Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering (Part 2)

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The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering (Part 2) · 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. We need to continue from where we stopped
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on Sunday. I want to thank God for the opportunity
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again to bring the word to us. And I also want
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to thank the asterisks. Matthew chapter 28. Matthew
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chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28 from verse...
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18 to 20. We're looking at the supernatural nature
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of a Christian gathering. Praise the Lord. The
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supernatural nature of a Christian gathering.
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What makes this place or this gathering a supernatural
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one? What makes it different from other meetings?
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What is the uniqueness of this meeting? why are
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we meeting like this? Praise the Lord. So that
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we can have better understanding, we can have
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better knowledge of the things to do and the
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things not to do in the house of the Lord. Matthew
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28, 18 -20 says, And Jesus came and spoke to
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them, saying, All authority has been given 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 and of the Son and the Holy
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Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things
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that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you
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always, even to the end of the age. Praise the
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Lord. So we looked at these scriptures and we
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saw that one of the responsibilities that we
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have as believers Some of the responsibilities
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that we have is that we are called to make disciples.
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Praise the Lord. We are called to make disciples.
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We are called to bring people to the knowledge
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of the truth or to make somebody a student of
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the word. Praise the Lord. This is our responsibility.
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This is not what the church alone does, but it
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is the responsibility of every... individual,
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everyone that have believed. Praise the Lord.
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So we also looked at that there are signs that
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accompany a believer. Praise the Lord. We said
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that there are signs that accompany a believer,
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that we're not just people that are decent people,
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good people. We're not just people that are...
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You know, we can handle some things. We're not
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easily angered. We're not this or that. Praise
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the Lord. There are good representations of what
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the Christian faith is, but there were people
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that are supernatural. Praise the Lord. That
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our salvation is supernatural. Praise the Lord.
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That the experience that we have in God is supernatural,
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right? And we saw that... Jesus was saying that
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to them that believe, that is to he that have
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believed in Mark chapter 16, Mark chapter 16,
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from verse 15 to 18, he tells us to them that
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believe, there are signs that follow them. And
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one of the signs that we see that follow a believer
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is that he said that they will cast out demons.
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Praise the Lord. So when we see people that are
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demon oppressed or demon possessed, we cast out.
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devils praise the lord and the casting out of
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devils is not just something that we do as a
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result of a maybe something is happening now
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you say okay let me go and pray about it or let
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me go and pray first then i will come back praise
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the lord it's not something that you say let
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me just go out there it's something that is in
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you that you see a situation or the oppression
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of the enemy we saw that He was talking about
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that you will take up serpent. And we said that
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he refers to the works of darkness. That is to
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confront the work of darkness. So part of the
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things that we have or part of the things, qualities
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that we have as believers is that we confront
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the work of darkness. That you see something
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happening. You see something around you happening.
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And you know, this is not the will of God or
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this is not the purposes of God. You confront
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it. Praise the Lord. So it's not something that
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you go and say, okay, let me pray first before
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I come back. It's something that happens. And
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so if you're not walking in that light, right,
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it's because maybe you don't have the knowledge
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of it. Praise the Lord. Or you are not practicing
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or you're not participating in it. It's not because
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it is not there in the inside of you. It is not
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because it is not present. Praise the Lord. So
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part of the things again that we do is that we
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heal the sick. The Bible tells us that you lay
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your hands on the sick and they shall be healed.
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Praise the Lord. So when we find people that
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are sick around us, we don't just not do anything.
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We pray with them. Praise the Lord. We pray for
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them. We lay our hands on them that they might
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receive healing. So these are some of the signs
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of a believer. Praise the Lord. So don't just
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be contented by the fact that, yes, you are,
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you know, you're living in a certain way, or
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that you have some of the things that you used
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to do before, you have stopped doing them by
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the grace of God, God has helped you, God has
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delivered you for many things, but also that
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you walk in the supernatural. Praise the Lord.
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That you show forth the quality of He that is
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in Christ. Praise the Lord. So we also looked
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at also that it is important to note that as
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children of God, that part of God's, part of
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the things that we must know how to do is to
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interpret the scriptures or to be able to teach
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the Bible. Praise the Lord. Is to be able to
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teach the Bible, is to be able to expound, right?
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The scriptures. We saw that in Luke chapter 24,
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when Jesus expounded, He said, beginning at Moses,
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he began to speak about the things concerning
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himself. He opened their understanding. He has
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founded the scriptures to them. Praise the Lord.
