Scripture Reference: Psalm 19:7-8 (TPT); 2 Corinthians 6:16 (NKJV); Romans 11:16 (NKJV); John 15:4-5 (NKJV); Colossians 1:16, 18 (NKJV); Genesis 4:3-7 (NIV); Exodus 34:26 (NIV); Exodus 35:4-6 (KJV); Ezekiel 44:30 (KJV); Ezekiel 44:30 (NKJV); Ezekiel 47:1-8, 10 (KJV); Ezekiel 47:9 (NKJV); Romans 4:17 (NKJV); Ezekiel 48:5 (KJV); 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV); Hebrews 12:11 (NKJV); John 7:37-38 (KJV); Hebrews 12:23 (AMPC); Genesis 18:17-21, 23-28, 32-33 (AMPC)
What a wonderful time of worship today. So before we’re going to start, let’s pray. We’re already in that wonderful place before God, and God gave me Psalm 19 early this morning when I was done with my preparation, the Lord just gave me Psalm 19, well, a part of it. 7God’s Word is perfect in every way; how it revives our souls! 8God’s laws are leading us to truths, all the while, and his ways change the simple into the wise. Your teachings, Father, are right and make us joyful; Your precepts are so pure! God’s commands, they challenge us to keep them and we keep them close to our hearts. The revelation-light of Your Word, Father, makes our spirits shine radiant (Psalm 19:7-8 TPT).
Father, today we praise You. Oh, what a wonderful time we have in Your presence here this morning. And once again, Lord, we come with great faith to ask that Your anointing will be on this message today – touching again, deeply all of our hearts today. Lord Jesus, let Your Words penetrate our hearts so that we can change and grow. Lord, as we study the Word during the week, we want to say to You, more than ever in our lives, we’re going to walk on the Word. And then Father, in this time of very great celebrations today, we want to say thank You to You for all our mothers, all the moms here today. Father, for our own moms that maybe can’t be here with us, thank You, Lord, for the unique vessels because in those vessels are powerful instruments. So, Lord, we celebrate them today. We love them. Thank You for that big part that they are playing in our lives. And Lord, we also want to celebrate our own moms before You today, we want to say thank You for Pastor Sharon – this powerful vessel in Your hand, and we love and we appreciate You Lord, Your gift Lord because there’s a powerful, powerful instrument in that vessel. Not one of us will be here today if it was not for her part to play. So we want to say thank You Lord, and we ask You to bless them. Bless them, Lord, and show our mothers Your glory today. And we all say; Amen. Wonderful.
Daniel, do you have that clip for us? [Slide shown to congregation of a picture of a few children from the foster home Heritage of Faith is supporting] I’m on my phone this morning and usually, I’m never on my phone. Pastor John wants us and just to make this announcement, and I want to read it to you in the way that I should. This is the foster home that we have a part in, in Witbank. And there you see the wonderful faces of these little children. Now for you and me, we can partake. Let me just get it – it’s a long SMS. This is the foster home. There are 11 kids, so we don’t see all the faces today. Ages 6 to 16 and what they need – and that’s where we can be a part of this today – examples of clothing. Tracksuits, sleepwear, underwear, socks, tekkies, a warm jacket, towels, soccer balls, a soccer ball net, a punching bag. There are boys. Puzzles, especially from the age of 6, please. Also an important thing; curtains. So if you want to be part of this, please let us know. Thank you, Daniel. We want to be part of these children’s lives. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
Well, Pastor Lynn, once again, and Pastor Melusi and everyone, it is really always just a privilege to be here with all of you. It’s wonderful. And again, Pastor John and Pastor Sharon, they always send their love, all their love to you. But again I must say, it’s wonderful to see the sound has improved here. And listen, we’re pressing for everything that God has for this facility, just like in Witbank. But it’s wonderful to praise the Lord and to see them there like this. The previous time was so wonderful for me to be here like this.
Will you please open your Bibles this morning to 2 Corinthians 6 verse 16. (Pastor Melusi, blessings for a wonderful morning) Well, we’re going to start with 2 Corinthians 6, verse 16. And if you remember what I’ve shared with you the previous time, we also started there. This is the heart of the message today and where we’re actually going to end today. But the title of my message – very important today, very important – God is first. God is first. So, 2 Corinthians, chapter 6:16, New King James. 16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16 NKJV). You know how many times in the messages that we have heard, Pastor John brought this scripture to us.
Now immediately for today’s flow, please go to Romans 11 verse 16, also in the New King James, Daniel, I just hope that I did not write down for you. Romans 11, verse 16. Perfect, thank you. Well, we want to understand what God says about first fruits but that is still coming. I know you’re waiting for that. Before we’re going to look at the practical side of first fruits and terumah, we have to understand who God is and who we are. So we’re going to read Romans 11, verse 16, but I want to say this to you today – there is a very simple, more straightforward part of firstfruits that is not difficult to understand when you study the Word of God. But then there is a side of firstfruits that can only be caught and not taught. And that’s why we have to study the Word of God this way today. Why? This part that we’re going to talk about that God is first, is vital. Otherwise, your giving will just be a formula. But it’s about our abiding and our life-union with Him that we must understand from our hearts. So Romans 11, verse 16. Now, I’m touching on firstfruits but you will see where we’re going with the message today. And then later on, if it’s God’s will, we will have a look at the wonderful, very, very powerful details of what firstfruits are. Now this, of course, is a powerful foundation for us because it is really fundamentally saying what firstfruits are. The Word of God says, 16For if the firstfruit is holy. So here it is in the New Testament, then 16…the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches (Romans 11:16 NKJV). So number one; firstfruits are holy. So what is holy? Of course, we’ve got a good concept of that. It means set apart. When we pray, Father, Your Name be hallowed, Holy is Your Name that means the Name of God is set apart. What we do, is we take His Name, out of the common ordinary language, and it is holy to God. We don’t treat it like all the other names. So it is with our understanding of firstfruits. If you place the first in God’s hands, then the rest that follows will be holy. That is very important for us to understand. Now, holy means to set apart for God. And that means our whole lives, every part of our lives.
