Access to the Kingdom of God

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. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.

Now, what just happened today is actually what

I'm going to speak about. And what we do in church

is that we teach and we practice. Hallelujah.

Or we practice and then we teach. Amen? And Jesus

began to do and what? And he taught. Or he teach,

he did it and then he practiced. And when we

come to church, What happens in church is that

we are brought into the reality of the things

that we have. When you're born again, what happens

is that you have access. Hallelujah. You have

access to all the things that are in the spirit

as a believer. So whatever thing you see manifested

today is for the believer. Amen? Matthew 16,

Matthew 16:19

verse 19. Matthew 16, verse 19. And I will give

Matthew 16:19

you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And what

I'll be sharing with us is what we practice,

as I said, and is the access, the access to the

kingdom of God. Hallelujah. And I will give you

the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever

you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And

whatever you lose on earth will be loose in heaven.

And contextually, we know that this is Jesus'

conversation with Peter. The other disciples

were there and then Peter made a confession about

Jesus. Especially, In the context of what he

is. And what he was here on earth to do. And

then we see Jesus making a profound statement.

He says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom.

Keys of the kingdom. Now Jesus makes a promise

to give the keys of the kingdom. And we've noted

several times that the word keys here. It's metaphor.

It's a metaphor used to explain access. Access

into the kingdom. Now we mentioned several times

that the word keys is a word class. K -L -E -I

-S in the Greek. K -L -E -I -S. This is the word

that was translated. The word keys was translated

from in the Greek. And then it metaphorically

referred to as power. That is the power to the

kingdom or authority or access. Access simply

means, of course, authority. Because if you have

the keys to this house or to this hall, you have

the authority over whatever happens in this hall.

You can open the door for people to come in and

you can shut the door from people coming in.

So you have authority. It means that you have

power. And Jesus says, and I will give you the

keys. And I will give you the keys. He will give

the keys because only Jesus can give the access.

Jesus says that I am the way, right? I am the

truth and I am the life. Jesus grants the access

to the kingdom. And all the things we see manifested

here today are actually the kingdom manifested.

That hence are laid upon the sick. And they receive

their healings. The prophetic words are received

and declared unto men. We receive direction by

the Spirit. All this is actually the kingdom

in manifestation. So what do the keys mean? It

means access, as we've said. It enables, it will

enable Peter in this context to open and to close,

to bind and to loose. Now this key or keys is

not referring to anything material. First of

all, we have to establish this, that the keys

is not referring to anything physical, anything

material. It is not a physical key because some

people, you know, they go to church to collect

keys from their pastors and that key should give

them every open door in their lives. That's not

the key we are talking about here. Hallelujah.

And it's not many keys, because in the English

word we see keys, but actually it's in the singular

form in the Greek. So these keys is not something

material. It's not a mantle that you have, you

know, to have access before you have access to

this dimension of the Spirit of God. There must

be a mantle that you will receive. No. It's not

a handkerchief that you will receive. It's not

oil that you will receive upon your head before

you have access. No. It's nothing material. It's

nothing material, but something immaterial. And

we've been saying that this key or this access

or this power of this authority is actually the

Spirit of God. Okay? So the statement Jesus made

to Peter was a promise of the Spirit. How do

we come to this conclusion that it is a promise

of the Spirit? John 14, verse 15. We see Jesus,

John 14:15

when He was with them, He made a promise. John

John 14:15–21

14, verse 15 to 21 says, If you love me, you

keep my commandment. And I will pray the Father,

and He will give you another helper. Now, we

know that this another helper simply means of

the same kind, right? Helper. That He will what?

Will abide with you forever. The spirit of truth

whom the world cannot receive. Now, this access

is not for the world. It's for men that believe.

You see, obeying the commandment we've, Pastor,

taught us about, you know, obedience, obeying

God, is actually believing in God. Hallelujah.