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So part of the things as children of God is that
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we're able to teach the scriptures. We're able
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to shed light, right? To bring knowledge. Praise
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the Lord. To remove ignorance from the lives
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of people. So if somebody comes and meets you
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and says to you that they don't understand the
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scripture, or can you explain this or explain
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that, right? Even if you don't know it, or even
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if it's not fully clear yet to you, right? You
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can explain it tomorrow. Praise the Lord. You
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can tell them, come back tomorrow. I will be
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able to explain it to you. Praise the Lord. You
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can tell them, oh, come to me next week. I'll
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be able to explain it to you. Praise the Lord.
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So part of the things that we do also is that
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we are able to explain the scriptures. It is
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important for the believer and it's something
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that we must do. It is a part of Christian work
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that is not, I said, it's not elective. It's
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not something that you choose. It's not something
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that you decide whether or not you want to do
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it. Praise the Lord. It's not something you decide
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whether it is good for you or not good for you
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or whether it's important for you or not important
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for you. It is important. It is a compulsory
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thing that we must do to be able to explain the
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scriptures. It is also confronting the works
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of darkness. Praise the Lord. To somebody who
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is ignorant or somebody who does not know God.
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Praise the Lord. By teaching or by preaching
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the gospel, you're confronting the works of darkness
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or the works of the devil. Praise the Lord. So
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we don't say to ourselves that we like a particular
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part of the Christian walk, right? I was giving
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an example that we don't say that we don't, maybe
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you like to sing, right? That is your own department.
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Or you like to usher people into the church,
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or you like to cook, or you like to do so many
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things. We saw that even in Acts, right? We saw
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that the disciples were also people just like
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us. There were people also who were serving.
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There were people who were also serving tables,
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but there were people who were full of power.
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They were full of the knowledge of the Word of
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God, and they are able to teach it. So it is
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important that these things are part of our lives.
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Praise the Lord. So what makes this gathering,
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or what makes this gathering a... supernatural
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gathering. What makes this place a supernatural
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gathering? It is different from, this meeting
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is different from your office meeting. Praise
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the Lord. Some of us were in class today. What
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you had was a class meeting. Praise the Lord.
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Some of your teachers are here. Maybe if you
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know them, the interaction that you had with
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them there is a teacher to a student interaction
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or relation. What is the difference between that
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and here? You meet the same person here and you
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are here. Praise the Lord. So what is the difference?
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Or that some of your lecturers taught you so
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many things. Or that you are working in a place
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and you have office mates and they are also in
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church with you. Are you still in the office
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with them? Are you having an office meeting?
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Praise the Lord. We saw from Genesis that The
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very beginning or the very opening of the chapters
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of the Bible was supernatural. Praise the Lord.
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Because he said that God in the beginning was
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there and the spirit of God was hovering over
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the waters. Praise the Lord. We said that your
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salvation is supernatural. We believe in angels.
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We believe in, we believe there are devils. We
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believe there are demons. Praise the Lord. These
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things are supernatural things. What makes the
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Christian gathering a supernatural gathering?
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I also said that they are not experts in the
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world. We looked at from John, from Timothy,
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how the Bible encourages us to continue. in the
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things that we have learned. He tells us to continue
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in good works. He tells us to continue in prayers.
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He tells us to continue in studies. He tells
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us to continue to preach time and time again.
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Praise the Lord. And we said that the difference
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between somebody who... Let's open to 2 Timothy
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4. 2 Timothy 4, verse 2. 2 Timothy. He said,
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preach the word, be ready in season and out of
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season, convince, rebuke, exalt with all longsuffering
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and teaching. Praise the Lord. So he says to
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them that, or he said to him that he should teach
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in season and out of season. Praise the Lord.
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It means that whether he's treating like it,
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whether it's cold, whether it's hot. Praise the
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Lord. His job is to teach the scriptures. Whether
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it is convenient or not, teach the scriptures.
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Whether it is a good time for you or not, preach
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the scriptures. Whether you are in a good mood
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or not, teach the scriptures. So there's no time
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for teaching the scriptures. And I said that
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the things that makes us look at people or men
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of God or people that have given themselves to
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the things of the Spirit as experts is because
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they have. Their life is very consistent or they
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are consistently feeding on the word of God.
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They are consistently feeding on prayers. They
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are consistently feeding on preaching the word.
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Praise the Lord. They are continuing in the things
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of God. They are continuing in the things of
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God. So, expats are just people that are consistent.
