
of God in the inside of us. So these things should
39:43
be more manifest from us, not from they who do
39:47
not know God. Praise the Lord. So I said that
39:51
our Christian life already is sufficient evidence
39:56
to us that there is or... or that in itself is
40:01
supernatural. Praise the Lord. So remember again,
40:04
we are looking at the supernatural nature of
40:06
the Christian gathering. So what happens to us
40:09
sometimes is that we lack the culture of consistent
40:12
consciousness of the supernatural. We lack the
40:17
consciousness sometimes of what makes this place
40:20
or the supernatural nature of this gathering
40:22
or the supernatural nature of the relationship
40:26
that you have with one another. Praise the Lord.
40:29
of supernatural nature of prayers, of what is
40:32
going on when we pray. Praise the Lord. So sometimes
40:36
we lack this consistent consciousness of the
40:41
things of God. Praise the Lord. So nobody is
40:45
an expert on the things of God. Praise the Lord.
40:53
And I'll explain that. Nobody is an expert in
40:56
the things of God. Right? What we often see experts
41:00
is because these people are disciplined and consistent,
41:05
or what we term as experts. So, for example,
41:07
you look at your pastors or you look at somebody
41:10
in the prayer team and say, okay, this person
41:11
is very prayerful. It seems like they understand
41:14
the idea of prayers, or it seems like they understand
41:17
what is going on in terms of the teaching of
41:20
the word, right? They understand the word of
41:22
God, right? What makes them look like that is
41:26
because They are always studying the Word. Praise
41:29
the Lord. They are always praying. Praise the
41:33
Lord. That's what makes them look like, oh, this
41:35
person looks like an expert. He knows what he's
41:36
doing. Right? He knows his field. It's because
41:39
they don't have days off. The example is, okay,
41:42
today we're not studying the Scriptures. Tomorrow
41:44
until next month. Praise the Lord. They don't
41:47
have such lifestyle. They have a consistent discipline
41:50
and a lifestyle of studying the Word, of praying.
41:54
Praise the Lord. They're very consistent in it.
41:57
So nobody is an expert in the move of the Holy
42:00
Ghost. It's like, okay, maybe if I move this
42:03
direction now, the Holy Ghost will move, right?
42:06
Or if I do like this, no. It's because they have
42:09
a consistent lifestyle of praying, of walking
42:14
in the things of the Holy Ghost. Praise the Lord.
42:19
So it will look like, oh, you're so accurate.
42:22
When you say something now, when you give a prophecy,
42:24
or when you give a word of knowledge, it's so
42:26
accurate. It's because they are consistently
42:28
doing that. Praise the Lord. They are consistently
42:33
doing that. When they see a person, they want
42:35
to know what is God saying about this person.
42:37
For example, if you're walking, they will not
42:39
look at you and say, ah, brother Takunda, how
42:42
are you doing today? They're trying to find out
42:45
what is God saying about Takunda. Is there a
42:47
word of knowledge I can give him? Is there any
42:49
word of encouragement I can give at Takunda this
42:51
morning? So they are thinking like that and they
42:54
are praying like that. So that whenever they
42:56
meet you, they will give you a word. It's like,
42:57
ah, this person is always in the Spirit. Or they
43:00
are an expert. Praise the Lord. It's because
43:03
they are consistently doing that. They are consistently
43:07
working in that. So nobody is an expert in prayers.
43:12
Praise the Lord. When somebody tells you they
43:15
pray for 10 hours, it's not because they're an
43:17
expert. It's because they are doing it. They're
43:19
just doing it, doing it, doing it, doing it.
43:21
Praise the Lord. That's what makes them look
43:23
like an expert. So nobody is an expert in Christian
43:27
living, in studying of the word, like I said,
43:30
in healing, right? In walking in love. Praise
43:35
the Lord. They consistently walk in love. They
43:39
consistently are looking for opportunities to
43:42
pray. over somebody. Praise the Lord. So all
43:46
that we have, all that we see is people who are
43:51
consistent in feeding in the same thing and practicing
43:54
the same things. They are consistently practicing
43:58
to understand the scriptures. They are consistently
44:01
practicing or feeding in prayers. They are consistently
44:05
doing the things of God. That's what makes them
44:08
look like, oh, you know these things or you're
44:10
an expert in this thing. Praise the Lord. And
44:14
then I will read the scriptures for you to understand
44:19
what I mean by that. Or some of the scriptures.
44:22
John chapter 8, from verse 31 to 32. Right? Talking
44:26
about to continue in the world. Praise the Lord.
