MESSAGE HIGHLIGHT:

Walking Together (Part 9) – Ps John Bendixen (WTB)

I preach the highest standard of the Word and live it in my daily life.  There are times where I find my humanity fall short, but like the Apostle Paul, I am constantly putting myself under a state of discipline so that I do not be seen to be a counterfeit. What you see me preaching is the person that I am. I come to you with the Word that has power (Acts 17:28 AMPC).

You can’t get to all of God and have ‘the mornings and the evenings with God’ unless you take the full midday sunlight of God. People want to have fellowship with God where there is light enough for them to see, but where they can live in patterns where they can live in the lie. 

God is a private, personal, powerful, public and purpose God. God is always making power available to us (His grace – His power released in us to obey Him). If we don’t obey the public message, God might (because of His purpose) deal with us publicly, exposing our stubbornness, rebellion and disobedience.

The command of the church is to go into all the world and preach the gospel of the Good News of who Jesus is (not to get everybody saved).  God has made Jesus the Head of Church and put everything under His feet and given Him authority. If His church is to preach the Gospel, then Jesus must be glorified in the church. God fills everywhere with Himself through the church. 

We, as the body collectively, represent the full measure of Jesus (Ephesians 1:17-23 Weymouth & AMPC). There is a big difference between a church that represents Jesus and a church that is just a lot of Christians together.

January 2014 Pastor John had a word of identity change. November 2014 Pastor John presented his sons to Brother Jerry and God began a deep spiritual thing in Pastor John about irrational honour. At that time a very personal conversation happened where Brother Jerry said, “We have got a foot in the door and we’re going to get the greater glory.   It started in 2014 and we’re in it.  This is not about how big your church or your ministry is, it’s about how much God is glorified.  John, don’t ever stop preaching the word of faith, ever. Don’t ever stop honouring your heritage of faith.  Somebody has got to maintain the standard. ” 

Pastor John, “Pastor Sharon and I have decided we will honour the heritage of faith. We will not let it go. We will chase it.  I’m not called to anybody else, I am called to the heritage of faith lineage. My calling is to show you how powerful you are in Jesus.”

What are you prepared to do in 2019 to make this the most significant year of your life? 

God opened the door in 2014. I believe He started to create for Himself a church of people that will glorify Him. God is going to make sure that this church is going to be an honourable church that gives Him glory, that is honouring the heritage of faith.  If there are people that are not going to hear and they’re going to just live their own life, at some point God is going to say, “No” because of the honour that is in this church.  

Capability is not what God measures people on, it’s how much responsibility you can bear.  God is looking for a Church that will become mature believers and grown up Christians that know how to discern the Word of Truth. When the glory of God falls on you, then the glory of God should be attracting the unbeliever. 

Six things to focus on for identity change for 2019:

1) This is the time to stabilize – Don’t allow yourself to become unstable. Don’t allow winds of doctrine and words/things from other people to destabilize you. Stay in the Word; stay focused.

2) It’s the hour to purge yourself – This is an hour to judge yourself, examine yourself and be ready to change. If there’s something that’s evidently immediately wrong in your life, fix it.

3)  It’s the hour to be pastored / shepherded (Jeremiah 23).

4)  It’s the hour to confront and beat down evil and demonic forces in your personal life and wherever you encounter demonic forces –  Take charge; take authority.

5)  It’s the hour to rejoice and be thankful.

6) This is the hour to advance – Take on places/spaces that are unoccupied. Evict illegal occupants. Take places/spaces by force – charge. Go! Don’t stay passive; strike the ground.

The characteristics of a soulful church. 

1) A cry for fellowship – Carnal fellowship is to play, recreate, vacation, drink tea and eat cookies together. True fellowship is when we work together, toil together, pray together, praise together and worship together. 

2)  A cry for natural intimacy.

3) Cry to touch and be touched – Rather than having a spiritual relationship wanting a  personal relationship with leaders (wanting leaders to become peers). 

4) A cry for personal identity – Where do I fit in, who are my friends, who has the Word of the hour, which movement of God to follow.

5) A cry, to voice and to be heard – The emphasis on self creates a platform of thinking where people want to voice what’s in their heart.

The truth is that you and I have to become spiritual. We must be built up members of a spiritual house, we must obey the Holy Scriptures and be led of the Holy Spirit. No matter what is inside of us, what we’ve been trained, what we personally feel or interpret – the Word of the Lord that is settled in Heaven forever is what we need to follow after and obey.

True Fellowship is when we work together in the Lord, true satisfaction is when we accomplish His goals, true relationship is when we know that Christ’s hand is upon us and we’re doing things according to the Holy Scriptures and we’re sticking together in the bond of love. Be careful that no one side-tracks you or leads you away into some kind of relationship that is not totally based in the Scriptures and does not totally glorify the Lord.

This pastor and this apostle, with Jesus, are counting on you, Heritage of Faith South Africa, that you have heard this message and that you will choose to obey Jesus and you will not choose to live as a soulful Christian in this church, but you will choose to be spiritual and you will choose to be a representative of God’s glory.  The Heritage of Faith lineage is counting on you to make the right choices in your life right now. 

If we will accept our responsibility, we have so much authority that we are about to enter a year, that will change everything in our lives – personally, privately, publicly and purposefully.

Say, Father, I receive this Word gladly and with great joy in my heart.  Thank You for teaching us to be true sons and daughters of the Most High God that submit to Your authority of Your Word in our lives.  Father, we say in the Name of Jesus that we are ready to follow You wherever You may take us. Thank You that we will become the glorious church that you intended us to be and that we will truly fill all things everywhere as Jesus’ body on the earth.