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Praise the Lord. What happens? When you decide,
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for example, this next year is coming and you
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decide to challenge yourself, right? Or you decide
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to encourage yourself. You say, in this next
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year, maybe what happens when I fast? What will
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happen, right? If I decide this next year that
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I'm going to study the Word of God like I've
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never done, what will happen to my life? Praise
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the Lord. So these are the kind of challenge
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you should take. Praise the Lord. There are so
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many challenges everywhere now, right? Something
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comes out, people will challenge this person,
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that person, maybe a dance challenge, who can
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do it best. Praise the Lord. As children of God,
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you should be thinking about these things. What
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happens when you pray? Not because your school
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fees is not paid. Praise the Lord. Not because
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you have one challenge or the other. Not because
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you... Your family is in serious problem. What
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happens when you pray? What happens when you
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come to the presence of God and you have no prayer
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point? You have no, okay, God, I want you to
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do that for me. I want you to do this for me.
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What happens? What is the result of that? What
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is the result of if I decide I'm going to study
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the scriptures or I'm going to study my Bible
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every day for 30 minutes? What happens? You discover
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that your life will begin to change. Praise the
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Lord. You discover that something different begins
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to happen. You discover that I don't want to
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give you what will happen. Right? Just take on
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the challenge. Praise the Lord. Right? Take on
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spiritual challenge and find out what the result
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is. People have said, I'm sure you have seen
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people online shouting, you know, I fasted for
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100 days. I know some of you might look at this
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like, who is this person? Why do we need to fast
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that long? What is going on? Try something. You
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try something and see. Praise the Lord. Instead
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of maybe criticizing them and telling them, why
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are you doing that Lord? What is going on? Praise
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the Lord. What challenge have you done? What
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spiritual challenge have you done? How have you
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challenged yourself to do spiritual activities?
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Praise the Lord. Because if you become consistent
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in the things of God, you begin to discover that
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understanding will begin to come. So many things
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that you have tried by your own strength to stop
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will begin to give way. Praise the Lord. Because
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it is God who will enable you and strengthen
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you. So when you continue in these things, or
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when you continue in the things of God as the
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Scriptures have encouraged us, When people begin
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to see you and maybe you give a word and somebody
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sees the accuracy of the word that you gave,
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it's because these things have become familiar
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and familiar and familiar to you. Praise the
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Lord. Because of your continually doing it. I
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told us on Sunday that whenever you meet somebody,
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praise the Lord, you find out that not everybody
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is able to open up to you or open up to somebody
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or say something to you about what they are going
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through, right? It should not be so. But there
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are people like that that don't. Or maybe you
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see them, they are smiling. You think everything
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is okay. But by the Spirit, you can know that
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there's something that we need to pray for. God
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can give you a word for them. Praise the Lord.
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Of something they have never told anybody. Of
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something that they have never shared with anybody.
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Praise the Lord. So whenever we gather together,
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Whenever we come together, it is an opportunity
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for us to edify, for us to bless one another,
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for us to encourage one another. Praise the Lord.
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So a person who is consistent in the things of
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the Spirit, right, is somebody that will not
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need a... pastors to come and encourage them
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to pray. Example, we're here in church and the
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person who just led prayers, leading prayers.
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Somebody who is consistent in prayers or consistent
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in the things of God will not need that person
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to say, you, why are you not praying? Praise
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the Lord. Because they know where they are. Praise
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the Lord. They know what time it is. Praise the
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Lord. They know what to do at this time. They're
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very aware of their surroundings. So we need
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to have an attitude of hunger and to just challenge
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ourselves to do the things of God. We don't see
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church services as an event, as something that
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we just need to attend because we just need to
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be here. Praise the Lord. It is a supernatural
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place. Praise the Lord. So I said that we can
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come together, right? As believers, we can come
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together as teacher and student. But what makes
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it different? What makes this setting different
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from that of your teachers? What makes this setting
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different from that where you are coming from?
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Praise the Lord. What makes it different? As
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believers, I said we can gather as people who
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support the same football team, right? You can
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gather as all of you are believers, but you're
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Arsenal fans, right? What is that meeting about?
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You can gather as a group of accountants who
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are believers. You can gather as people who are
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lawyers, who are doctors, right? You can even
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gather as... Your siblings are children of God
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or are believers. You can gather as a family.
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But what makes a difference is that when you
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gather together like this, or when we gather
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together like this, we gather in the name of
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the Lord. Praise the Lord. Matthew 18, verse
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20. Matthew 18, verse 20. He said, for when two
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or three are gathered together in my name, I
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am there in the midst of them. Praise the Lord.
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So when two or three are gathered in his name,
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he's there in the midst of them. Right? I am
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here in the midst of them. So when we gather,
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we have the consciousness that what we have come
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to do is supernatural. which means that God is
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in the midst of us. Praise the Lord. So when
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we gather like this, we gather with the consciousness
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and we know that God is in the midst of us. So
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what does that mean that God is in the midst
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of us? Right? So we do not come here to meet
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God. We don't come to this blue hall to meet
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God. Praise the Lord. We come as individuals
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who are indwelled by God. Praise the Lord. We
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come as individuals who are indwelled by God.