44:29
To remain consistent in the world. John chapter
44:32
8, from verse 31 to 32. And Jesus said to those
44:37
Jews who believed in him, If you abide in my
44:41
word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall
44:45
know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
44:48
What does it mean by abide? It means to stay,
44:50
to continue. Praise the Lord. 2 Timothy 3, verse
44:55
14. 2 Timothy 3, verse 14. He said, But you must
45:06
continue in the things which you have learned
45:08
and have been assured of, knowing from whom you
45:12
have learned them from. Praise the Lord. Praise
45:14
the Lord. What are the things that they must
45:16
continue? Praise the Lord. They have to continue
45:17
in the world. Praise the Lord. Colossians chapter
45:22
4 verse 2, talking about prayers. Colossians
45:24
chapter 4 verse 2. Continue earnestly in prayer,
45:32
being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Romans
45:36
chapter 12 verse 12. Rejoice in hope, patience
45:44
in tribulation, continue steadfastly in prayers.
45:47
1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17. He said, pray without
45:55
ceasing. Praise the Lord. Let's look at continuing
45:58
in doing good or showing on doing good. Galatians
46:01
5, Galatians 6, from verse 9 to 10. Galatians
46:05
6, 9 to 10. And let us not grow weary while doing
46:18
good, for in due season we will reap if we do
46:20
not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity,
46:25
let us do good to all, especially to those who
46:28
are of the household of faith. Praise the Lord.
46:31
Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32. And be kind to
46:40
one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.
46:43
Even as God in Christ forgave you. Let's also
46:47
lastly look at continuing in prayers. 2 Timothy
46:51
4 .2 It's a preach the word. Be ready in season
46:59
and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exalt with
47:02
all longsuffering and teaching. Acts 4 .14 -7
47:17
He said, and they were preaching the gospel there.
47:20
Praise the Lord. So I said, nobody is an expert
47:24
in the things of God. What they are doing is
47:26
that they just have a habit of consistency. They
47:30
are very consistent. Praise the Lord. They have
47:32
a discipline to continue. Just like the scriptures
47:35
have encouraged that you continue in prayers.
47:38
Praise the Lord. That you preach in season and
47:41
out of season. What does that mean? If I like
47:43
it, I will preach the word. If I don't like it,
47:45
I will preach the word. If I like to pray, I
47:48
will pray. If I don't like to pray, I will not,
47:50
sorry, I will pray. Praise the Lord. So in any
47:53
situation you find yourself, you do the things
47:56
of God. That's what makes somebody looks like
47:59
an expert or somebody makes like, oh, they know
48:01
this or they're very accurate in prophecy or
48:04
they're very accurate in the word of knowledge.
48:06
Praise the Lord. So example, if somebody, if
48:09
you have been fasting, let's say in 2025, some
48:13
of you have engaged in long fastings, maybe one
48:16
month, two months, right? And you have been praying
48:18
for long. And then maybe you finish that fasting
48:21
in July. If you start this December, right? Do
48:29
you think you would be moving at ease? If you
48:34
say, let's start fasting now. Do you think you
48:36
will come by ease? Let's flow. Praise the Lord.
48:41
You're going to have, it's going to be a little
48:43
struggle. Praise the Lord. So you will not just
48:45
flow. That's what I mean by that. You will not
48:47
just, okay, let's jump into it and start going.
48:49
You will have some challenges, but you're going
48:53
to pull through. Praise the Lord. So it's not
48:56
going to be easy, right? But it will take a while.
49:00
And then you are back into the flow of the fasting,
49:03
right? If you fasted the 14th day, from the 16th
49:07
day, it will not be as difficult. Praise the
49:09
Lord. Or for the 10th day, it will not be as
49:11
difficult as the day you started. The day you
49:13
started, once, maybe once you reach 6 o 'clock,
49:17
once it is 11 o 'clock, you are looking at the
49:20
watch. You're looking at the fridge. You're looking
49:22
at many things. Maybe you cancel all your activities
49:24
because I'm fasting today. I don't want to go
49:26
and fall down outside. Praise the Lord. So what
49:29
happens is that we have a culture. The culture
49:36
of consistency makes people look like they're
49:39
experts in the things of God. Praise the Lord.
49:41
So consistency means when you feel like it or
49:45
when you don't feel like it. Praise the Lord.
49:53
So, you already have believed in the supernatural.
49:58
Matthew chapter 18, verse 20. Matthew chapter
50:05
18, verse 20. We say, for where two or three
50:11
are gathered together in my name, I am there
50:15
in the midst of them. Praise the Lord. Talking
50:17
about prayers and decisions. Right? Where two
50:21
or three are gathered together in my name, I'm
50:24
there in their midst. Praise the Lord. So that
50:27
there, sorry, that I am there, right, is not
50:31
something that can be seen. Can you see I'm there
50:34
in the screen? Like, for example, when you say
50:36
I'm there, even you can see it, they can project
50:39
him being there. It's not something that can
50:42
be seen. It's not something that can be touched.
