Scripture Reference: Matthew 10:5-11, 13-16 (NLT); 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, 14-16 (NLT)
Praise the Lord, thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Lord, that You have a mighty Church that is rising. We are obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit. Thank You that You through us in this earth are showing Yourself as fearsome and awesome and Almighty God. And I thank You that in this service today that everything that is said and done will bring glory to Almighty God and cause us to raise and rise as a church that will look like You, speak like You, and do like You. We thank You for it Father, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Praise the Lord. Are you all doing all right? That’s good.
What I am about to tell you is not just some arb information about me. It’s got a spiritual principle. And the spiritual principle goes like this – I am doing some significant training for some significant events that I want to participate in. And so, I thought I could do it by myself. I then decided, just through my normal every day leading of the Holy Spirit, I came in contact with a coach and this coach, born again coach that actually has a degree in theology, but has been burnt by the church – that is not surprising. And so, we got connected and I started to use the coach. So, we don’t have much time to be able to connect with each other, just because of December and various other things. He is in Joburg and I am in Witbank. So, he came through on Tuesday night and stayed over Tuesday night so that we could do some very early morning training on Wednesday morning. So, we are at the gym at 05:30 when the doors open. Guess what the weather looked like and what the weather was like on Wednesday morning? It was raining, but it was also blowing wind at like 27 to 30 km per hour. The temperature was supposed to be like 12 degrees but felt like 6 degrees, and now I am going to swim. Ja, I am going to swim. Fortunately, I swam indoors, but we talked about it because he was there the whole day and spent some of the time doing different things, but we talked about it and we talked about the power of accountability. Because if I had woken up on Wednesday morning and he wasn’t there, I would have looked at the weather conditions and said I will swim tonight or tomorrow. Right? But these conditions, no ways, just mentally… But guess what happened? After we swam and you walk outside, now the weather isn’t even hardly that cold anymore because you have been in the water, and so mentally, it is like if I could do that, it doesn’t matter what other conditions face me eventually, I have broken through a barrier. It’s a mental barrier, sure, but I have broken through it because that is what accountability and training do for you. It removes the effect of circumstances and it allows you to break through and become something greater than what you could become by yourself. Amen.
So, we have a new word that we are speaking amongst ourselves and I am bringing it to you today so that you can understand what Slipstream is becoming if you’re not yet engaged with Slipstream even from walking, or you know from breathing. Just get on Slipstream and say I am doing breathing exercises, that’s cool, that’s fine – you’re part of the game, you know. But the whole thing is we don’t talk about it but this is what our coach brought us and it was just amazing how the Lord connected me to him. 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. He explained the difference between 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. So I think I will go for a run today because I feel like it, or I think I’ll go for a swim today because I feel like it, or I’ll go for a bike ride because I feel like it. So, that is exercise and 95 percent of people live as people that exercise. But he said 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 unless there is a reason for you to deviate from it like overtraining or an injury happens or something. But here is the real thing, 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. Huh?
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. Hey? Ja nê.
Accountability is something that you choose to do. It’s and not something that anyone can make you do. We had this conversation on Wednesday evening when there was a Q & A session and other people that were not part of the club yet and yet had found out what we were doing and so we had one of the rooms in the church in Witbank and the room was full. We were just talking about the training programme and everything that goes with it. I will tell you it is a powerful and important thing that if you have accountability, and we spoke about accountability and some of the men that were there, I spoke to them and I referred to them, and some of you here today, men that are here today, will remember this that I had a men’s meeting about seven years ago. I had just got into cycling, I had been cycling maybe two, two-and-a-half years and I had done a couple of 94.7’s and a couple of Arguses but I was not really making much progress. I had about as many men there as there are people here today, and I asked them and I said, “So what do you think about my cycling and all…?” A couple of them stuck their hands up and they said, “Pastor John, your problem is that you are not consistent enough. You’ve got strong will, and you can do this but you are not consistent enough.” So I said to the whole men, all of those men I said, “I make myself accountable to you today that I will be a consistent (those days I would have said exerciser) but I will be consistent in my training.” That became the change agent for me to be more consistent, to be more fit, to do more in my life than I 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 with it; 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. Even if you are strong-willed. So people say, “I do not need to be accountable to anybody to go and you know put on my tekkies. It does not matter if it is raining or if it is shining, it does not matter, I have got the strength of will enough to go do it by myself. I do not need somebody there to tell me.” Okay, but why do you not make yourself accountable to someone, as a matter of choice? Because that is the power in your freedom. Well, you say, “Well, that does not sound like I am becoming free if I am becoming accountable,” but that is what makes you free is accountability. Because when choices come your way that are negative choices you are still accountable. Praise the Lord.