So the spirit of truth whom the world cannot

receive because it neither sees him nor knows

him, but you know him. For he dwells with you

and will be in you. So Jesus was speaking and

referring to himself being with them and making

a promise that he will be in them. I will not

leave you comfortless as orphans. I will come

to you. A little while longer, the world will

see me no more, but you will see me. Because

I live, you will live also. And that day you

will know that I am in my Father, and you in

me, and I in you. Verse 21. He who has my commandments

and keeps them. What is the commandment? Believe

in him. That is the commandment. It is he who

loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by

my Father. And I will love him and manifest myself

to him. Jump to verse 25 and 26. 25 and 26. These

things I have spoken to you while being present

with you. But the helper, who is the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send on the account of all

that I will do in my name, he will teach you

all things. Now, teaching you all things has

a context. Amen? teaching you all things is contextual

to all that he has taught them already, and bring

to your remembrance, this is what he's teaching

you, he will bring to your remembrance all the

things that I have said to you. So the goal of

the Spirit of God that will be given to them

is not to predict whether Arsenal will win the

Premier League this season. Hallelujah. Amen.

is to bring to their remembrance all that he

has said to them. Amen. He will bring to their

remembrance all the things that he has taught

them. Now the spirit of God is not for anything

outside the work that God is doing in the life

of men. Hallelujah. John chapter 16. Verse 5.

John 16 · chapter mention

Let's see what the promise is. John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

Verse 5. But now I go away to him who sends me,

and none of you ask me where you are going. But

because I have said these things to you, sorrow

has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you

the truth, it is to your advantage that I go.

So the condition for the giving of the Spirit

is that he has to go. For if I do not go away,

the helper will not come to you. But if I depart,

I will send him to you. And when he has come,

look at what he will do. He will convict the

world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

Of sin because they do not believe in me. Of

righteousness because I go to my father and you

see me no more. of judgment because the ruler

of this world is judged. I still have many things

to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

However, when he, the spirit of truth has come,

he will guide you into all truths, for he will

not speak of his own authority, But whatever

he hears, he will speak and he will tell you

things to come. What are the things to come?

Amen. What are the things to come? The things

to come is not about whether that candidate of

yours will win the election. The things to come

are contextual to what God is doing. Hallelujah.

He will glorify me. This is what the things to

come will do. He will glorify me, for he will

take of what is mine, okay, and do what? And

he will declare it to you. All things that the

Father has are mine. Therefore, I say that he

will take of mine and do what? And declare it

to you. Hallelujah. So we see that the promise

that God The promise of that peace or the access

into that kingdom of God is actually the Spirit.

And this will be in the resurrection of Jesus

Christ. This will be when Jesus has died and

then we sang about him being raised again from

the death. Hallelujah. And then him going to

the Father and then giving us the access to the

Spirit, which is the key, the access. The Spirit

is given when Jesus is glorified. John chapter

John 7:37

7, verse 37. When he is glorified, glorification

simply means that he is exalted after his resurrection.

John 7, verse 37, verse 39 says, On the last

John 7:37

day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood

and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let

him come to me and drink. He who believes in

me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart

will flow rivers of living water. But this is

for concerning the spirit whom those believing

in him will receive. For the Holy Spirit has

not yet given because Jesus has not yet glorified.

Hallelujah. So his glorification will give access

to the kingdom, the spirit of God. Hallelujah.

So at the resurrection, we see Jesus giving his

spirit. Now everything that we possessed, right?

Everything that we ever possessed in Christ is

as a result of his resurrection. It is in the

spirit. It is spiritual. It is by the spirit

and in the spirit. Alright? Everything that we

receive is of the spirit, by the spirit. In fact,

to be born again is by the Spirit. It's a work

of the Spirit. It's not your will that makes

you who you are. But the Spirit of God working

to produce in you the new man that God desires

to see. So the summary of everything that Jesus

gave at the resurrection, we can term it as the

Spirit. Everything. The spiritual. Nothing else.

We have access to all the resources in the Holy

Ghost. Hallelujah. Say, I have access. Say to

yourself, I have access to all the resources

in the Spirit. Jesus said that all that are mine,

the Spirit will take and declare unto you. Hallelujah.

So we have all that is in the Holy Ghost. Now

the indwelling of the Spirit gives us access,

as we've said, To the kingdom. The access is

actually the kingdom. John chapter 3 verse 1.