50:45
Praise the Lord. So when he said I'm there in
50:47
their midst, they are not. Physically seeing
50:49
him or physically touching him. Praise the Lord.
50:54
No, it's not what he's saying. He said, I'm there
50:58
in their midst, in the midst of them. You believe
51:03
that he's there because why? You believe the
51:06
scriptures. Praise the Lord. You believe that
51:09
God is there because why? You believe the scriptures.
51:12
It's not by the physical seeing. Praise the Lord.
51:17
So which means that a church gathering is a supernatural
51:21
gathering. Praise the Lord. A church gathering
51:26
is a supernatural gathering. So any kind of church
51:35
gathering is a supernatural gathering. Right?
51:40
Your cell meeting is a supernatural gathering.
51:42
Your... Your midweek is a supernatural gathering.
51:52
Your prayer meeting is a supernatural gathering.
51:54
Praise the Lord. Because why? Because Jesus is
51:58
there. Praise the Lord. Because Jesus is there.
52:08
So, and this gathering is that they are gathering
52:10
in the name of Him. or they are gathering in
52:14
his name, meaning they are gathering in his authority.
52:17
Praise the Lord. They are gathering in his authority.
52:20
Now, the believer can have a football club. Praise
52:23
the Lord. The believers, as believers, we can
52:27
have a football club, right? You can gather as
52:30
believers. Everybody is a believer, but they
52:33
gathered in the name of football, right? As believers,
52:37
you can gather because of accounting, right?
52:41
Or because you are accountants. All of you are
52:43
believers, but you are accountants, right? Or
52:45
because, you know, you gather in your careers
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as doctors, as lawyers. Praise the Lord. You
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can have those type of gathering, right? Or you
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can gather as, you know, one or two, everybody
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in your family are Christians, right? Believe
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in God. You gather as a family. Praise the Lord.
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So, but when we gather in his name, praise the
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Lord, like today, we have gathered in his name.
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Praise the Lord. I'm not gathered with my family
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because I gathered in the name of the family.
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No, we came all of us here to gather in his name.
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Praise the Lord. We have gathered in his name,
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right? So that means that we have to have that
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consciousness that this gathering is a supernatural
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gathering. Praise the Lord. It is not an ordinary
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gathering. We do not gather in the name of our
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father, that is, biological father. We do not
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gather in the name of a football club. Praise
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the Lord. You can, I'm sure there's a game today
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in the Premier League. Some of you can gather
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and say, come, let's go and watch. You do not
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gather in the name of the Lord. Praise the Lord.
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All of you can gather there and say, let's watch
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this Arsenal game. He's not in the name of the
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Lord. Praise the Lord. So when he says in verse
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20 that for where two or three are gathered together
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in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
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right sorry in in matthew chapter 28 he also
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says in 28 he says something in verse 20 matthew
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28 verse 20 yes he said teaching them to observe
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all the things i've commanded you and lo i'm
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with you always even to the end of the age so
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when he says lo i'm with you always right Which
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means that God is in the midst of us. Praise
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the Lord. What he's saying, lo, I'm with you
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always, is that God is in the midst of us. Praise
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the Lord. What does that mean? Right? We do not
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come to meet him here. Okay? So when he says
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God is in the midst of us, we did not come to
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meet him here. Do you understand? We didn't come
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to, all of us that we came, we didn't come to
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meet God here. Right? Rather, We came as those
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who have been indwelled by God. Praise the Lord.
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Do you understand what I mean? We come as those
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who are indwelled by God. Praise the Lord. If
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you came to meet him here, that is an oracle.
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Praise the Lord. We came here as those who carry
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God. who carry God in the inside of us, so we
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come to gather together. Praise the Lord. I think
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my time is up. We'll continue on Wednesday, right?
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But let's read John chapter 14. John chapter
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14. To further explain that, what we just read.
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John chapter 14 from verse 16 to 17. He said,
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I will pray the Father and he will give you another
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helper that he may abide with you forever. The
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Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive
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because it neither see him nor know him. But
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you know him for he dwells with you and will
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be in you. Verse 20 now. Verse 20. At that day,
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you will know that I am the Father and you are
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in me and I in you. Praise the Lord. So we gather
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together, right? Or the gathering of believers
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is a supernatural gathering. Praise the Lord.
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We gather together and this gathering is a supernatural
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gathering. And we gather because we're not coming
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to meet God here, but that God dwells in the
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inside of us. And we come. together. Praise the
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Lord. So on Wednesday we're going to look at
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more the things we should do and the things we
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should not do and the consciousness that we should
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have. Let's just begin to bless the name of the
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Lord for the word we have heard. We appreciate
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you being here today. We hope you carry this
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word with you throughout your week. Don't forget
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to check the show notes for additional insights.
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Stay connected with us through our website or
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follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,
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share this message with someone you care about.
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Until next time, stay blessed.