I am just going to read you this passage of Scripture in Matthew chapter 10 verse 5 in the New Living Translation. 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, this is the New Living Translation, 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 to me and the prophetic word that God has given me has begun to come out. It is possible that I may not see you as a congregation until January, just because of the way God is leading me right now. So if you do not see me, you need to be watching the Witbank live stream and or any of the live streams that we are doing between now and the end of the year. Okay?
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. Huh? 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. So, 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 traveler’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. Huh, 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 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, how on earth do you do that, Jesus? You know, there’s a whole town full of people, search for a worthy person. Well, part of it is already given in the previous verse, 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. Right? I am not preaching something that’s not in the Bible.
Search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town (Matthew 10:11 NLT). In other words, if you found somebody worthy that is ready to give from their heart, and that is worthy to be hospitable towards you and provide you with shelter and safety and care that’s a worthy person. So there’s no reason to leave. Stay with the worthy person. 13If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing (Matthew 10:13 NLT). Say what? You mean, Jesus just delegated the authority to dictate someone’s future based on their worthiness? Jesus has just said, “If you find that house to be worthy, they accept you, they’re hospitable towards you, they’re wanting to care for you and give to you – that person, and you find them like that, that they continue to be like that, it’s not just a show that when you get in there, they’re not worthy.” So if they are like that, then leave your blessing. That must be worth something. If it’s worth something, let me say it this way, if it’s not worth something, then Jesus wouldn’t say leave your blessing. 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.”
14If any household, if any household. We have many households here in this ministry. “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). So people, many people when you read this scripture, many people just seem to think it’s about the town. But He’s talking about households, households. That means families. Right? So if a family does not accept your message, doesn’t accept you, and doesn’t really want to bless you, take your blessing with you and leave the town and have so little to do with the town that even the remnants of the town or the household that is on your body, shake off the remnants of that household or the town from your feet so there’s nothing of the household or the town that remains with you. Leave free from them. Powerful passage of Scripture.
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). Or household on the judgement day. Now, I ask you; what’s Jesus setting up here? He’s setting up vessels and He’s saying, “I don’t want you to take any provision that you can take for yourself. And I am not giving you any provision. 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. Ja, nê.
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). So Jesus understood that when they were going to go from town to town, there were going to be worthy people that will embrace the message, they will embrace what God is doing through them. And there would be those that would be like wolves and these disciples will be like sheep amongst wolves. That’s someone that’s – if you take the reference – it’s someone that’s innocent and ready for slaughter that goes into the company of someone that’s ready to devour and tear you apart. Right? And 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.”
So you may ask me today, and you may say, “Pastor John, why are you bringing this message to us today? What does that have to do with us?” Firstly, it’s got to do with what God is doing spiritually, and where we are going. So I want to bring something in of the prophecy that God is going to have me speak out in one time, one day, and or teach on it. But when Moses died and Joshua took over – Pastor Sharon preached on this already here – but when Joshua took over and went into the Promised Land there had to be a circumcision of the heart. Theirs were physical, ours is a circumcision of the heart – where your heart had to be investigated and the parts that need to be cut out that shouldn’t be there need to be removed. Right? Because what was about to happen was something supernatural and significant. What was about to happen is that the children of Israel were about to go and confront the strongest, most well-built, most guarded city in the whole region and there was no army that was strong enough to defeat it. And yet, the children of Israel were about to go into the Promised Land, bear in mind, you can’t go take a land if you can’t defeat the strongest city. Because after you’ve walked into the land, that city will come and defeat you, its inhabitants. Right?
So they’re about to go and take on the strongest city called Jericho. You can’t go and be big and bold and take on the biggest, and the boldest when you haven’t done what God said and circumcised your heart when you haven’t had a time of resting in Him. Then you go, and you do what you have to do because God sends us out with a blessing mandate, with an authority mandate to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to minister to people. God has caused us to and raised us up to do that.
As we go forward in this momentum, we are going to, figuratively-speaking, spiritually-speaking, we are going to bring down big cities, strongholds that are both in you, and are in this nation that are in households and in the nation. And we need to understand the blessing mandate that is on us, given to us by God. Amen.