John 3:1

John chapter 3 verse 1. To verse 8. There was

John 3:1

a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler

of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night

and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are

a teacher. Come from God. For no one can do these

signs that you do unless God is with him. So

he means that Nicodemus saw Jesus manifesting

the kingdom. Nicodemus asked him, How can a man

be born when he is old? Can he enter a second

time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus

answered, which is the spirit, he cannot enter

the kingdom of God. That which is born of the

flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit,

spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, you

must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes,

but you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell

where it comes. from and where it goes. So is

everyone who is born of the Spirit. It simply

means that it's not something that is carnally

or fiscally designed. You cannot see it happen,

but it happens by the Spirit of God. So when

you become born again, it's the work of the Spirit.

There's a regeneration that happens in you. There's

a union that you come into by the work of the

Spirit of God. When you believe the message,

concerning the death, concerning the burial,

concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You are brought into this experience of the kingdom

of God. And all the things we see manifested

this morning, you have access to it. Hallelujah.

So our job as pastors in this church is to bring

you into the realities of things that you have.

Now when hands are laid on you, the believer,

we are not giving you a new spirit. Amen? What

we are doing is that we are stating what is inside

you to manifest. Because all that is in the Spirit

is in you. It's in you. Hallelujah. You can prophesy.

Amen. You can lay hands on the sick, not only

the pastors. Amen. You can give a word of prophecy.

Hallelujah. Amen. Because the Spirit of God lives

in you. In all His various expressions, He lives

in you. Hallelujah. When you are born again,

you receive access to the kingdom of God. Ephesians

Ephesians 1:13

chapter 1 verse 13 talks about the seal of the

spirit. It is a permanent thing. In him you also

trusted. After you heard the word of truth. What

is the word of truth? The word of truth is that

Jesus died for your sins. And you are forgiven

of your sins. That is the word of truth. What

happens? The gospel of your salvation. That is

the word of truth. In whom also having what?

You believe this message. Alright? You are sealed

with the Holy Spirit of promise. And this sealed

is what is an eternal sealing of God on you.

Hallelujah. So the believer, you are eternally

sealed with the Spirit of God. So you eternally

have the resources of heaven in you. No matter

the weather, no matter the condition, no matter

the circumstance, even when the physical is not

aligning with what is the Spirit, it does not

deny what has happened in your spirit, man. Hallelujah.

It doesn't matter where you're coming from, your

nationality, your country, your culture. It doesn't

matter even your story, how you were born. It

doesn't matter even the religion that you came

from. Oh, it doesn't matter all the things you've

done before. Some of us don't believe that God

can walk through us. Some of us don't believe

that the Spirit of God can live in us. Listen,

I'm here to tell you that God's system is men.

Hallelujah. And God's system is not for perfect

men, but it's for weak men like you. And what

the Spirit does is that He enables you to do

what? He empowers you. He enables you to live

the life that God has called you to live. Galatians

Galatians 4:6

4, verse 6. We'll see that it is a spirit of

sonship. You've come into a family. And because

you have sons, how did you become sons? You became

sons by believing. God has sent forth the spirit

of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Abba, Father is an affectionate call of a father

and a son. Abba, Father is like saying daddy

to God. That is a union you've come into with

God. When you became born again, you were born

into authority. Amen? You are born into authority.

You have access to the fullness of the resources

that are in the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah. 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12:1

12, verse 1. The text the pastor has been teaching

us. Helping us to see. 1 Corinthians, yes. It

says, now concerning spirituals, concerning the

spiritual life, concerning all that Christ has

done in you, concerning everything that God has

done in you by the virtue of you believing in

the message of salvation concerning everything

that God has done in Christ. Brethren, I do not

want you to be ignorant. You know that you were

dentists carried away to these dumb idols, however

you were led by them. That was your former life.

Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking

by the Spirit of God calls Jesus a curse. And

no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the

Holy Ghost. There are diversities of gifts, right?

We're talking about all the things that are yours

in the Spirit. There are diversities of gifts.

There are varied expressions of the works of

the Spirit that is inherent in you, the believer.

