Sermon
The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering (Part 2)
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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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
Matthew 28 chapter mention Matthew 28 chapter mention
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chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28 from verse...
Matthew 28 chapter mention
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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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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,
Luke 24 chapter mention
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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
John 14:16–17 John 14 chapter mention
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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
1 Corinthians 3 chapter mention 1 Corinthians 3:16
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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
Matthew 20 chapter mention
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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
Genesis 28 chapter mention
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28. Genesis chapter 28. Genesis chapter 28 from
Genesis 28 chapter mention Genesis 28 chapter mention
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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,
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How awesome is this place! There is no other
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than the house of the Lord, and this is the gate
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of heaven. Praise the Lord. Verse 18 said, Then
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Jacob rose up early in the morning and took stones
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that he had put at his head and set it up as
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a pillar. and poured oil on it. And he called
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the name of the place Bethel. Praise the Lord.
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But the name of the, but that was not the previous
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name that was there. Praise the Lord. So we see
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here that Jacob woke up, right? Or he came to
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the recognition that this is not, this place
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I am is not what I thought. Praise the Lord.
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that this place is indeed a holy place. Praise
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the Lord. He said that God is in this place and
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I did not know it. Right? Surely the Lord is
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in this place and I did not know it. And he was
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afraid and said, so the way he came in or the
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way he slept is not the same way he woke up.
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Praise the Lord. So the same way that some of
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us have come here and the same way that this
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knowledge is coming to you, that's... The house
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of the Lord is a sacred place, right? And what
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makes it sacred is because God is here. And God
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is in the inside of us. So he set up stones,
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right? And he poured oil on it. He said, oh no,
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this is a holy place, right? This is a sacred
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place. And so by their tradition, he just poured
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oil on it and he called the place Bethel. Praise
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the Lord. So what happens when you have come
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to recognize that this is the place of God? This
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is a sacred place. This is a place of worship.
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So a normal place has now become a sacred place
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to Jacob. Praise the Lord. Something that was
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normal. He slept with the same stones. He's not
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calling them or he's not setting it up as pillars
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that he called Bethel. Praise the Lord. So a
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sacred place has become, right, a noble place
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has become a sacred place because of recognition.
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He has come to a knowledge. He has come to an
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understanding that this place is different. This
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is not what I thought it was. So recognition
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of what the house of God or what the meeting
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of God, of God's children is, is very important.
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So it's how he saw it, how he saw the place.
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How do you see this place? How do you see the
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house of the Lord? So sometimes, again, to workers
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and leaders, people who set up the place, sometimes
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because of maybe the too much work or the constant
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demand on us to ensure that things are set properly,
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we begin to lose sight of what we are doing.
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of the importance of the place, of the importance
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of the gathering. Praise the Lord. Because, you
-
know, it has become your normal Saturday. Let's
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come and rehearse. Let's come and clean. Let's
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come and arrange. Let's do this. Let's do that.
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I have this responsibility. I have the responsibility.
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We begin to lose sight of how important what
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we are doing or how important what we are setting
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up is. Or maybe you're angry that people are
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not following your instructions, people are doing
-
what they should not do, and all of those things.
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Praise the Lord. So one of the ways that you
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can help yourself as you come, as you know, as
-
you're fixing the place, as you're doing, is
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to continually to pray. Praise the Lord. Saying
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that this place, as I'm setting this up, is a
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sacred place. People are going to be blessed.
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Praise the Lord. So as you do these things, you
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don't let it overwhelm you. You don't let it
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make you lose sight of how important the place
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is. So you keep yourself in a supernatural consciousness
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that this is a gathering of God's children. Praise
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the Lord. This is a gathering of God's children.
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We pray in the Spirit as we fix the things. So
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what makes this place a supernatural gathering
-
is because God is here. He tells us that. He
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said, I am there in their midst. It's because
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God is here. Praise the Lord. God is here, not
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like God is everywhere. As we know, God is everywhere.
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Praise the Lord. God is here, but He's different
-
from that God is everywhere. God is here because,
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He is the head of the meeting. Praise the Lord.
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He is the reason of the meeting. Praise the Lord.
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God is here, not as He is everywhere, but because
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God is here as the head of the meeting. He is
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the reason why we are meeting. Praise the Lord.
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We know that God is everywhere, but not everywhere
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is sacred. Praise the Lord. Not everywhere is
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sacred. So we see him as sacred and we know that
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he walks through people as I've explained earlier.
