A spiritual principle: Pastor John has been connected to a coach by the Lord to assist him with training. He said, training your body and training physically is like living as a Christian. You don’t exercise at being a Christian. You train to be a Christian. It’s a discipline, a training.
Exercising and training: Exercising is something you do when you want to do it, if you feel like doing it, how you want to do it. Training is something that you plan, you are purposeful at it and you set it for yourself, and then you don’t deviate from it. If you have a proper training plan for your whole life, your injuries should be few and far between. Whereas if you exercise, you’re likely to get more injuries because you just do what you feel like. That sound like a lot of Christians. I’ll spend time in the Word when I feel like it. I’ll pray when I feel like it. I’ll worship when I feel like it. Well, you’re just exercising Christianity. And so then you are more likely not to get injured, spiritually speaking, life speaking because this is not a training plan where I am doing something on purpose and I am focused and I am accountable.
Accountability is something that you choose to do: It’s not something that anyone can make you do but it is a powerful and important thing if you have accountability. If you say,“I make myself accountable to you today that I will be consistent in my training.” That becomes the change agent to be more consistent, to be more fit, to do more in life than you have ever done before. Some people say they do not need accountability because they have got their own accountability to themselves. Here is the problem; you may be strong enough to do what you plan to do – you may have the will power to do that – but if you do not make yourself accountable as a matter of choice then you always go back to your own will and so then you do not ever see the need to be accountable, even to God because you are accountable to yourself and only yourself. What makes you free is accountability. Because when choices come your way that are negative choices you are still accountable. Praise the Lord.
5Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6but only to the people of Israel, God’s lost sheep. 7Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near (Matthew 10:5-7 NLT). This is an extremely, extremely powerful passage of Scripture and it is becoming more and more powerful to me as God is speaking the prophetic word to me that has begun to come out.
8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! Now here is a very, very interesting thing – 9“Don’t take any money in your money belts. Jesus is sending his disciples on a first missions trip and He is saying, “Do not plan for it, do not take anything with you, just go.” There is a reason why Jesus said this and it is about to be unfolded right now. 9“Don’t take any money in your money belts, – no gold, silver, or even copper coins. In other words; take no resources that you can depend on. 10Don’t carry a traveller’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. I mean Jesus is being like, “You take nothing with you. You just go on my command.” Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality (Matthew 10:8-10 NLT). Ah, so take nothing with you but when somebody comes to bring you something, do not hesitate to take it. What is Jesus just creating? He is creating a whole new system that says don’t provide for yourself, people will come to you to provide for you – accept it. So do not trust on your own resources but people will come with their resources and bless you and when they do, accept it.
10Because those who work deserve to be fed (Matthew 10:10 NLT). So Jesus is saying, “I am sending you to work.” So if any of you have any doubts as to whether ministry is work or not, this will tell you right now that ministry is work. Okay, so even though people might think that you’re just walking and preaching the Gospel to people as you go, let me tell you, you are on assignment, and you are working for Jesus. You might not be working on a computer, you might not be actually knocking a nail in or doing something like that but if you are doing what Jesus commanded you to do, you are working.
11“Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town (Matthew 10:11 NLT). Search for a worthy person. So if someone comes to give you hospitality accept it, in other words, it’s in that person’s heart to already begin to bless you. That’s a worthy person.
Search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town (Matthew 10:11 NLT). If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing (Matthew 10:13 NLT). So if it’s worth something for them to be caring for you, then it’s worth something for you to be blessing them. But if they’ve seemed to be people that are just for show, but you don’t find that they’re worthy, they’re not really taking care of you, Then He says, “Take your blessing from them and leave.”
14“If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave (Matthew 10:14 NLT). Jesus is talking about households, that means families. So if a family does not accept your message, take your blessing with you and leave the town, shake off the remnants of that household or the town from your feet so there’s nothing that remains with you.
15I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day (Matthew 10:15 NLT). Jesus is setting up vessels and He’s saying, “I don’t want you to take any provision that you can take for yourself. My provision is my Word. My provision is the words that I speak of blessing that go with you. I authorise you to walk in a level of authority and blessing that you can take healing and deliverance to households, and to nations. When you take this deliverance message, there will be people that will open their hearts and bring you blessing. When that happens; bless them. If they reject you, walk away from them as though there is nothing from them that you even remember. Just walk. Take your blessing with you.” So what happens when you take your blessing with you? Judgment. Judgment is the greatest form of love that God can bring you because judgment is an expression of God’s love. Because judgment directly means if you feel the impact of the no blessing, then you should understand that God’s love has been removed from you because there is no blessing so that you can repent because you feel the absence of blessing.
16“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16 NLT). Jesus says, “I know I’m sending you into communities, that some will receive you and bless you, and some will not. But don’t worry. I’m always going to take care of you. Just go do what I tell you to do.”