But the same Spirit gives this expression. There

are differences of ministries, but the same Lord

manifests this in you. And there are diversities

of activities, but it is the same God who works

all through you, the believer. Verse 8. Give

me verse 8. For to one is given, then we begin

to see where the pastors have been teaching us.

So the gifts are inherent in you. Hallelujah.

See. The day you became born again, you will

lack nothing. All that is, all that can ever

be is in you. God did not come into you in instrumentals.

Amen. God did not come into you gradually. When

you become more obedient, then God now come fully.

No, no, no. The entirety of the spirit of God

inhabits you, the believer. So you have the capacity,

you have the ability to do what? To manifest

all the expressions of the Spirit in you. Now

the access to the kingdom, what is the access?

The Spirit. Amen. When we talk of access, when

we talk of the key, what are we referring to?

We are referring to the Spirit. Now the access

to the kingdom enables you to be a witness. It

enables you, the believer, To be a witness, to

be witness simply means you manifest unto God.

Acts chapter 1 verse 4 to 6. Acts 1 verse 4 to

Acts 1:4–6 Acts 1:4–8

8. Acts chapter 1 verse 4 to 8. Acts chapter

Acts 1:4–8 Acts 1:4

1 verse 4. You can see it here. And being assembled

together with them. He commanded them not to

depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise

that was before it was given, but to wait for

the promise of the Father. What is the promise

of the Father? Which he has said to you, you've

heard from me. For John truly baptized with water,

but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now. Therefore, when they

had come together, They asked him, saying, Lord,

will you at this time restore the kingdom to

Israel? Because their eyes is fixed on the carnal

things of this world. They were thinking that

the kingdom is a fiscal kingdom. They were thinking

that what God promised them is something material.

And he said to them, it is not for you to know

times or seasons which the Father has put in

his own authority. But look at it. He brought

their attention to what is promised. Verse 8.

Verse 8. But you shall what? Shall receive power.

Amen. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you

and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends

of the earth, the uttermost part of the earth.

So the first thing we see the Spirit comes with

in the Christian life is power. Power. You have

power within you. You have power within you.

And power is meant to put to work. Power is the

word dunamis, which means ability. There is an

ability in you. There is an inherent ability

in the believer. Hallelujah. You have an ability

in you and the ability enables you to do. You

have an ability in you and this ability enables

you to do. An inherent ability residing in the

believer. by the virtue of your nature. It is

meant to be exerted out, to be put forth. Now

the Spirit grants the believer access to the

authority to be a witness. Pastor was teaching

us on Wednesday about the word witness. It's

from a Greek word, matis, M -A -R -T -Y -S. It's

a legal word that refers to one who is a spectator

of an event. haven't witnessed something, haven't

seen, haven't tested, haven't been a firsthand,

you know, you've seen the event happen firsthand

by virtue of what God has done in you. You are

now legally, legally, you have the legal ground,

you have the legal stand to do what? To prove

that Jesus is Lord, to prove that Jesus has died,

he has rose again, and he's alive today. So you

have that power, you have that ability in you

to be a witness. So the Holy Spirit gives you

the legal authority to give proofs of who Jesus

is and what he has done in salvation. Hallelujah.

Now we demonstrate this by the display of power

that is in us. How we do this is what? Is by

manifesting power. See, it is not by, it is not,

it is by power. Hallelujah. The kingdom of God

is by what? It's by power, the display of power.

And you have inherently in you that power. You

lack nothing good. You lack nothing. You have

all it takes to manifest all that God has done

in you. There's power in you. You can see through

scriptures how the kingdom is manifested. It

is by the demonstration of power. Matthew chapter

Matthew 4:23

4 verse 23 and 24. You see where Jesus giving

an example how he manifested the power when he

was demonstrating and talking and preaching about

the kingdom. And Jesus went about Galilee, all

Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching

the gospel of the kingdom. And what we see healing

of all kinds of diseases. This is power put to

use and all kinds of diseases among the people.

