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The Believer's Authority in Christ pt 5 · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF. We're thrilled you're here.
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Make sure to stay with us till the end, where
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we'll share some great resources to deepen your
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faith. Now, let's dive into this week's sermon.
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We'll just be continuing from where we have been
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teaching since Wednesday, then Sunday. than Wednesday
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again. So just continue from there and build
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up. So still relating to the authority of a believer
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and immediately manifesting the supernatural,
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right? Manifesting the supernatural. The main
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thing is, like I said, to charge us more, right?
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To charge us more to have... expectations towards
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these things, the things of the supernatural,
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to know how it functions, to believe it, to see
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it across the scripture that beyond reasonable
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doubt, we will be able to participate, give ourselves
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to the things of the spirit much more. So that
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is why we are teaching this, so that we can be
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able to engage in... expressing healing, right?
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Many administering healing to people through
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our preaching. Then we carry out signs and wonders,
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miracles, and all the operations of things of
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spirit through us functioning effectively, right?
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So that we can have expectations through it.
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We can know that these things are real, like
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the word I use all the time, that these are actually
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real. And that's the call of God is able to walk
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all of these through us. Amen. So what we've
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done so far, right, what we've done so far is
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actually to understand the believer's authority,
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right, to understand the believer's authority,
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especially with regards to things in the natural,
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how the believer can influence the natural, which
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is supernatural, bringing forth the supernatural
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into the natural, letting the supernatural overpower
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or oversee the natural. So we started and we
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went through Moses, right? What Moses did and
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his work with the children of Israel in the wilderness.
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We moved through that and we came to the prophets
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and we touched upon Elijah a little bit, right?
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Showing with evidence, right? Showing with evidence
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and proof, right? Showing with evidence and proof,
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right? realities of these things, right, of the
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manifestation of the supernatural, right? So
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we see divine provision, we see divine preservation,
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and we see across many things where they intervened
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in both situations. So we see that these men
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of God, the prophets, right, Moses and Elijah,
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they expressed the supernatural in their walk
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with the people they were walking with. So the
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last time we... talk, right, on Sunday, we move
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towards Matthew, and we try to stay a little
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bit there, right, stay a little bit there to
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see how Jesus, right, functioned or exercised
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the supernatural in healing people, people who
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were lame, people who were possessed by demons,
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people who were not, right, in their right mind,
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Jesus restoring them, people who were sick, right,
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see a lot of miraculous things taking place.
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So now what we're able to get there is that we
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can receive this miraculous or this supernatural
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by seeking it. That is not wrong to seek it.
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So it's not wrong. You can seek to be prayed
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for and to be healed. You can seek to lay hands
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on. When we minister to each other, when we hold
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each other's hand, we are actually seeking to
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be ministered upon. We are seeking the supernatural,
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true. the other believers around us. So we find
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that and we see that in Matthew 8, verse 1 to
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4, we see how that context, right, was actually
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someone requesting to be healed. And we see many
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people that come to Jesus, right, they will say,
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I know you can heal me if thou be willing, right,
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heal me. And Jesus will say, yes, I'm willing.
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And we see that he heals them. So we see seeking,
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right, asking as something very accepted according
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to the scriptures. We also see, right, that faith,
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even without asking. can actually bet for the
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supernatural, right? Faith without asking can
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actually bet for the supernatural. And we see
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the case of the centurion, right? Matthew 8 scriptures.
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We see the case of the centurion who just believed
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that Jesus would say a word, right? Just say
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a word and healing would take place. And Jesus
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was really amazed and wondering, you know, what
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manner of faith in his healing power, right?
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As such a man expressed at this time. Seeking.
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We see faith, which is believing, right? We also
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see the woman who touched the hem of his garment.
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If I would just touch the hem of his garment.
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So we also saw our faith too, right? We saw our
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faith in the context of that. And we see touching,
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touching in line with that too. So faith in the
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healing ministry of Christ. And she said, if
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I only touch, right? She could have been like
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the centurion and say, okay, Jesus would just.
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say a word, right? Or just by belief. But she
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said nothing about thought. So we see seeking,
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we see believing, right? Having faith in what?
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Healing ministry of Christ. And we also see touching,
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right? So touching. So sometimes we see Jesus
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lay hands on them. He put his hands on their
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eyes and their eyes are open and all of that.
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So we see touching, right? Touching takes place.
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Laying of hands can also take place, which is
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connected to touch. Now, also we can see that
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people can also bring you, right? People can
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have faith for someone who is sick, right? They
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can have faith for someone who is sick and they
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can bring the person. They can bring the person.
