MESSAGE HIGHLIGHT:

Keeping Score or Glory Revealed Part 3 – Ps John Bendixen (JHB)

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 16:8 (MSG); 2 Corinthians 2:12 (MSG); Colossians 4:2-4 (MSG);

Pastor John running and everybody else walking: Because of the time of year, “I feel somewhat, almost like I’m still running and everybody else have started walking”. I always sense this thing, what happens in families, and the world around me, that everybody’s kind of slowing down and responsibilities tend to be something for ‘next year’. “I feel like I’m not slowing down I’m still having to do what has to get done”. Like Pastor John, I’m not slowing down spiritually, I’m getting things done.

Different – makes us grow: (New musician) “We actually have to embrace different, because different is really what’s going to make us grow”. “There’s going to be a new sound that’s going to happen in our church and it’s going to be electric” – “energy like you can’t believe. Part of it is because I believe that God has raised up Pastor Garth and SNCTRY to be able to minister to a new generation of people”.

Make music spiritually:  I come to church with my heart full of the Lord and I bring the Lord with me, then we can make ‘music together’ spiritually speaking.

Special services before Brother Jerry comes: “I’m wanting you and everybody that’s coming to our special services to actually get used to the sound and the discipline of coming and sitting for some hours and listening with a voice that is responsive”. When Brother Jerry says, “So give Him your best praise.” Somebody, that’s of Brother Jerry’s caliber, that preaches around the world, when he finds an audience that will pull things from him like that, then he gives his best.

Honour: (Brother Jerry talking about our church) The Lord said, “Well, you have recognised the gift that is in Brother Jerry and you have honoured it.” When he comes here, he touches that honour and we help draw the gift that is in him, out of him, cause we honour him, and what he brings. And because we honour the gift that he brings, he brings his best.

Be ready: I’m ready even though I’m going to rest, I need to keep myself spiritually prepared, I don’t just let it all go in December. I keep myself switched on. I don’t let my natural man overwhelm me for three weeks. I keep my spiritual man alive. Pastor John: “I’m ready for all the new things that God has for me. I’m ready. I mean it”. “And I feel it’s my heart’s desire really that you guys are all ready”.

2020 New doors: (Pastor’s great marriage but pressing for more) The Word of God in me begins to stimulate me and say what is it in the Lord that I can press for. Pastor John: “I’m believing for a supernatural increase in my ability to engage with you and receive from you and you from me, at a supernatural level where we can increase together.” I believe there will be a supernatural increase in finances, in physical ability and in many things. “But you’ve got to be willing to go through and see the new door”.

Brother Jerry – New Door: When Brother Jerry comes; he’s going to come with his message on the new door, the anointing and the spiritual impartation of a prophetic voice. I want us to be ready to hear what he has to say, I want us to honour the gift that’s in him that we can draw everything we can from him. I believe he’ll stand up in the church, speak and God will fill his mouth because we’re ready to honour it and pull it from him.

Scriptures – Door: 1 Corinthians 16:8; 2 Corinthians 2:12; When there’s a door that’s opened, you have to walk through it”. “Mostly when you leave one space, you leave something behind, and so what you leave behind, you can either choose to never go back there or you can choose to go back there frequently (home)”.

Old and basic things: In our lives there is an opportunity that God has created for us spiritually, that we can go through a new door, that He has opened, and the door has opportunity. Part of the opportunity is old things that we have brought with us in our life that we want to leave behind, you don’t want to take them into a new space with you. But there might be some things, that are good things, in your past that you have developed, that you want to take with you. “Whatever the new door is that God’s going to lead us in, it might incorporate very basic things in your life before you actually can establish an environment that you recognise what the new door is” (Pastor John leaving bread behind). “What are you ready with to go into a new door?” Some things might be quite small that the Lord begins to speak to you about, and sometimes; those small things where you show God your willingness and obedience, He shows you those before the big things come. And so sometimes people just ignore the small things because they’re not important enough; they are not significant enough, they are not of enough value to be considered – it is the small things that actually end up making the big difference. Like Marginal gains, (Team Ineos) “The door of opportunity opened to them but it was all about marginal gains, it wasn’t about a big thing”.