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John chapter 14, verses 16 -17. John chapter
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14. So we don't gather here to meet God. To meet
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God in this place. We gather here because God
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is in the inside of us. Praise the Lord. We gather
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because God is in the inside of us. John chapter
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14, verses 16 to 17. It said, And I will pray
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the Father, and he will give you another helper,
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that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit
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of truth. Whom the world cannot receive because
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it neither see him nor know him. But you know
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him for he dwells with you and will be in you.
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Praise the Lord. So we gather as people who are
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indwelt by God. We gather as people who are indwelt
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by God. Praise the Lord. So we also see that
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Paul writes of the same thing. Right? In 1 Corinthians.
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1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians 3, verse
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16. He said, Do you not know that you are temples,
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the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
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dwells in you? Praise the Lord. So we gather
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as people who are indwelled by God. Because why?
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The Spirit of God dwells in the inside of us.
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We are temple of God. And the Spirit of God dwells
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in the inside of us. So, when we come together,
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we know that our gathering is a supernatural
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gathering. Praise the Lord. Gatherings of people
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who God has indwelled in the inside of them.
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So, that means that the way we see people, the
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way we see believers, also matters. Praise the
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Lord. The way we see each other is very important.
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So if we're gathering, not because God is here,
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right? In terms of that we're coming to meet
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him here, but that we're gathering because God
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is in the inside of us. And so we come together,
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right? It means that we need to see ourselves
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differently. So you no longer see that person
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as your student. Praise the Lord. You no longer
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see that person as your office mates. Praise
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the Lord. You're not seeing that person now as
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your fellow accountant or your fellow lawyer
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or your fellow doctor. Praise the Lord. Because
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the way we see these people, right, will determine
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how we receive. Praise the Lord. The way we see
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each other will determine how we receive from
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each other. So if you see somebody as, they will
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not bless you. you will not be blessed. Praise
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the Lord. If you see somebody as, oh, God cannot
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use that person to speak to me, you will not
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be spoken to. Praise the Lord. So we gather with
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that consciousness that everybody is indwelt
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by God and we come to fellowship. So the way
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we see people in a Christian meeting is the way
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we receive from God and the way we worship Him.
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Praise the Lord. So we cannot be careless and
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just walk into the place and maybe the usher
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say to you, please, can you sit in that place?
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And then you ask them, why should I sit there?
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Praise the Lord. So if you have this consciousness
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that God indwelling all of us and we are gathering
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together, if you walk into a service and there's
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somebody saying to you, can you do this or can
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you do that? You're not beginning to ask questions.
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Because you know or you are conscious of the
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gathering that you have just walked into. Praise
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the Lord. So the moment you begin to do that,
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the moment you begin to tell them, no, I cannot
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sit there, you are disconnecting from the purpose
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of the meeting. Praise the Lord. Or the moment
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they're saying, oh, you cannot. I'm sure that
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we sometimes have struggled with some people
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about the way they should dress. Right? So they're
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saying to you, oh no, that is not okay for where
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you are. Right? And you're asking yourself, who
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are you to tell me that? Right? You are disconnecting
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from the purpose of the meeting. Praise the Lord.
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You're disconnecting from the purpose of the
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meeting because God indwells all of us and we
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meet together. Praise the Lord. Maybe you're
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just looking for a place to be comfortable. Right?
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And they're telling you do this or do that. Praise
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the Lord. So the moment we do that, we are disconnecting
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ourselves from the purpose of the meeting because
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what we say is important. Praise the Lord. What
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we say is very important. It carries our consciousness.
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Praise the Lord. So the first thing we know about
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or we should know about the Christian gathering
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is that it's a gathering of spirits. Praise the
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Lord. It's a gathering of the spirits. Praise
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the Lord. It is not an ordinary gathering because
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it says in Matthew chapter 20, 18 verse 20, that
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they are my in their midst. Praise the Lord.
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It is a gathering of spirits. It's a gathering
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of the spirits. So therefore, what should we
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do in this gathering? What should we do in this
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gathering of the spirits? So the first thing
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we do is that we keep the place sacred. Praise
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the Lord. We keep the place sacred. Genesis chapter
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28. Genesis chapter 28. Genesis chapter 28 from
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verse 16 to 19. So this is the story of Jacob
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when he was running from verse 16. Genesis 28.
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Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely
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the Lord is in this place, and I do not know
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it. Praise the Lord. And he was afraid and said,
28:32
How awesome is this place! There is no other
28:35
than the house of the Lord, and this is the gate
28:39
of heaven. Praise the Lord. Verse 18 said, Then
28:44
Jacob rose up early in the morning and took stones
28:46
that he had put at his head and set it up as
28:50
a pillar. and poured oil on it. And he called
28:53
the name of the place Bethel. Praise the Lord.