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Matthew 8, 16. Matthew 8, verse 16. Matthew 8,
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verse 16. This one is people bringing others,
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right? Bringing others, having faith for other
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people. And when Jesus entered Peter's house,
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from verse 14, he saw his mother -in -law lying
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sick with fever. He touched her and her fever
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left. So touching again, Jesus lay hands on Peter's
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mother -in -law and she was healed. Now verse
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16 says, that evening they brought to him many
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who were oppressed by demons and he cast out
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the spirits of the world. and they healed all
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who were sick. Healed all who were sick. So we
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see that people had faith, right, for other people,
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and they had faith that someone can be healed
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by Christ, right? There are people who were sick,
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and, you know, they had this faith, and it brought
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them to meet Christ. So they were exercising
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faith on behalf of their family members, on behalf
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of people that were sick, and it brought them,
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and by their faith, Jesus healed them. I see
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that we can bring someone, we can exercise faith
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for healing, right? So, again, there's another
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scripture that we're going to check. Luke 5,
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Luke 5, 17. Luke 5, verse 17. Just to add to
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this one of people bringing others to Christ,
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right? Luke 5. So, one of those, on one of...
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Those days, as I was teaching, Pharisees and
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teachers of the Lord were sitting there who had
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come from every village of Galilee and Judea
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and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord
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was with him to heal. And behold, some men were
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bringing on a bed, a man who was paralyzed. And
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they were seeking to bring him in and lay him
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before Jesus. But finding no way to bring him
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in because of the crowd, they went up on the
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roof and let him down with his bed, threw the
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tiles into the mist before Jesus. And when he
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saw their fates, right, he saw their fates, he
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said, man, your sins are forgiven. And the scribes
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and Pharisees began to question, saying, Who
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is this who speak blasphemies? Who can forgive
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sins but God? When Jesus perceived their thoughts,
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right, he answered them. Why do you question
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in your hearts? Which is easier to say, your
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sins are forgiven, or to say, rise and walk?
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But that you may know that the Son of Man has
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authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to
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the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, rise.
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pick up your bed and go home. So in this context,
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we see that people had faith in Christ for their
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friend, right? People had faith in Christ, right,
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for their friend. And that faith that they had
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in Christ, right, was shown in their action as
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well. So when they saw that the place was crowded,
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right, they couldn't find a means. They could
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have said, oh, we just need to go back, right?
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What is the effort for? Or because they need.
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that Christ could heal. They went through the
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roof and they brought the man down. And Jesus
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saw their faith. So it was not just the faith
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of the man who is to be healed. He saw the faith
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of this group of people who brought the man down.
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So people can actually have faith for others
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to heal. So when we come to church and we talk
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about people who want to be healed, we pray for
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your... your parents, like we pray for our mothers,
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our fathers, our siblings that are sick, we are
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exercising faith in Christ for them. We are exercising
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faith in Christ for them. Therefore, through
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that, the supernatural can also take place, right?
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Of course, we've been talking about healing so
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much in this context of supernatural, but we'll
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stay there for now. So we can see that we can
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exercise faith, right? And so on can come into
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healing. Bye. our faith so this shows that the
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faith of men so therefore it corroborates matthew
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8 that says that many were brought to him right
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many were brought to him and as they were possessed
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by demons he cast them out with the word and
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healed them so people had faith and their faith
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uh yeah people now um We're saying two scriptures
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in the line of receiving for people, right? Receiving,
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healing for people. Of course, you know that
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salvation cannot be received for someone, right?
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Salvation cannot be received for someone. What
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can be received, right? Is this kind of ministrations
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as such as healing, right? Because you believe,
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right? And you are interceding, you are praying
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for the person, but the person can receive. And
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don't forget, we also establish across most of
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these scriptures and time of Christ, we saw that
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most of these people did not believe in the message
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of salvation itself, but they believed that Christ
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can heal them. And they were just receiving,
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right? They were just receiving the healing.
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They were receiving the healing. So this is what
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we see in this context, that faith can bring
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about healing for someone, but of course we can't
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have faith for them in terms of salvation in
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that context. Because some of them are unbelievers,
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we still see that they receive. Healing supernatural
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express through the faith of others. Now, we
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can also go to Matthew 8, 23 to 27 and find something
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there as well. We've seen seeking, we've seen
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believing, we've seen administered touching.
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we've seen believing for others by bringing them,
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right? When you bring people, you are showing
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expression of being believed. If you also come
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out, right, someone needs, your mom needs to
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be healed, your dad needs to be healed, a brother,
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a sibling has been on impact. When you come out
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for that person also, you are, in essence, bringing
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yourself, right, representing the person and
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then we can agree together in prayer to the brother.
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Now, Matthew 8, 23 and 27. And when it got...
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into the boat. His disciples followed him, and
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behold, there arose a great storm on the sea,
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so that the boat was being swarmed by the waves.
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But he was asleep, and they went and woke him,
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saying, Save us, Lord, we are perishing. And
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he said to them, Why are you afraid, O you of
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little faith? Then he rose and rebuked the wind,
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and the sea. And there was a great calm. And
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when the men, and the men marveled, saying, what
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sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey
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him? Even wind and sea obey him. So what do we
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see here? We see rebuking, actually. That's what
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we see here. And I'm going to show us some other
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scriptures that also talk about rebuking. So
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we can rebuke. We can rebuke, actually, circumstances
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in the natural. We can rebuke circumstances that
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are natural to bring them into order, to bring
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order into place, to stop a chaos, to stop a
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problem, to intervene in an unpalatable situation
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where people are engaged in. We can rebuke accidents.