Now, something huge must happen in your understanding today about the principle of firstfruits. And I know there are many, many things still, that we will come to talk about. You have to – it is my and your responsibility to get the revelation, that if the root, if the start, if the first, if the beginning is holy, then what comes after the first that will also be holy. Very important. Your firstfruit is holy because there’s a law in the nature of God and what is that? God has designed Himself to be first, and never second. This is very important. And thank You, Father, that our ears are hearing today. God has designed, in His own God-nature that He will be first in creation, first in our lives, first for what’s coming in our future. So today, first we need to see Who God is and who we are. Because if we’re not going to understand the principle that God is first, I’ve said it again, then your giving will start to be a formula because you will tithe, you can give your terumah, and you think that you can tick it off, you can’t.
What starts from God, what originates from God, continues as God. If God is not first in your life, in all things in your life, then you will go around the mountain again and again till you come back to this place, to understand God must come first in your life. We know, and please, this is important for all of us, you must know that it’s impossible for God to leave you and me alone, to leave us up to our own devices. Why? We understand that God is a jealous God. God will not stop watching over you and me to secure for Himself your life, your assignment, everything that God has for you and me, as a faithful, wonderful Father, He’s jealous. He will not stop working with you and me. So very important, we have to function in what God has already chosen, what He has already chosen.
Now, we have to make this start, there’s a powerful history of firstfruits in the Bible. And those are all very powerful examples to us. I just want to highlight Romans 11:16 again. Why? Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. 16For if the firstfruit is holy, that means the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches (Romans 11:16 NKJV). Now, immediately, on the back of that, I want to take you to, John 15, verse 4 to 5. Mostly I’m going to read from the New King James, but I am going to use some of the other translations. I’ve actually added this scripture this morning – one of the scriptures that I love so much in my own life. Jesus is saying in verse 4, 4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. Look at verse 5. We know it but today we are going to look at it like never before. Jesus says, 5I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5 NKJV). Absolutely nothing.
If the branch is not connected to the root system there is nothing coming out. Nothing can. Jesus says, “I am the vine.” So who are we? We know we are the branches, For without Me you can do nothing. Do you remember what Pastor Sharon said in those messages I will take the children? If you don’t do the will of God, it’s nothing. It’s the big nothing. It’s just a big thing of nothingness. And your whole life is just a nothingness. Why? You are not connected to the root. You are not connected to the root. You are all living by yourself, you have put yourself first.
So, Pastor John has many, many times in these powerful messages shared with us, and I wanted to go there in more detail but I can’t. I really have a lot to say and the Holy Spirit will lead me. But we must not think that we initiate our coming to God. God first loved us. So, it’s not us that can sit and think, “But I’m not doing bad. I’m abiding in the Lord and I’m coming to the Lord.” No, no, no. The initiative is never ours; it is always coming from God. So, if the branch is connected to the vine and the root is holy, so then only, only, only, only what comes from Him, that which is coming from His nature, is going to bear the seed. Only, only what comes from Him. Not your own plans. Not your own attempts. Only what He initiated.
Well, thank You Holy Spirit, you know when Pastor John ministered on commencement, at that time the Lord said to me, “Christi, have a look at your life. Look at the different things. Did God initiate and started those things or did you?” So, you really have to go and have a look, me too, all the time – what I’m busy with, what I’m doing, did God initiate that or am I busy with a big nothing? So God says, only when it comes from Him, we will have the thoughts, the actions; it will bear of the life that is in the vine that is in the root. It is very, very powerful to understand.
Jesus says, “If you will abide in Me, you will bring forth much fruit, just like Me.” Not like maybe just. And you know, it’s so powerful now, in the week when we come to study the Word of the Lord, especially when Pastor John and Sharon started on faith. And that one evening, but I think it was actually the first leadership development of Pastor John on Wednesday when he said that you must not get busy. But at the end of the evening, he says, but we are about our Father’s busyness. So, it depends on what your busyness is because we have to be about our Father’s busyness.
So, “If you abide in Me you will bring forth much fruit,” says Jesus, “Just like Me.” That’s how easy it actually is, to understand that when we abide in Him. Now, the big question is; has there been a lot of nothingness in your life or, has there been a lot of fruit and busyness of our Heavenly Father? Now, we are going to see in the Bible that God in the past, in the Old Testament right through humanity, He was speaking to individuals and He was speaking to groups of people. Do you know what He said to them from Genesis right through and what He is saying to us today? That’s what He’s saying to all people – “Hear My voice. Hear My voice.” And we are hearing His voice in the messages, the way – and we are going to see it today – the head has designed it for us. “Hear My voice.”
When we see in the past that people did not heed His voice, that when they went on they had no eternal rewards. Everything stayed behind. They could not take anything with. But the people who did took the eternal rewards with them because of His words. That’s very, very important for us to understand. You know, how much, and many times Pastor John has encouraged us that what we are choosing, the choices we are making to come out of Babylon, the choices that we are making not to chase but to seek God, why is that so important? To lay down our lives, lest the seed, lest any seed will fall into the ground but it must die. Then, those things, and we are going to see it in all of these studies, then we are talking about the eternal rewards – us walking with God.
Please go to Colossians 1 verse 16. So, we have to ask ourselves, very individually and as Heritage of Faith. Are we so different from the people in the Old Testament? Individuals, groups of people. “Hear My voice.” Now I quickly want to show you something about God because before we are really going to have a look at firstfruits, we must know that God is first and that is a matter of the heart. Now, let’s see how God decided. This is what God decided, how He will set things up. Not any other way. Colossians 1:16, 16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and the things that are on earth, visible and very important today, also invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, very important. All things were created through Him and for us? No, for Him. (Colossians 1:16 NKJV).
So, just very quickly; visible and invisible. Now, just to use an example here today. Let’s say, in the last 15, especially the last ten years, there’s just a magnificent use of communication. Just what I’ve used here today to get a quick SMS from Witbank to say, Pastor John would like us to make the announcement. So, why is that? Because this what I received came through the invisible realm. It came through microwaves, internet technology, we connect to the wifi and we can download anything. So, there’s a visible and there’s an invisible. Things even invisible are all available to us. Now, we’ve got very wonderful machines and units that can make this happen – Bringing the invisible dimension into our own world. Of course, the angels and the demons are part of the invisible realm. Now, why is that important? Because God is not seen in the physical dimension because God decided that in His nature, that He will be spirit. Very, very important.