28:56
But the name of the, but that was not the previous
29:00
name that was there. Praise the Lord. So we see
29:06
here that Jacob woke up, right? Or he came to
29:11
the recognition that this is not, this place
29:16
I am is not what I thought. Praise the Lord.
29:20
that this place is indeed a holy place. Praise
29:25
the Lord. He said that God is in this place and
29:28
I did not know it. Right? Surely the Lord is
29:32
in this place and I did not know it. And he was
29:34
afraid and said, so the way he came in or the
29:37
way he slept is not the same way he woke up.
29:40
Praise the Lord. So the same way that some of
29:44
us have come here and the same way that this
29:46
knowledge is coming to you, that's... The house
29:49
of the Lord is a sacred place, right? And what
29:53
makes it sacred is because God is here. And God
29:58
is in the inside of us. So he set up stones,
30:03
right? And he poured oil on it. He said, oh no,
30:07
this is a holy place, right? This is a sacred
30:11
place. And so by their tradition, he just poured
30:15
oil on it and he called the place Bethel. Praise
30:17
the Lord. So what happens when you have come
30:21
to recognize that this is the place of God? This
30:24
is a sacred place. This is a place of worship.
30:30
So a normal place has now become a sacred place
30:33
to Jacob. Praise the Lord. Something that was
30:36
normal. He slept with the same stones. He's not
30:39
calling them or he's not setting it up as pillars
30:43
that he called Bethel. Praise the Lord. So a
30:52
sacred place has become, right, a noble place
30:55
has become a sacred place because of recognition.
30:59
He has come to a knowledge. He has come to an
31:03
understanding that this place is different. This
31:05
is not what I thought it was. So recognition
31:08
of what the house of God or what the meeting
31:11
of God, of God's children is, is very important.
31:17
So it's how he saw it, how he saw the place.
31:21
How do you see this place? How do you see the
31:24
house of the Lord? So sometimes, again, to workers
31:31
and leaders, people who set up the place, sometimes
31:35
because of maybe the too much work or the constant
31:39
demand on us to ensure that things are set properly,
31:44
we begin to lose sight of what we are doing.
31:49
of the importance of the place, of the importance
31:52
of the gathering. Praise the Lord. Because, you
31:56
know, it has become your normal Saturday. Let's
31:59
come and rehearse. Let's come and clean. Let's
32:01
come and arrange. Let's do this. Let's do that.
32:04
I have this responsibility. I have the responsibility.
32:07
We begin to lose sight of how important what
32:11
we are doing or how important what we are setting
32:13
up is. Or maybe you're angry that people are
32:18
not following your instructions, people are doing
32:21
what they should not do, and all of those things.
32:23
Praise the Lord. So one of the ways that you
32:25
can help yourself as you come, as you know, as
32:28
you're fixing the place, as you're doing, is
32:30
to continually to pray. Praise the Lord. Saying
32:34
that this place, as I'm setting this up, is a
32:38
sacred place. People are going to be blessed.
32:40
Praise the Lord. So as you do these things, you
32:44
don't let it overwhelm you. You don't let it
32:47
make you lose sight of how important the place
32:51
is. So you keep yourself in a supernatural consciousness
32:56
that this is a gathering of God's children. Praise
33:00
the Lord. This is a gathering of God's children.
33:03
We pray in the Spirit as we fix the things. So
33:11
what makes this place a supernatural gathering
33:13
is because God is here. He tells us that. He
33:18
said, I am there in their midst. It's because
33:22
God is here. Praise the Lord. God is here, not
33:28
like God is everywhere. As we know, God is everywhere.
33:32
Praise the Lord. God is here, but He's different
33:35
from that God is everywhere. God is here because,
33:40
He is the head of the meeting. Praise the Lord.
33:44
He is the reason of the meeting. Praise the Lord.
33:49
God is here, not as He is everywhere, but because
33:53
God is here as the head of the meeting. He is
33:57
the reason why we are meeting. Praise the Lord.
34:01
We know that God is everywhere, but not everywhere
34:04
is sacred. Praise the Lord. Not everywhere is
34:08
sacred. So we see him as sacred and we know that
34:13
he walks through people as I've explained earlier.
34:19
So there is a supernatural recognition of the
34:27
things of God or the meeting of God. Or you should
34:30
have this supernatural recognition of the meeting
34:34
of God's children. That God is here with us.
34:41
So the fact that other people don't see it as
34:44
sacred, right, does not mean that it's not so.