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There's nothing like we cannot pray against those
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things. We can rebuke them, rebuke those things
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that there will not be accidents, there will
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not be theft. We can rebuke those things. So,
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rebuking is another way that we put... our authority
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into practice or we put our authority into action
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when it comes to the supernatural so we can rebuke
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secretion now if you just take a walk back to
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uh verse 16 verse 16 that evening they brought
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to him many who were oppressed by demons and
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he cast out the spirits right with a word and
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he healed all those who were sick. So this is
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also similar, right? Rebuke, cast out, right?
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They are direct expression of the believer's
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authority, right? They are direct, direct expression
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of the believer's authority, right? These are
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direct expression of the believer's authority.
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Therefore means that the believer, right? Should
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primarily directly administer. Healing, directly
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administer, casting out demons, directly rebuking
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unpalatable situations. So this is the direct
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expression of the authority of the believer.
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So what I'm saying is that while people can seek,
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while you can seek, while you can have faith
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for something to take place, right, why you can
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be administered upon, you can touch, you can
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be touched, your hands can be laid, and so you
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can lay hands as well. But there are circumstances
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where the believer must rebuke, right, must rebuke
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those situations. We see here that he was casting
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out demons, he was rebuking. He was casting out
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demons, and he was rebuking, he rebuked a situation,
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right, he rebuked a situation. So this is, this
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pattern is actually the direct expression, of
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the believer, which we always talk about, right?
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You can cast out demons. We don't negotiate with
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demons. We don't have conversations with demons.
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We don't have conversations with circumstances,
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right? We don't have conversations with circumstances.
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Is it important? We don't have such kind of conversations,
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right? So what we do to unpalatable situations
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is that we rebuke them. What we do to demons,
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right, is that we cast them out. This is direct
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expression. And this is where the believer should
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regularly be. This is where the believer should
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regularly be, right? So it's intentional that
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we took us through all those other ones and up
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until coming to this one now. This is where the,
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what would I say? Would I say the magnitude of
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the believer's authority. is put into action.
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The magnitude of liberalism is put into action.
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When we rebuke circumstances, when we cast out
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demons, this is the magnitude of the believer's
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authority. And this is where the believer should
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regularly be. Regularly be as a believer. Now,
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let's see. Let's see from Acts of Apostles. A
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little bit. Acts of Apostles. Acts of Apostles,
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chapter 3 as well. Acts of Apostles, chapter
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3. I think we read that on Sunday. I'll show
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you another form in which the magnitude of the
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believer's authority is expressed, right? Another
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form in which the magnitude of the believer's
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authority is expressed. Now, Acts chapter 3,
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it says, Now, Peter and John were going up to
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the temple at the hour of prayer, the night hour,
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and a lame man from birth was carried, whom they
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laid daily at the gate of the temple that is
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called the beautiful gate. to ask hands of those
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entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about
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to go into the temple, he asked to receive them.
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And Peter directed his gate as him and as did
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John and said, look at us. And he fixed his attention
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on them, expecting to receive something from
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them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold,
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but what I do have, I give to you in the name
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of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
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Rise up and walk. So this is a situation taking
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place in the life of a man, right? Asking from
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him, right? This man was lame. He was a lame
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beggar. And what did the apostles did? They didn't
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seek, right? They didn't seek. They didn't, you
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know, lay hands. They didn't do anything. They
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instructed the man out of the situation, right?
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So they instructed the man out of the situation.
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So what we can also do. As believers, expressing
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our authority is that we can instruct people
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to come out of unpalatable circumstances. We
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can express our authority by commanding, actually,
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that is it, commanding people to come out of
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unpalatable circumstances, to give expression.
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to what we want to see. That's another word to
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say it. To give expression to what we want to
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see. So you can instruct people to come out of
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unparalleled situation. We can instruct or command
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people to give expression to what we want to
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see, right? So when you see the blind eyes, you
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can say, I command that eyes to be opened. Let
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your eyes be opened. So you are bringing the
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person out of that circumstance, right? You are
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bringing the person out of that circumstance.
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Here they said, arise and walk. right that would
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have sounded uh ridiculous if anyone who had
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known that man for a long time that has been
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sitting there right what what is this saying
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can't you see that this guy has been here for
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a long time in fact he's not even willing to
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be healed he's actually looking for alms from
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you right so people say what is he saying but
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what did uh the apostles say and what So we can
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command people out of circumstances. We can command
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people out of chaos. We can command people who
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are possessed out of those circumstances. So
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we see rebuke as excess direct exercise of the
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believer's authority, right? We see, what do
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you call it? We see casting out demons as well
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as direct, I mean, very impactful authority expressed
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there. We also see here in this context, calling,
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the man out of his circumstance. Right? Calling
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the man out of his circumstance. So we see this
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as the place where the believer should regularly
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be. Right? The place where the believer should
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dwell. We're not saying that the believer cannot
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ask to be prayed for. Right? You can't be asked
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to be prayed for. We can't say, we are not saying
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that people cannot express faith for you. I've
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expressed faithful faith on circumstances regarding
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people's life and we see it come to pass. Right?