I feel like this is a really good segue into my photographs, but I’m going to keep the photographs until the end.
First Corinthians chapter two verse one in the New Living Translation says, 1When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified. 3I came to you in weakness – timid and trembling, physically. 4And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5I did this so you would not trust 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 2:1-6 NLT).
So I come to you with words today, I have been coming to you with words. Pastor Sharon, Pastor Christi has been coming with you too with words, and our words are not in the world’s wisdom because if we were tapping into the world’s wisdom and worldly words, we would not come to you with the power of repentance. We would not come to you with the power of the message that Babylon cannot have our children. We would not come to you with the power of God that would bring us to a point of realisation that Babylon has been taking our children and taking us, and it’s time for us to be what God wants us to be. Ja?
So, 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). If you take this passage of Scripture, and you go to First Corinthians chapter 13, First Corinthians tells you chapter 13, that knowledge is going to pass away and everything that is in the world is going to pass away. There are only three things that will not pass away; hope, faith and love. Everything else is going to pass away, and will not stand. So what good does it do us if we place all of our emphasis on living well in this world system when it’s all going to be forgotten? No, because let me say this, the rulers of this world want everything in this world to give glory to the prince of this world, not to Jesus Christ and so everything this world has got is geared to bring our attention to what’s in this world. Right?
I ask you; if you are worried about your income if you’re worried about your income, where do those thoughts come from? Where do those thoughts come from if you are worried about your income? So, I have given you some clues here. The first clue is ‘worry’. If you worry about your income then where do those thoughts come from? Does worry come from God? No, no. What comes from God? Peace. Right? So if you are worried then something is causing you to think contrary to what’s God’s Word. So if you are not worried then you must be in something else. An absence of worry doesn’t mean to say you have faith. An absence of worry might just be the reality of your financial circumstances where you don’t have to worry but that doesn’t mean to say you’re walking by faith.
Pastor Sharon said something that really struck me. This is her revelation, I’m not taking credit for it, this once. After this, it becomes my revelation but this is her revelation and if she hasn’t shared it, I’m sure she will at some point. But, she said, “You know, John, the Lord revealed something to me and it’s so simple to me,” and yet, you know, actually we have never really talked about it in these terms. 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. So, although we don’t speak like this, it’s implied that we have three areas of will. You have a will that’s against God and you have a will that’s for God but in between, you just have your will and that your will is okay to live with as long as your will is not against God. She pointed out, 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.” I said, “Babe, why haven’t I thought about this?” You know, I mean that makes so much sense. It’s so biblical that 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 – I will just live for myself and I will get away with it. No, when you are living for yourself, you are living for the devil cause the devil has persuaded you that living for yourself is okay. Don’t have to live for God, it’s okay if you don’t live for God, as long as you don’t live for the devil and you just live for yourself. The fact that you’re living for yourself is that you are worshipping yourself which is anti-God. You are directly opposing God every time. Hey? Ja – that’s thanks to my wife. That’s her revelation. Now it’s mine and now it’s all yours too.
I mean that really set me free when she said it to me like that because, you know, subconsciously the enemy has persuaded us that there is a third will that you can do and it’s just your own will. So when you decide to go on holiday because you choose to go on holiday, that it’s okay – it’s your will; it’s not God’s will, it’s not the devil’s will, it’s just your will. No, if your will to go on holiday is not submitted to the will of God then you are just doing something that the rest of the world says it’s okay for you to make a decision to go on holiday whenever you feel like it. So you are doing what the rest of the world says you should do. So, that doesn’t mean to say God doesn’t want you going on holiday because rest is a fundamental part of God’s living system. But when you submit it to God, it becomes the order of God, it gets the blessing of God and everything that you do in that holiday resting period becomes submitted to the power of God and favour and blessing rests upon it. Now you get real rest, you get the real power of God on the holiday and you hear from God while you are on holiday. Here’s a clue whether you choose a holiday for yourself and I’m just using a holiday because it’s this time of the year, okay? Whether you choose a holiday for yourself or not. When you go on holiday and everything you think about is, ‘I’m going to eat what I want, watch as many movies as I want. I’m going to go on the beach and I’m not going to pray and I’m not going to spend time in the Word and I’m not going to even talk about God because this is my time.’ There’s a clue, you didn’t ask God and God didn’t approve it. You’re just doing it. Amen.