Then his fame went throughout all Syria. And

they brought to him all the sick people who were

afflicted with various diseases and torments

and those who were demon -possessed, epileptics

and paralytics. Am I saying correctly? Paralytics.

And he what? He healed them all. We can see also

Jesus sending out the disciples. The one he called.

Matthew chapter 10 verse 7. And he gave them

Matthew 10:7

that authority. As you go, preach, saying the

kingdom of heaven has come. Hallelujah. The kingdom

of heaven has come. The kingdom of God has come.

Heal the sick. That's how we demonstrate it.

Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the

dead. Cast out devils. Freely you have received.

How do you give? You don't put a price to it.

Freely. That is how the gospel... It's preach.

That is how we manifest the kingdom. That is

how we manifest the authority and the access

that God has given us. You're not too young for

this. You're not too old for this. You're not

too young for this. You're not too small. Amen?

If these men that are not born again in this

place, these men that are not born again here,

they can go out and cast devils. Amen? They can

go out and heal the sick. What about you? That

the Spirit of God resides in you right now. This

is where our problem is. Knowledge. To know what

you have. To know what God has done. To know

the capacity that is inherent in you. And that

is what church is all about. To bring you to

the fullness. To the knowledge of all that God

has done in you. And then we see you begin to

manifest. And when we say we practice here. See,

in this church we will not stop. You must give

a word in this church. You must prophesy in this

church. You must heal the sick in this church

because that is your right as a believer. That

is who God has called you into. It is not for

some selected people. It's for every believer,

including you. It doesn't matter your history.

We want to deal with that maybe on Wednesday

about, you know, the flesh, right? But I want

you to know that God has put in you the totality

of himself that you will demonstrate this to

the world to see. Hallelujah. The kingdom is

manifested by the demonstration of the power

of the Holy Ghost in the preaching of the gospel,

accompanied by signs and wonders. Look at the

instruction in Mark 16, 16 to 18. Mark 16, 16

to 18. An instruction was given, Mark 16, 16

to 18. It says, he who believes, do you believe?

Amen. How many of us believe in Jesus as a Messiah?

If you believe in Jesus as a Messiah, it means

that you have the ability to preach him in signs

and wonders following. He who believes and is

baptized will be saved. Are you saved today?

We are saved. But he who does not believe is

condemned. Verse 17. And these signs will follow

those who believe. In my name they will cast

out demons. They will speak with new tongues.

Verse 18. They will take up sapiens and if they

drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt

them. They will lay hands on the sick and the

sick will recover. That is your heritage as a

believer. That is who you are. That is who God

has produced in you. See, I have access to all

that is in Christ. And I manifest all that is

in Christ. This manifestation, I'll keep repeating,

is given to all. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 7. 1

1 Corinthians 12:7 1 Corinthians 12:7

Corinthians 12 verse 7. It's to all. But the

manifestation of the Spirit is given to who?

To each one of you. To the prophet of all. It's

given to everybody who is a partaker in this.

Everybody is a partaker in this. Because the

gifts of God, you know, there's no finding fault

in the gift of God. James chapter 1. He doesn't

James 1 · chapter mention

find fault. Give me the verse, please. I think

in the media people are following me. James 1

James 1:5

verse 5. 17. Okay, let's read 5, then we'll read

17. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of

God, who what? Who gives to all liberal renown?

Look at, this is actually the character of God

here. He gives. When God gives, he gives without...

The liberality of God is that God does not look

for... I like this stripe. This one should take.

This stripe, no. You don't deserve it. No. Without

reproach. Without reproach is without finding

fault. And to be given to him. So all the gifts

of God. Verse 17. Every good gift and every perfect

gift is from where? It's from above. Come down

from the father of light in whom there is no

word. There is no variation. There is no tribalism.

There is no change of mind. There is no segregation.

There is no racism in this. Hallelujah. You have

all it takes. You have all it takes. And Paul

will tell the Corinthians church in chapter 1,

1 Corinthians chapter 12. Not to be ignorant.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Not to be ignorant. Now, concerning spirituals,

concerning this spiritual life, brethren, I would

not want you to be ignorant. And that is a message

to you, the believer today in this church as

you are seated. Concerning all that Christ has

done and all that he has given, God wouldn't

want you to be ignorant. And I want you to know

that Paul, you know, the ignorance of this man,

It's not just that they don't know that these

things exist. From chapter 1, verse 3 to 7, give

me chapter 1, verse 3 to 7, we see that these

men, they understand all that God has given.