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When we come together as a church and pray together,
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we exercise faith on certain circumstances. That
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is us. Right? But that is not the only way, and
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that is not the only way we can receive. The
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believer itself carries an authority, right?
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The believer himself carries an authority that
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can bring to bear the circumstances that we want
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to see. So whatever we desire to see in a situation
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where there's chaos, we can call it forth. We
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can call it forth and command it to be as we
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have seen. So rebuking, casting out demons, and
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all of that are regularly where we should be.
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Now, so we're done with these areas about receiving.
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So the next thing we'll just discuss, which I'm
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going to explain through the scripture, is actually
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with regards to the preaching of the gospel.
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With regards to the preaching of the gospel.
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Also, still related to the supernatural. So people
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believe that, not people believe, but across
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the scripture, one... pattern or the order that
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we have seen is that the supernatural can give
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expression when the gospel is preached or rather
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let me say the supernatural can give expression
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after the gospel is being preached and also the
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supernatural can be expressed before the gospel
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is preached right before because there's a reason
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why i'm saying this because we are not magicians
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we are not showmen We are not showmen. We are
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the power of God. We give expression to manifestation
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of the things of God. We give expression to healing.
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We command, we instruct circumstances to come
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alive. We instruct the eyes of the blind to open,
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the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the lame
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to walk, those who are sick to be healed. We
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have the capacity to do this because the Spirit
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of God is in us. However, we are not showmen.
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We are not showmen. to just engage in those things.
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So what pattern did we see in the scripture,
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right? Because, you know, over the years, this
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is one of the areas I've questioned, right? Because
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I see people, they give expression to healing
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and they just let people go, right? So they just
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laid their hands and they just let them go and
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all of that. So what we see, right? What we see...
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in this, in the scriptures, what we see in the
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scriptures is that the preaching of the gospel
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moves with signs and wonders. And signs and wonders
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and miracles and the workings of the power of
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God can also take place and the preaching of
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the gospel follows. Right? This is the most,
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I mean, this consistent pattern of Christ's teachings
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and what we see in the scriptures. So let's go
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to Matthew. Let's go to Matthew to first establish
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this. First of all, the emphasis that we are
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not magicians, we are not showmen, right? The
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miracles, signs, and wonders should be followed
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by the preaching of the gospel or when we preach
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and we can give expression to it. So either ways,
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both of them are patterns that are scriptural,
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right? But to heal and just, you know, let them
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just go and all of that, most of the time, is
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not what we think. From Matthew 5, okay? From
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Matthew 5, Jesus started a teaching. He began
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to teach and give, expressing things regarding
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the kingdom of God, expressing the law, things
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relating to the law, teaching about divorce,
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retaliation. You move to chapter 6, you see Jesus
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teaching about giving, right? Teaching about
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giving, teaching the disciples, right? What is
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written there as the Lord's Prayer, right? Explaining
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to them, right, the realities of the kingdom
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of God. in that prayer, you move downward, you
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see fasting and all of that. And this prayer
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extended up to chapter 7 and ended in chapter,
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verse 28. Verse 28 of chapter 7 says, when Jesus
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has finished these sayings, which is teachings,
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right? You know, called the Sermon on the Mount.
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I think these teachings, the crowd were astonished
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at his teaching, for he was teaching them as
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one who had authority, not as the scribe. So
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we see that teaching. That kind of a long, extensive
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teaching. Then it is on conduct that we begin
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to see. Verse 8. Because verse 5, if you read
25:52
chapter 5, first of all, if you read chapter
25:54
5, verse 1. Chapter 5, verse 1 says, Seeing the
25:58
crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when
26:01
he sat down, his disciples came to him. So chapter
26:04
5, he climbed up the mountain. Then chapter 8,
26:07
right? It says, chapter 8 verse 1 when he came
26:12
down from the mountain great crowds followed
26:15
him and behold a leper was lame a leper came
26:18
to him and he knelt before him saying lord if
26:21
you will make me clean and from there we see
26:25
the entire chapter 8 right even into chapter
26:30
9 Christ manifesting the supernatural, right?
26:34
Among the people that have followed him, that
26:36
have listened to the sermon, right? He came down,
26:39
they followed him and he continued to. So after
26:41
teachings, right? We should expect the supernatural.
26:45
After teachings, we should expect the supernatural.
26:48
After the preaching of the gospel, we should
26:51
expect the supernatural. We should give room
26:53
also for the supernatural. So while people are
26:58
teaching, pastors are teaching, we should set
27:00
our hearts that as this teaching is going on,
27:03
you can receive during the teaching. And after
27:06
the teaching, we can give expression and open
27:09
the opportunity for people to receive more. So
27:12
the preaching and the supernatural expression,
27:15
the manifestation of healing, deliverance, the
27:19
casting out demons, exercising the authority
27:21
that we have, bringing in order in people's lives.