Why this message today? Firstly, it’s got to do with what God is doing spiritually, and where we are going.
Circumcision of the heart: When Moses died and Joshua took over and went into the Promised Land, there had to be a circumcision. Theirs was physical, ours is a circumcision of the heart. Because what was about to happen was something supernatural and significant. The children of Israel were about to confront the strongest, most well-built, most guarded city in the whole region. You can’t go and be big and bold and take on the biggest when you haven’t done what God said and circumcised your heart and you haven’t had a time of resting in Him.
Read: 1 Corinthians 2:1-6 NLT I come to you with words today, I have been coming to you with words. Pastor Sharon, Pastor Christi have been coming with words, and it’s time for us to be what God wants us to be.
5I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 6Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten (1 Corinthians 2:5-6 NLT).
There are only two wills: Pastor Sharon said something that really struck me. We always think that there are three wills. There is a will where your will is against God. There is your own will and then there is your will that is for God. But she said, “The reality is you are never neutral-will. Your will is always only in one of two places – you’re always either against God or you are for God. There is no human will that is only neutrally for itself because if you are neutrally for yourself, you are against God.” Jesus even said, “You can’t be in between. If you are in between I will spit you out of My mouth, you have either got to be hot or cold.” That’s all there really is. You are either for God or against God. There is no neutral will.
7the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God; His plan that was previously hidden, even though He made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord (1Corinthians 2:6-8 NLT). The rulers of this world cannot see what God’s plan is for your life. If they could see, they would not have crucified Jesus.
Love and blessing are two different things: The love of God will bring judgment. Blessing is the favour and the peace of God. If they had understood, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” That’s all of us. 10But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets (1 Corinthians 2:8-10 NLT). Who is he showing the deep secrets to? Us. Where are they coming from? Him. Who doesn’t know about it? The devil. So it’s up to us to choose to live in Him so that His deep secrets become known to us. 11No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit) (1 Corinthians 2:11-12 NLT).
14But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.15Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT). So we can understand what God’s will is because we have the mind of Christ.
God enabled: Before Apostle Paul even went into his ministry, God said to Him, “Paul, I’m telling you, you’re going to go through many hardships, many beatings, you’re going to go through many things, and you’re going to do it for Me. But I’ll be with you.” And so when Paul went through those things, God had already spoken to him and said, “This is what’s going to happen.” So He enabled him, empowered him, strengthened him, gave him the revelations in the spirit that he needed. And the very revelations themselves caused the persecution, but the revelations also gave him the power to get through. Otherwise, How does a man go through all that kind of stuff, and then still say, “I could go because I’m ready to go but I choose to stay in this body for your sake.” How does a man do that? Only because he has a revelation and God imparts to His spirit that he can do this. Praise the Lord.
The enemy comes with enticing prospects: Why this message today? Well, I started it last week and I shared with you an event that happened to me, a supernatural spiritual event, where I talked about violence and violating. And I began to see and understand that actually the enemy of God is violently determined to violate your life. But he won’t come with a stick that beats you into submission, he comes with enticing prospects for you to follow, like the smell of coffee, or the smell of bread, and your nose takes you there. He comes with an invitation. But actually, he’s violently violating your future. He’s stealing your destiny. He’s stealing your calling and your gifting. And if he steals your future then he steals your family’s future. And he has the potential to steal our future because if God has destined you to walk with me, and you don’t, you’ve stolen my future.
We are going big and bold now: So I make myself accountable to you because I don’t want to steal your future. I have to follow God. I have to follow God. I have to be bold now because we are about to take down some big cities, some big spiritual fortifications that have stood in the way of our church and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re going big and bold now.
Blood-bought family: So, I ask you; what do you think happened to the disciples when they went into a place and someone received them and was hospitable to them? What did they do next? They blessed them. What did they leave with them? Something that money could never buy; blessing and peace. Only God can give it. And for those that went against God? Judgement is coming to them. I am really grateful to you, all of you, you are my family, you are my blood-bought family. You are my blood-bought family and I have a revelation of what it is to have a blood-bought family that is much greater than a blood-born family. Because actually as a blood-bought family I am accountable to you eternally. To my blood-born family, I am only accountable to them genetically, and to the measure that my blood-born family will serve God and worship God with me, I am accountable to them. But if there is someone here that is more accountable to God than my blood-born family, I am compelled to be more accountable to them.
Prayer: Please, put your hand on your heart like this, and say, “I am a son of God. I thank You, Lord, that I have authority over serpents and scorpions and all manner of demons and dark forces. I say thank You, Lord, that as a son of God no weapon formed against me will prosper. I declare that as a son of God, I will heal the sick, I will raise the dead, I will walk and work for God, and blessings will overtake me. Goodness will be my portion. Peace is what I live with every day, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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