Grace to you, that is to the Corinthian church,

and peace from our God, God our Father, and the

Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning

you. for the grace of God which was given to

you by Christ. So this means they know the grace

of God. That you were what? You were enriched

in everything by Him. In what? Outrance. Outrance

is a function of the Holy Ghost. Outrance and

all knowledge. Verse 7. Even as, yes? Even as

the testimony of your Christ. So that you come

short. Verse 7. Verse 7. So that you come short

in no gift. So this means they don't understand

the gift. They have access to the gift. They

come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the

revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. So why would

you come to chapter 12 and tell them that you

wouldn't want it to be ignorant? And this ignorance

is actually about the abuse that they do, even

in the midst of all that they have. They were

very much in knowledge and actually manifesting

the gifts. But the problem with this church is

that they were not walking in love. They were

not walking in love. A lot of things happening

in the church. You are abusing, you know, the

things that they have. And I said earlier, I

said one of the biggest challenges with you,

with me today, is that we don't believe, sometimes

we don't believe that God walks through us. And

as a reminder, I want you to know that you are

the agency by which God will work on the earth.

Amen? You are the agency by which God will work

on the earth. Ezekiel chapter 37 verse 3 to 9,

Ezekiel 37:3–9

you see an encounter of the prophet with God.

Give me Ezekiel chapter 3, 37 verse 3 to 9. And

Ezekiel 3 · chapter mention

he said to him, Son of man, that's God and the

prophet speaking here. He said to him, Son of

man, can these bones live? So I answered, O Lord

God, you know, only you know what you know. Again

he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say

to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

First says the Lord God to these bones, surely

I will cause breath to enter into you. and you

shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring

flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath

in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know

that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was

commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise

and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together

bone to bone. Hallelujah. Why didn't God speak

to the bones? But he decided to speak through

the prophet. Consistently you see through our

scripture that this is God's method. That whatever

he does on the earth, he does by the spirit.

He does by the spirit but through men. Anything

that God will do on the earth is by the spirit.

And man is the agency for the manifestation of

the spirit of God. And you are qualified and

equipped to manifest everything that God is doing,

has done, and will do. 2 Corinthians 2, verse

2 Corinthians 2:14

14. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14. Now thanks be

2 Corinthians 2:14

to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.

And through who? Say, through me. Personalizes

through us. Diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge

in every place. It's true men. Are we together?

It's true men. That he diffuses the fragrance

of his knowledge in every place. And this fragrance

of his knowledge has to do with the work of the

spirit in all the earth. But true men. Verse

15. For we are to God the what? The fragrance

of Christ among those who are being saved and

among those who are perishing. Amen. So what

God does on earth? He does it through men. He

does it through men. God uses men to spread the

fragrance of his knowledge on the earth. God

has decided to use man despite his frailty and

weakness. Despite your limitation as a man, God

has pre -planned. You see, he started in Adam.

Adam failed. God didn't change method and say,

okay, I'm going to bring down angels to do the

work. No. He still started fresh. Because God's

method from the beginning is a man. God's plan

in the beginning was for men. God has no plan

B. Amen. God has no second plan. You are the

plan A and the only plan of God. All through

scriptures, we will see the kind of men God works

with. From Abraham to Moses and to the apostles,

these were weak and frail men that God breathed

his spirit upon. They are full of their shortcomings,

full of their weaknesses. full of their humanities,

but we see the Spirit of God dwelling in them

and God begin to work with them. James 5, verse

James 5:7

7 makes a comment. It says, Elijah was a man

of a nature like yours, like mine. And he prayed

earnestly that it will not rain and it did not

rain on the land for three years and six months.