So, everything was created through Him and everything again, not for us, everything is created for Him. He is first. Colossians 1:18, I know that you are there at verse 16. Now, Jesus 18is the head of the body (Colossians 1:18 NKJV), and I quickly, as we read this scripture, we are coming from the previous message, which was the revelation and the understanding of the Ecclesia. Jesus, the head. You cannot separate yourself as a believer from who Jesus is. If you are not partaking of the Church the way you should, then you must understand you’ve got nothing to do with Jesus. Jesus is the head. I mean, Jesus said to people, He said, “People will stand before Me and say, ‘But we’ve cast out demons and we’ve healed the sick in the name of the Lord,’” And God is going to say to them, “I don’t know you.” That’s massive. Jesus is the Head of the Church.
So, many people came to me in the past and they said to me, “Well, Christi, how is that possible that people can actually cast out demons and heal the sick?” Well, the Bible gives the answer. It’s in the name of Jesus. That’s where the power is. But why would Jesus say to some people, “Your understanding of Jesus and the church is wrong?” And then He is going to say individually to them it doesn’t matter what you did because if you did it in the name of Jesus you’re going to get results. “But I do not know you.” Colossians 1:18, 18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, not the Ecclesia that came later. Can you see that? The church that is the beginning. That’s why Pastor John said the church is rising up. The church is rising up. The church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, this is Jesus. So, we know the ultimate firstfruit is Jesus. Everything is based on Jesus. That in all things He may have the pre-eminence (Colossians 1:18 NKJV) or the second place. Be first, Jesus is first.
Now, the Lord said to me, “Christi, you’ve got to go this way.” Pastor Sharon showed us and we know it, but listen, in our collective greatness for the first time we come to understand this. We don’t know how much we’ve been impacted by Babylon. God is helping us here, all these messages are for one reason – to purify our hearts. We’re coming out of – let me tell you – I’m coming out of. I’m coming out of all by myself and I’m coming out of with all of you because it’s now a collective greatness. It is this church. And I will go there, I don’t want to jump ahead because we cannot do it alone. We cannot now go against God and what the Holy Spirit is doing in the earth. I’m going to show you today.
So, Jesus is first. Well, just very quickly, our own bodies – it works in exactly the same way. It works that way. Everything that I and you do comes from a thought that comes from our head. We’re not moving my hand, or my foot or I go to pick up a pen or a book if it did not come from the head first. So, nothing will happen without my head thinking it, and that’s the same with Jesus. Whatever the head originates, will come out. But now the question is; what’s coming out in your life and my life? What we initiated, or what’s truly coming from the Vine. So, in our life union with Christ, if you truly abide in Him, God created the new, the spirit man. He created our beings to be responsive to the Head. We have a desire to hear God’s Word, to hear what Jesus is saying. That’s why a mature child of God will start to train themselves to walk on the Word, to abide in Him more and more.
Please go to Genesis chapter four. So while you’re going to Genesis chapter four, verse three to seven, this time, I’m going to jump to the New Living Translation. While God says, “I’m the head,” God says, “I’m going to call how things will be.” Just by the way, His ways, not mine and your ways. He is the Head, He will call how things will be. And He says, “I will initiate and not you.” So from Genesis to Revelation, there’s only one place where God says He will be first, not second, the preeminent place, not the second place. Now, as soon as Adam and Eve ate from the tree, God said, “If you want to eat what the enemy brings you first if you want that, that’s your choice, first, eat over it and see that things will not go well with you.”
Now, let’s see what their sons did. Genesis 4 verse 3 to 7. 3In the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. Verse 4, 4And Able also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked down with favour on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast (Genesis 4:3-5 NIV). It simply means he was depressed. It simply means he was depressed. Now, here’s the revelation, and the insight God wants us to see, in the light of, before we can go to detail that God is first. 6Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why are you depressed? Verse 7, 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? (Genesis 4:6-7 NIV) How many times did we hear that word? Now listen, there great revelation here like Pastor Sharon already taught us for years and years that sin is crouching at your door and we can overcome that.
But, 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? (Genesis 4:7 NIV) So Adam and Eve communicated the nature of God to their children, because there they know to bring the offerings to the Lord. So both brought offerings, but not the same.
Cain killed Abel, because of the first lamb, because he knew and understood that Abel was really putting God first. I just want us to read verse three, and five again. 3In the course of time, I want you to see it, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering, not a first offering. It’s just how Cain decided. You see, God said, “I decided what you bring.” Cain said, “No, Lord, I will put my own spin on it, I will bring it this way.” Able brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock and the Lord was very pleased (Genesis 4:3-4 NIV).
Now, God made it clear to Cain what he did was wrong to the extent that when God said to him – in verse seven that we already read – 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? (Genesis 4:7 NIV). Now, if we understand that God is first for the first time, this question takes on a new form? The question today is; what is right? So if you and I are going to do what is right, God’s going to be very pleased. And what is the answer to that question in Genesis? The answer is, you put God first. If God said you do it this way, you don’t do it any other way. So, of course, people do and rightfully so get stuck there to just speak about firstfruits. But it’s deeper than firstfruits and an offering and the difference between tithes. It is about God that is first and Cain decided to put a spin on it.
That’s what the question is, that question is still for us today. If you do right, will you not – and what you bring to God, and what you are to God, and in the way you go about your life – will you not be accepted? Will God, will He not look with favor down to you to say, “You are not twisting My words.” Because listen, for us as believers, wicked people, I always thought wicked people are very bad people until I understood many, many years ago, I was one of them. Because in any place, in any time in His Word where I’m twisting something, putting my own spin on it, as Pastor Sharon explained to us, like the wicker furniture, it’s twisted, it’s twisted. Not just wicked people out there, the wickedness in our own hearts.