27:25
comes together preaching and the supernatural
27:28
manifestations work together we see that they
27:31
work together in this so first the pattern we
27:33
see is preaching and afterwards we see jesus
27:35
expressing this now if we go to max 16 as well
27:39
go to max 16 right which is the scripture that
27:43
we regularly read from verse 14 they said after
27:48
he had appeared to the 11 themselves as they
27:52
were reclining at the table. He rebuked them
27:54
for their unbelief and hardness of hearts because
27:57
they had not believed those who saw him after
28:01
he had risen. And he said to them, go into the
28:04
world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
28:09
Whosoever believes is baptized. Whosoever believes
28:12
will be baptized. But whosoever does not believe
28:14
will be condemned. And these signs, right, will
28:19
accompany those who believe. In my name, they
28:22
will cast out demons. They will speak. Whosoever
28:25
believes is baptized. Whosoever believes will
28:28
be baptized. But whosoever does not believe will
28:30
be condemned. And these signs, right, will accompany
28:35
those who believe. In my name, they will cast
28:39
out demons. They will speak in new tongues. They
28:42
will pick up serpents with their hands. And if
28:44
they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt
28:46
them. They will lay their hands on the sick and
28:49
they will die. recover, right? So he said these
28:54
signs, right? So first, what we see there is
28:57
go and proclaim the gospel. This is not a, I
28:59
mean, the first time he's saying it, he's going
29:00
to check that also in Matthew, we'll find it
29:03
there. So he said, go and preach the gospel,
29:05
right? As you preach, these signs will accompany
29:10
those who believe, right? These signs will follow
29:13
their, you know, their preaching, right? In my
29:16
name, they will cast out demons. These people
29:19
that I'm sending now, as they are preaching the
29:20
gospel, These signs will be following. So what
29:23
are signs, right? What signs are they talking
29:26
about here, right? It's not, it's actually referring
29:31
to something that shows, right? Something that
29:36
shows with evidence, with proof, the presence
29:40
of the one who has sent them, right? So that
29:43
sign is something, things, right? Things that
29:47
show the presence, the proof. The evidence of
29:51
the one who ascended. So when they preach, the
29:54
evidence of him who ascended, which is manifestation
29:56
of peace of God by the supernatural, follow them
30:00
evidently. So we see it here as another pattern.
30:03
So the preaching of the gospel and the supernatural,
30:07
they work together. See it there. That Jesus
30:10
doesn't just go and preach the gospel, but these
30:12
signs will follow them. That belief, right? In
30:16
his authority, in his authority. So you see that
30:18
it is about evidence and proof of him who has
30:23
sent them. Evidence and proof of the authority
30:27
of Christ. So in my name, they will do what?
30:31
They will cast out demons. My reputation in all
30:34
that I've achieved in my name, in my authority,
30:37
right? In my office, they will do these things.
30:42
Right? They will give expressions of supernatural
30:43
as they are preaching. These signs will follow
30:47
them. So we also go to Matthew 10. Matthew 10.
30:51
So I took us to Matthew 10. Just to establish
30:54
significantly that we are not showmen. Right?
30:57
We are not showmen. We are not people who are
31:00
just on the street. We are not just looking for
31:02
people. In fact, the essence of this is... is
31:07
attached to the gospel. The essence of the manifestation
31:09
of the supernatural, right, in many ways, especially
31:13
when it regards to people who don't believe,
31:15
is attached to the gospel. The essence of it
31:17
is attached to the gospel, right, so that people
31:19
can hear and they can believe, right, they can
31:24
believe. Matthew 10, verse 5. And the twelve
31:27
disciples sent out, and these twelve Jesus sent
31:30
out, instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles,
31:34
and enter... no town of the Samaritan, but go
31:38
to the lost house of Israel and proclaim as you
31:41
go, saying, the kingdom of God is at end. That's
31:44
the gospel, right? Preaching the kingdom of God
31:47
is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
31:51
the leper, cast out demons. You receive without
31:55
paying, give also without paying. We see that
32:00
he said that. Preach the kingdom. As you preach
32:02
the kingdom, let the signs of the kingdom follow.
32:07
The manifestations of this kingdom in the supernatural,
32:09
let it follow. So preaching again, being followed
32:15
by the manifestations of the power of God. So
32:18
when you are preaching, as you go for evangelism,
32:21
you should expect... You should expect that you
32:24
give expression to these things. You can give
32:26
a word to the person. You can heal them. You
32:29
can tell them about someone the spirit is leading
32:33
you to instruct. You can give them instructions.
32:37
You can heal them. You can heal someone they
32:40
know. That's another one. You can have a word
32:42
for them regarding someone they know that is
32:45
sick and you can heal them. You can also cleanse
32:48
the confusion in their life. It means that you
32:52
can give them direction. You can give them word
32:55
of wisdom, word of knowledge, explaining and
32:57
clearing every confusion in their life as you
33:00
go to preach. So the supernatural is something
33:03
we should expect. In fact, after you have preached,
33:06
whether the person even hear or believe or do
33:09
not believe, it is necessary, right? Or it is
33:12
helpful that you allow yourself to give expression
33:15
to the power of God. So whether the person has
33:19
believed or not, just... Take some time out before
33:22
you leave the person, right? Before you leave
33:24
the person, you take some time out and you give
33:27
expression. You give a word of encouragement.