Now the Christian life, I want to remind you

that it is a supernatural life. Amen. You've

been brought into a supernatural life. Not only

a natural life, but a life that is higher above

the natural. Above the natural. You operate in

a realm beyond the physical. That is a relationship

you've been brought into. You operate above the

physical. Beyond the physical. Because you are

spiritual. Because you are supernatural. See,

you cannot believe God and then shy away from

the supernatural life. You are living a lie.

You cannot say, I believe in Jesus. Your salvation

is a supernatural activity. So for you not to

believe in tongues, not to believe in healing,

not to believe in all the supernatural activities

within men, is to live a lie, denying what has

happened to you. Because you're born again. We

didn't see you get born again physically. It's

a supernatural activity. How do we know? We see

the manifestation by the works of the Spirit.

From a transformation of your life, suddenly

you see a man begin to live beyond who he used

to be. God uses ordinary men to do supernatural

work. And you are God's chosen person to do the

work that God has established from the foundation

of the world. Hallelujah. Let's look at one example

and then we close. Let's look at the example

of Stephen. an ordinary man, alright? Whenever

the story of Stephen is read, sometimes we think

there is one big apostle, one of the, you know,

no, no, no, no, no, no. Acts chapter 6, verse

Acts 6:1

1. Let's look at who Stephen is. And let's take

encouragement from there, then we go. Acts chapter

Acts 6:1

6, verse 1. Acts chapter 6, verse 1. Now, in

Acts 6:1

those days, when the number of the disciples

was multiplying, there arose a complaint against

the Hebrews by the Hellenists. Because their

widows were neglected in the daily distribution

of food. So whenever you see quarrel in church,

you can easily trace it to something kind of.

Whenever you see people, it's something natural.

It cannot be things of the spirit. It's here,

it's food. Verse 2. Then the twelve summoned

the multitude of the disciples and said to them,

desirable, it is not good, that we should live

the word of God and serve food. Not that serving

good food is bad. Therefore, brethren, God is

a priority. Therefore, brethren, seek out from

among you seven men of good reputation, full

of what? The Holy Ghost, which means that Stephen,

who we'll see later on, is full of the Spirit

and what? And wisdom. Whom you may appoint over

this business. What business? Evangelism? No.

Welfare. Food. Physical thing. But we will give

ourselves continually to prayer and to what?

To the ministry of the word. And the saint pleased

the whole multitude and they chose who? Stephen.

A man of what? Full of faith. This is a description

of Stephen. A man full of faith. And the Holy

Ghost. And Philip. We'll look at Philip maybe

on Wednesday. And Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,

Parmenas, and Nicholas. A proselyte from Antioch.

Verse 6. Whom they set before the apostles when

they had prayed and laid hand on them. You see

the laying of hands. Which is important. It's

a practice of the church. We'll see it even in

the epistles. Then the word of God spread, you

see the effect, the word of God spread, and the

number of the disciples multiplied greatly in

Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were

obedient to the faith. He was chosen to serve

tables, full of grace and power. Look at this

description in verse 8. Look at verse 8. Stephen

is full of grace and power, and what? And was

doing wonders. Stephen, full of faith and power.

Where did he get the faith and power? The Holy

Spirit had work in him. He did what? Great wonders

and signs among the people. Who is this person?

He's a church member. Alright? He taught a member

in NACF. He was given the responsibility of serving

as an usher. In him lies an inherent power. If

this Stephen was in some of our churches in Africa,

he would have leave this church and go inside

the ministry. Because he has arrived. And let

me announce to you that every believer has arrived.

Hallelujah. We have come to Mount Zion. Amen?

We have arrived. It's not a journey. The destination

has been... we've joined it in Christ and we've

arrived to the fullness of all that is in Christ.

So let's look at Stephen briefly, down to verse

15, and then we pray. And then we pray. And all

who sat in the council, verse 7, verse 8, yes,

from verse 8, verse 9, verse 8, and Stephen,

full of faith and power, did great wonders and

signs among the people, yes, Then there arose

from what is called in the synagogue of the freed

men, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from

Cilicia and Asia. What were they doing? They

were disputing with Stephen. Stephen was not

one of the apostles. I want you to remember.

Stephen is a church member. I don't like using

the word church member, but to speak to our today

language. He was a member of the family of God.