34:47
Praise the Lord. Or the fact that somebody else
34:50
does not behave that way does not mean it is
34:54
not true. So people found it easy to crucify
35:00
Christ or to laugh at him and crucify him. And
35:04
it's the same Christ who is your Lord and who
35:07
is your Savior. Praise the Lord. You see him
35:10
in a different light. Praise the Lord. You see
35:13
him in a different light. So the object of people's
35:17
mockery has become your object of worship. Right?
35:23
The thing that people laughed at or to him that
35:26
people laughed at has become your object of worship
35:29
because you have seen it. You have recognized
35:32
it. Your eyes is opened to it. It's the same
35:37
way that Paul also mocked christ he arrested
35:40
people he put people in prison and so many things
35:43
but the moment he recognized who christ was he
35:46
surrendered to him praise the lord it was he
35:50
that he persecuted before but now he has surrendered
35:53
and he's doing the assignment of god because
35:56
he has seen it in the way he should be seen praise
35:59
the lord so the way you see the house of god
36:03
right is very important So recognition is very
36:09
important. Praise the Lord. It changes how you
36:16
receive. Oh, when you find out that, you know,
36:21
there's a lot of people that, I'm going to use
36:24
a secular example. Maybe you find that somebody
36:27
is, oh, let me use an example that I will say.
36:30
Maybe Pastor Manuel is in BAU and You are a new
36:36
student and you don't know that he's in your
36:39
department. And then maybe you're not as wise.
36:43
And then you maybe saw him on the road and you
36:46
bumped into him. And then one day you saw him
36:49
in your class teaching you. What will happen
36:51
when you come out? Right? You have seen something
36:56
different. Praise the Lord. So recognition changes
37:01
how we received. So even the brothers of Jesus,
37:07
they were observing him. What is this man doing?
37:11
Praise the Lord. They gave birth to us. They
37:13
gave birth to you. Our Mary is looking at Jesus.
37:18
And the scripture will say she kept these things
37:21
in her mind. Praise the Lord. But the moment
37:24
they have come to recognize who he is, they became
37:27
disciples. Praise the Lord. They became disciples.
37:32
Meaning that they have changed, right? The moment
37:36
they change their recognition, things change
37:38
for them. Praise the Lord. So the moment we begin
37:42
to see or begin to recognize that this meeting
37:48
or the believers' meetings is a supernatural
37:51
one, that moment we begin to receive. Praise
37:56
the Lord. We begin to receive all that we need
37:59
to receive. In Acts chapter 2, from verse 1 to
38:02
4, it talks about the day of Pentecost, right?
38:05
There was fire, there was stones of fire, there
38:08
was the supernatural things happening. People
38:11
were speaking with new tongues, right? And then
38:13
you found some people invested in, they were
38:15
having fun. They said, these people are drunk.
38:17
What are they doing? Praise the Lord. So the
38:20
fact that somebody else is not seeing the meeting
38:22
as you're seeing it, does not mean that it changes
38:26
what is going on here, what is true about it.
38:28
Praise the Lord. So we do not judge a meeting
38:33
from what it looks like from others who don't
38:36
recognize it. Praise the Lord. We don't judge
38:39
a meeting from what it looks like from others
38:43
who do not recognize it. So what is supernatural
38:48
about the Christian meeting? It is not where
38:57
we are. Praise the Lord. What is supernatural
39:01
about this meeting is not where we are. We are
39:04
in the blue hall. This place in the afternoon
39:07
is electrical. Praise the Lord. It is not where
39:11
we are. Right? It's not maybe because, you know,
39:18
this place was decorated with some things. Maybe
39:21
there's a cross in the middle. That's what makes
39:23
it. It's not what makes it a supernatural meeting.
39:26
Praise the Lord. It is not even the time. It
39:32
is not even the time of the meeting. Praise the
39:35
Lord. It's not because this exists. We cannot
39:38
say this meeting is supernatural because, you
39:40
know, we meet at six. And we have been meeting
39:42
at six for the past one year. So the consistency
39:46
of this time has made it supernatural. No. Praise
39:49
the Lord. We can meet early in the morning. We
39:53
can meet middle of the day. It is not even the
40:00
feeling that it gives you. Praise the Lord. It's
40:04
not how you feel when you come to the meeting.
40:07
Praise the Lord. It's not whether you came and
40:10
then you are feeling happy going or you are feeling
40:13
energized going. That's not what makes it a supernatural
40:15
meeting. It's not even the way the church is.