33:29
You give a word of wisdom. You heal. You speak
33:33
things that the scripture calls signs that should
33:36
follow those that are believed, right? So you
33:38
give a sign. Because we have established that
33:41
they can receive whether they believe or they
33:44
are unbelievers, right? It is about you who is
33:47
giving the supernatural out. So there's nothing
33:49
wrong in saying, okay, you have my belief, but
33:51
I still keep you the supernatural. And that can
33:54
just be what will just make the message, you
33:59
know, come alive. Because both the message and
34:02
the supernatural are the power of God. Hallelujah.
34:04
Both the message and the supernatural are the
34:07
power of God. Both the message and the supernatural.
34:09
We see it here as... So for three scriptures
34:13
now, we've seen how the preaching of the gospel
34:14
is accompanied by signs and wonders. It is not
34:17
for sure, right? It's not... For sure. Now, let's
34:19
go to Acts. Let's go to Acts. Especially in the
34:21
life of the apostles. Or in the life of the apostles.
34:24
Let's go to Acts. And let's see how they were
34:27
explaining. When things happen, they have to
34:30
explain. They were explaining because... Alright.
34:33
So, let's look at this same chapter 3. This same
34:36
chapter 3. Something happened there. Chapter
34:38
3. Now, after they had healed the man in verse
34:41
6. Verse 7. He took him by the right hand and
34:46
raised him up. right? He took him by the right
34:49
hand and raised him up. I'm trusting that when
34:52
there's more time that we are teaching about
34:55
the gift of the Spirit, the supernatural, the
34:58
expression and emancipation of the Spirit, the
35:02
workings of miracles, right? As we, you know,
35:04
time goes on, we'll have time to talk about that
35:07
much more and to see how people can manifest
35:11
or operate or work the miracles of God out. So,
35:15
look at what he says. He, took his hand, for
35:18
example, in this case, he took him and raised
35:21
him up. So he helped him up, right? He took him
35:26
by the right hand and raised him up. I mean,
35:28
immediately his feet and his ankles were made
35:32
strong. And limping up, he stood and began to
35:37
walk. So we see how gradually he received healing
35:41
and the apostles walked it out with him. Right?
35:44
Walked it out with. So we'll see this hopefully
35:47
in the future. Now, as he was leaping, he began
35:49
to walk and enter the temple with them. Walking
35:52
and leaping and praising God. Right? And all
35:54
the people saw him walking and praising God and
35:59
recognizing him as the one who sat at the beautiful
36:02
gates of the temple asking for hands. And they
36:05
were filled with wonder and amazement at what
36:08
had happened to him. Now look at what happened.
36:11
While he clung to Peter and John, right? He clung
36:15
to Peter and John. All the people utterly astounded.
36:19
So he held them, right? So he was still limping.
36:21
He was still trying to get his balance, right?
36:23
For someone who has not worked for a long time,
36:26
right? Receiving healing. So he's trying to get
36:28
a balance and he held on to Peter and John, right?
36:32
More like an, I don't know, would I say implicating
36:35
them? Ran together to them in the... particle
36:38
called solomon and when peter saw it right he
36:41
watched all the people outlier standard run together
36:44
to them in the particle called solomon and when
36:46
people saw it uh sorry when peter saw it he addressed
36:51
the people so people came around right they saw
36:54
the miracles the man holding peter and john then
36:57
they came around and when peter saw that these
37:00
people had come around he has to explain something
37:02
to them so miracles can bring people right can
37:06
bring people come around. Miracles can bring
37:09
people to come around. And their coming around
37:12
is for the preaching of the gospel. So Peter
37:15
began to explain, men of Israel, why do you wonder
37:18
at this? So signs and wonders are taking place,
37:21
right? And it was beginning to wonder why they
37:25
were wondering. But of course they were wondering
37:27
because they were filled with unbelief. So the
37:30
people who gather when there is signs and wonders
37:33
and begin to look and they are wondering and
37:36
they are amazed. They are working in unbelief.
37:39
When signs and wonders happen, a believer sees
37:41
it, he glorifies God. He does not run to the
37:44
man and say, what have you done? Or go there
37:47
and begin to watch as if it's a movie. You know,
37:51
it's not supposed to be a movie. It's not supposed
37:53
to be, a believer cannot respond to signs and
37:56
wonders as a movie, right? A believer cannot
37:58
respond to signs and wonders as a movie. It's
38:01
not. But you glorify God and say, this is God's
38:05
doing, right? You know, remember that Simon the
38:09
Sorcerer too. When he saw signs and wonders,
38:11
he too ran, right? He ran to go and collect power.
38:16
It's also not to collect power. So when you see
38:19
signs and wonders, you want to go and catch the
38:20
person's leg. It's unreasonable, right? It's
38:23
unreasonable. That's not the way a believer responds.