Please go to Exodus 34, Exodus 34. There’s so much that I had to take out for time sake today. But I want to show you a quick picture out of the Old Testament, right through to the New Testament of the examples. And like I said, we don’t just want to hear this, and this, and this about the different kinds of giving. We want to know who God is, and who we are to God. Now, Exodus 34:26, God says, I’m reading from the NIV, 26Bring the best of the firstfruits (Exodus 34:26 NIV). Bring the best. Now, later on, we’re going to talk much about this, much about what the Bible says,26Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord (Exodus 34:26 NIV).
Then I want you to go to Exodus 35, immediately after that. So Moses and the people. God is saying the same thing as He said in Genesis, it continues now. He’s talking to people, He’s talking to individuals, “Hear My voice. Know that I am God. Know that you will walk according to My ways, and not the spin that you will put on that.” So, before they started to actually do this because now they knew what to do, bring the base of the firstfruits. Before God actually allowed them to bring their offerings, their firstfruits – and that’s why I’m going to read verse 35 – God showed the people with Moses, and He’s showing us how He’s going to work with us. Before you bring it, God says, “Now I want you to see, I’m going to work with you. And if you’re in this condition, you may come, but if you do not come in this condition, don’t come.”
Exodus 35 verse 4 to 9, King James, 4And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel. Can you hear? To all of them, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded. This is the thing. God says, “This is the thing,” saying, verse five, 5Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart. And we spoke about that two weeks ago, again, God says, “I want a righteous offering. Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, gold, and silver, and brass, verse six says 6blue, and purple (Exodus 35:4-6 KJV). It goes on to say, you can be all these wonderful things, only one big reason if it is in your heart. Now, this is changing everything. So the way God is doing anything, He will not force anybody to do anything that they do not want to do. Why? He leads them. God never forces us, He leads us.
But He initiated in us a motivation so that we have the desire to want to come and bring to Him. Want to come and love Him. Want to come and worship Him. God says, all you’re giving, you can only do it and you may only do it from a willing heart. Why is this such a big issue to God? Why? Because everything touching Him must be internally motivated by your love for Him. Otherwise, it’s law. Otherwise, you will do it just because of obligation. Because God will not be a point of frustration or contention in your life. He will not, He will not do that. He wants us to desire Him, to come to Him with our right motives. Now, I want to take you to Exodus 35, please, verse 20 to 29. And again, let the scriptures speak to you. Get them into your heart. That’s a choice only you and I can make, only you and I can make.
Now, look what happened. Look what happened among a people who heard His voice. Of course, Pastor Sharon has taught on this, Pastor John many, many, many times but today we see it in a different light. Verse 20, 20And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Because God says, “This thing I command you. So you’re only going to bring to me if it’s from a willing heart.” They departed from Moses. In verse 21, 21Then everyone came whose heart was stirred. People, this is the only way you can come to church. This is the only way you can come in your life union with Jesus. It’s the only way that you can come with your offerings – if your heart is stirred, but He must be first. Not the way you want to come. And everyone whose spirit was willing, verse 21, and they brought the Lord’s offerings. And I want you to see this, for the work of the tabernacle. Yes, that is the Old Testament, but it’s the house of the Lord, for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for all the garment (Exodus 35:20-21 NKJV). The things that are needed. That’s why the Lord said, “In your collective greatness, now it’s a time to join hands, in prayer, in unity, in combining your resources.” And I’m going to go there now, now. Jesus is coming back for a church without spot or blemish. You’re going to now see, we are in this time. We are in this time that God is allowing His church to arise, we cannot go against the Holy Spirit anymore. We cannot go against what God is doing anymore and I’m going to show it to you in a short while.
Verse 22, I just want to highlight verse 22. 22They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart. Verse 23 says and every man brought what they wanted to bring. Verse 25, says and the gifted woman they brought, says verse 25. But then I want to emphasize verse 29. 29The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work (Exodus 35:22, 29 NKJV). All kinds in the house of the Lord, all kinds for the assignment that God has us on. People, if you are not coming like a little child, all of us must choose if we are coming like little children in our bringing, in our becoming, in our changing and in our growing. These messages are really helping our hearts to be purified.
So, this is very important because this is part of the heart this morning. This is part of the message why we can’t yet talk about the different details when it comes to offerings. Why? All these things that the Israelites had to bring, they took it from the Egyptians, just before they left. We understand, we know the wonderful story. So all their gold and silver that God favored them to get. Here in Exodus 35, we see that God is not asking you – please listen to this – God is not asking them for what He gave them. He is asking them for what is coming from their hearts. God is not asking you and me for what He gave us and that’s everything just by the way. That’s everything. He’s asking you and me to give because we worship Him. Because He’s our Source, our Love, our Life, our Way, our Truth, our Everything. God does not come with that deal’ “Well, I’ve been so good to you.” So listen to this; God gave them everything. God gave them the victory. The stuff that they’ve got, God gave them that. God does not want from you because of what He did. He wants from what is coming from your heart. Very important. Now, why is this so important today? It is never about what God did for me, now I owe Him. And if you are really honest in your heart, you must go and check this thing out. Really go and check this thing out. It’s not what God did for me, now I owe Him. God will not be second to what He has blessed you with. We’re going to see that in the Word. God’s not going to be second to the things that God has blessed you with.
Think about this. If you’re giving to God because of how good God was to you, then when things don’t go well, you will not give to God. And you really have to go and check out your heart, your habit, the habits that we are in. When you feel God is good to you, then you will give Him something. This is dangerous because now you become the one making the decision; what God will have and not. God says, “What did I tell you? I will be first. I tell you My ways – how you bring it and what you bring.” Now because of a basis that you think God is good to me or not, now you decide what you’re going to bring to Him. You have just put God in second place. It’s very, very dangerous, very dangerous. That is why many believers feel if God is good to me, I will be good to Him. If things go well, Lord, you can expect another 100 that’s what people think. They are tipping God. They are tipping God, “But if things are not working out the way that I wanted them to work out, I’m going to cut You back God because You must then understand, You’re not doing this for me. So, I can’t give to You that way.” So now your heart with your relationship with God is nowhere in play. God is not first anymore. Now God must see how you’ve decided to do life.