40:21
Praise the Lord. It's not the background. It's
40:23
not the blue lights. Now I don't know why people
40:26
put blue lights in the church. and so many different
40:30
types of lights in the church setting. But it's
40:35
not about those types of lights. It's not about
40:38
the way the pulpit is organized. It's not the
40:44
altar. Praise the Lord. That's not what makes
40:48
it a supernatural meeting. So what makes it a
40:54
supernatural meeting? As we have said, Who makes
40:59
it a supernatural meeting? And we said that God
41:02
is in the midst of them. So it is God who makes
41:06
it a supernatural meeting. It is the presence
41:10
of God that makes it a supernatural meeting.
41:15
He said, I'm in the midst of them. So God is
41:19
here. Praise the Lord. God is here. We need to
41:25
recognize the significance of that, that God...
41:28
is here in us. Praise the Lord. God is here in
41:32
us. So that's why we said it's not a place. Praise
41:38
the Lord. We can decide to move out now and be
41:41
outside. God is there. Praise the Lord, because
41:45
we are there. Praise the Lord. It's because God
41:49
is here. So if God is here, then How do you see
41:57
yourself? Then who are you? Do you see yourself
42:01
as a citizen of Namibia? Do you see yourself
42:06
as a citizen of Nigeria? Do you see yourself
42:10
as a citizen of one country or the other? Or
42:13
do you see yourself as a lawyer, a doctor, a
42:17
businessman, an entrepreneur? Do you see yourself
42:22
as a man or a woman? Yes, you can see yourself
42:29
as that, as a man, as a woman, as a business
42:32
person, but that's not what we represent here
42:35
when we come together. Praise the Lord. So when
42:38
we come together, we didn't come to represent
42:40
business, something association. Praise the Lord.
42:47
That's not what we come to represent. So what
42:54
we represent is that we are temples of God. Praise
42:57
the Lord. We are temple of God. And our recognition
43:02
is important that we are temple of God. So who
43:07
is supernatural? God is supernatural, right?
43:11
Because God is here. And you are supernatural
43:13
because God is in the inside of you. Praise the
43:17
Lord. You're supernatural because God is in the
43:22
inside of you. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter
43:35
8, verse 1 to 9. There is therefore no condemnation
43:48
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
43:51
walk according to the flesh, but according to
43:54
the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life
43:57
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
44:00
of sin and death. do in that he was weak through
44:05
the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in
44:09
the likeness of a sinful flesh on account of
44:12
sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, that the
44:16
righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled
44:19
in us who do not walk according to the flesh,
44:22
but according to the Spirit. For those who live
44:25
according to the flesh set their minds on the
44:28
things of the flesh. For those who live according
44:31
to the Spirit, They are the things of the Spirit.
44:36
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
44:40
spiritually minded is life and peace, because
44:44
the carnally mind is an enmity against God, for
44:47
it is not subject to the laws of God, nor indeed
44:51
can it be. So then, those who are in the flesh
44:54
cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh,
44:58
but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
45:01
dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the
45:04
Spirit of God, he is not his. Praise the Lord.
45:09
Verse 9 tells us that, it said, but you are not
45:12
in the flesh. You are in the Spirit. Praise the
45:16
Lord. You are in the Spirit. You are supernatural.
45:20
Praise the Lord. You are supernatural. So the
45:24
church is supernatural. The gathering is a gathering
45:29
of supernatural beings. This gathering, is a
45:32
gathering of supernatural beings. That recognition
45:35
is important for us to be able to receive. It
45:41
is a gathering of supernatural beings. It is
45:44
important, praise the Lord, that we know who
45:48
is here. Praise the Lord. God is here. You are
45:53
here. And that God is in the inside of you. It
45:57
is a supernatural gathering. Praise the Lord.
46:04
It's important that we organize them because
46:06
that's how we receive. In John chapter 14, sorry,
46:10
John chapter 4, verse 7 to 10, we see the Samaritan
46:13
woman asking Jesus, who is he to ask her for
46:16
a drink? He being a Jew. Praise the Lord. Who
46:23
is he to ask her for drinks? John chapter 4,
46:26
verse 7 to 10. In verse 10, Jesus answered and
46:32
said, if you knew the gift of God and who is
46:35
it who says to you, give me a drink, you would
46:38
have asked him and he would give you the living,
46:41
he would give you living waters. Praise the Lord.
46:45
So she does not know or have not recognized who
46:49
is speaking to her. Praise the Lord. So recognition
46:52
is important for receiving. Praise the Lord.
46:58
Recognition is important for receiving. If you
47:01
knew the gift of God and who is he that acts
47:06
your drink, praise the Lord, it's a very important
47:09
element for blessing to know who is here. God
47:15
is here and your fellow believers are here. So
47:25
a very important element of being blessed in
47:28
a meeting is recognizing who, the person is and
47:32
like i said god is here and you are here jacob
47:35
recognized who was there and he showed respect
47:38
oh he recognized this place i am is not a normal
47:42
place basically it's like oh let me build let
47:45
me build pillars right and raise up something
47:49
there and pour oil on it as an altar and he called
47:54
the name of the place Bethel So he showed respect
47:59
because he knew what was there. Praise the Lord.