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So there is a supernatural recognition of the
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things of God or the meeting of God. Or you should
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have this supernatural recognition of the meeting
-
of God's children. That God is here with us.
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So the fact that other people don't see it as
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sacred, right, does not mean that it's not so.
-
Praise the Lord. Or the fact that somebody else
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does not behave that way does not mean it is
-
not true. So people found it easy to crucify
-
Christ or to laugh at him and crucify him. And
-
it's the same Christ who is your Lord and who
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is your Savior. Praise the Lord. You see him
-
in a different light. Praise the Lord. You see
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him in a different light. So the object of people's
-
mockery has become your object of worship. Right?
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The thing that people laughed at or to him that
-
people laughed at has become your object of worship
-
because you have seen it. You have recognized
-
it. Your eyes is opened to it. It's the same
-
way that Paul also mocked christ he arrested
-
people he put people in prison and so many things
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but the moment he recognized who christ was he
-
surrendered to him praise the lord it was he
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that he persecuted before but now he has surrendered
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and he's doing the assignment of god because
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he has seen it in the way he should be seen praise
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the lord so the way you see the house of god
-
right is very important So recognition is very
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important. Praise the Lord. It changes how you
-
receive. Oh, when you find out that, you know,
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there's a lot of people that, I'm going to use
-
a secular example. Maybe you find that somebody
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is, oh, let me use an example that I will say.
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Maybe Pastor Manuel is in BAU and You are a new
-
student and you don't know that he's in your
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department. And then maybe you're not as wise.
-
And then you maybe saw him on the road and you
-
bumped into him. And then one day you saw him
-
in your class teaching you. What will happen
-
when you come out? Right? You have seen something
-
different. Praise the Lord. So recognition changes
-
how we received. So even the brothers of Jesus,
-
they were observing him. What is this man doing?
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Praise the Lord. They gave birth to us. They
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gave birth to you. Our Mary is looking at Jesus.
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And the scripture will say she kept these things
-
in her mind. Praise the Lord. But the moment
-
they have come to recognize who he is, they became
-
disciples. Praise the Lord. They became disciples.
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Meaning that they have changed, right? The moment
-
they change their recognition, things change
-
for them. Praise the Lord. So the moment we begin
-
to see or begin to recognize that this meeting
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or the believers' meetings is a supernatural
-
one, that moment we begin to receive. Praise
-
the Lord. We begin to receive all that we need
-
to receive. In Acts chapter 2, from verse 1 to
Acts 2 chapter mention
-
4, it talks about the day of Pentecost, right?
-
There was fire, there was stones of fire, there
-
was the supernatural things happening. People
-
were speaking with new tongues, right? And then
-
you found some people invested in, they were
-
having fun. They said, these people are drunk.
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What are they doing? Praise the Lord. So the
-
fact that somebody else is not seeing the meeting
-
as you're seeing it, does not mean that it changes
-
what is going on here, what is true about it.
-
Praise the Lord. So we do not judge a meeting
-
from what it looks like from others who don't
-
recognize it. Praise the Lord. We don't judge
-
a meeting from what it looks like from others
-
who do not recognize it. So what is supernatural
-
about the Christian meeting? It is not where
-
we are. Praise the Lord. What is supernatural
-
about this meeting is not where we are. We are
-
in the blue hall. This place in the afternoon
-
is electrical. Praise the Lord. It is not where
-
we are. Right? It's not maybe because, you know,
-
this place was decorated with some things. Maybe
-
there's a cross in the middle. That's what makes
-
it. It's not what makes it a supernatural meeting.
-
Praise the Lord. It is not even the time. It
-
is not even the time of the meeting. Praise the
-
Lord. It's not because this exists. We cannot
-
say this meeting is supernatural because, you
-
know, we meet at six. And we have been meeting
-
at six for the past one year. So the consistency
-
of this time has made it supernatural. No. Praise
-
the Lord. We can meet early in the morning. We
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can meet middle of the day. It is not even the
-
feeling that it gives you. Praise the Lord. It's
-
not how you feel when you come to the meeting.
-
Praise the Lord. It's not whether you came and
-
then you are feeling happy going or you are feeling
-
energized going. That's not what makes it a supernatural
-
meeting. It's not even the way the church is.