38:25
The signs and wonders and the workings of America
38:28
and all of this are not a surprise to you as
38:31
a believer. It's not a surprise to me as a believer.
38:34
I glorify God because it's the power of God.
38:36
But look at, right, all the people utterly astounded.
38:39
They ran together to them in the portico called
38:42
Solomon. When Peter saw all those people gathering,
38:46
so he raised a crowd, raised the people coming
38:48
together. What did he use? He used the opportunity
38:51
to preach to them, right? He used the opportunity
38:55
to preach to them. Men of Israel, why do you
38:57
wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as
39:01
though by our own power or piety? We have made
39:05
him walk. You see, first, explaining the power
39:10
of God is not by our power. Now, look at what
39:13
he used. The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac,
39:15
the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified
39:19
his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and
39:22
denied in the presence of fire. Now, if you start
39:25
to use what they could relate to it, right? What
39:29
they could relate to this God of Abraham, God
39:31
of Isaac, God of Jacob. talking about the promise
39:34
of God, right? So he used what they could relate
39:37
with and began to preach to them, right? He preached
39:42
to them up until verse 22. He continued preaching
39:47
to them and said, Moses said, the Lord God will
39:50
raise for you a prophet like me from your brothers.
39:53
You shall listen to him in whatever he tells
39:56
you. And it shall be that every soul who does
39:58
not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed
40:00
from the people. And all the prophets whom spoken
40:02
from Samuel and those who came after him also
40:05
proclaim these days. You are the sons of the
40:09
prophet and of the covenant that God made with
40:17
your fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your
40:19
office shall all the families of the earth be
40:21
blessed. God hath raised up his servant sent
40:24
unto you first to bless you by turning everyone
40:27
from your wickedness. Right? So, he preached
40:31
the gospel. He preached to them. He explained.
40:34
He connected everything together and explained
40:37
to them. Praise God. Now, that's why we have
40:41
so many of these, so many of this pattern. So
40:46
many of this pattern, we have them. Now, let's
40:50
see. Let's see a couple of other scriptures that
40:55
we are going to see. Now, let's look at Acts.
40:59
Let's look at Acts. I'm just going to pick up
41:01
another explanation, right? Let's look at Acts.
41:05
Acts chapter 10. Chapter 10. Acts chapter 10.
41:10
Now, this was another situation where an explanation
41:14
had to be given. Something happened, right? And
41:17
an explanation had to be given. And it gave a
41:19
chance, right, for the preaching of the gospel.
41:22
So, Acts chapter 10, verse 9. Acts chapter 10,
41:25
verse 9. I don't think we'll have more time to
41:27
read everything. But this is actually Peter's
41:29
vision. Peter saw a vision, right? And in verse
41:35
13, it said, there came a voice to him saying,
41:38
rise, Peter, and kill and eat. But Peter said,
41:40
by no means, Lord, I have never eaten anything
41:42
called unclean. Now we know the story that is
41:45
referring to the case of Cornelius, right? Someone
41:48
who is not within. the confinement of Israel,
41:52
right? He said, at Caesarea, there was a man
41:55
named Cornelius, a centurion, who was known as
41:57
the Italian cohort. So it was not like any Jewish
42:00
person, right? So the context of this is that
42:04
there was a vision that was seen. So Peter saw
42:07
a revelation of what God will do, right, in a
42:13
people's life. I'll say a people's life because
42:15
it's not just Cornelius alone, right? But Cornelius
42:18
was the pointer to... That part, that God will
42:21
also bring, right, others into what he is doing.
42:26
And there will be no segregation among the people
42:29
of God, right? Within the church, within the
42:32
household of God, there will be no segregation.
42:34
So we see there that Peter was saying, I want
42:36
to eat something that is uncommon. And we saw
42:39
that up until verse 30, Cornelius explained the
42:45
story to Peter and Peter also explained the vision.
42:49
right that he saw so from verse 34 you see so
42:53
peter opened his mouth and said truly i understand
42:57
that god shows no partiality okay but in every
43:02
nation anyone who fears him and does what is
43:06
right is acceptable to him and as for the word
43:10
that is sent to israel preaching good news of
43:13
peace through jesus christ and he explained all
43:16
of that He explained the gospel in verse 44.
43:20
He said, while Peter was still saying this thing,
43:23
the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
43:27
So he had a vision, which is something supernatural,
43:31
spiritual, how you call it. He had a vision.
43:34
And in the natural, he had a convert, which is
43:41
preaching to someone, Cornelius. believing and
43:45
we see the supernatural uh taking place the holy
43:49
spirit falling on them that we are listening
43:52
to the scriptures or to what uh peter was teaching
43:55
so what we see here first is that he had a vision
43:58
which is a supernatural uh revelation right which
44:02
had an interpretation. And through that, the
44:04
preaching of the gospel took place, right? After
44:07
understanding everything, the preaching of the
44:08
gospel took place. And then many others, right?