48:04
So how do we show respect in the gathering of
48:08
God's people? We show respect by not being a
48:13
distraction. Praise the Lord. So when you recognize
48:18
or when you have come to recognize that God is
48:20
here and you are here and the brethren are here,
48:24
praise the Lord, you show respect by not being
48:26
a distraction. Praise the Lord. By not being
48:29
a distraction, by not moving around. There's
48:33
some people that they finally have to sit down.
48:35
Praise the Lord, especially in church. They are
48:38
always moving, moving. Maybe they are, I don't
48:42
know, in their head, maybe they wore a fine dress.
48:45
I don't know, maybe that is causing them to stand
48:48
up and say, look at me. Praise the Lord, right?
48:52
It's not to keep moving around, right? To show
48:56
up on time. Praise the Lord. To reduce unnecessary
49:01
talk. You are in church. You are preaching. You
49:04
are talking to your neighbor. Are you here? Did
49:07
you see what happened yesterday? Praise the Lord.
49:09
To reduce unnecessary talk because you have come
49:13
to recognize that this is a gathering of believers
49:18
where God is and you are in. Praise the Lord.
49:24
So, When I recognize that you are here, it means
49:28
that I also recognize that God is here. Praise
49:31
the Lord. Because you recognize that this person
49:35
has the Spirit of God, right? And it is a supernatural
49:38
meeting. So I treat the person as sacred. Praise
49:44
the Lord. I treat the person as sacred. We treat
49:48
each other as sacred, right? And I think it's
49:52
something that we would have to... expounding
49:55
teaching in terms of how we treat each other.
49:59
How do you see a Christian brother? How do you
50:02
see a Christian sister? Praise the Lord. So we
50:05
treat each other as sacred. So you don't come
50:09
here and the moment you begin to treat this person
50:12
as, oh, that guy is my housemate or that person
50:15
is my housemate, then you are off. Praise the
50:18
Lord. You're not understanding what is going
50:20
on. Praise the Lord. You treat the person as
50:23
sacred. Like I said, there's nothing special
50:26
about the whole, right? What makes it a supernatural
50:30
or supernatural or makes this gathering supernatural
50:34
is how we see it, how we recognize it. Praise
50:38
the Lord. How we recognize it. The same thing
50:42
goes for people, right? How we see people. When
50:46
you see somebody in Christ, you are able to receive
50:49
from them. Praise the Lord. If you're going to
50:52
see them as, you know, this person is my classmate
50:58
or my housemate, and then how can I receive from
51:01
them in the house of God? Then you will not receive.
51:06
Praise the Lord. So imagine you see the person
51:11
as a man of God. Imagine you see the person as
51:14
a woman of God, as somebody who can bless you,
51:18
as somebody who will bless you. Praise the Lord.
51:21
As somebody who would speak the mind of God to
51:24
you, it will reduce your confusion. Praise the
51:32
Lord. It will reduce your solution -seeking everywhere.
51:37
Praise the Lord. Because your eyes are beginning
51:42
to open to the people around you. Praise the
51:45
Lord. That God can use them to help your life.
51:49
Praise the Lord. That God can speak through them.
51:51
That God can give them a counsel concerning your
51:54
life. Praise the Lord. You will not be running
51:56
around looking for healing while your housemates
51:59
can lay hands on you and you'll be well. Because
52:03
you have come to recognize or you have not recognized
52:06
that this person is somebody that God indwells.
52:11
Or that you have not come to recognize that this
52:13
person is supernatural. Praise the Lord. So it
52:17
will reduce you running around. It will reduce
52:20
a lot of the things that will come your direction.
52:23
It will reduce those who you will call because
52:26
you're trying to find solution for your life.
52:29
Praise the Lord. So avoid see finish as much
52:41
as you can. Praise the Lord. So when we come
52:45
to... A Christian meeting, we come with a consciousness
52:49
that God is here. God is here, right? And we
52:56
are here and God dwells in the inside of us.
52:59
Praise the Lord. God dwells in the inside of
53:03
us. Praise the Lord. Can we just open our mouth
53:05
and just begin to pray? I just thank God for
53:08
the meeting. Thank God for the opportunity to
53:12
gather. We appreciate you being here today. We
53:18
hope you carry this word with you throughout
53:19
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
53:22
for additional insights. Stay connected with
53:25
us through our website or follow us on social
53:28
media. If you are encouraged, share this message
53:31
with someone you care about. Until next time,
53:35
stay blessed.