I will give you an example of something that I was training for. I was training to do an extreme endurance event and it meant actually me crossing borders of a country and it’s supposed to happen next weekend so I was training for extreme endurance. I was going to do an off-road cycle race and it was 370 km’s that you had to complete in 24 hours, 370. So, about a month ago in my training preparation, I did a ride which was supposed to be 250. I didn’t quite finish that. I did 215. Lots of climbing. 15 hours in the saddle. I was moeg, kaput (tired), end of story, threw my bike down, said, “I don’t want to see you again,” at that moment, you know. Here’s what I did. After I finished that ride I went to Pastor Christi, I went to my sons, I went to Sharon, and I went to a few others and I said, “I want to tell you that I’ve made a plan and I’ve even paid to go and do the race. I haven’t spent money on making plans in terms of transportation and lots of accommodation and all that but I’ve paid for the race. But I’m submitting this to you as an accountability of my spirituality because I’m subjective when it comes to this.” I really want to do this because it’s like one of those things that for years I’ve tried to get into this race and literally this race gets sold out in five minutes. When the electronic registering system opens there is only a 1000 riders that are allowed – gets sold out in five minutes. There’s a huge international contingent that comes and rides this race. I’ve tried for two or three years to do this race and so because of covid people were not committing. I got in. Hey, I’m going to train for it. Let’s go, you know. But I went to people around me and I said, “I want to just submit this to you because I’m subjective about this. And I want you to hear from God and check with me that actually I’m supposed to do this.”
So, my family, my son Garth and Marcelle were the first to say this. They said, “Dad, what happens if you go and you have to do a covid test before you come and now you test positive for covid and you’re in that country and now you have to stay there for seven or 14 days and we can’t get to you and take care of you if there is something significant that happens to you.” Bear in mind that after 360 kilometres your immune system is really low, after 370. That’s where your immune system drops significantly. “So, if there is anybody that can transmit the disease to you, you’re away from all of us and we can’t help you.” I said, “That’s a good point.”
Without knowing what anybody else said, Pastor Christi came to me and she said, “Pastor John, I can’t tell you why but there’s something inside of me that is not at peace about you going on this trip.” So, then I phoned Brynn. Because now, I don’t want to hear this. You know one is just about covid – so that’s not God speaking. Pastor Christi, well, you know, okay, I hear what you’re saying – she’s caring for me. Okay, but let me phone Brynn. Now, you know, “Brynn, what do you say?” He says, “Dad, I just don’t feel right about it.” I said, “You’ve been talking to someone.” He said, “I talked to no-one.” He said, “What did they say?” I said what Garth said and what, …he says, “That’s what I’ve been feeling in my heart that you should not be going. This is not your time for you to go and do that race.” I’ve been training hard man. I got my bum ready – it’s calloused. You know, I’ve been training hard.
So I went to my wife and I said, “Babes, what do you say?” She said, “I say what they all said. I’ve been feeling this for some time already. But I know you, John, and I know that you would always inquire of God and when that moment came, God would show.” And so, I’m not going. I’ve written off the cost because I can’t get it back of entring into the race. Because it’s more important for me to obey God than go and do something that I want to go do. So check how I justified this to myself, please. We were going to go, okay so it was in Namibia. So, we were going to ride from Swakopmund, I was going to ride the bike from Windhoek to Namibia, it’s 370 kilometres. Then I was going to go to Etosha, I was going wildlife riding. It’s December, do a significant race, pat yourself on the back, take your wife and go have a holiday in Etosha. How cool is that, come-on Come-on. Now I’m not even doing that.
See, because actually, now what’s happened is that because I have submitted myself, and I’ve been accountable to people to make sure that I’m in the will of God. Why do you think I’ve made myself accountable to people? I made myself because I was already feeling something in the Spirit. Because I know I’m subjective about these things and I’m emotionally involved and mentally involved and my training is already involved, I need someone to come and tell me and agree with me spiritually, deeply. I’m in agreement with my spirit man, I don’t agree with my natural man.
So what could have happened if I went riding without the blessing of God? Who knows? I’m literally riding through the desert at night. And you ride from stage to stage and there are 70 kilometres between stages, you know. Gemsbok runs across the road, bashes into your bike. Unpredictable. That’s part of the fun of it. It is. It’s part of the fun of it that gemsbok might run in front of you or, you know, I mean it’s wild. That’s part of the whole fun of the adventure of it, it’s wild. Come-on. But the negative side of it is that if you’re doing it and you’re blessed by God, then you get all the benefits out of that without the complications of it. But if it’s not blessed by God then why have I any business doing that? Hallelujah.
