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