-
Praise the Lord. It's not the background. It's
-
not the blue lights. Now I don't know why people
-
put blue lights in the church. and so many different
-
types of lights in the church setting. But it's
-
not about those types of lights. It's not about
-
the way the pulpit is organized. It's not the
-
altar. Praise the Lord. That's not what makes
-
it a supernatural meeting. So what makes it a
-
supernatural meeting? As we have said, Who makes
-
it a supernatural meeting? And we said that God
-
is in the midst of them. So it is God who makes
-
it a supernatural meeting. It is the presence
-
of God that makes it a supernatural meeting.
-
He said, I'm in the midst of them. So God is
-
here. Praise the Lord. God is here. We need to
-
recognize the significance of that, that God...
-
is here in us. Praise the Lord. God is here in
-
us. So that's why we said it's not a place. Praise
-
the Lord. We can decide to move out now and be
-
outside. God is there. Praise the Lord, because
-
we are there. Praise the Lord. It's because God
-
is here. So if God is here, then How do you see
-
yourself? Then who are you? Do you see yourself
-
as a citizen of Namibia? Do you see yourself
-
as a citizen of Nigeria? Do you see yourself
-
as a citizen of one country or the other? Or
-
do you see yourself as a lawyer, a doctor, a
-
businessman, an entrepreneur? Do you see yourself
-
as a man or a woman? Yes, you can see yourself
-
as that, as a man, as a woman, as a business
-
person, but that's not what we represent here
-
when we come together. Praise the Lord. So when
-
we come together, we didn't come to represent
-
business, something association. Praise the Lord.
-
That's not what we come to represent. So what
-
we represent is that we are temples of God. Praise
-
the Lord. We are temple of God. And our recognition
-
is important that we are temple of God. So who
-
is supernatural? God is supernatural, right?
-
Because God is here. And you are supernatural
-
because God is in the inside of you. Praise the
-
Lord. You're supernatural because God is in the
-
inside of you. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter
Romans 8 chapter mention Romans 8:1–9
-
8, verse 1 to 9. There is therefore no condemnation
-
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
-
walk according to the flesh, but according to
-
the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life
-
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
-
of sin and death. do in that he was weak through
-
the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in
-
the likeness of a sinful flesh on account of
-
sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, that the
-
righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled
-
in us who do not walk according to the flesh,
-
but according to the Spirit. For those who live
-
according to the flesh set their minds on the
-
things of the flesh. For those who live according
-
to the Spirit, They are the things of the Spirit.
-
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
-
spiritually minded is life and peace, because
-
the carnally mind is an enmity against God, for
-
it is not subject to the laws of God, nor indeed
-
can it be. So then, those who are in the flesh
-
cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh,
-
but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
-
dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the
-
Spirit of God, he is not his. Praise the Lord.
-
Verse 9 tells us that, it said, but you are not
-
in the flesh. You are in the Spirit. Praise the
-
Lord. You are in the Spirit. You are supernatural.
-
Praise the Lord. You are supernatural. So the
-
church is supernatural. The gathering is a gathering
-
of supernatural beings. This gathering, is a
-
gathering of supernatural beings. That recognition
-
is important for us to be able to receive. It
-
is a gathering of supernatural beings. It is
-
important, praise the Lord, that we know who
-
is here. Praise the Lord. God is here. You are
-
here. And that God is in the inside of you. It
-
is a supernatural gathering. Praise the Lord.
-
It's important that we organize them because
-
that's how we receive. In John chapter 14, sorry,
John 14 chapter mention
-
John chapter 4, verse 7 to 10, we see the Samaritan
-
woman asking Jesus, who is he to ask her for
-
a drink? He being a Jew. Praise the Lord. Who
-
is he to ask her for drinks? John chapter 4,
-
verse 7 to 10. In verse 10, Jesus answered and
-
said, if you knew the gift of God and who is
-
it who says to you, give me a drink, you would
-
have asked him and he would give you the living,
-
he would give you living waters. Praise the Lord.
-
So she does not know or have not recognized who
-
is speaking to her. Praise the Lord. So recognition
-
is important for receiving. Praise the Lord.