God says, “You will never be the decision-maker.” And God says, “Only if the motivation comes from your heart will I receive from your hand.” Remember when I’ve said to you, two weeks ago, that that’s why the Lord took us to the New Testament. He says, God says when you’ve got a gift in your heart, and you go to the altar, and you understand that there are things wrong in your heart, God says, “Don’t give that gift. Not in your relationship with Me and not in a relationship with the ones around you. Don’t do that.” God does not receive that. And you know those words when Pastor Sharon ministered so many wonderful times that Jesus stood in the temple. I mean, the first time when she went there, it touched my heart deeply that Jesus actually went and stood in the temple to see what they give. So we went there two weeks ago. Why? Because whatever you give, whatever you are giving, or you’re not giving, it testifies against you, it has a voice. But I’m not going to, I don’t want to go there.
So, I want to quickly touch on something to lay a basis for in the future. Abraham gave God his best and his first. Abraham had a child of promise. But Abraham also felt the pain of having a child that came out of what he and Sarah thought was good. You see, their good idea was not a God idea. There’s more that I want to say about this, but not today. I have to say this today, this thing is happening in and with some of the Heritage of Faith people. Many are buying Ishmael houses, doing Ishmael business because they are not waiting to hear what God is saying. And listen to this. This happened to me a few years ago, when God started to talk to me about important things in my life. The Lord said, “Christi, I can only work with a child of promise.”
You have to have the Isaacs in your life that means when the Ishmael, and if there are any Ishmael’s in your life, it means when you decided, maybe in your marriage, maybe all you by yourself in your finances, it can be in any area, then it means it was your own good idea, not God, because God says, “Isaac is coming.” But it took too long. So then you got involved, God was second, He was not first and you got your Isaac. God says, “I can only work with a child of promise, I can only work with the house of promise, I can only work with the business of promise, not what you are chasing after.”
The interns are such a powerful example to us here today. Why? In giving their first, exchanging their plans for God’s plans, what will they have? They will have the assignment of purpose, they will have the life of purpose, marriages of purpose, children of purpose when they keep on putting God first. This is powerful.
The first belongs to God. Now, why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice the first? I actually already told you because God is first, even in what He answers. God’s not going to be second in your prayers, in the big things that you are pressing with. God’s not going to be second. You cannot take an answer from God and then put it before God – receiving something that you really wanted from God. You cannot take a result of something that you believed for, put it before God because everything must be second to God. Doesn’t matter what you press. Doesn’t matter what you press for. Isaac is the firstborn out of the promise. But there was something that God was after. Everything that God is giving us will be tested, to see what you have is first, or is God first. Now many times when people get the answer from God, they are glad they walk away from God, just to walk around the mountain to come back because God says, “I’m not going to leave you alone. You’re not going to put that thing before Me.” That is why – and now this is so glorious – that is why God said to Abraham, “You are not holding back your first, your best, your Isaac. Now I can trust you with what I am doing.”
You know what? I know and if you are not one of those who come to study the Word of God, right through the week, it’s taking a sacrifice from all of us. You better come but I know you guys are there. Now Thursday evening and what can I say, you are listening to the Word of God. I mean the one session is more glorious than the next session. But something happened to me. I mean, we take notes as best as we can. But in the last session Thursday evening, when Pastor John and Sharon spoke about Peter walking on the water, I mean, I’m just like you. I mean, it goes like this, you know, you take all the notes. But then Pastor John said something, and I think he read out of the Message. That was hitting me between the eyes. He said; Jesus looked up and He said to Peter, ‘Come and join Me.’ Now everything about faith and the endurance of faith but this is what I heard. Can I say to you something here; God wants us like Abraham to believe for our Isaac’s. That means it’s going to take faith and it’s going to take endurance. Really, he waited for 24, Bible scholars say 25 years for Isaac. So I want to say to all of you Pastor Sharon ministers right now, now and then she’s touching on that – spiritual babies, please grow up. It’s not difficult to live by faith, we are supposed to get things by faith. But and listen, I was one of the spiritual babies that when I started to live by faith, it was for everything me, me, me, me – what I needed. Finances, houses, cars, to make it every month, you name it. I’ve started there like all spiritual babies. It’s not difficult because Jesus is our Shepherd. We walk out on His words, and we will not lack – it means we have it. Faith must just take it. But the thing that God is after, the thing that Jesus is after is this very thing, “Please use your faith, get your Isaac. I’m going to ask you for your Isaac. You know why? Because I want you to come and join Me in the Kingdom of God.” Every time you obey God, every time little things, big things. You know what’s happening, we give God an opening in the earth to work. He says, “Please praise for the big things. And I’m going to ask the big things back from you. And I’m going to bless you more because you’re willing to do that. But when you obey Me, when you obey Me, Abraham, then Jesus can come into the earth. Hannah when you gave Me your first and your best, your Samuel, you did not know what will come after, Samuel. But when you gave Me your best and your first I had the voice of Samuel the prophet in the earth.”
Do you know what God is asking from you and me in Heritage of Faith? “I’m Your God, please be My people. Please, come in the righteous ways that you can join Me.” The creation is waiting for the mature sons of God. Yes, your faith must occupy. To occupy is not chasing. To occupy is to walk on the promises and have it. “But please come and seek Me. Please come and ask me if I must buy that house? If I must do that business? Is this an Ishmael? Is this an Isaac? I can only work with Isaac in your life. Because everywhere where you are putting yourself first is Isaac, I can do nothing there.” This is what God is asking of me and you today. That’s why He wants people so that His will and His ways can come into the earth.
Now, this is very important also, in 2018, in the messages that Pastor John ministered, Every Moment For Your Future, Pastor John said where you start is not where you’re going to end up – all of us. And that’s wonderful. Even where we are right now is not where we’re going to end up. You have to say every moment is for my future. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. God already knew what was in Abraham’s heart, a willing heart. Now, I’ve already explained this to you. This was not a test of faith because the Bible says – and these are Pastor John’s wonderful words by the Holy Spirit – this was not a test of faith. This was a test for the future.