He was... Not one of the apostles. But this freedman

came disputing with him. Verse 10. And they were

not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit

by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced

men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous

words against Moses and God. Because that's the

only way they can deal with him. Because he is

full of wisdom, because the Spirit is in him.

And they stirred up the people, the elders and

the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him,

and brought him to the council. Verse 13. They

also set up false witnesses who said, This man

does not cease to speak blasphemous words against

this holy place and the law. 14. For we have

heard him say that these treasures of Nazareth

will destroy this place and change the custom

which Moses delivered to us. And all who sat

in the council looking steadfastly at him showed

his face. And what did they see? His face as

the face of an angel. There was a glowing on

his face. Then when we read chapter 7, we will

see how Stephen, you know, who was not among

the 12, but can differentiate, we can differentiate

him from the activities we see in the apostles.

He eloquently rightfully, accurately explain

the gospel from Genesis to where they are at

this point. Read through chapter 7, you will

see this explanation. One of the most sing -song

explanations of the gospel I have read in the

New Testament by a man who is a church member.

By an ordinary man whom the Spirit lives, dwells

in. See Stephen's boldness and accurate explanation

of the message. For sure, he was not the type

that misses church services. Right? He was not

the type that he would not attend midweek. Or

it's a struggle for him to be in cell meeting.

He's not the type that when they are in groups

like this, like we're in group today, they say

pray for your neighbor. Then he's catching his

teeth. You see, this business is not for stis.

Amen? When it comes to the things of God, we

give ourselves to them. He was not a man so full

of himself. It means that he participated. It

means that he learned by precepts and by teaching.

He saw the apostles, he learned from them, and

then he began to do. So also you, the believer,

must learn by precepts, by instructions, and

you must do. And what we are telling you is that

all is in you. We are not here as showmen, no.

All that we do, you can do. You can even do greater.

Hallelujah. You can do greater. You will see

later, he's watching chapter 7, verse 60. This

is where the exact words of Jesus on the cross,

when they were about to kill him, when he was

dying. And do you know what? Yes. Then he knelt

down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do

not charge them with this sin. And when he said

this, he what? He fell asleep. And you know what?

This Stephen Simon was a Simon Paul heart. Some

of us thought maybe the encounter Paul had on

his way to Damascus was, that was how he got

born again. But can I show you that this was

a Simon Paul heart. And then it resulted to the

encounter he had on his way to Damascus. Look

at chapter 8, verse 1. Chapter 8, verse 1. Then

we close. Saul was there. It means that Saul

listened to all his teaching in chapter 7. He

listened to how Stephen explained about the Christ,

the entire chapter 7, down to verse 60. Now Saul

was consenting to his death. Saul was the one

standing there and what he was watching. That

means that the seat might have been sworn in

his heart concerning Jesus. At the same time,

a great persecution arose against the church

which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered

throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except

the apostles. Stephen was just, I will use the

word just in quote. He is not just a church member.

But Stephen was a man of like passion like you,

like me. God equipped him and we see him witnessing

with power, with boldness. And will you move

in obedience? Or will you continue to walk in

willful disobedience? Will you walk in obedience

or in disobedience? Disobedience will mean that

you know this truth. as you've heard under the

voice of the Lord this morning, this afternoon,

and then you choose to not, to say, no, this

thing is not for me. See, that behavior, even

God cannot help you. Hallelujah. So I want you

to speak to God this moment as we close. Speak

to God. Speak to God concerning your life. As

the word of God has come to us in the prayers,

we participated and now we hear the word coming

to assure us of what we've learned, what we've

done. I want you to pray for yourself. That you

have the boldness to be a witness. Because you

have the access to the kingdom of God. You have

the access by the Spirit. to all the resources

that are in the kingdom of God. And you can demonstrate

all that is in the spirit. Pray for boldness

at all times. I'm quick to give a word. I'm prompt

to lay hand on the sick, to preach the gospel

as I go out to preach the gospel. We appreciate

you being here today. We hope you carry this

word with you throughout your week. Until next

time, stay blessed.