So this world and these rulers 6 who are soon to be forgotten. 7No, the 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). So let’s just be clear; the rulers of this world cannot see what God’s plan is for your life. Because if they could see what God’s plan was for Jesus, they would not have killed him, would not have crucified Him. Right? Come on, let’s communicate a little bit here. So they can’t see the plan that God has for your life. So what is it that they do? The prince of this world creates a system that tells you what your plan for your life should be because he doesn’t know. But if he can get you to believe that he’s got the plan, is in the system, then you don’t even have to think about it because everybody else is doing it so it must be right. Yes? So they can’t see what God’s plan is for your life. But if they can get you to do what their plan is for your life, they will always prevent you from doing what God’s plan is for your life. They don’t even have to fight with you. They’ve got you in handcuffs. Literally, they’ve got your hands tied behind your back, and they just lead you by the nose anywhere your own personal desires, your own thoughts and things take you anywhere, anywhere, they just lead you by the nose, because that’s where the system takes you. So a little bit by little bit it just steals all of your life steals all of your destiny and he steals all of your purpose. Meantime, God has given us this authority to take God’s power with us to the point where we can bless those who bless us. And if they don’t want to bless us, we take our blessing with us.
I just want you to notice the difference. 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). So why should we live in the world’s spirit when we can live in God’s Spirit? So most of us, a lot of the time we’re not even thinking about making a choice – I want to live in God’s Spirit, I want to live in God’s Spirit. The world spirit is there just leads us a lot of the time. You get that? A lot of the time we just take the norms of life as the norms we should be living.
I’m reminded of a preacher that I knew for a long time, and he often used to say; Christians are so spiritually minded they are no earthly good. In other words, he was talking about Christians that lived in this cuckoo land of everything is about God. And really, you know, the Lord had to minister to me about that years later and said, no, no, the only time you can be any earthly good is if you are spiritually-minded. And so people think that if you are not living naturally like everybody else lives actually that you’re no good to anybody else. And so words have been spoken derogatory like, people that are Christians that live like that are in this ‘bless me’ club. No, no. I’m not in a ‘bless me’ club. I’m in a ‘God bless me’ club. I’m in a ‘God bless me’ family. I am. I’m not even going to apologise for it. I’m in a family that God blesses. And I’m not going to apologise for the blessing. I’ll tell you what – if someone comes into my company that needs Jesus, I’m going to tell him and I’m going to represent Jesus to him. I’m not going to become like him so that I can win him when actually becoming like him is the last thing he needs. He needs someone who really believes to stand in front of him and say, “I believe, and I don’t care what you ridicule me with. I don’t care what you do to me. I’m going to tell you about Jesus. And I’m going to live Jesus in front of you.” This is the world that God wants us to live in. He wants us to live in a world that we as passionate believers that are sent by God are ready to live for Him. I want to tell you something, Church, this world is unstable. It’s unsteady, and if anything should convince you that the world doesn’t know what’s coming, the Coronavirus should convince you that nobody knows what the enemy has got planned, as destructive for this globe and these people on this earth. And if you need any convincing just watch what’s happened to the economies of the world. And why do you think this has happened? Because there are men that are out for power. They want to control the energies of humanity. And the men are not just about themselves. It’s about spiritual forces. That’s why the Bible says our war is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. Right?
So, 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 (1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT). So when I tell the story about me going to cycle in Namibia and I’m doing 370 kilometres, it’s like the most romantic thing in my mind. Maybe not to you all. The most adventurous, romantic thing that I can do is ride through the oldest desert at night, on an adventure on a mountain bike and put yourself to the test and ride for 20 hours. You know, so when you tell somebody that you’ve already paid for the entry, and you’ve got it all planned out, and you’ve been training, and then God says, “No, don’t do it,” it’s foolishness to them. They don’t understand that. It’s like, “No, way. Come on. Why would God…? I mean, it’s just riding a bike.” No, but I’ve got an assignment on my life that the devil’s always after. And so I might be riding a bike in the middle of the night and I scare a puff adder. No, really, I scare a puff adder and it comes up and sinks its fangs in my leg. Why would it do that? I’m out of the will of God, I’m out of the blessing of God so the enemy’s got a place that he can do something like that. Maybe it’s just contract COVID-19. And now I’ve got to sit there and now I’m sick in a hospital in Windhoek or somewhere or someplace. Now my assignment’s on hold. You all with me here? I’m nearly finished.