Now, when we’re going to talk about firstfruits, you see what happened with Hannah. The moment and that’s the heart of first fruit, the moment you give your first, you open the matrix. So the blessing is absolutely on the ways of God, tithing, the different offerings, terumah. All of those things we’re going to look at it because after Hannah gave the first and the best, she had so many other children. After Isaac, Abraham became the father of many nations. So, you cannot stay as a spiritual baby, just believing and pressing for yourself. Now that’s important because that’s how you grow. You see, what you do at home, killing the lion and killing the bear, taking on your finances, taking on sickness and disease and standing against it with a Word of God, that’s very important. That’s where you in the army of the Lord are learning to shoot. So that when we’ve got to come and pray for the nation, you can come and join us Prayer Connect, but you know how to pray. You can shoot, you know how to activate your faith. Why? Because at home you had to. You had to stand for your finances, you had to stand for the lives of your children. Something’s not so big, other things very, very big. So, that is what God wants from all of us. And we will talk more about that because there’s much more that is in the details of this understanding because the test was not about faith but about the future. God needed a sacrifice so that He could bring His son into the earth, Praise the Lord.
I’m going to end with this today. Please, go to Ezekiel chapter 44, verse 30, I’m going to mention it and later when we’re really going to talk about firstfruits, this is massive. We have to understand why giving our first is connected to the root. If you give the first then the whole bunch, everything afterwards will be blessed. So, Ezekiel, chapter 44, verse 30, says, 30And the first of all the firstfruits (Ezekiel 44:30 KJV). I just want you to see this. I think I’m reading from the King James. 30The best of all firstfruits of any kind (Ezekiel 44:30 NKJV). My translation says I think I’m in the old King James says, all things. Not the first of some things in your life because that’s the danger of just understanding terumah in one way. If you put that and you put it in Pastor John’s hands that we’re going to talk about, like I said, there’s a part of fristfruits that is caught and not taught. The first of all.
Now, please go to Ezekiel 47. Now, what’s happening here? When Ezekiel comes on the scene, this is very important for us, he started to prophesy. This happened during the time when Babylon came in and plundered the temple. Ezekiel prophesied about the rebuilding of the temple. So he was speaking about our lives today. So you have to keep this in mind, when the Lord showed him some things that are to come in the future, at this time, everything is destroyed, Nebuchadnezzar is King, Babylon is ruling, and things are bad. Things are bad. And this, what I’ve just read to you in Ezekiel 44, is what the servant of God comes to say to the people, “Give God the best of your first fruits. I know you’re plundered. I know things are very bad. I know you people in South Africa and all over the world, there’s been a lockdown. It has affected many businesses. There’s a Coronavirus, but give God the best of your first fruits.” Now I want you to see, and now we come to a very, very important part of why Jesus is coming back for a church, not an individual. And it depends again – I went back to what I’ve said earlier – who you are in your understanding of Jesus, the Head of the Church, do not be found in a place where Jesus is going to say to you,” I do not know you.” Because if you do not know that you are planted in a specific place, called to a person and a people and you still want to do your own thing, Jesus will tell you, “I do not know you.” Because He has decided how this must work and how it must look like. Now what’s happening here is going to show you with the water, the outpour of the Holy Spirit, that you cannot resist this. The Holy Spirit is now taking us. The Holy Spirit is taking us and if you’re going to resist Him, He has to chastise you. We will go back to Hebrews later.
I’m reading from the Old King James, Ezekiel 47 verses 1 to 10. 1Afterward, this is Ezekiel speaking, he brought me again unto the door of the house. Ezekiel in this has a vision of a work that God is now doing and pouring out His Spirit mightily. This is what you are reading. And, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. So what’s happening here is there’s water pouring out from the east side and there’s water pouring out from the south side. Verse two, 2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. Now waters – and this is the picture of the Holy Spirit coming – now waters are pouring out from all sides. God wanted him to see this. The third verse, 3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits. Now, this is just if you enjoy Bible study, when you take a grown man’s hand, a cubit is this portion from your elbow to the tips of your finger. That’s what a cubit is. And he brought me through the waters. Now, notice what’s happening. Now, the waters were to the ankles. So he is watching this temple with an altar, and the water is pouring out in every direction and dimension. This is now what he’s witnessing. Verse four, 4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; now look where the waters are, the waters were now to the knees. Now listen to this; now the water is increasing in its influence and its resistance. This is the outpour of the Holy Spirit now. You see, when you say that Jesus is your Lord, God says to many in the church, “Don’t call Me Lord, Lord, and you don’t do what I say.” Because now this water, an outpour of the Holy Spirit, in the last days that He’s showing Ezekiel, this river is rising, the outpour of the water. It is increasing in influence and resistance. And I’m reading on, Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Suddenly up to his waist. Verse five, 5Afterward he measured a thousand; and now it was so deep, it was a river that I could not pass over. I could not now pass over. For the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. Now listen to this; we sang in all the songs about the Church rising, the time of God that came, this is what happened. He is experiencing, Ezekiel, an outflow of the water, which is the Holy Spirit, so intense, he now can only go with it, he cannot go against it.
What God is now doing in the Church, in the Ecclesias, and we believe that there are many, you can now not go against God. You can now not go against God. We are experiencing it in this church to the absolute fullest that God said to all of us as individuals, “I gave you great grace. I gave you grace, I gave you marginal grace. And then comes forced discipline.” That’s just how God is, “If I’m not going to get it right to deal with you personally, I’m going to deal with you publicly.” But now the servant of God says, “I cannot now go against this force any more.” Because you must understand in the past, they could, they could. And verse six, 6And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Verse 7, 7Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. So, all of a sudden, he saw the outpour of the Holy Spirit coming. He is now seeing everything growing, everything growing on all sides where the river is. And verse 8, 8Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed (Ezekiel 47: 1-8 KJV).