-
Recognition is important for receiving. If you
-
knew the gift of God and who is he that acts
-
your drink, praise the Lord, it's a very important
-
element for blessing to know who is here. God
-
is here and your fellow believers are here. So
-
a very important element of being blessed in
-
a meeting is recognizing who, the person is and
-
like i said god is here and you are here jacob
-
recognized who was there and he showed respect
-
oh he recognized this place i am is not a normal
-
place basically it's like oh let me build let
-
me build pillars right and raise up something
-
there and pour oil on it as an altar and he called
-
the name of the place Bethel So he showed respect
-
because he knew what was there. Praise the Lord.
-
So how do we show respect in the gathering of
-
God's people? We show respect by not being a
-
distraction. Praise the Lord. So when you recognize
-
or when you have come to recognize that God is
-
here and you are here and the brethren are here,
-
praise the Lord, you show respect by not being
-
a distraction. Praise the Lord. By not being
-
a distraction, by not moving around. There's
-
some people that they finally have to sit down.
-
Praise the Lord, especially in church. They are
-
always moving, moving. Maybe they are, I don't
-
know, in their head, maybe they wore a fine dress.
-
I don't know, maybe that is causing them to stand
-
up and say, look at me. Praise the Lord, right?
-
It's not to keep moving around, right? To show
-
up on time. Praise the Lord. To reduce unnecessary
-
talk. You are in church. You are preaching. You
-
are talking to your neighbor. Are you here? Did
-
you see what happened yesterday? Praise the Lord.
-
To reduce unnecessary talk because you have come
-
to recognize that this is a gathering of believers
-
where God is and you are in. Praise the Lord.
-
So, When I recognize that you are here, it means
-
that I also recognize that God is here. Praise
-
the Lord. Because you recognize that this person
-
has the Spirit of God, right? And it is a supernatural
-
meeting. So I treat the person as sacred. Praise
-
the Lord. I treat the person as sacred. We treat
-
each other as sacred, right? And I think it's
-
something that we would have to... expounding
-
teaching in terms of how we treat each other.
-
How do you see a Christian brother? How do you
-
see a Christian sister? Praise the Lord. So we
-
treat each other as sacred. So you don't come
-
here and the moment you begin to treat this person
-
as, oh, that guy is my housemate or that person
-
is my housemate, then you are off. Praise the
-
Lord. You're not understanding what is going
-
on. Praise the Lord. You treat the person as
-
sacred. Like I said, there's nothing special
-
about the whole, right? What makes it a supernatural
-
or supernatural or makes this gathering supernatural
-
is how we see it, how we recognize it. Praise
-
the Lord. How we recognize it. The same thing
-
goes for people, right? How we see people. When
-
you see somebody in Christ, you are able to receive
-
from them. Praise the Lord. If you're going to
-
see them as, you know, this person is my classmate
-
or my housemate, and then how can I receive from
-
them in the house of God? Then you will not receive.
-
Praise the Lord. So imagine you see the person
-
as a man of God. Imagine you see the person as
-
a woman of God, as somebody who can bless you,
-
as somebody who will bless you. Praise the Lord.
-
As somebody who would speak the mind of God to
-
you, it will reduce your confusion. Praise the
-
Lord. It will reduce your solution -seeking everywhere.
-
Praise the Lord. Because your eyes are beginning
-
to open to the people around you. Praise the
-
Lord. That God can use them to help your life.
-
Praise the Lord. That God can speak through them.
-
That God can give them a counsel concerning your
-
life. Praise the Lord. You will not be running
-
around looking for healing while your housemates
-
can lay hands on you and you'll be well. Because
-
you have come to recognize or you have not recognized
-
that this person is somebody that God indwells.
-
Or that you have not come to recognize that this
-
person is supernatural. Praise the Lord. So it
-
will reduce you running around. It will reduce
-
a lot of the things that will come your direction.
-
It will reduce those who you will call because
-
you're trying to find solution for your life.
-
Praise the Lord. So avoid see finish as much
-
as you can. Praise the Lord. So when we come
-
to... A Christian meeting, we come with a consciousness
-
that God is here. God is here, right? And we
-
are here and God dwells in the inside of us.
-
Praise the Lord. God dwells in the inside of
-
us. Praise the Lord. Can we just open our mouth
-
and just begin to pray? I just thank God for
-
the meeting. Thank God for the opportunity to
-
gather. We appreciate you being here today. We
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hope you carry this word with you throughout
-
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
-
for additional insights. Stay connected with
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us through our website or follow us on social
-
media. If you are encouraged, share this message
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with someone you care about. Until next time,
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stay blessed.