14It 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.
So in my case, what’s the mind of Christ for me? The mind of Christ for me was, “John, John, this is not the time for you to go to Namibia.” And I’m just using natural reasons as to what could have gone wrong. None of those things might have happened. It might have just been that I actually finished the race that put myself into such a weakened physical condition that maybe something else might have happened to me physically. Who knows? It might have not even manifested itself that week. It might have only come out six months later while I’m training for other things and I’m overtraining and I’m fatigued and something happens but it all started back then. And how would I know? I’ll tell you what; this is a fact and I’m speaking by the Spirit of God here, anything that has happened in our lives and I include myself, that we’ve had pain, that we carry baggage that has caused us to not move forward is because we’ve been disobedient to God. Because God will not allow us, God will not allow us to experience anything that He hasn’t given us the authority and the ability to go through. We can go through it if we are obedient to Him.
So, you know, the apostle Paul is a direct thing for me. Before he even walked into his ministry, God said to Him, “Paul, I’m talking to you now. I’m telling you, you’re going to go through many hardships, you’re going to go through 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 to do what he needed to do. And the very revelations themselves caused the persecution, but the revelations themselves also gave him the power to get through. Otherwise, how does a man be left for dead so many times? Beaten to death, literally to death, many times, chained many times, shipwrecked? 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. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
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 would not come with a stick that comes to beat you to 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. We just invite you to do whatever you want to do because it’s just ‘do what you please to do,’ it will be okay. But actually, he’s violently violating your future. He’s stealing your destiny. He’s stealing your calling and your gifting. He’s stealing from you. As you follow the smell of bread and the smell of coffee – so to speak – as you follow him by the nose he’s stealing your future. 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. Well, he stole my future. Because the supply of the spirit that you’re supposed to bring, you didn’t, you held on to it for yourself. Just did yourself stuff. And 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. Huh? Cause 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 now. I’m not just talking to you for nothing here, I want to show you something. Part of all of the projects that I have shown you a couple of weeks ago, remember that? I see – the air conditioning thing there, it’s an old one. But it’s coming, right? It is already delivered, the delivery has happened. Praise the Lord. Air conditioning is going in here for us. I can tell you this, we have already ordered and it’s on its way and they are going to install if not this week, the next week, a microwave high powered WIFI thing so that we can do live stream into this auditorium from Witbank. Hallelujah. Glory to God. It’s all happening. Praise Jesus.
I want to show you, this is where we used to work, my A team used to work here. So this is from this corner to where the kitchen is. Can you see this is the kitchen counter there? Next one please, this is just another angle, because you see there is just a blackboard here. Have any of you been into this room? Most of you have been into this room, hey? So here is the blackboard where we would write stuff on that we’re believing God for, this is just a glory board, a gigantic glory board. So now obviously people who worked there had to go somewhere. So they are in the back of the church, you know there where you saw the white strips of light, where the band is playing, they are sitting right behind the band. That’s where they are now working. So this is the sound booth and that white thing over there that is the back of the … it’s just behind what you saw today. It’s amazing what can go behind and what you can present and what you don’t see behind the scenes, hey?
Next slide, please. That’s what it looks like as of Thursday or Friday. You see they have broken the whole whiteboard down, the glory board is gone. Magtig, man. You can still see some words up there. They don’t want to leave, they want to stay. Go to the next one. This is from the other angle, looking that way. you can see that everything is broken down, and we are making this ready for MiXchange students. Amen. Won’t you stand with me, please?
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 and blessed them? What did they do next? They blessed them. What did they leave with them? Something that money could never buy; blessing and peace. You can’t buy blessing and peace. Only God can give it. Right? And for those that went against God? What did He say? Judgement is coming to them. Hallelujah. So I want to say, I am really grateful to you, all of you, you are my family, you are my blood-bought family, really. 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 than my blood-born family. There is much more I have to say about that. Praise Jesus.
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. Hallelujah.
Are you still all right with me here? Hey? Sometimes, family, God has just got to talk family stuff, hey. I really wrestled with this because Pastor Sharon was supposed to be here this morning and yesterday afternoon I said to her, “No babes, I am going back cause I have got to finish what I had to say and as much as I don’t want to I’ve got to go, and I’ve got to go and say it.” Amen. Dankie julle almal. Totsiens julle almal (Thank you and goodbye) We have got some beautiful things planned for December and January and February and March. So watch out, just watch the new stuff. Okay, bye.
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