44:12
Upon many others, the Holy Spirit fell. The Holy
44:15
Spirit fell. So in this case, we see that it's
44:17
not directly healing, but we see also that it's
44:19
a supernatural revelation, right? That led to
44:22
the preaching of the gospel and people receive,
44:26
people receive the Holy Ghost and they believe.
44:31
On every account, right, on every account that
44:34
we have a supernatural encounter, whether we
44:37
heal people, whether we cast out demons, whether
44:41
we see a vision and a clarity and an understanding
44:44
of what God is doing, the end point is not for
44:48
sure, right? The end point is not for sure. So
44:51
you see something, right? Because true, there
44:53
are visions and there are visions that God still
44:56
communicates with us. And we know that we vet
44:58
these visions, right, by the message of God.
45:00
There are also supernatural encounters, right?
45:03
We can, you know, we can have different supernatural
45:05
encounters and we can vet them by the scriptures
45:06
and we can hold on to the truth of the message
45:09
that we find in them. The end point of every
45:12
supernatural encounter is not for a show. It's
45:15
that the message of God will be preached and
45:18
many will come to believe. Right? That the message
45:22
of God. So as we desire this much more, as we
45:26
expect it in our meetings, as we look forward
45:29
to the manifestation of it, the end point, right?
45:33
Especially when we are ministering to unbelievers,
45:35
is that they will come to believe. They will
45:37
come to believe. Right? They will come to the
45:39
knowledge of Christ. They will come to know the
45:42
message of the gospel. So the emphasis, right?
45:45
would not be the supernatural. The embassy would
45:47
not just be, oh, we want to do the science. That's
45:50
part of what comes with the preaching, right?
45:53
So the embassy is both together, right? Both
45:56
together, the teaching and the manifestation
45:58
of the gospel. So as we go to preach, as we see
46:01
revelations, these are the things that we must
46:04
pay attention to. We must pay attention to this,
46:08
right? So just finish with Matthew 28, right?
46:12
Just go with Matthew 28. Verse 28. Matthew 28,
46:17
verse 18. And behold, I am with you always to
46:46
the end of the age. I am with you always till
46:50
the end of the age. And we see that the instruction
46:53
is go to go and preach, to go and make disciples
46:55
from all nations. And Christ says that I am with
46:59
you always. And just like I said last night,
47:02
because Christ is with you, while the preaching
47:06
of the gospel is taking place, all that is in
47:08
Christ can find expression. So as you are preaching,
47:13
as you have received authority to go and preach,
47:17
Christ says, I am with you till the end of the
47:20
age. So all that is found in Christ can find
47:23
expression with you. All that Christ did can
47:26
find expression with you. The healing can find
47:28
expression with you. The revelation, the teaching
47:31
with power, teaching as one with authority can
47:35
find expression in you. So therefore, we preach
47:38
signs and wonders following. Miracles following
47:42
because we have the authority through Christ.
47:46
We have Christ ever present with us to be able
47:49
to make us manifest. So we don't have any reason
47:52
to doubt it, right? We don't have any reason
47:55
to doubt it. Also, another thing is that when
47:58
we preach, right, when we preach, it helps us
48:01
to, it solidifies us, actually, right? Sometimes
48:05
when you're going for a baptism and you're preaching,
48:07
it solidifies you. In a way, it kind of prepares
48:09
you. to expect the supernatural. It so much prepares
48:13
you. When you have preaching at the core of your
48:17
mind, you have that this soul would believe at
48:19
the core of your mind. It helps you to believe
48:22
the supernatural because you have a goal. The
48:25
goal is not just to heal, but also that these
48:27
people might come to the knowledge of Christ.
48:30
Praise God. I will just give thanks this evening
48:32
and say thank you, Jesus, that as we go, as we
48:35
preach, we see the manifestation of the supernatural.
48:39
We see healing taking place. We see deliverance
48:42
taking place. We see casting out demons taking
48:44
place. We see opening the eyes of people. We
48:46
give word to people. They understand as we preach,
48:49
we have the boldness to give expression to this
48:52
thing. As we preach, we are intentional. giving
48:55
time to open the eyes of people to see and partake
48:59
in this supernatural power of God. Through us,
49:02
as we also manifest the supernatural, can we
49:05
pray that as we manifest the supernatural, even
49:07
spontaneously, in the name of Jesus, we give
49:10
ourselves to the preaching. We will not forget
49:12
the preaching. As we manifest, as we heal, as
49:14
we lay hands on people, oh, in the name of Jesus,
49:17
as we say, let me pray with you, as we hold on
49:20
to faith and encourage people, can we pray in
49:23
the name of Jesus? that we do not forget the
49:25
message. We run with the message. We teach the
49:27
message. As we are healing, we are teaching the
49:30
message. We are pointing them. And Peter and
49:33
John will say, why do you think that we have
49:35
done this through our own power? It is not by
49:37
our own power we have done this, but by the power
49:40
of God. That as we manifest the power of God,
49:43
we point them to the one. whose power is at work
49:47
in us. We point them to the one whose power is
49:49
resident in us. We point them to the one through
49:52
whom we are doing all things. Can we pray in
49:55
the name of Jesus? God bless.