So, what does that mean to all of us? Now, according to most Bible scholars, according; the Jordan River, it has life in it which means there are fish, but it flows down to a body of water, called the Dead Sea. That’s what’s happening. He is showing him a picture of what’s happening here. In the Dead Sea, we know it’s filled with salt. We know water is flowing into it, but we know nothing is flowing out of it. Now, again, most Bible scholars do agree on this that where the Dead Sea currently is, that is where Sodom and Gomorrah were, that’s where it was. So, there’s no life. Everything is dead. The water is so dense, and we know it about the Dead Sea, people cannot sink when they swim in it. Now Ezekiel says, “I’m watching the water flowing down to the Dead Sea.” After 1000’s and 1000’s of years the servant of God says, “Of nothing working, nothing happening,” listen to verse nine, 9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever [c]the rivers go, will live. Why? This river is the mighty outpour of the Holy Spirit. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9 NKJV)
So, we get a picture that there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Now, everywhere where the Spirit is poured out, the things are now coming alive. But there’s a big shift that’s happening here. Look at verse 10. 10And it shall come to pass, that the fishers, the fishermen, shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many (Ezekiel 47:10 KJV). Now, this is very interesting and important, because these two places in Engedi and Eneglaim, are places right there by the Dead Sea. Nothing is supposed to grow. It’s not other places in Israel, it’s right there, there is no fish. But now, because the river of life is flowing, everything that is dead is becoming alive, something is changing and shifting. We sang it this morning, the shift is happening. The shift is happening from those, Romans 4:17, 17God, who gives life to the dead (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Dead things in us. We are coming out. These were a people plundered by Babylon, they were in Babylon. We’re coming out of Babylon.
So, please go to Ezekiel 48 verse 35. I’m almost done. Why is this so important and what has this to do with God first, firstfruits and me, now? Well, Ezekiel 48 verse 35 says, 35It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:5 KJV.) The Lord is there. You see, in the Old Testament, God was there in the Holy of Holies and here I am. It’s not the same any more. God is not, you are not coming to church, and God is there and I am here. No, He that’s the first is in me, He’s not far away. He that I give the first place to in my life is here. The Lord is with us. The Lord is with us. The Spirit, the outflow of His spirit to take the Church to arise is in all the messages. We sang, you know, actually everything that we sang this morning, I wanted to pray it before I came up. I just wanted to pray all the words because God is busy. We see the change of times. This outpouring, we cannot resist it any more. Either we’re now going to go with it, or we’re going to come against it. So this is very, very important.
We already looked at one Corinthians 6:19, 19Or do you not know, thank you, Daniel, I am going to skip one, I think. 19Or do you not know that your body is the temple (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV). It’s not that one in Ezekiel that was built with man-made, it was not man-made. 19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, and then that last part, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV). People, this is very, very important. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit is in us and that we have to make a shift in the way that we abide in Him, the way that we choose to live. And now I must show you this Hebrews 12:11. I thought at first, “Lord,” the Lord said to me, “You go there.” We have to get this message. You have to decide to come like a little child. If you are not now coming like a little child to humble yourself, to know who Jesus the Head of the Church is, your carcass is going to fall, just in the wilderness. Just like God showed us the examples. You cannot go with Him. Look what Hebrews 12:11 says because He’s talking about a father. Are you His sons? Can He correct you or are you one of those that says, “No, Lord, you may not.” He says, 11Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11 NKJV), and this is going to be very important with what I’m going to close with because God is after the fruit of righteousness. Do you understand as a believer, you can be a vessel in the hand of the enemy? Anywhere you and I do not put God first, say, for instance, we are full of rebellion in the church, we gossip in the church, we do not want to submit in the church, then you are a vessel in the hand of the enemy. You are. I mean, when I was lawless and opinionated, disconnected, I had everything to say about everyone. I was so clueless. I was absolutely a vessel in the hand of the enemy. If you are still in that place, and you do not know that you are planted, that you submit to those who have – and the Bible is so beautiful about it – the spiritual leaders that are watching out over your soul, not lording it over you Watching out over your soul. If you are not in that place, you are a vessel in the enemy’s hand. It is not difficult. And God says “Please understand if you are going to resist me in this thing, the correction is going to come. It will come.”
So John seven verse 37 to 38, 37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38He that believeth on me, and you see that believes means I make you Lord and You are first in my life, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38 KJV). This river of water is coming out of us individually, collectively and not one now, around the Church, the Ecclesia, in the Church will be able to come against it. We are in that time. Praise the Lord.
Okay, there’s no time for that. I need to end with this. Last time I’ve shared with you that our money has a voice and that according to Malachi three, God wants us to bring Him offerings of righteousness, offerings of righteousness. I’m going to go there; with willing hearts, with willing hearts. This is how He wants us to come as little children. It means and remember I’ve said to you, you humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Many people sometimes in arrogance will say well, then God must humble me. No, the Word says you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, but He in due time will exalt you. When we do this, and we come as righteous sons of God, with righteous gifts, because our hearts love God. When we do this, God made it clear that God will draw near to us for judgement to be a swift witness against those things. And those ones that are working against the purposes of God in our cities and in our nation. God says when My people bring an offering in righteousness, it will release a testimony on their behalf. And it will allow Me, God, to bring judgement on these things, the works of the darkness. It can only happen in the Ecclesia. We went there. Why? Because the Ecclesia is governmental, judicial, and legislative. Now I want you to go to Hebrews 12, verse 23, because like I’ve said you can be a son of God planted where God wants you to be planted, submitting the way you supposed to be submitting because then you are coming along like a little child with God where Jesus says, “Please come and join Me.” Let me just, in a nutshell, today show you what He wants us to come and join Him. Hebrews 12:23, the Amplified. I quickly want to and I’m going to show you this, 23And to the church (assembly) of the Firstborn who are registered [as citizens] in heaven, and to the God Who is Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (the redeemed sons in heaven), spirits of righteous sons of God, who have been made perfect, because some have not (Hebrews 12:23 AMPC). Look at this scripture because God says you have come to Mount Zion, you have come to the Ecclesia. You have come to the Church, there is the assembly, the Ecclesia. There is Jesus, the first, not you. There are the citizens of course in heaven and to God the Judge. Remember we’ve said everything here in the Ecclesia is about the Judge. That is why God says your gold and your silver testifies against you. That word testify, if you have no court, if there is no judge, it is not a word that you can use. You only testify when there is an accuser and when there is a case. Can you see just quickly everything here that God, we have come to Mount Zion? This is what is happening here. Now in this light of the spirits of righteous sons and daughters, righteous in this life, I want to share with you a very serious thing today. And that is touching on where I left previously and where God still wants to go.