Go through a door: “So one thing I know for sure is that in order to go through a door you have to leave one space behind and you’ve got to go into a new space and the way that you go into that space has got a lot to do with how you’re going to see that space”. (Playing hide and seek). This is important, if there are things in my past that I don’t want to take with me into my future – I make a decision. There are some things I’m ready to leave behind and there are some things that I want in my future.

Words – Faith, words bring the past into the future: If you take what I preached especially on Saturday afternoon – ‘words and faith’. Words – and what we speak with our words is going to make all the difference about what happens in our future. “If I take words and I speak words of what happened in my past then I’m going to take those past things with me, with my words and they’re still going to be in my future”. “So it doesn’t matter if God opens a door of opportunity for me, if I’m taking words and I’m using words that are destructive words and I’m talking them into my future, then that destruction goes with me into my future”.

Business – God opportunities: (Praying for God opportunities) “Why are you so quick to say this is the God opportunity?” Why don’t you say, I’m going to evaluate the opportunity and allow God to guide me in this opportunity to see where it leads and where it goes and I’m going to use the leverage and wisdom of God and I’m going to let the Holy Spirit reveal Himself to me. It’s important to watch your words. “Because if you say this is the God opportunity, then all you start to see is the God in the opportunity, you don’t see what else God might actually have for you”. Now you are not allowing your words to create a down or an upside, you are allowing the Holy Spirit to give the pre-eminence in this opportunity. When it starts to become evident that this is a God opportunity, you can begin to focus on elements of that opportunity where you can speak them into life. You go from an old life into a new opportunity by establishing a word pattern that God can use to create a God pattern that needs to be created.

People on the other side of new doors: “I do want to say this, that as we walk into new doors that there are always people on the other side of them because you’re never going to walk into a space of just things and organisations. You’re always going to walk into people because people are really what God will always work through. God doesn’t work through processes and organisations. God works through people. Always. God changes things through people. He will bring things to you through people.

Challenges: Whenever you do something that God opens, there’ll always be challenges. You never need to be afraid of a challenge because if there is a challenge then God has given you the strength to overcome the challenge. So whatever that challenge is, if you keep your conversation and your language based on the Word of God, you will know what to do.  

Focus on the open doors not prison: (Colossians 4:2-4 MSG) “Spiritual doors are things you can see spiritually even while you might be in a prison physically”. While you may feel like your circumstances, education, some previous life choices, some financial circumstances are constraining you, like the Apostle Paul, “these chains are not where I’m focusing”. 2020, God has opened a new door for us. Even though you may feel constrained now, you need to spiritually be ready and walk through that new door and see the opportunities that God has for you.

Alert, ready and attentive – 20/20 vision: Be alert, ready, attentive and open to what God has got for you, He’s got many wonderful things open for and available to us. It’s not a coincidence that 2020 is the term that’s used for accurate, perfect vision. “It is not a coincidence to me that there is a new door that we’re going to walk through in 2020, that He will give us a new vision, perfect vision, to see what we must see for our future. I can say, Lord this is 2020 and I want 2020 vision spiritually, I want to see accurately, perfectly, without any hindrance of darkness, blindness or any lack of proper vision, I want to be seeing clearly what is meant for me, how I go through the door and maximise the opportunity that’s available. I’ll have 20/20 vision in 2020.

Timely word: I really sense that this word is a very timely word for us and I sense it’s God actually speaking through our spiritual leader to us. He is preparing us for the things that we need to be ready for and start to prepare yourself spiritually through December. You need to change something over this period of time, but don’t change your time with God. Keep yourself spiritually alert, keep yourself significantly connected to God because actually you know we’re about to go into a new door of opportunity.

Don’t Switch off: “So to the measure, you switch off, that’s ground that you’ve got to make up in the new year”. In my moment of relaxation and different environment (holiday) that I find myself in is a creative moment where God can speak to me and show me things that I didn’t see before. I can begin to pray it out in the spirit, I read the bible, listen to some ministry, get on the website and download the transcriptions to be alive in my spirit. God starts to speak to my spirit about my future while I’m relaxing.