Please go to Genesis 18, verse 17 to 30. Genesis 18, I’m reading from the New King James. This is Abraham interceding for a city, Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham interceding for a city, verse 17, 17And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, verse 18, 18since Abraham shall. God knows He is teaching His children. God surely knows he will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? Verse 19, 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord. keep his own way or keep the way of the Lord? Is God first? This is a huge qualification for Abraham. But listen to what it says, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. 20And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave (Genesis 18:17-20 AMPC). Now you will remember James 5 that I’ve shared with you. Two things in that scripture of James five, God says, the corrosion of your silver and your gold is witnessing against you. And then the wages of the people who brought the word among you, that you kept back those cries are now reaching my ears. So do we see a very different people in a city in Sodom and Gomorra, that the cries went out and God started to hear? No, we don’t. Verse 22, well, verse 21, God says, 21I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry (Genesis 18:21 AMPC). The witness stands, the outcry comes when the Ecclesia and a people are not, of course, they’re doing their own thing, but not according to the Word of God. I’m going to skip to verse 23, 23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (Genesis 18:23 AMPC). Hebrews 12 says God is looking for righteous sons. Hebrews 12:23 is talking about the Church, the Ecclesia, it’s talking about the judge of everything. This is a serious matter. This is government. This is government that’s operating but, “Lord, will you judge the righteous? Will you destroy them?” Verse 24, 24Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; suppose there’s fifty, would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Abraham says in verse 25, 25Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:24-25 AMPC). Now, that’s very important. Now we talking about judicial matters here. Will the Judge that is now judging like the Ecclesia stands, will the Judge do wrong here?. So he’s talking about and he’s looking at people in that city, he is back to the Ecclesia. Verse 26, 26So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place, all and in the place. Can you see the connection? 27Then Abraham, verse 27, answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord, verse 28, 28Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” He is still busy with the city and the righteous. We go down, we go down to verse 32, and this is what our ears must hear today. 32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” Listen to God’s response, and then God left. And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten,” says the Lord. And He 33went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place (Genesis 18:26-28, 32-33 AMPC).
What happened here? Abraham, the father of faith, could not change things for the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, the father of faith, could not intercede. Why? He did not live there, he was not in the Ecclesia. He did not live there. He could not. He could not. Why not? He did not live there. He was not part of the Ecclesia in that city. God was looking for ten righteous men living in that city. If God can find ten in the Ecclesia, 1tenin Heritage of Faith, ten in our cities, He can save the city. If God can find ten sons of God, in their giving, in their all living for God, in their giving and coming to God in a righteous way, God ended and He says, “If there are ten, then I will do this.” God is looking for ten, ten that will put God first.
Pastor John shared with us God is busy making an announcement in the earth. The announcement is that His church, the Ecclesia of the living Christ is about to step out of the shadows and become the anointed Church of the Ecclesia that will rule and reign and govern and make announcements on His behalf in the earth. We the Church will make announcements on His behalf that the government cannot make. God is about to make announcements into the heavenlies. In our collective greatness, as we join hands, as we combine our resources, as we are putting God first then – what Pastor John and I shared it with you the last time – Pastor John says, we are about to take down some big cities, some big spiritual fortifications that have stood in the way of the church, our church, the church of the Lord Jesus. And we say; Amen.
Father, we come to pray today, and we want to say thank You for Your grace, for Your love, for Your mercy, and that You are jealous for us. We sang it this morning, Lord, You’ve said, “I’ve said that you’re holy, walk before Me holy.”
Father, it’s the desire of our hearts today to listen to every message and let every scripture speak to us, Lord so that we can change and come out of Babylon. Because we desire to be one of the ten, we desire, Lord, like you’ve said to Peter, “Come and join me. Abraham, now that your heart is to give Me everything, I can trust you with what I am doing.” Lord, we want to grow up and be mature sons of God. Thank you, thank You that we can come this year and study the Word of God, Lord. Pastor John is sowing it as a seed in our lives. There is no reason that we cannot. And we’ve got Your word that one evening when Pastor John stood up between the sessions, and we made it available in the church, where You’ve said, “If you come this way to study the Word of God this year, things that you have been struggling with all your life will just fall off and out of your life. Prayers that you’ve already prayed will just be answered.” Supernatural healing, supernatural intervention is coming our way, because now in our collective greatness only you could know that we would give ourselves to study the Word of God like this together.
Oh, Father, thank You, we are becoming. You are purifying our hearts with every message, every word, Lord. We choose to walk out on those words. We thank You today. Father that your mighty Church is rising, and that we are part of your Ecclesia, the anointed Church that is now and will with You rule and reign on Your behalf.
Thank You, Lord, for every step of the way, helping every one of us personally, and all of us in our collective greatness. Father, we sprinkle the blood of Jesus, we sprinkle the blood of Jesus because the blood of Jesus has the power to set everything right, the Blood. And now as we sprinkle the blood of Jesus, Lord, over our coming and our going, the Blood works to minister defeat to every attempt of the evil. And Lord, we thank You today that no evil shall befall us. No evil shall befall our relationships, our children, our marriages, our finances because of the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus. Thank You for the powerful ministering angels, Lord that now heard these words, Lord, and they hear our prayers, and they defend and preserve and accompany us wherever we go. And they go out and cause the abundant overflow, Your wisdom, Your plans unfolding for us to come and materialise.
We love You, Lord, we love You as we go from this place to have a wonderful celebration with our moms, today, Lord. We are shouting with Jesus; divine recovery, divine healing, divine health and divine prosperity. You did not say health, You said divine health. You did not say recovery, You said divine recovery and You said divine prosperity. We are just a people who believe you and we all say; Amen.
Go and enjoy a moment and a meal with mom or if she’s far away, just go and celebrate. Enjoy guys.
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